Toward therapeutics for clostridium botulinum neurotoxins

Construction work on the new MAX IV synchrotron light facility in northeastern Lund, Sweden, began on May 18, 2011. The MAX IV accelerator system will consist of three parts: one 3 GeV injector linac (also used for the production of short X-ray pulses) and two storage rings operated at 1.5 GeV and 3 GeV, respectively. The two-ring concept will allow the production of synchrotron radiation from optimized undulators within a broad spectral region. The 3 GeV ring has an emittance between 0.2 and 0.4 nm rad, depending on the ID configuration, and the emittance of the 1.5 GeV ring is 5 nm rad.     

PETRA IV Workshop on Research with High-Energy X-rays at Ultra-Low Emittance Sources

Recent advances in storage ring technology pioneered by MAX IV (Sweden) allow synchrotron radiation sources to achieve significantly smaller emittances than those currently in operation. This new, multi-bend achromat technology can thus boost spectral brightness, enabling unprecedented experimental possibilities. The high-energy synchrotron radiation facilities ESRF (France), SPring-8 (Japan), and APS (USA) have settled upgrade plans to improve their storage ring emittance by up to two orders of magnitude at 6 GeV electron energy. PETRA III at DESY has the largest circumference with 2.3 km. As the emittance scales favorably with the storage ring size, an upgrade of PETRA III offers the unique potential to reach a diffraction limit up to X-ray energies of 10 keV. Operating at 6 GeV with an emittance of 10 pmrad, this PETRA IV facility would pave the way for new experimental opportunities, especially for those using high photon energies.     

Twenty-third MAX-lab User Meeting

The 23^rd Annual User Meeting for MAX-lab users was held at Scandic Star Hotel in Lund, Sweden, on November 8-10, 2010. The meeting was, as in previous years, jointly organized by MAX-lab and the MAX-lab Association for Synchrotron Radiation Users (FASM). From the start in the late 1980s these meetings have grown with the user community of MAX-lab, and with increasing interest in the development of MAX IV, the coming synchrotron radiation facility in Sweden (http://www.maxlab.lu.se/maxlab/max4/index.html.), this growth has accelerated. The last four meetings have hosted around 300 participants, with a new record number of 342 registered participants and 26 commercial exhibitors at this meeting!     

MAX相陶瓷的结构、制备及物理性能研究

MAX相陶瓷因具有独特的MX片层与A片层交替堆叠的晶体结构,使其兼具金属和陶瓷的优良特性,如良好的导热导电性、可加工性,同时具有良好的抗氧化性、耐腐蚀性以及耐摩擦磨损等性能,具有非常广泛的应用前景。本文首先介绍了MAX相陶瓷材料的种类与晶体结构,并简述了近几年新发现的MAX相陶瓷材料以及制备手段的发展动态。之后从MAX相物理性能的角度出发,重点综述了几种典型MAX相陶瓷材料的弹性性能、电学性能、热学性能、磁性能以及抗辐照性能的研究进展。此外,进一步介绍了MAX相的二维衍生物MXene的衍生过程、超导性以及其在电化学储能、催化领域的研究进展。最后,本文从探索MAX相材料新结构的多样性、MAX相物理性能及相关理论计算、MXene二维材料以及相应的制备、表征和应用等方面,展望了MAX相陶瓷材料的潜在研究方向及应用前景,为MAX相和MXene材料的深入研究提供了新的思路。     

MAX IV Facility Update: A Pictorial Essay

At MAX IV in Lund, Sweden, commissioning of the linac is ongoing, and a few big milestones have been passed. Electrons have been transported through the first bunch compressor and are now accelerated up to around 1 GeV. They should reach the first transfer line leading to the 1.5 GeV ring shortly. During the fall of 2014, the photo cathode gun was started up and laser electrons were measured. As soon as the electrons from the thermionic gun have reached 3 GeV and are ready for injection into the 3 GeV storage ring, the main focus of commissioning will turn to the photo gun, and high brightness pulses for the Short Pulse Facility. Conditioning of the linac leading up 1.5 GeV is completed, the rest of the structure has been baked, and was expected at press time to reach full conditioning at the end of November 2014 (Figures 1–4).     

MAX IV is Ready to Make the Invisible Visible

In a ceremony held on June 21, the brightest day of the year in the northern hemisphere, Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven and H.M. King Carl XVI Gustaf, together with Director Christoph Quitmann, inaugurated MAX IV Laboratory in the presence of about 500 staff, funders, stakeholders, and guests from all over the world.     

Initial MAX IV Beamline Program Receives Funding

In early July 2011 it became clear that the initial MAX IV beamline program would receive the required funding of 400 MSEK from the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation and 160 MSEK from Swedish universities. The construction program will start immediately and the beamlines are projected to be operative in late 2015.     

A new small‐angle X‐ray scattering set‐up on the crystallography beamline I711 at MAX‐lab

A small‐angle X‐ray scattering (SAXS) set‐up has recently been developed at beamline I711 at the MAX II storage ring in Lund (Sweden). An overview of the required modifications is presented here together with a number of application examples. The accessible q range in a SAXS experiment is 0.009–0.3 Å^?1 for the standard set‐up but depends on the sample‐to‐detector distance, detector offset, beamstop size and wavelength. The SAXS camera has been designed to have a low background and has three collinear slit sets for collimating the incident beam. The standard beam size is about 0.37 mm × 0.37 mm (full width at half‐maximum) at the sample position, with a flux of 4 × 10¹⁰ photons s^?1 and λ = 1.1 Å. The vacuum is of the order of 0.05 mbar in the unbroken beam path from the first slits until the exit window in front of the detector. A large sample chamber with a number of lead‐throughs allows different sample environments to be mounted. This station is used for measurements on weakly scattering proteins in solutions and also for colloids, polymers and other nanoscale structures. A special application supported by the beamline is the effort to establish a micro‐fluidic sample environment for structural analysis of samples that are only available in limited quantities. Overall, this work demonstrates how a cost‐effective SAXS station can be constructed on a multipurpose beamline.     

基于QDOAS的多轴差分吸收光谱测量对流层HCHO的研究

由于甲醛在大气光化学反应中的重要性及其对环境、气候和人类健康的危害,监测、有效控制甲醛浓度已经成为一件刻不容缓的要事。目前传统的监测多局限于基于化学方法、色谱法的室内监测,或是室外较小范围的监测,室外大范围的大气中的甲醛监测往往为人们所忽视。为了有效监测大气中大范围的甲醛（HCHO）浓度,建立了地基MAX-DOAS观测系统,与主动DOAS观测系统相比,该观测系统不受光源和反射装置限制,平台搭建简单,测量范围广。2018年在合肥地区(117°17′E, 31°90′N)夏季开展了基于地基MAX-DOAS的外场连续观测实验,结合新一代光谱处理软件QDOAS利用DOAS算法的非线性最小二乘拟合反演甲醛（HCHO）的斜柱浓度,并通过大气质量因子（AMF）将甲醛（HCHO）的斜柱浓度转换为柱浓度,并分析了7月份的观测数据,结果表明,低仰角下甲醛的差分斜柱浓的值较高,说明,对流层甲醛主要集中在接近地表的位置。从实验数据还可以看到,二氧化氮与甲醛的变化趋势基本一致,说明大气中的甲醛与机动车排放或是工业排放出的的氮氧化物（NO₂等）在大气的源与汇过程中具有一定的相关性。通过地基MAX-DOAS测量数据与OMI观测值的比较发现,二者的变化趋势具有良好的一致性,且相关系数为0.518 9,并分析了OMI观测值偏低的原因。研究结果表明,地基MAX-DOAS系统不仅可以对区域污染的演变进行研究,也为甲醛的测量提供了一种实时、快速的监测手段,为分析大气甲醛的来源提供了一种新的解析手段,为验证卫星观测数据提供了一种有效的手段。     

Nuclear physics program at MAX-lab

The upgrade of the MAX-lab injector and the construction of MAX Ⅲ, provided the opportunity for upgrading the tagged-photon facility and thus lead to the possibility of more extensive program in nuclear physics research. This upgrade increased the injected electron energy to an eventual maximum of 250 MeV and allows for the extraction of electrons from the MAX Ⅰ ring operated in the stretcher mode. The first stretched beam was delivered in September 2005. The tagged-photon facility was commissioned in parallel with the commissioning of new experimental equipment. The PAC approved experimental program is current in progress, including measurements of pion photoproduction below the △(1232). The efforts at the tagged photon-facility are pursued within an international collaboration with around fifty members.     

Revisiting the defect structure of MAX phases: the case of Ti4AlN3

Microstructural study of as-grown Ti₄AlN₃ MAX phase has been performed by transmission electron microscopy. Dislocation walls, dislocation nucleation sites and stacking faults are described. In particular, diffraction contrast analysis combined with high-resolution images give a new insight into the nature of the stacking faults: contrarily to what is usually postulated, it is shown that the stacking faults possess a shear component in the basal plane. The stacking faults are created by the insertion of MX layers in the lattice via diffusion mechanisms. Their possible role on the deformation mechanism of MAX phases is discussed.     

Titanium-based MAX-phase with sonocatalytic activity for degradation of oxytetracycline antibiotic

In light of growing environmental concerns over emerging contaminants in aquatic environments, antibiotics in particular, have prompted the development of a new generation of effective sonocatalytic systems. In this study, a new type of nano-laminated material, Ti₂SnC MAX phase, is prepared, characterized, and evaluated for the sonocatalytic degradation of oxytetracycline (OTC) antibiotic. A variety of identification analyses, including X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometry, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller, and diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, were conducted to determine the physicochemical properties of the synthesized catalyst. By optimizing the operating factors, total degradation of OTC occurs within 120 min with 1 g L^-1 catalyst, 10 mg L^-1 OTC, at natural pH of 7.1 and 150 W ultrasonic power. The scavenger studies conclude that the singlet oxygen and superoxide ions are the most active species during the sonocatalytic reaction. Based on the obtained data and GC–MS analysis, a possible sonocatalytic mechanism for the OTC degradation in the presence of Ti₂SnC is proposed. The catalyst reusability within eight consecutive runs reveals the proper stability of Ti₂SnC MAX phase. The results indicate the prospect for MAX phase-based materials to be developed as efficient sonocatalysts in the treatment of antibiotics, suggesting a bright future for the field.     

Astronomical function and date of the Taosi observatory

The Taosi site in Xiangfen County, Shanxi Province, may be the capital of the King Yao. Archeologists recently discovered a large semi-circular stamped-earth platform, II FJT1, which has a clear and definite pounded-earth central core together with a curved wall perforated by twelve gaps. The platform is said to be an ancient observatory used to determine the seasons by watching the sunrise. Each feature of II FJT1 was precisely measured and the data are reproduced in this paper. An astronomical analysis of slots E2 and E12 was carried out using the azimuths of the slots’ centerlines and the vertical angle of the mountain ridge opposite, above which the sun rises. The results show that at present the sun is close to the two slots but does not exactly enter them at summer and winter solstice sunrise. Using 14C analysis archeologists dated the site to about 2100 BC. Because of the secular change in the obliquity of the ecliptic, at that date on the summer solstice the half-risen sun would have appeared inside slot E12 just to the right of the centerline, and on the winter solstice the sun would have been exactly on the centerline of slot E2. This result provides compelling proof that II FJT1 is an ancient observatory.     

An exploration of benchtop X-ray emission spectroscopy for precise characterization of the sulfur redox state in cementitious materials

The evolution of sulfur chemistry in cements is best known in the bailiwick of failure mechanisms via sulfate attack, but is equally important for its contributions to the reduction capacity of cementitious materials often used for immobilizing nuclear waste streams destined for long-term storage, for example, cementitious waste forms (CWF). The total reduction capacity of CWFs, encompassing contributions from both S and Fe reductants, and its implications toward radionuclide immobilization is most often studied by destructive wet chemistry methods requiring acid digestion in the presence of Ce(IV) and subsequent titration and colorimetric interpretation. Here, we investigate a similarly analytical but nondestructive alternative, benchtop high resolution wavelength-dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, most commonly known as X-ray emission spectroscopy (XES), for probing the bulk sulfur oxidation state distribution. We present here an initial investigation of S XES, including an improved experimental protocol for lab XES of inhomogeneous samples, both as a complement to the Ce(IV) test and for new scientific opportunities that it enables for observing changes in sulfur chemistry. We discuss future improvements and opportunities, including: (1) the practical challenges associated with coordinating XES and Ce(IV) liquid extraction for a more comprehensive perspective on reduction capacity and for a high-precision evaluation of uncertainties in the Ce(IV) test; and (2) new opportunities, due to the nondestructive nature of XES, for controlled evolution studies aimed at elucidating specific chemical responses of CWFs exposed to invasive gas or liquid species or to accelerated aging by radiative dose or thermal treatment.     

Theoretical investigation on radiation tolerance of M_(n+1)AX_n phases

Ternary M_(n+1)AX_n phases with layered hexagonal structures, as candidate materials used for next-generation nuclear reactors, have shown great potential in tolerating radiation damage due to their unique combination of ceramic and metallic properties. However, M_(n+1)AX_n materials behave differently in amorphization when exposed to energetic neutron and ion irradiations in experiment. We first analyze the irradiation tolerances of different M_(n+1)AX_n(MAX) phases in terms of electronic structure, including the density of states(DOS) and charge density map. Then a new method based on the Bader analysis with the first-principle calculation is used to estimate the stabilities of MAX phases under irradiation. Our calculations show that the substitution of Cr/V/Ta/Nb by Ti and Si/Ge/Ga by Al can increase the ionicities of the bonds,thus strengthening the radiation tolerance. It is also shown that there is no obvious difference in radiation tolerance between M_(n+1)AC_n and M_(n+1)AN_n due to the similar charge transfer values of C and N atoms. In addition, the improved radiation tolerance from Ti_3AlC_2 to Ti_2AlC (Ti_3AlC_2 and Ti_2AlC have the same chemical elements), can be understood in terms of the increased Al/TiC layer ratio. Criteria based on the quantified charge transfer can be further used to explore other M_(n+1)AX_n phases with respect to their radiation tolerance, playing a critical role in choosing appropriate MAX phases before they are subjected to irradiation in experimental test for future nuclear reactors.     

Density Functional Theory Study of Mn+1AXn Phases: A Review

M_n+1AX_n phases (MAX phases for short with M: transition metal, A: A group elements, X: C or N, and n = 1–3) have attracted considerable attention due to the unique combination of the ceramic- and metal-like properties. The density functional theory (DFT) has emerged as a powerful theoretical approach that complements experimental testing and serves as a predictive tool in the identification and characterization of MAX phases. After the beginning with a brief introduction of the MAX phase and DFT, we review the DFT study on this class of materials, including crystal structure, electronic structure, point defects, lattice dynamics, and related properties, phase stability, compressibility, and elastic properties. Comparison between the theoretical values and available experimental ones shows that they are in decent agreement for most part, especially in the lattice constants, elastic properties, and compressibility. This article is concluded with an outlook of future research on DFT study of MAX phases, major challenges to be met and possible solutions in some cases.     

Emerging Opportunities in High-Energy X-ray Science: The Diffraction-Limited Storage Ring Frontier

The worldwide march to electron storage rings with diffraction-limited photon properties in the X-ray regime is well underway. First out of the gate is MAX-IV in Sweden, scheduled for operation in 2016, followed by SIRIUS in Brazil in 2018; both are greenfield rings operating at 3 GeV with ~520 m circumference and emittances of ~250 pm-rad. They will be followed by the upgrade of ESRF, operating at 6 GeV with a target emittance of 150 pm-rad and operational date of 2020. The upgrade of the APS at Argonne National Laboratory (6 GeV, 60 pm-rad) is anticipated to follow shortly thereafter.     

Hot water heat accumulators in single-family houses

In Sweden, as in many other countries, there is a significant difference in electricity demand between day and night. In order to encourage the end use consumer to use less electricity during peak situations, time-of-use tariffs have become more common. The price differs from about 0.8 to 0.35 SEK/kWh, taxation included. (1ECU equals about 7 SEK.) If some of the electricity under the high price period, which falls between 0600 and 2200 during November to March, could be transferred to the low price hours, the electricity bill could be reduced. In Sweden it is common to use electricity for space and hot water heating, at least in single-family houses. By use of a hot water accumulator the need for heat could be produced during the cheap hours and the storage could be discharged when the high price hours occur. This paper describes the electricity use for hot water and space heating in a single-family house sited in Linköping, Sweden, where extensive monitoring has been utilized during 1987. Some 30 values for temperatures and electricity demands have been measured each hour, or sometimes even for shorter time intervals. These monitored data have been the base for examining if a water accumulator could be of interest for the proprietor of the building, i.e. if the cost for the accumulator is less than the money saved by the reduced electricity cost.     

基于MAX9259/MAX9260的CameraLink图像数据光纤传输技术

为了提高光电经纬仪上图像传输系统的性能,建立了光纤传输系统,本文针对传统Camera Link光纤传输系统方案中FPGA开发繁琐的问题,结合Camera Link接口协议和串行/解串行技术,设计了一种新的base型Camera Link的光纤传输系统,该系统采用Ser Des芯片组MAX9259/MAX9260代替编解码芯片,实现数据在Cameralink并行接口与光电转换模块串行接口之间的相互转化,并通过两种实验方案验证了系统的可行性。该方案省去传统方案中时分复用及异步FIFO缓存,降低了光纤传输系统的开发难度,并缩短了研发周期。实验结果表明:系统传输速率达到2. 5 Gb/s,具有传输稳定可靠,传输图像质量好,带宽高,抗电磁干扰能力强等特点,可满足多种像素时钟相机的需求。     

Angle-resolved reflectance and surface plasmonics of the MAX phases

We investigate theoretically the optical response of bulk samples and thin films of the MAX phase materials, accounting for their large electrical anisotropy. We reveal the unusual behavior of the reflection and transmission spectra as a function of the incidence angle and predict the effect of the inverse total internal reflection. We also investigate the behavior of the surface plasmon modes in bulk samples and thin films and analyze the difference between MAX materials and conventional metals.