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Aim Vascular factor was proposed as being involved in the etiology of bladder pain syndrome/interstitial cystitis (BPS/IC). However, few studies have attempted to investigate the relationship between BPS/IC and cardiovascular disease. This study aimed to investigate the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) among BPS/IC subjects during a 3-year follow-up period. Methods Data for this retrospective matched-cohort study were retrieved from the Taiwan 'Longitudinal Health Insurance Database 2000.' There were 752 BPS/IC female subjects in the study cohort and 3,760 randomly selected female subjects in the comparison cohort. We individually tracked each subject for 3 years and identified each subject that received a subsequent diagnosis of CHD during that follow-up period. Results Results showed that incidence rates of CHD during the 3-year follow-up period were 19.50 (95% confidence interval (CI): 14.35-25.95) and 8.87 (95% CI: 7.25-10.74) per 1,000 person-years for the study and comparison cohorts, respectively. The Cox proportional hazards regression suggested that the hazard ratio for CHD in subjects with BPS/IC was 1.65 (95% CI: 1.09-2.48) within the 3-year follow-up period following the index date compared to the comparison subjects after adjusting for monthly income, geographic region, hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, chronic kidney disease, bladder outlet obstruction, urinary tract infection, chronic pelvic pain, overactive bladder, and number of physician visits during the 3-year follow up period. Conclusions Our study demonstrated an association between BPS/IC and a subsequent CHD diagnosis. We advise clinicians to screen subjects with BPS/IC for modifiable risk factors for CHD. Neurourol. Urodynam. 33:511-515, 2014. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two different specific surface area of starting Ba CO3, 10 and 30 m2/g, are used to prepare solid-state BaTiO3 powder. Pure tetragonal BaTiO3 was obtained at a lower calcination temperature with smaller Ba CO3, and the kinetic calculations of activation energy also agree with it. A clear, thin, and nano-sized cubic BaTiO3 clusters on TiO2 particles were also observed. A narrower particle size distribution of BaTiO3 powder (350 nm) was obtained from 30 m2/g of starting Ba CO3 at 1000°C. After sintering with reducing atmosphere, the ceramics with potential of X8R or X7R specifications and a clear core-shell microstructure were obtained in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The effects of strontium substitution for barium on the structure and microwave dielectric properties of Ba5Nb4O15 compounds is investigated using X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and microwave dielectric properties measurement. The symmetric stretching vibration of Ba-rich compounds splits into two narrow Raman-active modes and indicates the existence of a strong anharmonic lattice. Nevertheless, the symmetry changes from to for the Sr-rich compounds. The relative permittivity (ɛ r) and temperature coefficient of resonant frequency (τ f) increases linearly with an increase of strontium content in Ba-rich compounds, but decreases in Sr-rich compounds. The transition of symmetry influences the variation of ɛ r and τ f. The behavior of ɛ r and τ f can also be correlated to the variation of symmetric stretching vibrations of NbO6 octahedra and (c/a) ratio of lattice parameter in the unit cell. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Two different specific surface area of starting Ba CO3, 10 and 30 m2/g, are used to prepare solid-state BaTiO3 powder. Pure tetragonal BaTiO3 was obtained at a lower calcination temperature with smaller Ba CO3, and the kinetic calculations of activation energy also agree with it. A clear, thin, and nano-sized cubic BaTiO3 clusters on TiO2 particles were also observed. A narrower particle size distribution of BaTiO3 powder (350 nm) was obtained from 30 m2/g of starting Ba CO3 at 1000°C. After sintering with reducing atmosphere, the ceramics with potential of X8R or X7R specifications and a clear core-shell microstructure were obtained in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]