Quantification of Atropine and Scopolamine in Different Plant Organs of Datura Metel: Development and Validation of High-Performance Liquid Chromatography Method

Datura metel (Solanaceae) from south Lebanon. The different parts of this plant contain the tropane alkaloids atropine (AT) and scopolamine (SC), which are naturally muscarinic receptor antagonists. A method has been developed for the extraction and HPLC-UV analysis of the AT and SC in different parts of D. metel, namely seeds, capsule, leaf, and stem. This analytical method was validated and gave a good detection response with linearity over a dynamic range of 0.03‑0.17 mg mL−1 and recovery in the range of 93.9–108.76%. Limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) values were 32 and 98 µg.mL-1 for atropine and 31 and 93 µg.mL-1 for scopolamine, allowing a reliable quantitation of the target alkaloids. The solvent system Methanol/acetonitrile was the better choice for extracting tropane alkaloids from different Datura parts. Capsule parts of the plant accumulate the highest amount of scopolamine, while seeds accumulate the higher amount of atropine. Briefly, the order of scopolamine concentrations in Datura metel parts, from Lebanon, was in capsules ˃ seeds ˃ leaves ˃ stems and for atropine, the concentrations were in seeds ˃ capsules ˃ stems ˃ leaves.

The Emergence of SARS-CoV-2 Variant(s) and Its Impact on the Prevalence of COVID-19 Cases in the Nabatieh Region, Lebanon

Background: An outbreak of an unknown respiratory illness caused by a novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, emerged in the city of Wuhan in Hubei Province, China, in December 2019 and was referred to as coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19). Soon after, it was declared as a global pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) in March 2020. SARS-CoV-2 mainly infects the respiratory tract with different outcomes ranging from asymptomatic infection to severe critical illness leading to death. Different SARS-CoV-2 variants are emerging of which three have raised concerns worldwide due to their high transmissibility among populations. Objective: To study the prevalence of COVID-19 in the region of Nabatieh-South Lebanon during the past year and assess the presence of SARS-CoV-2 variants and their effect on the spread of infection during times of lockdown. Methods: In our study, 37,474 nasopharyngeal swab samples were collected and analyzed for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 virus in suspected patients attending a tertiary health care center in South Lebanon during the period between 16 March 2020 and 21 February 2021. Results: The results demonstrated a variation in the prevalence rates ranging from less than 1% during full lockdown of the country to 8.4% upon easing lockdown restrictions and reaching 27.5% after the holidays and 2021 New Year celebrations. Interestingly, a new variant(s) appeared starting January 2021 with a significant positive association between the prevalence of positive tests and the percentage of the variant(s). Conclusions: Our results indicate that the lockdown implemented by the Lebanese officials was an effective intervention to contain COVID-19 spread. Our study also showed that lifting lockdown measures during the holidays, which allowed indoor crowded gatherings to occur, caused a surge in COVID-19 cases and rise in the mortality rates nationwide. More importantly, we confirmed the presence of a highly transmissible SARS-CoV-2 variant(s) circulating in the Lebanese community from at least January 2021 onwards.

Phubbing and temperaments among young Lebanese adults: the mediating effect of self-esteem and emotional intelligence

Background The rapid increasing rate of mobile and internet users in Lebanon, predisposes us to a high dependency on smartphones, leading to more phubbing. Phubbing has been found associated with many psychological factors. Thus, the main objectives of this study was (1) to evaluate the association between phubbing and temperaments, and (2) assess the mediating effect of self-esteem and emotional intelligence in the association between phubbing and temperaments among a sample of Lebanese adults. Methods A cross-sectional study, carried out between August and September 2020, enrolled 461 participants aged between 18 and 29 years old. Participants were recruited from all districts/governorates of Lebanon (Beirut, Mount Lebanon, North Lebanon, South Lebanon, and Bekaa) using the snowball technique. The Generic Scale of Phubbing, Rosenberg Self‐Esteem Scale, Schutte Self Report Emotional Intelligence Test and TEMPS-M were used to assess phubbing, self-esteem, emotional intelligence and temperaments respectively. Results Our results showed that higher depressive temperament (B = 1.21) was significantly associated with more phubbing, whereas higher self-esteem (B = − 0.32) was significantly associated with less phubbing. Regarding the mediating effect, self-esteem partially mediated the association between depressive temperament and phubbing (21.02%), whereas emotional intelligence had no mediating effect on the association between temperaments and phubbing. Conclusion A strong correlation between phubbing and temperaments has been found in our study with a partial mediating effect of self-esteem in this association. Our findings might be a first step for raising awareness to develop the etiquette of using smartphones by providing media education to families, and good media usage habits.

Zaynab Fawwāz’s Feminist Locutions

Lebanese-Egyptian Zaynab Fawwāz (ca. 1850-1914) was an unusual presence in 1890s Egypt: an immigrant from Shīʿī south Lebanon, without major family support, she created an intellectual place for herself in the Cairo press, generating a forthright voice on women’s needs as distinct from “the nation’s.” Like most Arabophone writers on “the Woman Question,” Fawwāz addressed girls’ education, but she focused less on domestic training than on work and income, gender-defined dependency, and exploitation. She highlighted gender-prejudiced uses of religious knowledge to further masculine privilege. Framing her arguments within terms of engagement defined by Islamic sharīʿah, she appropriated and redefined keywords for an indigenous feminism. She repurposed the Islamic-Arabic genre of biographical writing for feminist-inflected history writing. I consider how Fawwāz deployed terminology and genre to contest patriarchal readings of Islamic practice sustained by assumptions of masculinist authority. Fawwāz’s writings remind us that secularism was never inherent in Arabophone feminist theorizing, nor were the earliest Arab feminisms Western derivatives. Historical assemblages shaped by Islamic (and Christian) worldviews yielded creative syntheses that were firmly indigenous.

The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variant(s) and its impact on the prevalence of COVID-19 cases in Nabatieh region, Lebanon

Background: An outbreak of an unknown respiratory illness caused by a novel corona-virus, SARS-CoV-2, emerged in the city of Wuhan in Hubei province, China, in December 2019 and was referred to as coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19). Soon after, it was declared as a global pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) in March 2020. SARS-CoV-2 mainly infects the respiratory tract with different outcomes ranging from asymptomatic infection to se-vere critical illness leading to death. Different SARS-CoV-2 variants are emerging of which three have raised concerns worldwide due to their high transmissibility among populations. Objec-tive: To study the prevalence of COVID-19 in the region of Nabatieh - South Lebanon during the past year and assess the presence of SARS-CoV-2 variants and their effect on the spread of infec-tion during times of lockdown. Methods: In our study, 37,474 nasopharyngeal swab samples were collected and analyzed for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 virus in suspected patients attend-ing a tertiary health care center in South Lebanon during the period between March 16, 2020 and February 21, 2021. Results: Results demonstrated a variation in the prevalence rates ranging from less than 1% during full lockdown of the country to 8.4% upon easing lockdown re-strictions and reaching 27.5% after the holidays and 2021 New Year celebrations. Interestingly, a new variant(s) appeared starting January 2021 with a significant positive association between the prevalence of positive tests and the percentage of the variant(s). Conclusion: Our results indicate that the lockdown implemented by the Lebanese officials presented an effective intervention to contain COVID-19 spread. Our study also showed that lifting lockdown measures during the holidays, which allowed indoor crowded gatherings to occur, caused a surge in COVID-19 cases and rise in the mortality rates nationwide. More importantly, we confirmed the presence of a highly transmissible SARS-CoV-2 variant(s) circulating in the Lebanese community, at least since January 2021 onwards.

The Effect of Fertigation and Foliar Application of Seaweed’s Bio Stimulant on Banana Yield

In order to shed light on the effect of the seaweed Ascophyllum nodosum (L.) bio stimulant on the banana fruit, foliar application (Fo), fertigation(F1) and a mix of both interventions (M) were done during 2018-2019 season on banana plants grown in South Lebanon compared with control (Ctrl). The period between flowering and harvest, the bunch weight, the weight and dimensions of fruit, were measured during the study. The results showed that the shortest period between flowering and harvest was observed on samples treated through foliar application (Fo), less with fertigation and then the mix of both (M). Those treatments were very effective in stimulating the weight of bunch and length of fruit, while a significant increase in the weight of fruit was noticed when both applications were done together (M). All treated modalities showed better performance compared with control. There was no difference in the diameter of fruit between all treatments. Therefore, the application of eco-friendly seaweed-based bio stimulant would be beneficial for the time of harvesting, and the size of banana fruits.

Effectiveness of breast cancer screening campaigns from 2012 to 2017 by analysis of stage at diagnosis, Lebanon

Background: Breast cancer is the most common and costly disease in Lebanon, but data on cancer stage and mortality are scarce. Aims: This study aimed to assess the effect of mammography screening campaigns in reducing the breast cancer stage at diagnosis. Methods: A secondary analysis was conducted of data from the Ministry of Public Health’s Cancer Drug Scientific Committee database. The medical files of 3320 newly diagnosed breast cancer patients between 2012 and 2017 were reviewed. Demographic and pathology characteristics, cancer stage at diagnosis and presence of receptors were extracted and analysed. Results: The median age of the patients was 53 (interquartile range 36–72) years. Most patients had positive estrogen and progesterone receptors. Patients < 35 years mostly lived in South Lebanon, had advanced stages of cancer (III and IV) at diagnosis and were more likely to have triple negative breast cancer than the older groups (31.3% versus 16.7%). Advanced stage at diagnosis was common outside Beirut (60.4% in Bekaa and 54.7% in North Lebanon). In the period 2012–2017, the trend in early stages (I and II) at diagnosis decreased from 55.6% to 41.9%, while advanced stages (III and IV) increased from 44.4% to 57.9%. Conclusion: Efforts to downstage breast cancer through mammography screening in Lebanon have not succeeded. Implementation of genetic testing and tailored approaches for Lebanese women are recommended for future campaigns.

Digital Documentation and a 3-D Model of Beaufort Castle via RTK GNSS, Terrestrial Laser Scanner and UAS-based Photogrammetry

Three-dimensional digital technology is important in the maintenance and monitoring of archeological sites. This paper focuses on using a combination of terrestrial laser scanning and unmanned aerial vehicle (Phantom 4 pro) photogrammetry to establish a three-dimensional model and associated digital documentation of Beaufort castle (Arnoun, South Lebanon). The overall discrepancy between the two technologies was sufficient for the generation of convergent data. Thus, the terrestrial laser scanning and phantom 4 photogrammetry data were aligned and merged post-conversion into compatible extensions. A three-D dimensional (3D) model, with planar and perpendicular geometries, based on the hybrid datapoint cloud was developed. This study demonstrates the potential of using the integration of terrestrial laser scanning and photogrammetry in 3D digital documentation and spatial analysis of the Lebanese archeological sites.

Green to Bluegrass

In 1949 Lily Isaacs came to New York from Germany with her Jewish family. She met Joe Isaacs when he played a Greenwich Village folk club with Frank Wakefield and the Greenbriar Boys. Married in 1970, they moved to South Lebanon, Ohio. Joe played with Larry Sparks. After Joe’s brother died in an accident, Lily converted to Christianity. She and Joe began singing gospel, and recorded with Hamilton’s Pine Tree Records and at Jordan Studios in Covington, traveled with children Ben, Becky and Sonya as Sacred Bluegrass, then moved to LaFollette, Tennessee. After Lily and Joe divorced, Lily and her children performed as the Isaacs, earned a 2016 Grammy nomination, and Lily published her 2014 autobiography, You Don't Cry Out Loud.