Blue prescription: A pilot study of health benefits for oncological patients of a short program of activities involving the sea.

Performing outdoor activities in blue spaces can help improve human health and mental well-being by reducing stress and promoting social relationships. The number of people surviving cancer has increased globally to experience this disease as a life-changing and chronic condition with physical and psychosocial symptoms that have negative impacts on their quality of life. While there has been a growth of programs in green spaces to meet the needs of cancer patients, such as follow-up post-treatment care, support groups and physical activity programs, very few studies have examined the effects of activities involving the sea for the health and well-being of oncology patients. This is the first study to evaluate whether different outdoor activities in blue spaces can benefit oncological patients' physical and mental health using smartwatches, sphygmomanometers and Profile of Mood States (POMS) questionnaires. We assessed changes in blood pressure, heart rate, sleep quality and mental health of 16 patients after twelve sessions of three different activities (walking, beach and snorkelling) and four sessions of a control activity. While no significant differences between activities were observed in terms of the data gathered by the smartwatches, a gradient of positive results for human mental health was observed towards exposure to a blue space, assessed through POMS questionnaires. Results show that exposure to blue spaces contributes to tension and anger reduction and improves the vigour mood state of oncology patients. No significant increases in patients' heart rate were recorded after the beach and snorkelling activities, with results similar to the control activity, suggesting that the contribution may be to participants' relaxation.

Environmental and human health impacts of cruise tourism: A review.

The intensive growth of cruise tourism worldwide during recent decades is leading to growing concerns over the sector's global environmental and health impacts. This review combines for the first time various sources of information to estimate the magnitude of the cruise industry's environmental and public health footprints. This research shows that cruising, despite technical advances and some surveillance programmes, remains a major source of air, water (fresh and marine) and land pollution affecting fragile habitats, areas and species, and a potential source of physical and mental human health risks. Health risks impact both the people on board (crew and passengers) and on land (workers of shipyards where cruise ships are dismantled and citizens inhabiting cities with cruise ports and shipyards). In this context, we argue that the cruise industry should be held accountable with more monitoring and regulation to prevent or minimize the growing negative environmental and human health impacts.

The Roses Ocean and Human Health Chair: A New Way to Engage the Public in Oceans and Human Health Challenges.

Involving and engaging stakeholders is crucial for studying and managing the complex interactions between marine ecosystems and human health and wellbeing. The Oceans and Human Health Chair was founded in the town of Roses (Catalonia, Spain, NW Mediterranean) in 2018, the fruit of a regional partnership between various stakeholders, and for the purpose of leading the way to better health and wellbeing through ocean research and conservation. The Chair is located in an area of the Mediterranean with a notable fishing, tourist, and seafaring tradition and is close to a marine reserve, providing the opportunity to observe diverse environmental conditions and coastal and maritime activities. The Chair is a case study demonstrating that local, collaborative, transdisciplinary, trans-sector, and bottom-up approaches offer tremendous opportunities for engaging coastal communities to help support long-lasting solutions that benefit everyone, and especially those living by the sea or making their living from the goods and services provided by the sea. Furthermore, the Chair has successfully integrated most of its experts in oceans and human health from the most prestigious institutions in Catalonia. The Chair focuses on three main topics identified by local stakeholders: Fish and Health; Leisure, Health, and Wellbeing; and Medicines from the Sea. Led by stakeholder engagement, the Chair can serve as a novel approach within the oceans and human health field of study to tackle a variety of environmental and public health challenges related to both communicable and non-communicable diseases, within the context of sociocultural issues. Drawing on the example provided by the Chair, four principles are established to encourage improved participatory processes in the oceans and human health field: bottom-up, "think local", transdisciplinary and trans-sectorial, and "balance the many voices".

A common cognitive, psychiatric, and dysmorphic phenotype in carriers of NRXN1 deletion.

Deletions in the 2p16.3 region that includes the neurexin (NRXN1) gene are associated with intellectual disability and various psychiatric disorders, in particular, autism and schizophrenia. We present three unrelated patients, two adults and one child, in whom we identified an intragenic 2p16.3 deletion within the NRXN1 gene using an oligonucleotide comparative genomic hybridization array. The three patients presented dual diagnosis that consisted of mild intellectual disability and autism and bipolar disorder. Also, they all shared a dysmorphic phenotype characterized by a long face, deep set eyes, and prominent premaxilla. Genetic analysis of family members showed two inherited deletions. A comprehensive neuropsychological examination of the 2p16.3 deletion carriers revealed the same phenotype, characterized by anxiety disorder, borderline intelligence, and dysexecutive syndrome. The cognitive pattern of dysexecutive syndrome with poor working memory and reduced attention switching, mental flexibility, and verbal fluency was the same than those of the adult probands. We suggest that in addition to intellectual disability and psychiatric disease, NRXN1 deletion is a risk factor for a characteristic cognitive and dysmorphic profile. The new cognitive phenotype found in the 2p16.3 deletion carriers suggests that 2p16.3 deletions might have a wide variable expressivity instead of incomplete penetrance.

Flujometría Doppler patológica y su correlación con el pronóstico perinatal a corto plazo

Objetivos: Determinar la morbilidad y mortalidad de fetos con flujometría Doppler patológico y evaluar discapacidades en el corto plazo. Diseño: Estudio tipo retrospectivo, observacional, analítico, correlacional. Lugar: Unidad de vigilancia fetal, Hospital Nacional Edgardo Rebagliati Martins, Red Asistencial Rebagliati, EsSalud, Lima, Perú. Participantes: Gestantes con flujometría Doppler patológicos y sus perinatos. Intervenciones: Se estudió todos los casos de gestantes con flujometría Doppler alterado, entre febrero de 2008 y febrero de 2010. Se agrupó por tipos de flujometría Doppler y se describió la frecuencia de patología y morbimortalidad perinatal, correlacionándolas con la edad gestacional. El análisis se realizó con el paquete estadístico SPSS 11,0, la prueba chi cuadrado para las variables discretas y la de Kruskal-Wallis, para las variables continuas. Se asumió un valor de significancia de p < ,005. Principales medidas de resultados: Morbilidad y mortalidad perinatal, discapacidades motoras, auditivas y psicomotoras a las 6 meses de edad. Resultados: Sesentaitrés gestantes cumplieron con el criterio de inclusión. El peso medio al nacer de sus fetos fue 1 593 g; 24 casos (40%) presentaron peso al nacer menor al percentil 10 para la edad gestacional. La mayor parte mostró flujometría Doppler tipo III, 46 casos con signos de redistribución hemodinámica. La mortalidad global fue 8%. Cuatro fetos murieron intraútero; 59 fetos (94%) llegaron a nacer vivos; de ellos solo un caso falleció durante el periodo de estudio. La tasa global de mortalidad fue significativamente mayor y el peso al nacer más bajo en el grupo de fetos con flujometría Doppler tipo IV, con una media de 937 g. La mortalidad fue significativamente más alta en el grupo de 24 a 27,6 semanas. La estancia en UCI, la necesidad de ventilación asistida (VM) y presión positiva continua, el riesgo de desarrollar retinopatía y hemorragia interventricular y las discapacidades auditivas y trastorno del desarrollo psicomotor estuvieron correlacionados con la prematuridad. Conclusiones: Los casos de flujometría Doppler con compromiso hemodinámico severo presentaron acidemia y tasa alta de mortalidad, independiente del percentil de crecimiento al nacer. La mortalidad intraútero se asoció significativamente a la severidad mostrada por el estudio Doppler, por lo que no se recomienda continuar el embarazo en los tipos III y IV, si hay madurez pulmonar fetal.

Objectives: To determine both morbidity and mortality in fetuses with pathological Doppler velocimetry and short term handicap. Design: Retrospective, observational, analytical, correlation study. Setting: Fetal surveillance unit, Hospital Nacional Edgardo Rebagliati Martins, Red Asistencial Rebagliati, EsSalud, Lima, Peru. Participants: Pregnant women with pathological Doppler velocimetry and their perinates. Interventions: All pregnant women with altered Doppler velocimetry between February 2008 and February 2010 were studied. They were grouped by Doppler velocimetry types, and frequency of pathology; perinatal morbidity and mortality were determined and correlated with gestational age. SPSS 11,0 was used for statistical analysis, chi square test for discrete variables and Kruskal-Wallis test for continued variables. Significant value was p < ,005. Main outcome measures: Perinatal morbidity and mortality, motor, hearing and psychomotor discapacities at 6 months after birth. Results: Sixty-three pregnant women fulfilled inclusion criteria. Their mean newborns weight was 1 593 g; 24 cases (40%) presented weight at birth less than 10th percentile for gestational age. Most of them showed type III Doppler velocimetry, 46 with signs of hemodynamic redistribution. Global mortality was 8%. Four fetuses died in utero; 59 fetuses (94%) were born alive and only one case died during the study period. Mortality rate was significantly higher and birth weight less in type IV Doppler velocimetry fetuses, mean weight 937 g. Mortality was significatively higher at 24-27,6 weeks. ICU stay, need of assisted ventilation and continuous positive pressure, risk to develop retinopathy and interventricular hemorrhage, and hearing and psychomotor discapacities correlated with prematurity. Conclusions: Doppler velocimetry fetuses with severe hemodynamic compromise presented acidemia and high mortality rate, independent of growth percentile. Intrauterine mortality was significantly associated with Doppler velocimetry severity changes. To continue pregnancy with type III or IV Doppler velocimetry is not recommended in fetuses with lung maturity.