Revealing patterns of local species richness along environmental gradients with a novel network tool

How species richness relates to environmental gradients at large extents is commonly investigatedaggregating local site data to coarser grains. However, such relationships often change with the grainof analysis, potentially hiding the local signal. Here we show that a novel network technique, the"method of reflections", could unveil the relationships between species richness and climate withoutsuch drawbacks. We introduced a new index related to potential species richness, which revealedlarge scale patterns by including at the local community level information about species distributionthroughout the dataset (i.e., the network). The method effectively removed noise, identifying howfar site richness was from potential. When applying it to study woody species richness patterns inSpain, we observed that annual precipitation and mean annual temperature explained large parts ofthe variance of the newly defined species richness, highlighting that, at the local scale, communitiesin drier and warmer areas were potentially the species richest. Our method went far beyond whatgeographical upscaling of the data could unfold, and the insights obtained strongly suggested that itis a powerful instrument to detect key factors underlying species richness patterns, and that it couldhave numerous applications in ecology and other fields.Comunidad de MadridMinisterio de Economía y Competitivida

Anti-inflammatory evaluation and antioxidant potential of Senna crotalarioides and Penstemon roseus.

Las propiedades antiinflamatorias y antioxidantes de los extractos de cloroformo, metanol y agua de Penstemon roseus y Senna crotalarioides fueron investigadas. El extracto acuoso no tuvo actividad sobre el edema auricular inducido con TPA, pero el extracto de cloroformo y etanol de ambas plantas inhibieron significativamente el edema. El extracto de cloroformo mostró actividad sobre el edema plantar inducido con carragenina y el edema auricular en ratón inducido por múltiples aplicaciones de TPA, y solo P. roseus y S. crotalarioides tuvieron la mejor actividad en las pruebas de DPPH y poder reductor. Los valores de la DL50 en ratón de ambos extractos de cloroformo son considerados con ligera toxicidad aguda y mayores que las dosis empleadas en el estudio.Chloroform, methanol and aqueous extracts of Penstemon roseus and Senna crotalarioides were investigated for their anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. The aqueous extract had no activity on TPA-induced ear edema, but the chloroform and methanol extracts of both plants caused a significant inhibition of the edema. The chloroform extracts showed activity on carrageenan-induced paw edema and mouse ear edema induced by multiple topical applications of TPA, and only P. roseus (dose of 100 mg/kg) exhibited anti-arthritic activity. The methanol extracts of P. roseus and S. crotalarioides had the most activity in the DPPH and reducing power tests. The LD50 values in mice of both chloroform extracts were considerate as slight acute toxic and higher than the doses used in this study

Diseño para el consumo cultural, la innovación y la inclusión social

Esta obra presenta diversos trabajos de investigación que tienen en común propuestas de diseño desde la cultura, la inclusión y la innovación social, desarrolladas por investigadores nacionales e internacionales adscritos a diversas universidades, así como a programas de posgrado

Erratum: Global, regional, and national comparative risk assessment of 84 behavioural, environmental and occupational, and metabolic risks or clusters of risks for 195 countries and territories, 1990–2017: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017

Interpretation: By quantifying levels and trends in exposures to risk factors and the resulting disease burden, this assessment offers insight into where past policy and programme efforts might have been successful and highlights current priorities for public health action. Decreases in behavioural, environmental, and occupational risks have largely offset the effects of population growth and ageing, in relation to trends in absolute burden. Conversely, the combination of increasing metabolic risks and population ageing will probably continue to drive the increasing trends in non-communicable diseases at the global level, which presents both a public health challenge and opportunity. We see considerable spatiotemporal heterogeneity in levels of risk exposure and risk-attributable burden. Although levels of development underlie some of this heterogeneity, O/E ratios show risks for which countries are overperforming or underperforming relative to their level of development. As such, these ratios provide a benchmarking tool to help to focus local decision making. Our findings reinforce the importance of both risk exposure monitoring and epidemiological research to assess causal connections between risks and health outcomes, and they highlight the usefulness of the GBD study in synthesising data to draw comprehensive and robust conclusions that help to inform good policy and strategic health planning

Revealing patterns of local species richness along environmental gradients with a novel network tool

How species richness relates to environmental gradients at large extents is commonly investigated aggregating local site data to coarser grains. However, such relationships often change with the grain of analysis, potentially hiding the local signal. Here we show that a novel network technique, the "method of reflections", could unveil the relationships between species richness and climate without such drawbacks. We introduced a new index related to potential species richness, which revealed large scale patterns by including at the local community level information about species distribution throughout the dataset (i.e., the network). The method effectively removed noise, identifying how far site richness was from potential. When applying it to study woody species richness patterns in Spain, we observed that annual precipitation and mean annual temperature explained large parts of the variance of the newly defined species richness, highlighting that, at the local scale, communities in drier and warmer areas were potentially the species richest. Our method went far beyond what geographical upscaling of the data could unfold, and the insights obtained strongly suggested that it is a powerful instrument to detect key factors underlying species richness patterns, and that it could have numerous applications in ecology and other fields.This research was supported by the ERA-Net on Complexity through the project RESINEE (“Resilience and interaction of networks in ecology and economics”, EP/I019170/1). M.A.Z. and P.R.B. were supported by REMEDINAL2 (CAM, S2009/AMB-1783). M.A.R. acknowledges supports by the MINECO (grants CGL2010-22119 and CGL2013-48768-P). We thank the MAGRAMA for granting access to the Spanish Forest Inventory data

Effect of Tecoma stans (L.) Juss. ex Kunth in a Murine Model of Metabolic Syndrome

Metabolic syndrome is a constellation of abnormalities related to insulin resistance with an unfortunately high prevalence worldwide. Tecoma stans (L.) Juss. Ex Kunth. is a well-known medicinal plant that has been studied in several biological models related to diabetes mellitus. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of T. stans on a hypercaloric diet-induced metabolic syndrome model. An organic fraction obtained using liquid–liquid separation from the hydroalcoholic extract of T. stans and four subfractions of this organic fraction were administered for ten weeks to C57BL6J male mice previously fed with a hypercaloric diet. The hypercaloric diet caused changes in glucose levels (from 65.3 to 221.5 mg/dL), body weight (31.3 to 42.2 g), triglycerides (91.4 to 177.7 mg/dL), systolic (89.9 to 110.3 mmHg) and diastolic (61.6 to 73.7 mg/dL) blood pressure, and insulin resistance (4.47 to 5.16). Treatment with T. stans resulted in improvements in triglycerides (83.4–125.0 mg/dL), systolic blood pressure (75.1–91.8 mmHg), and insulin resistance (4.72–4.93). However, the organic fraction and hydroalcoholic extract produced a better response in diastolic blood pressure (52.8–56.4 mmHg). Luteolin, apigenin, and chrysoeriol were the major constituents in the most active subfractions. Treatment with T. stans, particularly a luteolin-rich organic fraction, achieved an improvement in metabolic syndrome alterations

Vulnerability to drought of two pine species in plantations at the rear edge of Europe

El actual cambio climático conlleva un aumento de eventos climáticos extremos como las sequías que pueden desencadenar procesos de decaimiento forestal, particularmente en sitios xéricos como los situados en el límite sur de distribución de especies de árboles. La vulnerabilidad de las repoblaciones de pinos realizadas en la alta montaña Mediterránea frente a las sequías está condicionada por esta variabilidad climática que afecta a su crecimiento, vigor y persistencia a largo plazo. En este trabajo se analiza el impacto de diversas sequías recientes (1994, 1995, 1999 y 2005) sobre el crecimiento radial y el vigor de dos especies de pino (Pinus sylvestris, Pinus nigra) en zonas semiáridas del sudeste de la Península Ibérica (Sierra de los Filabres), cerca de su límite meridional de distribución. Se usaron datos dendrocronológicos y de defoliación para cuantificar, por medio de modelos logísticos y modelos lineales mixtos, las respuestas del crecimiento y vigor de los árboles, a escalas de individuo y especie, respecto a la estructura del rodal, las condiciones del sitio (intensidad de competencia) y la sequía. En el sudeste ibérico un aumento de temperatura y una disminución en las precipitaciones de primavera han dado lugar a unas condiciones más secas durante finales del siglo XX. Los niveles de defoliación y las reducciones en el crecimiento fueron mayores en la especie más vulnerable a la embolia del xilema inducida por déficit hídrico (P. sylvestris) que en la más resistente (P. nigra). El crecimiento radial fue favorecido por condiciones húmedas a finales de primavera (mayo) y comienzos de verano (junio) en ambas especies. El crecimiento de los árboles más defoliados respondió más al déficit hídrico y a la competencia que el de los árboles menos defoliados. Además, el clima y la competencia fueron los dos factores que más afectaron el crecimiento. La fuerte reducción del crecimiento radial junto con la defoliación generalizada fueron los principales componentes de los episodios de decaimiento descritos en las repoblaciones de pino estudiadas. El decaimiento de repoblaciones de pinos en sitios semiáridos del sudeste ibérico, donde experimentan sequías frecuentes y extremas, cuestiona su persistencia futura bajo los escenarios climáticos predichos para este siglo y caracterizados por condiciones más cálidas y áridas.Climate change causes an increase of extreme weather events such as droughts that can trigger processes of forest decline, especially in droughtprone areas such as the southern limit of distribution of tree species. The vulnerability of Mediterranean mountain plantations to drought is conditioned by this climatic variability, which ultimately affects growth, vigor and long-term persistence. In this paper, we analyze the impact of several recent droughts (1994, 1995, 1999 and 2005) on the radial growth and vigor of two pine species (Pinus sylvestris, Pinus nigra) in a semi-arid mountain at southeastern Iberian Peninsula (Sierra Filabres), near their rear-edge limit. We used dendrochronological and defoliation data to quantify, by means of logistic and linear mixed models, growth and vigor changes at both individual and species scales in response to stand structure, site conditions (competition) and drought. In the Iberian southeast, a temperature rise and a decrease in spring precipitation have led to drier conditions during the late twentieth century. Defoliation levels and reductions in growth were higher in the species more vulnerable to drought-induced xylem embolism (P. sylvestris) than in the most resistant one (P. nigra). The radial growth was favored by wet conditions in late spring (May) and early summer (June) in both species. The growth of defoliated trees responded more to water deficit and competition than that of less defoliated trees. Climate and competition were the two main factors driving growth. The sharp growth reduction and widespread defoliation were the main components of the decline episodes described in the studied pine plantations. Current decline in pine plantations in the southeastern Iberian Peninsula, where these stands experience severe and frequent droughts, calls into question their persistence in the face of the forecast climatic scenarios for the current century, characterized by warmer and more arid conditions.Este estudio se ha realizado en el marco de los proyectos “Estudios de modelos de predicción de procesos de decaimiento en masas de Pinus sylvestris L. y Pinus nigra Arnold. en la Sierra de los Filabres a partir de datos dendrocronológicos” (Convenio Consejería de Medio Ambiente-Grupo PAI 360), DIVERBOS (CGL2011-30285-C02-02), SUM2008-00004-C03.01 (INIA), ANASINQUE (PGC2010-RNM-5782), CEXTREME; FP7-ENV-2008-1-226701 y por el Proyecto INIA-RTA (RTA2010-00065-00-00) programa FPU (AP2007-04747) del Ministerio de Educación