City Area Research Articles

Does Covid-19 influence the dynamics of envenomation by animals in a country strongly affected by both conditions? Epidemiological data from Brazil

The impact of Covid-19 on envenomations by venomous animals in countries heavily affected by both conditions has not been quantified yet. Brazil shows high incidence of envenomations by scorpions, spiders and snakes and was heavily affected by waves of Covid-19. To determine how the pandemic impacted the epidemiology of envenomations by those three groups of venomous animals, we used online databases from two surveillance sources on number of cases and mortality. During the years before and during the pandemic, scorpion stings typically occurred in adults of both sexes in urban zones in the Southeast and Northeast regions. Spider bites occurred mainly in the South region, in adults of both sexes in urban zone. Snakebites affected mainly rural adult men in the Amazon. Between 2007 to 2021, overall incidence of cases by scorpions, spiders and snakes decreased after the beginning of the pandemic, snakebites did not show changes after the pandemic started in Brazil, but cases by scorpions and spiders decreased. No changes in the incidence of deaths were observed. On national level, Covid-19 affected some demographic, clinical and epidemiological aspects in cases by scorpions, spiders and snakes.

Enhancing the smart parking assignment system through constraints optimization

Traffic in big cities has become a black spot for drivers. One of the major concerns is the parking problem that hindering urban mobility particularly in the big city and other congested areas; Drivers lose a significant amount of time looking for looking for a parking spot. This leads to an increase in accidents, a big consumption of fuel and a spectacular augmentation of pollution. We present a parking assignment system based on constraint programming in this paper, to meet the need for effective parking management in smart cities, for a group of drivers booking in the same time and area. In this work, we suggest two formulations of the Parking Assignment Problem, The first was established by using Constraint Satisfaction Problems (CSP) and the second is based on Mixed Integer Linear Programing (MILP). An implementation of the model taking advantage of Choco solver dedicate to the constraint programming and the evaluation of its scalability compared to the Mixed Integer Linear Programing solvers. The experiments conducted with Choco and MILP solvers on a real case study in the city of Casablanca showed that the two methods generates promising solutions in terms of scalability and response time.

Ad Hoc Tools for Urban Renewal: The San Borja Remodeling in Santiago, Chile, 1967-1976

Conceived, developed, and built in Santiago de Chile between 1967 and 1976, the San Borja Remodeling project was the flagship of the first years of the Urban Improvement Corporation (Corporación de Mejoramiento Urbano, CORMU), a State agency created in 1966 that would become an active actor in the renovation of Chilean cities. Despite the project's significance, not only in terms of its scale and location in the centre of the Chilean capital city but also for having pushed the capacities of both the State and private companies, previous research has not addressed the full variety of tools brought together to carry out a project of this magnitude and ambition. This article describes the complexities of the San Borja project in its development. It argues that the ambition to renovate a central area in the capital city led its designers to shape and rely on ad hoc design and legal tools to make it possible. Rather than imposing a totalizing design for the city, there was a pragmatic approach aimed at developing an incremental urban renewal plan led by the State, far from both centralized planning and neoliberal urbanism.

Reform of the first year of medical studies and diversification of student profiles in France: an unmet need?

ObjectivesTo determine whether the reform of the first year of medical studies implemented in September 2020 in France met its objective of diversifying the profiles of students admitted to second year at the faculty of medicine at the University of Tours.MethodsSingle-centered, retrospective study, covering students who passed the first year of medical studies between 2018 and 2022. Student profiles originating from three different entry gateways (PACES, PASS and L.AS) to the second year of medical studies were compared.ResultsOne thousand four hundred and seventy-nine students over five promotions were included (806 in PACES, 329 in PASS, 198 in L.AS). The ratio of students who had obtained a baccalaureate with high or highest honors was significantly higher in PACES (85%) and PASS (96%) compared to L.AS (66%; p < 0.001). These differences were related to increased student intake via a standard pass in L.AS (21% compared to 3.2% in PACES and 0.9% in PASS) (p < 0.001). In terms of geographical origin, the proportion of students residing in regions outside the University City area increased significantly in L.AS (11%) compared to PACES (1.7%) and PASS (3.3%) (p < 0.001). The mean number of parents from the white-collar and knowledge professional category was significantly higher in PACES (0.91) and PASS (1.06) compared to L.AS (0.80; p < 0.001).ConclusionStudents with a scientific background and who obtained highest honors in their high school diploma, remain the standard in PACES and PASS. Diversification of student profiles was achieved only within the L.AS gateway, which represented 42% of total second year admissions during the post-reform year. Student profile diversification was therefore a partially achieved objective and follow up studies of future promotions is needed to assess the medium and long-term impact of the reform. Particular attention should be paid to the future of these students who have different profiles between L.AS and PASS to determine whether these changes will have any impact in the quality of healthcare for the French population.

The Effect of Infiltration Rate on Flood Hazards in Gorontalo City

Infiltration rate is a measurement of the physical properties of soil. The classification of infiltration rates according to ILRI (1974) based on the results of changes by Rickard and Cossens (1965) is an important characteristic to indicate land drainage conditions. The aim of this research is to determine the classification of infiltration and its extent. The research method uses a grid system by dividing the city area into 250 m x 250 m consisting of 108 grids with 46 grids representing the lowlands. The infiltration rate in Gorontalo City as a whole is classified as very slow 2189.44Ha or 32.81%, the meaning of this percentage shows that an infiltration rate of less than 2.5 cm/hour occurs in Gorontalo City. For the infiltration rate with a slow classification, the speed is 2.5– 15 cm/hour, covering an area of 2615.38 Ha or 39.17%.

Quantifying Urban Spatial Morphology Indicators on the Green Areas Cooling Effect: The Case of Changsha, China, a Subtropical City

Green city areas are crucial in mitigating the Urban Heat Island Effect (UHI). However, the cooling effect of green city areas can be influenced by the surrounding complex urban spatial environment. This study focuses on Changsha, a subtropical city in China, where 40 green city areas were screened and analyzed. The study aims to quantify the specific impact of urban spatial morphology on the cooling effect of green city areas. Through statistical correlation and regression analysis, this study focused on six urban spatial morphology indicators: building density (BD), building floor area ratio (BFR), building volume density (BVD), building evenness index (BEI), building average height (BH), and building height standard deviation (BSD). The results indicate that the cooling effect of green city areas could be influenced by urban spatial morphology. Factors such as BD, BFR, BH, and BSD were found to be significantly correlated with the cooling effect of green city areas, with BH showing the strongest influence. BD and BFR were negatively correlated, while BH and BSD were positively correlated. The range values of BD, BFR, BH, and BSD were determined to achieve the optimal conditions for the cooling effect of green city areas. Additionally, the relative position of the green city areas in the neighboring urban areas affects the cooling effect of the green city areas. The cooling effect is most pronounced in the urban area situated to the south of the green city areas. These findings provide a solid foundation for urban planning around green city spaces and offer scientifically sound evidence for mitigating the UHI.

Using public perceptions to inform urban protected area buffer zone planning.

The buffer zones between urban protected areas (UPAs) and their cities play a significant role in managing and protecting UPAs. However, they are also the frontier of conflicts due to complex functionality and a large number of stakeholders. Besides ensuring the buffer zone's function of protecting the UPA, it is also vital to understand how it can fulfill the diverse needs of multiple interest groups residing in or utilizing this area. To address the significant social science research gap in UPA buffer zone management, we establish a conceptual framework and explore how the public's overall satisfaction with the buffer depends on five essential buffer zone qualities, namely environmental quality, connectivity, infrastructure, cultural, and visual quality. We focus on China's Urban Scenic and Historic Areas (USHA), a major type of UPA with high cultural, social, and esthetic values. Using the buffer of Shugang-Slender West Lake Scenic and Historic Area in Yangzhou City as the case study, we conducted intercept and online surveys (n = 499), investigating the perceptions of three user groups-residents, businesses, and tourists. The results indicate high overall satisfaction for all three groups. Environmental, visual, and cultural qualities were rated higher than connectivity and infrastructure quality. Residents generally showed the highest satisfaction and tourists the lowest. For all three groups, environmental quality, connectivity, and infrastructure quality significantly influenced overall satisfaction, while cultural and visual quality did not. This suggests that the public expects the buffer zone to serve as high-quality multi-functional open spaces that enhance the quality of life while providing recreation, service, and transportation functions. Besides direct planning and management advice to China's UPAs and other countries with similar contexts, our study offers a transferable framework for incorporating social perceptions and highlights their significance in informing the functional planning of UPA buffer zones for public welfare.

Navigating the challenges in the land intervention practices of peri-urban areas in Indian cities using CRITIC-TOPSIS approach

ABSTRACT Peri-urbanisation is a dynamic phenomenon that is perpetually altering the territories of the metropolises and land management regimes for peri-urban areas have left a void in combating the acceleration of metropolitan encroachment into the peripheral areas. Land-related decisions in the conflicted context of peri-urban are required to be strategized, considering the opportunities they present for urban development. The research aims to rank the significance of the challenges in land intervention practices by the planning professionals in the peri-urban context of India. A questionnaire-based survey is used to collect data for analysis from 84 experts from the planning field and academia. The CRITIC method is used to ascertain the weight of each participant’s response, while the TOPSIS method ranks the significance of the challenges (C1–C10). The lack of comprehensive planning standards and benchmarks (C5) is of the the most significance. Uncertain demarcation of peri-urban areas (C1) and the the absence of post-implementation and compliance evaluation studies (C9) are the next most challenging, as per the analysis. The result aids in the understanding of the policymakers to mitigate the challenges faced in peri-urban land management by prioritising actions.

Identification and classification of urban employment centers based on big data: A case study of Beijing.

The layout, scale and spatial form of urban employment centers are important guidelines for the rational layout of public service facilities such as urban transportation, medical care, and education. In this paper, we use Internet cell phone positioning data to identify the workplace and residence of users in the Beijing city area and obtain commuting data of the employed to measure the employment center system in Beijing. Firstly, the employment density distribution is generated using the data of the working places of the employed persons, and the employment centers are identified based on the employment density of Beijing. Then, we use the business registration data of employment centers to measure the industrial diversity within the employment centers by using the ecological Shannon Wiener Diversity Index, and combine the commuting links between employment centers and places of residence to measure the energy level of each employment center, analyze the hinterland and sphere of influence of each center, and finally using the industrial diversity index of employment centers and the average commuting time of employed persons, combined with the K-Means clustering algorithm, to classify the employment centers in Beijing. The employment center identification and classification method based on big data constructed in this study can help solve the limitations of the previous employment center system research in terms of center identification and commuting linkage measurement due to large spatial units and lack of commuting data to a certain extent. The study can provide reference for the regular understanding and technical analysis of employment centers and provide help for the employment multi-center system in Beijing in terms of quantifying the employment spatial structure, guiding the construction of multi-center system, and adjusting the land use rules.

Spatial heterogeneity and driving mechanisms of carbon storage in the urban agglomeration within complex terrain: Multi-scale analyses under localized SSP-RCP narratives

Ecological carbon storage is critical to climate change mitigation by absorbing CO2 from the atmosphere. Mountainous ecosystems, crucial carbon reservoirs, are experiencing persistent carbon storage declines, yet management mechanisms targeting such complex terrains remain challenging. Focusing on the Sichuan-Chongqing urban agglomeration, interwoven as mountains and basins, we employed the MPI-coupled (Improved Markov-PLUS-InVEST) model and localized "socio-economic-climatic" narratives to simulate the dynamic evolution of carbon storage over extended periods. Diverse impacts and gradient effects of social, economic, and natural (incl. terrain, climate) drivers on carbon storage are further examined. The findings revealed that: (1) The most carbon storage growth projected from 2030 to 2060 reaches 1.53 %, but of which localized SSP5–8.5 narrative the urbanization encroached upon the undeveloped mountainous, severely impairing carbon sequestration by 81.5Tg. (2) In addition to landscape types, carbon storage exhibits complex spatial responses to economic development, population size, and terrain with an inverted U-shaped relationship. The proposed methodology offers more accurate carbon storage estimates and assists policy-makers in similar terrains to effectively manage the spatial heterogeneity of carbon storage. This study facilitates the implementation of tailored ecological conservation through urban zoning, thus contributing to enhanced subregional climate change mitigation efforts globally.

Soil and Urine Mercury Levels in Secocha: A Case Study of Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining in Peru

In recent decades, artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) has spurred population and economic growth in the small rural communities in which it is located, along with causing contamination of the soil, air, and water with grave effects on human health due to the uncontrolled use of mercury for gold processing activities. This study analyzes the levels of mercury in Secocha, an ASGM community in Arequipa, Peru. A total of 44 soil samples were taken from two ASGM commercial-extractive zones (n = 18) and non-processing urban zones (n = 26). Soil mercury analysis with atomic absorption spectrometry revealed average mercury levels of 86.11 mg/kg in commercial-extractive zone I, where ore processing has occurred for about 17 years, and mercury levels of 43.81 mg/kg in commercial-extractive zone II, where processing has occurred for about 7 years. In the urban zone, the average mercury level was 9.53 mg/kg. The average mercury concentrations for each zone exceed the relevant environmental quality standards established by the Peruvian Ministry of the Environment. In addition, urine samples were obtained from 15 miners and 15 people from the general urban population (non-miners). The average mercury level in the urine of miners was 7.04 µg/L, and in the urine of non-miners it was 0.49 µg/L. In both cases, the mercury urine level did not exceed the limits established by WHO and the Peruvian Ministry of Health, though miners’ elevated levels do raise concerns.

‘I leave the everyday behind, everyday’: Sounds and spaces of the revanchist middle classes in Berlin’s Fünf Morgen Dahlem Urban village

Processes of gentrification and redevelopment have accelerated in Berlin in the decades following reunification, however the lens of research inquiry has most often been trained upon districts like Kreuzberg or Neukölln – areas synonymous with media portrayals of Berlin as a hedonistic, gritty, artistic location. These analyses rarely deal with how the regulation of sound features in Berlin’s reshaping via investment capital. This paper builds on previous research on housing developments and regeneration in Berlin, however it centres itself within the under-researched, affluent space of Dahlem in southwest Berlin. While this long affluent area does not necessarily undergo new-build gentrification, luxury developments like Fünf Morgen provoke sonic and spatial conflicts that highlight cleavages between different factions of the middle-classes. The paper shows how luxury housing projects come to shape the sonic and spatial atmospheres of cities via a micro-examination of sonic and spatial struggles around Fünf Morgen Dahlem Urban Village built almost 10 years ago. Through a discursive and ethnographic engagement with the everyday life of this site formerly occupied by the American Army Forces, the paper explores the urban atmospheres created by these projects after their instantiation. It evidences the neoliberal privatisation processes at work via sonic and spatial conflicts in already affluent city areas.

Glyphosate resistance and biodegradation by Burkholderia cenocepacia CEIB S5-2.

Glyphosate is a broad spectrum and non-selective herbicide employed to control different weeds in agricultural and urban zones and to facilitate the harvest of various crops. Currently, glyphosate-based formulations are the most employed herbicides in agriculture worldwide. Extensive use of glyphosate has been related to environmental pollution events and adverse effects on non-target organisms, including humans. Reducing the presence of glyphosate in the environment and its potential adverse effects requires the development of remediation and treatment alternatives. Bioremediation with microorganisms has been proposed as a feasible alternative for treating glyphosate pollution. The present study reports the glyphosate resistance profile and degradation capacity of the bacterial strain Burkholderia cenocepacia CEIB S5-2, isolated from an agricultural field in Morelos-México. According to the agar plates and the liquid media inhibition assays, the bacterial strain can resist glyphosate exposure at high concentrations, 2000mg·L-1. In the degradation assays, the bacterial strain was capable of fast degrading glyphosate (50mg·L-1) and the primary degradation metabolite aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA) in just eight hours. The analysis of the genomic data of B. cenocepacia CEIB S5-2 revealed the presence of genes that encode enzymes implicated in glyphosate biodegradation through the two metabolic pathways reported, sarcosine and AMPA. This investigation provides novel information about the potential of species of the genus Burkholderia in the degradation of the herbicide glyphosate and its main degradation metabolite (AMPA). Furthermore, the analysis of genomic information allowed us to propose for the first time a metabolic route related to the degradation of glyphosate in this bacterial group. According to the findings of this study, B. cenocepacia CEIB S5-2 displays a great glyphosate biodegradation capability and has the potential to be implemented in glyphosate bioremediation approaches.

The Development of Lucid Expressions of Preschool Children: A Study in Vietnam

Objective: This article deals with the development of lucid expressions for 5- to 6-year-old preschool children in urban, mountainous, and rural areas. Method: The methodology adopted for this research comprises imperical method. Data collection was carried out through questionnaires. Results and Discussion: The results show that the children in the city area have a good level of lucid expression compared with the other two groups living in mountainous and rural areas. The lucid expression also shows that a good level of lucid expression is not only a sign that the psychological aspects of the child have improved and clearly developed in terms of quality, but also an extremely valuable piece, helping children to be confident when entering higher education levels. Research Implications: There is a need for more in-depth studies on issues related to the development of lucid expressions, not only in the composition, characteristics, and structure of language, but also studies on the environment and other factors influencing factors, from which profound conclusions can be applied to the practice of language development. Originality/Value: This study contributes to the practice by providing evidence of lucid speech development that can help teachers, educationists find suitable ways and aspects to help children have better expressions in their speeches.

SPATIAL MORPHOLOGICAL ANALYSIS: DEVELOPMENT OF THE NORTH KREMBANGAN AREA, SURABAYA, INDONESIA

The North Krembangan area is an old city area in Surabaya, right next to the Kalimas River. This area has experienced several changes from time to time, both in terms of natural context, roads, blocks/lots, and buildings. These changes were influenced by several factors and actors, both from the Dutch government and from the Surabaya government due to the existence of several new needs that were no longer relevant in the conditions during the colonial era. Objectives: To identify the morphology of urban tissue in the North Krembangan area which consists of permanent, non-permanent elements and street front quality Methodology and Results: This research uses the urban tissue methodology by Romice et al as a theory that helps to analyze this area. Conclusion, Significance and Implications: This research found that although the North Krembangan area has relatively low street front quality, this area is still busy and active as a commercial center. Suggestions to improve the area were also made at the end of this research.

Assessing the Antifouling Effectiveness of the Novel Organic Coating for Adherent Species in the Seawater of the coastal area of Ha Long City, Quang Ninh Province (Vietnam)

This paper presents the results of a 12-month testing period in seawater at Vung Oan, Ha Long City marine area, Quang Ninh Province (Vietnam), assessing the fouling organism’s removal effectiveness of polysiloxane (PS)/Ag-Zn zeolite/Cu2O nanocomposite coatings. This experiment is a substantial base to evaluate impact of Ag-Zn/zeolite and Cu2O nanoparticles (NPs) on growth of bacteria and macro-fouling organisms compared to a control coating without the above additives. The results indicated that the coating loaded with Ag-Zn/zeolite and Cu2O NPs exhibited a lower bacterial count than the coating without biocide additives. Specifically, the bacterial count was 9.6 × 105 for the coating with biocide and 2 × 107 for the coating without biocide. Regarding macro-fouling species, the analysis and identification of organisms attached to the coating samples revealed the presence of three fouling species: Perna viridis, Balanus amphitrite, and Haliclona cinerea. Modiolus barbatus, Nereis sp., and Xanthidae were only observed on surface of the control samples, suggesting that Ag-Zn/zeolite and Cu2O NPs can impede the development of Modiolus barbatus, Nereis sp., and Xanthidae on the coating surface. Furthermore, the average weight of macro-fouling organisms on the coating containing Ag-Zn/zeolite and Cu2O NPs was significantly lower (90 g/sample) than that of the macro-fouling organisms on the control coating (333 g/sample). Notably, one of the three samples with the Ag-Zn/zeolite and Cu2O NPs had the lowest weight of macro-fouling organisms, measuring only 35 g. Based on these findings, it can be concluded that polysiloxane/Ag-Zn/zeolite/Cu2O nanocomposite coatings show promise as antifouling paints for marine work applications.

A Two-Layer SD-ANN-CA Model Framework for Multi-Typed Land Use and Land Cover Change Prediction under Constraints: Case Study of Ya’an City Area, Western China

Land use and land cover change (LUCC) prediction of cities in Western China requires higher accuracy in quantitative demand and spatial layout because of complex challenges in balancing relationships between urban constructions and ecological developments. Considering city-level areas and various types of land use and land cover, existing LUCC models without constraint or with only loose demand constraints were impractical in providing evidence of high accuracy and high-resolution predictions in areas facing fierce land competition. In this study, we proposed a two-layer SD-ANN-CA model to simulate and explore the LUCC trend and layout predictions for 2018, 2028, and 2038 in Ya’an City, Western China. The two-layer structure with an upper layer of the SD model and a lower layer of the ANN-CA model, as well as the advantages of all three methods of system dynamics (SD), artificial neural network (ANN), and cellular automata (CA), have allowed us to consider the macro-level demand constraints, meso-level driving factors constraints, and the micro-level spatial constraints into a unified model framework. The simulation results of the year 2018 have shown significant improvement in the accuracy of the ANN-CA model constructed in our earlier work, especially in types of forest land (error-accuracy: 0.08%), grassland (error-accuracy: 0.23%), and construction land (error-accuracy: 0.18%). The layout predictions of all six types of land use in 2028 and 2038 are then carried out to provide visual evidence support, which may improve the efficiency of planning and policy-making processes. Our work may also provide insights into new ways to combine quantitative methods into spatial methods in constructing city-level or even regional-level LUCC models with high resolution.

Systematic Study of Family Pholicidae (Cellar Spiders) from the District Hyderabad, Sindh, Pakistan

This study was carried out between 2017 and 2018; 150 spider specimens belonging to the family Pholicidae were collected from 04 different locations of District Hyderabad, viz, Talukas, Saddar, Latifabad, and Qasimabad. Taluka Latifabad was found the richest with 38.66% while least samples were collected from Saddar with 16.00%. Among 150 specimens, two genera were sorted out in genus Artema and Crossopriza. Total number specimen of Artema were 90, a new species also reported Artema hirabadi was also identified on the basis of taxonomical character, 60 specimen of genus Crossopriza and two new species namely C. tahirae, C. hyderabadi were identified to science. Beside this C. lyoni reported as new record from District Hyderabad. Most abundant species was Artema least found was Crossopriza. The spiders were collected from metropolitan city areas habituated in houses, stores, garages, etc. somewhere they form thin web while applying standard collected works proposed by entomologists and Arachnologists. The research work provides preliminary information knowledge about spider’s fauna.

Evaluating the spatial accessibility and spatial layout optimization of HIV/AIDS healthcare services in Shandong Province, China

Improving access to HIV/AIDS healthcare services is of great concern to government and policymakers striving to strengthen overall public health. How to reasonably allocate HIV/AIDS healthcare resources and maximize the equality of access to healthcare services across subdistrict areas has become an urgent problem to be solved. However, there is limited research on this topic in China. It is necessary to evaluate spatial accessibility to improve the accessibility and equity of HIV/AIDS healthcare services. In this study, the improved multi-modal two-step floating catchment area (2SFCA) and inverted 2SFCA (i2SFCA) methods are used to measure the spatial accessibility of HIV/AIDS healthcare services and the crowdedness of the healthcare sites in Shandong Province, China. Then, the theoretical supply and the optimal spatial distribution of resources are calculated and visualized by minimizing the accessibility gaps between demand locations. This study showed that the spatial accessibility of HIV/AIDS service resources in Shandong Province was concentrated and unevenly distributed, and the accessibility scores in the marginal areas of prefecture-level cities were significantly lower than those in other areas. Regions with a large number of doctors had significantly higher levels of spatial accessibility. The ART accessibility scores in the southwest of Shandong Province were higher than those in other regions. As the travel friction coefficient increased, the accessibility scores formed an approximately circular cluster distribution centered on the healthcare sites in geographical distribution. More ART drugs needed to be supplied in marginal areas and more doctors were needed to work on HIV/AIDS in urban areas to address the spatial distribution imbalance of HIV/AIDS healthcare services. This study profoundly analyzed the spatial accessibility of HIV/AIDS healthcare services and provided essential references for decision-makers. In addition, it gives a significant exploration for achieving the goal of equal access to HIV/AIDS healthcare services in the future.

Hair Mercury Levels in Pregnant Women: Fish Consumption as a Determinant of Exposure

The consumption of fish in food may contain mercury, a harmful element and dangerous chemical detrimental to human health. The purpose of this study was to determine the mercury level in the hair of pregnant women with different fish intakes in their diets. The concentration of total mercury in hair was determined using an atomic absorption spectrometer. In this study, 98 pregnant women were invited to participate (aged from 18 to 48 years). The mean content of mercury in the hair of pregnant women in Northwestern Russia was 0.428 mg/kg (ranging from 0.018 to 3.1 mg/kg). As a result, 22% of women had mercury values above 0.58 mg/kg, which is considered dangerous for the fetus. The hair mercury concentration in a village area was higher than that in a city area (i.e., 0.548 mg/kg and 0.326 mg/kg). Moreover, the maximum level of mercury was noted for a group of pregnant women who consumed more than 5 kg/month of fish and fish products. Furthermore, the consumption of freshwater fish in the diet leads to a higher mercury content in the hair of pregnant women than the consumption of marine fish.