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In this paper, joint precast piles with a cross-section of 400 × 400 mm and a pin-joined connection were considered, and their interaction with the soil of Western Kazakhstan has been analyzed. The following methods were used: assessment of the bearing capacity using the static compression load test (SCLT by ASTM) method, interpretation of the field test data, and the dynamic loading test (DLT) method for driving precast concrete joint piles, including Pile Driving Analyzer (PDA by ASTM) and Control and Provisioning of Wireless Access Points (CAPWAP) methods. According to the results, the composite piles tested by the PDA (by ASTM) method differ by 15 percent compared to the static load method, while the difference between the dynamic DLT (by ASTM) method and the static load (by ASTM) method was only 7 percent. So, according to the results, the alternative dynamic method DLT (by ASTM) is very effective and more accurate compared to other existing methods.

This article discusses the foundations of a conical shape directed with their apex downwards to increase the cross-sectional area and, accordingly, the bearing capacity during settlement and under the influence of horizontal tensile strains in undermined areas. To simulate the deformability of undermined and seismically exposed foundations, a three-dimensional expandable box was manufactured and assembled. Models of a conical foundation with an aperture angle of the cones at 90° and 80° were buried into the soil at 0.75 of its height, in order to provide a safety margin for further loading due to an increase in the bearing area when the cone is immersed deeper into the ground. Laboratory and field tests were performed on the vertical loading of single cones before and after horizontal soil displacement. Numerical modeling of the interaction between soil and foundation was carried out for conical foundation models that were considered for laboratory and field testing using the Plaxis 2D (Version 8.2) program. To compare the bearing capacity, isolated shallow foundations with a diameter equal to the cross section of the conical foundation at the intersection with the ground surface were tested. The isolated shallow foundations lost their bearing capacity after 0.15 kN in laboratory tests and after 75 kN in the field tests, while the ultimate bearing capacity of conical foundations with the similar cross section at the soil surface was not achieved, even after 0.2 kN during laboratory tests with horizontal soil displacement and at a load of 100 kN in field tests.

The dynamic spread of 3D printing technologies and open-source electronics prototyping platforms has significantly enriched the diversity of instruments used within educational robotics (ER) settings. An active, low-entry-level community offering ready-to-use libraries for a broad variety of devices assists in the development of quite sophisticated projects. However, the flipside of the coin is represented by the current research findings, which reveal that students’ interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects has declined across Europe, as manifested in difficulties when approaching scientific topics and dealing with problems and phenomena studied from a multidisciplinary perspective. Consequently, a significant percentage of youths are at risk of social exclusion due to the direct relationship between low academic achievements and school dropout. Moreover, learners lack guidance in applied and life-context skills, such as creative thinking, problem solving, and collaboration, which highlights the need to introduce innovative pedagogical approaches. In this context, the design thinking (DT) methodology was proposed to tackle the problem. Originating in the development of psychological studies on creativity in the 1950s within the educational context, DT is known to foster creative thinking, help develop empathy, promote action-oriented actions, improve meta-cognitive awareness, contribute to problem-solving skills, and enhance students’ imagination. The last point supports the students’ development of critical thinking, social inclusion, teamwork skills, and academic performance. Thus, this paper introduces a methodological framework combining DT with ER classes. First, to approach the problem, the teachers’ survey data were collected and analysed to reveal the respondents’ level of integration of the DT methodology into current school curricula. Then, the work focused on the application of this framework in a learning experience by addressing the weakest points established and their elaboration through the combined ER and DT classes in the context of secondary schools.

Fiber optics are increasingly being used in structural health monitoring applications. In addition to the well-known advantages, they most reliably transmit the stress–strain condition of the structure in the long term. This article presents the results of structural health monitoring on the embedding of fiber optics in the upper layer of the raft over the entire area of a high-rise building in Astana city (Kazakhstan), including the 75-storey 320 m block R. Temperature and strain data were collected constantly via a distributed fiber optic strain sensing system (DFOSS). The analysis of strains in fiber optic chainage indicated that the compression strains were observed over the entire area of the building, with values from −20 to −40 µε and with progression of the compression loaded up to −80 µε along the core wall closer to the eastern facade of the building. Tension strains were concentrated along the extreme axes of the building, with a predominance in the southern part of the R block, as well as in the immediate vicinity of the columns, in a range of −20 to −40 µε, with separate spots from −40 to −60 µε. Individual patches of tension strains near the columns have been explained by the increased deflection of the raft under the application of a concentrated load (columns). Fiber optic monitoring results at the time of testing did not exceed the permitted values for high-rise building operation; however, they characterized the general picture of the strain in the raft plane and made it possible to determine the initiation of cracks in concrete at an early stage.

This study investigated the potential influence of operating water levels and loading conditions on the slope stability of an embankment dam. Four different operating reservoir levels (normal, reduced, embankment height, and overflow) were considered in the study. Numerical modeling was used to investigate the problem in the case of the Chardara dam within the Syrdarya catchment in Kazakhstan. Based on the drawdown rates and operating conditions, minimum factor of safety values ranging from 0.56 (total failure) to 2.5 were retrieved. Furthermore, a very high correlation was observed between drawdown days, the minimum factor of safety values, the maximum factor of safety values, and pore-water pressures, with correlation coefficients ranging from 0.561 to 0.997 (strong to very strong correlation). On the other hand, the highest negative correlation of 0.997 was observed between the minimum factor of safety values and pore-water pressures. Additionally, based on the results from the analysis of variance, three reservoir operating levels (normal, embankment height, and overflow) resulted in p-values less than 0.05, indicating that the variations in the factor of safety values from the drawdown rates were statistically significant. The findings of this study demonstrated that, not only may the drawdown rate be detrimental to the embankments, but that different operating levels can also affect slope stability in different ways.

Vapour mass transfer is often underestimated when designing the bases for structures in frost susceptible soils. Intensive and long-term vapour transport may lead to excessive frost heaving and associated issues. A vapour transport model and the algorithm of its calculation is presented in this study based on the results of experimental freeze–thaw cycles of nine soil samples with varied density. The temperature field distribution, air voids volume and the energy comprising latent heat for the phase transition and heat extracted during the temperature drop are the main parameters for determining the vapour velocity and the amount of ice formed. According to the results, the average speed of vapour transport in frozen soils was about 0.4 m/h. The amount of ice built in 1 h during uniaxial freezing due to the saturated vapour pressure difference was 1.64 × 10−5–3.6 × 10−⁵ g/h in loose samples and 1.41 × 10−⁶ g/h to 5.61 × 10−⁷ g/h in dense samples of 10 cm diameter and 10 cm high sections. The results show that vapour mass transfer can increase the risk of ice growth and related problems.

Destructuring settlements due to frost heave during the structures’ exploitation are often not taken into account at the designing stage, although they are indirectly related to the bearing capacity of the soils. The objective of this research was analyzing the effect of the number of freezing-thawing cycles on the strength characteristics of soils. A paired experiment with various initial parameters (void ratio, initial moisture content, and the number of freezing-thawing cycles) was carried out. According to the experimental results, the cohesion largely depends on the above parameters which might lead to its decrease by up to three times. The angle of internal friction demonstrated an indefinite behavior during the freeze-thaw cycles, which is confirmed by a literature review. Freezing–thawing cycles significantly decrease the soil bearing capacity: up to 44% after 10 freezing-thawing cycles for soil with e=0.55 and w=16.5%. However, in the case of e=0.75 and w=22.6%, it increased by 33%. A program based on the least-squares method was used to calculate the approximation coefficients of the dependence describing the changes in strength characteristics from the abovementioned parameters. Changes in strength characteristics must be taken into account when designing structures, as they can lead to additional settlement or even subsidence of the foundations.

The maturity method is deservedly considered one of the reliable indirect methods for determining the strength at the early stages of concrete curing. The main parameter in the calculation is the internal temperature of concrete that accumulates during the chemical reaction of concrete curing, while external factors such as ambient temperature and relative humidity are fallaciously omitted. In this work, the complex maturity method was developed based on ASTM C1074, accounting for the influence of ambient temperature and relative humidity and coefficients indicating their influence weight. The laboratory testing to measure the concrete strength by compression method and non-destructive sclerometer method were performed on concrete samples according to ASTM C109, GOST 22690, and GOST 10180. According to the calibration dependence of the existing and proposed methods results in comparison with the strength of cubic samples, the highest coefficient of determination R2 = 0.976 was revealed for the complex method of maturity, which indicates its reliability in contrast with sclerometer and traditional maturity methods. The determination of complex maturity allows for an evaluation of the current state of concrete strength, but also reduces the waiting time for concrete curing and increases the economic effect during construction.

Inhibition of 3-hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl-CoA (HMG-CoA) reductase is associated with an increased risk of new-onset type 2 diabetes. We studied the association of genetic or pharmacological HMG-CoA reductase inhibition with plasma and adipose tissue (AT) metabolome and AT metabolic pathways. We also investigated the effects of statin-mediated pharmacological inhibition of HMG-CoA reductase on systemic insulin sensitivity by measuring the HOMA-IR index in subjects with or without statin therapy. The direct effects of simvastatin (20–250 nM) or its active metabolite simvastatin hydroxy acid (SA) (8–30 nM) were investigated on human adipocyte glucose uptake, lipolysis, and differentiation and pancreatic insulin secretion. We observed that the LDL-lowering HMGCR rs12916-T allele was negatively associated with plasma phosphatidylcholines and sphingomyelins, and HMGCR expression in AT was correlated with various metabolic and mitochondrial pathways. Clinical data showed that statin treatment was associated with HOMA-IR index after adjustment for age, sex, BMI, HbA1c, LDL-c levels, and diabetes status in the subjects. Supra-therapeutic concentrations of simvastatin reduced glucose uptake in adipocytes and normalized fatty acid-induced insulin hypersecretion from β-cells. Our data suggest that inhibition of HMG-CoA reductase is associated with insulin resistance. However, statins have a very mild direct effect on AT and pancreas, hence, other tissues as the liver or muscle appear to be of greater importance.

Designing advanced methods of corrosion protection and increasing the bearing capacity of pile foundations on saline clayey soils is a priority geotechnical task in Kazakhstan. The formation of a suffusion-resistant waterproof shell was achieved by silicatization of a borehole before concreting, by the installation of a mold into the borehole and the impregnation of a sodium silicate solution into the space between the mold and the soil under pressure. After coagulation of the silicate solution, the mold was removed and the formed shell was filled with corrosion-resistant concrete. Full-scale static pile load tests were conducted in the construction site “Retaining wall on Mount Koktobe” in Almaty. The bearing capacity of the piles with the protective silicate shell exceeded the bearing capacity of an ordinary pile by 2.5 times on average without wetting the site, and 3.2 times after prolonged wetting. The numerical model had a close relationship with the average experimental curve obtained when conducting six static pile load tests with the protective shell. A large economic effect of the developed piling technology with a protective shell was achieved, with a significant reduction in the cost of piling, equal to 27.85%.

Introduction: The treatment of neuropathic and central pain still remains a major challenge. Thalamic deep brain stimulation (DBS) involving various target structures is a therapeutic option which has received increased re-interest. Beneficial results have been reported in several more recent smaller studies, however, there is a lack of prospective studies on larger series providing long term outcomes. Methods: Forty patients with refractory neuropathic and central pain syndromes underwent stereotactic bifocal implantation of DBS electrodes in the centromedian–parafascicular (CM–Pf) and the ventroposterolateral (VPL) or ventroposteromedial (VPM) nucleus contralateral to the side of pain. Electrodes were externalized for test stimulation for several days. Outcome was assessed with five specific VAS pain scores (maximum, minimum, average pain, pain at presentation, allodynia). Results: The mean age at surgery was 53.5 years, and the mean duration of pain was 8.2 years. During test stimulation significant reductions of all five pain scores was achieved with either CM–Pf or VPL/VPM stimulation. Pacemakers were implanted in 33/40 patients for chronic stimulation for whom a mean follow-up of 62.8 months (range 3–180 months) was available. Of these, 18 patients had a follow-up beyond four years. Hardware related complications requiring secondary surgeries occurred in 11/33 patients. The VAS maximum pain score was improved by ≥50% in 8/18, and by ≥30% in 11/18 on long term follow-up beyond four years, and the VAS average pain score by ≥50% in 10/18, and by ≥30% in 16/18. On a group level, changes in pain scores remained statistically significant over time, however, there was no difference when comparing the efficacy of CM–Pf versus VPL/VPM stimulation. The best results were achieved in patients with facial pain, poststroke/central pain (except thalamic pain), or brachial plexus injury, while patients with thalamic lesions had the least benefit. Conclusion: Thalamic DBS is a useful treatment option in selected patients with severe and medically refractory pain.

Development of a geotechnical database for the young capital of Kazakhstan, Nur-Sultan city, became a paramount concern of both the scientific community and industry. The creation of the Kazakhstan model of the geotechnical database was based on a fixed dataset which included a city map with determined X, Y, and H coordinates and the user generated data obtained from the materials of engineering and geological surveys from more than 2000 boreholes. Based on the assessment of the built-up area of the city, six main engineering-geological elements (EGE) were identified. The territory of the city was regrouped into eight zones instead of the previous six based on the geological origin and stratigraphy interposition of the EGE. Engineering properties of the soils were considered for physical and mechanical characteristics, where the plasticity limits demonstrated an accurate correlation to the elasticity modulus E and distribution boundaries between the alluvial and eluvial types of the soil on the graph. So, the increased liquid and plastic limits are replicated by higher values of elasticity modulus E, and hence better strength characteristics of a particular soil layer and vice versa, while the moisture content and soil density did not show any obvious pattern and requires additional verification on the construction site. Finally, a geotechnical map was built for the driven piles and the optimal variations in the pile length for each zone were determined.

Patients with dystonia experience unusual postures and disfigurement. The aim of the study was to examine changes in the body concept in relation to quality of life and severity of dystonia. Our cohort consisted of 20 patients with idiopathic dystonia resistant to medical therapy who were planned for pallidal deep brain stimulation. The results were compared to 25 healthy controls. The patients were assessed with Frankfurt Body Concept Scale, Short Form 36 (SF-36) Health Survey, Hamilton Depression Scale, Beck Depression Inventory, Social Phobia Inventory and Social Interaction Anxiety Scale. The disease severity was evaluated with Burke–Fahn–Marsden Dystonia Rating Scale and Toronto Western Spasmodic Torticollis Rating Scale. Patients with dystonia had a significantly impaired body concept in eight out of nine subscales in comparison to healthy controls. The differences were most pronounced for the subscales general health, body care, physical efficacy, sexuality and physical appearance (p < 0.001). Furthermore, all eight subscales of SF-36 exhibited significantly lower values in patients with dystonia compared to controls. We also found significant positive correlations between SF-36 and body concept subscales. Impairment of body concept was not associated with disease severity or levels of social anxiety symptoms. However, there was a significant association between self-rated depression and disease severity. Our patients suffered from increased depression and social anxiety symptoms except social interaction anxiety. We conclude that patients with dystonia have significant body concept impairment that interferes with quality of life in both physical and emotional domains. Future studies should focus on assessing these symptoms after adequate therapeutic management of motor symptoms.

The design of shallow foundations is performed in accordance with different building regulations depending on geotechnical and geological conditions. This paper involves the design calculations applying Kazakhstani and European approaches. The design of shallow foundations in Nur-Sultan city in Kazakhstan was implemented by the calculation of bearing capacity and elastic settlement in accordance with the design procedures provided in SP RK 5.01-102-2013: Foundations of buildings and structures, and Eurocode 7: Geotechnical design. The calculated results of bearing capacity and elastic settlement for two types of shallow foundations, such as pad foundation and strip foundation, adhering to Kazakhstani and European approaches are relatively comparable. However, the European approach provided higher values of bearing capacity and elastic settlement for the designed shallow foundation compared to the Kazakhstani approach. The difference in the results is explained by the application of different values of partial factors of safety for the determination of bearing capacity and different methods for the calculation of the elastic settlement of shallow foundations (i.e., elasticity theory and layer summation method).