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TAB et al,
     I can think of a way that breathing an enhanced O2 gas might lead
to less consumption- this is just a theory, I have no texts handy to
check it out, so if anyone knows it's wrong, feel free to let fly.
     The respiratory system *can* respond to O2 tensions in non-
pathological situations; a yawn is, I believe, such a response. Might
increased O2 partial pressure cause a diver to take *shallower* breaths? 
     There is precedent amongst the invertebrates; clams, mussels, etc
that filter feed often lower their filtration rate when food is plen-
tiful, since pumping water takes energy and organisms tend to con-
serve energy whenever possible. How well this analogy translates into
human respiratory physiology is anyone's guess...is there a doctor in
the house?

Dave Ventre                         "I should have been a pair of ragged
BAyonne, NJ and points North         claws, scuttling across the floor
                                     of sunless seas"

                                                       T. S. Eliot

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