Survey of Indian Medical Students’ Adaptation in Kazakhstan: Psychological, Sociocultural, and Academic Dimensions

This study investigated international students’ adaptation experience in a higher education institution. A sociological survey was conducted among one hundred and seventy Indian students in their first and second year of medical studies at West Kazakhstan Marat Ospanov Medical University, Aktobe, the Republic of Kazakhstan. Against the background of many studies in this field, this topic is contextualized within the higher medical education system in the western region of Kazakhstan. The study helps to improve understanding of such phenomena as international students’ dimensions of psychological, sociocultural, and academic adaptation. The differences in the various dimensions of adaptation from the gender perspective and the year of study were investigated. The impact of the adaptation level on the students’ study achievements was assessed. The study results demonstrated challenges in psychological adaptation in the first-year international students, which decreased over time. The differences in the psychological, sociocultural, and academic adaptability between girls and boys were not statistically significant. Second-year international students felt more emotionally comfortable and psychologically safe in the group, and this reflected their high grades GPA. Based on the findings, the authors propose recommendations on how to improve the international students’ comfortableness in the Kazakhstani university setting.

The yield and feed capacity of alfalfa varieties in the conditions of the West Kazakhstan region

The purpose of the research is to conduct the comparative assessment of variable alfalfa varieties and to identify the most productive and adapted varieties to the conditions of the region with a view to their further zoning. The results of research on the study of alfalfa varieties – Karabalykskaya 18, Rambler, Ural’skaya sinyaya, Semirechenskaya mestnaya, Krasnovodopadskaya 8 are presented in this article. Data of the seed germination and plant preservation by years of life, yield and forage capacity of crops are given. Methods: field and calculation (to determine the feed capacity). Results. In the 2011 crops, according to the field germination, the variety of Karabalykskaya 18 (45.8 %) and Semirechenskaya mestnaya (42.8 %) were distinguished. According to 4-year data, the highest percentage of preservation in the variety of Karabalykskaya 18 (14.2 %) and Ural’skaya sinyaya (13.9 %). And the smallest number of preserved plants was noted in the alfalfa variety of Krasnovodopadskaya 8, it is amounted to 10.4 %. The crops produced more mass shoots in next year, due to somewhat high rates of spring precipitation and air temperature. And in terms of the percentage of preservation, the 2012 crops surpassed the previous ones. Thus, in the variety of Karabalykskaya 18 and Rambler, this indicator was equal to 15.1 % and 13.7 %, and in the zoned variety Ural’skaya sinyaya, 15.7 % of the herbage was preserved. The data of green mass yield determination and hay shows that three of the four varieties evaluated were exceed to the standard variety from 1.6 to 8.5 per 1 ha for the collection of green mass and from 0.2 to 2.4 c/ha for the hay harvest. In terms of feed capacity, the highest indicators are in the Karabalykskaya variety 18, and the lowest – in Krasnovodopadskaya 8. So, at the 5th year of life (sowing 2011), 48 cattles can be fed on 10 ha of crops of the first variety for a month, and the second – 41. On the grass stands of the zoned Ural’skaya sinyaya variety, the content of 43 cattles are permissible.

Distribution of Phrynocephalus helioscopus (Pallas, 1771) (Agamidae, Reptilia) in the West Kazakhstan and Atyrau regions of the Republic of Kazakhstan

Based on the results of our 2017–2021 field research, the coordinates of 17 meeting points of the sunwatcher toadhead agama (Phrynocephalus helioscopus) (Pallas, 1771) in the West Kazakhstan and Atyrau regions of the Republic of Kazakhstan are given, from 49°17.256'N, 48°14.048'E in the North to 46°34.330'N, 55°49.319'E in the South. The northern limit of the modern distribution in the Volga-Ural (Volga-Zhaiyk) interfluve is the saline in the Aral-sor lacustrine-saline depression and the Baigutta sor-liman depression in the left bank of the Ural (Zhaiyk) River. The sunwatcher toadhead agama habitats are confined to open spaces with salt lakes and sors. The dependence of the body’s upper side colour of sunwatcher toadhead agamas on the general background of the substrate is illustrated, namely: the colour is brown or dark grey on dark substrates, and light grey or ashy on light substrates. The history of the description of the species by P. S. Pallas and I. I. Lepekhin is briefly considered. According to the original and literary data the modern north-western border of the habitat, passing through the West Kazakhstan and the adjacent regions of the Russian Federation, has been clarified. It goes from the northern coast of the Caspian Sea, through Makhambet district of the Atyrau region, Krasnoyarsk and Kharabalinsky districts of the Astrakhan region, Kurmangazinsky district of the Atyrau region, Akhtubinsky district of the Astrakhan region, Bokeyordinsky district of the West Kazakhstan region, Pallasovsky district of the Volgograd region, and Kaztalovsky and Akzhayik districts of the West Kazakhstan region.

Assessment of ways to use pastures in semi-desert zone of West Kazakhstan

The authors presented research materials on the study of ways to use pastures in semi-desert zone of West Kazakhstan. Purpose. Study of ways of grazing farm animals to increase productivity and rational use of pastures. The research object is the pasture lands of “Miras” farm in West Kazakhstan region. The research tasks were to select the most effective way of grazing, ensuring preservation and improvement of quantitative and qualitative indicators of semi-desert zone pastures. The research scientific novelty is in the fact that the determined grazing methods allow rational use of pasture resources and increase feed capacity of pasture lands. The studies were carried out in a semi-desert zone of West Kazakhstan on a relief and sandy area of pastures. Results. Unsystematic use of pastures reduces quantitative and qualitative indicators. In summer studies, the highest content of weeds and poisonous plants (9 %) was found on a pasture of unsystematic grazing. When using this method, the proportion of cereals in the phytocenosis was at least 9 %. In the composition of the phytocenosis used in an unsystematic way, an increase in the proportion of wormwood was noted up to 15 %. Here, in comparison with the 2nd seasonal pastures, the share of herbs (poorly eaten) is also high – 21 %. On the pastures used in a unsystematic way in the spring, the yield of herbage reached only 3.81 c/ha, which is less than the seasonal pastures by 2.50–4.28 c/ha or 65.6–112.3 %. In a semi-desert zone, to provide agricultural animals with high-grade and high-quality fodder, as well as to create a stock and reduce the shortage of fodder, it is advantageous to use seasonal pastures with the inclusion of a distant pasture area in the pasture rotation. The use of distant areas for seasonal use of pastures, increasing the duration of the pasture period by 120 days, allows the farm to additionally create the volume of actual feed storage at the level of 5 499.5 centners, reducing the level of feed deficit by 2 119.7 centners or 81.03 %.

Global predictions of primary soil salinization under changing climate in the 21st century

Soil salinization has become one of the major environmental and socioeconomic issues globally and this is expected to be exacerbated further with projected climatic change. Determining how climate change influences the dynamics of naturally-occurring soil salinization has scarcely been addressed due to highly complex processes influencing salinization. This paper sets out to address this long-standing challenge by developing data-driven models capable of predicting primary (naturally-occurring) soil salinity and its variations in the world’s drylands up to the year 2100 under changing climate. Analysis of the future predictions made here identifies the dryland areas of South America, southern and western Australia, Mexico, southwest United States, and South Africa as the salinization hotspots. Conversely, we project a decrease in the soil salinity of the drylands in the northwest United States, the Horn of Africa, Eastern Europe, Turkmenistan, and west Kazakhstan in response to climate change over the same period.

Expanding the Capabilities of Modern Wireline Formation Testers for Understanding the Structure of Tight and Fractured Suprasalt Carbonate Field in West Kazakhstan

Low porosity carbonate reservoirs of the Carboniferous and Devonian periods of the Caspian Basin in Western Kazakhstan are challenging to characterize using traditional well logging methods due to the complex structure of the pore space, which necessitates lengthy and sometimes ineffective production well tests. Limitations of standard well logging methods make it impossible to reliably identify productive reservoirs, determine boundary conditions, and delineate saturation. As a result, a unique approach is required, which includes the integration of special "high-tech" logging tools and wireline formation testers (WFT). This paper effectively demonstrates the use of this approach in an appraisal exploration well. The use of a wireline formation tester in conjunction with modern complex fluid analyzers and a radial probe allowed for testing several carbonate intervals with extremely low-permeability in one trip, which previously required stimulation to trigger fluid inflow in a cased well. This provided a new perspective on understanding the reservoir structure in the shortest amount of time possible.

Combined Usage of Different Geosteering Methods and Vendor Independent Bed Boundary Mapping in Complex Geological Environment on a Real-Life Example from West Kazakhstan

Summary Drilling lateral wells nowadays is considered to be the most widely used method for producing hard-to-recover hydrocarbon reserves. Technologies used while geosteering the well are developing rapidly making high-level geosteering the key for cutting costs on drilling and enhancing well production. Due to low prices for hydrocarbons, oil companies are trying to find new, up-to-date approaches that will allow them to reduce capital and operating expenses while still enhancing the efficiency of drilling wells in target zones. One of such technology will be shown in this abstract through the example of a successfully drilled well in Akingen oilfield, Republic of Kazakhstan.

The History of Formation and Anthropogenic Development of the Derkul River Floodplain (West Kazakhstan) in the Mid Holocene

The article presents the results of soil and archaeological study of the pedo-sedimentation sequence formed in the floodplain of the Derkul River (West Kazakhstan). The aim of the study was to reconstruct the stages of the alluvial sedimentogenesis alternating with relatively prolonged spans of soil formation, corresponding to the periods of floodplain agricultural development. It was established that floodplain sediment layer started to form as a result of stream sedimentation in the early Holocene; then this stage was followed by the relatively long-term soil formation period (5.6–3.8 cal. yr BC) resulting in a humus quasi-gleyic soil in the low floodplain (120–200 cm). The last period of soil formation (4.6–3.6 cal. yr BC) the floodplain was developed by man, which is displayed by the identified cultural horizon containing artifacts and having increased phosphorus content. At the end of the Subboreal period the next stage of alluvial sedimentation, started by the changed river hydrology regime, was found to be chronologically separated from the stage of stationary development of the floodplain by settled humans.

Research of Kirovsk Reservoir for developing mobile active hydroacoustic fish protecting device

The hydrological, hydrobiological and ichthyological parameters of the Kirovsk Reservoir in the West Kazakhstan region of the Republic of Kazakhstan are described. The reservoir was selected as a model for realization of the grant project No. AP09058066 “Developing mobile active hy-droacoustic fish protecting device to protect fish and juveniles from entering the dam spillways of large hydroelectric power plants and reservoirs” of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Hydrological, hydrobiological and ichthyological studies were aimed to obtain data for making optimal decisions on the design, equipment and working algorithm of the fish protection device. Hydrological studies include measuring depths and current speed in the water area of the reservoir and in front of the dam spillway. The species composition, abundance and biomass of forage invertebrates of zooplankton and zoobenthos were studied as hydrobiological indicators. The main biological indicators, fish abundance and biomass, species composition and concentration of juveniles were taken into account when studying ichthyological data. The obtained hydrological, hydrobiological and ichthyological parameters of the Kirov Reservoir served as the basis for developing the concept of a mobile active hydroacoustic fish protecting device to prevent fish and juveniles from entering the spillways of dams at the large hydroelectric power plants and reservoirs

TAXONOMIC COMPOSITION AND QUANTATIVE INDICATORS OF MACROZOOBENTHOS IN WATER BODIES OF WEST KAZAKHSTAN REGION

The article presents the results of the study of macrozoobenthos communities of six lakes in the West Kazakhstan region in the summer-autumn period: Shalkar, Balykty Sarkyl, Edilsor, Glubinnoye, Prorva and Sulukol. Lakes Prorva and Sulukol are located within the steppe, the lakes Shalkar, Balykty Sarkyl, Glubinnoye - in the semi-desert, Lake Edilsor - in the desert zone. In total, 197 samples of zoobenthos were taken according to generally accepted hydrobiological methods. There are analized the indices of the number and biomass of aquatic organisms in the studied reservoirs. According to the results of the studies carried out, the organisms of 66 taxa from the groups Oligochaeta, Hirudinea, Bivalvia, Gastropoda, Crustacea, and Insecta were found in benthic samples. Of thesethere were found oligochaetes - 2 species, leeches - 1 species, bivalves and gastropods - 3 species each, crustaceans - 4 species and insects - 53 taxa. Among insects, dip-terans (23 taxa, of which chironomids - 18), mayflies, caddis flies, dragonflies, bugs and beetles were distinguished by the greatest species diversity. It was noted that in the composition of benthic communities, diptera larvae dominated in abundance, the main contribution to the biomass was made by bivalve molluscs. Calculations of the Shannon – Weaver index demonstrate a low species diversity of communities for all water bodies. The highest indices of species diversity were noted in Lake Edilsor - 1.64 bit / specimen, the lowest - in lakes Sulukol and Shalkar - 0.6 bit / specimen. and 0.7 bit / copy. respectively. According to the calculations of the saprobity index, lakes Glubinnoye, Prorva and Balykty Sarkyl belong to the ß-mesosaprobic zone, Lake Edilsor (S = 2.72) to the ɑ-mesosaprobic zone, and the indicators of Lake Sulukol (S = 3.8) correspond to the polysaprobic zone. The values of the saprobity indices of the studied lakes lie within the beta-mesosaprobic – polysaprobic zones. By water quality the studied lakes are assessed as moderately polluted and polluted. According to the classification of S.P. Kitaev (2007) the investigated water bodies are assessed as water bodies of medium feeding. The conducted studies have significantly expanded the taxonomic lists of benthic organisms in this region