Resting state functional connectivity in the default mode network and aerobic exercise in young adults

Around the world Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is on the rise. Previous studies have shown the default mode network (DMN) sees changes with AD progression as the disease erodes away cortical areas. Aerobic exercise with significant increases to cardiorespiratory fitness could show neuro-protective changes to delay AD. This study will explore if functional connectivity changes in the DMN can be seen in a young adult sample by using group independent component analysis through FSL MELODIC. The young adult sample of 19 were selected from a larger study at the Brain Plasticity and Neuroimaging Laboratory at Boston University. The participants engaged in a twelve-week exercise intervention in either a strength training or aerobic training group. They also completed pre-intervention and post-intervention resting-state fMRI scans to evaluate change in functional connectivity in the default mode network. Cardiorespiratory fitness was assessed using a modified Balke protocol with pre-intervention and post-intervention VO2 max percentiles being used. Through two repeated-measure ANOVA analyses, this study found no significant increase in mean functional connectivity or cardiorespiratory fitness in the young adult sample. While improvements in mean VO2 max percentile and functional connectivity would have been seen with a larger sample size, this study adds to the literature by suggesting if fitness does not improve significantly, neither will functional connectivity in the default mode network

Mobile Warriors and Cosmopolitan Intellectuals: The Legacy of the Dutch Counterinsurgency in Colonial Aceh

Starting in the middle of the nineteenth century, the Netherlands East Indies sought to bring all the people and territory of the Indonesian archipelago under colonial control. In 1873, they turned their attention to the sultanate of Aceh in northern Sumatra, and sent a small invasion force. Their defeat led to 3000 mean being dispatched the following year, and while this force took control of the capital city of Banda Aceh and the lowlands near the coast, they were able to seize the city only after it had been abandoned by the Acehnese, who retreated into the mountainous regions to the south. From there, the Acehnese began what would become three decades of effective guerrilla resistance to Dutch domination. The usual Dutch military strategy which had defeated the other sultanates and kingdoms of the archipelago by sending expedition forces against the potentates’ armies was completely ineffective in Aceh. It was not until the Orientalist C. Snouck Hurgronje, an academic who had written a first-hand account of contemporary Mecca and who had worked for the Netherlands East Indies government since 1891 as the principle advisor on native affairs, worked with the military commander J.B. van Heutsz that the region of Aceh was conquered by the Dutch colonial military. The solution Snouck Hurgronje devised split the native leadership between the ulama, the Muslim religious elite, who could not be persuaded to work with the Dutch, and the uleëbalang, the secular chiefs, who could be co-opted. Not only were the uleëbalang brought into the Dutch colonial system, but Van Heutsz used small mobile forces to defeat opposition. Instead of the ineffective scorched-earth tactics used by his predecessors, Van Heutsz fought the counterinsurgency by targeting individual opponents precisely with mobile units made up of native troops from elsewhere in the archipelago. Starting with the decisive battle at Batoe Iliq in 1901 and ending with the defeat of the final insurgent chieftans in 1903, the Dutch gained the upper hand, and effectively pacified this region. This paper explores the legacy of the Acehnese counterinsurgency, in particular how the relationship between intellectual expertise and military policies developed in Aceh compares to subsequent counterinsurgency campaigns

Decent colonialism? Pure science and colonial ideology in the Netherlands East Indies, 1910–1929

This article examines changes within the Dutch civilising mission ideology after the decline of the Ethical Policy. Support of pure science, scientific knowledge that supposedly transcended ideology and politics, allowed the colonial administration to continue to project their rule as decent and moral, even as conflict and repression dominated colonial politics in the 1920s. The argument starts with the construction of pure science after 1910, under the care of J.C. Koningsberger, out of the research traditions at the Department of Agriculture. It next examines the creation of institutions and agendas of pure science. And finally it analyses the absorption of pure science into the civilising mission of the 1920s. It concludes with a discussion of what this means for historical evaluations of the Dutch colonial project

Harro Maat, Science Cultivating Practice: A History of Agricultural Science in The Netherlands and its Colonies, 1863–1986 . Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2001

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/43227/1/11016_2004_Article_5263964.pd

Examination of Selected Microparticles from the Sentik Glacier Core, Ladakh, Himalayas

Several characteristics and interpretive comments are reported for microparticles from selected samples in the Sentik Glacier core. Four basic morphologic groups are defined: Platy, angular, biogenic, and anomalous

Explaining Support for Authoritarianism in New Democracies

In this thesis, I investigate the sources of differing levels of support for the idea of an authoritarian regime across new democracies in Latin America, Africa, and Central and Eastern Europe. Various cross-national surveys demonstrate that in some countries, the population is quite hesitant to embrace authoritarian alternatives while in others there is a strong desire for military or strongman rule. Beginning with insights from the literature, I investigate the impact of the economic system, the nature of politics and the cultural landscape at the regional level. The investigation then turns to a smaller-scale country analysis of Ukraine followed by a comparative study of Nicaragua and Guatemala. This thesis identifies many region specific drivers of authoritarian support and finds that it may be a phenomenon best investigated at the country level, paying particular attention to country-specific contextual factors

The MIQ-RS: A Suitable Option for Examining Movement Imagery Ability

Within rehabilitation settings, mental imagery helps to promote long-term recovery and facilitates compliance to rehabilitation exercises. Individuals who are able to effectively engage in imagery practice are likely to gain the most benefit from imagery training. Thus, a suitable imagery ability measurement tool for individuals with movement limitations is needed. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the Movement Imagery Questionnaire—Revised second version (MIQ-RS), and compare the results of this new version with Hall and Martin's (1997) MIQ-R. Three-hundred and twenty participants from a variety of sports and performance levels agreed to take part. Results showed the internal consistency and test–retest reliability of the MIQ-RS were satisfactory, the two-factor structure of the MIQ-RS was supported by confirmatory factor analysis, and Pearson correlations indicated a strong relationship between the MIQ-R and MIQ-RS. It appears the MIQ-RS is a suitable option for examining movement imagery ability primarily aimed at the upper extremity

Low cost current measurement of three phase cables

© 2018 IEEE. Recent growth in embedded generation alongside the anticipated consumer uptake of electric vehicles (EVs) and heat pumps present new challenges for distribution networks. This includes greater fluctuation in electricity demand. Data from existing maximum demand indicators in distribution substations is inadequate to understand the spread of demand over time. Retro-fit datalogging solutions are available for substation monitoring, but cost typically >£1200, which would be difficult to justify for all distribution substations. This paper looks at the development of a novel low cost alternative designed for measuring load on three phase cables