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.
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Question: Context: To evaluate the relationship between pro-atherogenic biomarkers and epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) thickness in patients with cardiovascular risk factors.', 'Plasma nitric oxide (NO), soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels, EAT thickness, flow-mediated dilation (FMD) and carotid intima media thickness (CIMT) were determined in patients aged >18 years who were referred for echocardiography for heart ischemia or non-ischemic diseases. Cardiovascular risk factors (Framingham score [FS]20) were weighted.', 'Hypertension, dyslipidaemia and type 2 diabetes mellitus were prevalent (55% of 40 patients). Patients with FS20 (n=21) showed significantly higher EAT and CIMT values. Globally, MDA, CIMT, age, waist circumference, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and FS were associated with EAT thickness. EAT was significantly associated with NO in patients with FS20. Significant differences in EAT thickness were found between patients stratified by NO value, FMD, age, smoking status, dyslipidaemia, type 2 diabetes mellitus and FS. An EAT-associated atherogenic risk (CIMT1mm) model was statistically significant when MDA and type 2 diabetes mellitus were included.\Question: Are pro-atherogenic mediators and subclinical atherogenesis related to epicardial adipose tissue thickness in patients with cardiovascular risk?

Answer: EAT thickness was associated with MDA, CIMT, age, waist circumference, HDL-C and FS globally, but with NO only in patients with FS20. EAT may be used to identify vascular damage stage, possibly influenced by MDA and type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Question: Context: Severity of rheumatoid arthritis and progression of radiographic joint damage have decreased over the last decades.', 'To examine whether this trend is attributable to an underlying trend towards milder disease or to improved treatment.', 'The study used an inception cohort of patients with early rheumatoid arthritis seen at the Wichita Arthritis Center, Wichita, Kansas, USA, since 1973 and monitored prospectively since their first clinic visit through clinical, radiographic, laboratory, demographic and self-reported data. The radiographic disease progression in patients with disease onset in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s was compared using a multivariate regression model for longitudinal data. The analysis was adjusted for differences in baseline predictors, type of disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) and steroid use.', '418 patients with rheumatoid arthritis with radiographic follow-up were included. Patients in earlier decades used fewer DMARDs, had longer disease durations and higher tender joint counts at their first visit. Other important predictors of disease progression did not differ significantly between decades of disease onset. The unadjusted rates of radiographic progression differed between decades (analysis of variance, p = 0.01), with a significant trend towards less radiographic progression in more recent times (trend, p<0.001). However, after adjusting for DMARD use, steroid use and baseline predictors, differences between decades vanished (analysis of variance, p = 0.40) and the trend towards less radiographic progression disappeared (trend, p = 0.45).\Question: Are progression of radiographic joint damage in different eras : trends towards milder disease in rheumatoid arthritis attributable to improved treatment?

Answer: These results suggest that the observed trend towards milder disease in rheumatoid arthritis is attributable to more effective antirheumatic treatment and not to a secular trend.

Question: Context: Extended partial hepatectomy (PH) in patients is leading to portal hyperperfusion but reduced hepatic arterial perfusion (HAP), and is invariably causing focal hepatic venous outflow obstruction (FHVOO). We observed in a rat model that PH in combination with right median hepatic vein ligation (RMHV-L) caused confluent parenchymal necrosis interspersed with viable portal tracts in the obstructed territory and large sinusoidal vascular canals in the border zone. Lack of HAP impaired the spontaneous course of recovery in terms of enlarged parenchymal necrosis, delayed regeneration, and the absence of draining vascular canals. We aimed to investigate whether pharmacological intervention modulates the imbalance between portal venous and hepatic arterial inflow, aggravates the liver damage, and delays the recovery process after FHVOO in liver-resected rats.', 'Male Lewis rats were subjected to 70% PH and RMHV-L. Molsidomine or NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) or saline were applied daily. Hepatic damage, microcirculation, regeneration, and vascular remodeling were evaluated at postoperative days 1, 2, and 7. Animals subjected to RMHV-L only were used as "no HAP" control.', 'Significant increase of portal venous inflow with a concomitant decrease in HAP was observed in all groups after PH. Molsidomine treatment did neither affect hepatic hemodynamics nor the spontaneous recovery. In contrast, L-NAME treatment further decreased HAP which impaired hepatic microcirculation, aggravated parenchymal damage, decelerated recovery, and impaired the formation of sinusoidal canals.\Question: Does reduced hepatic arterial perfusion impair the recovery from focal hepatic venous outflow obstruction in liver-resected rats?

Answer:
Reduction of HAP through inhibition of nitric oxide production worsened the recovery from FHVOO. Drugs increasing HAP need to be evaluated to reverse the hyperperfusion-induced impairment of the spontaneous course after FHVOO.