First occurrence of mastixioid (Cornaceae) fossil in India and its biogeographic implications

Mastixioids in the family Cornaceae, are presently native only in limited areas of Asia, they have rich fossil fruit record in Cenozoic sediments of Europe and North America, but unfortunately none have been reported from Cenozoic sediments of India and Asia until now. Here, we report the occurrence of leaf remains (both impression and compression) along with carbonised fruits, resembling morphologically and anatomically those of the extant endemic species Mastixia arborea C.B. Clarke. Our materials were recovered from the middle Miocene to early Pleistocene Siwalik sediments exposed around West Kameng and Papumpare districts in Arunachal Pradesh, eastern Himalaya. These new fossil materials confirm the existence of Mastixia in the Miocene-Pleistocene Siwalik forests in India. At present the modern analogue does not grow in the eastern Himalaya and is endemic to the tropical evergreen forests of the Western Ghats, situated at the same palaeolatitude as the fossil locality. Extinction from the entire eastern Himalaya and probable movement of this taxon to the Western Ghats is likely due to climate change in the area, related to the Himalayan Orogeny during Miocene–Pleistocene times. The disappearance of Mastixia from this area may be related to the gradual intensification of rainfall seasonality since the late Miocene. The recovery of this species and our earlier-described evergreen taxa from the same Siwalik time (Mio-Pleistocene), suggest the existence of tropical, warm and humid climatic conditions during the period of deposition. The leaf and fruit remains are here described as new species, namely Mastixia asiatica Khan, Bera M et Bera S, sp. nov. and Mastixia siwalika Khan, Bera M et Bera S, sp. nov. respectively. This report documents the first fossil record of Mastixia leaf remains using both macro and micromorphological characters. We also review the historical phytogeography, and highlight the phytogeographic implication of, the mastixioids

Occurrence of <i>Shorea</i> Roxburgh ex C. F. Gaertner (Dipterocarpaceae) in the Neogene Siwalik forests of eastern Himalaya and its biogeography during the Cenozoic of Southeast Asia

We report the occurrence of two leaf impressions and one leaf compression along with one winged fruit and two fruiting calyx lobes, resembling those of Shorea Roxburgh ex C. F. Gaertner, in the lower Siwalik (Dafla Formation, middle to upper Miocene), middle Siwalik (Subansiri Formation, Pliocene) and upper Siwalik (Kimin Formation, upper Pliocene to lower Pleistocene) sediments exposed in Arunachal Pradesh, eastern Himalaya. We determine their taxonomic positions based on morphological comparison with similar extant and fossil specimens and discuss their phytogeographic and paleoclimatic implications in terms of the distribution and habitat of fossil and modern populations. The Miocene winged fruit is recognized as Shorea pinjoliensis Khan, R.A. Spicer et Bera, sp. nov. while the Pliocene and Plio-Pleistocene fruiting calyx lobes are recognized as Shorea bhalukpongensis Khan, R.A. Spicer et Bera, sp. nov. and Shorea chandernagarensis Khan, R.A. Spicer et Bera, sp. nov. respectively. Based on leaf architecture the Miocene, Pliocene and Plio-Pleistocene leaves are recognized as Shorea mioobtusa Khan, R.A. Spicer et Bera, sp. nov., Shorea pliotumbuggaia Khan, R.A. Spicer et Bera, sp. nov. and Shorea nepalensis Konomatsu et Awasthi respectively. The discovery of members of Shorea indicates that they had arrived in a tropical, warm and humid eastern Himalaya by the Mio-Pleistocene. Present and earlier records of Shorea suggest that this genus was a common forest element during Neogene (Miocene time) as well as in the Siwalik forests including Arunachal sub-Himalaya. In this paper, we also review in detail the biogeographic history and suggest possible migration routes of the genus

Secondary xylary features in proving truth/falsity of an alibi: examples of three important Indian commercial woods

Secondary xylary characters of wood are useful to identify a wood up to its generic or specific level and thus may prove or disprove the alibi of the retailers i.e., a wood is genuine or not. In the present study, 26 wood samples were collected from the local markets of Baruipur, Sealdah and Garia in Kolkata, West Bengal. Among them, 8 were sold as ‘Sandal wood’ (Santalum album), 4 as ‘Red Sanders’ (Pterocarpus santalinus) and 14 as ‘Sal wood’ (Shorea robusta). Results indicate that xylotomical features of most of the collected ‘sandal wood’ and ‘red sander’ samples did not match with the reference Santalum album and Pterocarpus santalinus samples whereas most of the collected ‘Sal wood’ samples from furniture shops matched with the reference samples of Shorea robusta. Present study successfully indicates that xylotomical investigations of commercial wood may establish the authenticity of wood of commerce

Pollen morphology of selected tundra plants from the high Arctic of Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard

Documenting morphological features of modern pollen is fundamental for the identification of fossil pollen, which will assist researchers to reconstruct the vegetation and climate of a particular geologic period. This paper presents the pollen morphology of 20 species of tundra plants from the high Arctic of Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard, using light and scanning electron microscopy. The plants used in this study belong to 12 families: Brassicaceae, Caryophyllaceae, Cyperaceae, Ericaceae, Juncaceae, Papaveraceae, Poaceae, Polygonaceae, Ranunculaceae, Rosaceae, Salicaceae, and Scrophulariaceae. Pollen grain shapes included: spheroidal, subprolate, and prolate. Variable apertural patterns ranged from 2-syncolpate, 3-colpate, 3-(-4)-colpate, 3-(-5)-colpate, 3-colporate, 5-poroid, ulcerate, ulcus to pantoporate. Exine ornamentations comprised psilate, striate-perforate, reticulate, microechinate, microechinate-perforate, scabrate, granulate, and granulate-perforate. This study provided a useful reference for comparative studies of fossil pollen and for the reconstruction of paleovegetation and paleoclimate in Svalbard region of Arctic

Outcome of neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by concurrent chemoradiotherapy versus concurrent chemoradiotherapy alone in non-metastatic locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer – A prospective and randomized study

Background: Sequential chemoradiotherapy and concurrent chemoradiotherapy are two treatment options for locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Still there is limited data regarding which is the better treatment option. Aims and Objectives: This study is to compare the response rate and toxicity pattern between induction (neoadjuvant) chemotherapy followed by concurrent chemoradiotherapy versus concurrent chemoradiotherapy alone in locally advanced NSCLC patients. Materials and Methods: A total of 48 Stage III NSCLC patients were selected for the study and were randomized into two arms with a 1:1 ratio. Patients of ARM-1 received concurrent chemoradiotherapy alone of a total dose of 66Gy/33# over 6 and ⅟2 weeks with paclitaxel (50 mg/m2) and carboplatin (Area under curve [AUC] 2) once every week. The study arm (ARM-2) received two cycles of induction chemotherapy with paclitaxel (175 mg/m2) and carboplatin (AUC 6) every 3 weeks and concurrent chemoradiotherapy (same CRT as on ARM-1). Results: In our study, overall response rate (Complete response+Partial response) in Arm 1 and Arm 2 was 62% and 71%, respectively. The treatment was very tolerated in our study. A mean follow-up of 12 months by Kaplan–Meier survival analysis showed a statistically non-significant difference in disease-free survival in both arms. Progression-free survival was numerically superior in the induction chemotherapy arm but the difference was statistically non-significant. Acute hematological toxicity was numerically more in the concurrent chemoradiotherapy arm, but statistically not significant. Acute lung toxicity, acute pharynx, and esophagus toxicity were numerically more in the induction chemotherapy arm but statistically non-significant. Conclusion: There was no significant difference between induction chemotherapy followed by concurrent chemoradiotherapy and concurrent chemoradiotherapy alone in the present study population