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Leaves of Lysimachia ramosa are used by various tribes of Meghalaya to cure intestinal helminth infections. Preliminary investigations disclosed impressive anthelmintic effects of the kaempferol derivative, an active component of the plant, however, toxic effects on its consumers, if any, are not known. Therefore, the present study has been undertaken to investigate the acute and sub-acute toxic effects of kaempferol derivative, of the plant, taking Wistar rats as a model. Following OECD 407, 250 mg, 500 mg, and 1000 mg/kg body weight doses of the active component have been selected to treat the animals for 28 days. On the 29th day, the animals have been sacrificed to assess different toxicological effects on animals. The LD50 value of the anthelmintic component was found to be more than 5000 mg/kg body weight of rats. Histological, ultrastructural, haematological, biochemical, andorgano-somatic (HSI and RSI) studies demonstrate changes in surface characteristics of various cellular organelles of different vital organs such as the liver, kidney, and intestine. Alterations were also recorded in different vital enzymes such as AST, ALT, and ALP in the phytochemical exposed rats at higher doses. The results revealed that treatment with the active component at a higher concentration may lead to toxicological effects if treatment persists for a longer period.

Monu,1,2 Prachi Agnihotri,1 Mohd Saquib,1,2 Ashish Sarkar,1,2 Debolina Chakraborty,1,2 Uma Kumar,3 Sagarika Biswas1 1Council of Scientific and Industrial Research -Institute of Genomics & Integrative Biology (CSIR–IGIB), Delhi, 110007, India; 2Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad, 201002, India; 3All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, 110029, IndiaCorrespondence: Sagarika BiswasIntegrative and Functional Biology Department CSIR- Institute of Genomics & Integrative Biology, Mall Road, Delhi, 110 007, IndiaTel +91 11 27667602Fax +91-11-27667471; +9818004740Email sagarika.biswas@igib.res.inObjective: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune, inflammatory joint disease. The identification of multifaceted etiological changes at the protein level in RA remains an important need. We aimed to identify differential proteins (DPs) and gene profiles to uncover inflammatory indicators and their association to RA pathogenesis.Methods: 2-DE and SWATH-MS were used to identify DPs in RA and healthy control plasma. Fluorescence phenylboronate gel electrophoresis (Flu-PAGE) with mass spectrometry was used for protein glycation in RA plasma. Disease specificity of identified DPs was confirmed by ELISA and Western blot analysis. The gene expressions of selected DPs were evaluated by qRT-PCR in PBMCs of RA, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), spondyloarthritis (SpA), and osteoarthritis (OA). The functional implication of glycated protein was determined by in- silico and validated by in vitro analysis in fibroblast-like synoviocytes.Results: A total of 150 DPs (127 increased and 23 decreased) were identified by 2-DE and SWATH-MS analysis in RA plasma compared to healthy control (HC). Nine proteins were identified as glycated by Flu-PAGE LC-MS/MS. Transthyretin (TTR), serotransferrin, and apolipoprotein-A1 (Apo-A1) were found to be differential and glycated. ELISA and Western blot results revealed the disease-specific increased expression of TTR and RAGE in RA. The qRT-PCR results signify the aberrant gene expression of TTR and RAGE, found to be associated with RA when compared with SLE, SpA, and OA PBMCs. TTR-RAGE interactions were predicted by in-silico and validated by in-vitro analysis using RA-FLS. The increased levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-6, IL-1β, TNF-α, and differently expressed TTR and RAGE were confirmed in fibroblast-like synoviocytes under inflammatory conditions.Conclusion: Our findings showed that the level of TTR was increased in RA plasma, along with an altered glycation rate. TTR and RAGE aberrant gene expression in PBMCs are the key events associated with RA, and TNF-α activates the NF-KB pathways and promote TTR and RAGE differential expressions that may have pathogenic/inflammatory significance.Keywords: rheumatoid arthritis, differential proteins, post-translational modifications, transthyretin, advanced glycation end products, receptor for advanced glycation end products

Ashish Sarkar,1,2 Monu,1,2 Vijay Kumar,3 Rajesh Malhotra,3 Hemant Pandit,4 Elena Jones,4 Frederique Ponchel,4 Sagarika Biswas1 1Department of Integrative and Functional Biology, CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, New Delhi, 110007, India; 2Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, 201002, India; 3All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, 110029, India; 4Leeds Institute of Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Leeds, Leeds, UKCorrespondence: Sagarika BiswasDepartment of Integrative and Functional Biology, CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology, Near Jubilee Hall, Mall Road, New Delhi, 110007, IndiaTel +91 11-2766-2581Email sagarika.biswas@igib.res.inIntroduction: Circulating plasma proteins play an important role in various diseases, and analysis of the plasma proteome has led to the discovery of various disease biomarkers. Osteoarthritis (OA) is the most common chronic joint disease, mostly affecting people of older age. OA typically starts as a focal disease (in a single compartment, typically treated with unicompartmental knee replacement), and then progresses to the other compartments (if not treated in time, typically treated with total knee replacement). For this, identification of differential proteins was carried out in plasma samples of OA cases and compared with healthy controls. The aim of this study was to identify circulatory differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) in knee-OA patients undergoing total knee replacement or unicompartmental knee replacement compared to healthy controls and assess their role, in order to have better understanding of the etiology behind OA pathophysiology.Methods: DEPs were identified with two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2DE) and isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantification (iTRAQ), followed by liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry. Validation of DEPs was carried out using Western blot and ELISA. Posttranslational modifications were checked after running native gel using purified protein from patients, followed by detection of autoantibodies.Results: In total, 52 DEPs were identified, among which 45 were distinct DEPs. Haptoglobin (Hp) was identified as one of the most significantly upregulated proteins in OA (P=0.005) identified by both 2DE and iTRAQ. Decreased levels of Hp tetramers and increased levels of autoantibodies against Hpβ were observed in OA plasma.Conclusion: Our data suggest that poor clearance of free hemoglobin and low levels of Hp tetramers may be associated with OA pathogenesis and inflammation.Keywords: osteoarthritis, blood, haptoglobin, hemoglobin, biomarker, inflammation

Exploration of the dual and opposing facets of estrogen necessitates a clear understanding to diminish the controversy of estrogen regulation in averting the systemic, autoimmune, joint degrading disorder, and rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Experimental evidences consider estrogen as a pivotal enzyme to modulate the disease progression via managing several cellular mechanisms targeting inflammatory markers such as TNF, ILs, nuclear factor kappa B, and other regulatory proteins like matrix metalloproteinases impeding joint erosion and cartilage degradation. Estrogen modulates cellular signaling associated with inflammation, oxidative stress, related cardiovascular risk, and miRNA regulation during RA progression. Studies determining estrogen regulation in RA complicate the resemblance of the outcome as they represent both hyper and hypo level of estrogen is linked to the disease. Although some reports deliver estrogen as malign, there is now increasing evidence of rendering protection dose dependently. Variation in estrogen level causes differential expression of certain proteins and their related signaling which is directly or indirectly linked to RA pathogenesis. This review summarizes the variations in protein expression levels by focusing on the in vitro, in vivo,and clinical studies of estrogen deficiency and treatment. Construction of protein-protein interaction network, GO, and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis of the differentially expressed proteins assist in hypothesizing a potential molecular mechanism of estrogen in RA via in silico studies. Targeting these differential proteins can emerge a new path for developing advanced therapeutic strategies.

Background: Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune, systemic disease mainly affecting joints. Presently, there is no specific treatment/ drug available for curing RA except few supportive medicines. Therefore, the focus has been shifted to medicinal plants for the treatment of such diseases. Choerospondias axillaris commonly known as Lupsi/Lapsi and has been reported to have several properties for the treatment of various diseases. Objective: The present study has been conducted to explore the anti-inflammatory effects of Choerospondias axillaris fruit extract on Synoviocytes (FLS) and Collagen-Induced Arthritis (CIA) rat model. Methods: Methanolic extract of the Choerospondias axillaris fruit was used for determining phytochemical, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Antioxidant activity of Choerospondias axillaris fruit was determined by free radicals scavenging assays and bioactive compounds were identified via LC-MS/MS analysis. Anti-inflammatory effect was investigated in RA and Osteo Arthritis (OA) primary cells and also in Collagen Induced Arthritis (CIA) rat models. Further, the medicinal properties of anti-inflammatory bioactive compounds were supported by docking studies. Results: In-vitro and in-vivo studies showed significant decrease in the levels of inflammatory cytokines. Docking analysis revealed that quercetin inhibits TNF-α having -9.1 kcal/mol binding energy and 10.13 μM inhibitory constant. Quercetin also inhibits IL-6 having -6.6 kcal/mol binding energy and 21.9 μM inhibitory constant. Conclusion: Observed results suggest that the underutilized fruit Choerospondias axillaris can be used to reduce the inflammation of inflammatory diseases like RA.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune inflammatory disease affecting the joints and surrounding tissue. Identification of novel proteins associated with the progression of a disease is a prerequisite for understanding the pathogenesis of RA. The present study was undertaken to identify the potential biomarkers from a less explored biological sample such as synovial fluid (SF) cells which is specific for RA and to analyze their functional aspects using proteomic approach. Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) was performed using synovial fluid cells of RA and osteoarthritis (OA) patients, and 7 differentially expressed proteins were identified using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS/MS). Αlpha-Taxilin (α-Taxilin) has been found as one of the novel, significantly up regulated protein in RA. It has been validated in the synovium, synovial fluid (SF), SF cells, and plasma samples by Western blot, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS), immunohistochemistry (IHC), and real-time PCR. The identification of autoantibody against α-Taxilin and in silico studies has further helped us to understand its involvement in disease mechanism. The present study will therefore provide knowledge towards the etiology of RA that pave the way for suitable prognostic marker identification along with other clinical parameters.

Myocardial hypertrophy, an inflammatory condition of cardiac muscles is a maladaptive response of the heart to biomechanical stress, hemodynamic or neurohormonal stimuli. Previous studies indicated that knockout of Arginyltransferase (ATE1) gene in mice and embryos leads to contractile dysfunction, defective cardiovascular development, and impaired angiogenesis. Here we found that in adult rat model, downregulation of ATE1 mitigates cardiac hypertrophic, cardiac fibrosis as well as apoptosis responses in the presence of cardiac stress i.e. renal artery ligation. On contrary, in wild type cells responding to renal artery ligation, there is an increase of cellular ATE1 protein level. Further, we have shown the cardioprotective role of ATE1 silencing is mediated by the interruption of TAK1 activity-dependent JNK1/2 signaling pathway. We propose that ATE1 knockdown in presence of cardiac stress performs a cardioprotective action and the inhibition of its activity may provide a novel approach for the treatment of cardiac hypertrophy.

Cancer is a huge problem of disease globally. Today, the percentage of people die from cancer is more than a combination of various diseases. In females, most common types of malignancies that occur are breast and cervical. The present focus has been shifted on medicinal plants as a form of therapy and there is a constant need to identify new therapeutic agents. Choerospondias axillaris (C. axillaris), an underutilized fruit, has been used in the remedy of various diseases. In the present communication, we evaluated the molecular mechanism of C. axillaris methanol extract in regulating cell death in human breast cancer cells (MDA-MB-231).Methanol extract of C. axillaris was prepared and compounds were screened by Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The effect of fruit extract was determined on MDA-MB-231 cells by MTT ((3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) assay and to analyse the molecular mechanism of human breast cancer cells after treating with fruit extract, protein profiling study was performed by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis.A total 9 differentially expressed proteins were identified by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS/MS) analysis. Among 9 identified proteins, synphilin-1 protein was found to be significantly downregulated, validated by western blot and RT-qPCR analysis. Possible interacting partners of synphilin-1 (SNCAIP) were analyzed for their possible role in cancer by the in-silico method.Our data implicate that the presence of bioactive compound(s) in C. axillaris fruits might play an important role in inhibiting the proliferation of breast carcinoma cells and Synphilin-1 protein may play a role of apoptotic function.

Myocardial hypertrophy, an inflammatory condition of cardiac muscles is a maladaptive response of the heart to biomechanical stress, hemodynamic or neurohormonal stimuli. Previous studies indicated that knockout of Arginyltransferase (ATE1) gene in mice and embryos leads to contractile dysfunction, defective cardiovascular development, and impaired angiogenesis. Here we found that in adult rat model, downregulation of ATE1 mitigates cardiac hypertrophic, cardiac fibrosis as well as apoptosis responses in the presence of cardiac stress i.e. renal artery ligation. On contrary, in wild type cells responding to renal artery ligation, there is an increase of cellular ATE1 protein level. Further, we have shown the cardioprotective role of ATE1 silencing is mediated by the interruption of TAK1 activity-dependent JNK1/2 signaling pathway. We propose that ATE1 knockdown in presence of cardiac stress performs a cardioprotective action and the inhibition of its activity may provide a novel approach for the treatment of cardiac hypertrophy.

Centipeda minima and Bauhinia purpurea are used as traditional medicinal plant for ailment of various diseases. The present study was aimed to evaluate the Pharmacognostic and Phytochemical screening of Centipeda minima and Bauhinia purpurea. The Pharmacognostic evaluation (total ash, acid insoluble ash, water soluble ash, water soluble extractive and alcohol soluble extractive) and fluorescence analysis of leaves powder were performed. Preliminary phytochemical investigation was carried out of the crude extracts of Centipeda minima and Bauhinia purpurea leaves using solvents of different polarity. The Pharmacognostic characters of Centipeda minima and Bauhinia purpurea have been done for standardization of crude drug. The results of preliminary phytochemical revealed the presence of flavonoids, tannins, phenolic compounds, alkaloids, glycosides, fats and carbohydrates in Centipeda minima and Bauhinia purpurea leaves. These studies provided referential information in regard to its identification parameters assumed significantly in the way of acceptability of herbal drugs in present scenario of lack of regulatory laws to control quality of herbal drugs.

Bauhinia purpurea are used as antinociceptive, antidiarrhoeal, anti-inflammatory, anti-arthritis, analgesic, anticancer, antipyretic, anti-diabetics, anti-diarrheal activity etc. The flavonoids and polyphenol are present in Bauhinia purpurea and may play an important role in the treatment of inflammation and arthritis. Till date no one has documented about active constituents responsible for the anti-inflammatory and anti-arthritis activity. The present study was aimed to isolate fractions from Bauhinia purpurea leaves extracts, and assessed their anti-inflammatory and anti-arthritis activity in rats. The hydroalcoholic and aqueous extracts of Bauhinia purpurea leaves were prepared and tested for in vitro antioxidant activity namely DPPH, total polyphenol content, total flavonol content and reducing power assay. The antioxidant activity was performed only for proper selection of extracts, to isolate the polyphenol and flavonoids fractions from extract expressing maximum antioxidant activity. The different fractions were isolated from hydroalcoholic extracts by using column chromatography. The fractions FBP5, FBP8, FBP9 and FBP10 were further investigated for phytochemical screening to determine the nature of isolated compound. The fractions FBP8, FBP9 and FBP10 were screened for anti-inflammatory and anti-arthritis activity in carrageenan rat induced paw oedema, cotton pellet-induced granuloma model and adjuvant induced chronic arthritis in rats. The findings of in vitro antioxidant activity demonstrated that hydroalcoholic extracts expressed higher antioxidant activity compared to aqueous extract, and hence hydroalcoholic extracts was further selected for the isolation of various fractions. The results of phytochemical study imply that FBP8, FBP9 and FBP10 revealed the presence of polyphenol and flavonoids. The fraction FBP8, FBP9 and FBP10 (25 mg/kg) exhibits significant anti-inflammatory and anti-arthritis activity. The FBP9 produces maximum anti-inflammatory and anti-arthritis activity compared to other fractions. These findings suggest that the anti-inflammatory and anti-arthritis activity of isolated fraction was due to presence of flavonoids and polyphenols.

Exposure to radiation causes severe alterations of protein expression level inside the cell, thus it may influence the biological events and stress response. In the present investigation, we have demonstrated the effect of radiation on mice lung tissues.Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) coupled with MALDI-TOF/TOF was used to check the expression changes in lung proteome profile of strain 'A' female mice after exposure to lethal doses of gamma irradiation at different time periods (24 and 48 h). Identified proteins were analysed for their altered expression and were further validated by Western blotting and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).Nine significant differentially expressed proteins were identified from irradiated lungs tissues. The expression level of zinc finger protein was found to be up regulated at 24 h irradiation in comparison to 48 h irradiation.Zinc finger protein may be considered as a radiation responsive protein. Alteration in its expression pattern may primarily affect binding specificity of the protein that can further result in the interference in transcriptional control of multiple stress responsive genes.

The uppermost 500cm sedimentary core from ODP sitelocated at the Eastern flank of Najareth bank in the Northern Indian Ocean has yielded altogether twenty four species of planktonic foraminifera. Among all these species, Globorotalia menardii has been found to be consistently dominant in the faunal assemblages from most of the samples. The δ18O measured on the tests of Globorotalia menardii from all levels help in precisely working out the sediment accumulation rates at different isotopic stages, and deciphering the change in climate in the Late Quaternary as well.

Protein phosphorylation is central to most cellular processes. Despite the importance and widespread occurrence of this modification, phosphoproteome analysis of complex biological samples still remains a challenge. The present study has been undertaken to compare iron affinity immobilized metal ion affinity chromatography (Phos-Select™ IMAC) and Gallium immobilized metal ion affinity chromatography (Ga-IMAC) to enrich and characterize phosphopeptides from the whole-cell lysate of Jurkat cells. Our results indicated that enrichment was dependent on the isoelectric point (pI) and molecular mass of the proteins and it was found to be better in case of PHOS-Select IMAC (51.2%) as compared to Ga-IMAC (28.8%). This study compared and analysed phosphopeptide profile of Jurkat cells by two different IMAC techniques and provides advancement in phosphopeptide enrichment methods.

The inability to yield heat up to the expected and desired level by a few of the coal fired thermal power plants can primarily be attributed to the ineffectual combustion of coal. In an intensive endeavour to understand the role of petrographic characteristics in combustion behavior, the authors have collected inertinite rich feed coal and fly ash from six different power plants in India. The technological characteristics, petrographic make up (maceral – and microlithotype composition) and vitrinite reflectance of the feed coals were studied in details. The variation in char types were identified in the various fly ashes. The chars from different feed coals were prepared under controlled laboratory conditions. The burn out level and the unburnt carbon amount in fly ash appear to be controlled by rank and inertinite content. The good correlation between the high-density chars and inertinite dominated microlithotype suggests that high-density chars are mainly derived from these related microlithotypes. The presence of a new type of char, named vitrosphere is reported. The fly ash with little unburnt carbon is predominantly comprised of plerospheres.

Mesoproterozoic siliciclastic strata at the basal part of the Singhora Group, Central India provide an example of a pre-vegetation alluvial fan and braid-delta depositional system. Detailed process-based facies and paleoenvironmental analysis have led to the identification of 15 facies types, grouped under four different facies associations, which record paleoenvironmental settings ranging between continental alluvial fan and distal marine shelf. Two formations investigated are: the Rehtikhol Formation formed in a conglomeratic or coarse arenaceous alluvial fan, braid-plain and delta setting, and the overlying Saraipalli Formation, which preserved the sedimentation record of a storm-infested inner to distal shelf setting. The preponderance of granular and sandy sediment gravity flow products with subordinate rock fall deposits within the alluvial fan system together with a pervasive west–northwesterly paleocurrent is suggestive of a gently sloping beveled source area in the east–southeast. Distal to the inferred fan, a braid-plain system developed with the decrease in the depositional slope. Streams within the braid-plain had widths up to several hundred meters. The braid-plain system at the margin of the marine basin developed a delta with the deposition of wave-reworked fluvial-dominated sediments. The crest trends of wave-generated bedforms within the inferred delta sediments depict the northeast–southwest shoreline interpreted for the Singhora Sea. The prodeltaic basinal part of the Singhora braid-delta was storm infested. The inner shelf acted as a zone of throughput with high-velocity storm flows eroding deep narrow scours (gutter casts) and is interpreted as a ‘zone of bypass’. Operation of geostrophic currents on the Singhora shelf has been inferred from the directional relationship of gutters with the inferred orientation of the shoreline. A proximal–distal relationship has been established within the shelf products based on the relative dominance of erosional and depositional features. The Singhora alluvial fan and braid-delta facies are arranged in a fining-upward sequence. Denudation of the source area, increasing bathymetry with relative rise in sea level, or a combination of both is inferred. Both extrabasinal and intrabasinal forcings possibly contributed to the deepening-upward trend.

Time bracketing of thousands-of-meters-thick, unmetamorphosed, fossil-free sedimentary successions is a long-standing challenge in Indian Proterozoic stratigraphy. Limited geochronologic ages from either the basal or the upper part of the successions prevent workers from constraining the precise age interval for individual basin fill, leaving aside the issue of correlatability between different basin sequences. This article deals with silicic tuff units from the basal part of two areally separated Proterozoic sedimentary successions of central India, the Singhora Group of the Chattisgarh Supergroup and the Khariar Group. The Singhora tuff is enriched in large ion lithophile (Rb, Ba, Th, etc.) elements and light rare earth elements and in a discrimination diagram falls within the volcanic arc granite field. U-Th-Pb electron probe microanalyzer geochronology of monazite and zircon grains from the Singhora tuff revealed several age data clusters, namely, ∼2500, ∼2100, ∼1800, ∼1500, and ∼1000 Ma. In c...

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic, autoimmune, systemic and inflammatory rheumatic disease that leads to inflammation of the joints and surrounding tissues. Identification of novel protein(s) associated with severity of RA is a prerequisite for better understanding of pathogenesis of this disease that may also have potential to serve as novel biomarkers in the diagnosis of RA. Present study was undertaken to compare the amount of autoantigens and autoantibodies in the plasma of RA patients in comparison to healthy controls. Plasma samples were collected from the patients suffering from RA, Osteoarthritis (OA), Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and healthy volunteers. The screening of plasma proteins were carried out using 2-dimensional gel electrophoresis followed by identification of differentially expressed protein by MALDI-TOF MS/MS. Among several differentially expressed proteins, transthyretin (TTR) has been identified as one of the protein that showed significantly up regulated expression in the plasma of RA patients. The results were further validated by Western blot analysis and ELISA. In comparison to OA synovium, an exclusive significantly high expression of TTR in RA has been validated through IHC, Western blotting and IEM studies. Most importantly, the increase in expression of TTR with the progression of severity of RA condition has been observed. The autoantibodies against TTR present in the RA plasma were identified using immunoprecipitation-Western methods. The significant production of autoantibodies was validated by ELISA and Western blot analysis using recombinant pure protein of TTR. Hence, these novel observations on increase in TTR expression with the increase in severity of RA conditions and significant production of autoantibodies against TTR clearly suggest that a systematic studies on the role TTR in the pathogenesis of RA is immediately required and TTR may be used as a serum diagnostic marker together with other biochemical parameters and clinical symptoms for RA screening and diagnosis.

Through stable oxygen and carbon analyses of rapidly accumulating sediment cores from the eastern Arabian Sea, we show that the excess of evaporation over precipitation (E−P) steadily appears to have decreased during the last ∼10 000 to ∼2000 years, most probably due to an increasing trend in the summer monsoon rainfall, contrary to the land-based paleoclimatic data from this region, which indicate onset of aridity around 4000 years ago. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that significant spatial variability in the monsoon rainfall observed today was persistent during most of the Holocene. Alternatively, the trend can be seen as an adjustment between two phases, one between ∼10 000 and ∼6000 years ago of increasing precipitation and another between 3500 and 2000 years ago after the arid episode. We also report a significant ∼700 year periodicity, similar to that reported recently from the South China Sea, indicating that the centennial/millennial scale response of the Indian and Chinese monsoons to high latitude forcing may be alike.

Eight gravity cores from the active eastern continental margins of the Arabian Sea were dated using 210Pbxs, 137Cs and 14C. The short-term (or = 100 years) sedimentation rates range from 0.06 to 0.66 cm/year where as the long-term (or = 1000 years) ones using AMS 14C on planktonic foraminifera varied from 0.004 to 0.13 cm/year. For long-term chronology (or = 50,000 years) AMS dating of well-cleaned planktonic foraminifera is most suited.

Stable isotope ratios of oxygen (δ18O) and carbon (δ13C) in tests ofGloborotalia menardii from samples at 25 cm intervals of top 900 cm cores, representing different thicknesses of the Pleistocene, from DSDP Sites 219, 220 and 241 in the northern Indian Ocean have been measured. Based on the δ18O stratigraphy, glacial and interglacial phases during the Pleistocene have been recognized, which are in good agreement with the standard Quaternary planktonic foraminiferal/climatic zones i.e., Ericson zones at these sites, based onG. menardii abundances. The GIA (glacial interglacial amplitude) at Sites 241, 219 and 220 are of the order of 1·2, 1·4 and 1·9‰ respectively. The last glacial and interglacial maxima (18 ka BP and 125 ka BP respectively) could be identified in DSDP Cores 241, and 219 with some precision. ‘Isotopic ages’ could be assigned to the different levels of these core sections based on the correlation of δ18O record from these sites with the SPECMAP record (Imbrieet al 1984). Changes in sediment accumulation rates at different levels of the Pleistocene have been worked out on the basis of changes in oxygen isotopic ratio.

SYNOPSIS. A new coccidium Sivatoshella lonchurae n. gen., n. sp. (Coccidia, Eimerudae) is described from the gut of the passeriform birds Lonchura malabarica (Linn.) and L. punctulata (Linn.). Endogenous stages of the parasite conform to those of the family Eimerudae. Oocysts are spherical, 36–38 μ (avg. 37.5 μ) in diameter. Wall 3.6 a thick, 4-layered; outermost layer thin transparent and colorless; next, slightly broader and light green; 3rd, thinner and light yellow; innermost dark black. Oocyst residuum absent. Micropyle absent. Sporocysts 28–29 μ long and 18 μ wide. They are 2 broad pear-shaped bodies with Steida body and a prominent substeidal body at the narrow pole. Sporocyst residuum present as minute refractile globules embedded in a dark matrix. Sporozoites broad, comma-shaped, with one large vacuole at the broad pole and nucleus at the center of the body. Sixteen sporozoites in each sporocyst, arranged at the periphery of the residual mass. Sporulation time: 24–48 hours at 31 C. Habitat: duodenum and small intestine of Lonchura malabarica (Linn.) and L. punctulata (Linn.). Locality: Calcutta, W. Bengal, India.

Earlier workers have provided various explanations for the origin of red boles but their exact mode of formation remains debated. The present work is an attempt to use stable oxygen and carbon isotopesto unravel red boles formation mechanism. In this study we report measurements of δ18O and δ13C values in red boles, overlying and underlying basalts, and calcite veins incorporated within the boles. The results indicatethat the alteration of basalts and pyroclastic material constitutes the probable mechanism of red boles formation.