THE COMPARATIVE DEPOSITIONAL HETEROGENEITY OF MANCHHAR FORMATION (SIWALIK GROUP), SOUTHERN INDUS BASIN, PAKISTAN

Present study is carried out for detailed description, distribution and interpretation of lithofacies and textural analysis of Manchhar Formation from Gaj River, Manchhar Lake and Lal Bagh Sections of Southern Indus Basin Pakistan. Four different clastic lithofacies are identified during present study, which are conglomeratic sandstone (Gt), shale (Fm), fine to coarse grain flat bedded sandstone (Sh) and fine to coarse grain trough cross-bedded sandstone (St). These Facies suggest that Manchhar Formation is deposited in the Beach to shallow agitated water and fluvial system. Twenty-nine (29) unconsolidated loose and friable sandstone samples were selected for textural analysis. Grain-size parameters such as mean, median, standard deviation, Skewness and Kurtosis were used for transport history, mode and hydrodynamic energy condition to recognize the depositional environment. Stewart Diagram shows deltaic/wave water process takes active role under the influence of wave process. Linear discriminant functions analysis show that the fluvial environment of deposition dominates and influences shallows water and beach environment. Passega diagram reveals that transport mode was rolling and suspension by the tractive current that shows the fluvio-deltaic to deltaic wave with the influence of wave depositional environment of Miocene-Pliocene (Neogene) Manchhar Formation

STRATIGRAPHY, PETROLOGY AND FACIES ASSOCIATIONS OF THE QUATERNARY SPIN KAREZ GROUP, HANNA-SPIN KAREZ AREA, QUETTA DISTRICT, PAKISTAN

The Hanna-Spin Karez area which comprises the Quaternary succession of the Spin Karez Group is located adjacent to the junction of Sulaiman and Kirthar Fold-Thrust Belts (Quetta Syntaxes), southwest of the Zarghun Trough in the northwestern Balochistan, Pakistan. The area comprises over 800 m thick conformable succession of the Quaternary age, covering surface area of ~30 km2. The succession has been named as the Spin Karez Group, which are further subdivide from base to top into three distinct lithostratigraphic units as: Hanna Lake Conglomerate, Hanna Red Clays and Spin Karez Conglomerate. The Hanna Lake Conglomerate comprises 200 m thick succession of boulder-pebble conglomerate. The Hanna Red Clays comprise over 500 m thick succession of dominantly red claystone rarely interbedded with siltstone and very fine-grained sandstone. The Spin Karez Conglomerate is composed of over 100 m thick succession of well-stratified and moderately- to well-sorted cobble/pebble conglomerate with occasional sandstone/siltstone lenses. The Triassic to Pliocene age older successions from the region's north and west provided the polymictic conglomerate, boulder to pebble size limestone, sandstone, chert, and conglomerate fragments. The Spin Karez Group comprises 15 types of gravel, sandstone and mudstone facies, which were grouped into 5 facies associations. The facies associations include braided channel deposits (FA-1), sheet-flood deposits (FA-2), floodplain deposits (FA-3), marginal lacustrine deposits (FA-4) and open-water lacustrine deposits (FA-5). The Spin Karez group evolved in three phases: i) Deposition of the Hanna Lake conglomerate started with the proximal and distal braided channel systems in the northern and southern parts of the study area respectively; ii) Deposition of the Hanna Red clays deposited in shallow lake with episodic sub-aerial exposure, providing reddish colour to the mud-dominant facies; iii) The depositional basin, once again, transformed to braided channel system, of the Spin Karez conglomerate, which evolved over the shallow water lake deposits of the Hanna Red clays.  The Spin Karez group was mainly controlled by continued subsidence and regional tectonics during the Quaternary period that accommodated the space for the small shallow basin (~30 km2) that stacked depositional systems

A UNIQUE COMBINATION OF MASK IN BINARY FOUR-POINT SUBDIVISION SCHEME

A unique binary four-point approximating subdivision scheme has been developed in which one part of binary formula have stationary mask and other part have the non-stationary mask. The resulting curves have the smoothness of C3 continuous for the wider range of shape control parameter. The role of the parameter has been depicted using the square form of discrete control points

CORRELATION OF UNIAXIAL COMPRESSIVE STRENGTH WITH BRAZILIAN TENSILE STRENGTH AND INDEX PROPERTIES FOR SOFT SEDIMENTARY ROCKS

Sedimentary Rocks composing the Thar Lignite basin Pakistan are of clastic origin. These rocks have comparatively low uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) values, and hence recognized as ‘soft sedimentary rocks’ in this study. UCS is a fundamental property of rocks, used by mine design engineers in designing the surface and underground excavations. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between UCS with Brazilian tensile strength (BTS), and index properties of soft sedimentary rock formations at Thar Lignite basin. Various correlations between mechanical and physical properties of rocks have been developed previously. However, no significant correlation has been developed on UCS with BTS and index properties for soft sedimentary rocks. Numerous Rock samples from Two complete geotechnical drillholes at Block-IX Thar Coalfield were selected. Standard test procedures were implemented to determine the UCS, indirect Tensile and index properties such as point load strength, and shore Scleroscope hardness. The correlations between rock properties were established using simple and multiple regression techniques, and empirical equations were obtained. These equations can be used to predict the UCS and tensile strength of soft sedimentary rocks by performing simple index tests; which are quick, economical, and easier to be performed on the site

CONSTITUTIVE MODELLING OF SANDS UNDER MONOTONIC LOADING

This paper presents the drained and undrained behavior of soils using a modified version of the original cam clay constitutive model. The strain hardening behavior of soils is one of the major challenges in geotechnical engineering. The constitutive equations are numerically integrated over fixed time steps to apply effective stress to the derived elastoplastic soil model. Convergence of solution is controlled by a constitutive relation, namely the associated flow rule. This study provides step by step Python and octave programs to solve for q"-" p by solving the associated non-linear system. The problem is formulated by assuming small strains in the elastic region and large strains in the plastic region. The transition from over-consolidated to normally consolidated states is predicted to be smooth by this elastoplastic model. The model is recognized and solved as a boundary value problem with only two effective stress variables namely q"-" p which is an approximation of three-dimensional invariants

EXPLORING THE ANTIDIABETIC AND ANTIOXIDANT POTENTIAL OF NEPETA ADENOPHYTA HEDGE IN HEPG2 CELLS AND ITS PHYTOCHEMICAL STUDIES

The current study is based on the phytochemical isolation and biological activity evaluation of Nepeta adenophyta Hedge. This plant species is traditionally used for abdominal pain, kidney pain, stomach problems, urine problems, and diarrhea and is examined to control bleeding. Five compounds were isolated using column chromatography over normal silica gel from the ethanolic crude extract of Nepeta adenophyta and their structures were characterized with the help of spectroscopic techniques. In addition, the crude extract was evaluated for its antioxidant and antidiabetic potential in a human hepatoma cell line HepG2 cells and the crude extract showed good activities. The phytochemical isolation studies and the biological activities are conducted for the first time on the study sample

LEXICOGRAPHIC GOAL PROGRAMMING APPROACH FOR THE OPTIMIZATION OF CROPPING PATTERN IN YASIN REGION GILGIT, PAKISTAN

The prosperity of the agricultural sector is crucial not only for the national economy but also for regional development. For the purpose of agricultural planning and decision making, mathematical programming models are widely used. This paper aims to formulate, apply and evaluate a Lexicographic Goal Programming (LGP) model for the best allocation of land under cultivation for the major crops of central Yasin. It is an extension of the research work [1] which was conducted in this area to maximize the profit of the three crops using Linear Programming (LP). Using the LP model the target was achieved but all the land was allocated for alfalfa being the most beneficial crop among the three. But wheat is a basic need which must be cultivated to a specific amount. Considering this problem we extended the previous work by implementing the LGP approach to satisfy multiple goals such as the allocation of land for wheat, maximization of profit and minimization of capital in the agricultural activity. The LGP model is solved using the Simplex method. The LGP model provided the most satisfactory set of allocations possible and satisfied all three goals. It gave optimum profit of Rs.170003 and capital is minimized to Rs. 73687.678. Compared with the farmer’s plan, the profit of the LGP model increased by 49.39% but compared with the LP model, the profit decreased by 13.11%. Likewise, the total crop production expenditure increased by 4.97% and 1.39% respectively in comparison with the farmer’s plan and LP model

GRADUAL CHANGES IN SNOW PEAKS IN UPPER INDUS BASIN, PAKISTAN: A GOOGLE EARTH BASED REVIEW

The hydrology and climate of mid to high-latitude mountainous areas are significantly impacted by snow cover. Since adding or removing snow cover significantly impacts the snowpack’s capacity to operate as a reservoir for water storage, the snowfall-dominated basins of mid- to higher latitudes are anticipated to see the largest shifts in the hydrological cycle because of global warming. By moving the time slider in the historical imagery feature of Google Earth Pro, the Upper Indus Basin study area was examined from the years 1984 to 2020 to track changes in the snow cover. All observations were made with longitude and latitude at 35o, 34', 51.79" N and 74o, 34', 24.21" E, and the eye altitude at 344.46 miles. Google Earth captured pictures of all the observations on December 31st of every year. The data from 1984 to 2020 was examined keenly, and it was observed that as time goes on, global warming is showing its effects and producing climate changes, which has a negative impact on the region's snow and glacier availability. The Landsat images make it abundantly evident that the lower areas of the upper Indus Basin's snow cover are more negatively impacted than the downstream side areas due to the variation in altitude. The authors also referred to the research work by other researchers in the study to compare with their work. The study observed that some areas were utterly showing no snow in 2020 as compared to 1984 as time moved on with an increase in global warming in 36 years

MHD STAGNATION POINT FLOW WITH THERMAL RADIATION AND SLIP EFFECT OVER A LINEAR STRETCHING SHEET

This research investigates the flow of stagnation point magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) and heat transfer along the stretched sheet in the existence of radiation and slip effects. With the help of similarity variables, the governing partial differential equations (PDEs) are transformed into ordinary differential equations (ODEs). The BVP4C technique in Matlab function has been used to simplify the governing ODEs. The numerical outcomes for temperature and velocity profiles, coefficient of skin friction and Nusselt Number have been achieved and matched with the findings in literature. The findings are compared to previously reported results. In addition, the impacts of numerous related parameters on the profiles of velocity and temperature are shown, and the results of every related parameter are presented using graphs. The velocity profile decreases as the magnetic force, suction, and permeability parameters rise

PETROGRAPHIC INVESTIGATION OF LIMESTONE OF THE LAKI FORMATION USED IN CONSTRUCTION SECTOR FROM JAMSHORO AND THATTA DISTRICTS, SINDH, PAKISTAN

Limestone belonging to the Laki Formation is well exposed at Nooriabad, Jhampir, and Makli Hills.  Representative samples of the Laki Formation limestone were collected from different locations such as Jamshoro, Bolhari, Makli Hills, and Nooriabad. The four crush plants i.e. Afridi Crush Plant and New Hazara Crush Plant (Makli, Thatta District), Shah Rahim Crush Plant and Bhatti Crush Plant (Nooriabad, Jamshoro District) were selected for sampling. The Petrographic investigation as per ASTM- C295-03 (1) was performed using standard thin sections. The megascopic and microscopic study results reflect no hindrance in using the studied limestone. For cement concrete, this limestone can be used for the low-strength concrete and aggregate base course and sub-base. Variation in lithology, stratification and non-homogeneity was observed, however, the aggregate from the New Hazara crush plant is found fractured in nature and therefore, its use as concrete material is not suggested. The studied limestone of all crushed plants does not show any potential for Alkali Silica Reaction (ASR) and Alkali Carbonate Reaction (ACR). Based on the present study, it is concluded that the studied limestone of the Laki Formation from the above-mentioned locations is suitable for construction purposes and industrial use. For cement concrete, this limestone can be used for the low strength concrete and pavement (sub-base & base coarse) as well as aggregate base course. In the stockpile of crushed aggregate on crusher plants, the chalky limestone was found to be less stable and less durable