Development of a CW Superconducting RF Booster Cryomodule for Future Light Sources

Future light sources based on seeded free electron lasers (FEL) have the potential to increase the soft xray flux by several orders of magnitude with short bunch lengths to probe electron structure and dynamics. A low emittance, high rep-rate radio frequency (RF) photocathode electron gun will generate the electron beam that will require very stringent beam control and manipulation through the superconducting linear accelerator to maintain the high brightness required for an x-ray FEL. The initial or booster cavities of the superconducting radio frequency (SRF) linear accelerator will require stringent control of transverse kicks and higher order modes (HOM) during the beam manipulation and conditioning that is needed for emittance exchange and bunch compression. This SBIR proposal will develop, fabricate and test a continuous-wave SRF booster cryomodule specifically for this application. Phase I demonstrated the technical feasibility of the project by completing the preliminary SRF cavity and cryomodule design and its integration into an R&D test stand for beam studies at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). The five-cell bulk niobium cavities operate at 750 MHz, and generate 10 MV each with strong HOM damping and special care to eliminate transverse kicks due to couplers. Due to continuous-wave operation at fairly modest beam currents and accelerating gradients the complexity of the two cavity cryomodule is greatly reduced compared to an ILC type system. Phase II will finalize the design, and fabricate and test the booster cryomodule. The cryomodule consists of two five-cell cavities that will accelerate megahertz bunch trains with nano-coulomb charge. The accelerating gradient is a very modest 10 MV/m with peak surface fields of 20 MV/m and 42.6 mT. The cryogenic system operates at 2 K with a design dynamic load of 20 W and total required cryogenic capacity of 45 W. The average beam current of up to 1 mA corresponds to a beam power of 10 kW per 5- cell cavity and will require 20 kW of RF power for transmission, control and regulation. The RF power will be supplied by a commercial tetrode. Cryogenic tests will be carried out at LBNL to make use of their test facilities, cryogenics and laser systems, and for future use with beam. Demonstration of this new type of booster cryomodule will open many new applications of SRF linear accelerators

Diagnosing mucopolysaccharidosis IVA

Mucopolysaccharidosis IVA (MPS IVA; Morquio A syndrome) is an autosomal recessive lysosomal storage disorder resulting from a deficiency of N-acetylgalactosamine-6-sulfate sulfatase (GALNS) activity. Diagnosis can be challenging and requires agreement of clinical, radiographic, and laboratory findings. A group of biochemical genetics laboratory directors and clinicians involved in the diagnosis of MPS IVA, convened by BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc., met to develop recommendations for diagnosis. The following conclusions were reached. Due to the wide variation and subtleties of radiographic findings, imaging of multiple body regions is recommended. Urinary glycosaminoglycan analysis is particularly problematic for MPS IVA and it is strongly recommended to proceed to enzyme activity testing even if urine appears normal when there is clinical suspicion of MPS IVA. Enzyme activity testing of GALNS is essential in diagnosing MPS IVA. Additional analyses to confirm sample integrity and rule out MPS IVB, multiple sulfatase deficiency, and mucolipidoses types II/III are critical as part of enzyme activity testing. Leukocytes or cultured dermal fibroblasts are strongly recommended for enzyme activity testing to confirm screening results. Molecular testing may also be used to confirm the diagnosis in many patients. However, two known or probable causative mutations may not be identified in all cases of MPS IVA. A diagnostic testing algorithm is presented which attempts to streamline this complex testing process

CRADA 2009S001: Investigation of the Supercondcuting RF Properties of Large Grain Ingot Niobium

This CRADA intended to explore the properties of large grain ingot niobium by fabricating four single cell TESLA shaped accelerating cavities. Once the cavities were fabricated, SRF performance would be measured. Niowave received four discs of large grain ingot niobium from JLAB in February 2009. Niowave cut samples from each disc and tested the RRR. After the RRR was measured with disappointing results, the project lost interest. A no cost extension was signed in July 2009 to allow progress until June 2010, but ultimately no further work was accomplished by either party. No firm conclusions were drawn, as further investigations were not made. Large grain ingot niobium has shown real potential for high accelerating gradient superconducting cavities. However, this particular CRADA did not gather enough data to reach any conclusions in this regard

(Table 1) Active-layer thickness as measured by the Biocomplexity Experiment (BE) for the flooded, drained and control sections in Barrow, Alaska

A continuous time series of annual soil thaw records, extending from 1994 to 2009, is available for comparison with the records of thaw obtained from the Biocomplexity Experiment (BE) for the period 2006-2009. Discontinuous records of thaw at Barrow from wet tundra sites date back to the 1960s. Comparisons between the longer records with the BE observations reveal strong similarities. Records of permafrost temperature, reflecting changes in the annual surface energy exchange, are available from the 1950s for comparison with results from measurement programs begun in 2002. The long-term systematic geocryological investigations at Barrow indicate an increase in permafrost temperature, especially during the last several years. The increase in near-surface permafrost temperature is most pronounced in winter. Marked trends are not apparent in the active-layer record, although subsidence measurements on the North Slope indicate that penetration into the ice-rich layer at the top of permafrost has occurred over the past decade. Active-layer thickness values from the 1960s are generally higher than those from the 1990s, and are very similar to those of the 2000s. Analysis of spatial active-layer observations at representative locations demonstrates significant variations in active-layer thickness between different landscape types, reflecting the influence of vegetation, substrate, microtopography, and, especially, soil moisture. Landscape-specific differences exist in the response of active-layer thickness to climatic forcing. These differences are attributable to the existence of localized controls related to combinations of surface and subsurface characteristics. The geocryological records at Barrow illustrate the importance and effectiveness of sustained, well organized monitoring efforts to document long-term trends

Rapid lateral transport in the Argentine Basin: Molecular 14C and 230Th evidence

Author Posting. © Elsevier B.V., 2006. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Elsevier B.V. for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers 53 (2006): 1224-1243, doi:10.1016/j.dsr.2006.05.005.Recent studies have revealed that lateral transport and focusing of particles strongly influences the depositional patterns of organic matter in marine sediments. Transport can occur in the water column prior to initial deposition or following sediment re-suspension. In both cases, fine-grained particles and organic-rich aggregates are more susceptible to lateral transport than coarse-grained particles (e.g. foraminiferal tests) because of the slower sinking velocities of the former. This may lead to spatial and, in the case of redistribution of resuspended sediments, temporal decoupling of organic matter from coarser sediment constituents. Prior studies from the Argentine Basin have yielded evidence that suspended particles are displaced significant distances (100 - 1000 km) northward and downslope by strong surface and/or bottom currents. These transport processes result in anomalously cold alkenone-derived sea surface temperature (SST) estimates (up to 6°C colder than measured SST) and in the presence of frustules of Antarctic diatom species in surface sediments fromthis area. Here we examine advective transport processes through combined measurements of compound-specific radiocarbon ages of marine phytoplankton derived biomarkers (alkenones) from core-tops and excess 230Th (230Thxs)-derived focusing factors for late Holocene sediments from the Argentine Basin. On the continental slope, we observe 230Thxs-based focusing factors of 1.4 to 3.2 at sites where alkenone-based SST estimates were 4–6°C colder than measured values. In contrast, alkenone radiocarbon data suggest coeval deposition of marine biomarkers and planktic foraminifera, as alkenones in core-tops were younger than, or similar in age to, foraminifera. We therefore infer that the transport processes leading to the lateral displacement of these sediment components are rapid, and hence probably occur in the upper water column (<1500 m).This work was funded by NSF grant #OCE-0327405 and a WHOI-NOSAMS postdoctoral scholarship to GM, and by support from NSF and the Gary Comer Science and Education Foundation to JFM

The Capsella rubella genome and the genomic consequences of rapid mating system evolution

The shift from outcrossing to selfing is common in flowering plants, but the genomic consequences and the speed at which they emerge remain poorly understood. An excellent model for understanding the evolution of self fertilization is provided by Capsella rubella, which became self compatible <200,000 years ago. We report a C. rubella reference genome sequence and compare RNA expression and polymorphism patterns between C. rubella and its outcrossing progenitor Capsella grandiflora. We found a clear shift in the expression of genes associated with flowering phenotypes, similar to that seen in Arabidopsis, in which self fertilization evolved about 1 million years ago. Comparisons of the two Capsella species showed evidence of rapid genome-wide relaxation of purifying selection in C. rubella without a concomitant change in transposable element abundance. Overall we document that the transition to selfing may be typified by parallel shifts in gene expression, along with a measurable reduction of purifying selection