Status and prospects of the NEXT experiment for neutrinoless double beta decay searches

NEXT (Neutrino Experiment with a Xenon TPC) is an experimental program whose goals are to discover neutrinoless double beta decay using $^{136}$Xe in high pressure xenon TPCs with electroluminescent readout. In this paper, results from the NEXT-White detector, which is currently taking data at Laboratorio Subterr\'aneo de Canfranc (LSC) will be reported. The prospects for the NEXT-100 apparatus, scheduled to start operations in 2020, as well as the plans to extend the technology to large and ultra-low background detectors needed to fully explore the inverse hierarchy of neutrino masses, will also be briefly discussed.Comment: This article is an expanded version of my contribution to the 2019 EW/QCD/Gravitation session of the 54th "Rencontres de Moriond

A Fast and Precise Method To Identify Indolic Glucosinolates and Camalexin in Plants by Combining Mass Spectrometric and Biological Information

In this manuscript, a fast and accurate identification and quantitation by mass spectrometry of indolic glucosinolates and camalexin involved in defense in Arabidopsis thaliana are described. Two elicitation systems, inoculation with Botrytis cinerea and treatment with AgNO3, were used in Col-0 wild-type and mutant genotypes impaired in the biosynthesis of the selected metabolites. Identification of analytes was carried out by nontargeted LC/ESI-QTOF-MS profiling. Confirmation of indolic glucosinolates and camalexin was achieved by their absence in the cyp79B2/B3 and pad3 mutants as well as their respective fragmentation upon collision-induced dissociation. Camalexin accumulation was induced only after AgNO3 treatment, whereas all indolic glucosinolates were constitutively present. Inoculation with Botrytis did not influence camalexin concentration but caused most aliphatic and indolic glucosinolates contents to decrease. Only the pen 3.1 mutant showed increased indolic glucosinolate levels after Botrytis or AgNO3 treatments. In addition, profiles of secondary metabolite in nontreated Col-0 and mutant plants were analyzed by means of partial least squares coupled to discriminant analysis (PLS-DA), and differences in the basal levels of indolic glucosinolates and tryptophan between cyp79B2/B3 plants and the rest of genotypes, including Col-0, were found. This probably has to be taken into consideration when comparing stress responses of Col-0 and cyp79B2/B3. The use of mutants carrying alterations in biosynthetic pathways is proposed as a useful strategy to identify secondary metabolites

Metabolomics of Disease Resistance in Crops

Plants are continuously exposed to the attack of invasive microorganisms, such as fungi or bacteria, and also viruses. To fight these attackers, plants develop different metabolic and genetic responses whose final outcome is the production of toxic compounds that kill the pathogen or deter its growth or semiotic molecules that alert other individuals of the same plant species. These molecules are derived from the secondary metabolism and their production is induced upon detection of a pathogen-associated molecular pattern (PAMP). These PAMPs are different molecules that are perceived by the host cell triggering defense responses. PAMP-elicited compounds are highly diverse and specific of every plant species and can be divided into preformed metabolites or phytoanticipins that are converted into toxic molecules upon pathogen perception, and toxic metabolites or phytoalexins that are produced only upon pathogen attack. Moreover, plant volatile emissions are also modified in response to pathogen attack to alert neighboring individuals or to make plants less attractive to pathogen vector arthropods. Plant metabolite profiling techniques have allowed the identification of novel antimicrobial molecules that are induced upon elicitation. However, more studies are required to assess the specific function of metabolites or metabolite blends on plant-microbe interactions

Initial results from the HARP experiment at CERN

Initial results on particle yields obtained by the HARP experiment are presented. The measurements correspond to proton--nucleus collisions at beam energies of 12.9 $GeV/c$ and for a thin Al target of 5% interacion legth. The angular range considered is between 10 and 250 $mrad$. This results are the first step in the upcoming measurement of the forward production cross-section for the same target and beam energy, relevant for the calculation of the far--to--near ratio of the K2K experiment.Comment: Presented at the Neutrino 2004 Internation Conferenc

Neutrinoless double-beta decay. A brief review

In this brief review we discuss the generation of Majorana neutrino masses through the see-saw mechanism, the theory of neutrinoless double-beta decay, the implications of neutrino oscillation data for the effective Majorana mass, taking into account the recent Daya Bay measurement of theta_13, and the interpretation of the results of neutrinoless double-beta decay experiments.Comment: 22 page