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The relationship of the crustal contact between the Indian and Eurasian plates is a key issue in understanding crustal thickening and the subduction of the Indian lithosphere beneath the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Across the middle of the Yarlung-Zangbo Suture (YZS), we deployed an ∼450-km-long SN-trending wide-angle reflection/refraction profile to observe the P-wave velocity (vP) structure beneath the northern Himalaya and the southern plateau. Our results show that, 1. the high vP (∼7.1 ​km/s) indicates that the Indian lower crust extends no more than 50 ​km north of the YZS. 2. The lower crust beneath the southern part of the plateau features an extremely low vP (<6.7 ​± ​0.2 ​km/s). 3. Compared with the velocities of several typical crustal lithologies in different temperature regimes, the low vP in the lower crust can be explained by felsic-intermediate granulite, which has prevented the lower crust from further eclogitization. We propose that the dip angle of the Indian lithospheric slab beneath the YZS is partly controlled by the composition of the lower crust of the plateau. In the northern middle YZS, the crust of the southern plateau is too thick and blocks the northward advancement of the Indian lower crust, resulting in the subduction of the Indian lithospheric slab into the upper mantle. The lower crust in western and eastern Lhasa is dominated by a mafic composition, and it was delaminated after eclogitization before the Miocene. The void zone generated by delamination favors the flattening and underthrusting of the Indian lower crust. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the first time, we present a dual-mode snapshot interferometric system for measuring both surface shape and surface roughness to meet the need for on-machine metrology in optical fabrication. Two different modes, interferometer mode and interference microscopy mode, are achieved using Linnik configuration. To realize snapshot measurement, a pixelated polarization camera is used to capture four phase-shifted interferograms simultaneously. We have demonstrated its performance for off-line metrology and on-machine metrology by mounting it on a diamond turning machine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Here, we report a peptide aspartic acid side-chain benzyl ester as a useful precursor that can be efficiently converted into various functional groups, including acid, amide, carbonyl hydrazide, carbonyl azide, or thio ester groups, without other protection for the peptide. With this strategy, we synthesized a series of novel branched and cyclic arginylglycylaspartic acid peptides through successive peptide C-terminal ligation and side-chain ligation based on a side-chain carbonyl azide or thio ester. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dicer, an endonuclease in RNase III family, is essential for the RNA interference (RNAi) pathway. Aberrant expression of Dicer has been shown in various cancers including some subtypes of T cell lymphoma (TCL), which influences patient prognosis. A single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs3742330A>G has been identified in the Dicer gene, located in the 3' untranslated region (3' UTR) that is important for mRNA transcript stability. We investigated whether rs3742330 is associated with the survival in 163 TCL patients. Significant association between Dicer rs3742330 and TCL survival were found. Patients carrying the GG genotype (n = 12) had a significantly increased overall survival (OS) compared with those carrying the GA and AA genotypes (n = 70 and n = 81, respectively; p = 0.031). Moreover, the significant association was maintained for patients with mature T type (n = 134; p = 0.026). In multivariate Cox-regression analysis, rs3742330 proved to be an independent predictor for OS, together with the commonly used International Prognostic Index (IPI) and BAFF rs9514828, another SNP we have previously reported to be associated with TCL survival, with hazard ratios (HRs) for patient death rate of 8.956 (95% CI, 1.210 to 66.318; p = 0.032) for the GA genotype and 10.145 (95% CI, 1.371 to 75.084; p = 0.023) for the AA genotype. Furthermore, we observed cumulative effects of Dicer rs3742330 and BAFF rs9514828 on TCL survival. Compared with patients carrying zero unfavorable genotype, those carrying one and two unfavorable genotypes had an increased risk of death with a HR of 7.104 (95% CI, 0.969-53.086; p = 0.054) and 14.932 (95% CI, 1.950-114.354; p = 0.009), respectively, with a significant doseresponse trend (ptrend = 0.004). In conclusion, Dicer rs3742330 is associated with TCL survival, suggesting that genetic variation might play a role in predicting prognosis of TCL patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By controlling the supersaturation, cubic CrN with novel dendritic and bundle-like nanostructures was synthesized via the solvent-free reaction of CrCl3 and NaNH2 at 250°C. On the basis of the characterization of the obtained products by XRD, XPS, TEM, HRTEM, and FESEM, the possible formation mechanism of CrN with different nanostructures is proposed here. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]