http://repository.enu.kz/handle/enu/17070 2026-04-03T19:27:48Z http://repository.enu.kz/handle/enu/29304 Wood Distillate as a Solution for Growing Crops Under Water Deficiency Fedeli, Riccardo; Zhatkanbayeva, Zhanna; Loppi, Stefano This study investigated if the foliar application of wood distillate (WD, a byproduct of biomass pyrolysis, containing bioactive compounds, including organic acids and phenols) influences some key parameters (fresh weight, photosynthetic efficiency, antioxidant compounds, stress-related biochemical markers, and mineral content) of basil plants, used as a model crop, grown under water-limited conditions. The experimental setup included control and WD treatments (applied via foliar application at 0.2%) under three drought levels: no stress, moderate, and high stress. The results indicated that the application of WD contributed to improving the fresh weight, chlorophyll, reduced oxidative stress, and stable levels of essential nutrients across varying drought intensities. These outcomes highlight the potential of WD as an effective biostimulant for enhancing drought tolerance in basil plants under water deficiency 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z http://repository.enu.kz/handle/enu/29303 Unsupervised Clustering and Ensemble Learning for Classifying Lip Articulation in Fingerspelling Amangeldy, Nurzada; Gazizova, Nazerke; Milosz, Marek; Kurmetbek, Bekbolat; Nazyrova, Aizhan; Kassymova, Akmaral This paper presents a new methodology for analyzing lip articulation during fingerspelling aimed at extracting robust visual patterns that can overcome the inherent ambiguity and variability of lip shape. The proposed approach is based on unsupervised clustering of lip movement trajectories to identify consistent articulatory patterns across different time profiles. The methodology is not limited to using a single model. Still, it includes the exploration of varying cluster configurations and an assessment of their robustness, as well as a detailed analysis of the correspondence between individual alphabet letters and specific clusters. In contrast to direct classification based on raw visual features, this approach pre-tests clustered representations using a model-based assessment of their discriminative potential. This structured approach enhances the interpretability and robustness of the extracted features, highlighting the importance of lip dynamics as an auxiliary modality in multimodal sign language recognition. The obtained results demonstrate that trajectory clustering can serve as a practical method for generating features, providing more accurate and context-sensitive gesture interpretation. 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z http://repository.enu.kz/handle/enu/29302 Tuberculosis and Impact of COVID-19 on Spread of Epidemics in Kazakhstan Bekshin, Zhandarbek; Askarov, Albert; Abduraimov, Yergali; Rsaliyev, Aralbek; Bissenova, Gulmira; Amirkhanova, Nurgul; Nurbekova, Zhadyrassyn; Temirbekova, Aliya This study examines the epidemiological situation of tuberculosis (TB) in the regions of the Republic of Kazakhstan over the past seven years (2018–2024), which cover the before-, during- and after-COVID-19 periods, with a focus on the risks of its emergence and spread. The analysis revealed that while TB incidence is declining, mortality remains high in the before- and during-COVID-19 periods, indicating a general decline in population health. The concentration of TB incidence in relation to geographic location was mainly in the northern, western and southern regions. Before COVID-19, TB incidence reached 48.2 cases and mortality reached a maximum of 2.4 cases per 100,000 people. In 2024, the incidence and mortality of tuberculosis significantly decreased to 33.5 (30.5%) and 1.0 (58.3%), respectively, reflecting an improvement in health indicators in the post-pandemic period. In the after-COVID-19 period, in regions with high unemployment, the incidence was higher than in the before- and during-COVID-19 periods. Nevertheless, it is important that the trend in tuberculosis incidence shows positive improvement after the COVID-19 period. In addition, a comparative analysis of tuberculosis incidence trends in different age groups and social factor groups shows that the adult population remains the most vulnerable category among the general population. The above-listed factors, as well as our analysis of tuberculosis incidence, shows that TB incidence does not always correlate with the level of vaccination in different regions of Kazakhstan, indicating a multifactorial influence on the tuberculosis epidemic. 2025-01-01T00:00:00Z http://repository.enu.kz/handle/enu/29301 Trade-Off between Degradation Efficiency and Recyclability: Zeolite-Enhanced Ni3−xCoxS4 Catalyst for Photocatalytic Degradation of Methylene Blue Lagunay, Rachel Anne E.; Adalim, Ritche Roi B.; Tleubekova, Aruzhan; Suleimenova, Diana; Fernandez, Marvin Jose F.; O’Reilly, Robert J.; Balanay, Mannix P. We herein report successful syntheses of both nickel cobalt sulfide (NCS) and its composite with zeolite (NCS@Z) using a solvothermal method. Techniques such as EDX analysis, SEM, and molar ratio determination were used for product characterization. The incorporation of NCS significantly changed the surface roughness and active sites of the zeolite, improving the efficiency of methylene blue degradation and its reusability, especially under UV irradiation. In comparing the pseudo-first order rates, the highest degradation efficiency of methylene blue was achieved with NCS-2@Z, having a degradation extent of 91.07% under UV irradiation. This environmentally friendly approach offers a promising solution for the remediation of methylene blue contamination in various industries. 2024-01-01T00:00:00Z