Strategy to Address Private Location Cardiac Arrest: A Public Safety Survey.

OBJECTIVE: Most cardiac arrests occur in the private setting where response is often delayed and outcomes are poor. We surveyed public safety personnel to determine if they would volunteer to respond into private locations and/or be equipped with a personal automated external defibrillator (AED) as part of a vetted responder program that would use smart geospatial technology. METHODS: We conducted an anonymized survey among personnel from fire-based emergency medical services (EMS) and search and rescue organizations from Washington State. The goal of the survey was to evaluate whether there was interest among cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)-trained, public safety personnel to respond with or without an AED to private-residence cardiac arrest outside of working hours using a smartphone platform. We used a 5-point Likert scale to assess responses. RESULTS: Overall the response rate was 73.7% (527/715). Two-thirds of respondents were between the ages of 30-59 with a similar proportion certified as a firefighter-emergency medical technician (EMT). Most were male (80%). As a vetted volunteer responder, the majority would "almost always" or "often" respond to private (79.7%) or public locations (85.2%) outside of work hours. The majority (54.1%) would store the AED in their vehicle while 38% would plan to keep the AED on their person. A total of 83% were "definitely' or "probably interested" in participating in the program. CONCLUSION: The results of this survey indicate that public safety personnel are willing to respond to suspected cardiac arrest during off-hours using geospatial smart technology to private locations with or without an AED.

Typical whole body vibration exposure magnitudes encountered in the open pit mining industry.

According to recent research, a causal link has been established between occupational exposure to whole body vibration and an increased occurrence of low back pain. To aid in the further development of an in-house health and safety program for a large open pit mining facility interested in reducing back pain among its operators, whole body vibration magnitudes were characterized for a range of jobs. Specifically, thirty-five individual jobs from five different areas across the facility were evaluated for tri-axial acceleration levels during normal operating conditions. Tri-axial acceleration magnitudes were categorized into thirteen job groups. Job groups were ranked according to exposure and compared to the ISO 2631-1 standard for health risk assessment. Three of the thirteen job groups produced tri-axial acceleration magnitudes below the ISO 2631-1 low/moderate health caution limit for a twelve hour exposure. Six of the thirteen job groups produced exposures within the moderate health risk range. Four job groups were found to subject operators to WBV acceleration magnitudes above the moderate/high health caution limit.

The FRAME Reduction Steering Committee: reflections on a decade devoted to reducing animal use in biomedical science.

Established in 1998, the FRAME Reduction Committee (FRC) (now the FRAME Reduction Steering Committee [FRSC]) has continued to pursue its aim of reducing the number of animals used in biomedical science. Through its expertise in statistics, experimental design, animal welfare and research on alternatives, it has contributed to raising awareness of the need for reduction and the means of achieving and demonstrating it. In recognising the need for training of scientists to appreciate and understand the concept of reduction, the FRSC has organised dedicated workshops and training schools. Some of the Committee's major achievements are described, and, bearing in mind the current year-on-year increases in the number of scientific procedures on animals, its future activities are outlined.

More is less: reducing animal use by raising awareness of the principles of efficient study design and analysis.

Good experimental design and the appropriate use of statistical tests form the corner stone of high-quality scientific research. This is especially important when the experiments involve the use of laboratory animals, to ensure that their use is appropriate and that the minimum number of animals will be used that will provide data which are sufficiently statistically-sound to meet the objectives of the study. One way to raise awareness of the importance of efficient study design and analysis is to provide training courses. This paper reports the views of participants at two such training schools, with reference to why they felt that attendance was necessary and how effective they felt the experience had been. The implications of the responses are discussed, and considerations for future training events are noted.