TASK DEFINITION: In this task, you are given a passage which has a question and the context. You have to generate an answer to the question based on the information present in the context.
PROBLEM: Context: Cognitive impairment is a common feature of late-life bipolar disorder (BD). Yet, there is limited information on the biological mechanisms associated with this process. It is uncertain whether cognitively impaired patients with BD may present the Alzheimer's disease (AD) bio-signature in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), defined as a combination of low concentrations of the amyloid-beta peptide (A1-42 ) and high concentrations of total tau (T-tau) and tau phosphorylated at threonine 181 (P-tau). In this study, we sought to determine whether cognitive impairment in elderly patients with BD is associated with the AD CSF bio-signature.", 'Seventy-two participants were enrolled in the study. The test group comprised older adults with BD and mild cognitive impairment (BD-MCI; n=16) and the comparison groups comprised patients with dementia due to AD (n=17), patients with amnestic MCI (aMCI; n=14), and cognitively healthy older adults (control group; n=25). CSF samples were obtained by lumbar puncture and concentrations of A1-42 , T-tau and P-tau were determined.', 'CSF concentrations of all biomarkers were significantly different in the AD group compared to all other groups, but did not differentiate BD-MCI subjects from aMCI subjects and controls. BD-MCI patients had a non-significant reduction in CSF A1-42 compared to controls, but this was still higher than in the AD group. Concentrations of T-tau and P-tau in BD-MCI patients were similar to those in controls, and significantly lower than those in AD.\Question: Is cognitive impairment in late-life bipolar disorder associated with Alzheimer 's disease pathological signature in the cerebrospinal fluid?

SOLUTION: Cognitively impaired patients with BD do not display the so-called AD bio-signature in the CSF. We therefore hypothesize that cognitive deterioration in BD is not associated with the classical pathophysiological mechanisms observed in AD, i.e., amyloid deposition and hyperphosphorylation of microtubule-associated tau protein.

PROBLEM: Context: Serum ferritin concentration >100ng/mL was associated with a higher risk of death in hemodialysis patients in Japan, whereas such an association was less clear in hemodialysis patients in Western countries. Since Japanese dialysis patients are generally less inflamed than those in Western countries, inflammation may modify the association between serum ferritin and the adverse outcomes.', 'We performed an observational cohort study using data from 2606 Japanese hemodialysis patients who participated in the Dialysis Outcomes and Practice Patterns Study (DOPPS) III (2005-2008) or DOPPS IV (2009-2012). The predictor was serum ferritin category (<50, 50-99.9, 100-199.9, and 200ng/mL), and the primary and secondary outcomes were all-cause mortality and cardiovascular hospitalization, respectively. C-reactive protein (CRP, cut-off by 0.3mg/dL) and serum albumin (cut-off by 3.8g/dL) were stratification factors related to systemic inflammation.', 'After adjustment for relevant confounding factors, a U-shaped association was observed between serum ferritin and all-cause mortality in the group with low CRP levels, whereas such relationship was not significant in the high CRP counterparts. In contrast, we found a linear association between serum ferritin and cardiovascular hospitalization in the low CRP and high CRP groups commonly. Similar results were obtained when the total cohort was stratified by serum albumin.\Question: Do both low and high serum ferritin levels predict mortality risk in hemodialysis patients without inflammation?

SOLUTION: Serum ferritin showed different patterns of association with all-cause mortality in hemodialysis patients with versus without inflammation, whereas its association with cardiovascular hospitalization was similar regardless of inflammatory conditions.

PROBLEM: Context: To investigate the effect of patellar taping on the amplitude of electromyographic activity (EMG) of vasti activation in subjects with and without patellofemoral pain (PFP).', 'Ten participants with PFP and 12 asymptomatic controls were recruited to the study. The study was designed as a randomised crossover trial. Participants completed a stair stepping task. Three experimental conditions were assessed: no tape, therapeutic medially directed tape, and placebo vertically directed tape. The main outcome measure was the EMG amplitude of the vastus medialis obliquus and vastus lateralis during the concentric phase of stair stepping.', 'The application of medially directed therapeutic tape significantly decreased pain in subjects with PFP. However, application of tape over the patella (therapeutic or placebo) did not alter the amplitude of vasti EMG when either the PFP or control participants completed the concentric stair stepping task.\Question: Does patellar taping change the amplitude of electromyographic activity of the vasti in a stair stepping task?

SOLUTION:
The results of this study indicate that the positive clinical effects of medially directed therapeutic tape are not due to changes in EMG amplitude of the vasti muscle. Thus other effects such as changes in timing of contraction of the vasti are more likely candidates for the mechanism of efficacy.