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The development of university students’ skills to successfully produce scientific documents has been a recurring topic of study in academia. This paper analyzes the implementation of a training experience using a digital environment mediated by video content materials starring humanoid robots. The research aimed to scale complex thinking and its sub-competencies as a hinge to strengthen basic academic research skills. Students from Colombia, Ecuador, and Mexico committed to preparing a scientific document as part of their professional training participated. A pretest to know their initial level of perception, a posttest to evaluate if there was a change, and a scientific document the students delivered at the end of the training experience comprised the methodology to demonstrate the improvement of their skills. The results indicated students’ perceived improvement in the sub-competencies of systemic, creative, scientific, and innovative thinking; however, their perceptions did not align with that of the tutor who reviewed the delivered scientific product. The conclusion was that although the training experience helped strengthen the students’ skills, variables that are determinants for a student to develop the knowledge necessary to prepare scientific documents and their derived products remain to be analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Edaphic collembola are abundant in agricultural soils and can be used as bioindicators of the condition of the soils they inhabit. We study the composition, diversity, and phenology of the collembola community in a peach orchard (Prunus persica (L.) Bach) located in Zitácuaro, Michoacán, Mexico. We evaluated the effect of physical and chemical characteristics of the orchard's soil on the edaphic collembola community. Collembola were extracted by Berlese funnels from samples of leaf litter and soil obtained monthly, from September 1993 to August 1994. Fallen leaves were not removed from the ground for the duration of the study. Sixty-nine species were registered: 58 in leaf litter and 53 in soil. Collembola density varied from 248 to 15,889 ind m-2 in leaf litter and 419 to 7,286 ind m-2 in soil. The layer of fallen leaves exhibited the highest density, species richness and diversity of collembola. The edaphic variables that altered collembola density were organic matter content, cationic exchange capacity (CEC) and carbon-tonitrogen ratio. Richness was affected by organic matter and total nitrogen. Diversity was affected by pH, total nitrogen, calcium, and carbon-to-nitrogen ratio. The density of dominant species was negatively affected by phosphorus and calcium content, as well as CEC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Engineers make things, make things work, and make things work better and easier. This kind of knowledge is crucial for innovation, and much of the explicit knowledge developed by engineers is embodied in scientific publications. In this paper, we analyze the evolution of publications and citations in engineering in a middle-income country such as Mexico. Using a database of all Mexican publications in Web of Science from 2004 to 2017, we explore the characteristics of publications that tend to have the greatest impact; this is the highest number of citations. Among the variables studied are the type of collaboration (no collaboration, domestic, bilateral, or multilateral), the number of coauthors and countries, controlling for a coauthor from the USA, and the affiliation institution of the Mexican author(s). Our results emphasize the overall importance of joint international efforts and suggest that publications with the highest number of citations are those with multinational collaboration (coauthors from three or more countries) and when one of the coauthors is from the USA. Another interesting result is that single-authored papers have had a higher impact than those written through domestic collaboration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Cuadernos de Historia is the property of Universidad de Chile, Facultad de Filosofia y Humanidades and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The use of enzyme-based biosensors for the detection and quantification of analytes of interest such as contaminants of emerging concern, including over-the-counter medication, provides an attractive alternative compared to more established techniques. However, their direct application to real environmental matrices is still under investigation due to the various drawbacks in their implementation. Here, we report the development of bioelectrodes using laccase enzymes immobilized onto carbon paper electrodes modified with nanostructured molybdenum disulfide (MoS2). The laccase enzymes were two isoforms (LacI and LacII) produced and purified from the fungus Pycnoporus sanguineus CS43 that is native to Mexico. A commercial purified enzyme from the fungus Trametes versicolor (TvL) was also evaluated to compare their performance. The developed bioelectrodes were used in the biosensing of acetaminophen, a drug widely used to relieve fever and pain, and of which there is recent concern about its effect on the environment after its final disposal. The use of MoS2 as a transducer modifier was evaluated, and it was found that the best detection was achieved using a concentration of 1 mg/mL. Moreover, it was found that the laccase with the best biosensing efficiency was LacII, which achieved an LOD of 0.2 µM and a sensitivity of 0.108 µA/µM cm2 in the buffer matrix. Moreover, the performance of the bioelectrodes in a composite groundwater sample from Northeast Mexico was analyzed, achieving an LOD of 0.5 µM and a sensitivity of 0.015 µA/µM cm2. The LOD values found are among the lowest reported for biosensors based on the use of oxidoreductase enzymes, while the sensitivity is the highest currently reported. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Transboundary pollution is a major global challenge and monitoring beach litter along international borders can reveal some of the pathways by which litter enters water bodies, and hence advance the implementation of measures to prevent pollution emissions into international waters. Methods: In this paper, participatory mapping was used to detect beach litter in Imperial Beach, California, along the U.S.-Mexico international border. This study implemented a 3-step protocol including an introductory awareness workshop, a macro-debris survey to categorize and remove beach litter, and a qualitative assessment of pollution drivers. Results: Results show that plastic litter is the most dominant across all transects (304 debris, 52.6% of all litter observations), with an average density of 76 pieces/transect, with plastic being the most common material. Participants identified some of the major causes of pollution with paucity of waste management facilities, tourism activities near/on the beach, and inflow of pollution across the border. Discussion: The paper highlights the role of citizen science in monitoring pollution along large and border regions. Implications of this study include methodological and practical contributions to the study of marine pollution to supplement the current paucity of information on pollution movement and distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Supply chain instabilities and inflated material prices have had a disruptive impact on cost estimating of construction projects. While several research efforts used national macroeconomic indicators to forecast the prices of domestically produced construction materials, none of the existing studies investigated whether the lagged macroeconomic indicators of the main trading partners could enhance the predictability of the prices of cement, steel, and lumber in the US construction sector. This paper fills this knowledge gap. The authors adopted a multi-step methodology that included: (1) collecting data on the target variables and the candidate leading indicators; (2) identifying the structural breaks in the collected data sets; (3) conducting causality tests to identify short-term associations and cointegration tests to examine long-term relationships; (4) developing vector error correction (VEC) models to forecast the prices in the short and long terms; and (5) evaluating the performance of the proposed models against existing forecasting models in the literature. Results of the Granger test and Johansen test indicate that Canada's overall producer price index (PPI) is a consistent leading indicator of the prices of cement, and Mexico's overall PPI is a consistent leading indicator of the prices of steel. Findings indicate no statistical evidence to suggest that neither Canada's PPI nor Mexico's PPI can be leading indicators of lumber prices. Over an 18-month ahead of sample horizon, the presented VEC models of cement and steel prices outperformed existing models, particularly beyond the 1-year-ahead forecasts. Utilization of the proposed forecasting models can significantly enhance the accuracy of cost estimates and feasibility studies of construction projects. This provides proactive financial planning for construction contractors and project owners through improved short- and long-term forecasting of the prices of main construction materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Plants, People, Planet is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper explores the relationship between access to early childhood education and care (ECEC) services and family arrangements in the distribution of work in four Latin American countries. We find that households in which all children aged 0 to 5 receive ECEC services exhibit smaller gender gaps in unpaid work, mainly due to a decrease in the amount of time women devote to care work. Women in these households devote more time to paid work, such that the gender gap in total work does not differ between households based on use of ECEC services. However, use of ECEC services for children aged 0 to 5 is associated with reduced hours of unpaid work among women and an increase in women's hours of paid work. These findings confirm the importance of increasing access to early childhood care and education services to reduce gender gaps in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite increased militarization along international borders, border communities share elements of natural and cultural heritage. This shared heritage invokes a form of solidarity whose influence on cross-border tourism and bordering processes is understudied. The purpose of this study is to analyze how community solidarity influences tourism and border processes at the highly militarized U.S.-Mexico border by using photo-elicitation. Data were collected from 21 participants from Mexico and the U.S. A direct and indirect analysis of the interviews and photos found major themes and common focal points within photos, and the findings demonstrate binational solidarity for heritage and a desire for sharing this heritage with visitors. The paper contributes a conceptual framing of how borders are reinforced through militarization and softened through tourism, cross-border collaboration, and biodiversity conservation and ecological restoration. The implications of these findings for border theories and frameworks are discussed in further detail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the past century, Mexico has tightly managed its heritage resources to emphasise the achievements of Prehispanic civilisations which contribute to national patrimony. Public interest in these great civilisations has fuelled an impressive national archaeological programme that has resulted in cutting-edge research and sometimes helped elevate the status and visibility of living indigenous communities. However, nationalist narratives of the past tend to be somewhat monolithic, and in the case of Mexico, they have emphasised hierarchical, exploitative states with powerful, urban capitals. The social value of Aztec identity and icons has become so potent that even in places with unique archaeological signatures and their own exceptional histories, local heritages are often intertwined with the Aztec narratives. This paper analyses two modern monuments in the small central Mexican town of Xaltocan, reflecting on long-term and recent developments in the region that have influenced the perceived social and political values of narratives of the past and the identities connected to them. Based on these analyses and drawing on interview responses from current residents, I argue that the monuments are important testaments to the complex ways that locals conceptualise and strategically articulate their heritage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The use of improvement tools in the construction sector has shown to be an important determinant of quality. Companies endeavoring to enhance their daily practices require assistance, evidence, standards, frameworks and quantitative models from existing experts to help them set out for the road. This paper is aimed to assist construction managers in the selection of tools to increase customer satisfaction. Design/methodology/approach: This piece of research is based on the results of a previous empirical study on the use, within a sample of Mexican firms, of a set of more than 30 tools. It then proposes a Bayesian network (BN) to select them. By analyzing the variables under study, it is possible to establish their interaction and dependencies. The resultant BN comprises 24 nodes, and it is useful for choosing some tools that help to increase customer satisfaction. Findings: Customers and their needs now have become more complicated and harder to meet than in the past. Then, the use of improvement tools that put quality at the heart of the management strategies is crucial for achieving customer satisfaction. In order to reduce prices, keep product quality and meet delivery times, these tools should be used on a daily basis. Along this line of thought, the overall results from the hypothetical scenarios explored in this were positive, reflecting the relevance of the proposed model. In particular, the use of tools for gathering customer needs, the utilization of technology and the implementation of a quality department are relevant for increasing customer satisfaction in the sector. Research limitations/implications: The sample size could be further expanded. The customer satisfaction dimensions could be enhanced. Practical implications: While the sample in which the investigation is based could be expanded along with the number of variables and their states, the BN can help practitioners in the global construction industry to improve their quality practices, to foster loyalty and to grow revenues. Originality/value: Most of the research reported in the area of continuous improvement in construction focuses on qualitative considerations, and it is still scarce in terms of developing mathematical models for selecting existing tools and, ultimately, satisfying customer's requirements. This investigation is aimed to bridge this gap in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transport demand has been increasing in most third-world countries. However, poorly maintained facilities and poor planning exposed pedestrians to hightraffic accidents. This paper aims to evaluate pedestrian facilities using the pedestrian level of service to enhance pedestrian safety in Addis Ababa. Relevant data was collected through field measurement and direct observation from 13 purposively identified pedestrian sites across the Piyasa to Bole bridge and Megenagna to Torihayloch road corridors. Pedestrian level of service derivation considered capacity, traffic, comfort, safety, and security conditions and their sub-components. The weight of each criterion and sub-factor was decided according to the Saaty scale using the judgment of experts under the analytical hierarchical process. The result of the study strongly stipulates the presence of the problem of pedestrian facilities in Megenagna, Mexico, Urael Church, and Golagol which can affect the level of pedestrian safety. However, Denibel City, Legahare, Torhayloch, and National Theater sites have scored better Pedestrian level of service for the walking population. Finally, the study recommended the requirement of prior attention for the sites with very poor and poor pedestrian levels of service by the concerned sectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista de Economía (Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán) is the property of Universidad Autonoma de Yucatan, Facultad de Economia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Mexican Journal of Economics & Finance / Revista Mexicana de Economia y Finanzas is the property of Instituto Mexicano de Ejecutivos de Finanzas and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In this paper, four probability functions are compared with the purpose of establishing a methodology to improve the accuracy of wind energy estimations in a desert city in Northwestern Mexico. Three time series of wind speed data corresponding to 2017, 2018, and 2019 were used for statistical modeling. These series were recorded with a sonic anemometer at a sampling frequency of 10 Hz. Analyses based on these data were performed at different stationarity periods (5, 30, 60, and 600 s). The estimation of the parameters characterizing the probability density functions (PDFs) was carried out using different methods; the statistical models were evaluated by the coefficient of determination and Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency coefficient, and their accuracy was estimated by the measured quadratic error, mean square error, mean absolute error, and mean absolute percentage error. Weibull, using the energy pattern factor method, and Gamma, using the Method of Moments, were the probability density functions that best described the statistical behavior of wind speed and were better at estimating the generated energy. We conclude that the proposed methodology will increase the confidence of both wind speed estimation and the energy supplied by small-scale wind installations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's relationship with Latin America countries experienced a process of significant expansion over the past two decades. Even though Latin America was not considered as part of the BRI when it was first established, China designed its economic strategy toward the region by emphasizing investment, financial and industrial capacity cooperation, besides trade. Afterwards, China invited Latin American countries to participate in the BRI at the China–Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) Ministerial Forum in Santiago in January 2018. Twenty-one Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries have signed up to the BRI. However, there are few LAC countries that have not done so, among them the region's largest economies such as Brazil, Mexico and Colombia, although Brazil is with full AIIB membership. This paper focuses on the specific economic relations between China and Mexico, as far as Mexico is the less involved LA country into the BRI, and Mexico's position toward China is more aligned with that of its North American partners than to the Latin American countries. This article analyzes the specific situation of Mexico, characterized by its deep integration and dependency on the US market and examines the current economic relations of China and Mexico, considering the impact of the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement on the bilateral economic relations. The structure of bilateral trade between Mexico and China is also examined, using the Grubel-Lloyd Index (GLI). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

International production networks in machinery industry have formed three large clusters, each of which is in East Asia, North America, and Europe. This paper investigates the recent evolvement of the connection between Factory Asia and Factory North America with highlighting the role of Latin American countries as a mediator. For this purpose, we utilized trade matrices and gravity equations to measure each country's level of commitment to each bilateral machinery trade after controlling the size of the economies, distance, and others. Our major findings are threefold: first, Mexico is the only Latin American country that plays a connecting role between two Factories. Second, in 2010–2019, the linkage of exports to Mexico from not only China but also other East Asian countries is strengthened particularly in machinery parts and components. Third, export linkage of China with Mexico is further intensified in 2019–2021 particularly in machinery parts and components due to the US-China confrontation, the USMCA, and other factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Investigación Económica is the property of Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Facultad de Economia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Carta Económica Regional is the property of Universidad de Guadalajara and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

As one of the largest industries, tourism receives substantial attention for planning and development. This attention can contribute to achieving Agenda 2030 and localising the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Over the last decades, sustainable tourism has been promoted as an economic and cultural activity that supports local communities. However, there has been limited research on evaluating sustainable tourism projects from a comprehensive perspective aligned with the SDGs. This paper introduces the sustainable tourism value chain analysis (STVCA), a tool to evaluate how sustainable tourism can contribute to advancing the SDGs at local levels. This study tested the STVCA on one Indigenous ecotourism venture in Mexico, considering economic, socio-cultural, and environmental components. Findings exposed that even though economic benefits were limited, the most significant benefits were non-economic, showing that sustainable tourism has contributed to the well-being of the community by empowering Indigenous people and, in doing so, advancing several SDGs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This Research Topic on "Enabling Technologies and Business Models for Energy Communities" presents a comprehensive exploration of critical facets in the realm of sustainable energy transitions. The Research Topic encompasses diverse topics, ranging from smart energy frameworks for urban communities and off-grid renewable energy deployment in Mexico to the impact of institutional support on the coalbed methane industry. It further investigates complex grid investment decisions, solar-based irrigation adoption in water-scarce regions, and risk management in power supply projects. Additionally, the Research Topic delves into financial aspects, exploring the pricing of Public-Private Partnership (PPP) project Asset-backed Securities (ABS) products, the impact of managerial competence on corporate carbon performance, and equity-based predictions for the energy industry. The influence of innovation on fossil fuel abandonment in low and middle-income countries and the significance of climate risk for green innovation in heavy-polluting industries are also examined. A regional perspective is provided on the technological convergence of hydrogen energy, and the interplay between renewable energy, Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and CO2 emissions in highly-globalized countries is scrutinized. Lastly, the effects of green credit policy on the risk of stocks prices crash are investigated. Together, these contributions offer a holistic understanding of the challenges and opportunities in enabling technologies and business models for energy communities, contributing valuable insights for researchers, policymakers, and industry stakeholders striving for a sustainable energy future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Performing quality assurance checks on hydrochemical data prior to interpreting these data is important as shown in this case study. The informative hydrochemistry paper authored by Mora et al. (Environ Monit Assess 189:394–408, 2017. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-017-6096-y) presents a significant amount of hydrogeochemical data for 30 large-yield wells, interpretation (including advanced statistics), findings, and conclusions for the Monterrey metropolitan area (MMA), Mexico. The author concludes that the probable analytical inaccuracy (notable bias and imprecision) and data conversion errors contained in the Mora et al. (2017) paper do not appreciably impact negatively their hydrogeochemical findings and conclusions. The author performed the cation–anion balance (CAB) quality assurance (QA) check method and discovered systematic error (bias) ranging from − 20.8% (Well S1) to 16.5% (Well S9), with 14 well analyses associated with CAB errors ≥ 5.0%. Coupling this simple but effective QA check with other QA algorithms, the author determined for nine well major-ion analyses, HCO3 concentrations were notably low, and 10 well analyses were identified as possessing anomalously low Ca concentrations. These QA check methods will enhance: (1) the accuracy and defensibility of analytical results, and (2) potentially the interpretation and findings of hydrochemical investigations. Additionally, this paper provides new hydrogeochemical evaluation, interpretation, and findings for the MMA, i.e., Na/Cl molar ratios ≤ 0.88 for six studied wells strongly suggest that the groundwater supplying these wells has been impacted by seawater intrusion most likely sourced by the Western Interior Seaway. At least four of these wells occur in an area underlain by marine sedimentary rocks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We evaluated and compared the physiological and morphological response to pollution of two epiphytic lichen species, the foliose lichen Flavopunctelia praesignis and the fruticose lichen Usnea ceratina. Lichen samples were collected at remote areas and transplanted at different distances and directions from a paper industry in Morelia (Michoacán, Mexico). Lichen transplants were exposed for 4 months (1) around the industrial area and (2) in their native habitats (control sites). Changes of total chlorophyll content between samples before and after exposure, and morphological damage in the lichen thalli were investigated. Lichens showed species-specific responses. Flavopunctelia praesignis increased in total chlorophyll content after exposure around the industrial area and in control site. This suggests that total chlorophyll changes by a seasonal effect than pollution effect. On the other hand, chlorophyll content of U. ceratina did not change significantly after exposure. Bleaching, changes in color, deformations, and necrosis of lichen thalli were better visible in U. ceratina near the paper industry. We conclude that U. ceratina is a more pollution-sensitive species than F. praesignis. Morphological damage in the lichen thalli would be a suitable indicator for monitoring early biological effects of air pollution caused by the paper industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Tapuya: Latin American Science, Technology & Society is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Objective: The Mexican government has pursued multiple initiatives to improve healthcare coverage and financial protection. Yet, out-of-pocket health spending and use of private sector providers in Mexico remains high. In this paper, we sought to describe the characteristics of public and private healthcare users, describe recent visit quality across provider types, and to assess whether perceiving the public healthcare sector as poor quality is associated with private health sector use. Methods and findings: We analyzed the cross-sectional People's Voice Survey conducted from December 2022 to January 2023. We used Chi-square tests to compare contextual, individual, and need-for-care factors and ratings of most recent visits between users of public (social security and other public providers) and private sector providers (stand-alone private providers and providers adjacent to pharmacies). We used a multivariable Poisson regression model to assess associations between low ratings of public healthcare sources and the use of private care. Among the 811 respondents with a healthcare visit in the past year, 31.2% used private sources. Private healthcare users were more educated and had higher incomes than public healthcare users. Quality of most recent visit was rated more highly in private providers (70.2% rating the visit as excellent or very good for stand-alone private providers and 54.3% for pharmacy-adjacent doctors) compared to social security (41.6%) and other public providers (46.6%). Those who perceived public health institutions as low quality had a higher probability of seeking private healthcare. Conclusion: Users rated public care visits poorly relative to private care; at the population level, perceptions of poor quality care may drive private care use and hence out-of-pocket costs. Improving public healthcare quality is necessary to ensure universal health coverage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Orcas (Orcinus orca) have a worldwide distribution and as apex predators feed on a wide variety of prey, including marine mammals, seabirds, sea turtles, cephalopods, teleost fish and elasmobranchs. Historically, there have been few observations of orca predation on large elasmobranch species nor are they commonly identified in the stomach contents of deceased orcas. In recent years there has been an increase in observational records of orca predation, such as on white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) in South Africa, which could indicate that elasmobranchs serve a greater importance in their diet than previously considered. These events are often documented by members of the public due to the development and affordability of innovative cameras, including the use of the drones (unoccupied aerial vehicles). Here we describe new predator-prey interactions between orcas and large shark species in Cabo Pulmo National Park (CPNP), a small no-take marine protected area located in the Gulf of California. In this paper, we were able to successfully identify individuals from the described orca pods in the region; specifically, the same individuals hunting sharks over a period of nearly two years. We discuss the potential implications of these new ecological interactions, given the importance of tourism to sustain the management of CPNP, as cascading impacts have been documented elsewhere in light of orca predations on sharks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In September 2017, two strong earthquakes hit the central region of Mexico, producing substantial damage to the historical buildings. A retroactive analysis for assessing the pre-event seismic vulnerability of these constructions allowed for testing the suitability of an existing parameter-based approach based on material and geometrical features. More than 160 adobe buildings in four municipalities of the State of Morelos were surveyed and included in a vulnerability-oriented GIS database. Data were collected on-site and managed by resorting to open-source GIS software combined with a Python-based database management tool and a cloud-based platform for onsite data collection using mobile devices. The parameter-based approach was used for assessing the analytical seismic vulnerability of the buildings and implementing a secondary, more conservative assessment that considers uncertainties associated with the data acquisition process. The capabilities of the database were further used to train a Machine Learning algorithm aimed at overcoming some representativeness limitations of the parameter-based analytical method. This third approach was found to be suitable for assessing the vulnerability of the building typologies addressed in this investigation. Although the implementation discussed in this paper is limited to a specific vernacular typology, it can be used to conduct customized local calibrations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Environmental & Social Management Journal / Revista de Gestão Social e Ambiental is the property of Environmental & Social Management Journal and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Ocean energy sources are a promising source of energy. However, simulating a hydrokinetic farm with multiple units requires significant computational resources, while physical experimentation on site is expensive. Therefore, the scientific challenge is to develop analytical and experimental tools that consider real aspects of areas with generation potential in a controlled laboratory environment. This paper presents a theoretical and experimental tool for analysing the interconnection of a hydrokinetic energy farm comprising 20 generation units. The test bench is a Power Hardware in the Loop type, consisting of one physical prototype generator to scale and 19 discrete averaged models operating in real-time. The system allows generators to interact through an amplifier, emulating the impact of power injection in a small electrical network. This is based on the variability of the marine resource, specifically the current velocities in the Cozumel-Mexico channel. Unlike other publications, the most significant contribution of this work is a complete feasible emulation of a marine current plant interconnected to an electrical grid, where the objective is to have a global analysis of the operation of each generation unit and the impact of the interconnection as a whole, considering that such information is of utmost importance for the execution of future projects of power generation from the sea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Arqueología Iberoamericana is the property of Arqueologia Iberoamericana and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Mexico is a well-known seismically active country, which is primarily affected by several tectonic plate interactions along the southern Pacific coastline and by active structures in the Gulf of California. In this paper, we investigate this seismicity using the classical Gutenberg–Richter (GR) law and a non-extensive statistical approach based on Tsallis entropy. The analysis is performed using data from the corrected Mexican seismic catalog provided by the National Seismic Service, spanning the period from January 2000 to October 2023, and unlike previous work, it includes six different regions along the entire west coastline of Mexico. The Gutenberg–Richter law fitting to the earthquake sub-catalogs for all six regions studied indicates magnitudes of completeness between 3.30 and 3.76, implying that the majority of seismic movements occur for magnitudes less than 4. The cumulative distribution of earthquakes as derived from the Tsallis entropy was fitted to the corrected catalog data to estimate the q-entropic index for all six regions, which for values greater than one is a measure of the non-extensivity (i.e., non-equilibrium) of the system. All regions display values of the entropic index in the range 1.52 ≲ q ≲ 1.61 , slightly lower than previously estimated ( 1.54 ≲ q ≲ 1.70 ) using catalog data from 1988 to 2010. The reason for this difference is related to the use of modern recording devices, which are sensitive to the detection of a larger number of low-magnitude events compared to older instrumentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The detection of seismic activity precursors as part of an alarm system will provide opportunities for minimization of the social and economic impact caused by earthquakes. It has long been envisaged, and a growing body of empirical evidence suggests that the Earth's electromagnetic field could contain precursors to seismic events. The ability to capture and monitor electromagnetic field activity has increased in the past years as more sensors and methodologies emerge. Missions such as Swarm have enabled researchers to access near-continuous observations of electromagnetic activity at second intervals, allowing for more detailed studies on weather and earthquakes. In this paper, we present an approach designed to detect anomalies in electromagnetic field data from Swarm satellites. This works towards developing a continuous and effective monitoring system of seismic activities based on SWARM measurements. We develop an enhanced form of a probabilistic model based on the Martingale theories that allow for testing the null hypothesis to indicate abnormal changes in electromagnetic field activity. We evaluate this enhanced approach in two experiments. Firstly, we perform a quantitative comparison on well-understood and popular benchmark datasets alongside the conventional approach. We find that the enhanced version produces more accurate anomaly detection overall. Secondly, we use three case studies of seismic activity (namely, earthquakes in Mexico, Greece, and Croatia) to assess our approach and the results show that our method can detect anomalous phenomena in the electromagnetic data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mathematical algorithms relate satellite data of ocean color with the surface Chlorophyll-a concentration (Chl-a), a proxy of phytoplankton biomass. These mathematical tools work best when they are adapted to the unique bio-optical properties of a particular oceanic province. Ocean color algorithms should also consider that there are significant differences between datasets derived from different sensors. Common solutions are to provide different parameters for each sensor or use merged satellite data. In this paper, we use satellite data from the Copernicus merged product suite and in situ data from the southernmost part of the California Current System to test two widely used global algorithms, OCx and CI, and a regional algorithm, CalCOFI2. The OCx algorithm yielded the most favorable results. Consequently, we regionalized it and conducted further testing, leading to significant improvements, especially in eutrophic and oligotrophic waters. The database was then separated according to (a) dynamic boundaries in the area, (b) bio-optical properties, and (c) climatic conditions (El Niño/La Niña). Regional algorithms were obtained and tested for each partition. The Chl-a retrievals for each model were tested and compared. The best fit for the data was for the regional algorithms that considered the climatic conditions (El Niño/La Niña). These results will allow for the construction of consistent regionally adapted time series and, therefore, will demonstrate the importance of El Niño/La Niña events on the bio-optical properties of the area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transport sector is under scrutiny because of its significant greenhouse gas emissions. Essential strategies, particularly the adoption of zero- and low-emission vehicles powered by electricity, are crucial for mitigating emissions in road transport. Pickups, which are integral to Mexico's fleet, contribute to such emissions. Thus, implementing effective policies targeting pickups is vital for reducing air pollution and aligning with Mexico's decarbonization objectives. This paper presents a simulation model based on system dynamics to represent the adoption process of zero- and low-emission vehicles, with a focus on pickups and utilizing data from the Mexican case. Three policy evaluation scenarios are proposed based on the simulation model: business as usual; disincentives for zero- and low-emission vehicles; and incentives for unconventional vehicles. One of the most significant findings from this study is that even in a scenario with a greater number of vehicles in circulation, if the technology is fully electric, the environmental impact in terms of emissions is lower. Additionally, a comprehensive sensitivity analysis spanning a wide spectrum is undertaken through an extensive computational process, yielding multiple policy scenarios. The analysis indicates that to achieve a maximal reduction in the country's emissions, promoting solely hybrid electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles is advisable, whereas internal combustion engines, vehicular natural gas, and battery electric vehicles should be discouraged. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growing expansion of the manufacturing sector, particularly in Mexico, has revealed a spectrum of nearshoring opportunities yet is paralleled by a discernible void in educational tools for various stakeholders, such as engineers, students, and decision-makers. This paper introduces a state-of-the-art framework, incorporating virtual reality (VR) and artificial intelligence (AI) to metamorphose the pedagogy of advanced manufacturing systems. Through a case study focused on the design, production, and evaluation of a robotic platform, the framework endeavors to offer an exhaustive educational experience via an interactive VR environment, encapsulating (1) Robotic platform system design and modeling, enabling users to immerse themselves in the design and simulation of robotic platforms under varied conditions; (2) Virtual manufacturing company, presenting a detailed virtual manufacturing setup to enhance users' comprehension of manufacturing processes and systems, and problem-solving in realistic settings; and (3) Product evaluation, wherein users employ VR to meticulously assess the robotic platform, ensuring optimal functionality and customer satisfaction. This innovative framework melds theoretical acumen with practical application in advanced manufacturing, preparing entities to navigate Mexico's manufacturing sector's vibrant and competitive nearshoring landscape. It creates an immersive environment for understanding modern manufacturing challenges, fostering Mexico's manufacturing sector growth, and maximizing nearshoring opportunities for stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unhealthy behaviors such as poor diet and tobacco use contribute to disease burden and escalating healthcare costs. This paper evaluates potential savings from people adopting reduced risk behaviors in Mexico. Using the Preventable Risk Integrated Model, we compare actual consumption in 2016 (baseline) to optimal intake following WHO guidelines (counterfactual) for salt, fiber, fruit/vegetables, and fat to estimate reductions in coronary, cerebrovascular, cancer, diabetes and hypertensive diseases. We also model 50% of smokers switching to e-cigarettes/heated tobacco with 65–97% lower disease risk. Results indicate over 650,000 preventable cases annually, mostly from diet changes (fruits/vegetables, fat, salt). Healthcare cost savings reach $3.4 billion USD; $2.8 billion from nutrition and $0.3 billion from smoking substitution. Fruit/vegetable intake and reduced fat confer over $1 billion savings each. Salt and fiber also contribute significantly. Adding smoking transitions provides further savings. Shifting Mexicans towards healthier diets and alternative nicotine products could substantially lower disease burden and healthcare costs. These findings underscore the economic imperative of promoting reduced-risk behaviors through public health policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Front-of-package food labelling (FOPL) is a mechanism to inform consumers on food nutrients content and risks for health. Each country, within its own institutional framework, defines methods and protocols to formulate rules capable of influencing organizations and the behavior of agents. The paper aims at evaluating the role of some meso-institutions in shaping arenas for policymaking on FOPL based on an exploratory study in Brazil, Chile, and Mexico. A documental analysis and literature review were employed, followed by in-depth interviews. The relevant aspects of FOPL assessed were thresholds for sugar, fats, and sodium; marketing restrictions, and timeframe given for compliance with the new rules. The contribution of this article is to illuminate the way in which meso-institutions operate in a specific context, namely the development of food labelling standards. The focus is to find the rules that allowed the participation of stakeholders in the process of defining normative acts intended to regulate food labelling. The discussion of mandatory FOPL can be interpreted as a struggle to define proper rights for the food industry and the consumer. Meso-institutions, as translators of general normative principles in specific contexts, can encourage or restrict stakeholder participation in policymaking. Besides political arena, the participation can be done in other arenas, such as legislature, regulatory agencies, scientific community, media and public opinion. Institutions that encourage stakeholder participation increase the probability of obtaining widely accepted specific rules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Social & Cultural Geography is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article analyzes how the working conditions for Mexican anthropologists have deteriorated throughout the last few decades. Until half a century ago, only a few dozen professional anthropologists practiced in Mexico, and most of them had access to stable, well-paid jobs in academia or government agencies. Today there are over 7000 of them working in a wide range of fields, mostly in temporary jobs with low salaries. Drawing from the data gathered in the Historical Catalogue of Theses on Social Anthropology in Mexico (RedMIFA 2018) and the Survey on Professional Practice and Working Conditions of Anthropologists in Mexico (CIEPA-CEAS 2016), this paper begins by outlining the decline of working conditions for Mexican anthropologists, focusing primarily on the younger generations. An analysis follows of the main factors that have contributed to the current situation, and the article closes with a brief commentary on the effects of precarious working conditions for the production of anthropological knowledge. The implications here are paradoxical: on the one hand, most professionals currently work in fields other than academia, thereby diversifying anthropological practice, and on the other there is a marked tendency towards the academization of professional anthropological education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The demand for different energy goods and services is a fundamental component in a country's economic structure for development. Understanding it is vital in designing economic policies, such as taxes, that can improve the welfare of the population. A comprehension of the distributional effects of elasticities and the application of them to simulate household responses to price changes, as well as a calculation of the welfare impacts on poor and rich households in Mexico, should inform policy design. This paper uses the Household Income and Expenditure Survey (ENIGH) from 1996 to 2018 to estimate the demand of Mexican households for fuels, specifically electricity, liquefied petroleum gas, and gasoline. A Quasi Ideal Quadratic Demand System (QUAIDS) is employed to analyse the effects of removing energy subsidies and introducing a carbon tax. The results indicate that welfare losses would be regressive concerning electricity price increases, while changes in gasoline prices would be progressive. Redistributing the tax revenues accrued by removing energy subsidies and imposing the carbon tax would have more progressive effects on the economy of Mexican households, with welfare gains of up to 350% for the poorest households in the case of electricity consumption taxes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emerging from in-depth research on mobility and displacement in relation to gender and sexual diversity on the Mexico-Guatemala border, this paper reflects on the complexities of lived, queer mobility over space and time as told by Andrea, a 27-year-old Salvadoran trans woman. Her narrative – told to the reader through video – provides a rich account of her affective journeys and the forces behind them, which go beyond movement as migration. The work is part of an improvised mobile, longitudinal ethnography which evolved as a way of exploring the small and large-scale realities of mobility as lived over time. The discussion engages with Andrea’s mobility as non-linear, multi-scalar, spatially and sensorially significant, and emotionally ambiguous. It invites reflection about the powerfully productive and damaging edges of precarious queer mobility, and points to the radical potential of an affective engagement with queer narratives. The queerness of mobility and survival exists not only as an abstract or symbolic edginess, but rather in, and as, constant frictions produced by the struggle for a life worth living. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The citrus industry is of great importance in Mexico, with an estimated production value of USD 2.4 billion and the potential to generate up to 28 million employees per year. Approximately 69,000 Mexican families depend on this sector. However, it is under serious threat from the disease known as Huanglongbing (HLB). The rapid spread of this disease has caused significant economic losses, impacted the livelihoods of citrus growers, and led to substantial job losses. Currently, HLB is not under control in Mexico, and as the management strategies applied have proven to be ineffective, yields have not been recovered to pre-HLB levels, and production costs have significantly increased. Therefore, it remains the most destructive citrus disease. This review paper describes the current situation of the disease, its economic and social impact, and the measures adopted for its management in Mexico. Future perspectives highlight advances in research based on new biotechnological tools as an eco-friendly management alternative. Practical suggestions to address HLB are also mentioned in our analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Latinoamericana de Estudios Urbano Regionales is the property of Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper aims to introduce a novel family of probability distributions by the well-known method of the T–X family of distributions. The proposed family is called a "Novel Generalized Exponent Power X Family" of distributions. A three-parameters special sub-model of the proposed method is derived and named a "Novel Generalized Exponent Power Weibull" distribution (NGEP-Wei for short). For the proposed family, some statistical properties are derived including the hazard rate function, moments, moment generating function, order statistics, residual life, and reverse residual life. The well-known method of estimation, the maximum likelihood estimation method is used for estimating the model parameters. Besides, a comprehensive Monte Carlo simulation study is conducted to assess the efficacy of this estimation method. Finally, the model selection criterion such as Akaike information criterion (AINC), the correct information criterion (CINC), the Bayesian information criterion (BINC), the Hannan–Quinn information criterion (HQINC), the Cramer–von-Misses (CRMI), and the ANDA (Anderson–Darling) are used for comparison purpose. The comparison of the NGEP-Wei with other rival distributions is made by Two COVID-19 data sets. In terms of performance, we show that the proposed method outperforms the other competing methods included in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The presence of the conservatives in Mexico, and their main characters, is long-standing. In Mexican history, some of the conservative movements have been present in religious thinking, especially in Catholicism, e.g., the quick departure from socio-cultural and political Mexican spaces as a consequence of the evangelical Spanish process, whose roots come from the XVI century Of the population in contemporary Mexico (7.7% belong to Catholicism, 2.5% to Evangelical Christians and Protestants, and 2.5% to non-Christian groups, while 8.1% do not follow a religion. Catholicism has a significant presence and influence on different forms of belief and practice in daily life in Mexico. This paper aims to highlight the role of the conservative movement called Frente Nacional por la Familia. It presents its history as the heritage of other conservative movements in Mexico, the stages of its formation, and the agenda and intervention in public life. The methodological approach is qualitative, using multi-situated ethnography. The results allow us to visualize the construction of the public agenda with legislative strategies that have operated with relative success and national presence, obstructing the progress of the proposals of feminist groups and sexual diversity and the defense of a national and cultural project that has as one of the symbols the traditional family. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces a novel method for collecting and translating texts from the Mixtec to the Spanish language. The method comprises four primary steps. First, we collected a Mixtec–Spanish corpus that includes 4568 sentences from educational and religious domain texts. To enhance the parallel corpus, we generate synthetic data with GPT-3.5. Second, we cleaned the data with a semi-automatic approach followed by preprocessing and tokenization. In preprocessing, we removed stop words, duplicated sentences, special characters, and numbers and converted them to lowercase. Third, we performed semi-automatic alignment to find the correspondence of Mixtec–Spanish sentences to generate sentence-level aligned texts necessary for translation. Finally, we trained automatic translation models based on recurrent neural networks, bidirectional recurrent neural networks, and Transformers. Our system achieved a BLEU score of 95.66 for Mixtec-to-Spanish translation and 99.87 for Spanish-to-Mixtec translation. We also obtained a translation edit rate (TER) of 0.5 for Spanish-to-Mixtec and a TER of 16.5 for Mixtec-to-Spanish. Our research stands out as a pioneering effort in the field of automatic Mixtec-to-Spanish translation in Mexico, filling a gap identified in the current literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Res Rhetorica is the property of Polish Rhetoric Society and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

STRiDE was an ambitious four-year project in seven countries aiming to build capacity around generating and using research to support the development of policies to improve quality of life of people with dementia and their carers. The project's innovative approach combined rigorous academic research and hands-on civil society advocacy. This paper explores the project's unique strategy for policy change and compiles case-studies from several of the STRiDE countries. Finally, we share lessons learned and next steps to keep momentum for policy change going in each of these countries – and beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]