Evidencias y efectos potenciales del cambio climático en Asturias

Esta monografía expone las conclusiones del trabajo realizado por el Panel de Expertos CLIMAS. Recoge los cambios constatados en el clima, el medio natural, costero y marino de Asturias en las últimas décadas, a la vez que apunta los principales efectos detectados en los distintos sistemas naturales, sociales y económicos de nuestra comunidad autónoma. Además determina aquellos ámbitos de investigación y conocimiento que debemos reforzar en Asturias y establece nuevas líneas de investigación y de actuación que deben ser consideradas en una estrategia de adaptación a nuevas condiciones

Comparison of the antioxidant potential of antiparkinsonian drugs in different in vitro models

Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by progressive degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta. Furthermore, oxidative stress plays a role in PD, causing or contributing to the neurodegenerative process. Currently PD has only symptomatic treatment and still nothing can be done to stop the degenerative process of the disease. This study aimed to comparatively evaluate the antioxidant capacity of pramipexole, selegeline and amantadine in different in vitrostudies and to offer possible explanations on the molecular antioxidant mechanisms of these drugs. In vitro, the antioxidant capacity of the drugs was assessed by the ability of antiparkinsonian drugs to decrease or scavenge ROS in the neutrophil respiratory burst, ability of antiparkinsonian drugs to donate hydrogen and stabilize the free radical 2,2-diphenyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH•), to scavenge 2,2'-azino-di-(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulphonic acid (ABTS+) and evaluation of the ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP). This study demonstrated that both pramipexole and selegiline, but not amantadine, have antioxidant effects in vitro by scavenging superoxide anion on the respiratory burst, donating electron in the ABTS+ assay and presenting ferric reduction antioxidant power. This chemical structure-related antioxidant capacity suggests a possible neuroprotective mechanism of these drugs beyond their already recognized mechanism of action

Beyond species loss: extinction of interactions in a changing world.

[eng] 1.The effects of the present biodiversity crisis have been largely focused on the loss of species.However, a missed component of biodiversity loss that often accompanies or even precedesspecies disappearance is the extinction of ecological interactions. 2.Here, we propose a novel model that (i) relates the diversity of both species and interactionsalong a gradient of environmental deterioration and (ii) explores how the rate of loss of eco-logical functions, and consequently of ecosystem services, can be accelerated or restraineddepending on how the rate of species loss covaries with the rate of interactions loss. 3.We find that the loss of species and interactions are decoupled, such that ecological interac-tions are often lost at a higher rate. This implies that the loss of ecological interactions mayoccur well before species disappearance, affecting species functionality and ecosystems servicesat a faster rate than species extinctions. We provide a number of empirical case studies illus-trating these points. 4.Our approach emphasizes the importance of focusing on species interactions as the majorbiodiversity component from which the 'health' of ecosystems depends