Development of a Race Simulation to Be Used with Treadmills and Exercise Bikes

ICON Health & Fitness, Inc. has become one of the largest manufacturers of fitness equipment. This company now includes many popular fitness equipment manufacturers like Weider, Weslo, HealthRider, and NordicTrack through various acquisitions and launches of new lines. In 2005, it is projected four million units of fitness equipment will be manufactured by the company (ICON). With the popularity of treadmills and exercise bikes, ICON Health & Fitness added the capability to download exercise programs using its iFit© technology. This allows an audio cable to be plugged into the equipment from a PC and utilizes sound waves to control a treadmill\u27s speed and inclination or an exercise bike\u27s resistance. By mapping a race course with a GPS device, the GPS device could download its readings in a text format to a PC to have the course\u27s elevation and length emulated. With this simulation, a Java program could process it and allow a program to be ran on a Java capable device to control a treadmill or exercise bike utilizing the iFit© technology. This capability would cater to the runners who cannot run a race due to family or work schedules. They could emulate an upcoming race on a treadmill and workout when their schedule permits. In 2005, the Springfield Road Runners of Springfield Illinois sanctioned 18 races for women and 17 races for men to be used for their points\u27 series (Springfield). A member of the Springfield Road Runners can now train for the upcoming race without the worry of running at night or during inconvenient times. With this one example from a running club in a community in Illinois having 18 possible races to download, we see the market possibility when the number of running clubs in the United States is factored into the equation. This capability would also cater to the runner who wishes to run the Boston Marathon, ride in the Tour De France, or other popular races. Instead of qualifying and then joining the 20,000 runners in April for the Boston Marathon, the runner could load up the Java program and see how he would compare against other runners within the race ( Boston ). Once a GPS race is captured, it can be processed to emulate the race and store the simulation in an encrypted format. It will then be available to be purchased and downloaded from a website. A Java program will be available to purchase which will process the downloaded encrypted file and emulate the race on a treadmill or exercise bike

The genetic architecture of the human cerebral cortex

The cerebral cortex underlies our complex cognitive capabilities, yet little is known about the specific genetic loci that influence human cortical structure. To identify genetic variants that affect cortical structure, we conducted a genome-wide association meta-analysis of brain magnetic resonance imaging data from 51,665 individuals. We analyzed the surface area and average thickness of the whole cortex and 34 regions with known functional specializations. We identified 199 significant loci and found significant enrichment for loci influencing total surface area within regulatory elements that are active during prenatal cortical development, supporting the radial unit hypothesis. Loci that affect regional surface area cluster near genes in Wnt signaling pathways, which influence progenitor expansion and areal identity. Variation in cortical structure is genetically correlated with cognitive function, Parkinson's disease, insomnia, depression, neuroticism, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder