Given a passage, 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.

Input: Consider Input: High mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) protein has been identified as a novel pro-inflammatory cytokine in coronary artery disease (CAD). We investigated the relationship between serum HMGB1 level and the severity of coronary artery stenosis.', 'Serum HMGB1 concentration in patients was measured by ELISA. All patients underwent coronary angiography and were assigned into groups according to the quartile of HMGB1 level.', 'HMGB1 level in USAP group was higher than that in control and SAP group. HMGB1 level in SAP group was higher than that in control group (p<0.05). Gensini scores in the highest quartile group (group IV), group III and group II were all significantly higher than that in the lowest quartile group (group I). There was significant correlation between angiographic Gensini score and serum level of HMGB1 (r=0.710, p<0.05). However, in subgroup analysis, we found that serum HMGB1 level was only correlated with angiographic Gensini score in SAP patients (r=0.786, p<0.05), but not USAP patients.

Output: Is increased serum HMGB1 related to the severity of coronary artery stenosis?

Input: Consider Input: We developed a lactoferrin conjugate by modifying bovine lactoferrin (bLF) with a 40-kDa branched poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) molecule (designated 40 k-PEG-bLf), and we evaluated its in vitro activities and pharmacokinetic properties.', 'We prepared 40k-PEG-bLf by amino conjugation with N-hydroxysuccinimide-activated PEG. This conjugate was purified by cation exchange chromatography and its in vitro biological activities, such as iron binding, anti-inflammatory effects, and resistance to proteolytic enzymes were investigated. In vivo pharmacokinetics analyses, were also performed to examine the rate of clearance from the plasma in rats.', 'The 40k-PEG-bLf conjugate was fully active in iron binding and exhibited 97.1 +/- 5.5% (mean +/- S.E., n = 6) of the original anti-inflammatory activity. The in vitro peptic susceptibility of 40 k-PEG-bLf revealed that the proteolytic half-life increased at least 6-fold that of unmodified LF. This PEGylated conjugate demonstrated a plasma half-life that was 8.7-fold longer than that of the unmodified bLF in rats.

Output: Does lactoferrin conjugated with 40-kDa branched poly ( ethylene glycol ) have an improved circulating half-life?

Input: Consider Input: Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) near the interferon lambda 3 (IFNL3, previously known as IL28B) region are the strongest baseline predictors of sustained virologic response (SVR) to pegylated interferon and ribavirin therapy in hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 1 infection. Whether IFNL3 SNPs influence treatment response in genotype 2 and 3 (HCV-2/3) infection remains controversial. This study sought to clarify in a large cohort, whether SNPs in the IFNL3 region are associated with treatment response in HCV-2/3 patients.', 'The cohort comprised 1002 HCV-2/3 Caucasians patients treated with pegylated interferon-alpha and ribavirin who underwent genotyping for the SNPs rs12979860 and rs8099917.', 'Overall, 736 (73.5%) patients achieved SVR (81.9%, 67.9%, and 57.8% for rs12979860 CC, CT, and TT [p = 0.0001]; 78%, 68.7%, and 46.3% for rs8099917 TT, TG, and GG [p = 0.0001]). By logistic regression, both rs12979860 CC and rs8099917 TT were independent predictors of SVR with an odds ratio (OR) of 2.39 (1.19-3.81) p = 0.0001 and OR 1.85 (1.15-2.23) p = 0.0001, respectively. IFNL3 responder genotypes were more frequent in relapsers than null-responders (p = 0.0001 for both SNPs). On-treatment rapid virological response (RVR) was predictive of SVR only in those individuals with IFNL3 non-responder genotypes (rs12979860 CT/TT and rs8099917 TG/GG).
Output: Do iFNL3 polymorphisms predict response to therapy in chronic hepatitis C genotype 2/3 infection?