Estimated workload intensity during volunteer aquarium dives

Background: This study aimed to characterize the physiological demands of working dives on volunteer divers at a public aquarium in the USA. Aims: To estimate the workloads associated with volunteer dives in a US aquarium. Methods: Participants completed a medical and diving history questionnaire. Measurements included blood pressure before and after diving and continuous ECG (Holter) monitoring during diving. Dive profiles were recorded using loggers. Mean workload was estimated from total air consumption. Results Twenty-seven divers recorded 49 air dives over 5 days. Two-thirds were male and ages ranged from 40 to 78 years. Typically, each diver made two dives with a 30-60 min surface interval. Mean heart rate while diving was 100 beats per minute (bpm). Mean estimated workload during the dives recorded during this study was 5.8 metabolic equivalents (METS), with a range from 4.1 to 10.5. The highest mean recorded heart rate was 120 bpm over 40 min, vacuuming the floor in the shark exhibit. Conclusions: Given the mean age of this sample and the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors (body mass index, high cholesterol and hypertension), it may be prudent for aquariums to regularly monitor SAC/kg and heart rate in volunteer divers, to identify which tasks require the highest workload intensity. Divers with existing cardiovascular risk factors might then be employed in dives with lighter workloads. In conclusion, volunteer dives at this aquarium required a mean workload intensity that was described by recreational divers as moderate. The highest workload, at 10 METS for 23 min, would be considered by many recreational divers as exhausting

A mean-field kinetic lattice gas model of electrochemical cells

We develop Electrochemical Mean-Field Kinetic Equations (EMFKE) to simulate electrochemical cells. We start from a microscopic lattice-gas model with charged particles, and build mean-field kinetic equations following the lines of earlier work for neutral particles. We include the Poisson equation to account for the influence of the electric field on ion migration, and oxido-reduction processes on the electrode surfaces to allow for growth and dissolution. We confirm the viability of our approach by simulating (i) the electrochemical equilibrium at flat electrodes, which displays the correct charged double-layer, (ii) the growth kinetics of one-dimensional electrochemical cells during growth and dissolution, and (iii) electrochemical dendrites in two dimensions.Comment: 14 pages twocolumn, 17 figure

From more-than-human solidarity to multi-species biographical value: insights from a veterinary school about ethical dilemmas in One Health promotion

2020 Foundation for the Sociology of Health & Illness This article features a partnership between a veterinary school and a charity that aims to enhance the wellbeing of low-income people. Through this partnership, the charity periodically hosts veterinary clinics for clients and their pets. Even as the veterinarians and veterinary students duly examine people\u27s pets, these pop-up clinics aim to help people and their pets. Hence our analysis revolves around the ethics of \u27more-than-human solidarity\u27. By \u27more-than-human solidarity\u27, we mean efforts to help others that either center on or that implicate non-human beings. To delve into the ethical and sociological implications of subsidised veterinary services, and to assist with program planning, we conducted several in-depth interviews with veterinarians. Most substantively, we found that the veterinary school\u27s outreach clinics give rise to multi-species biographical value, which is prized as a pedagogical resource for veterinary students. The veterinarians whom we interviewed felt troubled by the extent to which the pop-up clinics ultimately benefited the veterinary school, but also by the shortage of subsidised veterinary services in the vicinity. Based on these interviews and our own reflections, we invite more scholarship on cultural, economic and political influences that shape the lives of human beings and non-human animals alike

Market Conduct and Endogenous Lobbying: Evidence from the U.S. Mobile Telecommunications Industry

This paper empirically explores the relationship between firms' market behavior and their lobbying activities in a regulated market. In particular, we investigate whether the amount of contributions offered by cellular service providers to fund the campaigns of political parties affected market conduct in the early US mobile telecommunications industry. We structurally estimate market interactions while taking the potential endogeneity of lobbying decisions into account. Our results show that competition was more intense in those states where campaign contributions by the cellular industry have been higher. Furthermore, we reject the hypothesis that lobbying activities can be regarded as exogenous in the study of market conduct. Copyright Springer Science + Business Media, LLC 2007lobbying, campaign contributions, conjectural variations, mobile telecommunications, U.S., D72, L13, L51, L96, C31,