High Accuracy Determination of Rheological Properties of Drilling Fluids Using the Marsh Funnel

Efficient and safe drilling operations require precise determination of rheological properties in drilling fluids, encompassing dynamic viscosity for Newtonian fluids, and apparent viscosity, plastic viscosity, and yield point for non-Newtonian fluids. Conventional viscometers like vibrating wire, ZNN-D6, and Fann-35 offer high accuracy but are limited by cost and complexity in small-scale industries and labs. To address this, our research presents a novel mathematical model based on the Herschel-Bulkley model, aiming to accurately characterise drilling fluids' rheological properties using the Marsh funnel as an alternative device -- an economical, operator-friendly, and power-independent equipment. Drawing inspiration from seminal works by Li et al. (2020), Sedaghat (2017), and Guria et al. (2013), this innovative framework establishes a universal inverse linear relationship between a fluid's flow factor and final discharge time. For any fluid, it utilises its density and flow factor (or final discharge time) to determine all its rheological properties. Specifically, it evaluates dynamic viscosity for Newtonian fluids, apparent viscosity, plastic viscosity, and yield point for weighted non-Newtonian fluids, and apparent viscosity for non-weighted non-Newtonian fluids, with average systematic errors (against Fann-35 measurements) of 0.39%, 3.52%, 2.17%, 18.38%, and 5.84%, respectively, surpassing the precision of alternative mathematical models found in the aforementioned literature. Furthermore, while our framework's precision in plastic viscosity and yield point assessment of non-weighted non-Newtonian fluids slightly lags behind the framework of Li et al. (2020), it outperforms the model of Sedaghat (2017). In conclusion, despite minor limitations, our proposed mathematical model holds huge promise for drilling fluid rheology in petroleum, drilling, and related industries.Comment: 57 pages, 1 figure, and 10 tables. Funding for this research work was provided through the IIChE Research Grant for the academic year 2022-23, granted by the Indian Institute of Chemical Engineers (IIChE

MEDICO ETHNOBOTANICAL PERSPECTIVES OF JYOTISMATI(CELASTRUS PANICULATUS. WILLD )- A HERBAL TRANQUILIZER

Jyotismati (Celastrus paniculatus)is a woody climber of vedic lore. In several studies seed oil was screened for its sedative and tranquillizing properties. But the tribal claims of other parts of jyotismati are yet to be studied. The plant jyotismati is used throughout the tribal population of India ofr wound healing, cough, insomnia, opium poisoning.The details of medico ethnobotanical aspect of the plant jyotismati and the recent researches carrying out on the plant clearly indicate that jyotismati place a key role in the healthcare system of India

Seed nutritional quality in lentil (Lens culinaris) under different moisture regimes

The world’s most challenging environmental issue is climate change. Agricultural productivity and nutritional quality are both substantially threatened by extreme and unpredicted climate events. To develop climate resilient cultivars, stress tolerance along with the grain quality needs to be prioritized. Present study was planned to assess the effect of water limitation on seed quality in lentil, a cool season legume crop. A pot experiment was carried out with 20 diverse lentil genotypes grown under normal (80% field capacity) and limited (25% field capacity) soil moisture. Seed protein, Fe, Zn, phytate, protein and yield were recorded in both the conditions. Seed yield and weight were reduced by 38.9 and 12.1%, respectively, in response to stress. Seed protein, Fe, Zn, its availability as well as antioxidant properties also reduced considerably, while genotype dependent variation was noted with respect to seed size traits. Positive correlation was observed between seed yield and antioxidant activity, seed weight and Zn content and availability in stress. Based on principal component analysis and clustering, IG129185, IC559845, IC599829, IC282863, IC361417, IG334, IC560037, P8114 and L5126 were promising genotypes for seed size, Fe and protein content, while, FLIP-96-51, P3211 and IC398019 were promising for yield, Zn and antioxidant capacity. Identified lentil genotypes can be utilized as trait donors for quality improvement in lentil breedin

Journey of Savitri From Birth to Young-Age: Tale of a Legend in Sri Aurobindo’s Epic “Savitri”

Yoga leads to right knowledge and right knowledge makes right action possible. The struggle and the victory are the hard core of poetry “Savitri”. The legend Savitri’s birth and childhood are far from conventional. Her girldhood is a wonder. She is a king’s daughter. But she masters sculpture and painting, music and architecture, dance and poetry and many other arts and crafts. She is divine and outspaces her friends. She is a divine beauty and nobody dares to claim her. She is free to choose her husband. Savitri leaves her parent’s home, her palace. She visits many places and many woods. She is attracted towards Satyawan. He tells that he is a son of king, but a king no more. Savitri becomes sure in her decision to marry Satyawan but before this, she wants to return to her parents to tell them about her choice. Inspite of being intimations of future, she is committed to her chosen path

Comparative evaluation of the antibacterial efficacy of a bioactive material enhanced by phytosynthesized nanoparticles: An in vitro study

Aim: To evaluate and compare the antibacterial efficacy of ACTIVA Bioactive base/liner (ABBL) enhanced with phytosynthesized titanium dioxide nano-particles (nTiO2) and nano-curcumin (nCur). Methods: nTiO2 (3%) was phytosynthesized from moringa leaves extract and characterized. nCur (7%) was synthesized from Curcumin taken in dichloromethane and sprayed into boiling water. Metal molds with a diameter of 5 mm were placed on a glass slab and filled with ABBL (Group 1) and cured. For Group 2 (ABBL + nTiO2), 3% phytosynthesized titanium dioxide (TiO2) was added to ABBL and cured. For Group 3 (ABBL + nCur), ABBL discs were fabricated and 7% nCur was surface-coated on these discs and cured. Seven samples for each group with a total sample size of 42 specimens were assessed for anti-biofilm efficacy against Streptococcus mutans at the end of 1 day and 7 days and expressed in colony forming units. Intergroup and intragroup comparison of colony counts was assessed using the one-way analysis of variance and paired t-test, respectively. Level of significance was set at 0.05. Results: Intergroup comparison on day 1 and 7 showed significant difference (P = 0.016/P = 0.002) amongst the test groups, where Groups 3 and 1 showed maximum increase in bacterial colonies, respectively, and Group 2 showed minimum. On intragroup comparison, all groups showed an increase in mean colony counts from day 1 to 7, with significant difference only in Group 1 (P = 0.004). Conclusion: ABBL + 3% TiO2 showed superior results. The antibacterial activity of ABBL decreased with time whereas, ABBL + 7% nCur showed sustained release during the tested time

Investigating the effect of supramolecular gel phase crystallization on gel nucleation

Supramolecular gel phase crystallization offers a new strategy for drug polymorph screening and discovery. In this method, the crystallization outcome depends on the interaction between solute and gel fibre. While supramolecular gels have shown success in producing new polymorphs and crystals with novel morphologies, role of the gel and nature of gel–solute interaction remains largely unexplored. The present study aims to provide a comprehensive picture of the structural evolution of a supramolecular gel produced from a bis(urea) based gelator (G) in the presence of a polymorphic drug carbamazepine (CBZ). The structural aspects of the gel have been assessed by single crystal X-ray analysis, X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) and solid state NMR spectroscopy. Small Angle Neutron Scattering (SANS) has been used to follow the changes in gel structure in the presence of CBZ. Visual evidence from morphological study and structural evolution observed at a macroscopic level from rheological measurements, shows good agreement with the SANS results. The concentration of the gelator and the relative proportion of G to CBZ were found to be crucial factors in determining the competitive nucleation events involving gelation and crystallization. At a critical G to CBZ ratio the effect of CBZ on gel structure was maximum and fiber bundling in the gel was found to be critically affected. This study offers important information about how the interplay of gelator assembly and gel–solute interactions can fine-tune the nucleation events in a supramolecular gel phase crystallization

Isolation, screening and identification of novel isolates of Actinomycetes from India for antimicrobial applications

The search for novel bioactive compounds from the natural environment has been rapidly increased with the increase in multi-drug resistant (MDR) pathogens. In the present study, the antimicrobial potential of novel actinomycetes has been evaluated by initial screening of six soil samples. Primary and secondary screening was performed against Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Candida albicans, Candida tropicalis, Trichophyton rubrum, and other MDR bacterial and fungal test strains, and at the end thirteen active isolates were selected for further study. Microbial strains were identified on the basis of growth conditions and other biochemical characters. Five most active microbial strains were identified using 16S rRNA sequence homology and designated as Streptomyces xanthophaeus MTCC 11938, Streptomyces variabilis MTCC 12266, Streptomyces xanthochromogenes MTCC 11937, Streptomyces levis EU 124569 and Streptomyces sp. NCIM 5500. Four antibacterial and three antifungal compounds isolated from the above five isolates were purified and partially characterized using UV absorption and IR spectra. Two antibacterial metabolites, belong to chromone and peptide antibiotic, respectively. The antifungal compounds were found to be of non-polyene nature. In conclusion, we study the isolation of novel bacterial strains of actinomycetes for producing novel compounds having antibacterial and antifungal activities from the unexplored agro-ecological niches of India. Also, this study paves the way for further characterization of these isolates of Streptomyces sp. for their optimum utilization for antimicrobial purposes