Paper describing a thought experiment in which a hypothetical creature created by a computer program inhabits a simple universe consisting of itself, food, and predators. As this creature "dies" it "internally" experiences these environmental features independent of their actual presence. More evolved hypothetical creatures generate novel forms of "inner" experiences as they "die." Applying these results to humans suggests an "internal" genesis of near-death experiences.

Depression is an independent risk factor for morbidity and mortality in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). Altered autonomic nervous system (ANS) activity, a common feature of depression, is also a risk factor for cardiac events in patients with CAD. Heart rate variability (HRV) reflects ANS activity, and reduced HRV predicts morbidity in cardiac populations. The purpose of this study was to determine whether differences in HRV exist between depressed and nondepressed patients with CAD. Twenty-one depressed inpatients, with angiographically documented CAD were retrospectively matched to 21 nondepressed CAD patients by sex, age, and smoking status. Demographic, medical, psychological interview data, and 24-hour ECG recordings were obtained. Depressed subjects had significantly lower HRV, or trends toward lower HRV, than nondepressed subjects, even after controlling for severity of CAD. Subject groups did not differ on left ventricular ejection fraction, history of myocardial infarction, or any other relevant medical variable assessed. These results suggest that depression is associated with decreased HRV in patients with CAD, and may help to explain the increased rates of cardiac events observed in CAD patients with depression.

The first purpose was to develop and validate a quantitative selection tool, the weighted application blank, tailored to the nursing home industry. The second purpose of this study was to determine whether data scaling and increased statistical rigor can reduce the frequency of type I and type II errors in the weighted application.