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This paper aims to provide comparative insights into the psychosocial well-being of Hong Kong and Kazakhstan undergraduate students, focusing specifically on the role of ethnicity and gender. The existing body of literature on students’ health-promoting lifestyle has shown how age, gender, income level, sociability, and knowledge of health can shape one’s perception of physical and mental well-being. Much lesser attention, however, has been paid to the ways in which students from diverse ethnic origins differ from each other in cultivating different dimensions of psychosocial well-being. To address this issue, this study delivered questionnaires to 284 undergraduate students from Hong Kong and 281 undergraduate students from Kazakhstan. Developed from the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile II, the questionnaire is designed to measure undergraduate’s psychosocial well-being threefold. Using independent sample t-test, this paper shows that Hong Kong undergraduate students have higher levels of psychosocial well-being in terms of “interpersonal relations” and “stress management” whereas Kazakhstan undergraduate students are stronger in another dimension of well-being – “spiritual growth”. Results show that the influence of gender on students’ psychosocial well-being varies in different contexts. One of the important implications of these findings suggests that school administrators and students from different countries may benefit from cross-cultural exchange, co-promoting all dimensions of psychosocial well-being.

Asymptotic normalization coefficients (ANC) determine the overall normalization of cross sections of peripheral radiative capture reactions. In the present paper, we treat the ANC $C$ for the virtual decay $^{16}$O$(0^+; 6.05$ MeV)$\to \alpha+^{12}$C(g.s.), the known values of which are characterized by a large spread $(0.29-1.65)\times 10^3$ fm$^{-1/2}$. The ANC $C$ is found by analytic continuation in the energy of the $\alpha^{12}$C $s$-wave scattering amplitude, known from the phase-shift analysis of experimental data, to the pole corresponding to the $^{16}$O bound state and lying in the unphysical region of negative energies. To determine $C$, two different methods of analytic continuation are used. In the first method, the scattering data are approximated by the sum of polynomials in energy in the physical region and then extrapolated to the pole. The best way of extrapolation is chosen on the basis of the exactly solvable model. Within the second approach, the ANC $C$ is found by solving the Schr\"odinger equation for the two-body $\alpha^{12}$C potential, the parameters of which are selected from the requirement of the best description of the phase-shift analysis data at a fixed experimental binding energy of $^{16}$O$(0^+; 6.05$ MeV) in the $\alpha+^{12}$C channel. The values of the ANC $C$ obtained within these two methods lie in the interval (886--1139) fm$^{-1/2}$., Comment: arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1710.10767

We present the quality measurements of thick (thicker than London penetration depth) NbTiN superconducting films at Terahertz frequencies using a Dispersive Fourier Transform Spectrometer (DFTS). The reflected RF signal from the tested film was measured in time domain, allowing us to separate it from other reflections. The complex conductivity of the film depends on frequency and determines the reflection coefficient. By comparing the film reflection in superconducting state (film temperature below $Tc$) with that of the normal state (film temperature above $Tc$), we characterized the film quality at terahertz frequencies, and directly probed the energy of the superconducting gap of the tested film. The experimental results were fitted using the extended Mattis-Bardeen theory and th obtained film parameters show a good agreement with the literature. In addition to the DFTS, we have also measured the properties of NbTiN film using Time Domain Spectroscopy (TDS). It is shown that both TDS and DFTS provide similar results, and both techniques can be used for the quality control of thick NbTiN films. The superconducting gap determined from the measurements by both DFTS and TDS are in good agreement for both solid and meshed films showing that there is no remarkable degradation in the film quality due to technological processes of lift-off or ion etching.

The This article deals with the replacement of the magnetic grippers on the VPO-3-3000 machines with roller grippers. The novelty lies in the establishment of dependences characterizing stress and strain in the elements of the lifting and straightening devices and in the rails during the operation. Reliability of the program for calculating the structural parameters of the lifting and straightening device for the VPO-3-3000 track renewal machine is shown. The developed design of the lifting and straightening device makes it possible to select the rational parameters of the technology and the operating mode of the device. It This design is recommended to for use it when developing working bodies for the straightening machines. The article presents the calculation of the lifting and straightening device structural elements' strength during its operation, in the Ansys WB software package.

Rabies and anthrax, being natural focal diseases, are characterized by the ability to persist in areas with a certain combination of environmental factors without human intervention. These infections annually cause sporadic outbreaks in domestic, livestock and wild animals in the Republic of Kazakhstan (RK) receiving close attention of the veterinary service. In particular, targeted mass vaccination and surveillance are conducted, which requires zoning of the country according to the exposure to the diseases.This paper presents a zoning approach based on the estimation of suitability to the study diseases using the Environmental Niche Modelling method. Retrospective data on animal rabies outbreaks in the RK for 2003-2014, as well as data on anthrax burial sites for 1933-2014 were used. The following environmental factors were treated as potential explanatory variables: 1) a set of climate data derived variables BIOCLIM; 2) altitude above the sea level; 3) land cover type; 4) the maximum green vegetation fraction and 5) soil type.The modelling outcomes for both diseases indicate elevated risks along the northern and southeastern borders of the RK that not only follows the distribution of historic disease cases, but also accounts for potentially suitable environmental conditions. To comply with the requirements of the veterinary service, gridded risk maps were converted into categorical maps by averaging risk values within municipal districts and ranking according to four categories: low, medium, high, and very high.The maps obtained may be used as recommendations to the veterinary service as a basis for developing regionspecific anti-epizootic measures.

Background Bluetongue is a serious disease of ruminants caused by the bluetongue virus (BTV). BTV is transmitted by biting midges (Culicoides spp.). Serological evidence from livestock and the presence of at least one competent vector species of Culicoides suggests that transmission of BTV is possible and may have occurred in Kazakhstan. Methods We estimated the risk of transmission using a mathematical model of the reproduction number R0 for bluetongue. This model depends on livestock density and climatic factors which affect vector density. Data on climate and livestock numbers from the 2466 local communities were used. This, together with previously published model parameters, was used to estimate R0 for each month of the year. We plotted the results on isopleth maps of Kazakhstan using interpolation to smooth the irregular data. We also mapped the estimated proportion of the population requiring vaccination to prevent outbreaks of bluetongue. Results The results suggest that transmission of bluetongue in Kazakhstan is not possible in the winter from October to March. Assuming there are vector-competent species of Culicoides endemic in Kazakhstan, then low levels of risk first appear in the south of Kazakhstan in April before spreading north and intensifying, reaching maximum levels in northern Kazakhstan in July. The risk declined in September and had disappeared by October. Conclusion These results should aid in surveillance efforts for the detection and control of bluetongue in Kazakhstan by indicating where and when outbreaks of bluetongue are most likely to occur. The results also indicate where vaccination efforts should be focussed to prevent outbreaks of disease. Graphical abstract

Established the thickness of alluvium (loamy facia) on the segmental-maned and flattened floodplain of Voja-river near Bagramovo-village. Within the various morphological types of the floodplain, the presence of both relatively ancient and younger sites has been determined. Revealed spatial features of the distribution of the buried soils, their thickness in the profile, depth of occurrence. Showing the main features of the relief of the valley of Voja-river in the study area, the ratio of the width of the mainstream and floodplain, the presence of old channels, including significantly greater than the width of the modern channel of Voja-river.

African swine fever (ASF) is a disease of swine that is endemic to some African countries and that has rapidly spread since 2007 through many regions of Asia and Europe, becoming endemic in some areas of those continents. Since there is neither vaccine nor treatment for ASF, prevention is an important action to avoid the economic losses that this disease can impose on a country. Although the Republic of Kazakhstan has remained free from the disease, some of its neighbors have become ASF-infected, raising concerns about the potential introduction of the disease into the country. Here, we have identified clusters of districts in Kazakhstan at highest risk for ASF introduction. Questionnaires were administered, and districts were visited to collect and document, for the first time, at the district level, the distribution of swine operations and population in Kazakhstan. A snowball sampling approach was used to identify ASF experts worldwide, and a conjoint analysis model was used to elicit their opinion in relation to the extent at which relevant epidemiological factors influence the risk for ASF introduction into disease-free regions. The resulting model was validated using data from the Russian Federation and Mongolia. Finally, the validated model was used to rank and categorize Kazakhstani districts in terms of the risk for serving as the point of entry for ASF into the country, and clusters of districts at highest risk of introduction were identified using the normal model of the spatial scan statistic. Results here will help to allocate resources for surveillance and prevention activities aimed at early detecting a hypothetical ASF introduction into Kazakhstan, ultimately helping to protect the sanitary status of the country.

The temperature dependences of the plasma frequency, superfluid density and London penetration depth were determined from terahertz spectra of conductivity and dielectric permittivity of BaFe$_{1.91}$Ni$_{0.09}$As$_{2}$ film with critical temperature $T_c=19.6$~K. Part of experimental data were analyzed within a simple three-band Eliashberg model where the mechanism of superconducting coupling is mediated by antiferromagnetic spin fluctuations, whose characteristic energy $\Omega_{0}$ scales with $T_{c}$ according to the empirical law $\Omega_{0} = 4.65k_{B}T_{c}$, and with a total electron-boson coupling strength $\lambda_{tot} = 2.17$., Comment: 15 pages, 6 figures

This work examines the prevalence of Cryptosporidium spp. infection of cattle in the Akmola region of Northern Kazakhstan. The research was carried out at 75 agricultural enterprises in 10 administrative districts where 894 calves aged from one month to 12 months were tested for cryptosporidiosis. The Bayesian inference method was used to predict the prevalence of cryptosporidiosis. The maximum likelihood estimate (MLE) of infestation of young animals in the region was 0.0391. To get a conjugate beta-posterior in Bayesian statistics, binomial and beta distributions were chosen for likelihood and prior respectively. A 95% credible interval for posterior prevalence was [0.0418, 0.0685]. Cryptosporidiosis was common in 22.7% of cattle farms in the Akmola region, mainly in large industrial enterprises, where there are more favourable conditions for maintaining the biotic potential of the disease pathogens. At the same time, calves up to one month of age are infested with cryptosporidia to a higher degree than animals of older age groups. The sex of animals had no correlation with the level of Cryptosporidium spp. invasion.

Polymer composites containing nanocarbon fillers are under intensive investigation worldwide due to their remarkable electromagnetic properties distinguished not only by components as such, but the distribution and interaction of the fillers inside the polymer matrix. The theory herein reveals that a particular effect connected with the homogeneity of a composite manifests itself in the terahertz range. Transmission time-domain terahertz spectroscopy was applied to the investigation of nanocomposites obtained by co-extrusion of PLA polymer with additions of graphene nanoplatelets and multi-walled carbon nanotubes. The THz peak of permittivity&rsquo, s imaginary part predicted by the applied model was experimentally shown for GNP-containing composites both below and above the percolation threshold. The physical nature of the peak was explained by the impact on filler particles excluded from the percolation network due to the peculiarities of filler distribution. Terahertz spectroscopy as a versatile instrument of filler distribution diagnostics is discussed.

Introduction. Construction in Kazakhstan is one of the leading sectors that has a significant impact on the development of a large number of related industries of the Republic of Kazakhstan. No construction is complete without road construction equipment. Despite the positive developments in the industry including the park of the main construction machinery, things are still more difficult than that. The acquisition of new machine base, with working bodies’ equipment is very expensive. It is economically expedient to develop hinged working bodies on the basic machines existing in Kazakhstan enterprises.Materials and methods. According to the demonstrated problem, the article considers the method of morphological analysis to identify new types of working bodies of digging machines. Moreover, the main classification features of the working bodies of excavating machines are determined in the research and the number of trajectories of the working element’s movement is established.Results. The constructed morphological tree is presented and as a result of such method, the 484 possible and existing designs of working bodies of excavating machines are revealed. A set of conditions for excluding the unacceptable options for hydro mechanical and mechanical working bodies from the hypothetical working bodies is formulated.Discussion and conclusions. Suspended tunneling equipment could be used for both trenching and well drilling, and such processes are evidenced by the patent for the design.

Introduction. The article is devoted to the development of the economic-mathematical model of the technological process of the trench foundations’ construction, the indicators of which are related to the machine parameters, ground conditions and construction conditions.Materials and methods. As a criterion of optimality, the specific energy intensity of the process, which is included in the system indicators, is chosen. Dependencies are established in the research, which determine the correlation of the economic parameters of the drilling process (the cost of the machine, the wages of workers, the standard cost parameters) and the main parameters of the machines, namely power and speed.Results. As a result of experiments on the full-size test bench and the experimental model of the machine, theoretical dependences are confirmed, namely, the minimum specific energy intensity and the resulted costs, which are determined depending on the speed of penetration and the power used.Discussion and conclusion. The developed technique could be used to optimize parameters and other constructions and road machinery, which are not limited to the purpose of the present research. The technique is based on determining the optimal values of the penetration rate and the amount of consumed power, corresponding to the minimum given costs.

The objective of this study was to zone the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan (RK) into risk categories according to the probability of anthrax emergence in farm animals as stipulated by the re-activation of preserved natural foci. We used historical data on anthrax morbidity in farm animals during the period 1933 - 2014, collected by the veterinary service of the RK. The database covers the entire territory of the RK and contains 4058 anthrax outbreaks tied to 1798 unique locations. Considering the strongly pronounced natural focality of anthrax, we employed environmental niche modeling (Maxent) to reveal patterns in the outbreaks' linkages to specific combinations of environmental factors. The set of bioclimatic factors BIOCLIM, derived from remote sensing data, the altitude above sea level, the land cover type, the maximum green vegetation fraction (MGVF) and the soil type were examined as explanatory variables. The model demonstrated good predictive ability, while the MGVF, the bioclimatic variables reflecting precipitation level and humidity, and the soil type were found to contribute most significantly to the model. A continuous probability surface was obtained that reflects the suitability of the study area for the emergence of anthrax outbreaks. The surface was turned into a categorical risk map by averaging the probabilities within the administrative divisions at the 2nd level and putting them into four categories of risk, namely: low, medium, high and very high risk zones, where very high risk refers to more than 50% suitability to the disease re-emergence and low risk refers to less than 10% suitability. The map indicated increased risk of anthrax re-emergence in the districts along the northern, eastern and south-eastern borders of the country. It was recommended that the national veterinary service uses the risk map for the development of contra-epizootic measures aimed at the prevention of anthrax re-emergence in historically affected regions of the RK. The map can also be considered when developing large-scale construction projects in the areas comprising preserved soil foci of anthrax.

The behavior of the crystal structure of a La0.25Ca0.75MnO3 solid solution in the temperature range of 80–725 K is studied. It is established that rotational structural distortions predominate during the transition to a charge-ordered state

We have performed broad-band spectroscopic investigations of vibrational and relaxational excitations of water molecules confined to nanocages within artificial beryl and mineral cordierite crystals. Signatures of quantum critical phenomena within the H2O molecular network are registered in beryl. In cordierite, a density functional analysis is applied to reconstruct the potential energy landscape experienced by H2O molecules, revealing a pronounced anisotropy with a potential well of about 10 meV for the molecular dipole moment aligned along the b-axis. This anisotropy leads to a strongly temperature dependent and anisotropic relaxational response of the dipoles at radiofrequencies with the activation energies corresponding to the barriers of the rotational potential. At T ≈ 3 K, we identify signatures of a transition into a glassy state composed by clusters of H2O dipoles. Rich set of anisotropic and temperature-dependent excitations are observed in the terahertz frequency range which we associate with rotational/translational vibrations.

Eumelanin is a perspective conductive biomolecular material, which has already been used for making various bioelectronic devices ranging from transistors to batteries. It is known that its conductivity mechanisms are governed by a redox comproportionation reaction. However, most studies devoted to the redox chemistry of eumelanin lack the data on the temperature behavior of its properties. We use broadband dielectric spectroscopy and heat capacity measurements to study the influence of hydration and temperature on eumelanin’s conductivity.

Doping dependence of the superconducting state structure and spin-fluctuation pairing mechanism in the $\mathrm{Ba}{(\mathrm{F}{\mathrm{e}}_{1\ensuremath{-}x}\mathrm{C}{\mathrm{o}}_{x})}_{2}\mathrm{A}{\mathrm{s}}_{2}$ family is studied. BCS-like analysis of experimental data shows that in the overdoped regime, away from the antiferromagnetic (AFM) transition, the spin-fluctuation interaction between the electron and hole gaps is weak, and $\mathrm{Ba}{(\mathrm{F}{\mathrm{e}}_{1\ensuremath{-}x}\mathrm{C}{\mathrm{o}}_{x})}_{2}\mathrm{A}{\mathrm{s}}_{2}$ is characterized by three essentially different gaps. In the three-gap state an anisotropic (nodeless) electron gap ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Delta}}}_{e}(x,\ensuremath{\varphi})$ has an intermediate value between the dominant inner ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Delta}}}_{2h}(x)$ and outer ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Delta}}}_{1h}(x)$ hole gaps. Close to the AFM transition the electron gap ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Delta}}}_{e}(x,\ensuremath{\varphi})$ increases sharply and becomes closer in magnitude to the dominant inner hole gap ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Delta}}}_{2h}(x)$. The same two-gap state with close electron and inner hole gaps ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Delta}}}_{2h}(x)\ensuremath{\approx}{\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Delta}}}_{e}(x,\ensuremath{\varphi})$ is also preserved in the phase of coexisting antiferromagnetism and superconductivity. The doping dependence of the electron gap ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Delta}}}_{e}(x,\ensuremath{\varphi})$ is associated with the strong doping dependence of the spin-fluctuation interaction in the AFM transition region. In contrast to the electron gap ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Delta}}}_{e}(x,\ensuremath{\varphi})$, the doping dependence of the hole gaps ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Delta}}}_{1,2h}(x)$ and the critical temperature ${T}_{c}(x)$, both before and after the AFM transition, are associated with a change of the density of states ${\ensuremath{\gamma}}_{nh}(x)$ and the intraband electron-phonon interaction in the hole bands. The nonphonon spin-fluctuation interaction in the hole bands in the entire Co concentration range is small compared with the intraband electron-phonon interaction and is not dominant in the $\mathrm{Ba}{(\mathrm{F}{\mathrm{e}}_{1\ensuremath{-}x}\mathrm{C}{\mathrm{o}}_{x})}_{2}\mathrm{A}{\mathrm{s}}_{2}$ family.

Analysis of the retrospective and current states of the epidemiological situation on economically significant zoonoses (rabies, anthrax, and animal foot and mouth disease) in Kazakhstan over the past eight decades is considered. A reliable factual data for computer simulations and modern quantitative epidemiology methods were provided by the state veterinary and public health services. Historical and modern trends of the spatial and geographical distribution, the presence of cluster foci and the potential occurrence of infections outbreaks by country regions were assessed by mapping the incidence of diseases among animals and humans and using an environmental niche modeling, a space-time cube technology, as well as a negative binomial nesting density model, a linear regression and a generalized linear models. As a research result the statistically reliable visualization of the cluster zoning of Kazakhstan territory by risk emergent outbreaks categories of animals’ and humans’ infectious diseases was obtained. It allows predicting the likelihood of zoonoses outbreaks in the country regions.

Conductive biomolecular systems are investigated for their promise of new technologies. One biomolecular material that has garnered interest for device applications is eumelanin. Its unusual properties have led to its incorporation in a wide set of platforms including transistor devices and batteries. Much of eumelanin's conductive properties are due to a solid state redox comproportionation reaction. However, most of the work that has been done to demonstrate the role of the redox chemistry in eumelanin has been via control of eumelanin's hydration content with scant attention given to temperature dependent behavior. Here we demonstrate for the first time consistency between hydration and temperature effects for the comproportionation conductivity model utilizing dielectric spectroscopy, heat capacity measurements, frequency scaling phenomena and recognizing that activation energies in the range of ∼0.5 eV correspond to proton dissociation events. Our results demonstrate that biomolecular conductivity models should account for temperature and hydration effects coherently.

Water is characterized by large molecular electric dipole moments and strong interactions between molecules; however, hydrogen bonds screen the dipole–dipole coupling and suppress the ferroelectric order. The situation changes drastically when water is confined: in this case ordering of the molecular dipoles has been predicted, but never unambiguously detected experimentally. In the present study we place separate H2O molecules in the structural channels of a beryl single crystal so that they are located far enough to prevent hydrogen bonding, but close enough to keep the dipole–dipole interaction, resulting in incipient ferroelectricity in the water molecular subsystem. We observe a ferroelectric soft mode that causes Curie–Weiss behaviour of the static permittivity, which saturates below 10 K due to quantum fluctuations. The ferroelectricity of water molecules may play a key role in the functioning of biological systems and find applications in fuel and memory cells, light emitters and other nanoscale electronic devices., Ferroelectric orders hardly exist in liquid or ice state of water, despite its enormous molecular electrical polarizability. Here, Gorshunov et al. report incipient ferroelectricity in chains of interacting water molecules by placing them in the structural channels of a beryl crystal.

Tuberculous sputum contains multiple Mycobacterium tuberculosis populations with different requirements for isolation in vitro . These include cells that form colonies on solid media (plateable M. tuberculosis ), cells requiring standard liquid medium for growth (nonplateable M. tuberculosis ), and cells requiring supplementation of liquid medium with culture supernatant (SN) for growth (SN-dependent M. tuberculosis ). Here, we describe protocols for the cryopreservation and direct assessment of antimicrobial tolerance of these M. tuberculosis populations within sputum. Our results show that first-line drugs achieved only modest bactericidal effects on all three populations over 7 days (1 to 2.5 log 10 reductions), and SN-dependent M. tuberculosis was more tolerant to streptomycin and isoniazid than the plateable and nonplateable M. tuberculosis strains. Susceptibility of plateable M. tuberculosis to bactericidal drugs was significantly increased after passage in vitro ; thus, tolerance observed in the sputum samples from the population groups was likely associated with mycobacterial adaptation to the host environment at some time prior to expectoration. Our findings support the use of a simple ex vivo system for testing drug efficacies against mycobacteria that have phenotypically adapted during tuberculosis infection.

Gap structure and spin-fluctuation pairing mechanism in the iron-based superconductors Ba(Fe1-xCox)2As2 is studied. We demonstrate that the overdoped compounds Ba(Fe1-xCox)2As2 have a three-gap structure with substantially different order parameters and a weak interband spin-fluctuation coupling. In the three-gap state of Ba(Fe1-xCox)2As2, the anisotropic electronic gap has an intermediate value between two isotropic hole gaps. During transition to the optimal regime, the electron gap strongly increases (by a factor of two) and gets close to the largest hole gap value, while the electron gap anisotropy sharply decreases pointing to a strong increase in the interband interaction, with spin fluctuations accompanying the antiferromagnetic transition. The same two-gap state with close values of the electron and largest hole gaps is preserved even with further decrease in doping. The performed study shows that the spin-fluctuation pairing mechanism has a significant effect on doping evolution of the electron gap only. The doping evolution of the dominant hole gap in Ba(Fe1-x Co x )2As2 is not directly related to the evolution of the spin fluctuations.