680 research outputs found
INTERPERSONAL HEART-BRAIN REGISTRATION AND THE PERCEPTION OF PARENTAL LOVE: A 42 YEAR FOLLOW-UP OF THE HARVARD MASTERY OF STRESS STUDY
A dynamical energy systems approach to cardiac energy predicts that the registration of cardiac energy can occur between individuals, and that the degree of registration may be greater in persons who are more open to interpersonal information. As part of a 42 year follow-up to the Harvard Mastery of Stress study, 19 channels of EEG and the ECG were recorded during a 2 minute eyes closed resting baseline from 20 Harvard graduates currently in their 60's and from an experimenter who sat 3 feet in front of the subjects. Cardiac synchronized energy patterns were calculated in the subjects' EEGs separately triggered by the subjects' ECG and the experimenter's ECG. When the subjects' own ECG was used as the trigger, significant evidence of the subjects' ECG in the subjects' EEG was found, primarily in the posterior regions. When the experimenter's ECG was used as the trigger, significant evidence of the experimenter's ECG in the subjects' EEG was found, primarily in anterior regions, in subjects who rated themselves in college as having been raised by loving parents. These subjects were also significantly healthier in late adulthood than subjects who rated their parents "low in loving." Implications for theory and research in energy medicine are considered
An Exploration of Colorectal Cancer Incidence Rates in North Dakota, USA, via Structural Equation Modeling
Purpose The state of North Dakota has one of the highest incidence rates for colorectal cancer in the USA. Its high incidence rate, coupled with a large variation in incidence rates among counties within the state, makes North Dakota a ânatural laboratoryâ in which to investigate environmental clues to colorectal cancer. We conducted a hypothesis-generating study to explore potential determinants of colorectal cancer in North Dakota.
Methods We obtained county-specific incidence rates for North Dakotaâs 53 counties from the statewide cancer registry and corresponding data on county demographic, agricultural, and geophysical features from population-based sources. Candidate demographic/agricultural variables included median household income, population density, colorectal cancer screening rates, average farm size (in acres), and the percent of county fertilized. Geophysical variables included the uranium content of soil, residential radon levels, and source of drinking water (municipal or well water). Statistical analyses were performed via multivariate regression and structural equation modeling.
Results Colorectal cancer incidence rates across North Dakota counties varied 3-fold. The structural equation model identified a significant role for well water use (p \u3c 0.05). This finding is consistent with studies that implicate well water in colorectal cancer.
Conclusions Well water contains several agents, e.g., bacteria, disinfection by-products, and nitrates that are potent colorectal carcinogens. Studies of well water use and colorectal cancer risk at the individual level in North Dakota are warranted
INTERPERSONAL HAND-ENERGY REGISTRATION: EVIDENCE FOR IMPLICIT PERFORMANCE AND PERCEPTION
Treatments such as Non-Contact Therapeutic Touch are based on the hypothesis that the hands can send and receive energy and information. From a dynamical energy systems perspective, the hands can be viewed as rich generators of complex patterns of biophysical energy and information, including electrostatic movement effects, electromagnetic potentials (muscular, cardiac, skin potentials, etc.), and temperature (e.g. infrared). Two experiments (n = 20 and n = 41) were conducted to determine whether blindfolded subjects could detect the presence of an menter's hand placed a few inches above one of their hands. A 2 x 2 within subject counterbalanced design (left and right subject's hands by left and right experimenter's hands) was employed. The average correct detections was 66% (chance = 50%, P < .00001). Subject's average estimate of their performance was 54%. Poor and low performance subjects correctly estimated their actual performance, whereas medium and high performance subjects seriously underestimated their performance. However, even for subjects who performed at or below chance, their ratings of confidence per trial were significantly higher for correct versus incorrect trials, suggesting that they had implicit perception of hand-energy. Subjects who spontaneously reported some awareness of temperature (but not tingling or pressure) reported higher overall estimates of performance. Implications for future research on interpersonal hand-energy registration are considered
Serum levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D and survival in Norwegian patients with cancer of breast, colon, lung, and lymphoma: a population-based study
Ifosfamide May Be Safely Used in Patients with End Stage Renal Disease on Hemodialysis
Background. Pharmacokinetic data on clearance of ifosfamide in hemodialysis patients are limited. Consequently, these patients are excluded from therapy with this agent. We review the outcomes for patients at our institution with end stage renal disease on dialysis who received ifosfamide for metastatic sarcoma. Patients and Methods. We treated three patients with end stage renal disease on hemodialysis with escalating doses of ifosfamide. Data on radiographic response to therapy, WBC and platelet counts, signs or symptoms of infection, neuropathy and bladder toxicity are reported. Starting doses of ifosfamide were based on review of the literature available with subsequent modifications based on each patient's prior exposure to myelosuppressive agents and on symptoms of neurotoxicity and the degree of myelosuppression following each cycle of chemotherapy. Results. Myelosuppression was the most common side effect from therapy, but no patient developed a life threatening infection, neurotoxicity, or hematuria. One patient developed epistaxis in the setting of thrombocytopenia while on warfarin therapy. All patients had clinical evidence for therapeutic response and two had documented radiographic improvement following ifosfamide administration. Conclusion. Ifosfamide can be used safely in combination with hemodialysis in patients with end stage renal disease
El desafĂo de una medicina: teorĂas de la salud y ocho âHipĂłtesis del Mundoâ
Los autores abordan el desafĂo de integrar la medicina convencional, la medicina psicosomĂĄtica, y la medicina alternativa, necesario, segĂșn señalan, no sĂłlo por razones clĂnicas  y econĂłmicas, sino por el desafĂo de crear una teorĂa comprehensiva que integre la riqueza de datos aparentemente disparatados y teorĂas de la salud y la enfermedad en un todo organizado. Se trata de llegar a una medicina integrada. En este trabajo los autores identifican ocho visiones fundacionales sobre la naturaleza, cada una de las cuales genera hipĂłtesis diferentes acerca de la naturaleza y de la medicina, y han conducido a tres diferentes conceptos de medicina. El artĂculo aborda cĂłmo el conocimiento de tales hipĂłtesis puede alcanzar el objetivo de integrar la medicina.Les auteurs abordent le dĂ©fi dâintĂ©grer la mĂ©decine conventionnelle, la mĂ©decine psychosomatique et la mĂ©decine alternative, nĂ©cessaire, soulignent-ils, non seulement pour des raisons cliniques et Ă©conomiques, mais aussi quant au dĂ©fi de crĂ©er une thĂ©orie comprĂ©hensive qui intĂšgre la richesse de donnĂ©es apparemment disparates et les thĂ©ories de la santĂ© et de la maladie dans un tout organisĂ©. Il sâagit de parvenir Ă une mĂ©decine intĂ©grĂ©e. Dans ce travail les auteurs identifient huit visions constitutives sur la nature, chacune dâentre elles gĂ©nĂ©rant diffĂ©rentes hypothĂšses sur la nature et la mĂ©decine, et qui ont conduit Ă trois concepts distincts de mĂ©decine. Lâarticle traite de la maniĂšre dont la connaissance de telles hypothĂšses peut atteindre lâobjectif dâintĂ©grer la mĂ©decine.The authors address the challenge of integrating conventional medicine, psychosomatic medicine and alternative medicine; necessary, as they say, not only for clinical and economic reasons, but for the challenge of creating a comprehensive theory that integrates the richness of data seemingly disparate and theories of health and disease in an organized whole. It is about reaching an integrated medicine. In this paper the authors identify eight founding visions of nature, each of which generates different hypotheses about nature and medicine, and that have led to three different concepts of medicine. The article discusses how the knowledge of these hypotheses can help to the goal of integrating medicine
El desafĂo de una medicina: teorĂas de la salud y ocho âHipĂłtesis del Mundoâ
Los autores abordan el desafĂo de integrar la medicina convencional, la medicina psicosomĂĄtica, y la medicina alternativa, necesario, segĂșn señalan, no sĂłlo por razones clĂnicas  y econĂłmicas, sino por el desafĂo de crear una teorĂa comprehensiva que integre la riqueza de datos aparentemente disparatados y teorĂas de la salud y la enfermedad en un todo organizado. Se trata de llegar a una medicina integrada. En este trabajo los autores identifican ocho visiones fundacionales sobre la naturaleza, cada una de las cuales genera hipĂłtesis diferentes acerca de la naturaleza y de la medicina, y han conducido a tres diferentes conceptos de medicina. El artĂculo aborda cĂłmo el conocimiento de tales hipĂłtesis puede alcanzar el objetivo de integrar la medicina.Les auteurs abordent le dĂ©fi dâintĂ©grer la mĂ©decine conventionnelle, la mĂ©decine psychosomatique et la mĂ©decine alternative, nĂ©cessaire, soulignent-ils, non seulement pour des raisons cliniques et Ă©conomiques, mais aussi quant au dĂ©fi de crĂ©er une thĂ©orie comprĂ©hensive qui intĂšgre la richesse de donnĂ©es apparemment disparates et les thĂ©ories de la santĂ© et de la maladie dans un tout organisĂ©. Il sâagit de parvenir Ă une mĂ©decine intĂ©grĂ©e. Dans ce travail les auteurs identifient huit visions constitutives sur la nature, chacune dâentre elles gĂ©nĂ©rant diffĂ©rentes hypothĂšses sur la nature et la mĂ©decine, et qui ont conduit Ă trois concepts distincts de mĂ©decine. Lâarticle traite de la maniĂšre dont la connaissance de telles hypothĂšses peut atteindre lâobjectif dâintĂ©grer la mĂ©decine.The authors address the challenge of integrating conventional medicine, psychosomatic medicine and alternative medicine; necessary, as they say, not only for clinical and economic reasons, but for the challenge of creating a comprehensive theory that integrates the richness of data seemingly disparate and theories of health and disease in an organized whole. It is about reaching an integrated medicine. In this paper the authors identify eight founding visions of nature, each of which generates different hypotheses about nature and medicine, and that have led to three different concepts of medicine. The article discusses how the knowledge of these hypotheses can help to the goal of integrating medicine
Response to Comments of Peter G. Mantle
The apparently high yield of testis tumors (25%) in rats exposed long-term to Ochratoxin A (OTA) is uninterpretable without data on tumor yield in unexposed rats. Conversely, our demonstration that prenatal exposure to OTA induces DNA adducts in the testes of newborn mice and the absence of these adducts in the testes of mice not exposed prenatally to OTA, is evidence for the presumptive carcinogenicity of OTA in the testis. Together with recent data showing that prenatal exposure to OTA depresses expression of DMRT1, a tumor suppressor gene in the testis, our findings suggest that OTA may be a cause of testicular cancer
Ochratoxin A: In Utero Exposure in Mice Induces Adducts in Testicular DNA
Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a nephrotoxin and carcinogen that is associated with Balkan endemic nephropathy and urinary tract tumors. OTA crosses the placenta and causes adducts in the liver and kidney DNA of newborns. Because the testis and kidney develop from the same embryonic tissue, we reasoned that OTA also may cause adducts transplacentally in the testis. We tested the hypothesis that acute exposure to OTA, via food and via exposure in utero, causes adducts in testicular DNA and that these lesions are identical to those that can be produced in the kidney and testis by the consumption of OTA. Adult mice received a single dose of OTA (from 0â1,056 ”g/kg) by gavage. Pregnant mice received a single i.p. injection of OTA (2.5 mg/kg) at gestation day 17. DNA adducts were determined by 32P-postlabeling. Gavage-fed animals sacrificed after 48 hours accumulated OTA in kidney and testis and showed DNA adducts in kidney and testis. Some OTA metabolites isolated from the tissues were similar in both organs (kidney and testis). The litters of mice exposed prenatally to OTA showed no signs of overt toxicity. However, newborn and 1-month old males had DNA adducts in kidney and testis that were chromatographically similar to DNA adducts observed in the kidney and testis of gavage-fed adults. One adduct was identified previously as C8-dG-OTA adduct by LC MS/MS. No adducts were observed in males from dams not exposed to OTA. Our findings that in utero exposure to OTA causes adducts in the testicular DNA of male offspring support a possible role for OTA in testicular cancer
Human interaction with the divine, the sacred, and the deceased: topics that warrant increased attention by psychologists
Humans have likely been attempting to communicate with entities believed to exist, such as the divine, sacred beings, and deceased people, since the dawn of time. Across cultures and countries, many believe that interaction with the immaterial world is not only possible but a frequent experience. Most religious traditions across the globe focus many rituals and activities around prayer to an entity deemed divine or sacred. Additionally, many peopleâreligious, agnostic, and atheists alikeâreport communication with their departed loved ones. During highly stressful times associated with natural disasters, war, pandemics, and other threats to human life, the frequency and intensity of these activities and associated experiences substantially increase. Although this very human phenomenon seems to be universal, the empirical literature on the topic within psychology is thin. This paper discussed the topic and reviews what we know from the professional literature about how people perceive communication with these unseen entities. It highlights the perceptual and social cognition evidence and discussed the role of attribution theory, which might help us understand the beliefs, motivations, and practices of those engaged with communication with the unseen. Empirical laboratory research with mediums is discussed as well, examining the evidence for communication with the deceased. Final reflections and suggestions for future research are also offered
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