Bedside and Community

The University of Calgary’s innovative and collaborative approach to health care education is celebrated in an interdisciplinary collection. Bedside and Community is the inside story of fifty years of health care and health research at the University of Calgary. Drawing on the first-person accounts of researchers, administrators, faculty, and students along with archival research, and faculty histories, this collection celebrates the many significant contributions the University of Calgary has made to the health of Albertans. With contributions from the Cumming School of Medicine, the Faculty of Nursing, Faculty of Kinesiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Environmental Design, Department of Psychology, and Indigenous Health Initiatives Bedside and Community is a truly collaborative history. Addressing the links between departments, the relationship between the university and the community, and evolving research and teaching methods, this book places the University of Calgary within a wider national context and shows how it has addressed the unique health needs of Southern Alberta. With a pioneering focus on primary care and commitment to interdisciplinary connections, the University of Calgary has made strides in health research, health education, and community outreach. Bedside and Community tells the story of a tradition of excellence that will light the way to future outreach and discovery

\u3cem\u3eAchilles in Vietnam: Combat Trauma and the Undoing of Character\u3c/em\u3e by Jonathan Shay [Review]

Review of Jonathan Shay, MD, Ph.D., Achilles in Vietnam: Combat Trauma and the Undoing of Character. New York: Antheneum, 1994

MR diffusion changes in the perimeter of the lateral ventricles demonstrate periventricular injury in post-hemorrhagic hydrocephalus of prematurity

OBJECTIVES: Injury to the preterm lateral ventricular perimeter (LVP), which contains the neural stem cells responsible for brain development, may contribute to the neurological sequelae of intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) and post-hemorrhagic hydrocephalus of prematurity (PHH). This study utilizes diffusion MRI (dMRI) to characterize the microstructural effects of IVH/PHH on the LVP and segmented frontal-occipital horn perimeters (FOHP). STUDY DESIGN: Prospective study of 56 full-term infants, 72 very preterm infants without brain injury (VPT), 17 VPT infants with high-grade IVH without hydrocephalus (HG-IVH), and 13 VPT infants with PHH who underwent dMRI at term equivalent. LVP and FOHP dMRI measures and ventricular size-dMRI correlations were assessed. RESULTS: In the LVP, PHH had consistently lower FA and higher MD and RD than FT and VPT (p\u3c.050). However, while PHH FA was lower, and PHH RD was higher than their respective HG-IVH measures (p\u3c.050), the MD and AD values did not differ. In the FOHP, PHH infants had lower FA and higher RD than FT and VPT (p\u3c.010), and a lower FA than the HG-IVH group (p\u3c.001). While the magnitude of AD in both the LVP and FOHP were consistently less in the PHH group on pairwise comparisons to the other groups, the differences were not significant (p\u3e.050). Ventricular size correlated negatively with FA, and positively with MD and RD (p\u3c.001) in both the LVP and FOHP. In the PHH group, FA was lower in the FOHP than in the LVP, which was contrary to the observed findings in the healthy infants (p\u3c.001). Nevertheless, there were no regional differences in AD, MD, and RD in the PHH group. CONCLUSION: HG-IVH and PHH results in aberrant LVP/FOHP microstructure, with prominent abnormalities among the PHH group, most notably in the FOHP. Larger ventricular size was associated with greater magnitude of abnormality. LVP/FOHP dMRI measures may provide valuable biomarkers for future studies directed at improving the management and neurological outcomes of IVH/PHH

Betting shops and crime: is there a relationship?

Gambling and its link with criminal activity is an area of growing research interest. Studies from various regions worldwide have suggested an association between criminal activity and easily accessible gambling, yet, despite growth in the commercial gambling industry, relatively little is known about the nature, extent or impact of gambling-related crime. Such information is critical in the current UK climate as some gambling establishments (particularly betting shops) are prevented from getting operating licenses on the basis of police objections that they are likely to become ‘crime hotspots’. Therefore, this paper briefly overviews to what extent betting shops cause, facilitate, or attract crime. It is concluded that only two types of betting shops can realistically be associated with crime arising from problem gamblers who use their premises and with criminal behaviour occurring within or in the immediate environment of the premises itself. Although a few studies have shown associations between gambling and crime there is no empirical evidence showing that gambling venues (including betting shops) cause crime. Most of the empirical evidence concerning the relationship between crime and gambling concerns the criminal consequences of problem gambling (including those ‘addicted’ to gambling). In order to be a cause of crime, betting shops must be both a necessary and sufficient condition for the crimes in question to occur. This paper finds that they are neither

Development and clinimetric assessment of a nurse-administered screening tool for movement disorders in psychosis

Background: Movement disorders (MD) associated with exposure to antipsychotic drugs (AP). MD are common and stigmatising, but underdiagnosed. Methods: We developed a screening procedure for AP-MD for administration by mental health (MH) nurses. Item selection and content validity assessment were conducted by a panel of neurologists, psychiatrists and a MH nurse, who operationalised a 31-item screening procedure (ScanMove instrument). Inter-rater reliability was measured on ratings from ten MH nurses evaluating video-recordings of the procedure on 30 patients with psychosis. Criterion and concurrent validity were tested comparing the ScanMove instrument-based rating of thirteen MH nurses of 635 community patients from MH services to diagnostic judgement of a MD neurologist based on the ScanMove instrument and a reference procedure comprising a selection of commonly used rating scales. Results: Inter-reliability analysis showed no systematic difference between raters in their prediction of any AP-MD category. On criterion validity testing, the ScanMove instrument showed good sensitivity for parkinsonism (94%) and hyperkinesia (89%), but not for akathisia (38%), whereas specificity was low for parkinsonism and hyperkinesia, and moderate for akathisia. Mixed effect regression models showed low concurrent validity of quantitative scores obtained from the ScanMove instrument. Conclusions: The ScanMove instrument demonstrated good feasibility and inter-rater reliability, and acceptable sensitivity as MH nurse-administered screening tool for parkinsonism and hyperkinesia

Effects of environmental perturbations during postnatal development on the phenotypic integration of the skull

Integration and modularity are fundamental determinants of how natural selection effects evolutionary change in complex multivariate traits. Interest in the study of the specific developmental basis of integration through experimental approaches is fairly recent and it has mainly focused on its genetic determinants. In this study, we present evidence that postnatal environmental perturbations can modify the covariance structure by influencing the variance of some developmental processes relative to the variances of other processes that contribute to such structure. We analyzed the effects of the reduction of nutrient supply in different ontogenetic stages (i.e. before and after weaning, and from birth to adulthood) in Rattus norvegicus. Our results show that this environmental perturbation alters the phenotypic variation/covariation structure of the principal modules of the skull (base, vault, and face). The covariance matrices of different treatment groups exhibit low correlations and are significantly different, indicating that the treatments influence covariance structure. Postnatal nutrient restriction also increases the variance of somatic growth. This increased variance drives an increase in overall integration of cranial morphology through the correlated allometric effects of size variation. The extent of this increase in integration depends on the time and duration of the nutritional restriction. These results support the conclusion that environmental perturbations can influence integration and thus covariance structure via developmental plasticity.Fil: Gonzalez, Paula Natalia. University of Calgary; CanadáFil: Oyhenart, Evelia Edith. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico CONICET- La Plata. Instituto de Genética Veterinaria "Ing. Fernando Noel Dulout". Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias. Instituto de Genética Veterinaria; ArgentinaFil: Hallgrimsson, Benedikt. University of Calgary; Canad

Calgary, Edmonton and the University of Alberta: the extraordinary medical mobilization by Canada’s newest province

The Canadian contribution of medical services to the British Empire during the First World War was a national endeavour. Physicians from across the country enlisted in local regiments to join. No other region provided more physicians per capita than the newly formed province of Alberta. Largely org anized through the Medical School of the University of Alberta, the No. 11 Canadian Field Ambulance out of Edmonton and the No. 8 Canadian Field Ambulance out of Calgary ultimately enlisted between one-third and half of the province’s doctors to the war campaign. Many individuals from this region distinguished themselves, including LCol J.N. Gunn from Calgary, who commanded the No. 8 Canadian Field Ambulance; Maj Heber Moshier, one of the founders of the School of Pharmacy at the University of Alberta; and Dr. A.C. Rankin, who would go on to be the first Dean of Medicine at the University of Alberta. These Canadian heroes, and the many others like them who served with the No. 8 and 11 Field Ambulances, personify the sacrifice, strength and resilience of the medical community in Alberta and should not be forgotten