The HARE chip for efficient time-resolved serial synchrotron crystallography

Serial synchrotron crystallography (SSX) is an emerging technique for static and time-resolved protein structure determination. Using specifically patterned silicon chips for sample delivery, the `hit-and-return' (HARE) protocol allows for efficient time-resolved data collection. The specific pattern of the crystal wells in the HARE chip provides direct access to many discrete time points. HARE chips allow for optical excitation as well as on-chip mixing for reaction initiation, making a large number of protein systems amenable to time-resolved studies. Loading of protein microcrystals onto the HARE chip is streamlined by a novel vacuum loading platform that allows fine-tuning of suction strength while maintaining a humid environment to prevent crystal dehydration. To enable the widespread use of time-resolved serial synchrotron crystallography (TR-SSX), detailed technical descriptions of a set of accessories that facilitate TR-SSX workflows are provided

Belle II Vertex Detector Performance

The Belle II experiment at the SuperKEKB accelerator (KEK, Tsukuba, Japan) collected its first e+e− collision data in the spring 2019. The aim of accumulating a 50 times larger data sample than Belle at KEKB, a first generation B-Factory, presents substantial challenges to both the collider and the detector, requiring not only state-of-the-art hardware, but also modern software algorithms for tracking and alignment. The broad physics program requires excellent performance of the vertex detector, which is composed of two layers of DEPFET pixels and four layers of double sided-strip sensors. In this contribution, an overview of the vertex detector of Belle II and our methods to ensure its optimal performance, are described, and the first results and experiences from the first physics run are presented