TASK DEFINITION: Given a passage with a context and an answer, construct a question on the basis of the information present in the passage. Construct the question in such a way that (i) it is unambiguous, (ii) it is answerable from the passage, (iii) its answer is unique (iv) it answer uses text phrases from the passage. Avoid creating questions that (i) can't be answered correctly without actually understanding the passage and (ii) uses the same words or phrases given in the passage.
PROBLEM: Context: Compared with standard donors, kidneys recovered from donors after cardiac death (DCD) exhibit higher rates of delayed graft function (DGF), and DCD livers demonstrate higher rates of biliary ischemia, graft loss, and worse patient survival. Current practice limits the use of these organs based on time from donor extubation to asystole, but data to support this is incomplete. We hypothesized that donor postextubation parameters, including duration and severity of hemodynamic instability or hypoxia might be a better predictor of subsequent graft function.', 'We performed a retrospective examination of the New England Organ Bank DCD database, concentrating on donor factors including vital signs after withdrawal of support.', 'Prolonged, severe hypotension in the postextubation period was a better predictor of subsequent organ function that time from extubation to asystole. For DCD kidneys, this manifested as a trend toward increased DGF. For DCD livers, this manifested as increased rates of poor outcomes. Maximizing the predictive value of this test in the liver cohort suggested that greater than 15 min between the time when the donor systolic blood pressure drops below 50 mm Hg and flush correlates with increased rates of diffuse biliary ischemia, graft loss, or death. Donor age also correlated with worse outcome.
Answer: Time between profound instability and cold perfusion is a better predictor of outcome than time from extubation to asystole. If validated, this information could be used to predict DGF after DCD renal transplant and improve outcomes after DCD liver transplant.

SOLUTION: Do donor postextubation hypotension and age correlate with outcome after donation after cardiac death transplantation?

PROBLEM: Context: Angiostatin is a potent angiogenesis inhibitor that has been identified as a cryptic fragment of plasminogen molecule containing the first four kringle domain. Angiogenin, a 14-kDa monomeric protein, a potent blood vessel inducer, is expressed in tumors and present in mammalian plasma. The purpose of this study was to determine whether recombinant kringle 1-3 (rKI-3) of human plasminogen could interfere with angiogenesis induced by angiogenin and to evaluate the role of angiogenin in corneal angiogenesis in rabbit.', 'A Hydron polymer pellet containing 2.0 microg of angiogenin was implanted intrastromally into the superior cornea of each of 44 rabbit eyes. All eyes received an intrastromal pellet and were randomized into either one group treated with 12.5 microg of rKI-3 (n = 25) or the other group treated with phosphate-buffered saline (PBS; n = 19). Both pellets were positioned in parallel at the site 1.2 mm from the superior limbus. Two masked observers kept the angiogenesis score daily, based on the number and the length of new vessels. The corneas with induced angiogenesis also were examined histologically.', 'On the third day of the angiogenin pellets implantation, the eye treated with rKI-3 had less angiogenesis (mean score, 4.2 +/- 6.6) than eye treated with PBS (mean score, 16.1 +/- 17.1; p < 0.05, Mann-Whitney U test). The cornea treated with PBS also showed much more leukocyte adhesion than the cornea treated with rKI-3.
Answer: Recombinant kringle 1-3 appears to inhibit angiogenin-induced angiogenesis in a rabbit corneal pocket assay. Recombinant kringle 1-3 may have therapeutic potential as an antiangiogenic agent.

SOLUTION: Does recombinant kringle 1-3 of plasminogen inhibit rabbit corneal angiogenesis induced by angiogenin?

PROBLEM: Context: Classical swine fever virus (CSFV) infection causes significant losses of pigs, which is characterized by hemorrhage, disseminated intravascular coagulation and leucopenia. The swine vascular endothelial cell is a primary target cell for CSFV. The aim of this study was to determine the role of CSFV infection in inducing oxidative stress (OS) in vascular endothelial cells.', 'We demonstrated that CSFV infection induced oxidative stress in swine umbilical vein endothelial cells (SUVECs), characterized by the induction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and the elevations of porcine antioxidant proteins thioredoxin (Trx), peroxiredoxin-6 (PRDX-6) and heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) expression. Furthermore, cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), a pro-inflammatory protein related to oxidative stress, was up-regulated while anti-inflammatory protein peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor- (PPAR-), an important mediator in vascular functional regulation, was down-regulated in the CSFV infected cells. In addition, antioxidants showed significant inhibitory effects on the CSFV replication, indicating a close relationship between CSFV replication and OS induced in the host cells.
Answer: Our results indicated that CSFV infection induced oxidative stress in SUVECs. These findings provide novel information on the mechanism by which CSFV can alter intracellular events associated with the viral infection.

SOLUTION:
Does classical swine fever virus induce oxidative stress in swine umbilical vein endothelial cells?