National Council for Scientific Research, Lebanon

This study aimed to assess the nutritional composition of meals served to and consumed by patients in Lebanese hospitals and to evaluate the extent to which these meals adhere to Mediterranean diet guidelines. Conducted between April 2023 and September 2023, this cross-sectional study involved 155 in-patients from various departments across 16 hospitals in Lebanon. Food quantities served were measured, and nutritional analysis was performed to evaluate the nutritional content of meals provided and eaten by patients. On average, served meals weighed 1.24 kg (SD: 0.43), providing an average of 1489 kcal energy (SD: 546.55) and 72 g of protein per hospital bed per day. These meals typically met 79% of a patient’s daily estimated energy requirement (EER). On the other hand, patients consumed an average of 0.85 kg of food, providing 1084.3 kcal energy (57.3% of EER) and 50 g of protein per day. The most served food group in hospitals was the ‘grains and cereals’ group. Compared to the Mediterranean diet, our results showed that hospitals exceeded the recommended servings for dairy and meat products, while they served less than the recommended amounts from the vegetables, fruits, legumes. Patients did not meet their daily requirements for almost all the macro- and micro-nutrients. This study highlights the importance of public health policies, interventions, and food service management strategies to ensure patients receive adequate diets aligned with their nutritional needs.

The intersection of eating disorders and competitive sports presents a critical issue that demands attention. Athletes, driven by the desire for peak performance and often subjected to intense physical and psychological pressures, are particularly vulnerable to developing eating disorders. The aim of our study is to conduct a preliminary assessment of the prevalence and risk levels of EDs among athletes in Lebanon. Using the validated EAT-26 and the DESA-6 questionnaires, 250 athletes were interviewed as part of a cross-sectional survey. Anthropometric measurements and sociodemographic characteristics were also assessed. The main findings show that the overall risk of EDs among Lebanese athletes is 21%, with 54.5% of those at-risk being males. In addition, the uncontrollable use of dietary supplements was observed in 41% of athletes. Being an adult aging 25 years and above, male, practicing sports for more than 5 years coupled with more than 15 h per week with post graduate diploma increases significantly ED risks. The prevalence of EDs among athletes in Lebanon is a well-recognized concern, highlighting the need for proactive measures and targeted interventions.

Routine ground‐based measurements of total ozone column (TOC), as well as ozone profile soundings started in the late 1960s in Germany. The resulting ozone and temperature records at Hohenpeissenberg and Berlin/Potsdam/Lindenberg show long‐term changes similar to other stations in Central Europe, and to the changes seen globally. Following the increase of ozone depleting substances (ODS), stratospheric ozone has declined from the 1960s until the 1990s. Since about 2000, ozone has leveled or slightly increased, consistent with declining amounts of ODS. The stratosphere has been cooling and the troposphere has been warming, in agreement with general expectations due to increasing greenhouse gas concentrations. The clearest signs of recovering ozone are seen around 40 km altitude. Two factors contribute to this increase: the decrease of stratospheric chlorine loading and cooling of the upper stratosphere, which slows gas‐phase ozone destruction cycles, and enhances the ter‐molecular reaction producing ozone. Tropospheric ozone has increased substantially from the 1960s to the early 1990s. Since then, it has remained more or less constant, on a level higher compared to the 1960 and 1970s. Particularly low tropospheric ozone was observed in 2020, due to reduced precursor emissions during the COVID‐19 related lockdowns. The atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases will likely continue to rise, while the concentrations of ozone depleting substances are expected to slowly decline. To see how the atmosphere responds, and to help understand future changes, continued monitoring will be required for many years to come, both over Germany and worldwide.

Drought is a keystone constraint with far-reaching implications for agro-environmental threats. Yet, drought indices are mostly hydro-meteorological or agricultural, obscuring evidence of the key role agro-ecosystem diversity plays in buffering the consequences of regional climatic variability. We then question how contrasted drought facets could differentially drive the functioning of agro-ecosystems, and whether the interannual asynchrony of these facets might prevent multi-crisis events. Here, we examine how a multifaceted characterization of yearly drought events differentially relates to key agro-environmental sectors and test how these drought facets synchronize over Lebanon, a Middle Eastern drought-prone country grappling with socio- economic and political crises. Using parsimonious multiple linear regression (MLR) models, we captured the combined functional roles of six yearly drought facets (duration, onset, offset, drying rate, peak drought day, and mean intensity of episodic rainfall pulses) on major agro-environmental sectors, including winter wheat yield, tree-ring radial growth, and area burned by wildfires. Delayed drought offset and faster spring soil moisture drying rates appeared more closely associated to increased burned areas (R2 =0.25), while drought onset and autumn rainfall pulses from the previous year were negatively linked to winter wheat yield (R2 =0.12), and tree radial growth switched from a control by drought onset and to duration with increasing altitude (R2 =0.33). Theobserved asynchrony in agro-environmental response to climate variability over the 1960–2020 period appears to buffer the occurrence of concomitant extremes, a pattern that we could relate to the asynchrony in their controlling drought facets. By demonstrating the functional role of each drought facet, we conclude on the efficiency of a compound functionally-sound drought facets index for synchronous agro-environmental climate crisis warning.

These notes were intended as support material for a minicourse on Anosov flows in the conference “Symplectic geometry and Anosov flows” which took place in Heidelberg in July 2024 organized by Peter Albers, Jonathan Bowden, and Agustín Moreno. I took the invitation to present the subject as asking from an outsider view of the subject, given the fact that my research uses both ideas and results from the theory of Anosov flows. The point of view of the course is to provide an overview of the main results and questions in the subject, with emphasis on the interaction with topology, geometry, specially symplectic geometry and contact aspects of the theory. Some detail is given in the presentation of the Barbot–Fenley theory of leaf spaces. Hopefully, the notes will contribute in gaining a working knowledge of the theory and its many beautiful connections.

Despite remarkable advances, radiation therapy (RT) remains inefficient for some bulky tumors, radioresistant tumors, and certain pediatric tumors. Minibeam radiation therapy (MBRT) has emerged as a promising approach, reducing normal tissue toxicity while enhancing immune responses. Preclinical studies using X-rays and proton MBRT have demonstrated enhanced therapeutic index for aggressive tumor models. Combining MBRT’s advantages of spatial dose fractionation with the physical and biological benefits of carbon ions could be a step further toward unleashing the full potential of MBRT. This study aims to perform the first in vivo study of local and systemic responses of a subcutaneous mouse osteosarcoma (metastatic) model to carbon MBRT (C-MBRT) versus conventional carbon ion therapy (CT). Irradiations were conducted at the GSI Helmholtz Centre in Germany using 180 MeV/u ¹²C ions beam. All irradiated animals received an average dose (20 Gy) and displayed a significant and similar tumor growth delay in addition to a decreased metastasis score compared to the non-irradiated group. In the C-MBRT group, 70% of the tumor volume received the valley dose, which is a very low dose of 1.5 Gy. The remaining 30% of the tumor received the peak dose of 105 Gy, resulting in an average dose of 20 Gy. These results suggest that C-MBRT triggered distinct mechanisms from CT and encourage further investigations to confirm the potential of C-MBRT for efficient treatment of radioresistant tumors.

Despite their potential in areas such as medicinal chemistry and organic materials, scaffolds in which quinoline and quinoxaline are fused to phosphacycles such as 1,3‐oxaphosphole, 1,3‐azaphosphole, P‐arylated and P‐alkoxylated 2,3‐dihydro‐1,3‐azaphosphole P‐oxides have, to our knowledge, never been reported. In this study we have developed a synthetic approach to [1,3]azaphospholo[4,5‐f]quinolines and ‐quinoxalines from quinolin‐6‐amine and quinoxalin‐6‐amine. These were converted to 5‐phosphanylquino(xa)lin‐6‐amines by regioselective iodination in position 5, cross‐coupling with diethyl phosphite and reduction. Formation of the azaphosphole ring was then achieved by reaction with N,N‐dimethylformamide dimethyl acetal. Attempts at C−H arylation in position 2 did not lead to the desired derivatives but rather to 1‐arylated 2,3‐dihydro‐[1,3]azaphospholo[4,5‐f]quino(xa)line 1‐oxides. Access to 1‐alkoxylated 2,3‐dihydro‐[1,3]azaphospholo[4,5‐f]quinoline 1‐oxides was also developed using as key steps cross‐coupling with ethyl phosphinate formed in situ and the subsequent Kabachnik‐Fields reaction. The resulting tricyclic compounds were finally tested against a panel of disease‐related protein kinases.

Homeostatic and Hebbian plasticity co‐operate during the critical period, refining neuronal circuits; however, the interaction between these two forms of plasticity is still unclear, especially in adulthood. Here, we directly investigate this issue in adult humans using two consolidated paradigms to elicit each form of plasticity in the visual cortex: the long‐term potentiation‐like change of the visual evoked potential (VEP) induced by high‐frequency stimulation (HFS) and the shift of ocular dominance induced by short‐term monocular deprivation (MD). We tested homeostatic and Hebbian plasticity independently, then explored how they interacted by inducing them simultaneously in a group of adult healthy volunteers. We successfully induced both forms of plasticity: 60 min of MD induced a reliable change in ocular dominance and HFS reliably modulated the amplitude of the P1 component of the VEP. Importantly, we found that, across participants, homeostatic and Hebbian plasticity were negatively correlated, indicating related neural mechanisms, potentially linked to intracortical excitation/inhibition balance. On the other hand, we did not find an interaction when the two forms of plasticity were induced simultaneously. Our results indicate a largely preserved plastic potential in the visual cortex of the adult brain, for both short‐term homeostatic and Hebbian plasticity. Crucially, we show for the first time a direct relationship between these two forms of plasticity in the adult human visual cortex, which could inform future research and treatment protocols for neurological diseases. image Key points Homeostatic and Hebbian plasticity co‐operate during the critical period to refine neuronal circuits in the visual cortex. The interaction between these two forms of plasticity is still unknown, especially after the closure of the critical periods and in humans. We directly investigate the interplay between Hebbian and homeostatic visual plasticity in adult humans using non‐invasive paradigms. We found a negative correlation between these forms of plasticity showing for the first time a direct relationship between Hebbian and homeostatic plasticity. Our results could inform future research and treatment protocols for neurological diseases.

Background The nutrition transition is linked to the double-burden of malnutrition worldwide, and its impact on the quality of life is considerable. The dietary diversity score and self-rated health are two proxies that have been used to assess, for the former, nutrient adequacy and overall diet quality, and for the latter, health from a sociological, epidemiological and economical lens. The general aim of this study was to evaluate the relation between food and subjective health, and to test the hypothesis that greater dietary diversity is positively associated with a better perception of health. Methods A transverse comparison of foods consumed in four highly contrasted local socio-ecosystems (i.e., two French oversea territories: French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Portugal and Senegal) was conducted using 24-hour dietary recalls. Dietary diversity was calculated using 18 food groups based on classifications provided by WHO and FAO. Binary logistic regressions were used to assess the relationship between dietary diversity scores and answers to the question assessing self-rated health. Results Overall, 465 individuals, 18 years and older, from Senegal, Guiana, Guadeloupe and Portugal were interviewed using a 24-hour dietary recall. Participants were selected via a combination of non-probability sampling methods. The mean dietary diversity score for all regions combined was 9.22. Over one-third of participants reported their health as ‘good’ (39.8%), whereas ‘bad’ and ‘excellent’ health were the least reported, at 6.45% and 9.03%, respectively. Multiple binary logistic regression notably found that dietary diversity score (OR = 0.88, 95% CI [0.79, 0.99], p = 0.010) and at-home meal preparation, specifically with the reference category ‘all the time’ compared to ‘never’ (OR = 3.31, 95% CI [1.55, 7.07], p = 0.002) were statistically significant predictors of self-rated health (i.e., declaring overall bad health). Conclusions This study demonstrates a positive association between dietary diversity and self-rated health across distinct cultural contexts. The findings reinforce the importance of diverse diets for subjective well-being, regardless of differences in food systems. Public health messaging should continue to promote dietary diversity and home-cooked meals as effective strategies for improving health. Self-rated health could serve as a useful tool for quickly assessing the outcomes of nutrition therapy.

This study investigates the quantitative distribution of iron between the two crystallographic sites of brownmillerite isolated in a previous study from four sulfate resisting (SR) Portland cement clinkers. ⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy was combined with powder x‐ray diffraction (XRD) in order to determine the balance between Fe³⁺ and Al³⁺ ions in the tetrahedral and octahedral sites of the orthorhombic structure. Synthetic samples covering the whole composition range were studied for protocol validation.

Research on associative learning typically focuses on behavioral and neural changes in response to learned stimuli. In Pavlovian conditioning, changes in responsiveness to conditioned stimuli are crucial for demonstrating learning. A less explored, but equally important, question is whether learning can induce changes not only in the processing of conditioned stimuli but also in the processing of unconditioned stimuli. In this study, we addressed this question by combining reinforcer-sensitivity assays with Pavlovian conditioning in honey bees. We focused on aversive shock responsiveness, measuring the sting extension response to electric shocks of increasing voltage, and examined the effect of aversive olfactory conditioning—where bees learn to associate an odor with shock—on shock responsiveness. After experiencing electric shocks during conditioning, the bees showed a persistent decrease in responsiveness to lower voltages, observable three days after conditioning, indicating reduced shock sensitivity. This effect was specific to electric shock, as appetitive conditioning involving a sucrose reinforcer did not alter shock responsiveness, leaving shock sensitivity unchanged. These findings highlight a previously unexplored effect of associative learning on reinforcer sensitivity, demonstrating a lasting decrease of responsiveness to reinforcer intensities perceived as less relevant than that encountered during conditioning.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) have been studied for several decades and are attracting growing interest among life scientists and oncologists. Understanding the extent of diversity of their cellular origins, structure, molecular composition, and consequently functions is still under progress. EVs offer numerous diagnostic and therapeutic possibilities, but many fundamental questions about their functions need to be resolved in order to effectively and safely implement their applications in the treatment of human diseases.

MoS2 active phase found in CoMoP/Al2O3 catalysts can be described as a multiscale Mo organization with MoS2 slabs and slab aggregates. The aim of this paper is to understand how such multiscale organization is formed from the oxide initial state. Sulfidation of two catalysts impregnated with 26% wt MoO3, one dried, the other one freeze‐dried, has been followed ex situ by EXAFS, XPS and ASAXS. Initially, two types of Mo oxide precursors are present on the support such as dispersed MoO4²⁻ species and oxide aggregates constituted of heteropolyanions, polymolybdates and H6AlMo6O24⁶⁻ Anderson HPA (AlMo6). A 3‐step genesis is highlighted during the sulfidation regardless of the catalyst: (i) Polymeric molybdenum species depolymerizes into MoO4²⁻ entities from RT to 240 °C, (ii) MoO4²⁻ is preferentially sulfided compared to other entities and slab aggregates sulfidation is delayed, probably in the presence of important MoO4²⁻ amount, and (iii) restructuration of the slabs within slab aggregates occurs during sulfidation of the latter and leads to their expansion. The drying method (drying or freeze‐drying) influences the kinetics of this 3‐steps genesis. As the freeze‐dried catalyst presents more AlMo6 and thus MoO4²⁻, a late restructuration within aggregates leads to larger ones. Initial speciation of the catalysts determines the final Mo multiscale organization.

Clusters bound by weak, non-covalent forces, such as van der Waals interactions and hydrogen bonds, are ubiquitous in dilute media ranging from aerosols to molecular fluids and biological structures, their interest being not only fundamental as in astrochemistry but also more applied as in organic electronics. Neutral clusters of up to six 1-hexene molecules produced by supersonic expansion of a gas mixture were ionized, mass selected, and spectroscopically characterized using synchrotron-based VUV photoelectron photoion coincidence technique. Ionization energies inferred from these measurements show decreasing trends as the cluster size increases, by about 0.5 eV over the range of 1–6 molecules. Dedicated theoretical DFT-based calculations were performed to unravel the possible structures of these clusters and determine their vertical and adiabatic ionization energies. Our computational search for stable structures considered the possible chirality effects associated with most conformers of the monomer having enantiomers, in an approach with a broad structural sampling employing classical force fields followed by systematic re-optimization using an efficient quantum chemical method. Vertical and adiabatic ionization energies obtained using wavefunction-based methods exhibit significant dispersion due to conformational flexibility already in the monomer, but these effects are magnified in clusters due to their fluxionality at the experimental temperature of about 130 K. Overall, the trends obtained for the calculated vertical ionization energies agree well with the measured data and suggest that possible chiral recognition effects that could stabilize specific structures are likely to be hampered under the present experimental conditions.

The ever‐increasing demand for efficient data storage and processing has fueled the search for novel memory devices. By exploiting the spin‐to‐charge conversion phenomena, spintronics promises faster and low power solutions alternative to conventional electronics. In this work, a remarkable 34‐fold increase in spin‐to‐charge current conversion is demonstrated when incorporating a 2D epitaxial graphene monolayer between iron and platinum layers by exploring spin‐pumping on‐chip devices. Furthermore, it is found that the spin conversion is also anisotropic. This enhancement and anisotropy is attributed to the asymmetric Rashba contributions driven by an unbalanced spin accumulation at the differently hybridized top and bottom graphene interfaces, as highlighted by ad‐hoc first‐principles theory. The improvement in spin‐to‐charge conversion as well as its anisotropy reveals the importance of interfaces in hybrid 2D‐thin film systems, opening up new possibilities for engineering spin conversion in 2D materials, leading to potential advances in memory, logic applications, or unconventional computing.

Runoff loss to the sea and seawater intrusion into coastal aquifers represents a dual hydrologic phenomenon in many coastal regions, and the coastal zone of Lebanon is a typical example. In this respect, an integrated management approach must be adopted to mitigate the impact of this geo-environmental problem through surface water harvesting and recharging (SWHR) into the beneath rock formations. However, positioning suitable sites, for surface water harvesting, from which water can be artificially/spontaneously recharged, is often a challenging. This study handles this challenge with innovative multi factor method using GIS to identify the optimal sites for SWHR. For this purpose, thematic maps were analyzed and systematically integrated, while data retrieved was mainly from satellite images (e.g., Sentinel-2, SRTM, etc.). The obtained geospatial data represent main factors controlling surface water flow regime, infiltration potential and other relevant environmental factors. Being converted to GIS digital files with various levels of impact "weight coefficients" on SWHR, these factors were systematically manipulated; and thus 28 sites were identified and hydrologically characterized and 13 of them were emphasized as primary ones. The produced SWHR sites' map serves decision-makers to take proper actions for water management in coastal zones whether in the investment of surface water or the mitigation of seawater intrusion.

The classical problem of discrete structure recognition is revisited in this paper. We focus on pieces of naive lines and, more generally, naive arithmetic hyperplanes, and present a new approach to recognising these discrete structures based on the Stern–Brocot tree. The algorithm for pieces of lines in dimension 2 proposes an alternative method to the state of the art, retaining linear complexity and incrementality for the segments. While most of the concepts can be generalised to planes in dimension 3 and hyperplanes in higher dimensions, certain points in the management of the descent in the Stern–Brocot tree merit further study. The proposed algorithm calculates separating chords characterising the membership of planes to cones generated by the branch of the Stern–Brocot tree. This generalisation shows the close link between arithmetic hyperplanes and the generalised Stern–Brocot tree and opens up interesting prospects for recognising pieces of arithmetic hyperplanes. Finally, we propose a geometric interpretation of separating chords and an interpretation of plane probing algorithms in the Stern–Brocot tree, showing both the links and the differences with our approach.

Purpose of Review Pregnant women across the globe, in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR), face various dietary obstacles during their pregnancy. In this region, characterized by diverse cultural preferences and traditions, emergencies such as conflicts, natural disasters, epidemics, and displacement continue to exist. This influences food insecurity in the region, particularly among pregnant women. This review aims to enhance maternal and fetal health by analyzing these nutritional challenges and assessing women's nutrient consumption in accordance with the USDA's 2020–2025 Nutritional Guidelines for Pregnant Women, with particular attention to significant nutrient deficiencies. It provides a comprehensive examination of the existing literature and data regarding maternal nutrition in the EMR, highlights deficiencies in data collection and analysis, calls for national surveys, and emphasizes the necessity of raising awareness about the adequate nutrition to improve health outcomes for mothers and their infants in the region. The USDA guidelines were selected for comparisons as they are internationally recognized standards. To enhance the analysis, WHO regional standards were also used, offering context-specific insights that complement the USDA framework. Recent Findings Pregnant women in the EMR commonly experience nutrient inadequacies, particularly in carbohydrates, fruits, and vegetables. A healthy nutritious diet during pregnancy contributes to optimal fetal growth and increases the potential for long-term health for mothers and their offspring. Many antioxidants (vitamin A, C, and E, carotenoids and flavonoids) are derived from the inclusion of vegetables and fruits in pregnant women’s diets. Additionally, they also provide folates, potassium and fiber. Starchy carbohydrates and fiber containing whole grain cereals and vegetables are the fundamentals of a healthy diet allowing for good body’s functioning and providing energy as a primary source. Whole grain cereal products are particularly rich in minerals, vitamins, and dietary fibers. The study highlights lack of intake in milk and dairy products, sources of iodine, essential for cognitive fetal growth, in addition to an insufficient amount of vitamin D, which is protective against gestational diabetes, as well as vitamin C, essential for immunity and antioxidant properties. The findings emphasize the importance of conducting national surveys among pregnant women in the EMR Region countries to gain a clearer understanding of their food intake and inform the development of targeted interventions. Summary The study focuses on significant nutrient deficiencies and dietary challenges faced by pregnant women in EMR, emphasizing the need for targeted surveys and educational initiatives.

Litter nitrogen (N) release during decomposition crucially influences ecosystem N cycling and the amount of N available to plants and other soil organisms. However, the role of initial litter traits in affecting patterns of temporal N release from litters and determining the fate of N in the soil is still poorly understood. Here, we measured litter N release during the 12‐month decomposition of ¹⁵N‐labelled leaf and root litters of 12 common Mediterranean herbaceous species. We further traced the fate of N during decomposition of the litters into the soil and measured the inorganic N content in the soil solution as well as total N in the particulate (POM) and mineral‐associated organic matter (MAOM) fractions at the end of the incubation. While most litters exhibited a very rapid initial N release, they were also quite variable in their N dynamics. As such they differed in the quantity and temporal patterns of N release, the accumulation of inorganic N in the soil solution, as well as in the incorporation of N in stable soil organic matter (SOM) fractions during decomposition. This variability was driven by differences in initial litter chemistry, particularly N, but also P and Mn, and litter C leachate concentrations. These and other traits (including water‐soluble compounds and lignin concentrations) explained up to 81% of the variance in N release rate, 48% for N accumulation in the soil solution, 57% for N entering the soil POM and 55% for MAOM fraction. Synthesis. We identified litter traits and litter types (root versus leaf) with afterlife effects on N cycling in soils and important implications for ecosystem functioning. Highly decomposable litters (typically high N; including most leaf litters) generally support a fast N release through mineralization, thereby the immediate supply of N to plants, but also potentially higher losses from the system, and long‐term storage as MAOM‐N, likely within microbial resynthesis products. In contrast, poorly decomposable litters (typically low N; including most root litters) promote longer and weaker N release and foster N retention via lower N losses and increased POM‐N formation.