High Resolution BPM Upgrade for the ATF Damping Ring at KEK

A beam position monitor (BPM) upgrade at the KEK Accelerator Test Facility (ATF) damping ring has been accomplished, carried out by a KEK/FNAL/SLAC collaboration under the umbrella of the global ILC R&D effort. The upgrade consists of a high resolution, high reproducibility read-out system, based on analog and processing, and also implements a new automatic gain error correction schema. The technical concept and realization as well as results of beam studies are presented.Comment: 3 pp. 10th European Workshop on Beam Diagnostics and Instrumentation for Particle Accelerators DIPAC 2011, 16-18 May 2011. Hamburg, German

Substrate engagement of integrins α5 β1 and αv β3 is necessary, but not sufficient, for high directional persistence in migration on fibronectin

The interplay between specific integrin-mediated matrix adhesion and directional persistence in cell migration is not well understood. Here, we characterized fibroblast adhesion and migration on the extracellular matrix glycoproteins fibronectin and vitronectin, focusing on the role of α5 β1 and αv β3 integrins. Fibroblasts manifested high directional persistence in migration on fibronectin-, but not vitronectin-coated substrates, in a ligand density-dependent manner. Fibronectin stimulated α5 β1-dependent organization of the actin cytoskeleton into oriented, ventral stress fibers, and assembly of dynamic, polarized protrusions, characterized as regions free of stress fibers and rich in nascent adhesions at their edge. Such protrusions correlated with persistent, local leading edge advancement, but were not sufficient, nor necessary for directional migration over longer times. Selective blocking of αv β3 or α5 β1 integrins using small molecule integrin antagonists reduced directional persistence on fibronectin, indicating integrin cooperativity in maintaining directionality. On the other hand, patterned substrates, designed to selectively engage either integrin, or their combination, were not sufficient to establish directional migration. Overall, our study demonstrates adhesive coating-dependent regulation of directional persistence in fibroblast migration and challenges the generality of the previously suggested role of β1 and β3 integrins in directional migration.Instituto de Investigaciones Fisicoquímicas Teóricas y AplicadasConsejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnica

Substrate engagement of integrins α5 β1 and αv β3 is necessary, but not sufficient, for high directional persistence in migration on fibronectin

The interplay between specific integrin-mediated matrix adhesion and directional persistence in cell migration is not well understood. Here, we characterized fibroblast adhesion and migration on the extracellular matrix glycoproteins fibronectin and vitronectin, focusing on the role of α5 β1 and αv β3 integrins. Fibroblasts manifested high directional persistence in migration on fibronectin-, but not vitronectin-coated substrates, in a ligand density-dependent manner. Fibronectin stimulated α5 β1-dependent organization of the actin cytoskeleton into oriented, ventral stress fibers, and assembly of dynamic, polarized protrusions, characterized as regions free of stress fibers and rich in nascent adhesions at their edge. Such protrusions correlated with persistent, local leading edge advancement, but were not sufficient, nor necessary for directional migration over longer times. Selective blocking of αv β3 or α5 β1 integrins using small molecule integrin antagonists reduced directional persistence on fibronectin, indicating integrin cooperativity in maintaining directionality. On the other hand, patterned substrates, designed to selectively engage either integrin, or their combination, were not sufficient to establish directional migration. Overall, our study demonstrates adhesive coating-dependent regulation of directional persistence in fibroblast migration and challenges the generality of the previously suggested role of β1 and β3 integrins in directional migration.Instituto de Investigaciones Fisicoquímicas Teóricas y AplicadasConsejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnica

The Discovery of a Second Field Methane Brown Dwarf from Sloan Digital Sky Survey Commissioning Data

We report the discovery of a second field methane brown dwarf from the commissioning data of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). The object, SDSS J134646.45-003150.4 (SDSS 1346-00), was selected because of its very red color and stellar appearance. Its spectrum between 0.8-2.5 mic is dominated by strong absorption bands of H_2O and CH_4 and closely mimics those of Gliese 229B and SDSS 162414.37+002915.6 (SDSS 1624+00), two other known methane brown dwarfs. SDSS 1346-00 is approximately 1.5 mag fainter than Gliese 229B, suggesting that it lies about 11 pc from the sun. The ratio of flux at 2.1 mic to that at 1.27 mic is larger for SDSS 1346-00 than for Gliese 229B and SDSS 1624+00, which suggests that SDSS 1346-00 has a slightly higher effective temperature than the others. Based on a search area of 130 sq. deg. and a detection limit of z* = 19.8, we estimate a space density of 0.05 pc^-3 for methane brown dwarfs with T_eff ~ 1000 K in the 40 pc^3 volume of our search. This estimate is based on small-sample statistics and should be treated with appropriate caution.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures, AASTeX, to appear in ApJ Letters, authors list update

High resolution BPMS with integrated gain correction system

High resolution beam position monitors (BPM) are an essential tool to achieve and reproduce a low vertical beam emittance at the KEK Accelerator Test Facility (ATF) damping ring. The ATF damping ring (DR) BPMs are currently upgraded with new high resolution read-out electronics. Based on analog and digital down-conversion techniques, the upgrade includes an automatic gain calibration system to correct for slow drift effects and ensure high reproducible beam position readings. The concept and its technical realization, as well as preliminary results of beam studies are presented

High-Redshift Quasars Found in Sloan Digital Sky Survey Commissioning Data II: The Spring Equatorial Stripe

This is the second paper in a series aimed at finding high-redshift quasars from five-color (u'g'r'i'z') imaging data taken along the Celestial Equator by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) during its commissioning phase. In this paper, we present 22 high-redshift quasars (z>3.6) discovered from ~250 deg^2 of data in the spring Equatorial Stripe, plus photometry for two previously known high-redshift quasars in the same region of sky. Our success rate of identifying high-redshift quasars is 68%. Five of the newly discovered quasars have redshifts higher than 4.6 (z=4.62, 4.69, 4.70, 4.92 and 5.03). All the quasars have i* < 20.2 with absolute magnitude -28.8 < M_B < -26.1 (h=0.5, q_0=0.5). Several of the quasars show unusual emission and absorption features in their spectra, including an object at z=4.62 without detectable emission lines, and a Broad Absorption Line (BAL) quasar at z=4.92.Comment: 28 pages, AJ in press (Jan 2000), final version with minor changes; high resolution finding charts available at http://www.astro.princeton.edu/~fan/paper/qso2.htm