Natural and medical sciences

The geographical location of the Kaliningrad region calls for the coastal factor to play a greater role in the development of the region. Created in the Soviet period, the backbone of local maritime activities is highly polarized along the coastline of the region. Similarly polarized along the coastline is the settlement system, which incorporates both the growing cities of the Kalinin­grad agglomeration and areas of low population density, the latter located primarily along the bays. These circumstances determine what effect the coastal factor has on the socio-economic development of a certain municipality in the Kaliningrad region. We believe that the municipalities that use this fac­tor to a limited degree do not fully realise the potential of their geographical location. Alongside employing other development resources, it is logical for the municipalities to run projects taking advantage of the coastal factor. In this work, we set out to examine how the coastal municipalities of the region plan to benefit from the coastal factor in terms of socio-economic devel­opment. From our analysis of strategic documents and programmes of region­al municipalities, we conclude that the most diversified approach to the coastal factor is employed in the Kaliningrad and Svetly city districts. In the other coastal municipalities, projects have a narrow thematic focus, most of them dedicated to developing waterborne transport as an element of the tourism and recreation industry.

In this article, I examine trends in the development of cross-border coop­eration between the Kaliningrad Region of the Russian Federation and the Republics of Lithuania and Poland within a range of cross-border cooperation programmes. I analyse all the projects approved within three cross-border co­operation projects over the past ten years. I focus on the projects that were successfully completed by the Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University — a key actor in cooperation. I examine collaborations between municipalities on either side of the border when preparing and running projects under cross-border cooperation programmes. I classify the municipalities of the Kalinin­grad region by their involvement in the projects and try to explain why a cer­tain municipality is closely or under- involved in the collaborations. I conclu­de that the rate of development of cross-border cooperation is likely to remain at the current level unless the municipalities are provided with recommenda­tions on enhancing cross-border cooperation.

In this article, I carry out a critical analysis of the existing methods for assessing the quality of life of cities and propose a method for assessing Rus­sian cities as experienced by youth. The main result of this study is a method that can be used by municipal authorities in preparing strategic planning documents. I conclude that the existing methods for assessing the quality of life of cities are poorly applicable in practice and thus they require substantial improvement. At the same time, the proposed method is suited to assess both large cities and small and medium-sized ones.

Against the background of global warming and a decline in urban vegeta­tion, they pose a danger of overheating in summer. In this article, we stress the significance of green spaces as a principal factor in reducing the overheat­ing of urban surfaces. We analyse a high-rise residential area in the left-bank part of the city of Voronezh to perform a simulation of microclimatic condi­tions in summer. The following parameters were used as background climatic conditions: the day of the summer solstice, cloudless and calm weather, air temperature 25° C. We assessed the level of thermal comfort in the current landscaping situation in the residential area, taking into account proposed cli­mate improvement initiatives, particularly, planting evergreen and decidu­ous trees. We evaluated the level of thermal comfort using the PMV index. In the current landscaping situation, the residential area studied is severely overheat­ed. Our simulation, which allows for the effects of planted trees, shows a reduc­tion in the PMV index in parks enjoyed by children and adults. The reduction is accounted for by a decrease in the average radiation tempera­ture.

The development of the architectural and urban planning policy in the Kaliningrad region requires the elaboration of a long-term strategy based on the principles of sustainable development. This strategy aims at creating a favourable living environment and achieving a balance of economic, social and environmental interests.

The problem we address in this paper is how the meanings of terms de­noting various liver elastography methods are understood when translated in­to Russian. We provide an overview of various elastography methods and their physical principles in order to give a better understand specific terms. The goal of this paper is to propose a glossary of elastography terms for dis­cussion by the professional community while relying on the physical princi­ples of ultrasonic methods for determining the rigidity of the liver.

In this article, we present an assessment of the quality of life in patients with end-stage chronic kidney disease, receiving replacement therapy by he­modialysis. We give definitions of hemodialysis, chronic kidney disease, the mental component of health, and the physical component of health. The aim of this work is to evaluate the quality of life indicators in patients with end-stage chronic kidney disease, undergoing hemodialysis. The objective of the study is to identify the relationship between the quality of life indicators on the one hand and the nutritional status and the duration of hemodialysis on the other. We present the current KDQOL-SF questionnaire tailored for assessing the quality of life indicators in patients with chronic kidney disease. The nutri­tional status of the patients was assessed using clinical data: the body mass index, the skin and fat folds over triceps, the shoulder muscle circumference, the albumin laboratory values,​​and the absolute number of lymphocytes in 20 patients with end-stage chronic kidney disease. All of them were receiving treatment in the dialysis department of the Kaliningrad Regional Hospital. In conclusion, we establish the relationship between the quality of life in patients with end-stage chronic kidney disease, receiving hemodialysis, and the dura­tion of treatment by hemodialysis.