TASK DEFINITION: Given a context passage, generate a question from the passage such that its answer is shortest continous span from the passage.
PROBLEM: Something strange was unbelievable. Take Robert for example. After the terrible car accident, his whole world had been completely dark and quiet for almost ten years. The loss of sight and hearing made him try many times to put end to his life. His family especially his wife did their best to tend and comfort him. By and by he finally regained the courage to live on. On a hot summer afternoon he was taking a walk with a stick near his house when a thunderstorm started suddenly. He stood under a large tree in order not to get himself wet. Unfortunately he was struck down to the ground by a lightning. The witnesses thought him dead but he woke up some 20 minutes later lying face down in muddy water below the tree. He felt that he was trembling badly, but when he opened his eyes ,he didn't dare to believe that he saw a plough( )lying near the wall. When Mrs Edwards came running up to him, she shouted their neighbours for help. And he saw her and heard her voice for the first time in nearly ten years. The news of Robert's regaining his sight and hearing quickly spread in his area. And many doctors came to prove the truth of the news. Most of them said that he gained sight and hearing again obviously from the knock of lightning; none of them could give convincing reasons, however. The only reasonable explanation given by one doctor was that, since Edwards lost his sight and hearing as a result of sudden shock in a terrible accident, perhaps the only way for them to regain was by another sudden shock.

SOLUTION: What did Edwards see first after being struck down by a lightning?

PROBLEM: Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) is a primary muscle disorder with autosomal dominant inheritance. FSHD was mapped to chromosome 4 locus q35, but the gene is not yet known. It is characterised by progressive, often asymmetric, selective muscular weakness and great clinical variability. The aim of the study was to analyze 62 FSHD cases from 44 Polish families in which the diagnosis was confirmed by DNA analyses. FSHD diagnosis was based on the clinical findings and standardized investigations confirming primary muscular involvement (EMG, muscle biopsy). DNA analysis was based on EcoRI/BlnI restriction enzyme digestion followed by hybridization with P13E-11 molecular probe. In our material, we have found a relatively large percentage (41%) of big deletions (EcoRI/BlnI fragment of 10-15 kb [kilo bases]), which in the majority of cases (67%) was present in isolated cases. In 10 families (23%) the phenotype was assessed as severe. These are cases with the onset before the age of 10 and fast progression. "Middle sized" deletions (EcoRI/BlnI fragment of 16-29 kb) were prevalent in familial cases and present in 57% of families. "Small" deletion was found in one family (EcoRI/BlnI fragment of 30 kb). Somatic mosaicism was confirmed in one case. De novo mutations were shown in 11% of the examined families. The results of this study indicate that the bigger the deletion, the more severe the FSHD course, however there are some exceptions. A similar relationship has been shown by previous research. Molecular analyses are particularly important in atypical and sporadic cases. It is the first genetic presentation of a group of patients' with this kind of dystrophy in the Polish population.

SOLUTION: What is the mode of inheritance of Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD)?

PROBLEM: Net energy is the amount of useable energy available from a resource after subtracting the amount of energy needed to make the energy from that resource available. For example, every 5 barrels of oil that are made available for use require 1 barrel for extracting and refining the petroleum. What is the net energy from this process? About 4 barrels (5 barrels minus 1 barrel). What happens if the energy needed to extract and refine oil increases? Why might that happen? The energy cost of an energy resource increases when the easy deposits of that resource have already been consumed. For example, if all the nearshore petroleum in a region has been extracted, more costly drilling must take place further offshore (Figure 1.1). If the energy cost of obtaining energy increases, the resource will be used even faster. Offshore drilling is taking place in deeper water than before. It takes a lot of energy to build a deep drilling platform and to run it. The net-energy ratio demonstrates the difference between the amount of energy available in a resource and the amount of energy used to get it. If it takes 8 units of energy to make available 10 units of energy, then the net-energy ratio is 10/8 or 1.25. What does a net-energy ratio larger than 1 mean? What if the net-energy ratio is less than 1? A net-energy ratio larger than 1 means that there is a net gain in usable energy; a net-energy ratio smaller than one means there is an overall energy loss. Table 1.1 shows the net-energy ratios for some common energy sources. Energy Source Solar Energy Natural Gas Petroleum Coal-fired Electricity Net-energy Ratio 5.8 4.9 4.5 2.5-5.1 Notice from the table that solar energy yields much more net energy than other sources. This is because it takes very little energy to get usable solar energy. Sunshine is abundant and does not need to be found, extracted, or transported very far. The range for coal-fired electricity is because of the differing costs of transporting the coal. What does this suggest about using coal to generate electricity? The efficiency is greater in areas where the coal is locally mined and does not have to be transported great distances (Figure 1.2). Obtaining coal for energy takes a lot of energy. The coal must be located, extracted, refined, and transported. Because so much of the energy we use is from fossil fuels, we need to be especially concerned about using them efficiently. Sometimes our choices affect energy efficiency. For example, transportation by cars and airplanes is less energy-efficient than transportation by boats and trains.

SOLUTION:
what is the amount of useable energy available from a resource after subtracting the amount of energy needed to make that energy available?