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• Cardiac Care: An Introductory Text [top]
  Edited by Ian Jones
  First published in 2006 in Great Britain by Whurr Publishers in paperback, 378pp, ISBN 1861564716

About this book/synopsis: Coronary Heart Disease remains the biggest killer and cause of disability in the Western World. The improvement in the acute management of these patients and subsequent reduction in mortality will mean that all health professionals will care for patients with CHD at some point in their professional careers. Traditionally cardiac textbooks have been aimed at a select few nurses practising within the coronary care unit. Whilst this text should form the basis of all coronary care nurse induction programmes, the publication of the National Service Framework for CHD has ensured the speciality has become much more diverse incorporating not only treatment, but, the vital elements of prevention, rehabilitation and palliative care. Cardiac care offers clinicians new to the area an adequate knowledge base. The book has been written by experienced clinicians that take the reader step-by-step through the patient journey, from initial prevention through the critical period to rehabilitation or palliative care. It's a fundamental resource which, whilst it has been written mainly for nurses, serves as a comprehensive clinical resource for any nurse, doctor or allied health professional new to cardiac care

Contents: Preface; Contributors; Acknowledgements
1. The Physiology and Pathophysiology of the Cardiovascular System by Frances Gascoigne
2. Primary Prevention by Barbara Hastings Asatourian
3. Chest Pain Assessment in the Pre-Admission Setting by Andrea Saycell
4. Care of the Patient with Acute Coronary Syndrome in the Accident and Emergency Department by Debra Vickers and Ian Jones
5. Drugs Affecting the Cardiovascular System by Ian Jones and Elizabeth Lawson
6. Resuscitation by Denis Parkinson
7. Care of the Patient with Acute Coronary Syndrome in the Coronary Care Unit by Ian Jones
8. Electrocardiography and cardiac rhythm recognition in practice - the basics by Brian Parr and Mike Lappin
9. Common investigations in the management of patients with coronary heart disease by Gillian Blanchard and Ian Jones
10. Cardiac intervention by Gillian Blanchard, Jan Keenan and Ian Jones
11. Cardiac surgery by Catherine Rimmer, Shonagh Senior and Ian Jones
12. Cardiac rehabilitation by Paul Bithell and Miriam Gaston
13. Management of the patient with chronic heart failure by Anne Dormer

Index

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• Genes and Aging [top]
  Written by M. S. Kanungo
  Published in 1994 in the United States by Cambridge University Press, in hardback, 322pp, ISBN 0521382998

About this book: The maximum life span of multicellular organisms varies greatly: for a fruitfly it is about 30 days, for a dog about 20 years and for a human about 100 years. Despite these differences, all animals show a similar pattern in their life spans - growth, adulthood, and aging, followed by death. The basic cause of aging in multicellular organisms (eukaryotes) lies at the level of the genes, although nutrition and various types of stresses do influence the rate and pattern of aging.

This book reviews the molecular biology of the gene in relation to aging. Until about a decade ago, it was not possible to probe into the types of changes that occur in eukaryotic genes, due to their enormous complexity. The use of genetic engineering techniques, however, is beginning to unravel the changes that occur in the genes as an organism ages: such as the changing expression of specific genes under normal conditions and under various types of stress, the changes in the regulatory roles of the sequences in the promoter regions of genes, conformational changes that may occur in genes during aging, and the protein factors that are involved in the aging process. The author presents basic information on the eukaryotic genes and follows this with details of the changes that occur in their structure and function during aging. He reviews the latest studies being carried out in various laboratories [as took place at the time of publication in the early to mid-1990s], outlines the gaps and deficiencies in our present knowledge, and suggests the most profitable future areas of research. Genes and Aging is for all students and researchers interested in the molecular biology of aging

Contents:
Preface
1. Introduction
Phases in life span
-development, reproductive phase and senescence
Functional changes during aging
Life span
Longevity
Evolution of aging
Cell death
The science of aging

2. Phenotypic changes during aging
Changes in levels of enzymes
Kinetics and other parameters of enzymes
Changes in multiple forms of proteins during aging
Induction of enzymes
Changes in collagen
Turnover of proteins
Modifications of bases
Changes in RNA
-Transfer RNA, Ribosomal RNA, Messenger RNA, Turnover of RNA
DNA polymerases
Conclusions

3. Chromatin
Histones
-H1 Histone, Core histones - H2A, H2B, H3 and H4, H5 histone, Protamines
Histone genes
-Histone variants
Modifications of chromosomal proteins
-Acetylation, Phosphorylation, Poly(ADP)-ribosylation, Methylation and Ubiquitination
Synthesis and turnover of histones
Nonhistone chromosomal proteins
Structure of chromatin
-DNA-histone interactions
Higher-order structure of chromatin
-Interphase chromosomes, Metaphase chromosomes
Chromatin structure and transcription
Active and inactive chromatin
-Protein-coding genes, Transfer RNA and ribosomal RNA genes
Age-related changes in chromatin structure and function
Summary

4. Eukaryotic Genes
Exons and introns
Transcription
-RNA polymerase II, Transcription factors
Processing of pre-mRNA, pre-tRNA, and pre-rRNA
-Splicing of pre-mRNA, Splicing of pre-rRNA and pre-tRNA
Structure of eukaryotic genes
DNA Sequences that control transcription
-Cis-acting elements
Repeated DNA sequences
DNA-binding proteins
-Helix-turn-helix (HTH), Helix-loop-helix (HLH), Zinc finger, Leucine zipper
Modifications of bases in DNA
-Methylation, Other Modifications
Mechanism of action of regulatory elements in genes
-factors that regulate transcription
Regulation of gene expression
Conclusions

5. Changes in Gene Expression During Aging
Programmed Cell Death
Gene Expression in Vivo
-Genes for enzymes, genes for other proteins, genes for acute-phase proteins, heat-shock protein genes, genes for structural proteins, oncogenes, transgenes
Gene Expression in Vitro
-Dominant nature of cellular senescence, chromosome implicated in cellular senescence, proto-oncogenes and cellular senescence, response to heat stress, inhibitors of cellular proliferation, cause of senescence of fibroblasts, changes in gene expression
Reactivation of genes in old age
-Genes in X chromosomes, increased activation of other genes, amyloid precursor protein gene and Alzheimer's disease
Methylation
Alterations in mitochondrial DNA
Editing and splicing of RNA
-editing of mRNA, alternative splicing of pre-RNA
Telomere DNA
Conclusions

6. Theories of Aging
Somatic mutation theory
-DNA damage and repair
Error Theory
Disposable soma theory
Dysdifferentiation hypothesis
Gene regulation theory
-deterioration of function
-determination of life span

7. Conclusions and Future Prospects
References; Index

• Plants Used in Traditional Medicine in West Africa; Plantes utilisées dans la médecine traditionelle en Afrique de l'Ouest [top]
  Written by Laurent Aké Assi and Sita Guinko and presented in both English and French parallel texts
  Published in 1991 in Switzerland by Editiones Roche, Basel, Switzerland, in hardback, 151pp, ISBN 3907946596
  Contains 51 selected species of traditional plants used primarily in the treatment of feverish attacks. Their other uses are noted in the book

About this book/synopsis: This is the 1991 hardback volume of 'Plants Used in Traditional Medecine in West Africa' by Laurent Aké Assi and Sita Guinko. Popular collective knowledge which leads to technical, scientific or artistic achievement is to be found in the very essence of every culture; and knowledge of the therapeutic virtues of plants is indeed part of the African cultural heritage. It can be compared to the development of traditional Western pharmacopeia which was based on a study of the medicinal properties of plants and goes as far back as to observations left to us by Dioscorides of Tarsus (3rd Century). The gradual breaking down of cultural barriers which is now occurring in Africa, is causing the rapid disappearance of traditional wisdom; it is therefore particularly opportune that, as a result of the remarkable studies carried out by Professors Aké Assi and Sita Guinko, certain elements of this wisdom will be preserved. It is made possible by their expertise in being able to combine modern scientific knowledge with traditional scholarship. Since the pathogenicity of many diseases was unknown to traditional healers, for centuries treatment was aimed, relatively successfully at symptomatic signs rather than etological causes. Considering, however, that many symptoms were treated with efficacy, the examination of the curative properties of these simples by the modern analytical means at our disposal should not be neglected. Such is the aim of this work - to study the traditional use of West African plants in medicine and encourage pharmacological study. The work covers all the regions of West Africa where the plants described may be found, but is based primarily on information obtained in both Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso. The species described in this book are plants which are used in the rural areas, above all for the treatment of feverish attacks often associated with malaria; but these plants do have other uses and these are all noted. Malaria is endemic in most tropical and subtropical regions, with patients having high fevers, and many other symptoms. Rural communities in Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso have had to resort to popular traditional remedies to try and cope with this disease and these remedies are essentially based on phytotherapy. They are known to the mothers of the communities and the recipes are no secret: they are designed to treat most common diseases and the healers are usually prepared to make them known to those who are interested provided that they are approached with common courtesy and respect.
This level of openness and sharing is not, however, something that the healers operate on when they are faced with an uncommon and dangerous disease. Here they apply traditional medicines made to a secret recipe and they are very reluctant to reveal the ingredients used, i.e. the names of the plants put into the recipe. The nature of the ingredients is usually only revealed by the parent healers to those children considered to be the children of the ancients - those able to be discrete about the recipes and who stay close to the healers at all times in order to be able to help them at a moment's notice.
The authors have spent many years in the two countries in focus in this book: L. Aké Assi spent thirty years in Ivory Coast and S. Guinko spent 15 years in Burkino Faso; and they have paid special attention to the traditional use these plants are put to for medical purposes in both countries. They have collected a great deal of information from inquiries and research with various ethnic groups over the years and have put their information and research on 51 selected species of traditional plants into this book as their contribution to the organised struggle being waged against malaria by the scientific community

Contents:
Forewords; Introduction
Preparation of remedies and mode of administration
Description of the plant families
Anacardiaceae
Annonaceae
Asteraceae
Bombacaceae
Bromeliaceae
Caesalpiniaceae
Caricaceae
Cochlospermaceae
Combretaceae
Euphorbiaceae
Loranthaceae
Malvaceae
Meliaceae
Mimosaceae
Myrtaceae
Nyctaginaceae
Olacaceae
Opiliaceae
Papilionaceae
Polygalaceae
Rubiaceae
Scrophulariaceae
Solanaceae
Ulmaceae
Verbenaceae

Plant species and their medicinal use
Rhus natalensis
Annona senegalensis
Uvaria chamae
Chrysanthellum americanum
Vernonia colorata
Adansonia digitata
Ceiba pentandra
Ananas Comosus
Anthonotha crassifolia
Cassia alata
Cassia occidentalis
Cassia sieberiana
Isoberlinia doka
Piliostigma reticulatum
Piliostigma thonningii
Tamarindus indica
Carica papaya
Cochlospermum planchoni
Anogeissus leiocarpus
Combretum micranthum
Combretum molle
Guiera senegalensis
Terminalia laxiflora
Terminalia macropteru
Alchornea cordifolia
Bridelia ferruginea
Jatropha curcas
Tapinanthus bangwensis
Wissadula amplissima var. rostrata
Azadirachta indica
Trichilia emetica subsp. suberosa
Acacia ataxacantha
Parkia biglobosa
Syzygium guineense var. guineense
Boerhavia diffusa
Ximenia americana
Opilia celtidifolia
Andira inermis
Securidaca longepedunculata
Crossopteryx febrifuga
Fadogia agrestis
Gardenia sokotensis
Gardenia ternifolia
Mitragyna inermis
Nauclea latifolia
Pavetta crassipes
Scoparia dulcis
Schwenckia americana
Trema guineensis
Stachtarpheta angustifolia

Index of common names (English/French)
Index of local names
Index of illustrations
Conclusion; References