Structure of social relations in the novel \emph{The Master and Margarita} by M. A. Bulgakov: A network analysis of verbal communications

A network analysis of the structure of social relationships in one of the most popular Russian novels of the Soviet era The Master and Margarita by M. Bulgakov has been carried out. The structure of the novel is complex (`a story within a story'); the real-world- and the other-world-characters are interacting. A complex and unusual structure of the character network is expected. Presumably, the network may be split in two subgraphs owing very different properties. This complex and unusual composition makes the novel especially attractive for a network analysis. In our study, only paired verbal communications between explicitly present and acting characters have been taken into account. Based on a character pair verbal communication matrix, a graph has been constructed, the vertices of which are the characters of the novel, while the edges correspond to the connections between them. Taking only dialog into account leads to the result, that the character network can be described by an ordinary, rather than a directed graph. Since the activity of the dialogs was out of our scope, the edges have been given no weights. The largest connected component of the graph consists of 76 characters. Centralities were computed to characterize the network. The assortativity coefficient of the network under consideration is negative -0.133, i.e., the network does not demonstrate the properties of a social network. The structure of the communities in the network was also analysed. In addition to the obvious large communities - the characters from the Yershalaim part of the novel and the characters of the Moscow part - the analysis also revealed a fine structure in the Moscow component. Using the analysis of centralities, a group of main characters has been detected. The central characters of the novel are Bezdomny, Woland, Levi Matthew, Koroviev, Azazello, Behemoth, Bosoi, Warenukha, Master, and Margarita.Comment: 21 pages, 2 figures, 4 tables, 39 reference

Особенности современной семьи: модель взаимоотношений в России и мире

Modern society is currently undergoing the stage of transition. Such a change has an impact on all social institutions, including the family and family-marital relations. People are becoming increasingly liberated and independent. This affects marital relations, which are currently being built according to new paradigms associated with greater responsibility for oneself and less for the partner. All these are new phenomena of our social reality, requiring a new understanding and development of new social practice. To validly disclose the features of the modern model of family relations, we will build our considerations in line with evolutionary, functional, empirical and interactionist approaches, based on the assertion that the family is, first of all, a small social group, where each partner has their own, often opposing, interests, and which at the same time acts as an integral social system.Современное общество в настоящее время переживает переходный этап. Такое изменение оказывает влияние на все социальные институты, включая семью и семейно-брачные отношения. Люди становятся все более раскрепощенными и независимыми. Это сказывается на супружеских отношениях, которые в настоящее время строятся в соответствии с новыми парадигмами, связанными с большей ответственностью за себя и меньшей степени за партнера. Все это - новые явления нашей социальной реальности, требующие нового понимания и развития новой социальной практики. Чтобы достоверно раскрыть особенности современной модели семейных отношений, мы строим наши рассуждения в русле эволюционного, функционального, эмпирического и интеракционистского подходов, основанных на утверждении, что семья — это прежде всего небольшая социальная группа, где каждый партнер имеет свои, часто противоположные, интересы и которая в то же время выступает как целостная социальная система

Development of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)'s Shadow Economy Assessment Methodology

The purpose of the article is to study the shadow economy assessment methodology. This article presents a comprehensive study of the parameters of a shadow economy, considers its essence, and defines its terminology. This study outlines the historical approach to the development of the shadow economy, both in Russia and worldwide, and gives a brief analysis of the economy of the Republic of Sakha. The authors examined the specifics of the statistical methods applied in assessing various structural elements of a shadow economy and measured and assessed the shadow economy in this region. The research conducted enabled the authors to formulate the main measures required to reduce the shadow economy. The scientific novelty is justified by the research results, which included studying and summarizing a wide range of published and unpublished materials, the examination of the initial and transitional periods of the shadow economy development in Yakutia. The article reveals the main causes and conditions that lead to the formation of the shadow economy in various sectors of the Yakutia economy. The solutions and suggestions proposed in the article are aimed at reducing the shadow economy parameters. The scientific research results are of theoretical and applied importance for public administration and authorities to improve the effectiveness of the fight against the shadow economy manifestations

Genome sequence of the acid-tolerant Desulfovibrio sp. DV isolated from the sediments of a Pb-Zn mine tailings dam in the Chita region, Russia

Here we report the draft genome sequence of the acid-tolerant Desulfovibrio sp. DV isolated from the sediments of a Pb-Zn mine tailings dam in the Chita region, Russia. The draft genome has a size of 4.9 Mb and encodes multiple K+-transporters and proton-consuming decarboxylases. The phylogenetic analysis based on concatenated ribosomal proteins revealed that strain DV clusters together with the acid-tolerant Desulfovibrio sp. TomC and Desulfovibrio magneticus. The draft genome sequence and annotation have been deposited at GenBank under the accession number MLBG00000000

Genome sequence of the copper resistant and acid-tolerant Desulfosporosinus sp. BG isolated from the tailings of a molybdenum-tungsten mine in the Transbaikal area

Here, we report on the draft genome of a copper-resistant and acidophilic Desulfosporosinus sp. BG, isolated from the tailings of a molybdenum-tungsten mine in Transbaikal area. The draft genome has a size of 4.52 Mb and encodes transporters of heavy metals. The phylogenetic analysis based on concatenated ribosomal proteins revealed that strain BG clusters together with the other acidophilic copper-resistant strains Desulfosporosinus sp. OT and Desulfosporosinus sp. I2. The K+-ATPase, Na+/H+ antiporter and amino acid decarboxylases may participate in enabling growth at low pH. The draft genome sequence and annotation have been deposited at GenBank under the accession number NZ_MASS00000000

Isolation, characterization, and metal response of novel, acid-tolerant Penicillium spp. from extremely metal-rich waters at a mining site in Transbaikal (Siberia, Russia)

The role of fungi in metal cycling in acidic environments has been little explored to date. In this study, two acid-tolerant and metal-resistant Penicillium isolates, strains ShG4B and ShG4C, were isolated from a mine site in the Transbaikal area of Siberia (Russia). Waters at the mine site were characterized by extremely high metal concentrations: up to 18 g l−1 Fe and >2 g l−1 each of Cu, Zn, Al, and As. Both isolates were identified as Penicillium spp. by phylogenetic analyses and they grew well in Czapek medium acidified to pH 2.5. Resistance to Cu, Cd, Ni, Co, and arsenate was in the range of 1–10 g l−1. Further experiments with Penicillium strain ShG4C demonstrated that growth in Cu-containing media was accompanied by the precipitation of Cu-oxalate (moolooite) and the formation of extracellular vesicles enriched in Cu on the mycelia. Vesicles were greatly reduced in size in Cd-containing media and were not formed in the presence of Ni or Co. Cd-oxalate was detected as a crystalline solid phase in Cd-exposed mycelia. Hydrated Nisulfate (retgersite) and Co-sulfate (bieberite) were detected in mycelia grown in the presence of Ni and Co, respectively. The results demonstrated that acid-tolerant and metal-resistant Penicillium constitute a component in extremophilic microbiomes, contributing to organic matter breakdown and formation of secondary solid phases at pH ranges found in acid rock drainage

Pan-Cancer Analysis of lncRNA Regulation Supports Their Targeting of Cancer Genes in Each Tumor Context

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are commonly dys-regulated in tumors, but only a handful are known toplay pathophysiological roles in cancer. We inferredlncRNAs that dysregulate cancer pathways, onco-genes, and tumor suppressors (cancer genes) bymodeling their effects on the activity of transcriptionfactors, RNA-binding proteins, and microRNAs in5,185 TCGA tumors and 1,019 ENCODE assays.Our predictions included hundreds of candidateonco- and tumor-suppressor lncRNAs (cancerlncRNAs) whose somatic alterations account for thedysregulation of dozens of cancer genes and path-ways in each of 14 tumor contexts. To demonstrateproof of concept, we showed that perturbations tar-geting OIP5-AS1 (an inferred tumor suppressor) andTUG1 and WT1-AS (inferred onco-lncRNAs) dysre-gulated cancer genes and altered proliferation ofbreast and gynecologic cancer cells. Our analysis in-dicates that, although most lncRNAs are dysregu-lated in a tumor-specific manner, some, includingOIP5-AS1, TUG1, NEAT1, MEG3, and TSIX, synergis-tically dysregulate cancer pathways in multiple tumorcontexts

Pan-cancer Alterations of the MYC Oncogene and Its Proximal Network across the Cancer Genome Atlas

Although theMYConcogene has been implicated incancer, a systematic assessment of alterations ofMYC, related transcription factors, and co-regulatoryproteins, forming the proximal MYC network (PMN),across human cancers is lacking. Using computa-tional approaches, we define genomic and proteo-mic features associated with MYC and the PMNacross the 33 cancers of The Cancer Genome Atlas.Pan-cancer, 28% of all samples had at least one ofthe MYC paralogs amplified. In contrast, the MYCantagonists MGA and MNT were the most frequentlymutated or deleted members, proposing a roleas tumor suppressors.MYCalterations were mutu-ally exclusive withPIK3CA,PTEN,APC,orBRAFalterations, suggesting that MYC is a distinct onco-genic driver. Expression analysis revealed MYC-associated pathways in tumor subtypes, such asimmune response and growth factor signaling; chro-matin, translation, and DNA replication/repair wereconserved pan-cancer. This analysis reveals insightsinto MYC biology and is a reference for biomarkersand therapeutics for cancers with alterations ofMYC or the PMN