Variegated palaeosols, which formed from weathering of clays, silts and brackish to freshwater limestones, are present in the Late Eocene–Early Oligocene Solent Group of the Hampshire Basin, southern UK. The composition and origin of the clay in three segments of the lower part of the Solent Group have been investigated by X-ray diffraction, microprobe analysis, inductively coupled plasma-mas spectrometry, K/Ar dating, high resolution scanning electron microscopy, analytical transmission electron microscopy and wet chemistry. The detrital clay mineral suite is dominated by illite and smectite with minor kaolinite and chlorite. Seasonal wetting and drying in gley soils has resulted in replacement of smectite by Fe-rich, or illite-rich illitesmectite. Illite has also formed with gypsum and calcite in ephemeral hypersaline alkaline lakes that periodically dried out. This illite may have precipitated directly from solution. X-ray diffraction data and probe analyses indicate that the neoformed illite is Fe-rich. The K and Fe for the illitization are thought to be derived from weathered glauconite reworked from the underlying Bracklesham Group and Barton Beds.

Public health concern has tended to focus on the dangers of obesity, but there is evidence that undernutrition may also pose a risk to physical and mental well-being, particularly in those who are already ill. Using the General Practice Research Database (see office for Population Censuses and Surveys, 1995), we followed up 10 128 men and women aged 18 years and over who had been diagnosed with cancer or cardiovascular disease to examine whether nutritional status, as indicated by BMI, affected rates of use of health care resources and mortality. In both diagnostic groups, patients with a BMI below 20 kg/m 2 had higher rates of consultation with GP, higher rates of prescription and higher death rates during the follow-up period compared with those with a BMI of 20 – < 25 kg/m 2. In men and women with cardiovascular disease, poor nutritional status was associated with a sharply increased risk of hospital admission. Patients whose BMI was 30 – <40 kg/m 2 also tended to have increased rates of GP consultation and prescription, and if they were under the age of 65 years, they had an increased risk of death. The results of the present study suggest that in men and women with cancer or cardiovascular disease, even minor degrees of undernutrition are associated with a marked increase in morbidity and mortality.

Lactating New Zealand sea lions (Phocarctos hookeri) have recently been reported to be the longest and deepest-diving otariid. An unusually large proportion of dives exceeded a theoretical aerobic dive limit, predicted from estimated oxygen stores and measurements of diving metabolic rate. We investigated swimming speed, a key variable in both the management of oxygen stores and foraging strategies, and its relation to diving behaviour in New Zealand sea lions. Diving behaviour was nearly continuous with short inter-dive intervals. Mean diving swimming speeds ranged from 1.6 to 2.4 m/s. Mean surface swimming speeds ranged from 0.9 to 1.8 m/s and were significantly lower than diving speeds in all subjects. New Zealand sea lions spend significant but variable amounts of time resting at the surface. Diving and swimming speed patterns were consistent with foraging on the benthos. Time in the foraging zone was maintained in deeper dives by increasing dive duration. This increased duration cannot be accounted for by a decreased metabolic rate resulting from slower swimming speeds, as speeds increased with the maximum depth of dives. Patterns of swimming speed and acceleration suggest the use of a gliding phase during descent. For most females, the extended duration of deeper dives did not impact on surface times, suggesting the use of aerobic metabolism. Females exhibited significantly slower swim speeds during the bottom segments of foraging dives than during descent or ascent. These findings suggest that swimming behaviour should be considered a critical component when modelling energetic costs for diving animals.