On the age of the Deccan traps near Rajahmundry

It must be remembered, however, that practically all this palaeontological evidence in support of an eocene age for the Deccan trap comes from plant fossils; and the question naturally arises as to what dependence is to be placed upon fossil plants as a guide to geological age—how far they could be considered "absolute indicators of a geological horizon". Whenever there has been a possible difference of opinion on the age of a bed as determined by the evidence of terrestrial fossil plants as against fossil marine animals, it is true that the geologist will always prefer the evidence of the latter and fix the age accordingly. But in a case like the age of the inter-traps where the decisive evidence of fossil marine animals is not available, it seems only reasonable to accept an age based on the verdict of the plant fossils, unless such a conclusion can be shown to be definitely unacceptable from the geological side

Health seeking behavior acceptability of available health facilities and knowledge about tuberculosis in a tribal area

A study was undertaken among the tribals living in Buttayagudem Mandal consisting of 53 villages in West Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh to study their health seeking behaviour, acceptability of available health facilities and knowledge about tuberculosis. Information was also obtained on their practices to get relief from illness and type of health facilities used. In all, 429 households belonging to 34 villages were selected at random and the heads of these households or the next responsible persons were interviewed. A total of 189 (44%) had heard of tuberculosis and of these, 72 (38%) attributed it to tubercle bacilli. A majority of the tribals were in favour of modern medicine and accepted the available health facilities

First mesospheric turbulence study using coordinated rocket and MST radar measurements over Indian low latitude region

A campaign to study turbulence in the mesosphere, over low latitudes in India, using rocket-borne measurements and Indian MST radar, was conducted during July 2004. A rocket-borne Langmuir probe detected a spectrum of electron density irregularities, with scale sizes in the range of about 1m to 1 km, in 67.5-78.0 km and 84-89 km altitude regions over a low latitude station Sriharikota (13.6°N, 80.2°E). A rocket-borne chaff experiment measured zonal and meridional winds about 30 min after the Langmuir probe flight. The MST radar located at Gadanki (13.5°N, 79.2°E), which is about 100 km west of Sriharikota, also detected the presence of a strong scattering layer in 73.5-77.5 km region from which radar echoes corresponding to 3m irregularities were received. Based on the region of occurrence of irregularities, which was highly collisional, presence of significant shears in zonal and meridional components of wind measured by the chaff experiment, 10 min periodicity in zonal and meridional winds obtained by the MST radar and the nature of wave number spectra of the irregularities, it is suggested that the observed irregularities were produced through the neutral turbulence mechanism. The percentage amplitude of fluctuations across the entire scale size range showed that the strength of turbulence was stronger in the lower altitude regions and decreased with increasing altitude. It was also found that the amplitude of fluctuations was large in regions of steeper electron density gradients. MST radar observations showed that at smaller scales of turbulence such as 3 m, (a) the thickness of the turbulent layer was between 2 and 3 km and (b) and fine structures, with layer thicknesses of about a km or less were also embedded in these layers. Rocket also detected 3-m fluctuations, which were very strong (a few percent) in lower altitudes (67.5 to 71.0 km) and small but clearly well above the noise floor at higher altitudes. Rocket and radar results also point to the possibility of existence of thin layers of turbulence (<450 m). The turbulence parameters estimated from rocket-borne measurements of electron density fluctuations are consistent with those determined from MST radar observed Doppler spectra and the earlier works

The effect of fortification of processed soya flour with dl-methionine hydroxy analogue or dl-methionine on the digestibility, biological value, and net protein utilization of the proteins as studied in children

The true digestibility coefficient, biological value, and net available protein of diets based on processed soya flour supplemented with dl-methionine hydroxy analogue (MHA) or dl-methionine (at a level of 1.2 g/16 g N) have been determined in children aged 8-9 years. The mean daily intake of protein by the children on the different diets was maintained at a level of about 1.2 g/kg body weight. Supplementation of soya flour with dl-methionine brought about a marked increase in the biological value and net protein utilization of the proteins. MHA was, however, slightly less effective than dl-methionine in this respect. The biological value and net protein utilization of the different proteins were as follows: soya flour, 63.5 and 53.3; soya flour + MHA, 71.5 and 61.4; soya flour + methionine, 74.9 and 64.7; and skim milk powder, 82.6 and 72.0

Major and minor fisheries harbours of India. 8. Fisherries harbours along the coasts of North Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and West Bengal

The present account gives information about the three major and five minor fisheries harbours along the coasts of north Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and West Benga

Effect of hot water treatments on physiological and biochemical changes in mango cv. Banganapalli during storage at ambient temperature

Mango fruits majorly suffers from anthracnose and fruit fly infestations during storage, transportation and marketing. Hot water treatments (HWTs) at specific levels have shown to control the incidence of these important threats. Application of HWT not only act as a quarantine measure, but also maintains the quality and enhance the marketability of fruits, even at room temperature (RT), leading to its vast applicability in local / international markets. In this study, post harvest application of HWTs (48°C for 60 min and 55°C for 10 min) in mango cv. Banganapalli recorded reduced ethylene production rate, physiological loss in weight, improved sugar content, ascorbic acid, total carotenoids, phenolics and antioxidants compared to control. Combination of HWTs (48°C for 60 min followed by 55°C for 10 min) resulted in degradation of some quality parameters compared to individual HWT and control

Potential marine fishery resources of India

Marine fisheries resources of our country, being dynamic and self renewing in nature, are subject to fluctuations due to fishery-dependent and fishery-independent factors. Therefore, it becomes necessary to review periodically the status of exploited resources and make critical assessment of the fishery potential as more and more data are gathered and new knowledge based on exploratory surveys and researches emerges. Such vital information on the potential resources of the country is an essential prerequisite for proper planning of development strategies with regard to the marine fisheries sector

Flares on AM Canum Venaticorum

AM CVn, an interacting binary system consisting of two helium white dwarfs, has been classified as a nova-like object. Normally it exhibits only small amplitude modulations of 0.05 mag with a 1051 s periodicity. The authors report what is believed to be for the first time, two unusually intense optical flares in AM CVn during 1985-87. The characteristics of the two flares in white light observed on 1985 February 24 and 1986 February 7 with Δm=0.34 and Δm=1.07 respectively are described. The authors estimate the maximum amount of energy released from these flares as 2.7×1036 erg and suggest in the light of current models possible sites of origin of the flaring activity