Education for Sustainable Development: Sustainability-Related Food Labels

The aim of this study is to predict sustainable behavior based on the awareness of food labels and to assess the role of food quality certification on consumer choice. A quantitative descriptive study was performed to implement the research objectives, while the qualitative data was obtained by an online survey. The sample consisted of 384 subjects; the sample was calculated with 95% reliability and a 5% scattering range. The survey was conducted in August 2020. After rejecting incorrectly completed questionnaires, 392 questionnaires were suitable for further analysis. The study concluded that consumers are not yet familiar with the Lithuanian national food quality system: they are characterized by a relatively low focus on food quality labels. The level of attractiveness and awareness of the Lithuanian NQP label is low: a small proportion of consumers name it as a memorable, clear and targeted food label. The consumers’ behavior is related to the importance of health and nutrition, the price–quality ratio, the regional label (such as Lithuanianness), when raw materials and production are used from/in Lithuania, as well as environmental sustainability

Motor performance is preserved in healthy aged adults following severe whole-body hyperthermia

Healthy aging is associated with a progressive decline in motor performance and thermoregulatory efficiency. Functional consequences of severe whole-body hyperthermia on neurophysiological functions in healthy aged men have not been investigated. To determine whether severe whole-body hyperthermia (increase in rectal temperature of about 2.5 °C) induced by lower-body heating in older men (64–80 years, n = 9) would suppress excitability of reflexes, voluntarily and electrically induced ankle plantar flexor contractile properties were compared with those in young men (19–21 years, n = 11). Though no aging effect on hyperthermia-induced reflex amplitudes was observed, a decrease in maximal H-reflex and V-wave latencies was found to be greater in older than in young men. In older men, lower-body heating was accompanied by a significant increase in twitch and tetani test torque in parallel with a greater decrease in muscle contraction time. There was no temperature-depended aging effect on the voluntary activation and maximal voluntary torque production. Despite delayed and weakened thermoregulation and age-related decline in neuromuscular function, motor performance in whole-body severe hyperthermia is apparently preserved in healthy aging

Assessing Education for Sustainable Development in Engineering Study Programs: A Case of AI Ecosystem Creation

The issue of sustainability in education has never been more important for the future of our environment, and strategies to develop the skills needed by younger generations to meet this significant global challenge should be developed across all curricula. There is much focus on the topic of sustainability in business, finance, climate, health, water and education; however, there are some challenges when sustainability needs to be integrated into engineering or fundamental study programs (SPs). In the latter, sustainability is more often emphasized and implemented through its general principles or separate modules in social sciences and project activities. There are a number of questions and challenges in how to highlight sustainability aspects and evaluation metrics due to the specifics of the engineering study field. For evaluating the sustainability level in engineering studies, a hierarchical methodology employing the SAMR (Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, Redefinition) model is proposed, taking a technological university in Lithuania as the case study. As a more concrete example, the first and second cycle SPs titled ‘Artificial Intelligence’ are described and analyzed in all relevant perspectives of sustainability. The study proposes five tangible criteria that must be emphasized in the learning process in order to ensure the development of sustainability goals in IT/AI study programs

Physiological and Psychological Responses during Exercise and Recovery in a Cold Environment Is Gender-Related Rather Than Fabric-Related

We evaluated gender-specific effects of two types of undergarments on exercise-induced physiological and psychological stress and subsequent recovery in cold conditions for male and female participants. Ten healthy men and eleven healthy women (25.0 ± 1.5 versus 23.4 ± 1.2 years old, respectively) completed the experimental session twice with two different types of undergarments: polyester or merino wool leggings and long-sleeve tops; specifically, merino fabric had greater thermal resistance and water absorbency, and less water vapor as well as air permeability than polyester. Experimental sessions involved performing 1 h of exercise on a cycle ergometer at 8°C ambient temperature and 55% relative humidity, holding at 70–80 revolutions per minute and 60% of each participant’s predetermined maximal power output (assessed by maximal oxygen uptake test), followed by 1 h recovery in the same environment. Every 5 min during exercise and every 10 min during recovery, rectal temperature, heart rate, subjective ratings for thermal, shivering/sweating and clothing wetness sensations, and clothing next-to-skin and outer side surface temperature and humidity on the chest, back and thigh were recorded. All participants experienced high physiological stress (assessed by physiological strain index) during exercise. No significant gender differences were found in core temperature or heart rate changes during exercise, but women cooled down faster during recovery. Next-to-skin humidity was similar between genders and different garment sets during exercise and recovery, but such temperatures at the chest during exercise and at the thigh during exercise and recovery were lower in women with both sets of garments. Subjective thermal sensations were similar in all cases. In the last 20 min of cycling, women started to feel wetter than men (P < 0.05) for both garment sets. Shivering was reported as stronger in women in the last 10 min of recovery. Most of the changes in the garment microclimates during exercise and recovery in the cold were associated with gender-related differences rather than with fabric-related differences

Two strategies for response to 14 °C cold-water immersion: is there a difference in the response of motor, cognitive, immune and stress markers?

Here, we address the question of why some people have a greater chance of surviving and/or better resistance to cold-related-injuries in prolonged exposure to acute cold environments than do others, despite similar physical characteristics. The main aim of this study was to compare physiological and psychological reactions between people who exhibited fast cooling (FC; n = 20) or slow cooling (SC; n = 20) responses to cold water immersion. Individuals in whom the T(re) decreased to a set point of 35.5 °C before the end of the 170-min cooling time were indicated as the FC group; individuals in whom the T(re) did not decrease to the set point of 35.5 °C before the end of the 170-min cooling time were classified as the SC group. Cold stress was induced using intermittent immersion in bath water at 14 °C. Motor (spinal and supraspinal reflexes, voluntary and electrically induced skeletal muscle contraction force) and cognitive (executive function, short term memory, short term spatial recognition) performance, immune variables (neutrophils, leucocytes, lymphocytes, monocytes, IL-6, TNF-α), markers of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activity (cortisol, corticosterone) and autonomic nervous system activity (epinephrine, norepinephrine) were monitored. The data obtained in this study suggest that the response of the FC group to cooling vs the SC group response was more likely an insulative-hypothermic response and that the SC vs the FC group displayed a metabolic-insulative response. The observations that an exposure time to 14 °C cold water--which was nearly twice as short (96-min vs 170-min) with a greater rectal temperature decrease (35.5 °C vs 36.2 °C) in the FC group compared with the SC group--induces similar responses of motor, cognitive, and blood stress markers were novel. The most important finding is that subjects with a lower cold-strain-index (SC group) showed stimulation of some markers of innate immunity and suppression of markers of specific immunity

Brief rewarming blunts hypothermia-induced alterations in sensation, motor drive and cognition

Background: It is well known that cold exposure experienced during occupational or recreational activities may adversely affect motor, cognitive performance, and health. Most research has used prolonged passive external rewarming modalities and focused on the direct effects on the kinetics of physiological and psychological responses in hypothermic subjects. However, the brief whole body rewarming effects on physiological and psychological responses in parallel with functional consequences on cognitive and neurophysiological functions have not been investigated. This study explores these effects in 12 healthy young men. Methods: Subjects (20 +/- 1 years) participated in 4 randomized trials, which were designed to compare the effects of whole-body brief (5-min) rewarming in 37 degrees C water with rewarming for the same duration in 24 degrees C (air) thermoneutral environment in mildly hypothermic subjects. After each rewarming, indicators of neuromuscular function (reflexes, central activation ratio, electromyography of exercising muscle, and contractile properties of calf muscles) and cognitive function (attention, simple motor speed, and information processing speed) were assessed. Results: Compared to rewarming in thermoneutral environment, after brief rewarming in 37 degrees C water, significantly lower metabolic heat production (MHP) (206 +/- 33.4 vs. 121.9 +/- 24.3 W.m(2), P < 0.01), heart rate (76 +/- 16 vs. 60 +/- 12 b.min(-1), P < 0.01), cold strain (6.4 +/- 3.1 vs. 5.3 +/- 2.7, P < 0.01), improved thermal comfort and induced cessation of shivering were found. Electrically induced maximum torque amplitudes increased (P100, 102.8 +/- 21.3 vs. 109.2 +/- 17.5 Nm and PTT100, 83.1 +/- 17.1 vs. 92.7 +/- 16.0 Nm, P < 0.05), contraction half-relaxation time decreased (599.0 +/- 53.8 vs. 589.0 +/- 56.3 ms, P < 0.05), and Wax-wave latency shortened (17.5 +/- 2.2 vs. 15.6 +/- 2.0 ms, P < 0.05) after 37 degrees C water [...]

Changes in supraspinal (V-wave) response before and after body cooling.

<p>* P<0.05, compared with before. Fast cooling group (FC); Slow cooling group (SC).Values are means ± SD.</p

Subjective sensation rating (in points) during passive body cooling.

<p>n.s. P>0.05, non-significant between fast cooling (FC) and slow cooling (SC) groups. Values are means ± SD.</p><p>Subjective sensation rating (in points) during passive body cooling.</p