A deep seismic common midpoint (CMP) profile, shot across the southern margin of the Tethyan Himalaya as the first stage of Project International Deep Profiling of Tibet and the Himalaya (Indepth), imaged the top (Main Himalayan Thrust or MHT) and bottom (Moho) of the Indian continental crust underthrusting the Himalaya. We used portable seismographs to record the CMP‐profile shots at a wide range of offsets, up to 155 km. Our short‐offset data corroborate the CMP‐profile data, while our large‐offset data are dominated by a band of reflectivity. We interpret the bright onset of this reflective band as the basal detachment of the South Tibetan Detachment system and a phase at the end of the reflective band as the MHT. We used the CMP‐profile first‐break data to model the uppermost 2 km in detail. The depth of young extensional basins of the Yadong rift system along the CMP profile was constrained to a maximum of 2 km, yielding a throw of 4.6 km across the eastern flank of the rift and a rough estimate of approximately 1.5% east‐west extension by normal faulting in the Tethyan Himalaya. The wide‐angle data were used to construct a crustal seismic‐velocity model down to the MHT. The South Tibetan Detachment System (STDS) basal detachment reflector is observed dipping 12.5°NNE from a depth of about 6 km beneath the surface under the south end of the CMP profile to a depth of 22 km, then flattening to a dip of only 2.5°NNE. Thus our observations suggest that the STDS basal detachment is a deep‐rooted basement fault. For the MHT we observe a dip of 7.5°NNE from 20 km depth below sea level at the crest of the High Himalaya crystalline sheet to 36 km below sea level (40 km beneath the surface) at a distance of about 70 km south of the Indus‐Yarlung Suture (IYS). From geometrical arguments we suggest that Indian crust underthrusts the surface expression of the IYS within the crust but does not form the lower crust of central and northern Tibet.

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Soil specimens obtained from several areas of Japan , which are closely located to or facing the Continental land of China, were examined for the distribution of Clostridium botulinum, especially pertaining to types A and B. A total of 266 specimens of Japan, when cultured, showed no type A or B toxicity, although 30 (11 .3%), 4 (1.5%), and 10 (3.8%) of the specimens showed C1, C2, and type E toxicities , respectively. On the contrary, types A and/or B toxicities were shown , by the same method, in 14 of 20 specimens of Shinkiang district, China. The highest number of C. botulinum cells found in one gram of soil specimen was 25 for type A and 10 for type B.Clostridium botulinum is divided into seven types on the basis of the serological specificity of the neurotoxins produced. The distribution of the types of C. botulinum throughout the world is indicated by reports of the types of C . botulinum associated with botulism in man and animals and also by studies of the occurrence of the various types of the organisms, or spores, in soil. In Asia , types A and B are found at high frequency in soil of China (7, 13), whereas, in soil of Japan adjacent to China, types A and B have hardly been found, and the great majority of the types found belong to type C or E (1,8,10).We have already demonstrated that a number of isolates from spoiled canned foods produced in Japan showed high DNA homology titers, ranging from 81 to 91%, to C. botulinum type A (5). Since then, we have attempted to isolate C . botulinum from soil of Japan, although none of these isolates exhibited type A or B toxicity .The present paper describes that, although C . botulinum types A and B were easily isolated from soil specimens of Shinkiang district , China, none of these types could be found in the areas of Japan located close to the Continental land of China . The distribution of other types of C. botulinum is also stated .

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