Asymmetry of values, indigenous forces, and incumbent success in counterinsurgency: evidence from Chechnya

This article fills the gap in existing scholarship on asymmetric conflict, indigenous forces, and how socio-cultural codes shape the dynamics and outcomes of conflict transformation. Specifically, it identifies three key socio-cultural values commonplace in honorific societies: retaliation, hospitality, and silence. As sources of effective pro-insurgent violent mobilisation and support from among the local population, these values provide insurgents with an asymmetric advantage over much stronger incumbents. Using the case studies of the two Russian counterinsurgencies in Chechnya, the article shows the mechanisms on the ground through which Moscow’s deployment of indigenous forces against insurgents helped to stem the tide of conflict, reversing the insurgents’ initial advantage in terms of asymmetry of values

Biodiversity of benthic invertebrates in Aras River

Benthic invertebrate species and their change was studied in Aras River during a hydro- biological research on the middle and terminal parts of Aras River that spanned the years 1995-1996 and 2005-2006. We found 91 species of benthic invertebrates of which 85 species were identified during 1995-1996 and 49 species during 2005-2006. The highest rate of biodiversity was seen in molluscs with 19 species and chironomid larvae with 17 species. Forty-two species had wide distribution and the remaining occurred only in special habitats. The biomass of invertebrates reduced from the upper reach of the river to the middle and lower reaches because of the changes in river bed from soil to sand. It is concluded that the formation of different habitats in different sections of the Aras River has a crucial role in the change observed in biodiversity of the benthic invertebrates

Modification of cytogenetic and physiological effects of space flight factors by biologically active compounds

Physiological and cytogenetic changes in the Welsh onion plants induced by a short (82 days) and long term (522 days) space flight are expressed in decrease of seed germination, inhibition of stem growth, depression of cell division in root meristem, and increase in the number of structural chromosome rearrangements. The treatment of such plants with solutions of a-tocopherol, auxin, and kinetin decreased the level of chromosome aberrations to the control one and normalized cell divisions and growth partly or completely

Ethnicity and conflict severity: accounting for the effect of co-ethnic and non-ethnic militias on battlefield lethality

How does the presence of armed pro-regime groups affect conflict lethality? This study examines the relationship between ethnicity, militia violence and conflict lethality in civil wars. We emphasise that differences in whether pro-regime militias were recruited in accordance with their ethnicity or not are critical in their influence upon conflict lethality, which we estimate in battlefield deaths. To that end, we categorise militias into groups recruited on their ethnic basis (co-ethnic militias) and those recruited regardless of their ethnicity (non-ethnic militias). We hypothesise that conflicts are more lethal when non-ethnic militias are involved. We link higher number of battle-deaths in conflicts with non-ethnic militias with the militia use of one-sided violence against civilians. Co-ethnic militias – that is militias recruited from the same ethnicity as rebels – are deployed amongst their co-ethnics and therefore tend to target civilians less than non-ethnic militias. This militia–civilian relationship has direct impact on conflict severity. To test our hypotheses we conduct global statistical analysis of 84 intrastate conflicts from 1989 to 2014

Investigation of the effects of constant darkness and light on blood serum cholesterol, insulin and glucose levels in healthy male rats

This study was designed to investigate the effects of constant darkness and light on changes of serum cholesterol, insulin and glucose levels in healthy male rats. In this study, healthy male rats (n = 30) were divided into 3 groups of tens and kept at various light/dark conditions: Control 12:12 light/dark (LD); constant darkness (DD), and constant light (LL) groups for 2 weeks. Blood samples were obtained from retro-orbital sinus before start of experiment and on the 7th and 14th days of the experimental period. The serum cholesterol and glucose levels were measured by the enzymatic method and insulin levels were measured using insulin kit by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method. The results of the study showed that the levels of serum cholesterol and glucose on the 7th and 14th days of the experimental period in DD group significantly decreased compared to the LD and LL groups (p < 0.05). On the 14th day of experiment, we observed significant decrease of serum insulin level in the constant darkness group compared with the two other groups (p < 0.05). The study showed that on the 7th and 14th days of experiment, constant light significantly increased serum glucose level without having any significant effects on serum cholesterol and insulin levels. Also, the long period of time (14 days) was found to be more effective in the serum of these metabolic parameters changes than the short period (7 days).Key words: Constant darkness, light, cholesterol, glucose, insulin, healthy male rats