Lamaholot of East Flores: a study of a boundary community

Lamaholot is a population found on Flores and in the Solor Archipelago of Eastern Indonesia. The population is village-based and divided into patrilineal descent groups. Marriage is coupled with bridewealth and follows a pattern of asymmetric marriage alliance between descent groups. This thesis shows that a small group of Lamaholot in the administrative regency of East Flores shares certain traditions with a neighbouring population called Ata Tana ‘Ai. Ata Tana ‘Ai are a sub-group of the Sikka population in the administrative regency of Sikka. Descent group among Ata Tana ‘Ai are matrilineal and households were traditionally based in scattered gardens. Marriage is not coupled with bridewealth and instances of asymmetric marriage alliance between descent groups are here a consequence rather than a cause of marriage. The current fieldsite seems to have been part of the ceremonial system of Ata Tana ‘Ai and also to have shared a tradition of dispersed settlement in the gardens. The descent groups might initially have been matrilineal, but in the recent past there was also a habit of dividing children between the parental descent groups. Recent traditions of dividing children can be found throughout central-east Flores, but seemingly not to same extent as at the fieldsite. The payment of elephant’s tusks was a central feature in the acquisition of group members at the fieldsite and could be paid by both men and women. These payments were not necessarily tied to marriage and did not serve as bridewealth. In the last century outer social factors, such as the Catholic mission and the creation of the Dutch colonial state, have resulted in that many of the traditional practices at the fieldsite have been replaced with traditions from Lamaholot elsewhere. The residence pattern is now village-based, but gardens retain a central social and ritual position. The role of the elephant’s tusks has taken different expressions throughout this period of social change, and alongside the changing role of tusks, the traditional social and material authority of women at the fieldsite has declined, whereas that of men has increased. This thesis examines the current and the traditional practices in and around the fieldsite, and focuses on local definitions of descent group, kinship, and inheritance, looking at both biological and social perspectives.This thesis is not currently available via ORA

External pelvic and vaginal irradiation vs. vaginal irradiation alone as postoperative therapy in women with early stage uterine serous carcinoma: Results of a National Cancer Database analysis.

PURPOSE: Adjuvant treatment in early stage uterine serous carcinoma (USC) usually consists of chemotherapy with vaginal brachytherapy (VB), pelvic external beam radiation therapy (EBRT), or combination. We compared survival outcomes across these various radiation treatment modalities using the National Cancer Database. METHODS AND MATERIALS: The National Cancer Database was queried for adult females with histologically confirmed International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics 1988 Stage I-II USC diagnosed from 2003 to 2013 treated definitively with hysterectomy, adjuvant chemotherapy, and radiation therapy. χ 2 tests were used to assess differences by radiation type (VB, pelvic EBRT, and EBRT + VB) and various clinical variables. Kaplan–Meier and log-rank test methods were used to evaluate survival outcomes. Risk factors related to overall survival were identified by univariate and multivariate analysis. RESULTS: We identified 1336 patients with USC who met our inclusion criteria. Most patients were treated with VB (66%) compared with EBRT (21%) or combination EBRT + VB (13%). The proportion of patients who received EBRT (including EBRT + VB) was higher for those who did not have a lymph node dissection or with fewer dissected lymph nodes. Patients treated with VB alone had longer 5-year survival rates (84% [95% confidence interval: 80, 90]) than those treated with EBRT (75% [95% confidence interval: 69, 80]) (p \u3c 0.001). On multivariate analysis, the presence of lymphovascular space invasion (hazard ratio, 2.48; p \u3c 0.001) and the absence of a lymph node dissection (hazard ratio, 2.24; p = 0.047) were independent predictors of overall survival. CONCLUSIONS: This large hospital-based study suggests that VB alone may be sufficient for adjuvant radiation treatment in women with USC treated with adjuvant chemotherapy and who underwent an adequate surgical staging

Degradation of organic effluents containing wastewater by photo-Fenton oxidation process

1681-1684Photooxidation of some organic pollutants (p-nitroaniline, p-aminophenols and acetanilide) has been carried out in the presence of photo-Fenton reagent. The effect of various parameters like pH, concentrations of organic compounds, ferric ions and hydrogen peroxide and light intensity, etc. on the reaction rate has been studied. The degradation is found to be pseudo first order. The optimum pHs for the degradation of p-aminophenol, p-nitroaniline and acetanilide are found to be 3.0, 3.5 and 2.5, respectively while the rate degradations of the three compounds are found to be comparable. The study shows that the photo-Fenton process are more effective and faster than Fenton's reagent in oxidation of organic compounds, and that the organic compounds are completely oxidized and degraded into CO₂ and H₂O. A tentative mechanism has been proposed. Excellent removal has been obtained using photo-Fenton process assisted with artificial irradiation. This study demonstrates that the use of photo-Fenton process on organic effluents wastewater treatment is very promising, especially when solar light is used

Novel quinazolinone-thiazolidinone hybrid: Design, synthesis and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">in vitro </i>antimicrobial and antituberculosis studies

1169-1177To cure multi-drug resistant problem, a series of quinazolinone based 5-arylidene-2- ( (2- (2-methyl-4-oxoquinazolin-3- (4H)-yl) ethyl) amino) thiazol-4 (5H)-one <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">6a-j have been synthesized. Quinazoline and styryl thiazolidinones have been clubbed through ethyl linkage to get hybrid molecule. Final synthesized compounds are screened for their <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">in vitro antimicrobial activity against bacterial and fungal strains i.e two Gram-positive bacteria (S. aureus, B. cereus), six Gram-negative bacteria (E. coli, P. aeruginosa,<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"> K. pneumoniae, S. typhi, P. vulgaris, and S. flexneria) and two fungal species (A. niger,<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"> and C. albicans) using broth dilution technique. In vitro antimycobacterial efficacy has also been studied against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv using BACTEC MGIT method. Antituberculosis results have pointed towards the equal potency of the lead compounds (MIC= 6.25 µg/mL) in comparison to the standard Pyrazinamide drug. Though compounds bearing-<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">ortho and-meta chloro substitution have shown 99% strain inhibition, MIC of <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">6.25 µg/mL has proved its superiority over >6.25 µg/mL MIC. All the final synthesized compounds have been confirmed by FT-IR, 1H and 13C NMR, mass and elemental analysis. </span

Does Age-Adjusted Charlson Comorbidity Score Impact Survival Endpoints in Women with Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics-Stage III Endometrial Cancer?

OBJECTIVES: We sought to evaluate the impact of age-adjusted Charlson comorbidity index (AACCI) score on survival endpoints for women with advanced stage endometrial carcinoma (EC). METHODS AND MATERIALS: We identified 238 women with stage III EC. AACCI score was calculated and 3 groups were created accordingly; group 1 with a score of 0-2, group 2 with score 3-4, and group 3 with score ≥5. Significant predictors of recurrence-free (RFS), disease-specific (DSS) and overall survival (OS) were analyzed. RESULTS: Median follow-up was 54 months and median age was 65 years. Stage IIIC was the most common stage (69%). The 3 groups were well-balanced except for less utilization of adjuvant chemotherapy in group 3 (p = 0.01). Five-year OS was significantly lower in group 3 compared to groups 1 and 2 (23 vs. 65 and 51%, respectively). Similarly, 5-year RFS was 54, 41, and 33% and DSS was 65, 54, and 35% for groups 1, 2, and 3 respectively. On multivariate analyses, AACCI group 3, cervical stromal involvement, positive peritoneal cytology, and higher tumor grade were predictors for shorter OS. Cervical stromal involvement and higher grade were independent predictors for worse RFS and DSS. Additionally, positive cytology, lymphovascular space invasion, and stage IIIC2 were significantly detrimental for RFS. CONCLUSIONS: Our study suggests that comorbidity burden is a strong predictor of worse OS in women with stage III EC. Women with higher AACCI are less likely to receive adjuvant chemotherapy. Comorbidity score can significantly impact survival endpoints for women with advanced EC

Does Age-Adjusted Charlson Comorbidity Score Impact Survival Endpoints in Women with Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics-Stage III Endometrial Cancer?

OBJECTIVES: We sought to evaluate the impact of age-adjusted Charlson comorbidity index (AACCI) score on survival endpoints for women with advanced stage endometrial carcinoma (EC). METHODS AND MATERIALS: We identified 238 women with stage III EC. AACCI score was calculated and 3 groups were created accordingly; group 1 with a score of 0-2, group 2 with score 3-4, and group 3 with score ≥5. Significant predictors of recurrence-free (RFS), disease-specific (DSS) and overall survival (OS) were analyzed. RESULTS: Median follow-up was 54 months and median age was 65 years. Stage IIIC was the most common stage (69%). The 3 groups were well-balanced except for less utilization of adjuvant chemotherapy in group 3 (p = 0.01). Five-year OS was significantly lower in group 3 compared to groups 1 and 2 (23 vs. 65 and 51%, respectively). Similarly, 5-year RFS was 54, 41, and 33% and DSS was 65, 54, and 35% for groups 1, 2, and 3 respectively. On multivariate analyses, AACCI group 3, cervical stromal involvement, positive peritoneal cytology, and higher tumor grade were predictors for shorter OS. Cervical stromal involvement and higher grade were independent predictors for worse RFS and DSS. Additionally, positive cytology, lymphovascular space invasion, and stage IIIC2 were significantly detrimental for RFS. CONCLUSIONS: Our study suggests that comorbidity burden is a strong predictor of worse OS in women with stage III EC. Women with higher AACCI are less likely to receive adjuvant chemotherapy. Comorbidity score can significantly impact survival endpoints for women with advanced EC

“K-SIGN” in Retrocaecal Appendicitis – A Case Series

Background: When someone has appendicitis, the symptoms can be different depending on where the appendix is located. When someone has retrocaecal appendicitis, their symptoms are different from those of classical appendicitis in which the appendix is in the usual place. K-Sign show that the back wall of the abdomen is soft in people with paracolic appendicitis. As a sign of respect, the K-Sign is called the "Kashmir Sign" after the place where it forms, Kashmir. When the inflamed appendix crosses above the iliac crest on the back wall of the abdomen, it's a sign. The soreness is caused by irritation of the peritoneum on the back wall of the abdomen. Case Presentation: A group of five patients were studied and a K-Sign was used to find tenderness on the back wall of the abdomen. The tenderness was found in a specific area bounded by the 12th rib above, the spine below, the side edge of the back wall below, and the iliac crest above. All 5 of the cases had pain in this place on the back wall of the abdomen. They all wanted to have an appendectomy and had a report from a histopathological test that showed their appendix was inflamed. Conclusion: The K-Sign was looked at in a swollen appendix that was retrocephalic and paracolic. The K-Sign is important because it's hard to diagnose retrocaecal appendicitis and it can lead to other problems