TASK DEFINITION: Given a passage classify if the passage has a definite objective/aim/goal or not. Output '1' if the passage has a defininte objective/aim/goal and output '0' if the passage does not have a definite objective/aim/goal.
PROBLEM: In heart failure, a holistic approach incorporating the patient's perspective is vital for prognosis and treatment. Self-rated health has strong associations with adverse events and short-term mortality risk, but long-term data are limited. We investigated the predictive value of two consecutive self-rated health assessments with regard to long-term mortality in a large, well characterised sample of elderly patients with stable chronic heart failure.", "We measured self-rated health by asking 'In general, would you say your health is: 1, excellent; 2, very good; 3, good; 4, fair; 5, poor?' twice: at baseline and the end of a 12-week beta-blocker up-titration period in the CIBIS-ELD trial. Mortality was assessed in an observational follow-up after 2-4 years. A total of 720 patients (mean left ventricular ejection fraction 4512%, mean age 735 years, 36% women) rated their health at both time points. During long-term follow-up, 144 patients died (all-cause mortality 20%). Fair/poor self-rated health in at least one of the two reports was associated with increased mortality (hazard ratio 1.42 per level; 95% confidence interval 1.16-1.75; P<0.001). It remained independently significant in multiple Cox regression analysis, adjusted for N-terminal pro B-type natriuretic peptide (NTproBNP), heart rate and other risk prediction covariates. Self-rated health by one level worse was as predictive for mortality as a 1.9-fold increase in NTproBNP.

SOLUTION: 1

PROBLEM: Recovery to normal or near normal visual acuity is usual after acute demyelinating optic neuritis, despite the frequent persistence of conduction abnormalities as evidenced by the visual evoked potential (VEP). This raises the possibility that cortical adaptation to a persistently abnormal input contributes to the recovery process. The objective of this study was to investigate the pattern of cerebral response to a simple visual stimulus in recovered patients in comparison to normal subjects.', 'Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to study the brain activation pattern induced by a periodic monocular 8Hz photic stimulus in seven patients who had recovered from a single episode of acute unilateral optic neuritis, and in seven normal controls. VEPs and structural optic nerve MRI were performed on patients.', 'Stimulation of either eye in controls activated only the occipital visual cortex. However, in patients, stimulation of the recovered eye also induced extensive activation in other areas including the insula-claustrum, lateral temporal and posterior parietal cortices, and thalamus; stimulation of the clinically unaffected eye activated visual cortex and right insula-claustrum only. The volume of extraoccipital activation in patients was strongly correlated with VEP latency (r = 0.71, p = 0.005).

SOLUTION: 1

PROBLEM: Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)- inhibition was shown to reduce ischemia/reperfusion injury (IRI) after intestinal transplantation (ITX). We studied the effects of different TNF inhibitors on acute IRI and long-term inflammatory responses in experimental ITX.', 'Orthotopic ITX was performed in an isogenic ischemia/reperfusion model in Lewis rats. The TNF inhibition groups received infliximab post-reperfusion; etanercept pre-reperfusion and at postoperative days (POD) 1, 3, 5, and 7; or pentoxifylline pre-reperfusion and at POD 1 to 5. Tissue samples were taken from proximal and distal graft sections and mesenteric lymph nodes at 20 min, 12 hr, 7 day, and 6 months post-reperfusion for histopathology, immunohistology, terminal deoxyribosyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) assay, and real-time RT-PCR. Lung sections were stained for the myeloperoxidase assay.', 'TNF inhibitors decreased inflammatory changes after IRI in all treatment groups. Infliximab significantly improved 7-day survival and reduced the histological and immunohistochemical signs of IRI, the numbers of graft-infiltrating T cells and ED1 monocytes and macrophages, and pulmonary neutrophil infiltration, and also enhanced the accumulation of cytoprotective markers. Graft injury was more prominent in the distal graft than in the proximal graft in all groups, regardless of TNF inhibition.

SOLUTION:
0