Green Tea Consumption and Depressive Symptoms among Japanese Workers: The Furukawa Nutrition and Health Study

Although several cross-sectional studies have described an inverse association between green tea consumption and depressive symptoms, only one study has prospectively investigated this association. We investigated the cross-sectional and prospective associations between green tea consumption and depressive symptoms in a working population in Japan. Participants were 1987 workers who participated in the baseline survey for a cross-sectional association, and 916 participants who did not have depressive symptoms at baseline who responded to both the baseline and follow-up surveys for a prospective association. Green tea consumption was evaluated with a validated self-administered diet history questionnaire. Depression symptoms were evaluated with the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D) scale. Multiple logistic regression was conducted to estimate the odds ratio of depressive symptoms based on green tea consumption. In the cross-sectional analysis, green tea consumption was not associated with the prevalence of depression symptoms. Moreover, consumption at baseline was not associated with depression symptoms after 3 years; the multivariable-adjusted odds ratio of depressive symptoms for ≥2 cups/day of green tea was 1.12 (95% confidence interval 0.65–1.91) compared with <4 cups/week after adjustment for covariates including dietary factors (trend p = 0.67). Our results suggest that there is no association of consumption of green tea with symptoms of depression in Japanese.     

Methods to Produce Nicotinic Acid with Potential Industrial Applications

Nicotinic acid is a naturally occurring pyridine carboxylic acid, contained in vitamin PP, an essential nutrient for humans and animals, and used as an antipelagic agent. Nicotinic acid can be made from tryptophan by plants and animals but is usually not completely bioavailable. Industrially, nicotinic acid is produced mainly by oxidation of 5-ethyl-2-methylpyridine with nitric acid. One of the by-products of the process is nitrous oxide, a gas that is difficult to recycle and manage, with a greenhouse effect 300 times stronger than CO₂. A new technology for the industrial production of nicotinic acid is undoubtedly necessary to meet the needs of green chemistry and not burden the environment. We carried out a literature review on ecological methods to produce nicotinic acid from commercially available raw materials such as 3-methylpyridine and 5-ethyl-2-methylpyridine, especially focusing on those methods with potential industrial applications.     

Combining an Intensive Green Roof with Seismic Retrofitting of Typical Reinforced Concrete Buildings in Israel

This study suggests an intensive green roof as part of a sustainable and hazard-resistant conceptual design for the retrofitting of old buildings in Israel. The roof is suggested to be built with waste-based materials. A five-story reinforced concrete residential building was retrofitted with: Case 1: concrete wall strengthening (CWS)-conventional concrete + conventional green roof; Case 2: CWS-waste-included concrete + waste-based green roof; Case 3: seismic isolation columns (SIC)-conventional concrete + conventional green roof; and Case 4: SIC-waste-included concrete + waste-based green roof. Palekastro, Nuweiba, Tabas, and Erzincan ground motions were used for a structural dynamic time-history analysis of the retrofitted buildings. Life cycle assessments of cases 1–4 were performed using ReCiPe 2016 midpoint and endpoint evaluations. A two-stage analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to analyze the ReCiPe endpoint results. According to the seismic results, Case 3 and Case 4 were much more preferable to Case 1 and Case 2, whereas according to the environmental evaluations, Case 4 was the most preferable to the other cases.     

Ultra-Widefield Indocyanine Green Angiography Reveals Patterns of Choroidal Venous Insufficiency Influencing Pachychoroid Disease

PurposeTo compare patterns of choroidal venous drainage in eyes with pachychoroid disease to those of healthy subjects using ultra-widefield indocyanine green angiography (UWF ICGA).MethodsPatients with pachychoroid disease and healthy controls were recruited at two referral centers. UWF ICGA images were used to evaluate the proportion of the postequatorial fundus drained by major vortex vein systems in each quadrant and to study the incidence and topography of choroidal vascular hyperpermeability (CVH) and intervortex venous anastomoses. Widefield swept-source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT) was used to evaluate choroidal thickness at the posterior pole in eyes with pachychoroid disease.ResultsFifty-two pachychoroid eyes and 26 healthy eyes were evaluated. Eyes with pachychoroid disease showed a significant within-subject variance in the proportion of the postequatorial fundus drained by each vortex vein system (range, 4.1%–48.1%; P < 0.0001) that was not seen in controls (range, 17.3%–31.7%; P = 0.11). CVH was present in all pachychoroid disease eyes and three of 26 controls. Intervortex venous anastomoses were present in 46 of 52 pachychoroid disease eyes and nine of 26 control eyes. Vortex vein systems with large drainage areas showed greater density of CVH spots. SS-OCT demonstrated asymmetric choroidal drainage in the macula of 59% of pachychoroid eyes. CVH and intervortex venous anastomoses were more prominent in areas showing maximal choroidal thickness.ConclusionsIn eyes with pachychoroid disease, imbalanced choroidal venous drainage with congestion of specific vortex vein systems may contribute to a state of choroidal venous insufficiency characterized by regional choroidal thickening, CVH and remodeling of venous drainage routes.     

Different associations of specific non-alcoholic beverages with elevated high-sensitivity C-reactive protein in Korean adults: results from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2015–2016)

This study examined the associations between specific non-alcoholic beverages and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and their interactions with obesity. The study participants were 4,999 adults aged 19–64 years from the 2015–2016 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were obtained using multivariable logistic regression analyses. In women, there was an inverse linear trend between coffee and hs-CRP status (p_trend = 0.0137), and a positive linear trend for soda was also found (≥1/week vs never or almost never, OR = 1.79, 95% CI 1.23–2.61, p_trend = 0.0127). In the stratification analyses, the associa­tions were only observed in obese women. The associations were inverse for coffee and tea but linearly positive for soda in obese women (p_trend<0.05). In men, an inverted J-shaped association between commercial fruit juice/drink and hs-CRP status was found; but after stratification by obesity, the association was linear only in obese men (p_trend<0.05, OR = 2.44, 95% CI 1.44–4.16 in ≥1/week vs never or almost never). Coffee and tea in women may be beneficially associated with hs-CRP status, but soda in women and commercial fruit juice/drink in men may be adversely, particularly for obese adults.     

Hedysarum coronarium-Based Green Composites Prepared by Compression Molding and Fused Deposition Modeling

In this work, an innovative green composite was produced by adding Hedysarum coronarium (HC) flour to a starch-based biodegradable polymer (Mater-Bi^®, MB). The flour was obtained by grinding together stems, leaves and flowers and subsequently sieving it, selecting a fraction from 75 μm to 300 μm. Four formulations have been produced by compression molding (CM) and fused deposition modeling (FDM) by adding 5%, 10%, 15% and 20% of HC to MB. The influence of filler content on the processability was tested, and rheological, morphological and mechanical properties of composites were also assessed. Through CM, it was possible to obtain easily homogeneous samples with all filler amounts. Concerning FDM, 5% and 10% HC-filled composites proved also easily printable. Mechanical results showed filler effectively acted as reinforcement: Young’s modulus and tensile strengths of the composites increased from 74.3 MPa to 236 MPa and from 18.6 MPa to 33.4 MPa, respectively, when 20% of HC was added to the pure matrix. FDM samples, moreover, showed higher mechanical properties if compared with CM ones due to rectilinear infill and fibers orientation. In fact, regarding the 10% HC composites, Young’s modulus of the CM and FDM ones displayed a relative increment of 176% and 224%, respectively.     

Indocyanine green fluorescence-navigated thoracoscopy versus traditional inflation-deflation approach in precise uniportal segmentectomy: a short-term outcome comparative study

BackgroundUniportal video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) segmentectomy is widely used in the field of thoracic surgery. However, anatomical variations in the bronchi and lung vessels may be critical obstacles during precise pulmonary segmentectomy. Thus, it is necessary to optimize uniportal VATS segmentectomy and to accurately identify the plane between lung segments by precisely transecting the bronchi and blood vessels of the lung segments. The indocyanine green fluorescence (ICGF)-based method has the potential to be a feasible and effective technique to facilitate the uniportal VATS segmentectomy. The present study aims at comparing the short-term outcomes of ICGF versus the traditional inflation-deflation method for uniportal VATS segmentectomy.MethodsThe perioperative clinical data in 200 consecutive patients undergoing uniportal VATS segmentectomy from December 2018 to August 2020 at Shanghai Chest Hospital were analyzed retrospectively. The targeted segment structures were identified and dissected precisely by using ICGF-based (N=100) or the traditional inflation-deflation (N=100) methods. The parameters of intraoperative blood loss and operation time, postoperative drainage volume, air leakage time, drainage tube retention time, length of hospital stay, and complications in the ICGF group were collected. Further, the operation time between the ICGF and the inflation-deflation groups was compared. The data summary and statistical analysis were performed by SPSS 19.0. P value <0.05 was considered statistically significant.ResultsNo massive hemorrhage, hypoxemia, allergy, conversion to lobectomy, or wedge resection was noted during the surgery. ICGF groups resulted in a shorter operative time (90±11.46 vs. 118±10.59 min, P<0.001). No postoperative complications were observed, e.g., bronchopleural fistula, hemoptysis, or atelectasis. All patients were discharged as routinely scheduled. No disease recurrence or metastasis was found during the follow-ups.ConclusionsOur study indicated that the ICGF-based navigation approach is a simple, effective, and reliable technique that can greatly facilitate the uniportal VATS segmentectomy.