No abstract

A lush green campus has been the American University of Beirut (AUB) flagship for the last five decades. The present decade however, saw the water well bear the brunt of growing population, decreased rainfall, and unsustainable consumption[1]. The bliss of the neighboring sea turned into a curse, as the aquifers fell short, and the extraction overload left the water table brackish and polluted. To mitigate the recently increased salinity, we combined the responsible consumption goal with the experiential education, and the innovative use of infrastructure. Water use awareness drove this effort. Luckily, the water network availed (regarding the plan to segregate the brackish network from the main waterlines). Same for the health system (streamlined vaccination program[2]) and the educational facility (greenhouse/nursery labs) both of which were intrinsic to this collaboration. Returning the greenery without spending too much green!Keyword: Innovation in adaptation, SDGs in education, Salinity tolerance, Greenery in brackish settings, Green Metrics Campus

ObjectiveThe impact of phosphorus supplementation on athletic performance is unclear. Ingestion of phosphorus for several days has been reported to increase cardiac capacity, improve oxygen muscle kinetics and enhance lactate buffering capacity. Recent studies have shown that phosphorus ingestion with a meal increases postprandial glucose uptake and thermogenesis. The present study aimed to assess the effect of acute phosphorus ingestion with a meal on specific workload parameters.MethodsA double-blind, crossover trial of 12 male water polo players between 18 and 22 years old was conducted. Overnight fasted subjects were asked to cycle for 20 min before ingesting 100 g of glucose with phosphorus or placebo (400 mg). Three hours later, they were asked to perform a graded cycling exercise for 25 min.ResultsExpenditure, respiratory quotient, perception of fatigue and exercise efficiency were similar between treatments. However, heart rate was significantly higher in the phosphorus group (142±10 beats/min) compared with placebo (135±10 beats/min).ConclusionExercise performance 3 hours after the coingestion of glucose with phosphorus did not affect substrate use, while heart rate was increased. The heart rate increase could be attributed to a rise in core body temperature.Trial registration numberNCT03101215.