Abstract: The article studies the current stage of development of Kazakhstan’s agglomerations, the incentivized formation of which has become a state policy priority. Due to the lack of criteria, the boundaries of potential agglomerations are determined by 1.5-h isochrons of transport accessibility around cities with populations of 100 000 or more. Of these cities, eight centers were selected, based on a modified development coefficient that takes into account, in addition to urban satellites, villages with populations of more than 3000 people. A number of socioeconomic indicators were used to analyze the level of separation of cores of agglomerations from their suburbs and regions. The example of Kazakhstan has shown that the inherited structure of the economy and low level of comfort of the environments of cities do not contribute to the development of most agglomerations. During the post-Soviet period, their share in the population of the republic increased from 43 to 52%, while the administrative option of creating agglomerations works only when there are objective prerequisites and evolutionary work in progress. Among agglomerations fixed in government documents with the status of points of growth, the Almaty agglomeration has been deemed developed. The attraction zone of Shymkent includes mainly large villages, some of which have recently become towns. The metropolitan agglomeration of Astana is significantly inferior even to the neighboring Karaganda in terms of development. Aktobe is able to attract residents only form the northwestern regions due to low transport connectivity with the rest of the country. In socioeconomic development indicators, metropolitan agglomerations stand out, and third largest, Shymkent, dominates in the degree of tertiarization of the economy. The other agglomerations retain increased industrial employment, and population growth, owing to low attractiveness, comes from natural growth and intraregional migration. Except for Almaty, in surroundings of which there are features of suburbanization, core cities are growing faster than the zones of influence. The suburbs are distinguished by a lack of job opportunities, weak social infrastructure, and a lower level of household income. This situation, typical of the initial stages of development, hinders agglomerations from realizing their advantages. © 2023, Pleiades Publishing, Ltd.

Prielbrusye National Park is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Russia. In recent years internal tourism development, stimulated by restrictive measures (due to the COVID pandemic and geopolitical situation), resulted in significant growth of tourist flow to the national park’s territory. A surge in anthropogenic load on the park’s geosystems might degrade them and lead to environmental pollution. This research involved chemical studies of natural waters and snow from the south slope of the Elbrus and audit of the most popular tourist trails. The results have shown that in the snow alongside mountain hiking pistes to the Elbrus all the way up to 4,720 m above sea level (a.s.l.) oil stains concentration is up to 38 times higher than maximum acceptable concentration (MAC). Content analysis of heavy metals in snow cover on the Elbrus slopes and in the river Baksan has shown a significant rise in lead load over the period of 2015–2021 from the trace levels to 1.5 MAC, which is the result of increased anthropogenic load on the south slope of the Elbrus mountain. Ground observation of touristtrails has brought to light numerous patches of vegetation trampling, width extension and branching of the main trail, as well as campfire sites. The research results can be used as a rationale to take measures to reduce recreational load, to improve localgeosystems’ condition and to develop a plan of action on nature conservation within the park’s territory. © 2022, Russian Geographical Society. All rights reserved.

Mining, oil and gas, exploration and other industries occupy a strategic place in the development of the economy of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Ensuring the smooth operation of these industries primarily depends on the quality of manufacturing and restoration of parts and components of technological equipment. Technological machines and equipment produced for the above-mentioned industries are characterized by high metal consumption and high labor intensity of their manufacture. The high quality of manufacturing and restoration of parts of these machines and equipment is largely determined by the finishing technology aimed at obtaining shaping, accuracy and the required quality indicators of the working surfaces of the parts. The most common of the finishing methods is magnetic abrasive treatment. A feature of this method is oriented abrasive cutting. The article examines the mechanism of influence of the composition and structure of technological means of lubrication and cooling (LCTM) on the process of magnetic abrasive treatment (MAT), in particular on the nature of metal removal from the machined parts. The mechanism of the adsorption-jamming action of polar molecules and the effect of the LCTM composition on the intensity of metal removal and, 8 accordingly, on the surface quality of the processed products have been studied. The results of the effect of LCTM dispersion on the efficiency of metal removal and roughness during magnetic abrasive treatment (MAP) were obtained, and a new composition of LCTM was proposed. © National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Kazakhstan, 2024.

Lithium-sulfur batteries (LSBs) are considered as some of the most promising next-generation energy storage systems due to their high theoretical capacity and energy density. However, their practical application is hindered by challenges such as the shuttle effect, low conductivity of sulfur, and volume changes during cycling. A key factor to address these issues is the strategy used to incorporate sulfur into the carbon host, which significantly affects the cathode structure and electrochemical performance. In this study, we compare four distinct sulfur immobilization strategies - chemical precipitation (ChP), ball milling infiltration (BM), dissolution-crystallization (DC), and melt diffusion (MD) - using acetylene black (AB) as a conventional conductive carbon host. Each method yields AB@S composites with varying sulfur distributions, loading efficiencies, and interfacial characteristics. Comprehensive morphological and electrochemical characterization, including thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD), confirms differences in sulfur content, particle morphology, and crystalline structure depending on the infiltration route. Electrochemical testing reveals that the synthesis approach is critical in determining the redox kinetics, reversibility, and cycling stability of Li-S batteries. Among the tested approaches, the AB@S cathode fabricated via the BM method delivers the most balanced performance, showing a comparatively high initial discharge capacity of 816 mAh g−1 at 0.1C, improved coulombic efficiency, and enhanced long-term cycling stability, retaining 68% of capacity, unlike DC and MD (about 60%) and ChP (55%) cells. © 2025 The Royal Society of Chemistry.

This paper discusses the concept of geotechnical seismic isolation (GSI) systems, characterized by new principles of action, to reduce seismic loads on buildings. The advantages and disadvantages of GSIs and their environmental and economic reliability are analyzed. The aim of the study is to develop a geotechnical seismic isolation system in the form of vertical barriers, using a rubber–soil mixture (RSM). The novelty of the work lies in the definition of effective structural and technical solutions of vertical seismic barriers made of RSM, characterized by reliability in providing seismic isolation. The ground and superstructure interactions are modeled in PLAXIS 2D software from 2021, using the finite element method, using the accelerogram of the Kobe and Northridge earthquakes. The results confirm the positive impact of using an RSM as an effective GSI geometrical. The results show that the GSI system using an RSM reduces horizontal accelerations by 60%. Significant acceleration reductions of 40–60% are also observed when the thickness and depth of GSI seismic barriers are increased. The results of the study contribute to the substantiation of methodology and scientific and technical efficiency of geotechnical seismic isolation as an economically favorable design alternative to the traditional seismic isolation system.

Global energy and environmental issues are driving the development of modern advances in efficient and environmentally friendly energy storage systems. Such systems must meet a range of requirements, which include high energy and power density, long service life, flexibility, industrial scalability, security and reliability. Progressive achievements in the field of energy storage are associated with the development of various kinds of batteries and supercapacitors. Supercapacitors are state-of-the-art energy storage devices with high power density, long lifespan, and the ability to bridge the power/energy gap between conventional capacitors and batteries/fuel cells. However, supercapacitors have limitations associated with low energy density, which can be solved by using various types of current collectors, since current collectors are one of the main massive components of supercapacitors. This review gives a complete understanding of the effect of current collectors on the actual performance and properties of supercapacitors. We reviewed current collectors based on carbon and metal-containing materials, and supercapacitor configurations to identify possible improvements in electrochemical performance in terms of specific capacitance, energy density, power density, service life and variability in their application. © 2022 The Author(s)

Abstract: Context: The main challenge of large-scale biofuel production is related to the extraction of its undesired impurities including glycerol, water, methanol, soap/catalyst, free fatty acids, glycerides, and others. There are many ways to remove glycerol, and herein, the one alternative is the extraction of glycerol from biodiesel by deep eutectic solvents. In this regard, the mixture of a choline chloride (ChCl) and urea, methyltriphenylphosphonium chloride (MTPPCl), and ethylene glycol (EGL), as a deep eutectic solvent (DES), is effective in removing glycerol from biofuel. Methods: In this work, we have investigated the formation mechanism of ChCl and urea, and then MTPPCl and EGL, as a DES, and then extraction of glycerol from biofuel via DES implementing density functional theory (DFT) by Gaussian09 software, B3LYP basis set, and classical all-atom molecular dynamics (MD) simulations by Gromacs software, GROMOS force field. DFT approximation demonstrates that Cl ion plays an important binding role in the formation of complexes ChCl/urea-based DES + biofuel and in MTPPCl/EGL-based DES + biofuel. We have also considered the formation and change of hydrogen bonds upon the formation of these systems using the DFT method. Large HOMO–LUMO gaps in ChCl/urea-based DES + biofuel and in MTPPCl/urea-based DES + biofuel demonstrate the stability of the complexes. The results of MD work have stated that the chloride ion formed bonding with the choline/ethylene glycol EGL, while still weakly intermolecular interacting with the urea/methyltriphenylphosphonium in ChCl/urea- and MTPPCl/EGL-based DESs. Further results of MD simulations stated that the DESs had a higher intermolecular interaction with glycerol in comparison with biofuel, thereby favoring the extraction process of glycerol from model biofuel. Highlights: • Intermolecular interactions of choline chloride and urea, methyl triphenyl phosphonium chloride, and ethylene glycol-based DESs and their applications in the extraction of glycerol from biofuel studied by DFT calculations and classical all-atom molecular dynamics simulations. • Calculated outputs of DFT calculations and classical all-atom molecular dynamics simulations for DESs and their applications in the extraction of glycerol from biofuel were discussed in detail. • The molecular formation mechanism of choline and methyl triphenyl phosphonium-based DESs and their application in the extraction process of glycerol from biofuel were summarized. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.

Throughout the course of Earth’s existence, it has undergone alternating phases of warm periods and ice ages, resulting in a natural greenhouse effect. This effect is crucial for maintaining liquid water and supporting life, as the mean global annual temperature would have been ‒18°C in its absence (Voet and Voet, 2010). However, since the 1800s, human activities have emerged as the primary catalyst for an increase in the concentration of greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the troposphere, leading to significant impacts on global warming and climate change. These activities, such as the combustion of fossil fuels, household, commercial, and industrial practices, as well as deforestation and conventional agricultural activities, contribute to the release of heat-trapping gases (USEPA, 2023). The key GHGs include carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), water vapor, ozone (O3), and fluorinated gases (Table 1). © 2025 Rafiq Islam, AHM Mustafizur Rahman, Heulin Thierry, and Mannava Sivakumar CRC Press is an imprint of Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the coronavirus infection (COVID-19) has evolved into a serious global issue, widely discussed and studied by scientists around the world. The complexity of researching and classifying this disease lies in the absence of unified criteria: symptoms vary greatly, diagnostic thresholds fluctuate within wide ranges, and the clinical picture is complex and diverse. It largely depends not only on the patient’s age but also on their prior pathological history, quality of life, and geographical location. Under these circumstances, special attention must be paid to the study of diseases that have become increasingly prevalent, are associated with a high frequency and variety of complications, and have acquired new clinical features following COVID-19. In the course of our study, we systematized the main symptoms most characteristic of patients with cardiovascular pathology and post-COVID syndrome (PCS), comprising the main group (51 patients). The control group consisted of patients with similar cardiovascular conditions but without PCS (94 patients), assessed by clinical and laboratory parameters. In the main group, changes in blood laboratory values were observed, with the most prominent being elevated levels of blood enzymes—LDH, CPK, AST, and ALT. Among these, CPK and LDH were the most significant, which elevated levels indicating prolonged tropism of the virus toward vascular endothelium. The levels of SARS-CoV-2-specific IgG antibodies in both groups reflected the degree of immunological response and overall immune status.

This study experimentally and numerically investigated CO2 adsorption characteristics onto a highly porous activated carbon. Adsorption kinetics and isotherms experiments were conducted using a high-precision thermogravimetric analyzer. The effects of key parameters, specifically adsorbent bed thickness, temperatures, and pressure, were considered. The two isotherm models were employed to correlate the measured data, and they showed a decent fit. Numerical simulations were carried out using COMSOL Multiphysics software under a coupled heat and mass transfer model. The simulated results showed a reasonable agreement with the experimental uptakes for all studied parameters. The results also showed that the diffusion time constant Ds0/Rp2 is pressure-dependent and varies with the adsorbent bed thickness. The Ds0/Rp2 at each adsorption temperature is calculated and fitted with the Arrhenius equation. Estimated averaged values of limiting Ds0/Rp2 for adsorbent bed thicknesses of 0.9, 5, and 25 mm, respectively, equal to 2.18 × 10−1, 8.64 × 10−2, and 2.05 × 10−2 1/s. Linearly increasing adsorbent bed thickness causes a rapid nonlinear drop in Ds0/Rp2. The findings from this research provide valuable information on the mass transfer characteristics of CO2 onto activated carbon. So, engineers can design optimized heating/cooling systems that operate more effectively, resulting in higher efficiency, reduced system costs, and lower carbon emissions. © 2024 The Authors