Slight Folding Research Articles

Radiosensitization of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma by Graphene Oxide Nanosheets to Reduce Bcl-2 Level.

There are many treatments for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), but none of them are very effective. Radiotherapy is used extensively in NPC treatment, but radioresistance is a major problem. Graphene oxide (GO) has been previously studied in cancer treatment, and this study is aimed to explore its role in radiosensitization of NPC. Therefore, graphene oxide nanosheets were prepared, and the relationship between GO and radioresistance was explored. The GO nanosheets were synthesized by a modified Hummers' method. The morphologies of the GO nanosheets were characterized by field-emission environmental scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The morphological changes and radiosensitivity of C666-1 and HK-1 cells with or without the GO nanosheets were observed by an inverted fluorescence microscopy and laser scanning confocal microscopy (LSCM). Colony formation assay and Western Blot were applied for analysis of NPC radiosensitivity. The as-synthesized GO nanosheets have lateral dimensions (sizes ∼1 μm) and exhibit a thin wrinkled two-dimensional lamellar structure with slight folds and crimped edges (thickness values ∼1 nm). C666-1 cells with the GO was significantly changed the morphology of cells postirradiation. The full field of view visualized by a microscope showed the shadow of dead cells or cell debris. The synthesized graphene oxide nanosheets inhibited cell proliferation, promoted cell apoptosis, and inhibited the expression of Bcl-2 in C666-1 and HK-1 cells but increased the level of Bax. The GO nanosheets could affect the cell apoptosis and reduce the pro-survival protein Bcl-2 related to the intrinsic mitochondrial pathway. The GO nanosheets could enhance radiosensitivity, which might be a radioactive material in NPC cells.

Study of the morphological and anatomic signs of the flowers of the chrysanthemum hortorum bailey sort pectoral (pharmacognostic analysis)

The aim. To study of the morphological and anatomical features of the structure of inflorescences of Chrysanthemum × hortorum Bailey, variety Pectoral.Materials and methods. The inflorescences of Chrysanthemum × hortorum Bailey, cultivar Pectoral were used for the analysis. The raw materials were harvested in the phase of mass flowering of plants in September-October 2019 at the experimental plots of the department of floral and ornamental plants of the National Botanical Garden named after M.M. Grishko of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine in Kyiv.Results. The investigated inflorescences are represented by bright orange double baskets, consisting of seated semiflorets and disk flowers arranged spirally on a convex bare anthoclinium. The involucrum of Chrysanthemum × hortorum Bailey inflorescences of the Pectoral variety has a dense structure with elongated leathery leaves. The marginal flowers of the anthodium are red-orange, pseudo-ligate female; the middle flowers are yellow, tubular, bisexual. The apex and edge of the epidermal cells of pseudo-ligate flowers are characterized by papillary growth and slight folding of the cuticle; at the base of the corolla lingula there are cells with calcium oxalate crystals in the form of small druses. The anatomical structure of tubular flowers is characterized by essential oil glands, typical for the Asteraceae family. The epidermis of the wrapper leaves is represented by oval cells with numerous essential oil glands and large surface outgrowths.Conclusions. The main diagnostic morphological and anatomical features of the inflorescences of Chrysanthemum × hortorum Bailey cultivar Pectoral have been established, which can be further used in the identification of new medicinal plant materials

Barbels of the Larval and Adult African Catfish (Clarias gariepinus): Light, Scanning and Transmis- sion Electron Microscopy Investigation

The present study describes the struc- ture of the barbels in larval and adult African catfish. The African catfish has four pairs of barbels. The two types of barbels appear in first-day larvae, without taste buds. The barbels of the third-day larvae had slight folding and their taste buds had few microvilli. In the fifth-day larvae, the taste buds were concave and their microvilli were condensed at the periphery and loose- ly arranged centrally. Taste buds of the seventh-day larvae appeared as volcano-like elevations with alternative arrangement. In the thirteenth-day larvae, taste buds were placed on the epidermal papillae and they pos- sessed large and small microvilli. The adult catfish barbels consisted of an epidermis, dermis and a central rod of cartilage. The flask-shaped taste buds were scattered among the epidermal cells. By SEM, the epithelial surface

Crystal structure of an unknown solvate of {2,2'-[ethane-1,2-diylbis(nitrilo-methanylyl-idene)]diphenolato-κ(4) O,N,N',O'}(N-ferrocenylisonicotinamide-κN (1))cobalt(II): a Co(II)-salen complex that forms hydrogen-bonded dimers.

The title compound, [CoFe(C5H5)(C16H14N2O2)(C11H9N2O)], was prepared as an air-stable red-brown solid by mixing equimolar amounts of {2,2'-[ethane-1,2-diylbis(nitrilo-methanylyl-idene)]diphenolato}cobalt(II) and N-ferrocenylisonicotinamide in dry di-chloro-methane under nitro-gen and was characterized by ESI-MS, IR, and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The structure at 100 K has triclinic (P-1) symmetry and indicates that the complex crystallizes as a mixture of λ and δ conformers. It exhibits the expected square pyramidal geometry about Co, and forms hydrogen-bonded dimers through amide N-H groups and phenolate O atoms on an adjacent mol-ecule. The involvement of only half of the salen ring structure in hydrogen-bonding inter-actions results in slight folding of the salen ring away from the pyridine coordination site in the δ conformer with an inter-salicyl-idene fold angle of 9.9 (7)°. In contrast, the λ conformer is nearly planar. The dimers pack into an open structure containing channels filled with highly disordered solvent mol-ecules. These solvent molecules' contributions to the intensity data were removed with the SQUEEZE procedure [Spek (2015). Acta Cryst. C71, 9-18] available in PLATON.

Crystal structure of [(1,2,3,4,11,12-η)-anthracene]tris-(tri-methyl-stann-yl)cobalt(III).

The asymmetric unit of the title structure, [Co(η(6)-C14H10){Sn(CH3)3}3], contains two independent mol-ecules. Each anthracene ligand is η(6)-coordinating to a Co(III) cation and is nearly planar [fold angles of 5.4 (3) and 9.7 (3)°], as would be expected for its behaving almost entirely as a donor to a high-oxidation-state metal center. The slight fold in each anthracene ligand gives rise to slightly longer Co-C bond lengths to the ring junction carbon atoms than to the other four. Each Co(III) cation is further coordinated by three Sn(CH3)3 ligands, giving each mol-ecule a three-legged piano-stool geometry. In each of the two independent mol-ecules, the trio of SnMe3 ligands are modeled as disordered over two positions, rotated by approximately 30%, such that the C atoms nearly overlap. In one mol-ecule, the disorder ratio refined to 0.9365 (8):0.0635 (8), while that for the other refined to 0.9686 (8):0.0314 (8). The mol-ecules are well separated, and thus no significant inter-molecular inter-actions are observed. The compound is of inter-est as the first structure report of an η(6)-anthracene cobalt(III) complex.

Cellular Apoptosis of Hemocytes from Dendrolimus tabulaeformis Tsai et Liu Larvae Induced with the Secondary Metabolites of Beauveria brongniartii (Sacc.) Petch

To investigate the effect of the secondary metabolites of entomopathogenic fungus on the hemocyte immunity of host insect, the secondary metabolite complex (SMC) of Beauveria brongniartii was used in three concentrations (5.5, 55, and 550 µg/mL), and the 4th instar larvae of the pine caterpillar Dendrolimus tabulaeformis were employed as host insects. The larvae were inoculated with the SMC solutions by injection in bioassays. Apoptosis of the larval hemocytes was observed using fluorescence microscopy (FM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and flow cytometry (FCM). The FM results showed that in the treated groups, larval hemocytes exhibited symptoms of early apoptosis at 6 h post-treatment by radiating a non-uniform kelly fluorescence and exhibited symptoms of late apoptosis at 12 h post-treatment by radiating a non-uniform orange fluorescence. Under TEM, the following ultra-structural changes associated with apoptosis of the larval hemocytes were observed in the treated groups: the nuclei were hypertrophied, slight folds were on the nuclear envelope, the chromatin became concentrated, the mitochondrial cristae disappeared or were disorderly, most cells developed blebs, and fibrillar aggregation appeared and accumulated in the cytoplasm. Apoptosis of the larval hemocytes was detected by FCM at 6 h post-treatment; the percentage of early apoptotic cells in the SMC 5.5, 55, and 550 µg/mL treatment groups were 11.93%, 13.10%, and 18.42%, respectively. Late apoptosis first occurred at 12 h post-treatment; the highest rate of apoptosis was 36.54 ± 4.37% at 24 h post-treatment in the SMC 55 µg/mL treatment group. In general, the cellular apoptosis rate was positively correlated with the SMC concentration and the time post-treatment. These results indicate that secondary metabolites of B . brongniartii are able to attack the hemocytes of D . tabulaeformis larvae and induce cellular apoptosis, thereby providing new evidence that secondary metabolites of mycopathogens can act on host immune systems.

Transition Metal Complexes of N‐Heterocyclic Germylenes

AbstractThe five‐membered N‐heterocyclic germylenes (NHGe) 1a–3a, with or without benzo or naphtho anellation, react with [Mo(CO)3(cht)] (cht = 1,3,5‐cycloheptatriene) to form thefac‐[(NHGe)3Mo(CO)3] complexes 1b–3b. Similarly, [Ni(bnNHGe)4] was obtained from the benzo‐anellated germylene (bnNHGe) and Ni(1,5‐cod)2; attempts to synthesize less electron‐rich complexes with mono‐ or divalent transition metals failed. The CO valence vibrations in the IR spectra of 1b–3b, together with their short GeII–Mo bonds (as determined by X‐ray crystallography), hint at the weak donor and good π‐acceptor properties of the ligands. Quantum chemical studies on the benzo‐anellated germylene, which are supported by the good correlation between calculated and experimental (PES) orbital ionization potentials, confirm this proposal in terms of the low energy of the Ge lone electron pair and two higher π‐MOs. The slight folding about the C–C bridging and N···N axes observed for the benzo‐anellated (NHGe)molybdenum and ‐nickel complexes by X‐ray structure analyses, may be due to packing effects. Quantum chemical calculations on slightly bent (for dineopentyl substitution in the gas phase) and planar bnNHGe complexes show that the energy differences between the two are very small.(© Wiley‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2009)

9-Sila-9,9′′-spirobixanthene

The title molecule, C24H16O2Si, exhibits slightly distorted tetrahedral coordination about silicon, a slight folding of each half of the molecule about the Si...O line, and π–π and C—H...π-ring interactions.

Conformational Changes and Orientation of Humicola lanuginosa Lipase on a Solid Hydrophobic Surface: An in Situ Interface Fourier Transform Infrared-Attenuated Total Reflection Study

This study was done to better understand how lipases are activated at an interface. We investigated the conformational and solvation changes occurring during the adsorption of Humicola lanuginosa lipase (HLL) onto a hydrophobic surface using Fourier transform infrared-attenuated total reflection spectroscopy. The hydrophobic surfaces were obtained by coating silicon attenuated total reflection crystal with octadecyltrichlorosilane. Analysis of vibrational spectra was used to compare the conformation of HLL adsorbed at the aqueous-solid interface with its conformation in solution. X-ray crystallography has shown that HLL exists in two conformations, the closed and open forms. The conformational changes in HLL caused by adsorption onto the surface were compared with those occurring in three reference proteins, bovine serum albumin, lysozyme, and α-chymotrypsin. Adsorbed protein layers were prepared using proteins solutions of 0.005 to 0.5 mg/mL. The adsorptions of bovine serum albumin, lysozyme, and α-chymotrypsin to the hydrophobic support were accompanied by large unfoldings of ordered structures. In contrast, HLL underwent no secondary structure changes at first stage of adsorption, but there was a slight folding of β-structures as the lipase monolayer became complete. Solvation studies using deuterated buffer showed an unusual hydrogen/deuterium exchange of the peptide CONH groups of the adsorbed HLL molecules. This exchange is consistent with the lipase being in the native open conformation at the water/hydrophobic interface.

High resolution of glacial ice stratigraphy: A ground‐penetrating radar study of Pegasus Runway, McMurdo Station, Antarctica

Ground‐penetrating radar (GPR) has been used to detect areas of present or potential structural weakness beneath a 3.2-km snow‐covered ice runway on the Ross Ice Shelf, Antarctica. The bandwidths of the transmitted wavelets were centered near 500 MHz. The data show many horizons up to tens of meters long and occurring to about a 9-m depth, below which a brine intrusion limits penetration. The horizons are interpreted as discrete scatterers because of their diffraction nature and loss of higher frequencies with depth. The presence of porous ice or dispersed water is interpreted from wavelet phase. The water may be associated with apparent deepening and fading of the brine horizon. If the above interpretation is correct, water occurs at depths to 3.5 m and extends as much as 40 m horizontally, which is greater and deeper than known previously. At 3.5 m depth, the water may be adsorbed on mineral particles rather than remain free. Migration of the diffractions with a single‐layer migration scheme shows all horizons above the brine layer to be small dielectric perturbations within the ice. Stacking and Hilbert transformation of the data reveal slight folding along the length of the runway. Loss of high‐frequency amplitude in the wavelets suggests that higher frequency radar might improve resolution only in the top few meters.

Stratigraphic Evolution and Tectonics in an Area of High Seismicity: Akyazı/Adapazarı (Pontides, Northwestern Turkey)

In the western Keremali Mountains (southernmost İstanbul zone), the crystalline basement is overlaid by Upper Cretaceous to probably Miocene sediments and volcanic rocks. The complex geological situation is to some extent due to paleo-Alpine (Late Cretaceous-Paleocene) syn-sedimentary tectonics. Typical features are locally restricted occurrences of lithologies, rapid lateral and vertical changes in the stratigraphic columns, neighbouring zones of erosion and accumulation and the predominance of coarse clastic sediments. This paleo-Alpine phase was followed by the main-Alpine phase (Early Eocene) which is related to the juxtaposition of the Istanbul and Sakarya zone and the consumption of the Intra-Pontide Ocean. This phase is associated with a regional uplift combined with a tilting and slight folding of the strata and widespread volcanism in the study area. Relicts of the Intra-Pontide Ocean in form of serpentinite lenses are exposed in the southernmost study area (Civek Zone). The Neo-Alpine (Miocene-present) North Anatolian Fault zone overprinted the whole study area and reactivated the Intra-Pontide suture as a right-lateral fault zone.

Rapid uplift, stepped marine terraces and raised shorelines on the Calabrian coast of Messina Strait, Italy

AbstractA series of 26 Quaternary shorelines, stepped between present sea level and 556 m, are studied. They are part of the flight of marine terraces of the Aspromonte region. The shorelines were determined using three geomorphological models: wave‐cut platforms and gravel‐built terraces associated with their sea‐cliff foot, and observations of lateral changes between marine terraces and fluvial terraces. The elevation of the sea‐cliff foot is either measured directly, by exposure in cross‐section, or by estimation from geomorphological patterns. With caution, we connect the different landmarks of the shorelines which are discontinuous because of destruction between interfluves or because they are overlain by torrential deposits.The results of mapping show that there are few differential movements from one transect to another and mean uplift rate is 98 cm ka−1. This rate is calculated on the basis of a correlation of the area studied with the Ravagnese Tyrrhenian site, 125 m high, whose date is isotopic substage 5e. Middle and Late Quaternary tectonic activity leads to faulting, slight folding and warping but some scarps associated with faults are actually ancient sea cliffs.

Vertically persistent sedimentary facies boundaries along growth anticlines and climate‐controlled sedimentation in the thrust‐sheet‐top South Pyrenean Tremp‐Graus Foreland Basin

ABSTRACTCompression of the thrust sheet underlying the central South Pyrenean Tremp‐Graus Foreland Basin led to weak folding of the overlying basin fill during deposition of Eocene sediments. From the distribution of sedimentary facies and the presence of these folds, it is interpreted that thrusting of deep‐seated competent units was accommodated by weak synsedimentary folding with a shorter wavelength at shallower levels. This led to differential subsidence at the surface but no unconformities are observed. The slower subsidence along the active anticlines locally influenced the distribution of sedimentary facies: lateral boundaries between different sedimentary facies are found to extend (sub)vertically up to more than 60 metres within narrow zones a few 100 m to 1.5 km wide. The growth folds thus led intermittently to the fixation of the position of facies boundaries, including a fixation of the coastline, over long periods (104 to 105 years). Sediment transport paths were also influenced by the slight folding of the surface.The orientation of the weak ‘en echelon’ anticlines and of related facies boundaries agrees with the inferred compressional pattern during the Eocene.Explanations for the regular occurrence of 50–60 m thick sedimentary cycles in terms of tectonic pulses or orbitally driven climatic changes and resulting pulses in sediment yield are discussed. For cycles of shorter length (10–15 m), with durations of the order of tens of thousands of years, it is inferred that these are due to regular climatic changes, probably related to orbital forcing, and resulting cyclic alternations of arid and wet periods. Such periodic changes of climate would have caused the intermittent waxing and waning of coarse‐grained sediment

The Elastic Moduli of Silver Thin Films Measured with a New Microtensile Tester

ABSTRACTA new design for a thin film microtensile tester is presented. The strain is measured directly on the free-standing thin film from the displacement of laser spots diffracted from a thin grating applied to its surface by photolithography. The diffraction grating is two-dimensional, allowing strain measurement both along and transverse to the tensile direction. In principle, both Young's modulus and Poisson's ratio of a thin film can be determined. Ag thin films with strong <111> texture were tested. The measured Young moduli agreed with those measured on bulk crystals, but the measured Poisson ratios were low, most likely due to slight transverse folding of the film that developed during the test.

Morphologic Changes of the Basal Lamina in the Small Intestine of <i>Xenopus laevis </i>during Metamorphosis

Further investigations of the epithelial and mesothelial basal lamina of the duodenum of Xenopus laevis during metamorphosis were performed by means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and histochemical techniques using polyethyleneimine (PEI) to demonstrate anionic sites as well as light- and transmission-electron-microscopic methods involving morphometric analysis. The basal lamina of the duodenal epithelial cells was smooth, and it was occasionally curved along the processes of the epithelial cells (stages 56-59). The basal lamina became thicker by folding, and the thickness of the folded basal lamina exceeded 1 micron (stages 60-62). Subsequently, the folded basal lamina disappeared gradually and became almost smooth again and consisted of only one layer (stages 63-66). After removing the epithelium by boric acid, SEM revealed that the small ridges of the basal lamina protruded like a mesh-work into the luminal side, and the luminal surface of the basal lamina became smooth at later stages of the metamorphic climax. The electron-dense granules of PEI-positive material were localized at both sides of the lamina densa at regular intervals (80-100 nm). The basal lamina of the mesothelial cells was almost smooth at stages 56-59 and started to show occasional slight folding. This folding became continuous and deeper (stages 60-62). The folded mesothelial basal lamina disappeared except for the cell-associated basal lamina and became smooth again at later stages of the metamorphic climax (stages 63-66). These morphologic changes of the basal lamina observed in the epithelium and mesothelium may be induced by common factors. We suggest that physical changes in the small intestine involving the shortening and narrowing should be a main factor to cause these changes in the basal lamina. Furthermore, morphometric analysis proposed that the basal lamina becomes more complex by adding newly synthesized basal lamina material, especially in the epithelium.

Synthèse et dipolemétrie de quelques acridine-9-ones et acridine-9-thiones substituées en position 1

Theoretical dipole moments of these compounds have been calculated using CNDO/2 calculations and vectorial incremental addition. According to the comparison between experimental and theoretical dipole moments as well as the values of 13C(9) chemical shifts, some structural features have been portrayed. For example, geometry of the C(1)-substituent and spatial orientation of the N(10)-R bond are given whilst the slight folding of the molecules along a fictitious N(10)-C(9) axis is estimated. Moreover, the existence of intramolecular hydrogen bonding is discussed. In addition, it is shown that electromeric interactions between the amino groups and the oxygen or sulfur atoms considerably contribute to the dielectric and spectroscopic properties of the compounds investigated.

The Araguaia fold belt, Brazil: A reactivated Brasiliano-Pan-African cycle (550 Ma) geosuture

The Araguaia-Tocantins geosuture, which separates the Araguaia Fold Belt (AFB) from the Archean Amazonian Craton, was active in the late Middle Proterozoic. The Baixo Araguaia Supergroup was deposited, consisting of the Estrondo Group (lower quartzites with intercalated schists), Xambioá Formation (schists), and Canto da Vazante Formation (upper feldspathic schists); and the Tocantins Group consisting of the Couto Magalhaës Formation (phyllites, quartzites, slates, limestones, and metacherts) and Pequizeiro Formation (upper chlorite schists); and associated mafic-ultramafic bodies. The deformational history includes four regional phases of deformation within this supracrustal sequence: recumbent folds with vergence to the west; refolding with a N-S trend; an intense crenulation episode; and late thrusting from east to west. Metamorphism is of intermediate or intermediate-high pressure type with garnet, biotite, chlorite, and sericite isograds succeeded by a slightly or non-metamorphosed zone, from east to west. Rocks surrounding sparse gneissic-cored domes contain isograds of staurolite, kyanite, and fibrolite. These isograds are believed to be associated with the 1100 Ma Uruaçuano event. The Brasiliano Orogeny strongly affected the AFB with displacements due to transcurrent reactivation of great and old faults of the basement, slight folding in the supracrustal sequence, intrusion of small granite bodies, and development of domes with associated normal faults. The area underlain by the Estrondo Group was uplifted at this time, causing the deposition of the Rio das Barreiras polymictic conglomerate of the central area. K-Ar and Rb-Sr analyses date this thermo-tectonic event at 550 ± 100 Ma. The Archean basement is exposed in the cores of domes as a granite-gneiss association, the Colméia complex, which shows thermo-tectonic features that may be interpreted as polycyclic imprints (Jequié, Transamazonian?, Uruaçuano, and Brasiliano Events).

Observation on the basal lamina of duodenal mesothelial cells during metamorphosis of Xenopus laevis.

Morphologic changes in the basal lamina of duodenal mesothelial cells during metamorphosis of Xenopus laevis were observed. In the prometamorphosis stage (Stage 56-59), the basal lamina was almost completely flat; the lamina densa of the basal lamina was a 50 nm layer of high electron density. In the early stages of metamorphic climax (Stage 60-62), the basal lamina showed occasional slight folding (stage 60), with the lapse of time, the folding became continuous and deeper. The development of an additional thin basal lamina was observed in areas where the folded basal lamina was separated from mesothelial cells, viz. on the side adjacent to the mesothelium. The lamina densa in this stage was approximately twice the thickness of the prometamorphosis stage and exhibited high electron density. In the later stages of metamorphic climax (stage 63-66), the basal lamina just under mesothelium became more apparent. The folded basal lamina shifted from the mesothelium into the subserosa and gradually disappeared, and the basal lamina became a single layer. The thickness of the lamina densa was almost the same as in the prometamorphosis stage. Since the timing of the folding of the basal lamina coincides with the shortening of the digestive tract and the marked narrowing of the lumen, we suggest that physical changes in the digestive tract during metamorphosis may play an important role in these morphologic changes of the basal lamina.

Tectonic Control of Cretaceous Gravity Deposits and Submarine Valleys in the Subalpine Basin, French Western Alps: ABSTRACT

The Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous series of the French subalpine basin is characterized by alternating limestones and marls with numerous, thick gravity-flow deposits (carbonate debris flows and slumps, siliciclastic grain flows, turbidites). These gravity deposits originate from platforms and slopes and come through the basin via several parallel canyons and submarine valleys. Some carbonate (Berriasian) and siliciclastic (Aptian) deep-sea fans are built at the canyon mouth during intense activity of the canyons and reworking of the sediments. The tectonic control of the gravity deposits is demonstrated by the position and filling of the submarine valleys all along the Cretaceous. The submarine valleys correspond systematically to the lower part of extensional tilted blocks; the gravity deposits come along the main syn-sedimentary normal faults delimiting these tilted blocks. The gravity deposits go from one tilted block to another through some synsedimentary passes which are induced by slight folding, perhaps related to an early diapirism at some nodes of extensional faults. The canyon-like valleys are due to very strong erosion when a submarine valley cuts of the higher part of a tilted block. The gravity deposits are stacked atop each other and progressively fill the valleys. Thus the cutting and filling of the submarinemore » valleys and canyons on occasions during the Early Cretaceous are explained by a permanent synsedimentary activity. These Jurassic and Cretaceous extensional structures are later reactivated by inversion during Tertiary compressional movements.« less

The evolution of the South Hunsrück and Taunus Borderzone

The main fabric development of the South Hunsrück and Taunus Borderzone (HTB) occurred during Late Variscan homoaxial backfolding of an Early Variscan stack of thrust sheets in a narrow WSW-ENE trending zone, several hundred kilometres long. Rotation and uplift of the southern Rhenohercynian Zone was accompanied by the subsidence of the southward adjacent, northernmost parts of the Saxothuringian Zone, and the development of the Saar-Nahe Basin.During the latest Carboniferous changing stress conditions gave rise to the development of normal faults along the HTB and an extensive tholeiitic and rhyolitic volcanism. Contemporaneous uplift of the Hunsrück is reflected by coarse elastics in the Saar-Nahe Basin. Subsequently the HTB became covered by latest Carboniferous, Early Permian and Mesozoic sediments. Cretaceous uplift of the Rhenish Shield caused their erosion.The faultzone separating the Rhenohercynian Hunsrück and Taunus from the Permo-Carboniferous Saar-Nahe Basin is characterised by reverse and normal faults. Conjugate shear, indicated by slickensides on steep oblique fracture planes, as well as slight folding and small scale thrusting in post-Variscan sediments, may be attributed to compressional foreland deformation, reactivating Variscan joint fabrics and fault systems. Timing of these deformations is ambiguous and could partly be related to dextral shear during the Cenozoic subsidence of the Rhine Graben.Cenozoic sediments of the Upper Rhine graben overstep the northeastern parts of the HTB. Seismic investigations indicate that the HTB is associated with a system of southeast hading listric planes, extending beneath the Moho. Occasional dip-slip earthquakes occur along these fractures.