December 2020: Volume 5 Issue 2

Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is a mental disorder where an individual becomes so fixated on an exaggerated flaw in their image that it interferes with their daily lives. Current research shows that patients with BDD have deficits in visually processing faces and bodies, such that they rely on local (detail-oriented) processing. By contrast, the typical person processes faces as a whole using global (holistic) processing. This reliance on local processing may be a mechanism through which patients with BDD focus on minute flaws in their appearance, exacerbating their symptomatology. Furthermore, patients with BDD are more likely to incorrectly perceive others’ facial expressions as being negative, further contributing to their emotional symptoms. Well-known treatments for BDD, such as cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and pharmacotherapy, are effective, but do not target the patient’s visual processing deficits. Targeting the visual processing deficits could help alleviate the symptoms of BDD and decrease the chances of relapse. Future research should target BDD’s distressing symptoms and visual processing deficits, creating a better treatment program.

Wildlife cameras allow conservation scientists to monitor wildlife. However, there are performance limitations associated with wildlife cameras that must be understood prior to their use. This study compared two wildlife camera models, the Spypoint Solar Trail and the Reconyx Hyperfire 2, on behalf of Calgary Captured, a collaborative project between the Miistakis Institute and the City of Calgary to determine wildlife occupancy in Calgary’s Natural Area Parks. The camera models were set up in pairs at 10 sites. There was no significant difference in detections of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) or coyotes (Canis latrans) by either model, but the Reconyx cameras successfully captured two species that the Spypoint model failed to detect: bobcat (Lynx rufus) and deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus). The Reconyx cameras had fewer trap days because the Nickel Metal Hydride (NiMH) batteries supplied by Calgary Captured consistently failed in cold weather, whereas the Spypoint cameras’ solar panels continued to function through the duration of the study. Despite having had fewer trap days, the Reconyx cameras captured more species than did the Spypoint cameras. There was no significant difference in the number of false positives and false negatives produced by the two models, but only the Spypoint cameras produced malfunctioned images. For projects like Calgary Captured, the Reconyx Hyperfire 2 is a more effective camera model than the Spypoint Solar Trail because it captures more species and is less prone to malfunction. The results of this study also highlight the importance of choosing appropriate batteries and settings for the camera model in question to ensure successful use.

Spinal cord injuries (SCIs) are difficult to treat without using traditional invasive methods that are not always precise or efficient. Traditional methods used to treat SCIs often involve targeting a broad area in close proximity to the specific locality of the injury as opposed to direct targeting. Recent studies suggest the use of nanoparticles can be a viable way to treat SCIs. Nanoparticles are nanotechnological devices that operate on a nanometre (1x 10^-9m) scale, varying in dimension from 1-100nm. They can be designed to target an assigned area with a high degree of specificity, thus ensuring that the affected area is treated with maximum proficiency. This article will explore the properties of silica nanoparticles, polymer nanoparticles, and chondroitinase ABC-(chABC)-releasing nanoparticles to determine whether they present a non-invasive alternative treatment for acute traumatic spinal cord injuries (tSCIs). A review of the literature suggests that the use of multifunctional silica-polymer nanoparticles can plausibly treat SCIs by maximizing the beneficial characteristics of both materials. Silica nanoparticles have a zero-order drug-releasing property which provides efficacious targeting, and when combined with polyethylene glycol (PEG) this polymer increases aqueous stability and retention of the nanoparticle, which protects the loaded drug when it crosses the blood-brain barrier to target the SCI. In addition, chABC-releasing nanoparticles show promising results in treating SCIs due to their ability to remove glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) and promote nerve regeneration, potentially decreasing the healing time of SCIs. Overall, the application of nanoparticles provides a potential non-invasive treatment method for SCIs in mice models. However, further research needs to be done to explore the potential medical applications of nanoparticles regarding human SCIs.

Recent studies have suggested that adolescent cancer may have better survival outcomes when treated at paediatric centres, which better emphasize enrolment in clinical trials and have more capacity to support the social and emotional needs of adolescents. This study investigated 616 cancer cases in adolescents aged 15-18 from 1995 to 2010 in British Columbia, Canada with data from the Childhood, Adolescent, and Young Adult Cancer Survivors Research (CAYACS) Program of the BC Cancer Research Agency (BCCA). This study examined whether referrals to the adult centres BC Children’s Hospital (BCCH) or BCCA were influenced by age, socioeconomic status, rurality, seasonality, radiotherapy treatment, different diagnoses based on the International Classification of Childhood Cancer (ICCC), and driving time to each centre. Between 1995 and 2010, only 27% of adolescent cancer patients in BC were referred to the BCCH, the only paediatric oncology centre in BC. Rural patients might have limited accessibility to BCCH, despite referral, due to travel restrictions and costs. As a result, patients are less likely to be referred to their closest cancer treatment centre as driving time increases (OR 0.995, P= 1.9e-10). Odds ratios of each modifier to BCCA or BCCH were calculated using univariate and multivariate logistic regression models in R Studio 3.5.1. Overall, 80% of younger adolescent (age 15-16) were referred to BCCH and only 14% of older adolescents (age 17-18) were referred to BCCH, which suggested that older adolescents were less likely than younger adolescents to be referred to BCCH (P= <2e-16). Additionally, leukaemia and Central Nervous System (CNS) cancer patients were more likely than all other patients to be referred to BCCH (P= 0.0014). The study of referral patterns is an essential factor when determining adolescent cancer survival rate.