Construction and Characterization of a Torsional Pendulum that Detects a Novel Form of Cranial Energy

A torsional pendulum consisting of a dome-shaped energy collector and a nylon monofilament support fiber was suspended above the cranium of a seated human subject and the effects of the subject on the oscillations of the pendulum were measured. There were dramatic effects, with FFT analysis of the oscillation signal showing many new frequencies in addition to the natural frequency of 0.034 Hz. The lowest new frequencies (0.0-0.002 Hz) were accompanied by a shift in the Center of Oscillation (COO) of the pendulum, and the higher frequencies were associated with changes in the amplitude of oscillation. The Delta COO (7.3 deg) and the amplitude (12 deg) effects were substantial, and would require forces equivalent to 34 and 56 mg, respectively. Residual effects on the Delta COO and amplitudes persisted for at least 30 min after the subject departed, and the rate at which they subsided conformed to the kinetics of a chemical relaxation process with a relaxation time of 600 sec. Shifts in the magnitude of the Delta COO with the subject present also conformed to chemical relaxations processes, with relaxation times of 35 and 200 sec. It is proposed that the energy that drives the anomalous oscillations when the subject is present is the result of enzyme-mediated energy transductions that convert metabolic energy into a form of energy that can affect the pendulum. Although highly speculative, it is suggested that aspects of quantum entanglement are involved in the energy transduction process

Use of a Torsion Pendulum Balance to Detect and Characterize What May Be a Human Bioenergy Field

Whereas the concept of bioenergy fields is thousands of years old, their existence has never been verified by scientific experiments designed to detect and measure them; so bioenergy fields have no scientific credibility. The instruments used for those experiments typically detect components of the electromagnetic spectrum. The experiments presented here utilize a detector that instead is sensitive to actual “pushing” forces that are capable of altering the momentum of a physical object such as a simple torsion pendulum balance that is suspended above a seated human subject. The experimental design includes a video camera connected to a computer that can detect and measure the pendulum movements with high precision, and store this information in a data file for later analysis. Experiments show that the pendulum detects and measures substantial forces that drastically alter the motions of the pendulum when a subject is seated under it. The following effects are consistently observed with every subject in every experiment performed up to now: 1) Substantial shifts of the center of oscillation of the pendulum; shifts as large as 2.2 cm (7 deg) requiring a force that is equivalent to 45 mg are observed, 2) Many new frequencies of oscillation of the pendulum are introduced when a subject is present, 3) Dramatic changes in the amplitudes of oscillation of the pendulum are observed throughout the experiment; increasing, decreasing, and increasing again, in patterns that resemble chemical relaxation processes, 4) These shifts of the center of oscillation, the new frequencies of oscillation, and the changes in amplitudes all persist for 30–60 min after the subject has left the pendulum. This is inconsistent with the physics of a simple harmonic oscillator such as a torsion pendulum, which should return to simple harmonic oscillation immediately after any exterior disturbances are discontinued. After conducting control experiments to rule out effects of air currents and other artifacts, it is concluded that the effects are exerted by some kind of force field that is generated by the subject seated under the pendulum. We know of no force, such as one within the electromagnetic spectrum that can account for these results. It may be that a conventional explanation for these surprising results will be discovered, but it is possible that we have observed a phenomenon that will require the development of new theoretical concepts. For now, it is important that other investigators repeat and extend our observations

Managing Febrile Respiratory Illnesses during a Hypothetical SARS Outbreak

Optimal management of febrile respiratory illnesses during a hypothetical SARS outbreak varies depending on a number of conditions, but increasing influenza vaccination rates would save money and lives

The Impact of Increased Awareness of Acute Kidney Injury in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit on Acute Kidney Injury Incidence and Reporting: Results of a Retrospective Cohort Study

Objective: To evaluate the impact of nephrology integration in the NICU on acute kidney injury (AKI) incidence, provider reporting, and nephrology referral. Study design: Cohort study in a single-center NICU from January 2012 to December 2017 (n = 1464). We assessed the impact of clinical practice changes including neonatal-nephrology rounds on the incidence of AKI. Results: AKI occurred in 318 neonates (22%). AKI occurred less frequently in those admitted after clinical practice changes (P < 0.001). After multivariable adjustment, clinical practice changes were associated with reduced odds of AKI (adjusted odds ratio, 0.31; 95% CI 0.22-0.44, P < 0.001). Provider reporting of AKI improved (P < 0.001) and more neonates were referred for nephrology follow-up (P < 0.001). Conclusions: Increased nephrology integration in the NICU was associated with decreased AKI incidence. While recognition of AKI improved, AKI remained poorly reported and nephrology AKI follow-up did not routinely occur. This study supports the importance of increased nephrology involvement in the NICU

Studies on Understanding Individual Willingness to Disclose Genetic Information to Public and Private Stakeholders

While technologies for genetic sequencing have increased the promise of personalized medicine, they simultaneously pose threats to personal privacy. The public’s desire to protect itself from unauthorized access to information may limit the uses of this valuable resource. To date, there is limited understanding about the public’s attitudes toward the regulation and sharing of such information. We sought to understand the drivers of individuals’ decisions to disclose genetic information to a third party in a setting where disclosure potentially creates both private and social benefits, but also carries the risk of potential misuse of private information. We conducted two separate but related studies. First, we administered surveys to college students and parents, to determine individual attitudes toward and inter-generational influences on the disclosure decision. Second, we conducted a game-theory based experiment that assessed how participants’ decisions to disclose genetic information are influenced by societal and health factors. Key survey findings indicate that concerns about genetic information privacy negatively impact the likelihood of disclosure while the perceived benefits of disclosure and trust in the institution receiving the information have a positive influence. The experiment results also show that the risk of discrimination negatively affects the likelihood of disclosure, while the positive impact that disclosure has on the probability of finding a cure and the presence of a monetary incentive to disclose, increase the likelihood. We also study the determinants of individuals’ decision to be informed of findings about their health, and how information about health status is used for financial decisions

The behaviour of political parties and MPs in the parliaments of the Weimar Republic

Copyright @ 2012 The Authors. This is the author's accepted manuscript. The final published article is available from the link below.Analysing the roll-call votes of the MPs of the Weimar Republic we find: (1) that party competition in the Weimar parliaments can be structured along two dimensions: an economic left–right and a pro-/anti-democratic. Remarkably, this is stable throughout the entire lifespan of the Republic and not just in the later years and despite the varying content of votes across the lifespan of the Republic, and (2) that nearly all parties were troubled by intra-party divisions, though, in particular, the national socialists and communists became homogeneous in the final years of the Republic.Zukunftskolleg, University of Konstan

CD226 Deletion Reduces Type 1 Diabetes in the NOD Mouse by Impairing Thymocyte Development and Peripheral T Cell Activation.

The costimulatory molecule CD226 is highly expressed on effector/memory T cells and natural killer cells. Costimulatory signals received by T cells can impact both central and peripheral tolerance mechanisms. Genetic polymorphisms in CD226 have been associated with susceptibility to type 1 diabetes and other autoimmune diseases. We hypothesized that genetic deletion of Cd226 in the non-obese diabetic (NOD) mouse would impact type 1 diabetes incidence by altering T cell activation. CD226 knockout (KO) NOD mice displayed decreased disease incidence and insulitis in comparison to wild-type (WT) controls. Although female CD226 KO mice had similar levels of sialoadenitis as WT controls, male CD226 KO mice showed protection from dacryoadenitis. Moreover, CD226 KO T cells were less capable of adoptively transferring disease compared to WT NOD T cells. Of note, CD226 KO mice demonstrated increased CD8+ single positive (SP) thymocytes, leading to increased numbers of CD8+ T cells in the spleen. Decreased percentages of memory CD8+CD44+CD62L- T cells were observed in the pancreatic lymph nodes of CD226 KO mice. Intriguingly, CD8+ T cells in CD226 KO mice showed decreased islet-specific glucose-6-phosphatase catalytic subunit-related protein (IGRP)-tetramer and CD5 staining, suggesting reduced T cell receptor affinity for this immunodominant antigen. These data support an important role for CD226 in type 1 diabetes development by modulating thymic T cell selection as well as impacting peripheral memory/effector CD8+ T cell activation and function

A Safety Assessment of the Re-opening of an Academic Medical Center Outpatient Endoscopy Unit During the COVID-19 Pandemic

This study aimed to assess outcomes and satisfaction among patients undergoing outpatient endoscopic procedures during the COVID-19 pandemic Identifying the rates of COVID-19 symptom development and post procedure testing would provide critical information on patient safety Assessment of patient experiences would serve as a guide for potential areas of improvement We predicted that with proper protocols in place, outpatient endoscopy was a safe and positive experienc

Distinct and Overlapping Brain Areas Engaged during Value-Based, Mathematical, and Emotional Decision Processing.

When comparing between the values of different choices, human beings can rely on either more cognitive processes, such as using mathematical computation, or more affective processes, such as using emotion. However, the neural correlates of how these two types of processes operate during value-based decision-making remain unclear. In this study, we investigated the extent to which neural regions engaged during value-based decision-making overlap with those engaged during mathematical and emotional processing in a within-subject manner. In a functional magnetic resonance imaging experiment, participants viewed stimuli that always consisted of numbers and emotional faces that depicted two choices. Across tasks, participants decided between the two choices based on the expected value of the numbers, a mathematical result of the numbers, or the emotional face stimuli. We found that all three tasks commonly involved various cortical areas including frontal, parietal, motor, somatosensory, and visual regions. Critically, the mathematical task shared common areas with the value but not emotion task in bilateral striatum. Although the emotion task overlapped with the value task in parietal, motor, and sensory areas, the mathematical task also evoked responses in other areas within these same cortical structures. Minimal areas were uniquely engaged for the value task apart from the other two tasks. The emotion task elicited a more expansive area of neural activity whereas value and mathematical task responses were in more focal regions. Whole-brain spatial correlation analysis showed that valuative processing engaged functional brain responses more similarly to mathematical processing than emotional processing. While decisions on expected value entail both mathematical and emotional processing regions, mathematical processes have a more prominent contribution particularly in subcortical processes