Study of Black Sand Particles from Sand Dunes in Badr, Saudi Arabia Using Electron Microscopy

Particulate air pollution is a health concern. This study determines the microscopic make-up of different varieties of sand particles collected at a sand dune site in Badr, Saudi Arabia in 2012. Three categories of sand were studied: black sand, white sand, and volcanic sand. The study used multiple high resolution electron microscopies to study the morphologies, emission source types, size, and elemental composition of the particles, and to evaluate the presence of surface “coatings or contaminants” deposited or transported by the black sand particles. White sand was comprised of natural coarse particles linked to wind-blown releases from crustal surfaces, weathering of igneous/metamorphic rock sources, and volcanic activities. Black sand particles exhibited different morphologies and microstructures (surface roughness) compared with the white sand and volcanic sand. Morphological Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Laser Scanning Microscopy (LSM) analyses revealed that the black sand contained fine and ultrafine particles (50 to 500 nm ranges) and was strongly magnetic, indicating the mineral magnetite or elemental iron. Aqueous extracts of black sands were acidic (pH = 5.0). Fe, C, O, Ti, Si, V, and S dominated the composition of black sand. Results suggest that carbon and other contaminant fine particles were produced by fossil-fuel combustion and industrial emissions in heavily industrialized areas of Haifa and Yanbu, and transported as cloud condensation nuclei to Douf Mountain. The suite of techniques used in this study has yielded an in-depth characterization of sand particles. Such information will be needed in future environmental, toxicological, epidemiological, and source apportionment studies

Incidence of non-syndromic orofacial cleft during the COVID-19 pandemic in Saudi Arabia

Abstract Objectives This is the first national study to investigate the incidence of non-syndromic oro-facial clefts (NSOFC) and Pierre-Robin-Sequence in Saudi Arabia over the Covid-19 pandemic period. Methods All maternity hospitals (30-hospitals) in the major regions and cities of Saudi from November 2020-to-2021 were included in the study. Patients were evaluated for cleft phenotype using the LASHAL-classification system. The incidence of NSOFC in Saudi Arabia was calculated by comparing the number of NSOFCs cases born out of all live births during the study period at the included hospitals. Clinical examination was performed and information was gathered using a validated data collection form. Results In one year, 140,380 live-infants were born at the selected hospitals. Of these, 177 were diagnosed with NSOFC giving an incidence of 1.26/1,000 live-births in Saudi Arabia and the highest incidence in Medina city (2.46/1000 live-births). The incidence of cleft lip-and-palate (0.67/1000 live-births) was higher than that of cleft-palate (0.37/1000 live-births) and cleft-lip (0.22/1000 live-births). Pierre-Robin Sequence incidence was (0.04/1000 live-births). There were 21(12.1) or 23(13.2%) of NSOFC’s mothers exposed or vaccinated with Covid-19, respectively. Conclusion The national incidence of NSOFC in Saudi Arabia was 1.26/1000 live births with variation between phenotypes and regions in the country. In addition, to reporting Covid-19 infection prevalence and vaccine exposure among NSOFC's mothers, this study represents the first of its type to evaluate NSOFC prevalence in Saudi Arabia on a national level

sj-docx-1-cpc-10.1177_10556656231224198 - Supplemental material for Maternal Exposure to Stress During Covid-19 and Non-Syndromic Orofacial Clefts: A Cohort Retrospective Study

Supplemental material, sj-docx-1-cpc-10.1177_10556656231224198 for Maternal Exposure to Stress During Covid-19 and Non-Syndromic Orofacial Clefts: A Cohort Retrospective Study by Heba Jafar Sabbagh, Mona Talal AlSharif, Fatma Dawood Abdulhameed, Aziza Johar Aljohar, Reema Mahdi Alhussain, Sultan Musaad Alghamdi, Najla Sulaiman Alrejaye, Latifa Yousef AlGudaibi, Bahaudbdin Ibraheem Sallout, Badi Shoaib Albaqawi, Eman Abdulbaset Alnamnakani, Lougin Khalid Brekeit, Osama Adel Basri, Manal Ibrahim Almalik, Norah Suliman Al Soqih, Ali Bakr Alshaikh, Abdullah Jameel Aburiziza, Faisal Ali Al Qahtani, Bushra Musaad Alghamdi, Asalah Khalid Alraddadi, Hadeel Hamza Khaja and Rana Abdullah Alamoudi in The Cleft Palate Craniofacial Journal</p