2015 Issue №7

The paper presents the results of a study of metal accumulation (Cu, Zn, Mn, Sr, Ni, Ca, Fe, Br, Rb) in the leaves of trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants (a total of 22 species) in the urban environment of Kaliningrad. The study area includes major geochemical landscapes – residential, industrial, and recreational districts. The background concentration of metals in plants is studied. The study establishes the presence of significant anthropogenic sources of metal pollution of vegetation in Kaliningrad. The leaves of plants found in the urban environment show excessive background concentrations of iron, manganese, zinc, and strontium. The maximum content of pollutants in plants is registered in industrial areas with high traffic load. Species-specific features of metal accumulation are established. Plants with a high metal accumulation capacity can be used in the phytoremediation of polluted urban areas.

This article considers the features of heavy metal accumulation in individual plants of the true grasses and spurge families in two industrial areas in the city of Gomel and outside the city. The author analyses the heavy metal accumulation in the aquatic vegetation in the city’s waterways. It is shown that, in industrial areas, the Gramineae are charactersied by higher cadmium, barium, nickel, and molybdenum concentrations and the Euphorbiaceae by those of chromium. Aquatic plants show higher levels of heavy metal accumulation in comparison with meadow vegetation.

This article analyses quality of life determined by the health of working-age population of a northern region. The authors identify latent factors affecting the quality of life in men and women engaged in mental and manual labor. Differences in the self-assessment of quality of life depending on the sex and job of the respondents are established. In different respondent groups, latent factors adversely affecting the quality of life formed clusters or functioned autonomously

This article presents the results of a hematological assay of blood (leucocytes, mean value of absolute and relative values of the leucocyte population: lymphocytes, total eosinophil, basophils, monocyte, and neutrophil count) in the military and reserve personnel. Seasonal, gender and age-dependent features in blood parameter changes are identified.

This article presents the Russian contrinution to the international study "Alcohol and drug prevention among youth in Baltic Sea region" (ADPY), implemented in 2012-2013 with the participation of municipalities from four European countries – Sweden, Norway, Lithuania, and Russia (two districts of the Kaliningrad region). The study aimed to collect comparable data on alcohol, drug, and other psychoactive substance abuse in 15-16 year olds. This article analyses the feautures of substance abuse in youth in the town of Bagrationovsk, including risks associated with substance abuse, the influence of family and social environment, and the attitudes of young people to the substance abuse problem. The data obtained can be used as a tool for local specialstis and policymakers active in the field of substance abuse prevention in youth in the process of preventive work at the local level.