title: Strategies for increasing evaporative cooling during simulated desert patrol mission.
abstract: The study evaluated the efficiency of two heat dissipation strategies under simulated desert patrol missions. Ten men participated in four trials, during which they walked on a treadmill (45 °C, 20% relative humidity), carrying a load of 35 kg; two 50-min walks were separated by a 20-min rest. Cooling strategies, provided by an ambient air-ventilated vest (active cooling condition, AC), or water spraying of the skin during the rest (passive cooling condition, PC), in addition to reduced clothing and open zippers, were compared to conditions with full protective (FP) clothing and naked condition (NC). Skin temperature was higher during NC (37.9 ± 0.4 °C; p < 0.001), and rectal temperature and heart rate were higher during FP (38.6 ± 0.4 °C, p < 0.001 and 145 ± 12, p < 0.001, respectively), compared to other conditions. Four subjects terminated the trial prematurely due to signs of heat exhaustion in FP. Both cooling strategies substantially improved evaporative cooling.
  Cooling strategies, provided by an ambient air-ventilated vest and water spraying of the skin, were compared to conditions with full protective clothing and a naked condition during a simulated desert patrol mission. Both cooling strategies improved evaporative cooling and reduced heat strain, compared to the full protection condition.
authors.affiliation: a Jozef Stefan International Postgraduate School , Ljubljana , Slovenia.|b Biomed d.o.o., Research and Professional Consulting , Ljubljana , Slovenia.
authors.forename: Ursa
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Ciuha
authors.affiliation: c Department of Environmental Physiology , School of Health and Technology, Royal Institute of Technology , Stockholm , Sweden.
authors.forename: Mikael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Grönkvist
authors.affiliation: d Department of Automation, Biocybernetics and Robotics , Jozef Stefan Institute , Ljubljana , Slovenia.
authors.forename: Igor B
authors.initials: IB
authors.lastname: Mekjavic
authors.affiliation: c Department of Environmental Physiology , School of Health and Technology, Royal Institute of Technology , Stockholm , Sweden.
authors.forename: Ola
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Eiken
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001833:Body Temperature Regulation / Q000502:physiology; D003080:Cold Temperature; D003889:Desert Climate; D004867:Equipment Design; D005080:Exercise Test; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology; D006358:Hot Temperature; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008889:Military Personnel; D011481:Protective Clothing; D012881:Skin Temperature / Q000502:physiology; D014691:Ventilation / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D016138:Walking / Q000502:physiology*; D014867:Water / Q000008:administration & dosage; D016474:Weight-Bearing / Q000502:physiology; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D014867:Water
keywords: cooling strategies; evaporative cooling; heat acclimatisation; protective clothing