Effects of caffeinated vs. non-caffeinated alcoholic beverage on next-day hangover incidence and severity,perceived sleep quality,and alertness

Aims

Beliefs about the effects of mixing caffeine and alcohol on hangover or sleep may play a role in motivation to consume these mixtures; therefore, information is needed about actual effects. We investigated whether intoxication with caffeinated vs. non-caffeinated beer differentially affected perceived sleep quality, sleepiness, and hangover incidence and severity the next morning.

Methods

University students (89%) and recent graduate drinkers were randomized to receive: (1) beer with the equivalent of 69 mg caffeine/12 oz glass of regular beer (n = 28) or (2) beer without caffeine (n = 36), in sufficient quantity to attain a BrAC of 0.12 g%. After an 8-h supervised sleep period, participants completed measures of hangover, sleep quality, sleep latency and time asleep, and sleepiness.

Results

While caffeinated beer improved perceived sleep quality, effect sizes were greater for morning alertness than for quality while sleeping, with no effect on sleep latency or total sleep time. No effects were seen on hangover incidence or severity.

Conclusions

Mixing caffeine and alcohol does not significantly impair amount of sleep or sleep latency, hangover, or sleepiness the morning after drinking to intoxication in this population.     

某公司顺丁橡胶装置节能降耗改造项目职业病危害控制效果评价

目的明确建设项目产生的职业病危害因素,分析其危害程度及对劳动者健康的影响,评价职业病危害防护措施及其效果,为卫生行政部门对建设项目职业病防护设施竣工验收提供科学依据。方法根据国家相关标准,通过职业卫生现场调查、职业卫生检测、职业健康检查及检查表分析法等方法对建设项目进行评价。结果该项目在职业病防护设施、建筑卫生学、辅助用室、应急救援、职业健康检查和职业卫生管理制度方面基本符合职业卫生的要求,在个体防护用品的配置及警示标识的设置方面有待进一步完善。结论该建设项目在设备布局、毒物危害控制、应急救援、建筑卫生学和辅助用室等方面符合法律、法规和《工业企业设计卫生标准》（GBZ1—2010）的要求。     

Altered body weight associated with substance abuse: a look beyond food intake

Background: Substance abuse can cause a range of harmful secondary health consequences, including body weight changes. These remain poorly understood but can lead to metabolic disorders including obesity and diabetes. Energy balance is a function of the equation: energy balance?=?energy intake – energy expenditure; an imbalance to this equation results in body weight changes. Currently, in the clinical setting, changes to food intake (energy intake) are considered as the primary mediator of body weight changes related to substance abuse, reflected in the current treatment focus on nutritional intervention. The influence of substance abuse on energy expenditure receives less attention. The aim of this think-piece is to consider potential causes of body weight changes during active substance abuse and abstinence, by focussing on the components of the energy balance equation.

Methods: We discuss both human and animal studies on the effects of substance abuse on energy balance, with particular focus on animal models utilising pair-feeding, which enable investigation of energy balance whilst controlling for the effects of altered food intake.

Results: We demonstrate that whilst some drugs of abuse affect food intake, this effect is inconsistent. Furthermore, body weight changes do not match food intake changes.

Conclusion: We provide evidence that drugs of abuse can affect both energy intake and energy expenditure; contributing to the observed body weight changes. This think-piece highlights that treatment strategies for body weight changes related to substance abuse cannot focus solely on nutritional interventions, but should consider the impact of broader disruptions to energy balance.     

Double deletion of orexigenic neuropeptide Y and dynorphin results in paradoxical obesity in mice

Objective

Orexigenic neuropeptide Y (NPY) and dynorphin (DYN) regulate energy homeostasis. Single NPY or dynorphin deletion reduces food intake or increases fat loss. Future developments of obesity therapeutics involve targeting multiple pathways. We hypothesised that NPY and dynorphin regulate energy homeostasis independently, thus double NPY and dynorphin ablation would result in greater weight and/or fat loss than the absence of NPY or dynorphin alone.

Design and methods

We generated single and double NPY and dynorphin knockout mice (NPYΔ, DYNΔ, NPYDYNΔ) and compared body weight, adiposity, feeding behaviour, glucose homeostasis and brown adipose tissue uncoupling protein-1 (UCP-1) expression to wildtype counterparts.

Results

Body weight and adiposity were significantly increased in NPYDYNΔ, but not in NPYΔ or DYNΔ. This was not due to increased food intake or altered UCP-1 expression, which were not significantly altered in double knockouts. NPYDYNΔ mice demonstrated increased body weight loss after a 24-h fast, with no effect on serum glucose levels after glucose injection.

Conclusions

Contrary to the predicted phenotype delineated from single knockouts, double NPY and dynorphin deletion resulted in heavier mice, with increased adiposity, despite no significant changes in food intake or UCP-1 activity. This indicates that combining long-term opioid antagonism with blockade of NPY-ergic systems may not produce anti-obesity effects.     

Metabolic abnormalities and hypoleptinemia in α-synuclein A53T mutant mice

Parkinson's disease (PD) patients frequently display loss of body fat mass and increased energy expenditure, and several studies have outlined a relationship between these metabolic abnormalities and disease severity, yet energy metabolism is largely unstudied in mouse models of PD. Here we characterize metabolic and physiologic responses to a high calorie diet (HCD) in mice expressing in neurons a mutant form of human α-synuclein (A53T) that causes dominantly inherited familial forms of the disease. A53T (SNCA) and wild type (WT) littermate mice were placed on a HCD for 12 weeks and evaluated for weight gain, food intake, body fat, blood plasma leptin, hunger, glucose tolerance, and energy expenditure. Results were compared with both SNCA and WT mice on a control diet. Despite consuming similar amounts of food, WT mice gained up to 66% of their original body weight on a HCD, whereas SNCA mice gained only 17%. Further, after 12 weeks on a HCD, magnetic resonance imaging analysis revealed that WT mice had significantly greater total and visceral body fat compared with SNCA mice (p < 0.007). At the age of 24 weeks SNCA mice displayed significantly increased hunger compared with WT (p < 0.03). At the age of 36 weeks, SNCA mice displayed significant hypoleptinemia compared with WT, both on a normal diet and a HCD (p < 0.03). The HCD induced insulin insensitivity in WT, but not SNCA mice, as indicated by an oral glucose tolerance test. Finally, SNCA mice displayed greater energy expenditure compared with WT, as measured in a Comprehensive Laboratory Animal Monitoring System, after 12 weeks on a HCD. Thus, SNCA mice are resistant to HCD-induced obesity and insulin resistance and display reduced body fat, increased hunger, hypoleptinemia and increased energy expenditure. Our findings reveal a profile of metabolic dysfunction in a mouse model of PD that is similar to that of human PD patients, thus providing evidence that α-synuclein pathology is sufficient to drive such metabolic abnormalities and providing an animal model for discovery of the underlying mechanisms and potential therapeutic interventions.     

Blood flow energy loss: a predictor for the recovery of left ventricular function after bioprosthetic aortic valve replacement

 Open in a separate windowOBJECTIVESIt is difficult to estimate the improvement in left ventricular (LV) function after aortic valve replacement (AVR). The present study aimed to evaluate whether energy loss (EL) can predict the postoperative LV function after AVR.METHODSNine patients who underwent AVR with a bioprosthetic valve were enrolled in the present study. Porcine prostheses were used in 5 patients and bovine pericardial prostheses were used in 4 patients. The aortic flow pattern was visualized and EL and cardiac output (CO) were measured using 4-dimensional flow magnetic resonance imaging from the LV to the descending aorta; the EL/CO ratio in the extracted area was calculated as total EL/CO ratio.RESULTSWith a porcine valve, a severe helical flow was observed in the ascending aorta during the holosystolic phase. In contrast, with a bovine pericardial valve, straight transvalvular aortic flow was observed in the early systolic phase and 2 large vortical flows occurred on both sides of the greater and lesser curvature of the ascending aorta after the mid-systolic period. The total EL/CO ratio was strongly correlated with LV ejection fraction improvement after AVR (r = 0.74, P = 0.02).CONCLUSIONSThe aortic flow pattern is different between the porcine valve and bovine pericardial valve. The total EL/CO ratio is a valuable tool for evaluating the postoperative LV ejection fraction improvement after AVR. Optimization of total EL/CO ratio would have potential to improve haemodynamic performances after AVR.