Given a passage with a context and an answer, 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.

[EX Q]: Context: The objective of this study was to investigate the long-term effect of intraoperative application of steroid suspension and coating of the electrode contacts with a thin film of iridium oxide on the intracochlear impedance development after cochlear implantation and on the impedance difference before and after stimulation.', 'Time-dependent development of intracochlear impedances was investigated in 4 different groups of adult patients up to 4 years after implantation. Additionally, during rehabilitation period just after first fitting, impedances before and after stimulation were measured as to investigate the influence of electrical stimulation on the impedances. Results from standard Nucleus 24 Contour (control), standard Nucleus 24 Contour with intraoperative application of steroids, iridium-coated Nucleus 24 Contour, and iridium-coated Nucleus 24 Contour with intraoperative application of steroids were compared.', 'Steroid application reduced impedances significantly throughout the observation period of up to 4 years after implantation. Iridium oxide coating had no effect. Differences between the groups were mainly found on the basal and middle parts of the cochlea, but not close to the tip of the array, also indicating that postoperative fibrous tissue growth is stronger in the basal region of the cochlea. Group mean values of the stimulation effect were not influenced by the different treatments. Nevertheless, only in both steroid-treated groups a correlation between the impedance before stimulation and the stimulation effect was found.
Answer: Although the differences between control and steroid-treated groups decrease with time, single intraoperative intracochlear steroid deposition was proven to lower postoperative impedances during first 3 to 4 years after implantation probably because of reduction of fibrous tissue growth.
[EX A]: Do the long-term effects of modified electrode surfaces and intracochlear corticosteroids on postoperative impedances in cochlear implant patients?

[EX Q]: Context: This study was designed to investigate the effects of simvastatin in a rat model of acute myocardial infarction.', 'Male Wistar rats were anesthetized (thiopentone sodium 120 mg/kg). After a thoracotomy, the left-anterior-descending coronary artery (LAD) was occluded (for 25 min) and reperfused (for 120 min). Area at risk (AR) was determined with Evans Blue dye and infarct size after staining of the area at risk with nitroblue tetrazolium.', 'In rats, which received the vehicle for simvastatin (10% DMSO, 1 ml/kg i.v. at 1 h prior to the occlusion of the LAD), occlusion of the LAD for 25 min followed by reperfusion for 2 hours resulted in an infarct size of 54 +/- 4% (n=7) of the AR. When compared with vehicle, administration of simvastatin (1 mg/kg i.v. bolus administration at 1 h prior to the onset of myocardial ischemia) caused a significant reduction in myocardial infarct size of 39%. LAD-occlusion and reperfusion caused a progressive fall in mean arterial blood pressure (when compared with sham-operated animals). Simvastatin had no significant effect on blood pressure.
Answer: The result indicates that simvastatin, an inhibitor of HMG-CoA reductase and a ligand of PPAR-a and PPAR-g, reduces the tissue necrosis associated with acute myocardial infarction. We propose that statins may be useful in conditions associated with ischemia-reperfusion of the heart and other organs.
[EX A]: Does simvastatin reduce infarct size in a model of acute myocardial ischemia and reperfusion in the rat?

[EX Q]: Context: Although N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) has a strong relationship with incident cardiovascular disease (CVD), few studies have examined whether NT-proBNP adds to risk prediction algorithms, particularly in women.', 'This study sought to evaluate the relationship between NT-proBNP and incident CVD in women.', "Using a prospective case-cohort within the WHI (Women's Health Initiative) observational study, we selected 1,821 incident cases of CVD (746 myocardial infarctions, 754 ischemic strokes, 160 hemorrhagic strokes, and 161 other cardiovascular [CV] deaths) and a randomly selected reference cohort of 1,992 women without CVD at baseline.", 'Median levels of NT-proBNP were higher at study entry among incident cases (120.3 ng/l [interquartile range (IQR): 68.1 to 219.5 ng/l]) than among control subjects (100.4 ng/l [IQR: 59.7 to 172.6 ng/l]; p\xa0< 0.0001). Women in the highest quartile of NT-proBNP (≥140.8 ng/l) were at 53% increased risk of CVD versus those in the lowest quartile after adjusting for traditional risk factors (1.53 [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.21 to 1.94]; p for trend\xa0<0.0001). Similar associations were observed after adjustment for Reynolds Risk Score covariables (1.53 [95% CI: 1.20 to 1.95]; p for trend\xa0<0.0001); the association remained in separate analyses of CV death (2.66 [95% CI: 1.48 to 4.81]; p for trend\xa0<0.0001), myocardial infarction (1.39\xa0[95% CI: 1.02 to 1.88]; p for trend\xa0= 0.008), and stroke (1.60 [95% CI: 1.22 to 2.11]; p for trend\xa0<0.0001). When added to traditional risk covariables, NT-proBNP improved the c-statistic (0.765 to 0.774; p\xa0= 0.0003), categorical net reclassification (0.08; p\xa0< 0.0001), and integrated discrimination (0.0105; p\xa0<\xa00.0001). Similar results were observed when NT-proBNP was added to the Reynolds Risk Score.
Answer: In this multiethnic cohort of women with numerous CV events, NT-proBNP modestly improved measures of CVD risk prediction.
[EX A]:
Do b-type natriuretic peptides improve cardiovascular disease risk prediction in a cohort of women?