The best bookshops in St Andrews, Scotland

Sneha Reddy takes us on a tour of the best bookshops in St Andrews, Scotland. If there’s a bookshop that you think other students and academics should visit when undertaking research or visiting a city for a conference, further information about contributing follows this article

Book review: combatants of Muslim origin in European armies in the twentieth century: far from Jihad edited by Xavier Bougarel, Raphaëlle Branche and Cloé Drieu

In Combatants of Muslim Origin in European Armies in the Twentieth Century: Far from Jihad, Xavier Bougarel, Raphaëlle Branche and Cloé Drieu offer a collection attending to the everyday experiences and practices of the Muslim combatants who fought in the ranks of various European armies, but have hitherto been neglected in many existing historical studies. The book’s non-Anglocentric approach makes it essential reading for scholars looking to deepen their understanding of the world wars, writes Sneha Reddy

Synthesis and Analytical Evaluation of Folate Conjugates for Use in Cancer Cell Detection

Recent clinical studies have shown the importance of folate receptor in drug delivery system as they increase the potency and reduce toxicity of many cancer therapies. The folate receptor alpha ( FR-a) binds with high affinity for folic acid and serves for receptor mediated transport of folate into cells. Folate is necessary for DNA metabolism and thus it is speculated that rapidly dividing cancer cells have an increased requirement for folic acid. It is known that FR-a levels are elevated in specific malignant diseases (solid tumors, leukemia) and thus the FR receptor serves as useful targeting moiety for the diagnosis and detection of FR+ cancers. Drugs that have been attached to the folate include protein toxins, chemotherapeutic DNA, radioimaging agents, magnetic resonance imaging agents and liposomes with entrapped drugs. In liposomal systems, the overall conjugation between the liposome and folic acid is very important for therapeutic activity due to 1) The need to present folate to the cancer cell surface unencumbered from bulky liposome( in order to bind to the folate surface) 2) The need to have adequate folate ligands for efficient binding to cell but not too many spacers/folate molecules that could result in non-specific binding. In traditional liposomal systems, folate is attached to a PEG (poly ethylene glycol), which is incorporated into the lipid membrane via a hydrophobic tail. Although widely established, liposomes require a fair degree of technical ability to synthesize and analyse. Recently, it has been discovered that apoferritin (iron transport protein), a 440kD polymeric protein, is capable of being dissociated into its respective subunits at low pH (pH ~ 2) and re-associated at pH ~ 7 to reform the apoferritin cage for the therapeutic purposes. Based on these results, our project aim is to synthesize a folate based apoferritin probe. The type of folate conjugation to the protein (i.e. synthesis of the folate spacer arm), the degree of folate labeling to the protein, the amount of dye incorporation into the protein cage and the types of dyes, drugs or other agents will also be assessed which would be eventually be tested for cell uptake. These type of these cages may be useful for the production of radio-imaging agents, MRI contrast agents, and other drug delivery platforms similar to liposomes

INTRODUCING A UNIQUE STRATEGY FOR SIMPLIFIED MEDIA PROCESSING ENGINE

A media player engine with scalable software connects is developed. Eventually, on Real 6410 platform, an embedded multi-media is made, which utilizes LINUX Frame buffer device driver interface to show video for testing the machine. Presently the extensive use of embedded multimedia processing requires dependence on hardware acceleration and multi-function expansion; it firmly requires a scalable and efficient style of system architecture for embedded multimedia processing terminal. Then, embedded multimedia processing software programs are implemented in line with the system architecture design. A scheduling program which schedules modules is implemented. The particular operation result proves that system architecture design simplifies the multimedia processing and supports multiple media formats in addition to hardware acceleration. Initially, system architecture with distinct structures and reasonable modules was created; a simplified multimedia framework is made for embedded application, with a scheduler along with a multimedia processing engine according to FFMPEG. The style of engine connects concentrates on compatibility and scalability to handle a number of applied needs. The scalability and efficiency allow it to be appropriate for embedded application

Five recommended reads for the Armistice Day Centenary

To mark the he centenary of the Armistice that ended the First World War, LSE Book Reviews recommend five recent academic books that explore different aspects of the conflict, ranging from the significance of 1917, the crucial role played by women scientists and the often neglected experiences of Muslim combatants

Reading list: 5 recommended reads for the Armistice Day centenary

11 November 2018 is the centenary of the Armistice that ended World War One. To mark the occasion, we recommend five recent academic books that explore different aspects of the conflict, ranging from the significance of 1917, the crucial role played by women scientists and the often neglected experiences of Muslim combatants

Prevalence of recurrent aphthous ulceration in the Indian Population

Objective: Patients with an oral ulcer may present initially to a general physician or a dental practitioner. Majority of the ulcers are benign and resolve spontaneously but small proportions are malignant. The aim of the present study was to determine the prevalence of recurrent aphthous ulcerations in the Indian population. Material and Methods: 3244 patients attending the Department of Oral Medicine and Radiology during the period from November, 2010 to December, 2012 with various complaints were examined. Of the patients examined 1669 were females and 1575 were males. Results: 705 patients presented with recurrent aphthous ulceration (21.7%). Females (56.3%) were more commonly affected than males (43.7%). Patients in the third and fourth decade were most commonly affected. Stress was the most common factor associated with recurrent aphthous stomatitis (386 patients). 54.5% patients did not take any medications and 72.9% patients opined that the condition needed no dental consultation. Conclusion: The results of the present study indicate that recurrent aphthous ulceration is a common mucosal disorder in the Indian population. The early and proper diagnosis of the ulcers will help the dental practitioner in providing information to the patient regarding awareness and management of the condition

OCCLUSION IN IMPLANT-AT A GLANCE

Objectives: Occlusion is a critical and very important component for the clinical success and longevity of dental implants. This review article focuses on the various aspects of implant protective occlusion. Our scientific literature regarding implant occlusion, particularly in implant-supported fixed dental prostheses remains controversial.Materials and methods: A search strategy was performed in MEDLINE/PubMed, Scopus and Google Scholar with keywords – ‘implants’ and ‘occlusion’, ‘implants’ and ‘fixed prosthesis, ‘implants’ and ‘fixed dental prostheses’, ‘implants’ and ‘partial edentulism’, ‘implants’ and ‘complications’, ‘implants’ and ‘failures’, ‘implants’ and ‘cantilever’, ‘implants’ and ‘occlusal load’.Results: 135 articles were retrieved. After hand search a total of 290 articles were identified. Ultimately, 30 articles were selected and summarized and discussed as they met the selection criteria.Conclusion: Most of the available clinical data are controversial. Implant-protected occlusion can be accomplished by decreasing the width of the occlusal table and improving the direction of force. By doing these things, we can minimize overload on bone-implant interfaces and implant prostheses, to maintain an implant load within the physiological limits of individualized occlusion, and ultimately provide long-term stability of implants and implant prostheses. Current clinical practices rely heavily on principles extracted from the natural dentition or removable dental prostheses on complete edentulous patients and on expert opinions

ANTIHYPERLIPIDEMIC ACTIVITY OF CASSIA FISTULA BARK USING HIGH FAT DIET INDUCED HYPERLIPIDEMIA

Objective: To study the antihyperlipidemic and anti atherosclerotic activity of Cassia fistula extracts in experimentally induced atherosclerotic rats.Methods: In this study, the antihyperlipidemic activity of Cassia fistula bark was evaluated by the administration of high fat diet. Atherosclerosis was induced in wistar rats by feeding with high cholesterol diet for 21 d. Oral feeding of cholesterol (500 mg/kg b.w./day) dissolved in coconut oil (0.5 ml/rat/day) caused an elevation in total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, VLDL cholesterol triglycerides serum of rats.Results: Administration of Cassia fistula extracts (methanolic and ethyl acetate extract at 500 mg/kg respectively) along with high cholesterol diet reduced the raised serum level of total cholesterol, triglyceride, LDL, VLDL and increased the serum HDL level as compared to the control group (High cholesterol group). Histopathology study of heart has shown decrease in myocardial degeneration and inflammation which may be attributed to the anti atherosclerotic activity of the Cassis fistula bark extracts.Conclusion: These results suggested that Cassia fistula bark possess significant antihyperlipidemic activity.Â

Study of Cutaneous Manifestations in Alcohol Dependence Syndrome Patients in a Rural Tertiary Care Center in India

Background: Chronic alcoholism is a multifactorial condition predisposed by environmental, social, and psychological factors. Alcohol dependence syndrome (ADS) can present with varied cutaneous and systemic manifestations. The effects of alcohol use include cutaneous infections, infestations, features of malnutrition, exacerbation of pre-existing dermatoses, and alcohol related dermatoses. This study aimed to analyze and document cutaneous manifestations secondary to infections, infestations, malnutrition, and modifications of pre-existing dermatoses in ADS patients and investigate the correlation between the presence of cutaneous manifestations and duration and quantity of alcohol intake. Methods: The present observational study was carried out in the Department of Dermatology for a period of one year. A total of 172 male patients with ADS presenting with skin manifestations were included in the study. Detailed analysis of history, clinical examination, and relevant investigations were conducted. Findings: Out of 172 male patients with ADS, the most common dermatoses noted were infections (166, 96.5%) and features of malnutrition (161, 93.6%). Exacerbation of pre-existing dermatoses (101, 58.7%) and alcohol-related dermatoses (85, 49.4%) were also observed. Conclusion: Most of the dermatoses were significantly correlated with the quantity of alcohol intake than with its duration, implying that higher quantity of alcohol intake has more impact on cutaneous and systemic manifestations. Identifying the cutaneous manifestations in ADS patients plays an important role in recognizing the underlying systemic disorders which in turnfacilitates early intervention and thereby prevents complications