‘Armailt làidir de mhilìsidh’: Hanoverian Gaels and the Jacobite Rebellion of 1745

In 1745–6, thousands of troops were raised in the Highlands and Islands in support of the house of Hanover. Often neglected due to the intense focus on Highland Jacobitism, these Gaels were instrumental in the defeat of the Jacobites. The study of pro-Hanoverian forces in the Gàidhealtachd tells us much not only about the military history of the 1745 rebellion but also about the nature of the whig regime in Scotland. In contrast to the ideological frameworks increasingly used to make sense of the Jacobite period, this article argues that pragmatic negotiations between the central government and the whig clans helped mobilise and empower regional responses to the rebellion. Exploiting the government's need for Gaelic allies in late 1745, Highland leaders, officers, and enlisted men used military service to shore up a nexus of political, financial and security imperatives. By examining the recruitment and service of anti-Jacobite Gaels, this article shows that—even in the epicentre of the rebellion—the Hanoverian state possessed important structural strengths that enabled it to confront the threat of armed insurrection. In so doing, the article reveals the political and fiscal-military networks that sustained whig control in Scotland.

State Management in Central Asia during the COVID-19 Pandemic

The publication analyzes the state management of the Central Asian countries in the fight against the coronavirus crisis, identifies the information background of their support, and provides recommendations for developing regional responses to such crises.

Reward-related responses and tonic craving in cocaine addiction: an imaging study of the monetary incentive delay task

Background Cocaine addiction is associated with altered sensitivity to natural reinforcers and intense drug craving. However, previous findings on reward-related responses are mixed and few studies have examined whether reward responses relate to tonic cocaine craving. Methods We combined fMRI and a monetary incentive delay task to investigate these issues. Imaging data were processed with published routines and the results were evaluated with a corrected threshold. We compared reward responses of 50 cocaine dependent individuals (CDs) and 45 healthy controls (HCs) for the ventral striatum (VS) and the whole brain. We also examined the regional responses in association with tonic cocaine craving, as assessed by the Cocaine Craving Questionnaire (CCQ) in CDs. We performed mediation analyses to evaluate the relationship between regional responses, CCQ score, and recent cocaine use. Results The VS showed higher activation to large as compared to small or no wins but this reward-related activity did not differ between CDs and HCs. The precentral gyrus (PCG), anterior insula, and supplementary motor area showed higher activation during large vs. no wins in positive correlation with the CCQ score in CDs. Mediation analyses suggested that days of cocaine use in the prior month contributed to higher CCQ scores and, in turn, PCG reward responses. Conclusions The results highlight a unique relationship between reward responses of the primary motor cortex, tonic cocaine craving and recent cocaine use. The motor cortex may partake in the cognitive motor processes critical to drug seeking behavior in addicted individuals.

Regional Responses in Radiation-Induced Normal Tissue Damage

Normal tissue side effects remain a major concern in radiotherapy. The improved precision of radiation dose delivery of recent technological developments in radiotherapy has the potential to reduce the radiation dose to organ regions that contribute the most to the development of side effects. This review discusses the contribution of regional variation in radiation responses in several organs. In the brain, various regions were found to contribute to radiation-induced neurocognitive dysfunction. In the parotid gland, the region containing the major ducts was found to be critical in hyposalivation. The heart and lung were each found to exhibit regional responses while also mutually affecting each other’s response to radiation. Sub-structures critical for the development of side effects were identified in the pancreas and bladder. The presence of these regional responses is based on a non-uniform distribution of target cells or sub-structures critical for organ function. These characteristics are common to most organs in the body and we therefore hypothesize that regional responses in radiation-induced normal tissue damage may be a shared occurrence. Further investigations will offer new opportunities to reduce normal tissue side effects of radiotherapy using modern and high-precision technologies.