Scuba diving tourism and the challenge of sustainability: evidence from an explorative study in North African-Mediterranean countries

Purpose Scuba diving tourism is reputed to be a potential low-impact recreational activity that allow environmental conservation and socioeconomic benefits for local communities. Few studies have addressed the issue of sustainability of scuba diving tourism through the simultaneously investigation on the economic and socio-cultural aspects and its implications for tourism development. This study aims to examine the scuba diving tourism in three under-explored North African tourism destinations with high ecotourist potential. The authors present an exploratory picture of scuba diving tourist demand, divers' preferences, motivations for recreational diving experiences and their propensity towards conservation. Design/methodology/approach The authors developed a case study research strategy collecting profile data on 123 divers. Furthermore, regression analysis was performed to investigate the divers' preferences, motivations and propensity towards conservation. Findings The divers' limited number, the presence of mainly local seasonal tourists and a moderate propensity towards conservation influence the potential of the diving tourism segment to generate significant socioeconomic benefits for local sustainable development in these destinations. However, establishing a marine protected area (MPA) could foster the development of a long-term strategy for scuba diving tourism, improve conservation awareness and increase divers' satisfaction. Practical implications Diverse profiles, preferences and motivations can provide tools to sustainably manage and preserve coastal and marine biodiversity, while also maximising the quality of the recreational experience. One of the most effective site-based strategies to orient the diving sector towards sustainability involves the design and strengthening of MPAs. Originality/value The research provides an original contribution to the debate on sustainable tourism strategies by demonstrating how the study of economic and socio-cultural aspects of scuba diving could provide guidelines to orient the tourism development of marine and coastal areas towards the principles of sustainability (also through the establishment of MPAs). The findings present an overview of the sustainability of the scuba diving tourism segment by investigating the preferences, motivations and inclination towards conservation among tourists for whom the diving experience is not a core holiday activity

Histological Characterization of Sacco's Concentrated Growth Factors Membrane

Along with the emerging needs of the dental patients, numerous techniques for oral tissue stimulation and regeneration were developed to be employed in the modern implant rehabilitation therapies. The Concentrated Growth Factors (CGF) are a relatively new therapeutic presidium that can be used for this purpose, enhancing the regenerative potential property of blood cells. Although literature presents numerous studies evaluating the CGF for their clinical uses and efficacy, data regarding their biological characteristics are very few. The present study evaluates and describes the CGF structural morphology by means of classical histological methods, using haematoxilin-eosin and azan mallory stains. A three layers organization with a fibrin complex network was noted, with blood corpuscular elements entrapped, especially in the most external layer. These descriptions enrich the knowledge about this new type of membrane, showing the bio-morphological side of the regenerative techniques. These findings will be useful in clinical practice for the choice of the most suitable technique in each implant rehabilitation. Junto con las nuevas necesidades dentales de los pacientes, se han desarrollado numerosas técnicas para la estimulación y regeneración de los tejidos orales para ser empleadas en las modernas terapias de rehabilitación de implante. Los Factores de Crecimiento Concentrados (FCC) son relativamente una nueva alternativa terapéutica que pueden utilizarse para este propósito, mejorando la propiedad regenerativa potencial de las células de la sangre. A pesar de que la literatura presenta numerosos estudios que evalúan los FCC por sus usos clínicos y su eficacia, los datos relativos a sus características biológicas son muy escasos. El presente estudio evalúa y describe la morfología estructural de los FCC por medio de métodos histológicos tradicionales, utilizando hematoxilina-eosina y tinción de Azan Mallory. Se observó una organización en tres capas con una compleja red de fibrina, con elementos corpusculares de la sangre atrapados, especialmente en la capa más externa. Estas descripciones enriquecen el conocimiento acerca de este nuevo tipo de membrana, que muestra el lado biomorfológico de las técnicas regenerativas. Estos resultados serán de utilidad en la práctica clínica para la elección de la técnica más adecuada en los casos de rehabilitación con implantes

Description and composition of bio-inspired design patterns: a complete overview

In the last decade, bio-inspired self-organising mechanisms have been applied to different domains, achieving results beyond traditional approaches. However, researchers usually use these mechanisms in an ad-hoc manner. In this way, their interpretation, definition, boundary (i.e. when one mechanism stops, and when another starts), and implementation typically vary in the existing literature, thus preventing these mechanisms from being applied clearly and systematically to solve recurrent problems. To ease engineering of artificial bio-inspired systems, this paper describes a catalogue of bio-inspired mechanisms in terms of modular and reusable design patterns organised into different layers. This catalogue uniformly frames and classifies a variety of different patterns. Additionally, this paper places the design patterns inside existing self-organising methodologies and hints for selecting and using a design patter

Programa de formación sobre el duelo perinatal dirigido a profesionales sanitarios

Introducción: la muerte de un hijo durante el embarazo o poco después de nacer es un hecho devastador para las familias. A pesar de ser una experiencia tan complicada, el duelo tras una pérdida perinatal ha tenido escasa consideración durante años. Para los profesionales sanitarios también supone una situación de difícil manejo, ya que la implicación emocional y la falta de preparación hacen que adopten conductas de erróneas a la hora asistir a las familias que acaban de sufrir una muerte perinatal. Objetivo: conocer el grado de preparación de los profesionales sanitarios en cuanto al abordaje del duelo perinatal.Metodología: se ha llevado a cabo una búsqueda bibliográfica en varias bases de datos, buscadores académicos y otras páginas oficiales. Conclusión: La formación de los profesionales sanitarios en cuanto al abordaje del duelo perinatal, es fundamental para mejorar los conocimientos y las habilidades de los profesionales en la atención del duelo perinatal.Palabras clave: "Duelo perinatal"," muerte perinatal", "profesionales sanitarios", "formación".<br /

Metal-free visible light-promoted synthesis of isothiazoles: a catalytic approach for N-S bond formation from iminyl radicals under batch and flow conditions

A sustainable synthesis of isothiazoles has been developed using an α-amino-oxy acid auxiliary and applying photoredox catalysis. This simple strategy features mild conditions, broad scope and wide functional group tolerance representing a new enviromentally friendly option to prepare these highly valuable heterocycles. Furthermore, the synthetic value of the method is highlighted by the preparation of a natural product derivative and the implementation of the reaction in a continuous flow setupWe acknowledge the financial support by the Spanish Government (RTI2018-095038-B-I00) and ERC (ERC-CG, 647550

Late Holocene dietary and cultural variability on the Xingu River, Amazon Basin:A stable isotopic approach

Although once considered a ‘counterfeit paradise’, the Amazon Basin is now a region of increasing interest in discussions of pre-colonial tropical land-use and social complexity. Archaeobotany, archaeozoology, remote sensing and palaeoecology have revealed that, by the Late Holocene, populations in different parts of the Amazon Basin were using various domesticated plants, modifying soils, building earthworks, and even forming ‘Garden Cities’ along the Amazon River and its tributaries. However, there remains a relatively limited understanding as to how diets, environmental management, and social structures varied across this vast area. Here, we apply stable isotope analysis to human remains (n = 4 for collagen, n = 17 for tooth enamel), and associated fauna (n = 61 for collagen, n = 28 for tooth enamel), to directly determine the diets of populations living in the Volta Grande do Rio Xingu, an important region of pre-Columbian cultural interactions, between 390 cal. years BC and 1,675 cal. years AD. Our results highlight an ongoing dietary focus on C3 plants and wild terrestrial fauna and aquatic resources across sites and time periods, with varying integration of C4 plants (i.e. maize). We argue that, when compared to other datasets now available from elsewhere in the Amazon Basin, our study highlights the development of regional adaptations to local watercourses and forest types.Introduction Background - Environmental and cultural contexts of the Xingu River - Isotope analysis in the tropics Materials and methods - Archaeological sites - Samples - Stable isotope analysis - Statistical analysis Results - Radiocarbon dating - δ13Cco and δ15N from collagen - δ13Cca and δ18O from enamel bioapatite Discussion - Amazonian baselines - Diets on the Xingu River between 390 cal. BC and 1,675 cal. years AD - Comparison with other Amazon datasets Conclusion

Position-based Dynamics Simulator of Brain Deformations for Path Planning and Intra-Operative Control in Keyhole Neurosurgery

Many tasks in robot-assisted surgery require planning and controlling manipulators' motions that interact with highly deformable objects. This study proposes a realistic, time-bounded simulator based on Position-based Dynamics (PBD) simulation that mocks brain deformations due to catheter insertion for pre-operative path planning and intra-operative guidance in keyhole surgical procedures. It maximizes the probability of success by accounting for uncertainty in deformation models, noisy sensing, and unpredictable actuation. The PBD deformation parameters were initialized on a parallelepiped-shaped simulated phantom to obtain a reasonable starting guess for the brain white matter. They were calibrated by comparing the obtained displacements with deformation data for catheter insertion in a composite hydrogel phantom. Knowing the gray matter brain structures' different behaviors, the parameters were fine-tuned to obtain a generalized human brain model. The brain structures' average displacement was compared with values in the literature. The simulator's numerical model uses a novel approach with respect to the literature, and it has proved to be a close match with real brain deformations through validation using recorded deformation data of in-vivo animal trials with a mean mismatch of 4.73$\pm$2.15%. The stability, accuracy, and real-time performance make this model suitable for creating a dynamic environment for KN path planning, pre-operative path planning, and intra-operative guidance.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figures. This article has been accepted for publication in a future issue of IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters, but has not been fully edited. Content may change prior to final publication. 2377-3766 (c) 2021 IEEE. Personal use is permitted, but republication/redistribution requires IEEE permission. A. Segato and C. Di Vece equally contribute

Study of the anticancer properties of optically active titanocene oximato compounds

New water soluble and optically active cyclopentadienyl titanium derivatives [(η5-C5H5)2Ti{(1R,4S)-ĸON,(R)NH}Cl] (R = Bn (Benzyl) 1a’, 2-pic (2-picolylamine) 1b’) have been synthesized. The novel compounds along with those previously described [(η5-C5H5)2Ti{(1S,4R)-ĸON,(R)NH}Cl] (R = Bn 1a, 2-pic 1b) were evaluated by polarimetry, ultra-violet and circular dichroism spectroscopy. The structure of 1b was determined by single crystal X-ray crystallography and showed a unique terminal monohapto Tisingle bondO disposition of the oximato ligand. All enantiomers have been tested against several cancer cell lines in vitro: prostate PC-3 and DU-145, lung A-549, pancreas MiaPaca-2, colorectal HCT-116, leukemia Jurkat and cervical HeLa. In addition, 1a, 1b and 1b’ were tested against non-tumorigenic prostate RWPE-1 cell line. After 24 h of incubation, 1b and 1b’ were moderately active against Jurkat and A-549 cells. The anti-proliferative effect of titanium compounds on prostate PC-3, DU-145 and RWPE-1 cell lines was also assessed after 72 h of drug exposure. The cytotoxic profile of the enantiomers was similar, exception made for the PC-3 cells, with S,R-isomers exhibiting cytotoxicities 2 to 3 times higher than R,S-compounds. Under these conditions, derivative 1b showed calculated IC50 values better than those of Tacke's Titanocene-Y (bis-[(p-methoxybenzyl)cyclopentadienyl]titanium(IV) dichloride) on both the prostate PC-3 and DU-145 cells. 1a and 1b cytotoxic behaviour shows certain selectiveness, with activities 2–4 times lower on normal prostate RWPE-1 than on cancer PC-3 cells. Furthermore, 1b produces higher cytotoxicity on prostate PC-3, DU-145 and RWPE-1 cells than the additive dose of titanocene dichloride and pro-ligand b·HCl. Additionally, compound-DNA interactions have been investigated by equilibrium dialysis, Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) melting assays and viscometric titrations, which suggest that these metal complexes and/or their hydrolysis products bind DNA either in the minor groove or externally.Ministerio de Economía y CompetitividadComunidad Autónoma de MadridUniversidad de Alcal

Evaluating the controlled reopening of nightlife during the COVID-19 pandemic : a matched cohort study in Sitges, Spain, in May 2021 (Reobrim Sitges)

To assess the impact of relaxing the state of alarm restrictions on SARS-CoV-2 infections at 14 days among people attending reopened nightclub venues. Matched cohort study with a paired control group (1:5 ratio). Five small nightclubs with indoor areas and outdoor terraces, in a nightlife-restricted area in Sitges, Spain, on 20 May 2021. Wearing masks was mandatory, drinking was allowed and social distance was not required. Volunteers were selected through a convenience sampling. To attend the event, participants were required to be older than 17 years, with a negative rapid antigen diagnostic test (Ag-RDT) on the same afternoon, without a positive reverse-transcription PCR (RT-PCR) or Ag-RDT and/or symptoms associated with COVID-19 in the previous 7 days, to not having knowingly been in close contact with someone infected in the previous 10 days and to not have knowingly had close contact with someone with a suspicion of COVID-19 in the previous 48 hours. A control group was paired by exact age, gender, residence municipality, socioeconomic index, previous SARS-CoV-2-confirmed infection and vaccination status, in a 1:5 ratio, from the primary care electronic health records. Evidence of infection at electronic health records by SARS-CoV-2 at 14-day follow-up. Among the 391 participants (median age 37 years; 44% (n=173) women), no positive SARS-CoV-2 cases were detected at 14 days, resulting in a cumulative incidence estimation of 0 (95% CI 0 to 943) per 100 000 inhabitants. In the control group, two cases with RT-PCR test were identified, resulting in a cumulative incidence of 102.30 (12.4 to 369) per 100 000 inhabitants. Nightlife attendance under controlled conditions and with a requirement for a negative Ag-RDT was not associated with increased transmissibility of SARS-CoV-2 in a pandemic context of low infection rates. In such circumstances, secure opening of the nightlife sector was possible, under reduced capacity and controlled access by Ag-RDT, and environments where compliance with sanitary measures are maintainable