This paper aims to analyze various indicators to explain the impact of inequality and income on economic growth at the regional level of Kazakhstan. The data collected from the Bureau of National Statistics from 1995 to 2020 examined the impact of country, interregional, and market inequality indices and real income/wage on the GRP of different regions. Applying the methods such as analysis of unique statistical data covering 16 regions of Kazakhstan and log-linear multivariate regression analysis, which was carried out using the STATA software package, evidence was provided on the influence of interregional, country inequality, and income on economic growth. The analysis showed the differential impact of inequality and income. It was found at the first stage that the gap between interregional inequality and country inequality is insignificant. It was identified at the second stage that in models with real incomes, an increase in income has a negative impact on the development of the economy of Kazakhstan. All the models obtained are consistent and have (although not very high) significant explanatory power and confirm the relationship between inequality and economic growth. The findings can help policymakers, regionalists, economists, and governmental bodies understand the importance of income inequality and which areas can contribute to the formation of effective regional policy. © Karina Turkebayeva, Makpal Bekturganova, Orazaly Sabden, Galiya Dauliyeva, Gaukhar Kenzhegulova, 2022.

Cubic halide based perovskite gained the attention of the researchers due to their remarkable optoelectronic contributions. The present work deals with the first principles calculations based on Density Functional Theory for exploring the TlSnX3(X=Cl,Br,I) cubic perovskites. The important physical characteristics are computed within Wien2k using Full Potential Linearized Augmented Plane wave, FP-LAPW method. The structural stability is examined by energy volume optimization. The optimized lattice constant of TlSnCl3, TlSnBr3 and TlSnI3 is 5.58 Å, 5.83 Å and 6.20 Å. The electronic and optical properties are calculated using Generalized Gradient Approximation with Perdew–Burke–Ernzerhof, PBE-GGA, Trans-Blaha modified Becke–Johnson, TB-mBJ and Strongly Constrained and Appropriately Normed, SCAN exchange and correlation functionals. The studied compounds possess direct band gap nature with the band gap of 1.61 eV, 1.08 eV and 0.75 eV with TB-mBJ for TlSnCl3, TlSnBr3 and TlSnI3. The band gap using PBE-GGA(SCAN) potentials for TlSnCl3, TlSnBr3 and TlSnI3 is 0.98 (0.78) eV, 0.67 (0.69) eV and 0.50 (0.48) eV, respectively. The mechanical analysis reveal that these compounds are ductile. The optical characteristics like ε(ω), n(ω), α(ω), R(ω), σ(ω) and L(ω) are calculated by implementing PBE-GGA, TB-mBJ and SCAN XC. High absorption and low reflectivity make these perovskites potential candidates for sustainable energy applications. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2024.

For the seismically active region of the southern part of the Republic of Kazakhstan, a mathematical model of seismic action has been developed based on the representation of seismic action by a non-stationary random process, which is obtained from a stationary multiplication by a deterministic envelope function. For the territory of the city of Taraz, the seismic regime of its territory and soil conditions were studied. Accelerograms of strong earthquakes were selected from the world database, the source parameters of which correspond to the parameters of past earthquakes. It was found that the calculated sample of accelerograms for the region of Taraz should include instrumental records with acceleration maxima in the range of 124–275 cm/s2, recorded on soils of the second category. For each accelerogram, the parameters of the correlation functions of the random process, the values of the effective duration and the frequency characteristics of the seismic impact are determined. This information allows to perform digital modeling of seismic impact, given as a random process. The results can be used to calculate buildings with various seismic isolation systems, high-rise and extended buildings.

Land use/land cover (LULC) changes significantly impact spatiotemporal groundwater levels, posing a challenge for sustainable water resource management. This study investigates the long-term (2000–2022) influence of LULC dynamics, particularly urbanization, on groundwater depletion in Kabul, Afghanistan, using geospatial techniques. A time series of Landsat imagery (Landsat 5, 7 ETM+, and 8 OLI/TIRS) was employed to generate LULC maps for five key years (2000, 2005, 2010, 2015, and 2022) using a supervised classification algorithm based on Support Vector Machines (SVMs). Our analysis revealed a significant expansion of urban areas (70%) across Kabul City between 2000 and 2022, particularly concentrated in Districts 5, 6, 7, 11, 12, 13, 15, 17, and 22. Urbanization likely contributes to groundwater depletion through increased population growth, reduced infiltration of precipitation, and potential overexploitation of groundwater resources. The CA-Markov model further predicts continued expansion in built-up areas over the next two decades (2030s and 2040s), potentially leading to water scarcity, land subsidence, and environmental degradation in Kabul City. The periodic assessment of urbanization dynamics and prediction of future trends are considered the novelty of this study. The accuracy of the generated LULC maps was assessed for each year (2000, 2005, 2010, 2015, and 2022), achieving overall accuracy values of 95%, 93.8%, 85%, 95.6%, and 93%, respectively. These findings provide a valuable foundation for the development of sustainable management strategies for Kabul’s surface water and groundwater resources, while also guiding future research efforts. © 2024 by the authors.

Water scarcity has been felt in many countries and will become a critical issue in the coming years. The release of toxic organic and inorganic contaminants from different anthropogenic activities, like mining, agriculture, industries, and domestic households, enters the natural waterbody and pollutes them. Keeping this in view in combating the environmental crises, removing pollutants from wastewater is one of the ongoing environmental challenges. Adsorption technology is an economical, fast, and efficient physicochemical method for removing both organic and inorganic pollutants, even at low concentrations. In the last decade, graphene and its composite materials have become the center of attraction for numerous applications, including wastewater treatment, due to the large surface area, highly active surface, and exclusive physicochemical properties, which make them potential adsorbents with unique physicochemical properties, like low density, chemical strength, structural variability, and the possibility of large-scale fabrications. This review article provides a thorough summary/critical appraisal of the published literature on graphene-, GO-, and rGO-based adsorbents for the removal of organic and inorganic pollutants from wastewater. The synthesis methods, experimental parameters, adsorption behaviors, isotherms, kinetics, thermodynamics, mechanisms, and the performance of the regeneration–desorption processes of these substances are scrutinized. Finally, the research challenges, limitations, and future research studies are also discussed. Certainly, this review article will benefit the research community by getting substantial information on suitable techniques for synthesizing such adsorbents and utilizing them in water treatment and designing water treatment systems. © 2022 Elsevier B.V.

This literature review examines the application of Fibre Optic Sensors (FOS) in the structural health monitoring of concrete buildings, an increasing issue in contemporary construction owing to the demand for safer and more resilient infrastructure. This review aims to evaluate the current state of FOS applications and estimate their efficacy. The study employed modelling and experiments with FOS to measure deformations in various concrete samples. FOS, which are thin fibres with an optical cable inside, was used in the study. The sensors were integrated into concrete structures to measure deformations. The research indicates that FOS, specifically Fibre Bragg Gratings, deliver higher reliability and accuracy in quantifying deformations in concrete, surpassing conventional approaches in precision and environmental durability. FOS are non-contact sensors that excel in extreme environments, including elevated humidity and temperature fluctuations, rendering them suitable for monitoring essential infrastructure such as bridges, tunnels, and buildings. The analysis highlights critical challenges, such as the necessity for advanced sensor integration techniques and better calibration procedures to guarantee consistent data accuracy. Moreover, it underscores the possibility of amalgamating FOS with additional monitoring systems to provide comprehensive, real-time structural health management solutions. Although FOS are now utilised in several concrete buildings, the study indicates that more research is necessary to enhance sensor technologies and investigate new applications, including the incorporation of artificial intelligence for data processing. This evaluation underscores the necessity of creating economical, scalable solutions for the extensive application of FOS in building projects. ©2025 by authors, all rights reserved.

After undergoing biological treatment, wastewater still contains substances with endotoxic activity, such as lipopolysaccharide. However, due to the increasing practice of treating wastewater to make it suitable for drinking (potable reuse), the removal of these endotoxic active materials is crucial. These substances can be harmful to human health, leading to a condition called endotoxaemia. Furthermore, environmental endotoxins pose risks to pharmaceutical manufacturing processes and the quality of the final pharmaceutical products. Ultimately, the most significant concern lies with the patient, as exposure to such substances can have adverse effects on their health and well-being. Activated carbon has a proven efficiency for endotoxin removal; rice husk (RH), as a type of natural lignocellulosic agricultural waste, is a unique carbon precursor material in terms of its availability, large-scale world production (over 140 million tons annually), and is characterized by the presence of nanoscale silica phytoliths, which serve as a template to create additional meso/macropore space within the nanoscale range. High surface area RH/lignin-derived honeycomb monoliths were prepared in this study via extrusion, followed by carbonization and physical and chemical activation to develop additional pore space. The nanoporosity of the carbon honeycomb monoliths was established by means of low-temperature nitrogen adsorption studies, using calculations based on QSDFT equilibrium and BJH models, as well as mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP) and SEM investigations. An alternative method for the elimination of the bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS)—a conventional marker—using filtration in flowing recirculation systems and the adsorbent activity of the monoliths towards LPS was investigated. Since LPS expresses strong toxic effects even at very low concentrations, e.g., below 10 EU/mL, its removal even in minute amounts is essential. It was found that monoliths are able to eliminate biologically relevant LPS levels, e.g., adsorption removal within 5, 30, 60, 90, and 120 min of circulation reached the values of 49.8, 74.1, 85.4, 91.3%, and 91.6%, respectively.

Coal mining predisposes soils to heavy metal (HM) accumulation, which adversely affects the ecological environment and human health, particularly in extremely arid and vulnerable areas. In this study, soil samples were gathered from the Black Mountain Open Pit Coal Mine in Turpan City, Northwest China to determine the health risk of heavy metals (HMs). Results showed that positive matrix factorization model divided the sources of soil HMs into four categories, i.e., natural and animal husbandry (43.46%), industrial transportation (22.87%), fossil fuel combustion (10.64%), and atmospheric deposition and domestic pollution (23.03%). All kinds of pollution evaluation indices showed that Cd (cadmium) and Pb (plumbum) pollution was evident. The Monte Carlo simulated health risk assessment results showed that 4.00% non-carcinogenic risk and 12.00% carcinogenic risk were posed to children, and the positive matrix factorization-based health risk assessment showed that fossil fuel combustion had the highest contribution to the health risks to adults and children, while industrial transportation was the lowest. In this study, the risks of HMs in the soil of mining area were analyzed using source analysis, which not only provides reliable data support for the prevention and control of HM pollution in the soil of this arid mining area, but also provides a theoretical basis for subsequent regional research. © Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Science Press and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2025.

This article explores the durability and cracking defects associated with 3D-printed concrete, a rapidly emerging technology in construction. As the demand for innovative building techniques grows, understanding the long-term performance of 3D-printed structures becomes crucial. The most important properties of these products are the resistance to freezing and thawing and the possibility of cracking during maintenance. A fine-grained concrete mixture with expanded perlite additive was tested on strength, freezing–thawing resistance, and the reasons for cracking were analyzed during maintenance. Some differences between the results from standard concrete specimens and the results from 3D-printed concrete were obtained experimentally. During the research, 3D-printed concrete specimens were produced with industrial equipment, the density and compressive strength were determined, the mass loss of concrete specimens after freeze/thaw cycles was tested. By reducing the water-to-cement ratio to 11%, the strength of concrete with expanded perlite additive increased from 68.2 to 71.1 MPa. For concrete with W/C equal to 0.47 after 28 freeze/thaw cycles, the mass loss of 3D-printed specimens reaches 2.09 and 56 freeze/thaw cycles 9.17 kg/m2, and large surface defects were obtained. An analysis of the origin and recommendations for preventing cracks from occurring in 3D-printed products were carried out. The findings underscore the need for optimized mix designs and printing parameters to enhance durability. Copyright © 2025 Gintautas Skripkiunas et al. Advances in Civil Engineering published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Sludge from wastewater treatment is a complex and challenging by-product of water treatment processes. Despite the technical, environmental, and health challenges, this material can be valuable in agriculture, industry, and energy production. Sewage sludge with organic matter is considered a macro source of micro and macro elements. New technologies and compliance with health and environmental standards are essential for better sludge management. Considering the need for sustainable resources and environmental protection, the future of sludge use looks promising and can help reduce environmental impacts and increase resource efficiency. The introduction of organic matter into the soil by affecting different physical, chemical, nutritional, and biological characteristics of the soil can improve or increase the growth of plants. As a result of microbial processes and under the influence of intracellular and extracellular enzymes, the ground is provided for plant growth by changing the form of elements from organic to inorganic form. This study investigates the effect of different levels and frequencies of fertilization with sewage sludge on soil activity and quality. For this purpose, wastewater and soil analyses were used, and wastewater treatment was evaluated using two liquid sludge methods for organic fertilizer and bulking materials for mineral fertilizer. The results showed that by changing the volume of treated materials and the amount of wastewater added to the soil, the characteristics of the soil change over a 2-year period. In general, the application of sewage sludge increased the organic carbon and total soil nitrogen and enzyme activities in the soils treated with sewage sludge.