Arsenic and mercury exposure in different insect trophic guilds from mercury mining areas in Mexico.

The exposure to arsenic and mercury in various insect trophic guilds from two mercury mining sites in Mexico was assessed. The two study sites were La Laja (LL) and La Soledad (LS) mines. Additionally, a reference site (LSR) was evaluated for LS.

Serum levels of inflammatory cytokines in mercury mining workers in a precarious situation: A preliminary study.

Mercury is a ubiquitous environmental xenobiotic; the primary sources of exposure to this metal are artisanal gold mining and the direct production of mercury. In Mexico, artisanal mercury mining continues to be an important activity in different regions of the country. Exposure to mercury vapors releases can have severe health impacts, including immunotoxic effects such as alterations in cytokine profiling.

Health effects of informal precarious workers in occupational environments with high exposure to pollutants.

The aim is to investigate and describe the health conditions of workers who are employed in precarious work settings in Mexico. Specifically, the study aims to provide insight on the health status of workers who are vulnerable due to the informal nature of their employment. Through the evaluation of three different scenarios of precarious employment (n = 110), including workers in mercury miner (workers A), brick-kilns (workers B), and quarries workers (workers C).

[CRCP units: a strategy to assess health risks in children in contaminated communitiesUnidades RISC: uma estratégia para avaliar os riscos de saúde na população infantil de comunidades contaminadas].

Humanitarian crises can occur in places affected by chemical, physical, biological, and social threats, especially when these threats interact with each other and cause a syndemic. In order to avoid crises in these places, it is necessary to introduce mitigation measures that we have framed as "humanitarian scenarios". Due to their nature, implementation of these interventions requires the creation of multidisciplinary operational groups with a work strategy that integrates them into the affected community.

Antiviral capacity of polypropylene/(1-Hexadecyl) trimethyl-ammonium bromide composites against COVID-19.

During the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic, scientists from different areas are looking for alternatives to fight it. SARS-CoV-2, the cause of the infectious respiratory disease COVID-19, is mainly transmitted through direct or indirect contact with infected respiratory droplets. The integrity of the virus structure is crucial for its viability to attack human cells.

Evaluation of cytokines in exhaled breath condensate in an occupationally exposed population to pneumotoxic pollutants.

The quarrying is considered a precarious occupation with high toxicity, is an informal economic activity that employs low technology, limited protection, and poses a risk to workers and their families. In quarrying, silica dust is generated and there is also occupational exposure to significant mixtures of pneumotoxic pollutants, including mineral dust (crystalline silica, carbon or cement, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), solvents, and others, which are aggravated by the lack of use of protective equipment, causing irreversible damage to the worker's respiratory health. Thus, the objective of this work focused on the evaluation of the respiratory health of artisan stonemasons in San Luis Potosí, Mexico through the study of exhaled breath condensate (EBC) (pH, pro-inflammatory cytokines) as well as the study of the exposure to pollutants present in the work area (PAHs, toluene, and 2.

A preliminary study on health impacts of Mexican mercury mining workers in a context of precarious employment.

Mercury mining is one of the main sources of mercury (Hg) release into the environment, causing serious impacts on human health and the environment. Workers in these mines are employed informally and precariously and therefore lack labor rights such as social security. The objective of the study is to make visible the exposure to environmental contaminants and the health of workers in mercury mines.

Assessment of biomarkers of early kidney damage and exposure to pollutants in artisanal mercury mining workers from Mexico.

Artisanal mercury mining (AMM) is an informal economic activity that employs low technology and limited protection, and poses a risk to workers and their families; due to the extraction process, these scenarios involve exposure to complex mixtures of pollutants that synergistically aggravate the health of miners and people living near the site. Although mercury is the predominant pollutant, there are others such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), toluene, arsenic, and lead which have been classified as nephrotoxic pollutants. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to evaluate the association between exposure to a complex mixture of pollutants (mercury, lead, arsenic, PAHs, and toluene) and kidney damage in artisanal Hg mining workers through early kidney damage proteins (KIM-1, OPN, RBP-4, NGAL, and Cys-C).

Holistic health risk assessment in an artisanal mercury mining region in Mexico.

Mexico is one of the world's leading mercury producers and exporters. However, mercury mining is carried out using artisanal procedures, which highly impact ecosystems. In the municipality of Pinal de Amoles, Queretaro, Mexico, artisanal mercury mining (AMM) is practiced in a region that has been categorized as a Biosphere Reserve.

Evaluation of respiratory function and biomarkers of exposure to mixtures of pollutants in brick-kilns workers from a marginalized urban area in Mexico.

Brick-kilns are polluted environments due to the use of low-quality technologies and fuels, which generates black fumes with a large number of pollutants. The objective of this research was to analyze environmental exposure and biomarkers of exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, metals, and respiratory health in brickmakers to assess the baseline state of contamination in a brick-kiln area of San Luis Potosi, Mexico. Lead was quantified in soil and particulate matter of 2.

Health Sentinel: A mobile crowdsourcing platform for self-reported surveys provides early detection of COVID-19 clusters in San Luis Potosí, Mexico.

Background: The Health Sentinel (Centinela de la Salud, CDS), a mobile crowdsourcing platform that includes the CDS app, was deployed to assess its utility as a tool for COVID-19 surveillance in San Luis Potosí, Mexico.

Methods: The CDS app allowed anonymized individual surveys of demographic features and COVID-19 risk of transmission and exacerbation factors from users of the San Luis Potosí Metropolitan Area (SLPMA). The platform's data processing pipeline computed and geolocalized the risk index of each user and enabled the analysis of the variables and their association.

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Objetivo. Describir el trabajo precario en el sector ladrillero de México, sus efectos en salud e intervenciones. Material y métodos.

A review of Environmental risks and vulnerability factors of indigenous populations from Latin America and the Caribbean in the face of the COVID-19.

Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) was declared a new epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on 22 May 2020. As of 13 January 2021, the numbers of deaths and cases caused by COVID-19 in LAC reported are 552,000 and 17'485,000 respectively. LAC concentrates the largest percentage of indigenous populations throughout the world.

Comparative analysis of chemical breath-prints through olfactory technology for the discrimination between SARS-CoV-2 infected patients and controls.

Background: We identified a global chemical pattern of volatile organic compounds in exhaled breath capable of discriminating between COVID-19 patients and controls (without infection) using an electronic nose.

Methods: The study focused on 42 SARS-CoV-2 RT-qPCR positive subjects as well as 42 negative subjects. Principal component analysis indicated a separation of the study groups and provides a cumulative percentage of explanation of the variation of 98.

Analysis of urinary metabolites of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in precarious workers of highly exposed occupational scenarios in Mexico.

Exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) is a risk factor for human health. Workers are a vulnerable group due to their high exposure and therefore require special attention to mitigation measurements; however, some groups of workers are especially vulnerable, precarious workers. The objective of this research was to evaluate mixtures of hydroxylated PAHs (OH-PAHs) in precarious workers in Mexico.

Evaluation of acute and chronic exposure to aflatoxin B in indigenous women of the Huasteca Potosina, Mexico.

Aflatoxin B (AFB) is one of the most studied mycotoxins due to its high occurrence in food and its hepatotoxic, immunosuppressive, carcinogenic, childhood growth, genotoxic, mutagenic, and teratogenic effects in humans and animals. Exposure to AFB is reported to be both, acute and chronic; the main exposure pathway to AFB is through the intake of contaminated food. In Mexico, although the reports of several studies addressing the problem of aflatoxins in maize and other foods, the evidence has been centered on exposure to AFB and to the quantification of the Aflatoxins themselves, but there is null evidence about genotoxic effects of aflatoxins in vulnerable populations.

Ultrafast gas chromatography coupled to electronic nose to identify volatile biomarkers in exhaled breath from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients: A pilot study.

An analytical method to identify volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the exhaled breath from patients with a diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) using a ultrafast gas chromatography system equipped with an electronic nose detector (FGC eNose) has been developed. A prospective study was performed in 23 COPD patients and 33 healthy volunteers; exhalation breathing tests were performed with Tedlar bags. Each sample was analyzed by FCG eNose and the identification of VOCs was based on the Kovats index.

Respiratory health assessment and exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in Mexican indigenous population.

Indoor air pollution is an important risk factor for the generation of lung diseases in developing countries. The indigenous population is particularly susceptible to be exposed to the mixture of pollutants from the biomass burning, among them, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The objective of this study was to assess respiratory health and exposure to PAHs in indigenous populations of the Huasteca Potosina in Mexico.

Environmental Health Promotion of a Contaminated Site in Mexico.

Entangled in complex ecological, sociocultural, and economic systems, current environmental health problems require integrated participatory approaches. Alpuyeca, a semi-urban, highly marginalized community in South-Central Mexico burdened by lead and polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) contamination, dengue fever, and intestinal diseases, illustrates this. Its residents are distinctive, however, for their concerted actions in the face of environmental problems and the presence of defenders of a prehispanic worldview based on the protection of nature.

Aflatoxins Contamination in Maize Products from Rural Communities in San Luis Potosi, Mexico.

Background: Aflatoxins are a group of mycotoxins that have been associated with hepatic damage and cancer. Aflatoxins B1 and B2 are secondary metabolites produced by fungi Aspergillus. These toxins can be found in a variety of commodities, especially in maize, and have been studied around the world due to their effects in human health.

Exposure to Mixtures of Pollutants in Mexican Children from Marginalized Urban Areas.

Background: Exposure to contaminant mixtures in developing countries is an important public health issue. Children are identified as the most susceptible group to adverse health effects due to the exposure.

Objective: The aim of this study was to conduct a screening for mixture pollutants in Mexican children in urban marginalized communities.

Evaluation of emerging biomarkers of renal damage and exposure to aflatoxin-B in Mexican indigenous women: a pilot study.

Aflatoxins (AFs) are mycotoxins produced by Aspergillus parasiticus and Aspergillus flavus which frequently contaminate maize. These compounds are considered toxic, especially AFB which has been classified as a human carcinogen, due to its relationship with the generation of hepatocellular carcinoma. Studies in vivo, in animal models, prove that chronic consumption of AFB has an association with renal adverse effects, but evidence in humans is scarce.

Modulators of mercury risk to wildlife and humans in the context of rapid global change.

Environmental mercury (Hg) contamination is an urgent global health threat. The complexity of Hg in the environment can hinder accurate determination of ecological and human health risks, particularly within the context of the rapid global changes that are altering many ecological processes, socioeconomic patterns, and other factors like infectious disease incidence, which can affect Hg exposures and health outcomes. However, the success of global Hg-reduction efforts depends on accurate assessments of their effectiveness in reducing health risks.