Natural and medical sciences

The “gravitational force” of the sea is an important factor in regional de­velopment, and though it has not been sufficiently studied, it has received in­creasing attention in the last two decades. The article focuses on the economic features of 11 federal subjects of the Russian Federation located along its mar­itime borders in the west of the Arctic, Baltic and Azov-Black Sea basins. The regions under study vary from each other, but each of them plays a vital role in the country's economy. The author aims to identify their typological differ­ences in order to improve federal and regional policy towards to the coastal re­gions of the Western Borderlands. To attain the goal, first, the types of regions under study were identified (according to the selected typological features re­flecting the main natural and socio-economic characteristics of the regions) then GRP level, structure and growth rates were considered. The analysis re­sulted in the overall assessment of the socio-economic situation in regions of different types. Considering the typological features of the regions, the pro­spects for their future development based on the strengthening of the coastal factor are outlined.

The article focuses on the results of a sociological survey of the city resi­dents the main purpose of which is to identify the features of the geographical image of their city. The authors attempt at answering the question whether the comprehensive image of urban geospace coincides with the urban devel­opment tasks stated by the urban planners, city government and architects. The methodology designed by the authors determines the interview as a pri­mary tool for collecting research material. The online platform attracted the citizens’ attention to the issues of urban development and drew the most open answers to a number of key challenges in the development of Kaliningrad. The obtained results indicate that the popular image of the city is not fully con­sistent with its development strategy. The findings brought a number of rec­ommendations to promote the image strategy of Kaliningrad.

The coastal zone of the Kaliningrad region is an especially sensitive ma­rine area which includes recreation areas, natural heritage sites, construction sites and zones of both abrasion and accumulation. Thus, it requires monitor­ing and control of core environmental indicators such as suspended particu­late matter concentration. The research focused on the suspended matter transport from the main source area, which included both human-made and natural suspended matter inputs. Directions of particles transport for surface and bottom layer were discovered to be different. The transformation of the suspended matter transport from the Kaliningrad lagoon to the Curonean spit was studied with electron microscopy. The biogenic fraction dominates in the suspensions, including colonies of cyanobacteria, diatoms and dinoflagellates. The suspended matter composition changes from the Sambia Peninsula to­ward to the Curonian Spit: iron content rises along with a decrease in total number of mineral particles.

The article contains all the available data on average monthly discharges and water levels for the rivers under study, that provided the background for the hydrological series of these characteristics which are found to be in a close stochastic connection. Linear regression equations connect the average month­ly discharges and water levels in the rivers under study. They also provide for the graphs of the relationship between the considered values, and the bounda­ries of their confidence intervals were calculated and constructed. From these dependences, it is possible to determine the average monthly discharge or wa­ter levels in the studied rivers, owning only one set of characteristics. It can also be a picture of regular channel processes, since the distribution of points on the graphs is within the normal range and is attributed to natural rivers processes.

A retrospective review of previously obtained results of regional geomor­phological studies, their chronological systematization, highlighting the main results and the nature of research at every stage of study can serve a good in­troduction to this field of science. The article focuses on the papers of the late 19th century on geological-geomorphological and eco-landscape studies of the Russian sector of the southeastern part of the Baltic Sea. The chronological stages of research development are identified and characterized.

The article presents the results of the photosynthetic pigments content ana­lysis (chlorophyll a, b and carotenoids) in the leaves of one of the most com­mon representatives of the urban herbaceous plants — reed fescue Festu­ca arun­dinacea Schreb., in controlled experimental conditions. The content of pigments in the leaves in one day after treatment with organic compounds sharply decreases compared to three days occurred after treatment with pen­tane, hexane, benzene, as well as mixtures of pentane and hexane; pentane and hexane with benz(a)pyrene. The influence of o-xylol, benz(a)pyrene, butyl ate­tate; mix­tures of butyl acetate with o-xylol and benzene with o-xylol caused a more in­tense reduction in the content of pigments three days after the treat­ment of plants. At the same time, the maximum change in the content of pig­ments dur­ing the experiment is caused by the action of butyl acetate, o-xylol and a mixture of butyl acetate with o-xylol; and the greatest decrease in the con­tent of pigments compared to the control was observed under the action of o-xylol.

The work aims to study processing fat-based sludge generated as a waste from the food enterprise in the Kaliningrad region through vermicomposting to obtain environmentally friendly bio-fertilizer. The research focused on chemical composition and physicochemical properties of fat-containing sludge and soil samples before and after the process of vermicomposting. The bioferti­lizer has been studied to conform to the basic regulatory indicators, and the main indicators: pH, organic matter and total phosphorus were assessed to meet the requirements for biofertilizers. The authors conclude that the use of the organic fertilizer obtained is permissible for the agricultural industry.

The issue of breast silicone implants reliability is getting widely dis­cussed in the world. The article presents the results of an anonymous survey of more than three hundred women with a of mammoplasty in medical histo­ry. We analyzed whether post-surgery complications depend on age, surgical access, and the manufacturer of the prosthesis. The study showed that age and surgical access are not associated with the occurrence of complications. Com­monly known breast silicone implants are produced by Allergan and Mentor. Among the implant-related complications, capsular contracture was the most frequent, and half of all complications occur in the early post-surgery period.

The review focuses on modern views on the etiopathogenesis of allergic rhinitis and the development of its complications. The microbial communities of the symbiotic population in the human body (microbiota) and their contri­bution to the immunobiological reactivity of the body are considered. The au­thors give a comparative characteristic of microbiota assessment methods. The data analysis suggests that microbiota can participate in the pathophysiologi­cal formation mechanisms of chronic allergic rhinitis and its complications.