A system of relational syllogistic incorporating full Boolean reasoning

We present a system of relational syllogistic, based on classical propositional logic, having primitives of the following form: Some A are R-related to some B; Some A are R-related to all B; All A are R-related to some B; All A are R-related to all B. Such primitives formalize sentences from natural language like `All students read some textbooks'. Here A and B denote arbitrary sets (of objects), and R denotes an arbitrary binary relation between objects. The language of the logic contains only variables denoting sets, determining the class of set terms, and variables denoting binary relations between objects, determining the class of relational terms. Both classes of terms are closed under the standard Boolean operations. The set of relational terms is also closed under taking the converse of a relation. The results of the paper are the completeness theorem with respect to the intended semantics and the computational complexity of the satisfiability problem.Comment: Available at http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10849-012-9165-

Contrast Sensitivity Visual Acuity is Degraded in REM Sleep Behavior Disorder

"REM Sleep Behavior Disorder (RBD) is a sleep disorder that produces motor enactment during REM sleep. Although pathophysiology is uncertain, studies demonstrate nigrostriatal dopamine deficiencies in RBD patients,1 a condition frequently linked to alpha-synuclein-associated disorders i.e. Parkinson's disease (PD), characterized by cellular alpha-synuclein aggregation and death in dopamine producing cells. We previously reported contrast sensitivity visual acuity (CSVA) deficits in early-stage Parkinsonism.2 A recent study identified that misfolded alpha-synuclein, a regulator of dopamine synthesis, is present in the inner retina of PD patients.3 We therefore speculated that CSVA might be impaired in individuals with RBD.