DSpace Repository

Nazarbayev University Repository (NUR) is an institutional electronic archive designed for the long-term preservation, aggregation, and dissemination of scientific research outcomes and intellectual property produced by the Nazarbayev University community and affiliated organizations.

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Access status: Embargo ,
Phosphatase Active Nanozymes and Application in Antimicrobial Therapy: Developing New Antimicrobial Nanomaterial Agents for Minimizing Drug Resistance
(Nazarbayev University School of Sciences and Humanities, 2026-07-10) Asare, Evans; Fan , Haiyan; Marsili, Enrico; Pham, Tri
Bacterial infectious diseases pose a mounting global threat, claiming at least 1.2 million lives annually due to antimicrobial resistance, with projections estimating up to 10 million deaths per year by 2050 if unaddressed. In response, nanomaterials exhibiting enzyme-like activities, known as “nanozymes,” have emerged as promising alternatives to conventional antibiotics to combat this crisis, by leveraging multi-target mechanisms such as reactive oxygen species generation, membrane disruption, and biofilm inhibition that hinder resistance development. In this research study, for the first time, novel nonmetal, sulphur, nitrogen and carbon (SNC)-based nanozymes with phosphatase-mimicking activity are developed from readily available molecular precursors via a hydrothermal reaction. These nanozymes exhibit strong substrate affinity compared to natural alkaline phosphatase, maintain robust phosphatase activity under physiologically relevant conditions across a broad pH and temperature range, and demonstrate long-term phosphatase stability (>240 days). They also show potent broad-spectrum antimicrobial efficacy and extend tomato shelf-life to over 14 days. This observed effectiveness stems from hydrolytic dephosphorylation of both model chromogenic substrates and phospholipids on bacterial cell membranes, as well as the phosphate crosslink in cell walls, mimicking cysteine-based protein tyrosine phosphatase (PTP) mechanisms. Further surface functionalization or ligand adsorption modulated but preserved catalytic activity, yielding slightly reduced phosphatase activity and delayed bactericidal onset. However, these modifications enhance wound-related biofilm eradication by combining accessible catalytic sites with electrostatic affinity to bacterial cells and reduce cytotoxicity toward mammalian cells. Collectively, this SNC-based nanozyme platform offers a promising alternative to conventional antibiotics for combating drug-resistant pathogens, with potential application in food safety, wound healing, and crop growth. Бактериялық жұқпалы аурулар өсіп келе жатқан жаһандық қауіп төндіреді, микробқа қарсы тұрақтылыққа байланысты жыл сайын кем дегенде 1,2 миллион адамның өмірін қиады және 2050 жылға қарай емделмеген жағдайда жылына 10 миллионға дейін адам қайтыс болады деп болжануда. Бұған жауап ретінде "нанозимдер" деп аталатын ферментке ұқсас әрекеттерді көрсететін наноматериалдар осы дағдарыспен күресу үшін кәдімгі антибиотиктерге перспективалы балама ретінде пайда болды, мысалы, реактивті оттегі түрлерінің генерациясы, мембраналардың бұзылуы және төзімділіктің дамуына кедергі келтіретін биофильмдердің тежелуі сияқты көп мақсатты механизмдерді қолдана отырып. Бұл зерттеу алғаш рет гидротермиялық реакция арқылы оңай қол жетімді молекулалық прекурсорлардан фосфатазаны имитациялайтын белсенділігі бар металл емес, күкірт, азот және көміртегі (SNC) негізіндегі жаңа нанозимдерді жасап шығарды. Бұл нанозимдер табиғи сілтілі фосфатазамен салыстырғанда субстраттың күшті жақындығын көрсетеді, рн мен температураның кең диапазонында физиологиялық маңызды жағдайларда фосфатазаның тұрақты белсенділігін сақтайды және фосфатазаның ұзақ мерзімді тұрақтылығын көрсетеді (>240 күн). Олар сондай-ақ күшті кең спектрлі микробқа қарсы тиімділікті көрсетеді және қызанақтың жарамдылық мерзімін 14 күннен астам ұзартады. Бұл байқалған тиімділік бактериялық жасуша мембраналарындағы модельдік хромогендік субстраттардың да, фосфолипидтердің де гидролитикалық депосфорлануынан, сондай-ақ цистеин негізіндегі ақуыз тирозинфосфатаза (PTP) механизмдерін имитациялайтын жасуша қабырғаларындағы фосфат айқасуынан туындайды. Әрі қарай беттік функционализация немесе лигандтардың адсорбциясы модуляцияланған, бірақ сақталған каталитикалық белсенділік, фосфатаза белсенділігінің аздап төмендеуіне және бактерицидтік белсенділіктің кешеуілдеуіне әкеледі. Алайда, бұл модификациялар қол жетімді каталитикалық учаскелерді бактерия жасушаларына электростатикалық жақындығымен біріктіру және сүтқоректілердің жасушаларына цитоуыттылығын төмендету арқылы жаралармен байланысты биофильмдердің жойылуын күшейтеді. SNC негізіндегі бұл наноцим платформасы азық-түлік қауіпсіздігіне, жараларды емдеуге және дақылдардың өсуіне әлеуетті қолданылуы бар дәріге төзімді патогендермен күресу үшін кәдімгі антибиотиктерге перспективалы балама ұсынады.
Access status: Open Access ,
Intelligent diagnosis of breast cancer using IR thermography, thermal modeling and AI
(Nazarbayev University School of Engineering and Digital Sciences, 2022-04-29) Dyussembinov, Darkhan
There is a high chance of developing breast cancer in women and it remains to be one of the prevalent diseases from which women suffer. However, early detection and appropriate measures increase the chance of surviving. Specialists can overlook 10-30% of signs of breast cancer in mammograms. In this paper we suggest using machine learning (ML) algorithms with deep learning, namely, Bayesian Network (BN). In this paper 2 BN models designed to predict breast cancer based on medical information and thermography are presented. The data from "Multifunctional Medical Center" of the Nur-Sultan city were obtained, which includes 40 patients. The models are trained through Tree Augmented Naive Bayes algorithm, and robustness is verified through k-folds method. The models show high performance despite small sample size, with low amount of misdiagnosed cases. Overall accuracy for the two models is 85% and 95%. Mean temperature and standard deviation were found to be main predictors, as well as a predictor variable obtained from a CNN model. Future works are aimed at enlarging the dataset and improving the balance between the number of positive and negative diagnoses to improve the model's performance.
Access status: Open Access ,
Popular medications in post-soviet space, which are not endorsed by western guidelines: knowledge, beliefs, and attitude toward them among physicians, pharmacists, and general population
(Nazarbayev University School of Medicine, 2021) Tapinova, Karina; La Fleur, Philip
Background: Viferon, Hylak Forte, and Ceraxon (VHC) are commonly used in post-soviet space and recommended by Kazakhstan clinical guidelines. However, they are not mentioned in Western guidelines. Viferon contains interferon, and is given in oral, rectal, and topical form; Hylak Forte contains metabolites of Enterococcus faecalis, Escherichia coli, Lactobacillus acidophilus, and Lactobacillus helveticus; and Ceraxon is citikoline sodium, which is an intermediate in the synthesis of phospholipids and is supposed to be neuroprotective. Aim: to investigate practice, attitude, and level of knowledge of the efficacy of VHC among physicians, pharmacists, and general population of post-soviet countries with the main focus on Kazakhstan. Methods: Online-survey was conducted among three target groups of population: physicians (N=174), pharmacists (N=28), and patients (N=124). Chi-square test was used to find associations between sociodemographic data and knowledge, attitude, and practice. Interviews was conducted among 6 physicians and 2 pharmacists. Results and conclusions: Although most of physicians and pharmacists have prescribed or recommended VHC, knowledge of their ingredients and indications is low. There are a lot of doubts about VHC among all three groups of respondents. English language acquisition was associated with more doubts about these products.
Access status: Open Access ,
Issue 1 - Comparative Study on the Differences in Climate Change Mitigation Between Systems with Different Sizes of the Winning Coalition: CO2 Emissions in Focus
(2025) Akhmetova, Rabiga; Bolat, Aruzhan; Saparova, Jayna; Dyussembekova, Madina
The scholarly opinion on how autocracies, democracies, and other factors within those systems affect environmental performance appears to be controversial but promising for future research. Applying the selectorate theory, we attempt to examine the difference in the provision of a clean environment as a public good in systems with larger and smaller sizes of the winning coalition. We found no significant empirical evidence to support the notion that systems with larger winning coalitions are less likely to adopt a policy, and we argue that they are associated with lower carbon dioxide emissions than those with smaller coalitions. This might be because in the former systems, the policy enforcement mechanisms and thus their implementation are expected to be more efficient. Also, we notice that the regime subtypes of democracy and autocracy can suggest other answers to the question of what specific institutional system is associated with a certain level of emissions. Though the results shown by autocracies generally support the theory, those of democracies show some deviance; specifically, liberal democracies do not show an expected reduction in CO2 emissions with increases in the winning coalition. However, in general, our findings align with the selectorate theory, meaning that the theory’s underpinnings could be extended to another public good - clean air.
Access status: Open Access ,
Issue 1 - Knowledge Production About Dzhatak Kazakhs: Fragmented Imperial Representations of Settled Poor by Russian Ethnographers, Public Writers, and Bureaucrats (1890-1900s)
(2025) Kudaibergen, Yersultan
This article examines how the Russian Empire conceptualized and represented dzhatak Kazakhs—formerly nomadic individuals who settled due to the colonial dispossession—in the framework of late imperial knowledge production. Drawing on ethnographic surveys, frontier bureaucratic reports, and articles from the Kirgizskaia Stepnaia Gazeta (1894–1904), the study explores how these sources with unique expertise and goals framed dzhataks as both symbols of progress and objects of disorder. Ethnographic expeditions, particularly the Shcherbina survey, portrayed dzhataks as reluctant but ultimately adaptable pioneers of sedentarization, legitimizing Russian colonization through a civilizing mission narrative. In turn, newspaper articles employed “strategic sensationalism” to depict dzhataks as impoverished, criminalized urban dwellers, both critiquing and reinforcing the empire’s reformist ideals. Meanwhile, intelligence reports by district chiefs cast dzhataks as subversive figures—susceptible to manipulation, Islamic mobilization, and administrative disorder—thereby justifying surveillance and coercive reforms. Rather than offering objective insight, these sources reveal tensions within the imperial knowledge regime, balancing between bureaucratic immediacy of action, emotional public discourse, and scholarly authority. In line with Gregory Afinogenov’s framework, the article argues that late imperial knowledge about the Kazakh Steppe was shaped by overlapping yet divergent aims—strategic governance, intellectual prestige, and ideological legitimation. The figure of the dzhatak, thus, illuminates broader contradictions in Russia’s colonial project that sets integration as a goal and yet produces marginalization, struggling to justify Imperial order and rationalize its detrimental consequences.