Complex network analysis of literary and scientific texts

We present results from our quantitative study of statistical and network properties of literary and scientific texts written in two languages: English and Polish. We show that Polish texts are described by the Zipf law with the scaling exponent smaller than the one for the English language. We also show that the scientific texts are typically characterized by the rank-frequency plots with relatively short range of power-law behavior as compared to the literary texts. We then transform the texts into their word-adjacency network representations and find another difference between the languages. For the majority of the literary texts in both languages, the corresponding networks revealed the scale-free structure, while this was not always the case for the scientific texts. However, all the network representations of texts were hierarchical. We do not observe any qualitative and quantitative difference between the languages. However, if we look at other network statistics like the clustering coefficient and the average shortest path length, the English texts occur to possess more clustered structure than do the Polish ones. This result was attributed to differences in grammar of both languages, which was also indicated in the Zipf plots. All the texts, however, show network structure that differs from any of the Watts-Strogatz, the Barabasi-Albert, and the Erdos-Renyi architectures

Morphological-developmental reaction and productivity of plants and canopy of semileafless pea (Pisum sativum L.) after seed vaccination with Rhizobium and foliar micronutrient fertilization

The determinants of semileafless peas (Pisum sativum> L., cv. Tarchalska) crop productivity were studied during two vegetative seasons: cool 2010 and warm 2011 in south part of Poland (Modzurów 50°09’N 18°07’E; 274 m. a.s.l.. Peas was treated either with seed vaccine (NitraginaTM) containing Rhizobium bacteria or foliar micronutrient fertilizer (PhotrelTM) or both of them. The range of peas response to treatments included biometrical measurements and also the measurements of vegetation indices namely, green area index (GAI), normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and relative chlorophyll content (SPAD), carried out in the specific stages of development, which for the compared objects were generally insignifi cant. In the warmer growing season, pea plants grew better, what resulted in a very high yield of seeds per plant, determined by a greater number of large seeds. It was shown that the length and weight of pea pod and the number of seeds formed in the pod depends on its position on the particular node. The longest pods, characterized by the greatest weight and number of seeds, developed on the lower nodes: 1st and 2nd one. The pea pods forming on higher nodes, from the 3rd, had reduced number of fruits and the weight of a single seed. The shortest pods were growing out of the 5th and 6th nodes, at the top of the stem. Analysis of the single pea seed mass shows a highly significant effect of its position in the fruit on pod productivity. Seeds located in the central part of the pod had the greatest mass, and this accuracy, as highly significant, was found for the pods containing from 3 to 8 seeds. The tested agrochemical treatments did not differentiate the chemical composition of seeds

Human Trafficking and the T Visa Process: Insights from Legal Representatives Working with Victims from Latin Ameria

Human trafficking occurs when traffickers use force, fraud, or coercion to compel individuals to provide labor or services—broadly known as labor or sex trafficking. Traffickers often take advantage of individuals who are perceived as vulnerable, including those lacking immigration status. In response, the United States Congress created a T nonimmigrant status (also referred to as a T visa) in October 2000 to protect immigrant victims and to strengthen law enforcement’s ability to investigate these crimes. The current study sought to examine the trafficking experiences of foreign national victims from Latin America specifically by interviewing legal representatives who assist these individuals in Nebraska. These representatives were selected due to their intimate knowledge of the T visa process and their unique position to identify human trafficking victims during legal consultations. Interviews were conducted via Zoom with six individuals who provided rich insights into 22 cases involving victims of human trafficking from Latin America. The findings include an overview of the legal representatives who encountered these cases, describes the trafficking experience of victims from Latin America, explores the challenges of filing for a T visa, examines the role of service providers in addressing clients’ needs, and reviews the legal representatives’ perceptions of barriers to trafficking cases. The report concludes with policy implications that are useful to individuals or institutions (e.g., agencies, legal representatives, law enforcement) in anti-trafficking initiatives

COMMUNITY AND NETWORK RESPONSES FOR ASSISTING MOBILE VULNERABLE POPULATIONS

The COVID-19 crisis highlighted the increasing vulnerability of individuals, households, and communities. It has almost certainly been even more devastating for those who rely on community networks and organizations for aid but are less able to access aid networks in conditions of reduced mobility. This is the case for “mobile vulnerable populations,” among which include persons experiencing homelessness, victims of human trafficking,immigrants, refugees, and Latinos/as. This report summarizes our research with local Omaha service providers about what they need to serve mobile vulnerable populations in the community, how the pandemic has affected their ability to do so, and whether there have been any substantial and/or institutionalized partnerships between UNO/UNMC and these community organizations. In our research, we used a multi-method approach consisting of a survey of community organization leaders and interviews with organization workers engaged into day-to-day service provision to meet the needs of their clients. Our findingscan be summarized in four main themes: (a) organizations were already under-resourced prior to the pandemic; (b) the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on organizations was substantial; (c) organizations described similar strengths and innovative responses to the pandemic; and (d) there is a lack of institutionalized collaboration with UNO/UNMC. We argue that building connections between UNO/UNMC and community organizations, as well as assisting in the development of networks among various organizations, is central to the mission of the University of Nebraska system and could benefitthe community more broadly. Concluding, we present four main recommendations: (1) more connections are needed between UNO/UNMC and agencies in the Omaha area; (2) it is likely that there are existing relationships between agency partners and UNO/UNMC faculty, staff and students that could be leveraged; (3) there is an opportunity to prepare students and emphasize workforce growth among providers; and (4) the important work of serving mobile vulnerable populations can be rewarding but also challenging for Omaha providers

Agricultural Academy

Abstract . Effects of heavy metals from polluted soils on the roots and nodules formation. Bulg. J. Agric. Sci., Intensive development of transport in suburban areas contributes to excessive accumulation of heavy metals in cultivable soils. The negative effect of heavy metals on legumes becomes apparent in specifi c concentrations in the soils, hence it is not always possible to determine direct harm of environment to the growth of plants root system. The aim of the research was to evaluate the impact of soil conditions on root system weight, weight and number of root nodules in different legumes species; fi eld pea (Pisum sativum) and spring vetch (Vicia sativa). Additionally, we assess the degree of metals accumulation in roots dry mass. Research studies have shown that an increase in heavy metals content in agricultural soils in an urbanized area results in a decrease in microbiological activity of soils, their fertility, and in consequence a decrease in plants productivity. Metals pollution of soils resulted in deterioration of biometrical parameters of the root system and deterioration of effi ciency of the symbiotic system. Field pea showed little sensitivity to the presence of heavy metals in the soil. Spring vetch was more sensitive to soil pollution, developing lesser root mass. Field pea was less sensitive to the cultivation station, the effect of which was a lower level of zinc, chromium and nickel accumulation. Moreover, fi eld pea showed high detoxifi cation capacity, accumulating a large amount of lead in the roots

A cholesterol analog stabilizes the human β2-adrenergic receptor nonlinearly with temperature

In cell membranes, G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) interact with cholesterol, which modulates their assembly, stability, and conformation. Previous studies have shown how cholesterol modulates the structural properties of GPCRs at ambient temperature. Here, we characterized the mechanical, kinetic, and energetic properties of the human beta(2)-adrenergic receptor (beta(2)AR) in the presence and absence of the cholesterol analog cholesteryl hemisuccinate (CHS) at room temperature (25 degrees C), at physiological temperature (37 degrees C), and at high temperature (42 degrees C). We found that CHS stabilized various structural regions of beta(2)AR differentially, which changed nonlinearly with temperature. Thereby, the strongest effects were observed for structural regions that are important for receptor signaling. Moreover, at 37 degrees C, but not at 25 degrees or 42 degrees C, CHS caused beta(2)AR to increase and stabilize conformational substates to adopt to basal activity. These findings indicate that the nonlinear, temperature-dependent action of CHS in modulating the structural and functional properties of this GPCR is optimized for 37 degrees C.Peer reviewe