Coffee intake and development of pain during computer work

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: The present study sought to determine if subjects who had consumed coffee before performing a simulated computer office-work task found to provoke pain in the neck and shoulders and forearms and wrists exhibited different time course in the pain development than the subjects who had abstained from coffee intake. FINDINGS: Forty eight subjects all working fulltime, 22 with chronic shoulder and neck pain and 26 healthy pain-free subjects, were recruited to perform a computer-based office-work task for 90 min. Nineteen (40%) of the subjects had consumed coffee (1/2 -1 cup) on average 1 h 18 min before start. Pain intensity in the shoulders and neck and forearms and wrists was rated on a visual analogue scale every 15 min throughout the work task.During the work task the coffee consumers exhibited significantly lower pain increase than those who abstained from coffee. CONCLUSIONS: Subjects who had consumed coffee before starting a pain provoking office work task exhibited attenuated pain development compared with the subjects who had abstained from coffee intake. These results might have potentially interesting implications of a pain-modulating effect of caffeine in an everyday setting. However, studies with a double blind placebo controlled randomized design are needed.     

Breeding status influences timing but not duration of moult in the Northern Fulmar Fulmarus glacialis

Seabirds are key marine top predator species that are often used as indicators of the environmental quality of the oceans. Their breeding phenology has been studied extensively, but their pelagic habits mean less is known about the phenology of other events during the non-breeding period. Here, we used miniaturized saltwater immersion light-based geolocators (GLS) to investigate moult phenology in individuals with known breeding histories in a population of Northern Fulmar Fulmarus glacialis in Orkney, Scotland. As seabirds spend more time on the water during moult, moulting periods can be identified from patterns of variation in the amount of time that birds are in contact with saltwater. Estimates of daily variation in this behaviour during the non-breeding period were based upon wet/dry sensors and then modelled to characterize the timing of the moult. Light-based geolocation provided information on the areas used by each individual during its moult period. Inter-individual variability in moult timing was investigated in relation to sex and breeding success in the previous summer. We found a sex difference in the location of the moult, but not in its timing. However, the timing of moult did differ between individuals that had succeeded or failed in their previous breeding attempt, with successful breeders moulting the latest. In contrast, the duration of moult did not depend on prior reproductive success, but there was evidence of inter-annual variation in moult duration. GLS studies have provided a step change in our understanding of the at-sea distribution of pelagic seabirds. Our work highlights how activity data from these devices can add value to such studies by identifying key phases of the annual cycle, and locations at these times, when seabirds may be at particular risk. Furthermore, our findings indicate that individual and inter-annual variation in breeding success may influence phenological patterns in other phases of the Northern Fulmar annual cycle.     

No differences in cardiovascular autonomic responses to mental stress in chronic fatigue syndrome adolescents as compared to healthy controls

Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a disabling disease with unknown etiology. There is accumulating evidence of altered cardiovascular autonomic responses to different somatic stressors, in particular orthostatic stress, whereas autonomic responses to mental stress remain to be investigated. In this study, we explored cardiovascular autonomic responses to a simple mental stress test in CFS patients and healthy controls.     

Lineage specific histories of Mycobacterium tuberculosis dispersal in Africa and Eurasia

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb) is a globally distributed, obligate pathogen of humans that can be divided into seven clearly defined lineages. An emerging consensus places the origin and global dispersal of M.tb within the past 6,000 years: identifying how the ancestral clone of M.tb spread and differentiated within this timeframe is important for identifying the ecological drivers of the current pandemic. We used Bayesian phylogeographic inference to reconstruct the migratory history of M.tb in Africa and Eurasia and to investigate lineage specific patterns of spread from a geographically diverse sample of 552 M.tb genomes. Applying evolutionary rates inferred with ancient M.tb genome calibration, we estimated the timing of major events in the migratory history of the pathogen. Inferred timings contextualize M.tb dispersal within historical phenomena that altered patterns of connectivity throughout Africa and Eurasia: trans‐Indian Ocean trade in spices and other goods, the Silk Road and its predecessors, the expansion of the Roman Empire, and the European Age of Exploration. We found that Eastern Africa and Southeast Asia have been critical in the dispersal of M.tb. Our results further reveal that M.tb populations have grown through range expansion, as well as in situ, and delineate the independent evolutionary trajectories of bacterial subpopulations underlying the current pandemic.