Efficient Terahertz Generation by Tilted-Pulse-Front Pumping in Lithium Niobate for the Split-Ring Resonator Experiment at FLUTE

A compact, longitudinal diagnostics for fs-scale electron bunches using a THz electric-field transient in a split-ring resonator (SRR) for streaking will be tested at the Ferninfrarot Linac- Und Test- Experiment (FLUTE). For this new streaking technique, intensive THz pulses are required, which will be generated by laser-based optical rectification. We present a setup for generating THz pulses using tilted-pulse-front pumping in lithium niobate at room temperature. Excited by an 800 nm Ti:Sa pump laser with 35 fs bandwidth-limited pulse length, conversion efficiencies up to 0.027% were achieved. Furthermore, the status of the SRR experiment is shown

Single-shot electron bunch length measurements using a spatial electro-optical autocorrelation interferometer

A spatial, electro-optical autocorrelation (EOA) interferometer using the vertically polarized lobes of coherent transition radiation (CTR) has been developed as a single-shot electron bunch length monitor at an optical beam port downstream the 100 MeV preinjector LINAC of the Swiss Light Source. This EOA monitor combines the advantages of step-scan interferometers (high temporal resolution) [D. Mihalcea et al., Phys. Rev. ST Accel. Beams 9, 082801 (2006) and T. Takahashi and K. Takami, Infrared Phys. Technol. 51, 363 (2008)] and terahertz-gating technologies [U. Schmidhammer et al., Appl. Phys. B: Lasers Opt. 94, 95 (2009) and B. Steffen et al., Phys. Rev. ST Accel. Beams 12, 032802 (2009)] (fast response), providing the possibility to tune the accelerator with an online bunch length diagnostics. While a proof of principle of the spatial interferometer was achieved by step-scan measurements with far-infrared detectors, the single-shot capability of the monitor has been demonstrated by electro-optical correlation of the spatial CTR interference pattern with fairly long (500 ps) neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Nd:YAG) laser pulses in a ZnTe crystal. In single-shot operation, variations of the bunch length between 1.5 and 4 ps due to different phase settings of the LINAC bunching cavities have been measured with subpicosecond time resolution

PROFILE MONITORS FOR THE SwissFEL INJECTOR TEST FACILITY

Abstract The SwissFEL Injector Test Facility consists of an RF gun, an accelerating section for a final energy of 250 MeV, and two diagnostics sections. Transverse profiles of the electron beam can be recorded at 27 locations by imaging fluorescent crystals that can be inserted into the beam. At 21 of these, the fluorescent screens are complemented by optical transition radiation monitors and wire scanners. Here, we will evaluate the performance of transverse profile monitors. Profile monitors are used in conjunction with a slit and a pepper pot to determine the transverse phase space distribution of the bunches at low energy. Experimental results from the SwissFEL Injector Test Facility are presented

Characterization and clinical enrichment of HLA-C*07:02-restricted Cytomegalovirus-specific CD8+ T cells.

Human Cytomegalovirus (CMV) reactivation remains a major source of morbidity in patients after solid organ and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Adoptive T cell therapy (ACT) with CMV-specific T cells is a promising therapeutic approach for HSCT recipients, but might be counteracted by CMV's immune evasion strategies. HLA-C*07:02 is less susceptible to viral immune evasion suggesting HLA-C*07:02-restricted viral epitopes as promising targets for ACT. For a better understanding of HLA-C*07:02-restricted CMV-specific T cells we used recently generated reversible HLA-C*07:02/IE-1 multimers (Streptamers) recognizing a CMV-derived Immediate-Early-1 (IE-1) epitope and analyzed phenotypic and functional T cell characteristics. Initially, we detected very high frequencies of HLA-C*07:02/IE-1 multimer+ T cells (median = 11.35%), as well as robust functional responses after stimulation with IE-1 peptide (IFNγ+; median = 5.02%) in healthy individuals. However, MHC-multimer+ and IFNγ-secreting T cell frequencies showed a relatively weak correlation (r2 = 0.77), which could be attributed to an unexpected contribution of CMV-epitope-independent KIR2DL2/3-binding of HLA-C*07:02/IE-1 multimers. Therefore, we developed a MHC-multimer double-staining approach against a cancer epitope-specific HLA-C*07:02 multimer to identify truly HLA-C*07:02/IE-1 epitope-specific T cells. The frequencies of these truly HLA-C*07:02/IE-1 multimer+ T cells were still high (median = 6.86%) and correlated now strongly (r2 = 0.96) with IFNγ-secretion. Interestingly, HLA-C*07:02/IE-1-restricted T cells contain substantial numbers with a central memory T cell phenotype, indicating high expansion potential e.g. for ACT. In line with that, we developed a clinical enrichment protocol avoiding epitope-independent KIR-binding to make HLA-C*07:02/IE-1-restricted T cells available for ACT. Initial depletion of KIR-expressing CD8+ T cells followed by HLA-C*07:02/IE-1 Streptamer positive selection using paramagnetic labeling techniques allowed to enrich successfully HLA-C*07:02/IE-1-restricted T cells. Such specifically enriched populations of functional HLA-C*07:02/IE-1-restricted T cells with significant central memory T cell content could become a potent source for ACT

Development of Electron Bunch Compression Monitors for SwissFEL

SwissFEL will be a hard x-ray fourth generation light source to be built at Paul Scherrer Institut (PSI), Switzerland. In SwissFEL the electron bunches will be produced with a length of 3ps and will then be compressed by a factor of more than 1000 down to a few fs in order to generate ultra short x-ray pulses. Therefore reliable, accurate and noninvasive longitudinal diagnostic is essential after each compressing stage. In order to meet the requirements of this machine, new monitors have to be developed. We will present recent results of setups that measure electro-magnetic radiation, namely edge, synchrotron and diffraction radiation, emitted by the electron bunches (far field, spectral domain). These monitors are tested in the SwissFEL Injector Test Facility. A state of the art S-band Transverse Deflecting Cavity together with a Screen Monitor is used for calibration

Primary Cytomegalovirus Infection in Seronegative Kidney Transplant Patients Is Associated with Protracted Cold Ischemic Time of Seropositive Donor Organs.

Human Cytomegalovirus (CMV) can lead to primary infection or reactivation in CMV-seronegative or -seropositive kidney transplant recipients, respectively. Complications comprise severe end-organ diseases and acute or chronic transplant rejection. Risk for CMV manifestation is stratified according to the CMV-IgG-serostatus, with donor+/recipient- (D+/R-) patients carrying the highest risk for CMV-replication. However, risk factors predisposing for primary infection in CMV-seronegative recipients are still not fully elucidated. Therefore, we monitored D+/R- high-risk patients undergoing kidney transplantation in combination with antiviral prophylaxis for the incidence of CMV-viremia for a median follow-up time of 784 days (156-1155 days). In this period, we analyzed the functional CMV-specific T cell response by intracellular cytokine staining and CMV-serology by ELISA. Only four of eight D+/R- patients developed clinically relevant CMV-viremia followed by seroconversion. Viremia triggered expansion of functional CMV-specific T cells correlating with protection against secondary CMV-reactivations. In contrast, all other patients remained permanently aviremic and showed no immunological correlate of infection after discontinuation of antiviral prophylaxis for up to three years. Comparing cold ischemic times (CIT) of viremic (median = 1020 min; 720-1080 min) and aviremic patients (median = 335 min; 120-660 min) revealed significantly (p = 0.0286) protracted CIT in patients with primary CMV-infection. Taken together, primary CMV-infection affects only a subgroup of D+/R- patients correlating with length of CIT. Therefore, patients with extended CIT should be thoroughly monitored for CMV-replication well beyond discontinuation of antiviral prophylaxis. In contrast, patients with short CIT remained permanently uninfected and might benefit from shorter prophylactic treatment

Evaluation of the cone-shaped pickup performance for low charge sub-10 fs arrival-time measurements at free electron laser facilities

An evaluation of the cone-shaped pickup performance as a part of the high bandwidth bunch arrival-time monitors (BAMs) for a low charge sub-10 fs arrival-time measurements is presented. Three sets of pickups are installed at the free electron laser FLASH at Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron, the quasi-cw SRF accelerator ELBE at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf and the SwissFEL injector test facility at Paul Scherrer Institute. Measurements and simulations are in good agreement and the pickups fulfill the design specifications. Utilizing the high bandwidth BAM with the cone-shaped pickups, an improvement of the signal slope by a factor of 10 is demonstrated at ELBE compared to the BAM with a low bandwidth