rajpurkar/squad huggingface dataset:
Title: Infection

The isolation of enzymes from infected tissue can also provide the basis of a biochemical diagnosis of an infectious disease. For example, humans can make neither RNA replicases nor reverse transcriptase, and the presence of these enzymes are characteristic of specific types of viral infections. The ability of the viral protein hemagglutinin to bind red blood cells together into a detectable matrix may also be characterized as a biochemical test for viral infection, although strictly speaking hemagglutinin is not an enzyme and has no metabolic function.

Question: What needs to be isolated from infected tissue to provide a biochemical diagnosis of an infectious disease?
Answer: enzymes

Question: What enzyme's presence is characteristic of specific types of viral infections?
Answer: RNA replicases

Question: What does the protein hemagglutinin bind together?
Answer: red blood cells

Question: Why are the presence of certain enymzes a tell tale sign of a virus?
Answer: humans can make neither RNA replicases nor reverse transcriptase
Title: Infection

Serological methods are highly sensitive, specific and often extremely rapid tests used to identify microorganisms. These tests are based upon the ability of an antibody to bind specifically to an antigen. The antigen, usually a protein or carbohydrate made by an infectious agent, is bound by the antibody. This binding then sets off a chain of events that can be visibly obvious in various ways, dependent upon the test. For example, "Strep throat" is often diagnosed within minutes, and is based on the appearance of antigens made by the causative agent, S. pyogenes, that is retrieved from a patients throat with a cotton swab. Serological tests, if available, are usually the preferred route of identification, however the tests are costly to develop and the reagents used in the test often require refrigeration. Some serological methods are extremely costly, although when commonly used, such as with the "strep test", they can be inexpensive.

Question: What methods are highly sensitive, specifc and rapid tests used to identify microorganisms?
Answer: Serological

Question: What are serological tests based upon the ability of an antibody to do?
Answer: bind specifically to an antigen

Question: What is the antigen bound to by the antibody usually?
Answer: a protein or carbohydrate made by an infectious agent

Question: What does the binding set off that will result in something visibly obvious in various ways?
Answer: a chain of events

Question: What is the causative agent of "strep throat"?
Answer: S. pyogenes
Title: Infection

Complex serological techniques have been developed into what are known as Immunoassays. Immunoassays can use the basic antibody – antigen binding as the basis to produce an electro - magnetic or particle radiation signal, which can be detected by some form of instrumentation. Signal of unknowns can be compared to that of standards allowing quantitation of the target antigen. To aid in the diagnosis of infectious diseases, immunoassays can detect or measure antigens from either infectious agents or proteins generated by an infected organism in response to a foreign agent. For example, immunoassay A may detect the presence of a surface protein from a virus particle. Immunoassay B on the other hand may detect or measure antibodies produced by an organism's immune system that are made to neutralize and allow the destruction of the virus.

Question: What are immunoassays?
Answer: Complex serological techniques

Question: What type of signal do immunoassays produce?
Answer: electro - magnetic or particle radiation

Question: What allows quantitation of the target antigen?
Answer: unknowns can be compared to that of standards

Question: Immunoassays are able to detect what type of proteins?
Answer: generated by an infected organism in response to a foreign agent
Title: Infection

Technologies based upon the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method will become nearly ubiquitous gold standards of diagnostics of the near future, for several reasons. First, the catalog of infectious agents has grown to the point that virtually all of the significant infectious agents of the human population have been identified. Second, an infectious agent must grow within the human body to cause disease; essentially it must amplify its own nucleic acids in order to cause a disease. This amplification of nucleic acid in infected tissue offers an opportunity to detect the infectious agent by using PCR. Third, the essential tools for directing PCR, primers, are derived from the genomes of infectious agents, and with time those genomes will be known, if they are not already.

Question: What does the acronym PCR expand to?
Answer: polymerase chain reaction

Question: What will be the ubiquitous gold standards of diagnostics in the near future?
Answer: PCR

Question: What has the catalog of infectious agents grown to the point of?
Answer: virtually all of the significant infectious agents of the human population have been identified

Question: What must an infectious agent do to cause disease?
Answer: grow within the human body

Question: What are primers derived from the genomes of?
Answer: infectious agents
Title: Infection

Thus, the technological ability to detect any infectious agent rapidly and specifically are currently available. The only remaining blockades to the use of PCR as a standard tool of diagnosis are in its cost and application, neither of which is insurmountable. The diagnosis of a few diseases will not benefit from the development of PCR methods, such as some of the clostridial diseases (tetanus and botulism). These diseases are fundamentally biological poisonings by relatively small numbers of infectious bacteria that produce extremely potent neurotoxins. A significant proliferation of the infectious agent does not occur, this limits the ability of PCR to detect the presence of any bacteria.

Question: What technological ability with regards to detection is currently available? 
Answer: ability to detect any infectious agent

Question: What are the remaining blockades to the use or PCR as a standard tool of diagnosis?
Answer: cost and application

Question: What are some diseases which won't benefit from PCR methods?
Answer: clostridial diseases

Question: PCR can't detect the presence of any bacteria when what doesn't occur?
Answer: significant proliferation of the infectious agent
Title: Infection

There is usually an indication for a specific identification of an infectious agent only when such identification can aid in the treatment or prevention of the disease, or to advance knowledge of the course of an illness prior to the development of effective therapeutic or preventative measures. For example, in the early 1980s, prior to the appearance of AZT for the treatment of AIDS, the course of the disease was closely followed by monitoring the composition of patient blood samples, even though the outcome would not offer the patient any further treatment options. In part, these studies on the appearance of HIV in specific communities permitted the advancement of hypotheses as to the route of transmission of the virus. By understanding how the disease was transmitted, resources could be targeted to the communities at greatest risk in campaigns aimed at reducing the number of new infections. The specific serological diagnostic identification, and later genotypic or molecular identification, of HIV also enabled the development of hypotheses as to the temporal and geographical origins of the virus, as well as a myriad of other hypothesis. The development of molecular diagnostic tools have enabled physicians and researchers to monitor the efficacy of treatment with anti-retroviral drugs. Molecular diagnostics are now commonly used to identify HIV in healthy people long before the onset of illness and have been used to demonstrate the existence of people who are genetically resistant to HIV infection. Thus, while there still is no cure for AIDS, there is great therapeutic and predictive benefit to identifying the virus and monitoring the virus levels within the blood of infected individuals, both for the patient and for the community at large.

Question: What is used in the treatment of AIDS?
Answer: AZT

Question: How was the course of AIDS followed?
Answer: monitoring the composition of patient blood samples

Question: What could be done by understanding how the disease was transmitted?
Answer: resources could be targeted to the communities at greatest risk

Question: What did the genotypic identification of HIV later enable?
Answer: geographical origins of the virus

Question: What is now commonly used to identify HIV in healthy people before the onset of the illnes?
Answer: Molecular diagnostics
Title: Infection

Techniques like hand washing, wearing gowns, and wearing face masks can help prevent infections from being passed from one person to another. Frequent hand washing remains the most important defense against the spread of unwanted organisms. There are other forms of prevention such as avoiding the use of illicit drugs, using a condom, and having a healthy lifestyle with a balanced diet and regular exercise. Cooking foods well and avoiding foods that have been left outside for a long time is also important.

Question: What can wearing gowns and face masks help prevent?
Answer: infections from being passed from one person to another

Question: What is the most important defense against the spread of unwanted organisms?
Answer: Frequent hand washing

Question: Avoiding drugs and using condoms are other forms of what?
Answer: prevention

Question: Why is it important to cook foods well?
Answer: prevention

Question: What should one do with foods that have been left outside for a long time?
Answer: avoiding
Title: Infection

One of the ways to prevent or slow down the transmission of infectious diseases is to recognize the different characteristics of various diseases. Some critical disease characteristics that should be evaluated include virulence, distance traveled by victims, and level of contagiousness. The human strains of Ebola virus, for example, incapacitate their victims extremely quickly and kill them soon after. As a result, the victims of this disease do not have the opportunity to travel very far from the initial infection zone. Also, this virus must spread through skin lesions or permeable membranes such as the eye. Thus, the initial stage of Ebola is not very contagious since its victims experience only internal hemorrhaging. As a result of the above features, the spread of Ebola is very rapid and usually stays within a relatively confined geographical area. In contrast, the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) kills its victims very slowly by attacking their immune system. As a result, many of its victims transmit the virus to other individuals before even realizing that they are carrying the disease. Also, the relatively low virulence allows its victims to travel long distances, increasing the likelihood of an epidemic.

Question: Recognizing the different characteristics of various diseases is one way to do what?
Answer: prevent or slow down the transmission of infectious diseases

Question: What are some critical disease characteristics that should be evaluated?
Answer: virulence, distance traveled by victims, and level of contagiousness

Question: What virus' strains incapacitate their victims extremely quickly before killing them?
Answer: Ebola

Question: Why is the initial stage of Ebola not very contagious?
Answer: victims experience only internal hemorrhaging

Question: What does the low virulence of HIV allow victims to do?
Answer: travel long distances
Title: Infection

Another effective way to decrease the transmission rate of infectious diseases is to recognize the effects of small-world networks. In epidemics, there are often extensive interactions within hubs or groups of infected individuals and other interactions within discrete hubs of susceptible individuals. Despite the low interaction between discrete hubs, the disease can jump to and spread in a susceptible hub via a single or few interactions with an infected hub. Thus, infection rates in small-world networks can be reduced somewhat if interactions between individuals within infected hubs are eliminated (Figure 1). However, infection rates can be drastically reduced if the main focus is on the prevention of transmission jumps between hubs. The use of needle exchange programs in areas with a high density of drug users with HIV is an example of the successful implementation of this treatment method.  Another example is the use of ring culling or vaccination of potentially susceptible livestock in adjacent farms to prevent the spread of the foot-and-mouth virus in 2001.

Question: Recognizing the effects of small-world networks allows one to decrease what?
Answer: transmission rate of infectious diseases

Question: What type of interactions happen within groups of infected individuals in epidemics?
Answer: extensive interactions

Question: What is a way of drastically reducing infection rates?
Answer: focus is on the prevention of transmission jumps

Question: What is an example of a success implementation of preventing transmission jumps?
Answer: needle exchange programs in areas with a high density of drug users

Question: When was vaccination used to prevent the spread of the foot-and-mouth virus?
Answer: 2001
Title: Infection

Resistance to infection (immunity) may be acquired following a disease, by asymptomatic carriage of the pathogen, by harboring an organism with a similar structure (crossreacting), or by vaccination. Knowledge of the protective antigens and specific acquired host immune factors is more complete for primary pathogens than for opportunistic pathogens. There is also the phenomenon of herd immunity which offers a measure of protection to those otherwise vulnerable people when a large enough proportion of the population has acquired immunity from certain infections.

Question: What is resistance to infection known technically as?
Answer: immunity

Question: When may immunity be acquired?
Answer: following a disease

Question: What is knowledge of protective antigens more complete for?
Answer: primary pathogens

Question: What does herd immunity offer to vulnerable people when a large enough proportion of the population has acquired immunity?
Answer: a measure of protection

Question: Vaccination is a way in which what may be acquired?
Answer: immunity
Title: Infection

The clearance of the pathogens, either treatment-induced or spontaneous, it can be influenced by the genetic variants carried by the individual patients. For instance, for genotype 1 hepatitis C treated with Pegylated interferon-alpha-2a or Pegylated interferon-alpha-2b (brand names Pegasys or PEG-Intron) combined with ribavirin, it has been shown that genetic polymorphisms near the human IL28B gene, encoding interferon lambda 3, are associated with significant differences in the treatment-induced clearance of the virus. This finding, originally reported in Nature, showed that genotype 1 hepatitis C patients carrying certain genetic variant alleles near the IL28B gene are more possibly to achieve sustained virological response after the treatment than others. Later report from Nature demonstrated that the same genetic variants are also associated with the natural clearance of the genotype 1 hepatitis C virus.

Question: What can the clearance of pathogens be influenced by in an individual?
Answer: genetic variants

Question: What is the brand name Pegasys for?
Answer: Pegylated interferon-alpha-2b

Question: What are patients carrying certain genetic variant alleles near the IL28B gene more likely to achieve?
Answer: sustained virological response
Title: Infection

When infection attacks the body, anti-infective drugs can suppress the infection. Several broad types of anti-infective drugs exist, depending on the type of organism targeted; they include antibacterial (antibiotic; including antitubercular), antiviral, antifungal and antiparasitic (including antiprotozoal and antihelminthic) agents. Depending on the severity and the type of infection, the antibiotic may be given by mouth or by injection, or may be applied topically. Severe infections of the brain are usually treated with intravenous antibiotics. Sometimes, multiple antibiotics are used in case there is resistance to one antibiotic. Antibiotics only work for bacteria and do not affect viruses. Antibiotics work by slowing down the multiplication of bacteria or killing the bacteria. The most common classes of antibiotics used in medicine include penicillin, cephalosporins, aminoglycosides, macrolides, quinolones and tetracyclines.[citation needed]

Question: What type of drugs can suppress an infection when it attacks the body?
Answer: anti-infective

Question: How many broad types of anti-infective drugs exist?
Answer: Several

Question: What depends on the method an antibiotic is given?
Answer: severity and the type of infection

Question: How are severe infections of the brain usually treated?
Answer: with intravenous antibiotics

Question: How do antibiotics work?
Answer: slowing down the multiplication of bacteria or killing the bacteria
Title: Infection

The top three single agent/disease killers are HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria. While the number of deaths due to nearly every disease have decreased, deaths due to HIV/AIDS have increased fourfold. Childhood diseases include pertussis, poliomyelitis, diphtheria, measles and tetanus. Children also make up a large percentage of lower respiratory and diarrheal deaths. In 2012, approximately 3.1 million people have died due to lower respiratory infections, making it the number 4 leading cause of death in the world.

Question: What are the top three killer diseases?
Answer: HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria

Question: How much have deaths due to HIV/AIDS increased?
Answer: fourfold

Question: What are some popular childhood diseases?
Answer: pertussis, poliomyelitis, diphtheria, measles and tetanus

Question: Who makes up a large percentage of diarrheal deaths?
Answer: Children

Question: What is the number 4 leading cause of death in the world?
Answer: lower respiratory infections
Title: Infection

The medical treatment of infectious diseases falls into the medical field of Infectious Disease and in some cases the study of propagation pertains to the field of Epidemiology. Generally, infections are initially diagnosed by primary care physicians or internal medicine specialists. For example, an "uncomplicated" pneumonia will generally be treated by the internist or the pulmonologist (lung physician). The work of the infectious diseases specialist therefore entails working with both patients and general practitioners, as well as laboratory scientists, immunologists, bacteriologists and other specialists.

Question: What medical field does the treatment of infectious diseases fall into?
Answer: field of Infectious Disease

Question: Disease propagation can fall under the purview of what field of study?
Answer: Epidemiology

Question: Who tends to initially diagnose an infection?
Answer: primary care physicians or internal medicine specialists

Question: What is the non-medical mumbo jumbo term for pulmonologist?
Answer: lung physician

Question: Who works with both patients and general practitioners to identify a disease?
Answer: infectious diseases specialist
Title: Infection

A number of studies have reported associations between pathogen load in an area and human behavior. Higher pathogen load is associated with decreased size of ethnic and religious groups in an area. This may be due high pathogen load favoring avoidance of other groups, which may reduce pathogen transmission, or a high pathogen load preventing the creation of large settlements and armies that enforce a common culture. Higher pathogen load is also associated with more restricted sexual behavior, which may reduce pathogen transmission. It also associated with higher preferences for health and attractiveness in mates. Higher fertility rates and shorter or less parental care per child is another association that may be a compensation for the higher mortality rate. There is also an association with polygyny which may be due to higher pathogen load, making selecting males with a high genetic resistance increasingly important. Higher pathogen load is also associated with more collectivism and less individualism, which may limit contacts with outside groups and infections. There are alternative explanations for at least some of the associations although some of these explanations may in turn ultimately be due to pathogen load. Thus, polygny may also be due to a lower male:female ratio in these areas but this may ultimately be due to male infants having increased mortality from infectious diseases. Another example is that poor socioeconomic factors may ultimately in part be due to high pathogen load preventing economic development.

Question: What have a number of studies found a correlation between?
Answer: pathogen load in an area and human behavior

Question: What is higher pathogen load associated with?
Answer: decreased size of ethnic and religious groups in an area

Question: What does avoidance of other groups reduce?
Answer: pathogen transmission

Question: What does more restricted sexual behavior result in?
Answer: Higher pathogen load

Question: What may poor socioeconomic factors ultimately in part be due to?
Answer: high pathogen load preventing economic development.
Title: Infection

Evidence of infection in fossil remains is a subject of interest for paleopathologists, scientists who study occurrences of injuries and illness in extinct life forms. Signs of infection have been discovered in the bones of carnivorous dinosaurs. When present, however, these infections seem to tend to be confined to only small regions of the body. A skull attributed to the early carnivorous dinosaur Herrerasaurus ischigualastensis exhibits pit-like wounds surrounded by swollen and porous bone. The unusual texture of the bone around the wounds suggests they were afflicted by a short-lived, non-lethal infection. Scientists who studied the skull speculated that the bite marks were received in a fight with another Herrerasaurus. Other carnivorous dinosaurs with documented evidence of infection include Acrocanthosaurus, Allosaurus, Tyrannosaurus and a tyrannosaur from the Kirtland Formation. The infections from both tyrannosaurs were received by being bitten during a fight, like the Herrerasaurus specimen.

Question: What profession finds evidence of infection in fossil remains to be interesting?
Answer: paleopathologists

Question: What do paleopathologists study?
Answer: occurrences of injuries and illness in extinct life forms

Question: What has been discovered in the bones of carnivorous dinosaurs?
Answer: Signs of infection

Question: What dinosaur's skull had pit-like wounds surrounded by swollen and porous bone?
Answer: Herrerasaurus ischigualastensis

Question: How did tyrannosaurs become infected?
Answer: being bitten during a fight