Search Results (36)

The spatiotemporal distributions of aromatic hydrocarbon levels in the atmosphere were evaluated at ten locations within Monterrey’s Metropolitan Area using passive sampling techniques across three climatic seasons (the rainy season of 2023, the cold front season of 2023, and the dry season of 2024). The observed relative abundance was toluene > p-xylene > benzene > ethylbenzene. The dry season showed the highest concentration values for all measured compounds, and the Santa Catarina site showed the highest average level for toluene (2.79 μg m⁻³). In the rainy season, the highest average concentrations were recorded in Santa Catarina, with toluene at 1.39 μg m⁻³ and p-xylene at 0.99 μg m⁻³. During the cold fronts season, the greatest average concentration of p-xylene (0.98 μg m⁻³) was found in San Bernabe, while Santa Catarina reported the highest average for toluene at 1.55 μg m⁻³. A health risk assessment indicated that cancer risk coefficients exceeded the reference values set by the EPA. These findings suggest that the presence of the alkyl derivatives of benzene (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and p-xylene) in the studied region poses a potential health issue and highlights the need for enhanced control measures regarding their sources. Full article

In a country where the majority of crimes remain unreported, uninvestigated, and unpunished, law enforcement faces considerable challenges in obtaining high-quality data that are consistent, reliable, and timely to effectively plan and deploy their strategies. By leveraging publicly available data, this paper identifies high-vulnerability areas for commercial burglary within the Metropolitan Area of Monterrey, utilizing a variable that incorporates the key dimensions of routine activity theory in criminology. This is accomplished by constructing an index through principal component analysis, followed by spatially grouping the resulting variable using the global indicator of spatial association (LISA). The results allow us to focus strategies to combat commercial burglary on 16.82% of the studied territory and establish an order of priorities to address the most vulnerable areas one by one. Also, the results allow us to implement prevention actions in broader zones by generating clusters around areas that share similar attributes. Full article

Levels of BTEX (Benzene, Toluene, Ethylbenzene and p-Xylene) were determined in the ambient air of two urban sites located in the Metropolitan Area of Monterrey (MAM) during two climatic seasons of 2023. The study revealed that BTEX compounds in Santa Catarina and Obispado had the following relative abundance: p-Xylene (20.09 µg m⁻³) > Toluene (19.50 µg m⁻³) > Ethylbenzene (19.34 µg m⁻³) > Benzene (17.39 µg m⁻³). Their concentrations were consistent with global reports, showing diurnal and seasonal variability. Levels were higher during the dry season due to elevated temperatures, low wind speeds, and lack of precipitation, which reduced pollutant dispersion. BTEX concentrations in Santa Catarina (industrial site) and Obispado (urban site) were influenced by local activities like industrial processes, area sources, and vehicular traffic. Wind rose analysis confirmed the influence of local sources, with higher BTEX levels when winds came from the east. This was linked to pollutant transport within MAM and thermal inversions trapping pollutants during the dry season. Benzene/Toluene (B/T) and p-Xylene/Ethylbenzene (X/E) ratios showed that the sampling sites were influenced by vehicular sources and local fresh emissions. Benzene inhalation has an unacceptable lifetime cancer risk, urging MAM authorities to implement stricter regulations to protect public health. While non-cancer risks were within acceptable limits, controlling Benzene and p-Xylene emissions remains critical to improving air quality. Full article

In many conurbations, the pressure on the quality of living increases and affects the most vulnerable human and non-human populations the most. This article describes a proposal for the mapping and design investigation of how a green metropolis can be developed. The approach distinguishes between the landscape producing pain, the ways of healing, and the opportunities to create environments that people can love. This approach reveals concrete and widespread pain in the metropolis, such as impacts on natural landscapes (rivers and mountains), air pollution, ecological degradation, and hydrological disconnections. The strategy to remediate this pain is to uncover hidden and altered creeks and rivers, creating an abundant zone of ecological space around them before human activities and urbanization change the land uses. In addition to this, specific design principles have been developed for hydro-ecological corridors, water retention, green islands, and greenways. Designs for these places can be replicated to support a healing strategy in the Monterrey Metropolitan Area (MMA). Each place creates an environment that the urban residents will appreciate and preserve. The approach to analyzing landscape pain, designing healing strategies, and promoting local places of love can be applied to enhance the quality of life for many urban residents and non-human ecologies in metropolitan areas around the globe. Full article

The proliferation of pollutants affects the world’s population, mainly those who live in large cities. Neurological and cardiovascular dysfunctions have a correlation with air particulate matter concentration, among other chronic diseases. Therefore, it is important to utilize different methods of analysis to build predictive models that can identify possible concentrations of contaminants in metropolitan areas. This work presents a methodology that will enable the forecasting of severe pollution contingencies using weather measurements as input variables. This predictive analytical technique combines several mathematical and statistical tools, which we refer to as predictive factor association (PFA). We perform principal component analysis on the samples to determine possible causal relationships and reduce dimensionality, resulting in orthogonal linear combinations of the variables called sample scores. For categorical variables, each linear combination probability is estimated using a window-based estimation technique or a machine learning algorithm to determine the class of a particular sample. For continuous variables, regression over the scores is carried out. The technique is used to predict environmental contingencies in Monterrey’s metropolitan area based on meteorological data with ${\mathrm{R}}^2$ between 0.7 and 0.8 and classification accuracies between 0.74 and 0.98. Full article

In the past five decades, global food systems have undergone a notable transition, moving from predominantly rural settings to increasingly urban and industrialized environments, largely driven by processes of globalization and supply chain integration. However, this evolution has not adequately addressed equitable access to nutritious diets and food environments, resulting in adverse health outcomes. This study delves into the spatial and non-spatial barriers that impede the adoption of healthy diets in the Noreste of Mexico, particularly focusing on the challenges associated with accessing and cultivating plant-based foods. Through an examination of suitable areas for urban agriculture and an exploration of the socio-cultural factors influencing the adoption of plant-based diets, the research focuses on interventions aimed at promoting healthier and more sustainable eating practices in Monterrey. The findings of the study reveal significant disparities in food access across the Monterrey metropolitan area, with central urban zones exhibiting superior access to fresh foods compared to suburban and peripheral regions. This inequality disproportionately affects marginalized areas characterized by higher poverty rates, exacerbating issues of food insecurity. Nevertheless, traditional dietary practices could offer promising avenues for creating culturally significant and healthier dietary transitions, even amidst the ongoing process of urbanization. Full article

Groundwater is the main source of drinking water supply in most urban environments around the world. The content of potentially toxic elements is increasing in many groundwater systems owing to inadequate groundwater recharge, aquifer overexploitation, natural source release, or various anthropogenic activities that lead to groundwater quality degradation. The ingestion of groundwater contaminated with potentially toxic elements has been reported to have harmful health effects. This study aimed to assess the presence of several potentially toxic elements (Al, As, B, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, and Zn) in groundwater of the Monterrey metropolitan area in Northern Mexico and the carcinogenic and noncarcinogenic human health risks associated with exposure. Multivariate statistics and geospatial analysis were applied to identify the causative determinants that modify the groundwater quality along the metropolitan area. Mean concentrations of trace metals remained below drinking water standards and World Health Organization guidelines. The risk of harmful effects on human health due to ingestion of all eight metal(loid)s in groundwater was assessed as 2.52 × 10⁻² for adults and 2.16 × 10⁻² for children, which can be considered as negligible chronic risk and a very low cancer risk. However, the risks of oral consumption of Cr being carcinogenic to children and adults were 7.9 × 10⁻³ and 9.2 × 10⁻⁴, respectively. As these values exceeded the target risk of 1 × 10⁻⁴, it can thus be considered “unacceptable”. Full article

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the transformation of digital interactions, a development that has been growing in the last decade. Digital platforms have become indispensable in the institutional communication of public and private organizations. The magnitude of this change was evident during the pandemic at a time when several countries implemented social distancing measures to contain the contagion. This situation caused a certain degree of user dependence on information and communication technologies. The objective of this research is to analyze the time of use, the changes, and habits of digital consumption at the beginning and during the COVID-19 pandemic in the metropolitan area of Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico. Access to both social networks and digital entertainment platforms was examined during the period in which Internet users had resumed a large part of face-to-face activities, and 1500 questionnaires were conducted considering the current data of the population of the urban area according to what was reported by the INEGI (National Institute of Statistics and Geography). The results indicate that after COVID-19, a digital transformation was accelerated, and, in that period, social media helped to build trust according to the users consulted in the Monterrey metropolitan area. However, trust was given at an interpersonal level due to motivations such as the prior user relationships in offline spaces and not so much because of the institutional campaigns that were behind the digital transformation. Full article

Contamination from wastewater infiltration, typically from leaky sewers, poses a threat to urban groundwater resources. Artificial sweeteners (Asws), used as sucrose substitutes in many products of daily consumption, are released into groundwater systems and may be used as tracers of wastewater in urban groundwater environments, because most of these compounds are discharged directly into sewer systems. Here, for the first time, we investigated the occurrence of Asws in an urban groundwater system in Mexico. Artificial sweetener concentrations of acesulfame (ACE), aspartame (ASP), cyclamate (CYC), saccharin (SAC), and sucralose (SUC) were tested in 42 production wells in the Monterrey Metropolitan Area (MMA). The detection frequencies of quantified Asws observations were in the order ACE (57%) > SUC (54%) > SAC (7%), with SUC being the most abundant Asws, with concentrations below the quantification limit (BQL) of 2.9 µg/L, followed by ACE (BQL 0.73 µg/L) and SAC (BQL 1.4 µg/L). ASP and CYC were not detected at any sampling site. Considerable Asws ingestion amongst the MMA population is the main input source of Asws into the city’s wastewater network, percolating into the urban groundwater system due to leaky sewers. Our work shows that the application of Asws as wastewater tracers (SUC and ACE) effectively determines wastewater sources affecting urban groundwater. Full article

The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged healthcare systems worldwide. Efforts in low-to-middle-income countries (LMICs) cannot keep stride with infection rates, especially during peaks. A strong international collaboration between Arizona State University (ASU), Tec de Monterrey (TEC), and Servicios de Agua y Drenaje de Monterrey (Local Water Utilities) is acting to integrate wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) of SARS-CoV-2 in the region as a complementary approach to aid the healthcare system. Wastewater was collected from four sewer catchments in the Monterrey Metropolitan area in Mexico (pop. 4,643,232) from mid-April 2020 to February 2021 (44 weeks, n = 644). Raw wastewater was filtered and filter-concentrated, the RNA was extracted using columns, and the Charité/Berlin protocol was used for the RT-qPCR. The viral loads obtained between the first (June 2020) and second waves (February 2021) of the pandemic were similar; in contrast, the clinical cases were fewer during the first wave, indicating poor coverage. During the second wave of the pandemic, the SARS-CoV-2 quantification in wastewater increased 14 days earlier than the COVID-19 clinical cases reported. This is the first long-term WBE study in Mexico and demonstrates its value in pandemic management. Full article

Information regarding the efficacy of the recombinant adenovirus type-5-vectored (CanSino Bio) vaccine against the COVID-19 disease in a real-life setting is limited. A retrospective cohort study was carried out in the teaching university community of the metropolitan area of Monterrey, Mexico, through a four-section survey, and during the COVID-19 delta wave. Determination of IgG antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) protein was performed in a subset of participants vaccinated with CanSino Bio. A total of 7468 teachers responded to the survey, and 6695 of them were fully vaccinated. Of those, 72.7% had CanSino Bio, 10.3% Pfizer, 8.4% AstraZeneca, 1.2% Moderna, and 2.7% others. Symptomatic breakthrough infections were recorded in those vaccinated with CanSino Bio (4.1%), AstraZeneca (2.1%), and Pfizer (2.2%). No difference was found between CanSino Bio and other vaccines regarding hospitalization, the need for mechanical ventilation, and death. For CanSino Bio recipients, anti-S antibodies were >50 AU/mL in 73.2%. In conclusion, primary breakthrough symptomatic infections were higher in the CanSino vaccinated group compared to other brands. Individuals with a previous infection had higher antibody levels than those who were reinfected and without infection. A boosted dose of CanSino is recommended for those individuals without a previous infection. Full article

Urban renewal projects worldwide focus mainly on resolving motorized, personal, and low occupancy problems instead of sustainable mobility. As part of the process, traditional field audits have a high cost in time and resources. This paper reviews a spatial model of accessibility and habitability of the streets, oriented to the location of the volume of people moving sustainably out of an extensive street network. The exercise site is in the Monterrey Metropolitan Area, the second largest in Mexico. Here, the population that moves sustainably as the collective (public and enterprise transportation) and the active (cycling, walking, and others) represents a considerable portion (49%) of travelers, thus, confirming the need for intervention. The spatial model is elaborated in a Geographical Information System (GIS), and the main results are compared with the actual public transport demand using a neural networks process. The results of the tool as a predictor have a 91% efficiency, making it possible to determine the location of urban renewal projects related to the volume of people moving sustainably. Full article

The present study aimed to determine the presence of the aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) in breast milk samples from 123 nursing women and the degree of exposure of infants to this toxin, in the metropolitan area of Monterrey, Nuevo Leon state (northeast Mexico). Upon analysis, 100% of the samples were found to be contaminated with the toxin at an average concentration of 17.04 ng/L, with a range of 5.00 to 66.23 ng/L. A total of 13.01% of the breast milk samples exceeded the regulatory limit of 25 ng/L for AFM1 concentration, set by the European Union. The estimated daily intake for AFM1 and the carcinogenic risk index were also determined in the 0- to 6-, 7- to 12-, 13- to 24-, and 25- to 36-month-old age groups. The AFM1 intake through breast milk ranged from 1.09 to 20.17 ng/kg weight/day, and was higher than the tolerable daily intake, indicating a carcinogenic risk for infants in the age groups of 0- to 24-months old. This evidence demonstrates a susceptibility of breast milk to AFM1 contamination that may suggest a carcinogenic risk for the breastfed infants in Monterrey city, Nuevo Leon state, and the need to control the presence of aflatoxins in foods eaten by nursing mothers. Full article

Air-quality monitoring and analysis are initial parts of a comprehensive strategy to prevent air pollution in cities. In such a context, statistical tools play an important role in determining the time-series trends, locating areas with high pollutant concentrations, and building predictive models. In this work, we analyzed the spatio-temporal behavior of the pollutant PM₁₀ in the Monterrey Metropolitan Area (MMA), Mexico during the period 2010–2018 by applying statistical analysis to the time series of seven environmental stations. First, we used experimental variograms and scientific visualization to determine the general trends and variability in time. Then, fractal exponents (the Hurst rescaled range and Higuchi algorithm) were used to analyze the long-term dependence of the time series and characterize the study area by correlating that dependence with the geographical parameters of each environmental station. The results suggest a linear decrease in PM₁₀ concentration, which showed an annual cyclicity. The autumn-winter period was the most polluted and the spring-summer period was the least. Furthermore, it was found that the highest average concentrations are located in the western and high-altitude zones of the MMA, and that average concentration is related in a quadratic way to the Hurst and Higuchi exponents, which in turn are related to some geographic parameters. Therefore, in addition to the results for the MMA, the present paper shows three practical statistical methods for analyzing the spatio-temporal behavior of air quality. Full article

The menopausal transition stage brings physiological changes associated with the development of metabolic syndrome (MetS), which can affect bone mineral density (BMD), and may be more evident in the postmenopausal stage. The aim of this study was assessing the association between low BMD and MetS and its components among reproductive/menopausal transition and postmenopausal women in the northeast region of Mexico. A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out (2015–2016) in 40–60-year-old women (n = 376) who were residents in the metropolitan area of Monterrey, in Nuevo Leon State, Mexico. Anthropometric measurements, blood pressure, a dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) evaluation of BMD of two anatomical sites (lumbar spine and dual femur), and a biochemical analysis were obtained. The prevalence of MetS was 57.2%. In participants without MetS, the prevalence of osteopenia was 27.3% in the lumbar spine and 18.6% in the dual femur, while in participants with MetS, the prevalence of osteopenia was 35.8% in the lumbar spine and 14.4% in the dual femur. Osteoporosis in participants without MetS was present in 6.8% in the lumbar spine and in 1.8% in the dual femur, while in women with MetS, its prevalence was 4.7% in the lumbar spine and 0.5% in the dual femur. An association between low BMD at the lumbar spine and dual femur and components of MetS diseases was identified in Mexican women as follows: waist circumference ≥ 88 cm showed an increase risk for low BMD at femoral site in both reproductive/menopausal transition (OR 7.638; 95% CI: 1.607–36.298; p = 0.011) and postmenopausal women (OR 2.600; 95% CI: 1.023–6.609; p = 0.045); HDL < 50 mg/dL was associated with low BMD in both the femur (OR 3.639; 95% CI: 1.039–12.743; p = 0.043) and lumbar spine (OR 2.654; 95% CI: 1.092–6.447; p = 0.031); hypertension in postmenopausal women increased the risk for low BMD in the femur (OR 2.634; 95% CI: 1.150–6.035; p = 0.022). In conclusion, we found that components of the MetS were associated with low BMD, thus indicating that MetS increases the risk for developing osteopenia or osteoporosis. Furthermore, age was found to be an independent risk factor for low BMD. Full article