How To Discriminate Athalassic and Marginal Marine Microfaunas: Foraminifera and Other Fossils from an Early Holocene Continental Lake in Northern Saudi Arabia

2017 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 175-187 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Pint ◽  
Max Engel ◽  
Sandra Melzer ◽  
Peter Frenzel ◽  
Birgit Plessen ◽  
...  

Abstract The occurrence of athalassic foraminiferal species, along with the brackish-water ostracod Cyprideis torosa, the barnacle Amphibalanus amphitrite, and brackish-water gastropods, prove the existence of a saline lake at Tayma, northern Saudi Arabia, during the early to mid-Holocene. Outcrops at the former shoreline, as well as a single sediment core, allow a reconstruction of the history of the main lake phase. Whereas these outcrops contain masses of calcareous micro- and macrofossils, the core from the modern sabkha does not. Four foraminiferal species were identified: Ammonia tepida is dominant, Quinqueloculina seminula is common, Flintinoides labiosa and Discorinopsis aguayoi are rare. Sieve-pore analysis and shell chemistry of C. torosa, as well as varying but generally high proportions of test anomalies (up to 50%) in foraminifers, indicate fluctuating, mostly hypersaline lacustrine conditions. We suggest, based on these results and on a literature overview on the worldwide distribution of Quaternary athalassic foraminifer taxa, that a combination of low diversity, exclusively marginal marine taxa, combined with occurrences of test anomalies >10% can be used to recognize athalassic saline waters in the fossil record.

Crisis ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Mohammed Madadin ◽  
Ritesh G. Menezes ◽  
Maha A. Alassaf ◽  
Abdulaziz M. Almulhim ◽  
Mahdi S. Abumadini ◽  
...  

Abstract. Background: Medical students are at high risk of suicidal ideation. Aim: We aimed to obtain information on suicidal ideation among medical students in Dammam located in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. Method: This cross-sectional study was conducted at the College of Medicine affiliated with Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. Suicidal ideation in the past 12 months was assessed based on responses to four questions in the depression subscale of the General Health Questionnaire 28 (GHQ-28). In addition, data were collected to examine the association of suicidal ideation with various factors. Results: We found that 1 in 3 medical students in the study had suicidal ideation in the past 12 months, while around 40% had lifetime suicidal ideation. Suicidal ideation was associated with feelings of parental neglect, history of physical abuse, and dissatisfaction with academic performance. Limitations: The cross-sectional nature of this study limits its ability to determine causality regarding suicidal ideation. Conclusion: These rates are considerably high when compared with rates from studies in other countries around the world. This study provides a reference in the field of suicidology for this region of Saudi Arabia.


2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 37-41
Author(s):  
Maftuna Sanoqulova ◽  

This article consists of the politics which connected with oil in Saudi Arabia after the World war II , the relations of economical cooperations on this matter and the place of oil in the history of world economics


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fahad Alanezi

UNSTRUCTURED E-health system is emerging and providing health services and solutions through different electronic gadgets. Saudi Arabia has launched a program called Saudi Arabia vision 2030, in which providing state-of-the-art health facilities to their citizen is of topmost priority. After all the efforts, the residents of Saudi Arabia are still reluctant for the adaptation of e-health system. The current study was conducted to evaluate the obstacle in adoption of the e-health system through the mobile phones. The current study was cross-sectional survey and was conducted by developing a self-administered structured questionnaire asking the utilization of mobile phone in state of health emergency prior to ask any medical history. Majority of the participants was married and doing jobs in different firms and have their personal mobile phones (p = 0.100, > 0.05) which indicates easily access to the e-health apps. The majority of the participants suffers from either obesity or high blood pressure (p = 0.018, < 0.05) regardless of either history of mental disorder or other family history of mental diseases. The pattern of diseases with mental disorders correlate well with adoption of e-health in government policies. The obstacles in adopting e-health includes fear of the loss of personal data and information (p = 0.0401, < 0.05). Moreover, they did not trust on online medications as the doctor cannot prescribe medicines without seeing physical health of the patient. The current study concluded that by making improvement in policies and proper commercializing the e-health apps together with awareness programs can boast the adoption of e-health in Saudi Arabia.


Vaccines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 465
Author(s):  
Leena R. Baghdadi ◽  
Shatha G. Alghaihb ◽  
Alanoud A. Abuhaimed ◽  
Dania M. Alkelabi ◽  
Rawan S. Alqahtani

In 2019, a novel severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19)) caused a global pandemic. There was an urgent need to develop a vaccine against COVID-19 to reduce its spread and economic burden. The main objective of this study was to understand the attitudes and concerns of healthcare workers (HCWs) towards the upcoming COVID-19 vaccine, whether their decision was influenced by their history of taking the seasonal influenza vaccine, and factors that influence the acceptance of the upcoming COVID-19 vaccine. This was a cross-sectional study conducted in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. We selected and surveyed 356 HCWs via an electronic self-administered questionnaire. A total of 61.16% of HCWs were willing to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, and 55.9% of them had received the seasonal influenza vaccine in the preceding year (2019–2020). The strongest predictors for taking the COVID-19 vaccine were the HCWs’ belief that the COVID-19 vaccine would be safe, needed even for healthy people, that all HCWs should be vaccinated against COVID-19, and that HCWs will have time to take the vaccine. Being female, being middle aged, having <5 years of work experience, having no fear of injections, and being a non-smoker were predictive factors for taking the upcoming COVID-19 vaccine. No associations were found between the intention to take the COVID-19 vaccine and a history of taking the seasonal influenza vaccine.


Author(s):  
Yuan Fang ◽  
Ernest Tambo ◽  
Jing-Bo Xue ◽  
Yi Zhang ◽  
Xiao-Nong Zhou ◽  
...  

Abstract Gene mutations on target sites can be a valuable indicator of the status of insecticide resistance. Jeddah, a global commercial and major port-of-entry city, is bearing the brunt of dengue disease burden in Saudi Arabia. In the current study, six genotypes of three codon combinations (989, 1016, and 1534) were observed on voltage-gated sodium channel (VGSC) gene in Jeddah’s Aedes aegypti population, with PGF/PGC as the dominant one. Two types of introns between exon 20 and 21 on VGSC have been identified for the first time in Ae. aegypti in Saudi Arabia. Statistical and phylogenetic analyses showed that the intron type was significantly associated with the 1016 allele and may reflect the history of insecticide treatment in different continents. In addition, fixation of the L1014F allele on VGSC and G119S on acetylcholinesterase 1 gene was detected in local Culex quinquefasciatus populations, with frequencies of 95.24 and 100%, respectively. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of resistant-associated mutations in field-caught Cx. quinquefasciatus in Saudi Arabia. The high prevalence of insecticide resistance gene mutations in local primary mosquito vector species highlights the urgent need to carry out comprehensive insecticide resistance surveillance in Saudi Arabia.


1974 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 453-461 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zohair A. Sebai

SummaryFamily planning is not being practised in Wadi Turaba in western Saudi Arabia, which is a Bedouin community with different stages of settlement. Children are wanted in the family, and the more children, especially boys, the better the social status of the family in the community. The desire of a mother for more children does not appear to be affected by her age group, history of previous marriages or history of previous pregnancies.Knowledge about contraceptives practically does not exist, except on a small scale in the settled community. Every woman, following the Koranic teachings, weans her child exactly at the age of 2 years, which obviously leads to the spacing of births. In rather rare situations, coitus interruptus is practised.


Author(s):  
Mohammad Saqib Siddiqui ◽  
Abdulaziz Fehaid Alotaibi ◽  
Fahad Mohammed Saeed Alharthi ◽  
Abdullatif Meshal Almalawi ◽  
Ahmed Zayed Asiri ◽  
...  

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a chronic disease with a remarkable global burden on the affected patients and healthcare systems. Among the reported complications, the diabetic foot has been reported to be a common one, which might be disabling, resulting in related amputations. Furthermore, we will provide evidence regarding the effect of education on the awareness and knowledge of diabetic Saudis about diabetic foot risk factors and management practices. Different risk factors were reported for developing diabetic foot among patients with DM. These will be studied in the current literature review, focusing on evidence that was conducted in Saudi Arabia. Age, gender, type of diabetes, education, duration of the disease, peripheral neuropathy, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, peripheral vascular disease, ischemic heart disease, renal artery disease, having a previous history of diabetic foot, and hypertension were all reported to be significant factors that were associated with the risk of developing diabetic foot across the Kingdom. The level of knowledge was variable across the different investigations. However, there is a poor attitude in general about the appropriate care practices of diabetic foot. Although it has been demonstrated that educational campaigns are effective, further efforts are still needed to increase awareness and attitude levels among diabetic patients in Saudi Arabia.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (9) ◽  
pp. e0257131
Author(s):  
Abbas Al Mutair ◽  
Alya Al Mutairi ◽  
Saad Alhumaid ◽  
Syed Maaz Abdullah ◽  
Abdul Rehman Zia Zaidi ◽  
...  

Background Epidemiological features characterization of COVID-19 is highly important for developing and implementing effective control measures. In Saudi Arabia mortality rate varies between 0.6% to 1.26%. The purpose of the study was to investigate whether demographic characteristics (age and gender) and non-communicable diseases (Hypertension and Diabetes mellitus) have a significant association with mortality in COVID-19 patients. Methods Prior to data collection, an expedite approval was obtained from Institutional Review Board (IRB Log No: RC. RC20.09.10) in Al Habib Research Center at Dr. Sulaiman Al-Habib Medical Group, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This is a retrospective design where we used descriptive and inferential analysis to analyse the data. Binary logistic regression was done to study the association between comorbidities and mortality of COVID-19. Results 43 (86%) of the male patients were non-survivors while 7 (14%) of the female patients were survivors. The odds of non-survivors among hypertensive patients are 3.56 times higher than those who are not having a history of Hypertension (HTN). The odds of non-survivors among diabetic patients are 5.17 times higher than those who are not having a history of Diabetes mellitus (DM). The odds of non-survivors are 2.77 times higher among those who have a history of HTN and DM as compared to those who did not have a history of HTN and DM. Conclusions Those patients that had a history of Hypertension and Diabetes had a higher probability of non-survival in contrast to those who did not have a history of Diabetes and hypertension. Further studies are required to study the association of comorbidities with COVID-19 and mortality.


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