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The present study attempts to ascertain the sediment provenance of around 6.5-m thick palaeochannel sediment exposed in the vicinity of the Ghaggar–Hakra river system of the alluvial plains of the Haryana state of India. The major element geochemistry indicates that the sediments are arkosic in nature, dominated by quartz, K-feldspar, micas, plagioclase, and clay minerals (chlorite, illite, and a very less amount of montmorillonite). The CIA (chemical index of alteration) values ranged between 63 and 77, indicating moderate degrees of chemical weathering. REE plots show that the Eu anomaly is negative for average Bhor Saidan samples similar to PAAS and UCC, suggesting that they could have been deposited in the foreland basin after being originally produced from differentiated silicic and/or recycled sedimentary sources; nonetheless, a little positive Eu anomaly in the chondrite normalised plot is the result of feldspar and arkosic nature of sediments indicating higher levels of physical over the chemical weathering. Mostly the samples are from Siwaliks. Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating suggests that the sediments are ~11 ka old. Further, the palaeochannel is being incised ~3.3 ka and younger sediments are stratigraphically deposited at lower levels. The discriminant function plots (Roser and Korsch 1988) of sediment samples exhibited that they were deposited in a passive margin setting and came from the interior of cratons or a quartzose sedimentary orogenic terrain. The present work done on the geochemistry of the sediments of a palaeochannel present in the alluvial plains will work as a dot on the map to connect the history of the river drainage system of the area in future studies.

Mitochondria are the sole semiautonomous organelles of the human cell and play a very important role in not only energy production but also in apoptosis, metabolism and cell signaling. They are also known to be major producers of ROS and RNS free radicals during ATP production. These free radicals in excessive amount may damage the mitochondrial DNA as well as proteome resulting in accumulation of misfolded proteins which may prove deleterious to their functioning and are known to be involved in disease pathology. To maintain healthy proteome, mitochondria have developed as quality control machinery in semiautonomous manner, where cellular proteins such as proteases and heat shock proteins are used for quality control. The present review discusses various aspects of mitochondrial protein quality control operating at outer or inner membrane as well as intermembranal space. The various pathways involved in mitochondrial unfolded protein response have been discussed along with their implications in cancer and various neurodegenerative diseases.

This paper deals with the hydrocarbon source rock evaluation of the Subathu Formation exposed at Marhighat on Sarahan–Narag road in Sirmaur district of Himachal Pradesh. Hydrocarbon potential of these sediments is estimated on the basis of palynofacies analysis and thermal alteration index (TAI) values based on the fossil spores/pollen colouration. The analyses are based on the classification and hydrocarbon generation potential of plant derived dispersed organic matter present in the sediments. The palynofacies analysis of Subathu Formation in the area reveal moderate to rich organic matter, with amorphous organic matter constituting the bulk of the total organic matter, followed by charcoal, biodegraded organic matter, fungal remains, spores/pollen and structured terrestrial organic matter. The TAI value for the organic matter in these sediments has been ascertained as 3.00. A dominance of the sapropelic facies (amorphous organic matter) and the measured TAI values for the Subathu sediments in the Marhighat area suggests a good source-rock potential for the hydrocarbon generation.

Abstract ObjectivesThe aim of this study was to provide a description of the characteristics of children and adolescents presenting to the accident and emergency (A&E) department with deliberate self harm. MethodDescriptive analysis of data collected by reviewing the notes of all children and adolescents aged 16 years and under, presenting during the period of study (1 January to 31 December) with a history of deliberate self harm. ResultsA total of 100 children (18 boys, 82 girls) were responsible for 117 episodes of deliberate self harm. Nine repeaters were responsible for 22% of the attendances; 38% had made use of emergency ambulance service and 6% were referred by their general practitioner (GP). Sixty nine per cent were accompanied by immediate family and 21% children presented alone. Seventy four per cent presented within three hours of the attempt and 37% presented between 6 pm and midnight; 77% presented during weekdays and 30% of attempts had occurred during spring. Ninety two per cent had used a pharmaceutical drug. Sixty five per cent had made the attempt at home and 12% in a public place. Twenty five per cent had prior or current contact with the child psychiatric services and a similar proportion had prior or current contact with social services. ConclusionsFew of the children and adolescents presenting with deliberate self harm to the A&E department have been referred by their GP. They frequently present alone or are accompanied by people who are not family members making assessment and treatment difficult. Many already have other services involved in their care and thus the gathering and dissemination of information can become quite lengthy. The time of presentation is usually out of hours, further complicating this process. A small number of young people present with repeated self harm, who are known to be most vulnerable for completing suicide.

A steroid-biotransforming strain RJ6 was identified as Micrococcus roseus. This bacterium has a 10 kb plasmid pMQV10. Curing mediated through cultivation of the culture with a low concentration (200 ng/ml) of mitomycin C is described. Loss of cholesterol degradation (chol+) and streptomycin resistance (Smr) phenotypes as a consequence of the loss of plasmid indicate the extrachromosomal location of these two genes in this strain. An electroporation procedure was developed for transformation of cured strain of Micrococcus (RJC6) by plasmids. Frequency of greater than 105transformants/μg DNA was achieved, which is 100-fold higher than the standard transformation procedure that yielded 5.3×103transformants/μg DNA in the same strain.

The Jabalpur and Lameta Formations comprise infra-trappean sedimentary sequences around Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, which represent the lower and upper parts of the Cretaceous System, respectively. A rich palynological assemblage consisting of 152 species belonging to 91 genera of different groups of plants has been recovered from these strata. The present paper deals with the palynological zonation of Jabalpur and Lameta sediments and their stratigraphy in relation to age and environment of deposition. Freshwater and marginal marine environments of deposition are concluded for the Jabalpur and Lameta Formations respectively on the basis of the composition of the palynomorph assemblages. The Jabalpur Formation is Early Cretaceous (c. Berriasian-Barremian) in age, whereas the Lameta Formation was deposited during the Maastrichtian. Copyright 1994, 1999 Academic Press