Long term measurement of the 222Rn concentration in the Canfranc Underground Laboratory

We report the results of 6 years (2013–2018) of measurements of 222Rn air concentration, relative humidity, atmospheric pressure and temperature in the halls A, B and C of the Canfranc Underground Laboratory (LSC). We have calculated all the Pearson correlation coefficients among these parameters and we have found a positive correlation between the 222Rn concentration and the relative humidity. Both correlated variables show a seasonal periodicity. The joint analysis of laboratory data and 4 years (2015– 2018) of the meteorological variables outside the laboratory shows the correlation between the 222Rn concentration and the outside temperature. The collected information stresses the relevance of designing good Rn-mitigation strategies in current and future experiments at LSC; in particular, we have checked for two years (2017–2018) the good performance of the mitigation procedure of the ANAIS-112 experiment. Finally, we have monitored (2019–2021) for 2 years of live time, the radon-free air provided by the radon abatement system installed in the laboratory.This research was funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 under Grant PID2019-104374GB-I00; by MINECO-FEDER under Grants FPA2017-83133-P, and FPA2014-55986-P; by MICINN-FEDER under Grants FPA2011-23749; by CONSOLIDER-Ingenio 2010 Programme under Grants MultiDark CSD2009-00064 and CPAN CSD2007-00042; by the University of Zaragoza under Grant UZ2017-CIE-09; by the Spanish Meteorological Agency (AEMET), the Gobierno de Aragón (Group in Nuclear and Astroparticle Physics, ARAID Foundation and I. Coarasa predoctoral grant), the European Social Fund and by the LSC consortium

Global urban environmental change drives adaptation in white clover.

Urbanization transforms environments in ways that alter biological evolution. We examined whether urban environmental change drives parallel evolution by sampling 110,019 white clover plants from 6169 populations in 160 cities globally. Plants were assayed for a Mendelian antiherbivore defense that also affects tolerance to abiotic stressors. Urban-rural gradients were associated with the evolution of clines in defense in 47% of cities throughout the world. Variation in the strength of clines was explained by environmental changes in drought stress and vegetation cover that varied among cities. Sequencing 2074 genomes from 26 cities revealed that the evolution of urban-rural clines was best explained by adaptive evolution, but the degree of parallel adaptation varied among cities. Our results demonstrate that urbanization leads to adaptation at a global scale

Global urban environmental change drives adaptation in white clover

Urbanization transforms environments in ways that alter biological evolution. We examined whether urban environmental change drives parallel evolution by sampling 110,019 white clover plants from 6169 populations in 160 cities globally. Plants were assayed for a Mendelian antiherbivore defense that also affects tolerance to abiotic stressors. Urban-rural gradients were associated with the evolution of clines in defense in 47% of cities throughout the world. Variation in the strength of clines was explained by environmental changes in drought stress and vegetation cover that varied among cities. Sequencing 2074 genomes from 26 cities revealed that the evolution of urban-rural clines was best explained by adaptive evolution, but the degree of parallel adaptation varied among cities. Our results demonstrate that urbanization leads to adaptation at a global scale

AN ESTIMATION OF THE RATES OF (TWO-NEUTRINO) DOUBLE BETA DECAY AND RELATED PROCESSES

La désintégration double-béta, la capture électronique avec émission de positrons et la capture électronique double (toujours avec émission de deux neutrinos) ont été calculées en supposant que l'état 1+ le plus bas du noyau intermédiaire est dominant. En utilisant les valeurs expérimentales pour les éléments de matrice de désintégration béta simple et les dénominateurs d'énergie, on obtient des résultats qui ne dépendent pas des calculs de physique nucléaire. Les résultats pour la désintégration double-béta sont en accord avec les données géochimiques récentes. D'autres prédictions sont à la portée des possibilités actuelles de détection.The (two-neutrino) double beta decay, the electron capture with positron emission and the double electron capture decay rates are estimated for several nuclides by assuming the dominance of the lowest 1+ state of the intermediate isobar. By using single-β decay matrix elements and energy denominators as experimental imputs we get values independently of nuclear physics calculations. The results for double β- decay are in agreement with the recent geochemical values. Other predictions are within the present experimental sensitivity