Abdul Rahim

Fines migration presents a significant challenge in various reservoirs, adversely impacting well permeability and productivity, leading to considerable financial losses and numerous operational issues, thereby reducing the productive life of a well. This review presents a comprehensive overview of fines migration mechanisms and the factors that trigger particle detachment, mobilization, and pore plugging. Experimental observations of fines release under varying salinity, pH, ionic strength, flow rates, and temperature are systematically analyzed to elucidate how these parameters influence electrostatic forces, drag, and colloidal transport in porous media. The review highlights the coupling between porous media hydrodynamics and electrokinetic phenomena, which together govern the stability and detachment of clay minerals. Furthermore, the review critically evaluates existing mathematical models for fines migration and their ability to predict permeability alteration, alongside advanced analytical techniques such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), micro-computed tomography (micro-CT), zeta potential measurements, and micromodel visualization for quantifying fines behavior. The implications of fines migration in practical applications are analyzed, with emphasis on CO

Illegal trawling, unchecked nets, and weak regulation have driven Balochistan's rich waters to the brink

Jammu- The Speaker of the Jammu & Kashmir Legislative Assembly will have to nominate five MLAs as associate members of the Delimitation Commission.

Objective Root staging for dental age estimation is subjective when no standard reference is available. This study developed a quantitative approach for Moorrees root stages (R1/4, R1/2, R3/4 and Rc) using crown–root ratio (CRR) measurements and stage-specific bounds. Materials and methods The development phase included 269 Malaysian subjects (145 males, 124 females) aged 16–25 years. A total of 1,502 mature permanent mandibular left teeth (I1–M3) were measured on panoramic radiographs using ImageJ software to determine mean CRR values for mature roots (Rc), the fraction stages and stage-specific bounds, where $$\:\text{CRR=}\frac{\text{crown height}}{\text{mature root length}\text{}\times\text{stage fraction}}$$ , $$\:\text{upper bound=}\frac{\text{stage CRR}\text{}\text{+}\text{}\text{preceding stage CRR}}{\text{2}}$$ , and lower bound=succeeding stage CRR + 0.01. Sex differences were analysed using independent t-tests. Validation used 161 additional radiographs (78 males, 83 females) aged 3–24 years, with 774 developing and mature permanent mandibular left teeth measured and independently staged according to Moorrees’ method. Measured CRR values were compared with stage-specific bounds and considered accurate when within the expected range. Accuracy was calculated as: $$\frac{\text{number within bounds}}{\text{number within} + \text{number outside bounds}} \times 100\%$$ . Results Mean CRR values ranged from 0.50 to 0.82, with M3 showing the greatest variability. Significant sex differences were observed for C, P1, M1 and M2 (p < 0.05). Overall staging accuracy was 89.9% (84.6%–95.7%) and declined progressively from R1/4 to Rc. M3 (95.7%) and C (91.3%) showed the highest accuracy, whereas I1 (85.7%) and M1 (88.0%) showed the lowest. Conclusion The CRR method provides an objective approach for defining Moorrees root stages and improving staging consistency.

This study investigates whether information and communication technology (ICT) improves microfinance institutions’ (MFIs) dual efficiency—financial sustainability and social outreach—and how governance conditions these effects in South Asia. Using panel data on 182 MFIs from six South Asian countries over 2009–2018, we measure time-varying efficiency with the DEA-based SBM-GML index, estimate the effects of ICT development and governance on MFI efficiency. Results show that ICT development, especially greater internet usage, significantly raises financial efficiency by reducing operating and transaction costs and also supports outreach expansion (more active clients and higher average loan size). The impact is strongly governance-contingent: once governance exceeds a critical threshold, ICT’s positive effect on financial efficiency is amplified, whereas under weak governance the social-efficiency gains from ICT are partially constrained. These findings imply that ICT-led improvements in microfinance are not automatic; policies should jointly expand affordable digital infrastructure and strengthen governance capacity to maximize both sustainability and inclusion in South Asia.

In India, mustard (Brassica juncea) is a significant cash and oilseed crop. This work aims to evaluate the different mustard crop classification algorithms for mapping mustard crop in Bharatpur District, Rajasthan, India, using Google’s Earth Engine (GEE) cloud platform and integrates socio-economic, economic, and terrain-topography parameters into the crop suitability analysis. Several methods were used, including unsupervised and supervised classification, HDRBC, RF, and machine learning-based classification, over multi-temporal satellite data captured 15 days apart from October 2022 until March 2023-Rabi, and geospatial indicators generated include FCC, NDVI, land use/land cover crop masks, and time series vegetation dynamics through custom GEE codes. According to the government statistics report, the area under mustard cultivation for the 2022–2023 season was around 274,500 ha. According to the model predictions, the areas under mustard cultivation are unsupervised, 296,763 ha; supervised, 290,954 ha; HDRBC, 280,534 ha; and RF, 278,541 ha. The model with the best accuracy (93.67%) was the RF, followed by HDRBC (87.20%), supervised (79.24%), and unsupervised (67.65%). To further ensure sustainable expansion in production, a crop suitability analysis of 20 parameters, 10 of which were socio-economic and 10 economic, was integrated with terrain and topographic parameters. The suitability map generated classified the study area into very low (9.27%), low (18.74%), moderate (27.27%), high (19.60%), and very high (25.11%) suitability areas. The results revealed a region such as Bharatpur, Sikri Ratti, Nagar, Semli, Pahari, Gopalgarh, Rarah, Chak Sana, and Jagiria, where mustard cultivation is currently supported under less favorable conditions. Pathena, Halena, Bhasawar, Wer, Karsado, Nithor, Luharu, Uchen, Khanua, and Kurka are areas exhibiting high to very high suitability. This study establishes that integrating GEE-based ML crop mapping with socio-economic and terrain-based suitability analysis effectively classifies optimal zones for mustard cultivation, supporting sustainable strategies to improve productivity.

Immunogenic cell death (ICD) is a type of cell death that can enhance anti-tumour immune responses of chemotherapies and targeted therapies by