Sustainable Living Teen Volunteers

Maine 4-H Youth Development programs have produced nationally-recognized environmental education and healthy lifestyle curricula that are research-based and have reached thousands of participants. Our new statewide initiative in Sustainable Living Education for youth and adults provides an excellent context for the CYFAR Maine Sustainable Communities Project (MSCP), Sustainable Living Teen Volunteers (SLTV). The SLTV program will be conducted at two of our current 4-H Camp and Learning Centers in collaboration with local schools. After completing their training, teens will teach sustainable living concepts and practices to youth in middle schools and 4-H clubs. The SLTVs will learn valuable life skills and participate in service learning in their communities. Richard Louv (2005) has documented some disturbing trends in current society: children ages six to eighteen are spending 30 hours or more per week using electronic media; 30% of children and teens are dangerously overweight or obese; nearly eight million children in the US have been diagnosed with learning disabilities and mental disorders; a 600 percent increase in prescriptions of psychotropic drugs in the last decade; among others. These trends have been linked to the decline in physical, imaginative, unstructured, outdoor play that was an everyday occurrence just a generation ago. In addition, evidence suggests that many of our youth do not value the environment, conservation, living sustainably, or outdoor experiences. Our Sustainable Living Teen Volunteer model will play a significant role in changing these attitudes and making a difference in the lives of Maine youth and their communities. It is expected that, over the course of the five years of this program, high school and middle school-aged youth will gain knowledge and learn skills related to living more sustainable lifestyles, and will share the knowledge and skills with other students, with their families, and with community members. It is expected that practices and behaviors that contribute to living a more sustainable lifestyle will be adopted by participants and those they teach, leading to improved quality of life and quality of the environment

Enhancing the Experience of International Doctoral Researchers - Key Messages

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Can fitness tests be used to predict the vascular health of physically active older adults?

Objective There is an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases among older adults. This research aimed to determine which fitness tests could predict the vascular health of older adults using the gold standard pulse wave velocity (PWV) (applanation tonometry). Methods This cross-sectional study analysed 81 physically active adults (n=57 females) aged 64-91 (M=78±6.42) residing in independent living communities. A four-component fitness test included the 4-stage balance test (balance and falling assessment), six-minute walk test (SMWT) (aerobic exercise capacity), 30-second sit-to-stand test (postural hypotension and falling assessment), and the grip strength test (upper body strength) along with a PWV measurement. A regression use the four fitness tests as predictors of PWV for all participants. Pearson correlations then analysed these variables by subgroups of sex and age. Results When including all 81 participants, the four component fitness test significantly accounted for 20% of the variance in PWV (R2=.20; F(4,76)=4.70, p=.002) among older adults. Of the four components, higher sit-to-stand scores correlated with having healthy arteries (β=-.27, p=.027), but higher grip strength scores correlated with having unhealthy arteries (β=.23, p=.036). Neither the SMWT nor the balance test significantly contributed to the regression model. Pearson correlations indicated for men that better balance correlated significantly with healthy arteries (r=-.47, p=.011). For women, higher sit-to-stand scores (r=-.43, p ≤.001) and better balance (r=-.23, p=.045) correlated significantly with healthy arteries. Among 70-79 year olds, higher sit-to-stand scores (r=-.41, p =.002) and better balance (r=-.32, p=.014) correlated significantly with healthy arteries. Among 80-89 year olds, higher SMWT (r=-.40, p =.024) correlated significantly with healthy arteries. Conclusions The four-component fitness test did significantly predict arterial stiffness in older adults, but grip strength scores were unexpectedly negatively related to healthy arteries whereas sit-to-stand was positively related. In most groups, better balance and higher sit-to-stand scores were correlated to healthy arteries which was somewhat surprising. Finally, older participants were the only subgroup which showed a correlation between healthier arteries and higher SMWT scores. Given the SMWT is an aerobic exercise capacity assessment, it is surprising it did not correlate stronger to PWV

Investigating the relationships between lifestyle physical activity and diet on vascular health among older adults

Purpose This research aimed to investigate how behaviours of lifestyle physical activity (PA) and diet predict and correlate with vascular health in older adults using the gold standard measure of pulse wave velocity (PWV). Methods This cross-sectional study analysed 83 adults aged 64-91 years (M=78±6.44) residing in independent living communities. Dietary questions were taken from the Harvard disease risk tool. The Yale physical activity survey allowed the calculation of metabolic equivalents of task (METmins). PWV was collected using a non-invasive device (applanation tonometry). A hierarchical regression was calculated whereby covariates of taking blood pressure medication (BPM) and age (both known to affect PWV) were controlled in model 1 and diet and METmins were added into model 2. Pearson correlations were then calculated to determine individual correlations with PWV by subgroups of sex and age. Results The model 1 regression (R²=.29; F(2,79)=16.00, p<.001) indicated that covariates of BPM and age accounted for 29% (p≤.000) of the variance in PWV, but when diet and METmins were added in model 2 (R²=.31; F(4,77)=8.56, p<.001) they only contributed 2% more (non-significant change, p=.35) to the prediction of PWV. Healthier arteries in males correlated significantly with higher METmins (r=-.54, p=.004) and younger participants (r=.40, p=.027). Healthier arteries in females correlated significantly with younger participants (r=.49, p=.000), no BPM (r=.36, p=.002), and higher METmins (r=-.25, p=.029). Among 64-78 year olds, healthier arteries were correlated with no BPM (r=.35, p=.011), and healthier diets (r=-.26, p=.046), but not with METmins. Alternatively, 79-91 year-olds showed healthier arteries correlated with higher METmins (r=-.36, p=.012), but not with diet. Conclusions After controlling for age and BPM (model 1) in the regression, diet and METmins (model 2) were unable to significantly contribute to the prediction of arterial stiffness in older adults. Both males and females showed correlations between healthier arteries and higher METmins, but not between arterial health and diet, suggesting LPA is more correlated to arterial health than diet. Those aged 64-78 had healthy arteries in correlation with a healthy diet, whereas 79-91 year olds had healthy arteries in correlation with higher METmins

Extension Professionals and Sustainability Practices: Are We Walking Our Talk?

Today more than ever, Extension is scrutinized and evaluated for its value and relevance to the public. This report summarizes a 2010 online survey conducted by members of the National Network for Sustainable Living Education (NNSLE) to assess the sustainability mindset of Extension employees. It assessed employee behaviors, motivations, and impediments—at work and at home—in five categories. Most notably, Extension employees are avid resource conservation practitioners who are strongly influenced by saving time and money. The findings provide a platform for sustainability education in Extension offices to promote transformative institutional and community change

Hypoxic repeat sprint training improves rugby player's repeated sprint but not endurance performance

This study aims to investigate the performance changes in 19 well-trained male rugby players after repeat-sprint training (six sessions of four sets of 5 × 5 s sprints with 25 s and 5 min of active recovery between reps and sets, respectively) in either normobaric hypoxia (HYP; n = 9; F₁O₂ = 14.5%) or normobaric normoxia (NORM; n = 10; F₁O₂ = 20.9%). Three weeks after the intervention, 2 additional repeat-sprint training sessions in hypoxia (F₁O₂ = 14.5%) was investigated in both groups to gauge the efficacy of using "top-up" sessions for previously hypoxic-trained subjects and whether a small hypoxic dose would be beneficial for the previously normoxic-trained group. Repeated sprint (8 × 20 m) and Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Level 1 (YYIR1) performances were tested twice at baseline (Pre 1 and Pre 2) and weekly after (Post 1-3) the initial intervention (intervention 1) and again weekly after the second "top-up" intervention (Post 4-5). After each training set, heart rate, oxygen saturation, and rate of perceived exertion were recorded. Compared to baseline (mean of Pre 1 and Pre 2), both the hypoxic and normoxic groups similarly lowered fatigue over the 8 sprints 1 week after the intervention (Post 1: -1.8 ± 1.6%, -1.5 ± 1.4%, mean change ± 90% CI in HYP and NORM groups, respectively). However, from Post 2 onwards, only the hypoxic group maintained the performance improvement compared to baseline (Post 2: -2.1 ± 1.8%, Post 3: -2.3 ± 1.7%, Post 4: -1.9 ± 1.8%, and Post 5: -1.2 ± 1.7%). Compared to the normoxic group, the hypoxic group was likely to have substantially less fatigue at Post 3-5 (-2.0 ± 2.4%, -2.2 ± 2.4%, -1.6 ± 2.4% Post 3, Post 4, Post 5, respectively). YYIR1 performances improved throughout the recovery period in both groups (13-37% compared to baseline) with unclear differences found between groups. The addition of two sessions of "top-up" training after intervention 1, had little effect on either group. Repeat-sprint training in hypoxia for six sessions increases repeat sprint ability but not YYIR1 performance in well-trained rugby players

Inter-operator reliability for measuring pulse wave velocity and augmentation index

Background: Arterial stiffness is a reversible precursor to hypertension. However, research is needed to determine the minimum amount of training required before acceptable arterial stiffness measurements are collected by novice operators. Objective: To compare novice vs. experienced operator measurements over a 2-week training period to assess when expert-like measures are achieved by the novice operator. Method: Forty-one participants (18 males, 23 females, age: 46.6 ± 14.9 years; BMI: 25.2 ± 3.8; systolic blood pressure: 122.8 ± 14.7 mmHg) received alternating novice and experienced operator arterial stiffness assessments. Measurements included: pulse wave velocity (PWV; using the automatic-capture time-periods of 5-, 10-, and 20-s) and augmentation index (AIx75) measurements using the SphygmoCor XCEL System v1 (AtCor Medical Pty Ltd., Sydney, Australia). Data were chronologically arranged into quintiles. Results: The intraclass correlation coefficient for PWV substantially improved from quintile 1 (r 0.8) while AIx75 improved consistently (r = 0.7 in quintile 1 and r = 0.97 in quintile 5). The coefficient of variation was lowest in quintile 4 (PWV: 4.7–6% across the three measurement time-periods; and 15% for AIx75) but increased in quintile 5 (PWV: 6.2–10.5%; and 25% for AIx75). All measurements demonstrated acceptable to excellent reliability after quintile 2. Conclusion: To achieve expert-like PWV measurements in this study, the novice operator underwent a familiarization session including guided practice measurements on 5 different people, for 10–15 min per person on two occasions (~2.5 h). The novice operator then required ≥14 practice measurements, with accuracy continuing to improve up to 30 participants. At least 30 training measurements are recommended for novices to take acceptable AIx75 measurements after a familiarization training

Report on the Findings of the 2004 Australian National eProcurement Survey

This report highlights the key findings from the 2004 Australian National eProcurement Survey. The aim of the 2004 Australian National eProcurement Survey is to establish the nature, extent and adoption profile of eProcurement strategies and processes of Australian organisations.Australian Research Council (Grant No. LP0214841

Report on the Findings of the 2004 Australian National eProcurement Survey

This report highlights the key findings from the 2004 Australian National eProcurement Survey. The aim of the 2004 Australian National eProcurement Survey is to establish the nature, extent and adoption profile of eProcurement strategies and processes of Australian organisations.Australian Research Council (Grant No. LP0214841

Associations between physical activity and stress levels in medical doctors working in New Zealand and Australia during initial COVID-19 restrictions

In 2020, the world was gripped by the COVID-19 pandemic which put an unprecedented strain on health care workers. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of the Australian and New Zealand lockdowns on physical activity, depression, and anxiety in medical doctors. We hypothesized that during stressful times such as the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, physical activity would have a positive effect on the mental health of medical doctors. Convenience sampling (using mass emailing via professional networks including medical associations) and snowball sampling were used during the early period of COVID-19 government mandated restrictions (25 March to 27 April 2020) in New Zealand and Australia. All registered medical doctors working in New Zealand and Australia were eligible to participate in the survey. The short survey collected information demographics, levels of physical activity and mental health using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire: Short Form and the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale-42. Of 469 participants who completed the survey, over 81% met the recommended physical activity levels (150 minutes of at least moderate-intensity physical activity/week). Physically inactive New Zealand and Australian medical doctors reported significantly higher depression (p = 0.006), anxiety (p = 0.008) and stress (p = 0.002) scores compared to their active counterparts. This study demonstrated that less physical activity was associated with higher anxiety and depression in medical doctors. A key recommendation from this study is to incorporate greater access to physical activity in healthcare settings for medical doctors