Apple cider vinegar for weight management in Lebanese adolescents and young adults with overweight and obesity: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study.

Background and aims: Obesity and overweight have become significant health concerns worldwide, leading to an increased interest in finding natural remedies for weight reduction. One such remedy that has gained popularity is apple cider vinegar (ACV). Objective: To investigate the effects of ACV consumption on weight, blood glucose, triglyceride and cholesterol levels in a sample of the Lebanese population. Materials and methods: 120 overweight and obese individuals were recruited. Participants were randomly assigned to either an intervention group receiving 5, 10 or 15 mL of ACV or a control group receiving a placebo (group 4) over a 12-week period. Measurements of anthropometric parameters, fasting blood glucose, triglyceride and cholesterol levels were taken at weeks 0, 4, 8 and 12. Results: Our findings showed that daily consumption of the three doses of ACV for a duration of between 4 and 12 weeks is associated with significant reductions in anthropometric variables (weight, body mass index, waist/hip circumferences and body fat ratio), blood glucose, triglyceride and cholesterol levels. No significant risk factors were observed during the 12 weeks of ACV intake. Conclusion: Consumption of ACV in people with overweight and obesity led to an improvement in the anthropometric and metabolic parameters. ACV could be a promising antiobesity supplement that does not produce any side effects.

A systematic review and meta-analysis of factors related to first line drugs refractoriness in patients with juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME).

INTRODUCTION: Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy (JME) is a prevalent form of epileptic disorder, specifically categorized within the realm of Genetic Generalized Epilepsy (GGE). Its hallmark features encompass unprovoked bilateral myoclonus and tonic-clonic seizures that manifest during adolescence. While most JME patients respond favorably to anti-seizure medication (ASM), a subset experiences refractory JME, a condition where seizures persist despite rigorous ASM treatment, often termed "Drug-Resistant Epilepsy" (DRE). This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to determine the prevalence of refractory JME, and further to identify socio-demographic, electrophysiological and clinical risk factors associated with its occurrence. Pinpointing these factors is crucial as it offers the potential to predict ASM responsiveness, enabling early interventions and tailored care strategies for patients. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The systematic review and meta-analysis followed the Cochrane Handbook and adhered to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. The study evaluated outcomes post ASM treatment in JME cohorts by searching papers published up to September 2023 in PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, and Google Scholar databases. Predefined inclusion criteria were met by 25 eligible studies, forming the basis for analysis. RESULTS: A total of 22 potential risk factors for refractory JME were documented. Notably, robust risk factors for treatment resistance included Psychiatric Disorder (Odds Ratio (OR), 3.42 [2.54, 4.61] (95% Confidence Inverval (Cl)), Febrile Seizures (OR, 1.83 [1.14, 2.96] (95% Cl)), Alcohol Consumption (OR, 16.86 [1.94, 146.88] (95%Cl)), Aura (OR, 2.15 [1.04, 4.47] (95%Cl)), childhood absence epilepsy (CAE) evolving into JME (OR, 4.54 [1.61, 12.78] (95%CI)), occurrence of three seizure types (OR, 2.96 [1.96, 4.46] (95%CI)), and Focal EEG abnormalities (OR, 1.85 [1.13, 3.01] (95%Cl)). In addition, there were some non-significant risk factors for DRE because of noticeable heterogeneity. CONCLUSION: In aggregate, over 36% of JME patients demonstrated drug resistance, with seven significant risk factors closely linked to this refractoriness. The interplay between these factors and whether they denote treatment non-response or heightened disease burden remains an open question and more studies would be required to fully examine their influence.

Molecular Characterization of Lactic Acid Bacteria in Bakery and Pastry Starter Ferments.

Bread is the oldest and most essential food consumed by humans, with its consumption exceeding nutritional needs and becoming part of cultural habits. Fermentation is an important step in the bread-making process, giving it its rheological, organoleptic, aromatic, and nutritional properties. Lactic acid bacteria and yeasts are both responsible for the fermentation step and part of the natural flour microbiota. In this study, we aimed to characterize LAB in three types of flour, namely, wheat, oat, and rice flour, using conventional phenotypic and biochemical assays and to carry out molecular-biology-based characterization via studying the rrn Operon using RFLP of the ITS region and via PCR using species-specific primers. Additionally, the effect of LAB diversity among the three types of flour and their influence on dough characteristics were assessed. Also, we evaluated the antagonistic effects of LAB on two bacterial (E. coli and S. aureus) and two fungal (Botrytis and Fusarium) pathogens. This study showed that LAB are not the predominant species in rice flour, while they were predominant in wheat and oat flour. Additionally, Lactobacillus sanfranciscencis was found to be the predominant species in wheat flour, while its presence in oat flour was minor. Finally, through their production of soluble substances, LAB exerted antagonistic effects on the four types of pathogenic microorganisms.

Factors associated with coronavirus disease 2019 infection severity among a sample of Lebanese adults: Data from a cross-sectional study.

Background and Aims: Identification of factors responsible for severe illness related to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) could help in the early management of patients with high risk, especially in developing countries with poor medical care systems. To date, no data have been published concerning the factors associated with COVID-19 severity in Lebanon. In this study, we aimed at investigating the relation between sociodemographic variables, health status, and the clinical outcomes of COVID-19 in a sample of Lebanese adults. Methods: In our cross-sectional study, 1052 patients (563 male and 489 female, with the median age of 42.83 ± 17.88 years), tested positive for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) between January and March 2021, were recruited from a hospital in Byblos, Lebanon. Basic demographic data, medical history, clinical data, and selfreported symptoms related to COVID-19 were collected. Clinical classification of COVID-19 severity was carried out according to the WHO interim guidance on May 27, 2020. Multi and bivariate regression analysis were performed. Results: When comparing patients with moderate symptoms versus mild, the results showed that older age (aOR = 1.05; 95% CI: 1.03-1.06) and having dyslipidemia (aOR = 1.89; 95% CI: 1.01-3.49) were significantly associated with higher odds of having moderate symptoms. When comparing patients with severe symptoms versus mild, older age (aOR = 1.08; 95% CI: 1.06-1.10), higher body mass index (aOR = 1.09; 95% CI: 1.04-1.15) and having respiratory diseases (aOR = 2.57; 95% CI: 1.03-6.36) were significantly associated with higher odds of having severe symptoms, whereas female gender (aOR = 0.56; 95% CI: 0.32-0.98) was significantly associated with lower odds of having severe symptoms compared to males. Finally, when comparing patients with severe symptoms versus moderate, older age (aOR = 1.03; 95% CI: 1.01-1.05) was found to be significantly associated with higher odds of having severe symptoms. Conclusion: Identification of risk factors may contribute to a better understanding of the COVID-19 pathogenesis and provide clinical reference for early prognosis and management of patients.

Sulfate radicals mediated oxidation of amoxicillin: Optimization of key parameters.

The lack of selectivity of hydroxyl radical species used in Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs) to eliminate organic pollutants has swayed the investigation towards more selective oxidizing agents. In the current work, we investigated the oxidation of amoxicillin, the most commonly used antibiotic worldwide, by sulfate radical species generated from the activation of Persulfate (PS) and Peroxymonosulfate (PMS-Oxone®). The optimization of this oxidation using the box-behnken experimental design was conducted. From this study, it was shown that the PS/Fe2+ mixture was capable of dose-dependently inducing a significant amount of degradation of the Amoxicillin compound with a higher degradation rate detected with higher amounts of PS and Fe2+. Sulfate radicals generated from the "Oxidant-Catalyst" mixture were shown to be the predominant oxidizing species involved in this process with the second order rate constant of Amoxicillin degradation found to be equal to 2.79 × 109 M-1. S-1. In the optimization procedure, the box-benhken methodology allowed us to assess the impact of various factors and their interaction on COD removal efficiency (mineralization rate), which is the objective response needed to be optimized. The variables considered were PS as the oxidant, Fe2+ as the catalyst, and pH. It was concluded that among the various parameters tested, pH was the most influential as a decrease in pH values was shown to be positively correlated with a significant increase in COD removal rate. Hence, the highest mineralization rate of Amoxicillin (≈76.10% COD removal) was achieved with PS = 300 µM, Fe2+ = 250 µM, and a pH value of 3.

Interaction of cucurbitacins with human serum albumin: Thermodynamic characteristics and influence on the binding of site specific ligands.

Cucurbitacins (Cuc) are cytotoxic oxygenated triterpenes. Their binding to albumin may control their diffusion and consequently their biological effects. The specific binding site of Cuc to albumin is important to be defined as it could determine some of the drug interactions of the compounds. This paper deals with the interaction between human serum albumin and a series of four cucurbitacins (B, D, E and I) measured by fluorescence and circular dichroism spectroscopies. Cuc B and E at C25, are the acetylated forms of Cuc D and I. The binding parameters (K(a) and n) of Cuc B, D and E to albumin were determined at 288, 293, 298 and 303K. Cuc B possesses the higher binding constant (K(a)) values followed by Cuc E and D. The thermodynamic parameters DeltaH, DeltaG and DeltaS were calculated. They indicated hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions for Cuc B, hydrophobic interaction for Cuc E, hydrophobic and hydrogen bond interactions for Cuc D. In addition to bilirubin, Cuc B, D, and E increased the binding constant values for warfarin to albumin, whereas they did not affect the binding of other ligands of site I such as chloroform and salicylate. The increase of the K(a) values of warfarin and bilirubin was associated with an increase of the binding constant value of cucurbitacin to albumin. Cuc I did not bind to albumin and could be considered less capable to affect the interaction of ligands to albumin than Cuc B, D and E. CD spectra indicated that Cuc binding to HSA was not associated with substantial structural changes of the protein.