Meeting Reports: International Workshop on the Protein Circular Dichroism Data Bank

The International Workshop on the Protein Circular Dichroism Data Bank (PCDDB) was held on April 11–13, 2005, at Birkbeck College, University of London, UK, under the sponsorship of the UK Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council. The meeting was chaired by Bonnie Ann Wallace, Professor in the Department of Crystallography at Birkbeck College. The workshop organizing committee consisted of Dr. Robert W. Janes, Queen Mary, University of London, and Dr. Lee Whitmore, also of Birkbeck College.

Participants included experts in both conventional circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy and representatives from synchrotron radiation circular dichroism (SRCD) beamlines: Prof. J. Sutherland of the NSLS SRCD beamlines U9b and U11 and East Carolina University (USA);     

High-pressure facilities at the ESRF

Abstract

Several beamlines at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility in Grenoble are being designed with high-pressure experiments in mind. Among the first seven beamlines the Microfocus Beamline, the Materials Science Beamline, the Laue White Beamline and the High Energy Beamline are of particular interest for high-pressure diffraction experiments. These experimental stations are outlined and their characteristics are compared.

Presented at the IUCr Workshop on ‘Synchrotron Radiation Instrumentation for High Pressure Crystallography’, Daresbury Laboratory 20-21 July 1991     

Sixth AOFSRR in Bangkok

The Sixth Asia Oceania Forum on Synchrotron Radiation Research (6^th AOFSRR) was successfully held in Bangkok, Thailand, from August 8 to 10, 2012. The workshop was hosted by the Synchrotron Light Research Institute (SLRI). Prayoon Songsiriritthigul, former acting director of SLRI, and Sarawut Sujitjorn, the director of SLRI, served as the conference co-chairs. The success of the five previous workshops (Tsukuba in 2006, Hsinchu in 2007, Melbourne in 2008, Shanghai in 2009, and Pohang in 2010) brought 202 engineering and scientific participants from Asia-Oceania to the workshop, and six from other regions (Canada, France, Germany, and the US). In addition to three plenary and 19 invited talks, there were 25 oral and 60 poster presentations contributed by the participants.     

Radiometry with synchrotron radiation at the PTB laboratory at Bessy ii

A workshop on Engineering Applications of Neutrons and Synchrotron Radiation took place on September 13–14, 2004, at the ESRF in Grenoble, France. The workshop brought together around 100 leading scientists and engineers who discussed the application of synchrotron X-ray and neutron central facilities for engineering problems. The event was organized by the FaME38 materials engineering facility at ILL-ESRF. FaME38 is jointly funded by the UK research council EPSRC and ILL-ESRF and provides support to enable materials engineers to make the best use of the advanced synchrotron X-ray and neutron scientific facilities at ILL-ESRF.

The programme included formal presentations, a poster session, informal workgroup sessions and an opportunity to meet staff at the ILL-ESRF materials science beamlines. The formal presentations were structured into three sessions entitled Progress, Complementarity, and Applications chaired by Giovanni Bruno (ILL), Thomas Buslaps (ESRF), and Darren Hughes (FaME38).     

Multilayer mirror fluorescence detection system for photon‐in photon‐out in‐situ carbon k‐edge NEXAFS

The Second International Workshop on Imaging Techniques with Synchrotron Radiation (ITSR) was held November 6–10, 2009, at the beautiful beach resort city of Sanya on the tropical island of Hainan province in the south of China, and followed on from a similar successful meeting in Hefei in December 2008. The meeting was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, National Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory (NSRL) in Hefei, Institute of High Energy Physics (IHEP) in Beijing, INFN, Xradia Inc., and the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs based on an agreement for bilateral collaboration. This enthusiasm for collaboration is a reflection of the increasing interest in synchrotron-based research, particularly in the area of imaging and microscopy, which has been stimulated by the successful commissioning of various projects in China, such as the new Shanghai synchrotron light source and the upgrade of the Hefei synchrotron sources. Some further new projects are proposed that will focus even more on advancing the imaging capability in China and its application in different domains of science and technology. The Sanya meeting was therefore held at an important time and designed to bring world experts together to help build the user community, foster new scientific applications, and nurture young scientists. It is encouraging to witness that more than 10 students participated in the meeting, which included 25 oral presentations contributed by 40 delegates from 8 countries including China, Australia, the U.S., France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the Netherlands.     

Circular dichroism beamline B23 at the Diamond Light Source

Synchrotron radiation circular dichroism (SRCD) is a well established technique in structural biology. The first UV‐VIS beamline, dedicated to circular dichroism, at Diamond Light Source Ltd, a third‐generation synchrotron facility in south Oxfordshire, UK, has recently become operational and it is now available for the user community. Herein the main characteristics of the B23 SRCD beamline, the ancillary facilities available for users, and some of the recent advances achieved are summarized.     

NSRRC Holds Dedication Ceremony for the Taiwan Photon Source's New Experimental Facility

More than 300 participants, including nearly 50 invited guests, attended the dedication ceremony for the Taiwan Photon Source's (TPS) new experimental facility at the National Synchrotron Radiation Research Center (NSRRC) on September 19, 2016. The special ceremony marked an important milestone that will dramatically change the course of Taiwan's scientific advancement in the coming years. Since the successful commissioning of the synchrotron accelerator TPS on New Year's Eve in 2015, the NSRRC has constructed an additional seven beamlines during Phase I of the TPS Experimental Facility Construction Project in order to channel an electron beam of 3 billion electron volts (GeV) away from the circular TPS storage ring into the experimental target samples. The ceremony, inaugurated by President Ing-Wen Tsai, officially announced the availability of these beamlines to scientific users worldwide.     

Meeting Report: Third Italian-Australian Workshop on Spectroscopy and Imaging with Synchrotron Radiation

The third Italian-Australian Workshop on Spectroscopy and Imaging with Synchrotron Radiation (IAW) was held at the Australian Synchrotron on April 14, 2007, and was the first scientific meeting held there. Previous workshops have been held in Trieste (2005) and Lorne, Victoria (2003). Indeed, when the first meeting was held, the Australian synchrotron was an idea and now it is a reality.     

The São Paulo School of Advanced Sciences (ESPCA) on Recent Developments in Synchrotron Radiation

The São Paulo School of Advanced Sciences (ESPCA) on Recent Developments in Synchrotron Radiation was held July 13–24, 2015, at the Brazilian Synchrotron Light Laboratory (LNLS) in Campinas, Brazil. The school was attended by 96 students, 48 from Brazil and 48 from 17 different countries. A total of 27 different nationalities were represented in this 12-day school. In addition, 22 lecturers presented 34 talks.     

Facility Update: APS Operations and New Beamlines

Twenty years is a long time, but it seems to me as if it were yesterday when the three of us—Michel Belakhovsky, Christian Riekel and I—first scientists of the Experiments Division (except the directors) at the not yet created European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, living in a temporary and not very solid building, made the last corrections to the text of the famous “Red Book,” the ESRF Foundation Phase Report published in February 1987. The floor was shaking in our office when Ruprecht Haensel, the first Director General, walked along the corridor…. We had convened workshops of experts in the various fields to define the first set of beamlines to be built at the ESRF. The program was quite complete, comprising inelastic scattering, imaging (topography), microfocusing, small angle scattering, nuclear resonance, high energy, etc. Costs were particularly difficult to estimate, but finally we were not so far from the real figures.     

Expected thermal deformation and wavefront preservation of a cryogenic Si monochromator for Cornell ERL beamlines

Cornell energy‐recovery linac (ERL) beamlines will have higher power density and higher fractional coherence than those available at third‐generation sources; therefore the capability of a monochromator for ERL beamlines has to be studied. A cryogenic Si monochromator is considered in this paper because the perfect atomic structure of Si crystal is needed to deliver highly coherent radiation. Since neither the total heat load nor the power density alone can determine the severity of crystal deformation, a metric called modified linear power density is used to gauge the thermal deformation. For all ERL undulator beamlines, crystal thermal deformation profiles are simulated using the finite‐element analysis tool ANSYS, and wavefront propagations are simulated using Synchrotron Radiation Workshop. It is concluded that cryogenic Si monochromators will be suitable for ERL beamlines in general.     

Ninth Asia Oceania Forum for Synchrotron Radiation Research

Synchrotron users and experts from around the Asia Oceania region gathered in Melbourne in November 2015 for the Ninth Asia Oceania Forum for Synchrotron Radiation Research (AOFSRR). The meeting was held in conjunction with the Australian Synchrotron's annual User Meeting, and the two events shared a joint program of stimulating presentations over three full days.     

Infrared Microspectroscopy at SISSI,the ELETTRA Synchrotron Trieste Infrared Beamline

Infrared spectroscopy and spectromicroscopy have rapidly flourished using the advantages of InfraRed Synchrotron Radiation (IRSR), namely high brightness, broadband emission, linear and circular polarization and pulsed structure. InfraRed (IR) beamlines constructed at all synchrotron facilities provide a unique opportunity for a new class of experiments with significant multidisciplinary impact inaccessible to experimental equipment employing black body (globar) sources.     

High-pressure x-ray diffraction station at the beijing synchrotron radiation facility

Abstract

In the second phase construction of further insertion devices, beamlines and experimental stations at the Beijing Synchrotron Radiation Facility, a dedicated high-pressure x-ray diffraction station will be constructed. We outline the synchrotron radiation source, beamline optics and high-pressure x-ray diffraction apparatus. This facility is planned to operate for users in 1994.

Presented at the IUCr Workshop on ‘Synchrotron Radiation Instrumentation for High Pressure Crystallography’, Daresbury Laboratory 20-21 July 1991     

Light flux density threshold at which protein denaturation is induced by synchrotron radiation circular dichroism beamlines

New high‐flux synchrotron radiation circular dichroism (SRCD) beamlines are providing important information for structural biology, but can potentially cause denaturation of the protein samples under investigation. This effect has been studied at the new CD1 dedicated SRCD beamline at ISA in Denmark, where radiation‐induced thermal damage effects were observed, depending not only on the radiation flux but also on the focal spot size of the light. Comparisons with similar studies at other SRCD facilities worldwide has lead to the estimation of a flux density threshold under which SRCD beamlines should be operated when samples are to be exposed to low‐wavelength vacuum ultraviolet radiation for extended periods of time.     

News and Views: Major European Light Sources Join Forces in the ERF

Synchrotron-based X-ray scattering (SR-XRS) techniques offer the ability to probe nano- and atomic-scale structures that dictate the properties of advanced technological and environmental materials. Important materials studied at the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource (SSRL) include organic and inorganic thin films and interfaces, nanoparticles, complex oxides, solutions, polymers, minerals, and poorly crystalline materials. Good planning and a good working knowledge of beamlines and techniques are required to successfully conduct SR-XRS measurements. This sixth annual School at SSRL on Synchrotron X-ray Scattering Techniques in Materials and Environmental Sciences was held at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory on May 29-31, 2012, and provided a practical users' guide to planning and conducting scattering measurements at SSRL beam lines. There was an emphasis on information that cannot be found in textbooks. More than 50 researchers, mostly graduate students and postdoctoral associates, participated in this workshop. Attendees represented a variety of fields including material sciences, chemical engineering, applied physics, chemistry and earth sciences.     

基于微流控混合器的连续流动态同步辐射圆二色谱发展

基于微流控混合器,采用连续流探测方法,在北京同步辐射装置真空紫外光谱实验站发展了毫秒动态圆二色谱探测方法。石英微流控混合器采用深度离子刻蚀技术加工,通道深度44.5 μm。混合器采用蛇形通道实现溶液的快速混合。通过荧光倒置显微镜,在模拟真实实验条件的高粘度溶液中,观察蛇形通道内溶液混合的荧光图像,进行混合效率测试。500 μL·min-1流量下,目前可实现4.5～270 μs的时间尺度探测。利用微流控混合器进行动态探测,同步辐射紫外光必须聚焦,但由于聚焦透镜波长色散引起的焦点位移,导致圆二色谱发生畸变。通过精确测试不同波长对应焦点的相对位置,然后在圆二色谱扫描中实现波长和焦点位置精确的反馈控制,获得准确的圆二色谱。利用所发展的方法,测试了去折叠状态下的细胞色素c恢复折叠的动态同步辐射圆二色谱,在4.5 μs处折叠恢复54%。这种方法将为生物大分子折叠动力学研究提供新的探测手段。     

Synchrotron Radiation and Neutrons in Art and Archaeology (SR2A) Conference 2016

The seventh edition of the international conference on Synchrotron Radiation and Neutrons in Art and Archaeology (SR2A 2016) was held September 6–8, 2016, at the Stock Exchange Room of The Art Institute of Chicago, USA. The conference was jointly organized by seven research laboratories and museums; more precisely, the Center for Scientific Studies in the Arts (NU-ACCESS) of Northwestern University, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Field Museum Chicago, the Advanced Photon Source (APS), the Oriental Institute Chicago, the Detroit Institute of Arts, and the Indianapolis Museum of Art, in close interaction with the SR2A International Committee. Nine years after the organization of the first SR2A conference in Grenoble, the Art Institute hosted the second biennial interdisciplinary meeting in the US.     

Third International Workshop on Imaging Techniques with Synchrotron Radiation

The Third International Workshop on Imaging Techniques with Synchrotron Radiation (ITSR2010) was held on November 6-9, 2010, in Suzhou near Shanghai, China, known as the “Chinese Venice.” This workshop follows two similar meetings held in 2008 and 2009 in Hefei and Sanya, respectively. The workshop hosted more than 60 delegates from 10 countries including China, Australia, the U.S, France, the U.K., Germany, Italy, Japan, Switzerland, Austria, and Ivory Coast. World-leading scientists presented some cutting-edge results as well as very stimulating topical reviews. The previous two meetings in Hefei and Sanya were conceived to bring experts together to help build up the user community of the recently developed Chinese synchrotron light sources in Hefei and Shanghai. The workshop in Suzhou witnessed the first, impressive results of this community, which has started using the novel facilities with enthusiasm. This series of meetings has established itself as one of the most relevant synchrotron imaging scientific meetings in China.     

From NEXAFS spectroscopy to new flat panel displays: A story of basic science with technological impact

The Twentieth NSRRC Users' Meeting was held successfully at the National Synchrotron Radiation Research Center (NSRRC) in Taiwan from September 10th to 12th, 2014. The three-day meeting was the first such event to be held at the newly furnished Activity Center on the NSRRC campus, celebrating 20 years since the first NSRRC Users' Meeting and highlighting the prospective scientific frontiers marked by the newly established Taiwan Photon Source (TPS) storage ring.