Referendum, response, and consequences for Sudan : the game between juba and khartoum

This paper presents a game theory model of the strategic interaction between Khartoum and Juba leading up to the referendum on Sudan's partition in 2011. The findings show that excessive militarization and brinksmanship is a rational response for both actors, neither of which can credibly commit to lower levels of military spending under the current status quo. This militarization is often at the expense of health and education expenditures, suggesting that the opportunity cost of militarization is foregone economic development. These credibility issues might be resolved by democratization, increased transparency, reduction of information asymmetries, and efforts to promote economic and political cooperation. The paper explores these devices, demonstrating how they can contribute to Pareto preferred outcomes in equilibrium. The authors characterize the military expenditure associated with the commitment problem experienced by both sides, estimate its costs from data for Sudan, and identify the opportunity cost of foregone development implied by continued, excessive, and unsustainable militarization.Post Conflict Reconstruction,Peace&Peacekeeping,Population Policies,Public Sector Expenditure Analysis&Management,Debt Markets

A Diachronic Analysis of the Translation of English Sound Symbolism in Italian Comics

Phonosymbolic elements such as ideophones and interjections test the translator’s ability in various ways. These forms would, in theory, require a complete change of form and substance of the source text but this has not always been possible because of graphical, cultural and linguistic reasons, and this led, in certain cases, to a foreignized target-text environment. Recent research has started to consider the relationship between verbal and visual modes as beneficial and not just as a mere constraint for the translator. This research aims to align itself with this approach in order to analyze how verbal and visual modes in Disney comic books have come together to welcome sound symbolic forms and how translators have dealt with them in Italian Disney comics, in particular. In order to clarify the behavior, function, translation and use of expressive sound symbolic devices in Italian Disney comics, this article will offer a diachronic analysis of these strategies as found in a diachronic bidirectional corpus compiled through extensive archival research

Characterization of specificity of bacterial community structure within the burrow environment of the marine polychaete Hediste (Nereis) diversicolor

Bioturbation is known to stimulate microbial communities, especially in macrofaunal burrows where the abundance and activities of bacteria are increased. Until now, these microbial communities have been poorly characterized and an important ecological question remains: do burrow walls harbor similar or specific communities compared with anoxic and surface sediments? The bacterial community structure of coastal sediments inhabited by the polychaete worm Hediste diversicolor was investigated. Surface, burrow wall and anoxic sediments were collected at the Carteau beach (Gulf of Fos, Mediterranean Sea). Bacterial diversity was determined by analyzing small subunit ribosomal RNA (16S rRNA) sequences from three clone libraries (168, 179 and 129 sequences for the surface, burrow wall and anoxic sediments, respectively). Libraries revealed 306 different operational taxonomic units (OTUs) belonging to at least 15 bacterial phyla. Bioinformatic analyses and comparisons between the three clone libraries showed that the burrow walls harbored a specific bacterial community structure which differed from the surface and anoxic environments. More similarities were nevertheless found with the surface assemblage. Inside the burrow walls, the bacterial community was characterized by high biodiversity, which probably results from the biogeochemical heterogeneity of the burrow system

Translating English Sound Symbolism in Italian Comics: A Corpus-Based Linguistic Analysis across Six Decades (1932–1992)

Linking interdisciplinarity and multimodality in translation studies, this paper will analyse the diachronic translation of English ideophones in Italian Disney comics. This is achieved thanks to the compiling of a bi-directional corpus of sound symbolic entries spanning six decades (1932–1992)—a corpus that was created following extensive archival work in various Italian and American libraries between 2014 and 2016. The central aim is to showcase practical examples coming from published comic scripts and to highlight patterns of translation in each of the five different time windows which were chosen according to specific historical, linguistic and cultural vicissitudes taking place in the Italian nation. Overall, the intention is to shed light on an under-developed area of studies that focuses on the cross-linguistical transposition of ideophonic forms in comic books and to pinpoint how greater factors might influence the treatment of such deceptively miniscule elements in the comic books’ pages

Epigenetic modulation of the immune system in early childhood: from infectious diseases to vaccines

Epigenetic mechanisms regulate gene expression and transcription in a dynamic way. Many functional differences observed in the immune system of neonates and adults seem to be associated with epigenetic modifications of genes that control inflammation and immune response. One of the most studied epigenetic mechanisms is DNA methylation, considered as the major epigenetic factor influencing gene activities. Using the Infinium Illumina Methylation BeadChip platform it was possible to provide insights on the role of epigenetic mechanisms, especially DNA methylation alterations, in the different respiratory sequelae observed after RSV infection and in the variable immune response observed after PCV13 in early childhood

Spatial oxygen heterogeneity in a Hediste diversicolor irrigated burrow

The heterogeneity of oxygen distribution in a Hediste diversicolor burrow environment was investigated in a laboratory experiment using a 6-mm thick tank equipped with oxygen planar optodes. The twodimensional oxygen distribution in a complete burrow was monitored every 2 min for 4 h. Oxygen concentrations fluctuated over a scale of minutes in the burrow lumen and wall (up to 2 mm) reflecting the balance between worm ventilation activity and oxygen consumption. The magnitude of the three surrounding micro-horizons (oxic, oscillating and anoxic) induced by the intermittent worm ventilation was spatially and temporally variable within the structure. Oxygen variations appeared to be controlled by distance from the sediment–water interface and the direction of water circulation. Moreover, there was an apparent ‘buffer effect’, induced by the proximity to the overlyingwater, which reduced the variations of lumen and wall oxygen in the upper part of the structure. These results highlight the heterogeneous distribution and dynamics of oxygen associated with H. diversicolor burrows and ventilation activity. They also highlight the necessity of integrating this complexity into the current burrow-base models in order to estimate the ecological importance of burrowing species in coastal ecosystems

Spatial mode estimation for functional random fields with application to bioturbation problem

This work provides a useful tool to study the effects of bioturbation on the distribution of oxygen within sediments. We propose here heterogeneity measurements based on functional spatial mode. To obtain the mode, one usually needs to estimate the spatial probability density. The approach considered here consists in looking each observation as a curve that represents the history of the oxygen concentration at a fixed pixel

Influence of Chironomus riparius (Diptera, Chironomidae) and Tubifex tubifex (Annelida, Oligochaeta) on oxygen uptake by sediments. Consequences of uranium contamination

The diffusive oxygen uptake (DOU) of sediments inhabited by Chironomus riparius and Tubifex tubifex was investigated using a planar oxygen optode device, and complemented by measurements of bioturbation activity. Additional experiments were performed within contaminated sediments to assess the impact of uranium on these processes. After 72 h, the two invertebrate species significantly increased the DOU of sediments (13–14%), and no temporal variation occurred afterwards. Within contaminated sediments, it was already 24% higher before the introduction of the organisms, suggesting that uranium modified the sediment biogeochemistry. Although the two species firstly reacted by avoidance of contaminated sediment, they finally colonized it. Their bioturbation activity was reduced but, for T. tubifex, it remained sufficient to induce a release of uranium to the water column and an increase of the DOU (53%). These results highlight the necessity of further investigations to take into account the interactions between bioturbation, microbial metabolism and pollutants

Chapter The Appeasement Puzzle and Competition Neglect

Recent studies indicate that British appeasement towards Hitler followed a buying-time logic, i.e., it tried to postpone confrontation until Great Britain improved its military position through rearmament. However, this chapter shows that Germany actually extended its military edge over the appeasement years. Drawing on the literature on judgment and decision-making, the chapter theorizes that competition neglect – the tendency to focus myopically on one’s own capabilities and pay insufficient attention to those of the competition – may explain the puzzling gap between British policymakers’ plans and actual trends in the balance of power. The competition neglect thesis and an alternative explanation, positing the occurrence of miscalculation, are tested with a case study of British foreign policy towards Germany in 1937-38

The relationship between adult symptoms of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and criminogenic cognitions:ADHD and Criminogenic Cognitions

The relationship between ADHD – in particular hyperactivity – and criminal behavior is well documented. The current study investigated the role of criminogenic cognitions in the explanation of this relationship by examining which symptoms of ADHD are associated with criminogenic cognitions. Community-recruited adults (N = 192) completed self-report questionnaires for symptoms of ADHD and criminogenic cognitions. Symptoms of inattention were consistently and strongly related to criminogenic cognitions. In particular, inattention was significantly related to cutoff, cognitive indolence, and discontinuity. There was also evidence that impulsivity was positively related to criminogenic cognitions, and specifically, to the power orientation subscale. In contrast, and contrary to expectations, symptoms of hyperactivity were not related to criminogenic cognitions. These results indicate that, in community-recruited adults, inattention rather than hyperactivity is related to criminogenic cognitions. We discuss the implications of these findings contrasting with those of previous studies that used forensic and clinical samples