High Rate of Sexual Dysfunction Following Surgery for Rectal Cancer

Wafi Attaallah,Caglar Ertekin,Ilker Tinay,Cumhur Yegen 대한대장항문학회 2014 Annals of Coloproctolgy Vol.30 No.5

Purpose: Although rectal cancer is a very common malignancy and has an improved cure rate in response to oncological treatment, research on rectal-cancer survivors’ sexual function remains limited. Sexual dysfunction (SD) after rectal cancer treatment was measured, and possible predisposing factors that may have an impact on the development of this disorder were identified. Methods: Patients undergoing curative rectal cancer surgery from January 2012 to September 2013 were surveyed using questionnaires. The female sexual function index or the International Index of Erectile Function was recorded. A multiple logistic regression was used to test associations of clinical factors with outcomes. Results: Fifty-six men (56%) and 28 women (44%) who completed the questionnaire were included in the study. A total of 76 patients of the 86 patients (90.5%) with the diagnosis of rectal cancer who were included in this study reported different levels of SD after radical surgery. A total of 64 patients (76%) from the whole cohort reported moderate to severe SD after treatment of rectal cancer. Gender (P = 0.011) was independently associated with SD. Female patients reported significantly higher rates of moderate to severe SD than male patients. Patients were rarely treated for dysfunction. Conclusion: Sexual problems after surgery for rectal cancer are common, but patients are rarely treated for SD. Female patients reported higher rates of SD than males. These results point out the importance of sexual (dys)function in survivors of rectal cancer. More attention should be drawn to this topic for clinical and research purposes.

Prognostic Impact of the Metastatic Lymph Node Ratio on Survival in Rectal Cancer

Wafi Attaallah,Omer Gunal,Manuk Manukyan,Gulden Ozden,Cumhur Yegen 대한대장항문학회 2013 Annals of Coloproctolgy Vol.29 No.3

Purpose: Lymph-node metastasis is the most important predictor of survival in stage III rectal cancer. The number of metastatic lymph nodes may vary depending on the level of specimen dissection and the total number of lymph nodes harvested. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether the lymph node ratio (LNR) is a prognostic parameter for patients with rectal cancer. Methods: A retrospective review of a database of rectal cancer patients was performed to determine the effect of the LNR on the disease-free survival (DFS) and the overall survival. Of the total 228 patients with rectal cancer, 55 patients with stage III cancer were eligible for analysis. Survival curves were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Cox regression analyses, after adjustments for potential confounders, were used to evaluate the relationship between the LNR and survival. Results: According to the cutoff point 0.15 (15%), the 2-year DFS was 95.2% among patients with a LNR < 0.15 compared with 67.6% for those with LNR ≥ 0.15 (P = 0.02). In stratified and multivariate analyses adjusted for age, gender, histology and tumor status, a higher LNR was independently associated with worse DFS. Conclusion: This study showed the prognostic significance of ratio-based staging for rectal cancer and may help in developing better staging systems. LNR 0.15 (15%) was shown to be a cutoff point for determining survival and prognosis in rectal cancer cases.

The role of rectal redundancy in the pathophysiology of rectal prolapse: a pilot study

Wafi Attaallah,Ahmet Akmercan,Hale Feratoglu 대한외과학회 2022 Annals of Surgical Treatment and Research(ASRT) Vol.102 No.5

Purpose: Rectal prolapse is hypothesized to be caused due to weakness of the pelvic floor which is related to childbearing. However, half of the female patients with rectal prolapse were reported to be nulliparous and this hypothesis doesn’t explain the prolapse in males. The aim of this study is to evaluate the role of rectal redundancy in rectal prolapse pathophysiology. Methods: This study was conducted prospectively. Fourteen patients who underwent rectopexy were included in the study group. A total of 17 patients who underwent laparotomy for another reason and who have no symptoms regarding rectal prolapse were included in the control group. In order to measure the redundancy of the rectum, we have calculated the ratio of length of intraperitoneal rectum (R) to length of distance between promontorium and peritoneal reflection (PRx). The primary outcome of this study was to evaluate whether the R/PRx ratio is higher in patients with rectal prolapse compared to the control group. Results: Comparing the anatomic features showed that the length of sigmoid colon and length of PRx were not significantly different between the two groups. However, the length of intraperitoneal rectum was significantly higher in the prolapse group. Furthermore, the median R/PRx ratio in the prolapse group was significantly higher than in the control group. Conclusion: This study showed that intraperitoneal rectum in patients with rectal prolapse is significantly more redundant than in the normal population. This could be considered reasonable evidence for the role of rectal redundancy on rectal prolapse pathophysiology.

ON KANTOROVICH FORM OF GENERALIZED SZASZ-TYPE OPERATORS USING CHARLIER POLYNOMIALS

Abdul Wafi,Nadeem Rao,Deepmala 강원경기수학회 2017 한국수학논문집 Vol.25 No.1

The aim of this article is to introduce a new form of Kantorovich Sz\'{a}sz-type operators involving Charlier polynomials. In this manuscript, we discuss the rate of convergence, better error estimates. Further, we investigate order of approximation in the sense of local approximation results with the help of Ditzian-Totik modulus of smoothness, second order modulus of continuity, Peetre's K-functional and Lipschitz class.

Negative thermal expansion in porous glass-ceramics based on Mg2Al2B2Si5O18 prepared from Saudi raw materials

Samah S. Eldera,Reem Al-wafi,Omar A. Al-Harbi,Christian Rüssel,Esmat M. A. Hamzawy 대한기계학회 2020 JOURNAL OF MECHANICAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY Vol.34 No.11

A porous glass-ceramic enjoyed very low and negative thermal expansion was prepared. A glass of the base molar composition, 2 MgO·2 Al 2 O 3 ·2 B 2 O 3 ·5 SiO 2 with the addition of 1.61 ma% TiO 2 , was melted from kaolin, magnesite, silica sand and boric acid. The composition is based on cordierite where 50 % Al 2 O 3 were replaced by an equimolar concentration of B 2 O 3 . The glass was crashed and powdered, subsequently plastified, uniaxially pressed and finally sintered at temperatures in the range from 1100 to 1300 °C. X-ray diffraction of sintered samples gave evidence of a cordierite like crystalline phase. Scanning electron microscopy and electron dispersive microanalysis of samples prepared at 1300 °C showed crystals with hexagonal shape doped by TiO 2 , B 2 O 3 and Fe 2 O 3 embedded in a glassy matrix. With increasing crystallization temperature, the porosity of the glass-ceramics increased from 8.99 % (at 1200 °C for 3 min) to 56.42 % (at 1300 °C for 3 min). This led to a decrease of the specimen density from 1.9880 to 1.1278 g/cm 3 whereas the skeletal density increased from 2.1303 g/cm 3 to 2.5878 g/cm 3 . The microhardnesses were in the 5.60 and 6.00 GPa range. The coefficient of thermal expansion was between -3.26 and -2.27x10 -6 K -1 from room temperature up to 300 o C and -0.45 and 1.89x10 -6 K -1 from room temperature up to 500 °C. For the first time, to the best of our knowledge, a porous cordierite glass-ceramic with negative thermal expansion is reported. The partial replacement of Al 2 O 3 by B 2 O 3 enables to apply lower melting temperature which is advantageous for the production process.

Human Serum Promotes the Proliferation but not the Stemness Genes Expression of Human Adipose-derived Stem Cells

Chua Kien Hui,Wan Kamarul Zaman Wan Safwani,Seah Shiao Chin,Annisaa Abu Samah Abdul Malek,Noormazita Hassan,Muhamad Syakeer Fazil,Raja Abdul Wafy Raja Muhammad Rooshdi,Adila A. Hamid,Somasundaram Sath 한국생물공학회 2012 Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering Vol.17 No.6

Recently human adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) have shown much therapeutic potential in regenerative medicine. However, fetal bovine serum (FBS)used in culturing human cells may give risk to viral and prion transmission as well as immune rejection. Human serum (HS) is a safer growth supplement in human cell culture but its effects have not been well established. Therefore the objectives of this study were to compare the effects of HS versus FBS on the proliferation and stemness gene expression of ASCs. ASCs were cultured for 5passages in medium supplemented with either 10% HS or 10% FBS. ASCs proliferation rate and viability were determined at every passage. Total RNA was extracted at passage 5 (P5) and quantitative PCR was carried out to determine the stemness gene expression level of SOX-2,Nanog3, BST-1, REX-1, ABCG2 and FGF-4. The results showed ASC cultured in 10% HS scored greater proliferation rates and viability compared to 10% FBS. ASCs proliferated significantly faster in 10% HS compared to 10% FBS at P2, P3, and P4 (p < 0.05). In quantitative gene expression analysis, ASCs cultured in 10% FBS showed a significant increase of BST-1, REX-1 and ABCG2 expression compared to 10% HS. In conclusion, HS promotes ASCs proliferation and viability but its ability to support the stemness property of ASCs was inferior to FBS.