Bioinformatics and Classical Literary Study

This paper describes the Quantitative Criticism Lab, a collaborative initiative between classicists, quantitative biologists, and computer scientists to apply ideas and methods drawn from the sciences to the study of literature. A core goal of the project is the use of computational biology, natural language processing, and machine learning techniques to investigate authorial style, intertextuality, and related phenomena of literary significance. As a case study in our approach, here we review the use of sequence alignment, a common technique in genomics and computational linguistics, to detect intertextuality in Latin literature. Sequence alignment is distinguished by its ability to find inexact verbal similarities, which makes it ideal for identifying phonetic echoes in large corpora of Latin texts. Although especially suited to Latin, sequence alignment in principle can be extended to many other languages

Maternal near miss and maternal death among women with hypertensive disorders in pregnancy: an observational study in a selected hospital in West Bengal

Background: Aim of the this study was to assess the prevalence of hypertensive disorder in pregnancy and the  incidence of maternal death and maternal near miss from the hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and utilization of maternal health care services by them. Methods: An observational study was performed at Purba Medinipur District Hospital, West Bengal from 1st April 2018 to 31st December 2020. The main outcome measures included incidence of potentially life threatening conditions, life threatening conditions maternal near miss cases and mortality developed due to PIH/preeclampsia/eclampsia and utilization of maternal health care services by them. Results: Present study reflected that the prevalence of hypertensive disorder in pregnancy was 9.01% (3543/39310) of total admission. The incidence of maternal mortality due to complication of hypertensive disorder was 7 out of total maternal mortality 30 during that period i.e. 23.3% of total mortality and incidence of MNM was 82 out of total 249 MNM cases during the same period i.e. 32.9% of total MNM cases. Utilization of maternal health care services revealed that there is a scope to increase the service delivery. Conclusions: Health care programmes need to enhance the existing efforts to improve timely health seeking behavior of women. There is a need of better quality antenatal care and extra resources are needed for identification and transportation of the women to reach hospital when the women develops complications. There is also a need of improvement of critical care in women who are suffering from life threatening condition

Strings, Triangles, and Go-betweens: Intertextual Approaches to Silius’ Carthaginian Debates

This article examines a case study in Silius Italicus’ Punica using two distinct but complementary approaches to Flavian epic intertextuality: a methodological move to expand and further incorporate computational tools within philology, and a literary theoretical move to combine intertextuality and thematic interpretation. The case study focuses on the debates in the Carthaginian senate described in Punica 2 and 11, both of which Silius adapts from similar scenes in Livy while also drawing on Vergil’s Aeneid. Part 1 of the essay introduces a new tool for finding a range of inexact verbal parallels based on a bioinformatics technique known as sequence alignment. After comparing the method with two other computational tools, Diogenes and Tesserae, we assess our tool’s ability to detect intertexts in the Punica already noted in traditional scholarship. We then analyse a series of computationally identified parallels that have not been commented on previously and find that all three tools can reveal morphologically and syntactically similar phrases of apparent literary interest. Part 2 focuses on a feature of Silius’ triangulation of Livy and Vergil, the characterisation of the Carthaginian senator Hanno. Through allusions to Vergil’s Drances, Silius turns Hanno from a shrewd judge of Roman character and strength, as he appears in Livy, into a far more ambivalent, Quisling-like figure. Moreover, the effect of blending the two sources is to make more porous the distinctions between nationalities and other categories that structure the reader’s response to Hanno and to the Punica as a whole. In concluding, we suggest that the context in which these literary interactions take place - diplomacy and debate - itself figures the kind of negotiation taking place at a textual level between the various works and their worldviews. The conclusion unifies the methodological and theoretical parts of the essay under the rubric of “triangulation”, in part by drawing on the application of the term in the philosophy of Donald Davidson

Quantitative criticism of literary relationships

Authors often convey meaning by referring to or imitating prior works of literature, a process that creates complex networks of literary relationships ("intertextuality") and contributes to cultural evolution. In this paper, we use techniques from stylometry and machine learning to address subjective literary critical questions about Latin literature, a corpus marked by an extraordinary concentration of intertextuality. Our work, which we term "quantitative criticism," focuses on case studies involving two influential Roman authors, the playwright Seneca and the historian Livy. We find that four plays related to but distinct from Seneca's main writings are differentiated from the rest of the corpus by subtle but important stylistic features. We offer literary interpretations of the significance of these anomalies, providing quantitative data in support of hypotheses about the use of unusual formal features and the interplay between sound and meaning. The second part of the paper describes a machine-learning approach to the identification and analysis of citational material that Livy loosely appropriated from earlier sources. We extend our approach to map the stylistic topography of Latin prose, identifying the writings of Caesar and his near-contemporary Livy as an inflection point in the development of Latin prose style. In total, our results reflect the integration of computational and humanistic methods to investigate a diverse range of literary questions

Aid and Poverty

SUMMARY The volume of aid received by the less developed countries, with some exceptions, is small in relation to the existing scale of poverty in those countries. Aid makes a significant but incremental contribution to available national resources. What aid can or cannot do for the poor has to be viewed and assessed within the context of overall national policies and priorities towards poverty elimination. In that context, it can be said that aid has made a smaller impact on poverty than one would expect. The reasons for this are varied and complex, and point to shortcomings in both donor and recipient policies. The aid experience, however, is by no means wholly negative. Particular forms of aid can make a positive contribution to a reduction in poverty, where national policies are directed towards the same objectives. More important for the future, perhaps, are the lessons that can be learnt from the aid experience about the do's and don'ts of aid policy. SOMMAIRE L'aide et la pauvreté Le volume de l'aide reçu par les pays moins développés, avec quelques exceptions, est petit en rapport avec la pauvreté dans ces pays. L'aide contribue substantiellement mais d'une manière incrémentale aux resources nationales disponibles de ces pays. Le potentiel de l'aide doit être évalué dans le contexte globale des politiques nationales et des priorités envers l'élimination de la pauvreté. Dans ce contexte, on peut dire que l'influence de l'aide sur la pauvreté a été plus petite de ce qu'on aurait prévu. Les raisons pour ceci sont diverses et complexes, et soulignent des défauts dans les politiques des donneurs, aussi bien que dans celles des pays recevants. Cependant, l'expérience de l'aide n'est d'aucune manière entièrement négative. Certaines formes d'aide peuvent réduire la pauvreté, lá où les politiques nationales sont formulées dans le même but. Plus important pour l'avenir, peut?être, sont les leçons de l'expérience de l'aide en ce qui concerne ce qu'on peut faire, et ce qu'on ne devrait pas faire en matière de politique de l'aide. RESUMEN Ayuda y Pobreza Con algunas excepciones, el volumen de la ayuda recibida por los países menos desarrollados es pequeño en relación a la escala de pobreza existente en esos países. La ayuda implica una contribución significativa y adicional a los recursos nacionales existentes. Lo que la ayuda puede y no puede hacer en favor de los pobres, debe considerarse y evaluarse en el contexto del conjunto de las políticas y prioridades nacionales de erradicación de la pobreza. En este contexto puede decirse que el impacto de la ayuda sobre la pobreza, es menor del que podría esperarse. Las razones son variadas y complejas y se refieren a deficiencias en las políticas de donantes y receptores. No obstante, la experiencia en ayuda está lejos de ser totalmente negativa. Determinadas formas de ayuda pueden realizar una contribución positiva en la reducción de la pobreza, en los casos en que las políticas nacionales están dirigidas a los mismos objetivos. Probablemente lo más importante para el futuro, son las lecciones que la experiencia en ayuda proporciona acerca de lo que debería y no debería involucrar la política de ayuda

Fragmented and fitful: India’s energy diplomacy

Since the 1991 introduction of economic reforms that signalled the end of a highly regulated, socialist economic system, India has struggled to inject market reforms into its energy sector. This has not been an easy process and the recently elected Narendra Modi government is just the latest regime to announce ambitious plans for reform. There are numerous reasons for this having proved to be such an onerous task: natural resources are treated as government assets, energy regulation is divided between the federal and state governments, and the domination of inefficient state-owned enterprises has resulted in a sector shot through with corruption and political interests. Strong populist traditions also mean that there is an entrenched policy of fuel subsidies and energy price controls which has led to chronic underinvestment in power infrastructure and technology. Even where there has been considerable Indian private sector involvement, notably in natural gas, there has been a sense that policies are determined by influence-peddling. The degree to which these domestic policy issues overwhelm the debate on the Indian energy sector cannot be underestimated. New Delhi gives only fleeting consideration, normally just rhetorical, to the external aspect of its energy policies. Another reason why the country’s foreign policy and energy security do not overlap is that, barring the 1970s OPEC oil crises, no international energy rupture has shocked its political system sufficiently for it to integrate external policies with domestic energy reforms in a systematic manner. India’s external energy policy has therefore revolved around peripheral or transient issues. Attempts at energy diplomacy have been moved forward in fits and starts and are easily trumped by domestic political considerations.</p