Groundwater resources are becoming increasingly scarce, especially in arid regions of western Kazakhstan. By 2070, the domestic and drinking water demands will increase from 640 to 901 thousand m3/day. This deficiency may be overcome by utilizing the Zhem Artesian Basin’s Cretaceous Albian–Cenomanian aquifer complex. The hydrodynamic interactions between the 123 known aquifer segments and recharge zones of these promising, exploitable, high-quality groundwater sources are unclear. While MODFLOW is a nominal platform for groundwater flow assessment, which is usually used for the simulation of simple hydrological scenarios, in this study, integrating several different scales and functional modules over a GIS platform enabled delineation and the forecast of this multi-layer aquifer complex. The MODFLOW simulation assessed exploitable groundwater resources and reservoir interactions, enabling the establishment of a simultaneous operation to the Zhem aquifer complex and its neighboring reservoirs. The model suggests that the total exploitable groundwater resources may grow to 629.4 thousand m3/day during the next 50 years. The simultaneous drawdown model suggests a water level decrease of up to 80 m at the end of this period, which will cause a river flow reduction of approximately 6% of the average long-term river flow. Thus, the assessed exploitable groundwater resources will cover more than 70% of the future regional water demand. The mathematical model developed may be used for monitoring and forecasting groundwater head and water balance changes and may be applied to attain a more detailed groundwater resource transfer scheme with economic criteria.

The Port of Aktau, Kazakhstan, is a vital logistics hub within the Trans-Caspian Transport Route. Synchromodal logistics emphasizes synchronized operations and real-time modal shifts to improve sustainability and efficiency. However, its comparative advantages over intermodal systems remain underexplored, particularly in emerging logistics markets like Kazakhstan. The research evaluates transport costs, times, and environmental impacts using data on container flows from the Port of Aktau. GIS-based modeling and Monte Carlo simulations were employed to assess dynamic demand and optimize transport modes and routes. Key performance metrics included transportation distances, terminal waiting times, and CO2 emissions. Synchromodal systems demonstrated substantial advantages: a 35.5% reduction in road transport costs, 37.7% shorter terminal waiting times, and a 33.3% decrease in CO2 emissions compared to intermodal systems. Despite higher rail transport and cargo handling costs, synchromodal logistics significantly improved overall efficiency. Road usage was reduced by 40.7%, while rail usage increased by 250%, optimizing transport distances and enhancing environmental sustainability. Synchromodal systems outperform intermodal logistics in cost-efficiency, environmental impact, and operational resilience at the Port of Aktau. These findings highlight the potential of synchromodal logistics to enhance freight transport sustainability and competitiveness in regional and global contexts. Future research should focus on broader applications and empirical validation of these systems. Copyright © 2025 The authors. This article is published by IIETA and is licensed under the CC BY 4.0 license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

Groundwater is a strategically important source of drinking water supply in the arid and rural regions of Kazakhstan. The objective of this study is to assess the quality of groundwater at 11 water intakes located in the Kordai, Shu, and Merke Districts of the Shu transboundary basin in the Zhambyl Region. A comprehensive assessment of physicochemical parameters was performed, including concentrations of nitrates, sulfates, chlorides, iron, manganese, and other constituents, with subsequent comparison against regulatory limits defined by Order No. 26 of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Kazakhstan (dated 20 February 2023), GOST standards, and ST RK ISO standards. The findings revealed that a number of water intakes exceeded the maximum allowable concentrations for specific indicators, especially in areas subject to significant anthropogenic pressure. The most vulnerable sources were identified near settlements characterized by intensive agricultural practices and inadequate wastewater treatment systems. Spatial comparison of the results enabled the identification of potentially contaminated areas as well as aquifer zones suitable for drinking water supply. The study emphasizes the importance of regular groundwater monitoring and spatial analysis techniques (GIS) to enhance the reliability and comprehensiveness of water quality assessments. The data obtained in this study can serve as a basis for informed decision-making in the area of water resource protection and contribute to the achievement of United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6)—to ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all. © 2025 by the authors.

Currently, significant progress is being made in the prevention, treatment and prognosis of many types of cancer, using biological markers to assess current physiological processes in the body, including risk assessment, differential diagnosis, screening, treatment determination and monitoring of disease progression. The interaction of protein coding gene CD44 with the corresponding ligands promotes the processes of invasion and migration in metastases. The study of new and rapid methods for the quantitative determination of the CD44 protein is essential for timely diagnosis and therapy. Current methods for detecting this protein use labeled assay reagents and are time consuming. In this paper, a fiber-optic biosensor with a spherical tip coated with a thin layer of zinc oxide (ZnO) with a thickness of 100 nm, deposited using a low-cost sol–gel method, is developed to measure the CD44 protein in the range from 100 aM to 100 nM. This sensor is easy to manufacture, has a good response to the protein change with detection limit of 0.8 fM, and has high sensitivity to the changes in the refractive index (RI) of the environment. In addition, this work demonstrates the possibility of achieving sensor regeneration without damage to the functionalized surface. The sensitivity of the obtained sensor was tested in relation to the concentration of the control protein, as well as without antibodies—CD44. © 2022 by the authors.

Myocardial infarction (MI) is one of the leading causes of death globally among cardiovascular diseases, necessitating modern and accurate diagnostics for cardiac patient conditions. Among the available functional diagnostic methods, electrocardiography (ECG) is particularly well-known for its ability to detect MI. However, confirming its accuracy—particularly in identifying the localization of myocardial damage—often presents challenges in practice. This study, therefore, proposes a new approach based on machine learning models for the analysis of 12-lead ECG data to accurately identify the localization of MI. In particular, the learning vector quantization (LVQ) algorithm was applied, considering the contribution of each ECG lead in the 12-channel system, which obtained an accuracy of 87% in localizing damaged myocardium. The developed model was tested on verified data from the PTB database, including 445 ECG recordings from both healthy individuals and MI-diagnosed patients. The results demonstrated that the 12-lead ECG system allows for a comprehensive understanding of cardiac activities in myocardial infarction patients, serving as an essential tool for the diagnosis of myocardial conditions and localizing their damage. A comprehensive comparison was performed, including CNN, SVM, and Logistic Regression, to evaluate the proposed LVQ model. The results demonstrate that the LVQ model achieves competitive performance in diagnostic tasks while maintaining computational efficiency, making it suitable for resource-constrained environments. This study also applies a carefully designed data pre-processing flow, including class balancing and noise removal, which improves the reliability and reproducibility of the results. These aspects highlight the potential application of the LVQ model in cardiac diagnostics, opening up prospects for its use along with more complex neural network architectures.

This article deals with the research and analysis of electric motors and their matched transmission systems within the context of a versatile electric mini-tractor designed for tasks such as street cleaning, urban park maintenance, and transportation of small loads. The primary objective of the research is to assess the strengths and weaknesses of several electric motor and transmission combinations designed to meet the specific operational demands of the tractor. As the driveline has to provide substantial torque while maintaining optimal operating conditions and avoiding overheating, a series of experiments were conducted, covering various electric motor configurations operating within the 60V range, with power outputs ranging from 1000 to 1500 watts and including multiple gearbox variations. A comparative analysis was performed to assess the advantages and disadvantages of direct chain drive transmission solutions without a differential on a rigid axle, in contrast to a sealed motor-gearbox unit featuring differential and semi-axles. The results of this research were used for mathematical comparison of the driveline solutions, enabling the detection of optimally matched transmission and motor solutions. The experiments also covered the identification of energy-efficient solutions and optimal design parameters for an electric tractor explicitly designed for continuous operation exceeding 10 hours, with cargo capacity exceeding 500 kg, high offroad maneuverability, and a service life exceeding 5000 hours. The dynamic tests carried out during the research have provided valuable insight into the relation of the overall power efficiency of the vehicle to the weight and transmission ratio variations. © Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Belgrade. All rights reserved

Today, there is a steady trend in the use of carbon fiber-reinforced plastics in the aerospace and defense industries, mainly based on using pre-impregnated semi-finished products - prepregs. Producing carbon fiber parts from prepregs often requires a long manufacturing time, during which the prepreg must maintain its performance properties. Therefore, one of the main characteristics of prepreg is its viability. This work developed a suitable resin composition with optimized properties and a methodology for studying the viability of prepreg samples, based on determining the stickiness and degree of curing of the prepreg depending on storage time. The influence of prepreg storage time on the strength characteristics of cured laminates was studied. Prepreg samples with long-term viability of up to 60 days were obtained. The experimental data obtained are of practical significance in the industrial production of carbon fiber products, as they establish a connection between the performance properties of the prepreg and storage time. © 2023 E.A.Buketov Karaganda State University Publish House. All rights reserved.

The rapid expansion of phosphorus production has emerged as a critical environmental issue, disrupting the balance between industrial growth and ecological stability. Kazakhstan, as a leading phosphorus producer, faces significant challenges due to the environmental impact of activities in the Karatau phosphate basin. This study evaluates the environmental consequences of Kazphosphate LLP's operations in Karatau, focusing on air quality, surface water pollution, heavy metal contamination in soil, and the formation of young soils at industrial waste sites. Key findings include elevated zinc levels in soil samples, exceeding the maximum permissible concentration by up to 12 times, and low concentrations of copper. The air quality in Karatau showed low pollution levels, with hydrogen sulphide (H2S) at acceptable limits (SI = 0.9). The water bodies, particularly the Talas and Assy rivers, exhibited moderate pollution, with magnesium and sulfates as primary contaminants. Soil analysis highlighted the slow progression of natural recovery, with higher humus and mobile phosphorus content in the upper layers, but deficiencies in nitrogen and exchangeable potassium. This research underscores the urgent need for sustainable waste management practices, reclamation strategies, and advanced technologies to mitigate the environmental impact of phosphorus production. The findings aim to inform measures to reduce pollution, enhance ecosystem restoration, and promote the long-term sustainability of the Karatau phosphate basin.

It is known that the process of water treatment in surface water bodies requires the development of advanced and effective technologies for the destruction of harmful microorganisms and viruses. The aim of the present study is to develop a method for the investigation of surface water content. As a result of the study, the electronic circuit of the purification device using ultraviolet rays was developed. The energy and spectral characteristics were experimentally investigated and the economic efficiency of the ultraviolet ray device was determined, taking into account the basic sanitary and hygienic requirements for the organisation of ultraviolet water disinfection. It is substantiated, that the developed scheme provides safety of conditions of work of the personnel with the equipment. © 2025 The Author(s). Published by Vilnius Gediminas Technical University.

The main objective of this work is to study the influence of structural changes in ZrO2 ceramics on the resistance to hydrogenation processes arising from testing the performance of ceramics as materials for solid oxide fuel cells. During the conducted studies, it was established that the use of stabilizing additives MgO and CaCO3 to initiate processes of polymorphic transformations in ZrO2 ceramics makes it possible to increase the resistance of ceramics to hydrogen swelling due to the stabilization of the crystal structure, the change of which is associated with polymorphic transformations. Suppression of volumetric swelling processes due to polymorphic transformations caused by the addition of stabilizing additives made it possible to elevate resistance to hydrogen absorption and destabilization of the near-surface layer by preventing hydrogen agglomeration processes in the near-surface layer. It has been determined that the modification of ZrO2 ceramics by initiating processes of polymorphic transformations of the type m-ZrO2 → t – ZrO2 and m-ZrO2 → c-ZrO2 leads not only to an increase in strength indicators, but also to an increase in resistance to embrittlement processes during hydrogenation and high-temperature degradation.