Purchasing decisions on date palm fruits: A quantitative analysis of the Khalas cultivar.

This study examines the attributes of date palm fruits that influence consumer purchasing decisions and measures the attributes' relative importance weights for understanding consumption patterns relative to the cultivation areas. A case study was conducted for a selected date fruit, Khalas, which is cultivated in Saudi Arabia and ranked first in the world in exported dates. Our empirical investigation is based on utilizing a proposed quantitative analysis that integrated the entropy weighting method and binary logit models. With this survey design, 486 questionnaires were collected. Analysis results revealed a ranking list of preferred attributes, with size, mellowness, price, and color being the most valued. However, this ranking list fluctuates when different cultivated types of Khalas dates are available. The results also showed that consumption patterns may change in terms of preference index and shopping location. The paper concludes with a discussion of managerial implications, limitations, and future research directions.

Reliability of Non-invasive Liver Fibrosis Assessment Tools Versus Biopsy in Pre- and Post-bariatric Surgery Patients with Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease.

PURPOSE: Liver biopsy (LBx) remains the gold standard to assess fibrosis in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Biochemical markers are also useful, but their reliability is not clear in patients with morbid obesity. We assessed the performance of six non-invasive fibrosis assessment tools before and after bariatric surgery (BSx) using LBx. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a cross-sectional and prospective cohort study. LBx was performed at the time of BSx and 12-month post-operatively and assessed using the Brunt system. Clinical and biochemical measurements were collected at the same time points and six non-invasive fibrosis assessment tools were calculated. RESULTS: One hundred seventy patients had BSx; 79.4% female; age was 46.6 ± 9.8 years, and BMI was 48.6 ± 7.5 kg/m2. From liver histology, 88% had F0-F2 and 11.2% F3-F4. At BSx, aspartate aminotransferase to platelet ratio index (APRI) and FIB-4 had better accuracy (0.86 and 0.88) with specificity of 96.6% and 94.0% and negative predictive values (NPV) of 88.9% and 93.7%. However, sensitivity (6.7% and 40.0%) and positive predictive values (PPV) (20.0% and 46.2%) were low. Twelve months post-surgery (n = 54), 88.9% of patients had F0-F2 and 11.1% had F3-F4. Fibrosis-4 index (FIB-4) and NAFLD fibrosis score (NFS) had the best accuracy (0.79 and 0.77) with specificity of 83.7% and 86.9% and NPV of 92.3% and 86.9%. However, sensitivity (25% and 0%) and PPV (12.5% and 0%) were low. CONCLUSION: Overall, FIB-4, APRI, and NFS showed similar performances with higher accuracy, specificity, and NPV. Sensitivity and PPV were low. These tests are more useful at excluding advanced fibrosis.

Comparison of bioelectrical impedance analysis, mass index, and waist circumference in assessing risk for non-alcoholic steatohepatitis.

OBJECTIVE: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is a leading cause of liver disease worldwide and includes nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), which can progress to cirrhosis. Because NASH is associated with obesity severity, routine evaluation of obesity/body fat in clinical settings may help detect patients at risk. The aim of this study was to determine whether assessing body fat by bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) is superior to body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) in assessing the risk for NASH. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, patients were recruited and gave consent from a local hospital. All had a liver biopsy. Measurements before the biopsy included BMI, WC, and BIA. BIA was used to measure percentage body fat and fat mass (kg). Based on histology, patients were grouped into one of three categories: simple steatosis (SS), NASH, or normal liver (NL). RESULTS: Of the 139 participants who participated, 39 were classified as SS, 53 as NASH, and 47 as NL. Regardless of sex, patients with NASH had significantly higher BMI, WC, percentage body fat and fat mass than those with NL or SS. These four parameters were significantly positively correlated with liver histology measurements. In all patients, when controlling for sex and age we found that BMI, WC, and BIA were equal at predicting the presence of NASH (P = 0.0571). CONCLUSION: All three methods, BIA, BMI, and WC, were comparable in assessing the risk for NASH. For practical purpose in clinical settings, using BMI is acceptable.

Longitudinal growth of infants in Qatar: comparison with WHO and CDC growth standards.

Longitudinal growth data for infants in Qatar were compared to growth standards published by the CDC and WHO. 300 randomly selected full-term normal infants (150 males, 150 females) in Qatar were followed-up and weight and length were sequentially recorded at 2 months, 4 months, 6 months, 12 months and 18 months age. The mean length for age of girls was higher than those published by the CDC and WHO at 12 and 18 months of age. Using the CDC standard for weight for length detected more wasted infants (9.0% and 6.5%) compared to using WHO standards (6.27% and 6.0%) for males and females, respectively. When WHO and CDC standards are compared, more infants were identified as overweight when the former were used. The WHO standards are preferable because they are based on a leaner breastfed reference and because overweight is likely to be a greater problem in Qatar in the future.

Manifestations of severe vitamin D deficiency in adolescents: effects of intramuscular injection of a megadose of cholecalciferol.

We recorded the manifestations of severe vitamin D deficiency (VDD) in 40 adolescents before and 3 and 6 months after treatment with a mega dose of cholecalciferol (10 000 IU kg(-1), max 600 000 IU). Significant improvement of symptoms related to VDD was reported in 34/40. Three months after the injection, serus calcium, phosphate, alkaline phosphatase and parathormone were normal in all adolescents with VDD with 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) level = or >20 ng ml(-1). After 6 months, the majority had 25OHD level <20 ng ml(-1). Two patterns of radiological changes have been recorded with complete healing achieved in all patients after a year of therapy. A mega dose of cholecalciferol is an effective therapy for treatment of VDD in adolescents for 3 months but not for 6 months. Radiographs of the ends of long bones are still valuable tool for diagnosis and follow-up of these patients.