Vol 25, No 2 (2025)

The problem of delimiting agglomerations is an integral part of the broader issue of economic zoning in the socio-economic space. Given its significance for development, it is important to make a methodology for identifying the influence zone of agglomerations as a specific area in spatial planning. To address this issue, this paper proposes a methodology for determining the territorial accessibility of cities based on population size, which combines the use of open data from Open Street Map, modern geospatial techniques, and visualization tools. The delimitation of agglomerations within the seven Volga regions has enabled the identification of metropolitan areas that, according to the authors, constitute key microdistricts for the spatial planning of the entire country. The factors influencing the changes in the grid of socio-geographical areas within the Ural-Volga region of the country are being clarified. This work will strengthen the continuous approach to analyzing the socio-economic space of this macroregion.

Lung cancer in the Saratov region and Saratov is a very common pathology, ranking second in men and fourth or fifth in women in terms of incidence among other cancer localities. The article provides data on the incidence of lung cancer in Saratov for 2020–2023. Based on a comparison of city’s air basin pollution maps and types of housing development an attempt has been made to determine possible dependencies on the prevalence of the disease. The article also discusses demopopulation indicators of lung cancer patients: their age, gender, and stage of the disease. Six oncogeographic maps are presented: a map of the prevalence of lung cancer in Saratov (2020–2023); a map of the density of traffic flow on the streets of different urban landscape districts of Saratov (2014–2024); a map of the estimated level of carbon monoxide concentration from vehicle exhaust gases on the streets of Saratov within the monitoring sites (2014–2024); a map of surface contamination air quality in different administrative districts of Saratov according to observations for 1992–2024.; a map of the number of floors of residential buildings, localization and relative proportion of men and women with lung cancer in 2020–2023 in Saratov; a map of the locations of lung cancer patients at different stages of the disease and the relative proportion of different stages of the disease in Saratov in 2020–2023. The analysis of urban-ecological and oncogeographic maps revealed the obvious prevalence of the disease in areas of very high and high pollution of the surface layer of urban air, the independence of the disease from living on different floors of residential buildings. There was an overwhelming predominance among men (almost 72%), the elderly (the age cohort of 60–70 years dominates) and patients with advanced lung cancer (63% of patients with stages III and IV of the disease).

The Late Cretaceous and the Paleocene representatives of the Aphrocallistes from the East European Province are known from the scanty skeletal fragments. The fragmentary preservation state of the fossils has brought about some contradictory characteristics of the genus and the idea of those sponges diversity. Colonial Aphrocallistes are regarded as the typical representatives of the Maastrichtian spongiofauna from the west of the European region.

Introduction. The article presents the current socio-political situation and its impact on the market of geoinformation technologies. The requirements of the legislation of the Russian Federation for software purchased for government needs are given. The problem of transition to domestic geoinformation technologies is formulated. Conditions that determine the possibility of solving the problem. The main conditions that need to be created to resolve the problem as soon as possible and their interrelationship have been identified. Comparative analysis of modern GIS capabilities.The possibilities of the most common domestic and foreign GIS systems, their main advantages and disadvantages over each other are considered. Based on the analysis of their capabilities, two options for import substitution of geoinformation technologies in universities are proposed. The problem of financing. A general comparison of the functionality of the paid and free versions of the software is carried out. The cost of some GIS components of domestic and foreign development is given. Creating a system of incentives in universities.The influence of software import substitution on the change in the volume of methodological activities of the teaching staff is considered. Measures are proposed to increase the interest of the teaching staff in solving this problem as soon as possible. Conclusion.The conclusion is made about the relevance of the task and the reality of its implementation. Measures to solve it are proposed.