A new fossil spider is described from the early Eocene (Ypresian) Palana Formation (54 to 57 Ma) at the Gurha opencast lignite mine, near Bikaner, western Rajasthan, India. It is the first report of a nonamber fossil spider from India. The fossil is referred to the modern genus Nephila Leach, 1815, but with hesitation because, while its habitus is similar to that genus, it lacks the behavioral synapomorphies that distinguish the genus.

As far as phonology and morphology are concerned, the available evidence indicates that the role of L1 in shaping interlanguage is confined to those of its rules that are needed to account for its global alternations, alternations that are independent of its morphology (cf. Cearly 1974, Dressler 1985, Kilbury 1981, Singh and Ford 1982, 1987, Singh and Martohardjono 1989, Wode 1978, and Wurzel 1977, among others). The rules needed to account for the local, morphologically dependent alternations of L1 or the ones needed to account for its word-formation processes do not play such a role. Interference, in other words, can be caused only by across-the-board phonological rules of L1. So-called morphophonemic rules of L1 do not cause it, and morphological interference from L1 seems not to exist as word-formation errors in intermorphology are the results of illegal extensions of L2 word-formation rules (cf. Singh 1989 and Singh and Martohardjono 1989). The purpose of this note is to critically examine the accounts contemporary theories of phonology provide of this state of affairs and to argue that the account provided by the sort of theory proposed in Ford and Singh (1983, 1985a, 1985b) and Singh and Ford (1982, 1987) is the most satisfactory one.

Paradis (1980:501) observes that

Historically, languages seem to have two kinds of affixes: those that stay put as unproductive (English -ity, Hindi -at, and German -sal) and those that go on to increase their lexical domain (English -hood and non-, Hindi be-, German -ung). When a native affix attaches to non-native lexical items it could not previously attach to, we say that the lexical items in question have moved into the native classification (cf. Allen 1978; Aronoff 1976). English -hood, originally restricted to native bases, now attaches to latinate bases such as priest and state, implying that state and priest have been totally nativized. When a non-native affix increases its lexical domain, we say that the original restriction on it has been removed. Hindi be, originally restricted to [+Persian] words can now attach to almost any adjective (cf. Singh, forthcoming). Non-native affixes either stay put as unproductive (cf. English -ity) or may generalize to cover the entire lexicon (cf. English non- and Hindi be-). When they do generalize so pervasively, they can be attached productively to newly borrowed words. Attachment to newly borrowed words, however, generally implies free attachability with native bases (cf. the Russian nominal suffix -izm discussed in Shanskii, 1968, particularly pp. 100 ff).

In a provocative article in a recent issue of this journal, Walker (1978) accounts for Old French (OF) alternations of the type ancestre: ancessour, mendre: menour, prendre:prenons, and cosdre: cousons with a synchronic rule of consonant epenthesis given in (1) below:

The purpose of this remark is to argue that even if OF can be said to have consonant epenthesis as a synchronic phonological process (for some convincing arguments to the contrary, see Morin 1980 [above in this volume]), Walker’s formulation of it leaves a lot to be desired.

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that the occurrence of epenthetic vowels and consonants can be attributed to certain properties of syllable structure and some universal principles of syllabification interacting with (phonotactic) constraints, some of which are universal, others language-specific. The analysis of epenthesis proposed here is an elaboration and refinement of earlier proposals by Singh (1980, 1981a, 1981b, 1981c) and Piggott (1981). We believe that this analysis provides an explanation of the phenomenon of epenthesis. The paper is organized in the following way. In Section 1, we identify the phenomenon of epenthesis and summarize the difficulties in capturing generalizations about it within a framework which treats phonological representations as linear sequences of elements. In Section 2, we outline our conception of syllable structure and examine some of the consequences and implications of our assumptions. Section 3 contains an elaboration of the principles of syllabification that underlie our account of epenthesis. In Section 4, we indicate what we think we have managed to explain and point out some of the significance of the explanation provided. Finally, in Section 5, we try to link our work to some long-held views about the relationship of rules to constraints.

Copper (I) oxide (Cu2O) is a direct band gap semiconductor with p-type conductivity and is a potential candidate for multi-junction solar cells. In this work, incoherent light source based photo-assisted metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) was used to deposit high quality Cu2O thin films on n-type <100> silicon and quartz substrates. X-ray diffraction studies reveal that crystalline Cu2O is deposited. UV-Vis-NIR spectroscopy results indicated a band gap of 2.44 eV for Cu2O thin films. Transmission electron spectroscopy results show that the Cu2O film grows in the form of three-dimensional islands composed of smaller nanocrystalline grains in the range of 10–20 nm. I–V measurements indicate that the Cu2O/n-Si device fabricated using the MOCVD process has a lower dark current density than other devices reported in the literature.

This paper assesses the reasons for entry into sex work and its association with HIV risk behaviours among mobile female sex workers (FSWs) in India. Data were collected from a cross-sectional survey conducted in 22 districts across four high HIV prevalence states in India during 2007–2008. Analyses were limited to 5498 eligible mobile FSWs. The reasons given by FSWs for entering sex work and associations with socio-demographic characteristics were assessed. Reported reasons for entering sex work include poor or deprived economic conditions; negative social circumstances in life; own choice; force by an external person; and family tradition. The results from multivariate analyses indicate that those FSWs who entered sex work due to poor economic conditions or negative social circumstances in life or force demonstrated elevated levels of current inconsistent condom use as well as in the past in comparison with those FSWs who reported entering sex work by choice or family tradition. This finding indicates the need for a careful assessment of the pre-entry contexts among HIV prevention interventions since these factors may continue to hinder the effectiveness of efforts to reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS in India and elsewhere.