The Relationship between Circadian Dysfunction and Cognitive Impairment in Individuals with Parkinson\u27s Disease

Parkinson’s Disease (PD) is a brain disorder associated with a variety of motor (e.g., rigidity, tremor) and nonmotor (e.g., cognitive impairment, sleep dysfunction) symptoms. Recent evidence suggests that PD patients may also have dysfunctional circadian rhythms: oscillators responsible for many behavioral and physiological functions (e.g., sleep-wake cycle, cognitive performance). No study to date has measured both circadian rhythms and cognitive functioning in the same group of PD patients. This was the aim of the current project. The archival data set included 34 PD patients and 12 normal control participants (NC) matched by age and education. Cognition was measured through a series of neuropsychological tests measuring memory and executive functioning. Archival circadian rhythm data, collected through watch actigraphy, was analyzed using three nonparametric variables: relative amplitude (RA), interdaily stability (IS), and intradaily variability (IV). Higher RA and IS values indicate a more stable rhythm, while higher IV values indicate a less stable rhythm. Patients with PD had significantly higher RA values than NCs; however, there was no significant difference between PDs and NCs in IS or IV values. There was a significant positive correlation between executive functioning and RA and IS values in PDs. No significant correlations were found between executive functioning and IV values or between working memory and RA, IS, or IV values among PDs. This preliminary evidence suggests that disrupted circadian rhythm in PD patients may be related to cognitive impairment. Future research should investigate this potential link by using additional and more sophisticated circadian rhythm measures. This, in turn, could shed more light on the role circadian rhythm dysfunction plays in the cognitive impairment of PD patients and thus, highlight the potential need for new treatment and intervention strategies aimed at improving the quality of life of these individuals

Automatic Dependant Surveillance-Broadcast Training

According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), current delays in air traffic across the United States cost the country’s economy roughly 9.4 billion dollars annually. With air traffic expected to triple again over the next several decades, the FAA has been in the process of implementing The Next Generation Air Traffic Control System (NextGen) in order to handle this increase in traffic. One of the key elements to NextGen is the transition from the current ground based radar monitoring system to a satellite based system using the Automatic Dependent Surveillance - Broadcast System (ADS-B). The FAA has set a mandate which requires all aircraft to be ADS-B equipped by the year 2020 in order to continue operating in the National Airspace System. However, the FAA has not set forth any training requirements for aviation instructors or designated examiners. As ADS-B continues to be implemented across the United States, it is important that pilots gain knowledge and training about this new system. When the Global Positioning System (GPS) was fully implemented in 1994, there was a delay in reaching the FAA’s goal of using this as a primary source of navigation because of a lack of training and training standards. This study looked at how ADS-B is currently being taught among aviation higher education across the United States, and how important this training is to current aviation curriculum. With the information collected, it was determine that only a minimal amount of ADS-B training is currently taking place across the country, and the training that is taking place is non-standardized and limited do to the perception that ADS-B is only to be used as a traffic advisory tool. Several factors were discovered as to why there seems to be no current urgency among aviation educators to train their students in this new technology, as well as what recommended steps the FAA could take in order to help aviation educators with the ADS-B training process

The Impact Of Pre-Entry Attributes And College Experiences On Degree Attainment For Students In A Collegiate Flight Program

The aviation industry is currently experiencing significant growth. While several challenges exist due to this increase in demand, a major issue facing the airlines is a lack of pilots. Today, collegiate aviation programs are one of the primary pipelines to train individuals seeking careers as commercial pilots. This study explored different variables that impact students\u27 success or lack of success in graduating from a collegiate program. Furthermore, it looked at what collegiate flight programs can do to more effectively and efficiently train individuals seeking careers as commercial pilots. It was determined that there is a significant relationship between certain attributes students bring with them to college (Input Variables) and success of graduation. It was also determined that there is a significant relationship between certain experiences students have once they are enrolled at an institution (Environmental Variables) and their success of graduating. It was also determined that certain attributes in each of these categories can predict the success of a student graduating from a collegiate flight program

Quantum algorithms for hidden nonlinear structures

Attempts to find new quantum algorithms that outperform classical computation have focused primarily on the nonabelian hidden subgroup problem, which generalizes the central problem solved by Shor's factoring algorithm. We suggest an alternative generalization, namely to problems of finding hidden nonlinear structures over finite fields. We give examples of two such problems that can be solved efficiently by a quantum computer, but not by a classical computer. We also give some positive results on the quantum query complexity of finding hidden nonlinear structures.Comment: 13 page

Teach phenomenology the bomb: Starship Troopers, the technologized body, and humanitarian warfare

Paul Verhoeven's SF films are often concerned with how the future body will be reshaped as a technological device. Starship Troopers strangely departs from Verhoeven's own work, other SF films, and current directions in cultural theory by seeing the future body as one that is more organic than mechanical. Drawing upon and challenging ideas developed by Paul Virilio, this article argues that Starship Troopers' departure from the notion of the 'post-human' mechanized body needs to be understood not as a nostalgic reassertion of de-technologized subjectivity. Rather, Verhoeven's film sees the idea of the pure body as a dangerous anachronism. And, this article further argues, Starship Troopers suggests that narratives of human salvation - such as those that arose during Nato's interventions in the Balkans - often conceal an appetite for territorial conquest