Prospective Multi-Center Trial for the Efficacy of Ecabet Sodium on the Relief of Dyspepsia in Korean Patients with Chronic Gastritis

Anti-peptic and anti-inflammatory actions of ecabet sodium might be beneficial in either improving gastritis or relieving dyspeptic symptoms. This study was designed to evaluate the clinical efficacy of ecabet sodium on dyspeptic symptoms and to elucidate the molecular mechanism attributable to symptom relief in patients with chronic gastritis. Two hundred and sixty eight chronic gastritis patients with persistent dyspepsia received ecabet sodium 1 g b.i.d. for 2 weeks, after which dyspeptic symptoms were reassessed with a questionnaires as before. The changes of interleukin-8 (IL-8), inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) levels in gastric juices were measured by ELISA. The changes of nitrotyrosine in gastric mucosa were measured by immunohistochemical staining. The most common dyspeptic symptom in Korean patients with chronic gastritis was epigastric soreness (76.8%), which was improved significantly after ecabet sodium treatment (81.7%, p<0.001). Ecabet sodium was more effective in patients with epigastric pain than vague abdominal discomfort (p = 0.02), especially in patients with old age. Complete relief of discomfort was more highly achieved in patients with positive Helicobacter pylori than without (p = 0.01). In spite of clear tendency that the decreased levels of IL-8, iNOS, and PGE2 and increased levels of VEGF were measured in gastric juices after ecabet sodium treatment, no statistical significance was noted, which might be due to high inter-individual variations. The nitrotyrosine expressions were significantly decreased after ecabet sodium treatment than before (p<0.01). In conclusion, ecabet sodium treatment was very useful for the relief of dyspeptic symptoms in chronic gastritis, to which both attenuated inflammatory and enhanced regenerative mechanisms were contributive

Effect of sintering temperatures on temperature coefficient of capacitance of KCa2Nb3O10 bulk-layered perovskite

ABSTRACTMultilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCCs) for electric vehicles require their room temperature capacitance to change ≤ ±15% at −55°C to 200°C. The dielectric constant (ε) of BaTiO3, a dielectric material widely used in MLCCs, drops at >125°C making its application to electric vehicles difficult. Here, we propose KCa2Nb3O10 (KCNO)-layered perovskite as a strong candidate for electric vehicle MLCCs as its ε does not change abruptly with temperature. The effect of sintering temperature on the temperature coefficient of capacitance (TCC) of KCNO is studied. The KCNO powder calcined at 900–1200°C is sintered at 1200°C–1300°C. Microstructure and temperature-dependent ε are determined by the sintering temperature, while the sintered density is related to the difference between the calcining and sintering temperatures. Only the room temperature ε of the samples sintered at 1300°C (except the one calcined at 900°C) varies ≤ ±15% at 25°C–200°C (ε ~250 at room temperature). The sample calcined at 1100°C and sintered at 1300°C has highly elongated grains and the highest activation energy. These factors are responsible for the TCC of the 1300°C sintered KCNO being ≤ ±15% at 25–200°C