Accessibility in Metrô Rio prior to the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic games.

ABSTRACT:The city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil hosted the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games which brought forth an enormous influx of tourists to a large populated city. This study, analyzed accessibility of the Metrô Line 1 of the subway system in preparation for the games. Photo-based research was used to investigate the Metrô Rio services. Findings suggest that the subway system in the city of Rio de Janeiro, is accessible; however, improvement is needed in the areas of communication, through standardization of language used to describe equipment and accommodations, the standardization of signage and equipment, standardization of navigational logic patterns, and predictability of barriers and services for patrons. A tension was also identified between services provided with assistance and services that promote independence for users with disabilities. Results will help transit agencies to consider accessibility features for all patrons.RESUMO:O Rio de Janeiro foi cidade-sede dos Jogos Olímpicos e Paraolímpicos de 2016, evento que gerou um enorme fluxo de turistas em uma cidade bastante populosa. O presente estudo analisou a acessibilidade do Metrô Linha 1 do sistema metrofer­roviário em preparação para os jogos. A investigação utilizou-se do registro fotográ­fico para averiguar os serviços do Metrô Rio. Os resultados sugerem que o sistemade metrô do Rio de Janeiro é acessível; porém, são necessárias melhorias nas áreas de comunicação por meio da padronização da linguagem utilizada para descrever os equipamentos e espaços, da padronização da sinalização e dos equipamentos oferecidos, da uniformização dos modelos de locomoção e do aumento de previsi­bilidade dos obstáculos e dos serviços oferecidos aos usuários. Também foi iden­tificada uma tensão entre os serviços que se apoiam na assistência e serviços que promovem a independência para os usuários portadores de deficiência. Os resulta­dos auxiliarão agências de transporte a considerar características de acessibilidade para todos os usuários

Anti-Transforming Growth Factor ß Antibody Treatment Rescues Bone Loss and Prevents Breast Cancer Metastasis to Bone

Breast cancer often metastasizes to bone causing osteolytic bone resorption which releases active TGFβ. Because TGFβ favors progression of breast cancer metastasis to bone, we hypothesized that treatment using anti-TGFβ antibody may reduce tumor burden and rescue tumor-associated bone loss in metastatic breast cancer. In this study we have tested the efficacy of an anti-TGFβ antibody 1D11 preventing breast cancer bone metastasis. We have used two preclinical breast cancer bone metastasis models, in which either human breast cancer cells or murine mammary tumor cells were injected in host mice via left cardiac ventricle. Using several in vivo, in vitro and ex vivo assays, we have demonstrated that anti-TGFβ antibody treatment have significantly reduced tumor burden in the bone along with a statistically significant threefold reduction in osteolytic lesion number and tenfold reduction in osteolytic lesion area. A decrease in osteoclast numbers (p = 0.027) in vivo and osteoclastogenesis ex vivo were also observed. Most importantly, in tumor-bearing mice, anti-TGFβ treatment resulted in a twofold increase in bone volume (p<0.01). In addition, treatment with anti-TGFβ antibody increased the mineral-to-collagen ratio in vivo, a reflection of improved tissue level properties. Moreover, anti-TGFβ antibody directly increased mineralized matrix formation in calverial osteoblast (p = 0.005), suggesting a direct beneficial role of anti-TGFβ antibody treatment on osteoblasts. Data presented here demonstrate that anti-TGFβ treatment may offer a novel therapeutic option for tumor-induced bone disease and has the dual potential for simultaneously decreasing tumor burden and rescue bone loss in breast cancer to bone metastases. This approach of intervention has the potential to reduce skeletal related events (SREs) in breast cancer survivors

Effectiveness of Mechanisms and Models of Coordination between Organizations, Agencies and Bodies Providing or Financing Health Services in Humanitarian Crises: A Systematic Review.

BACKGROUND: Effective coordination between organizations, agencies and bodies providing or financing health services in humanitarian crises is required to ensure efficiency of services, avoid duplication, and improve equity. The objective of this review was to assess how, during and after humanitarian crises, different mechanisms and models of coordination between organizations, agencies and bodies providing or financing health services compare in terms of access to health services and health outcomes. METHODS: We registered a protocol for this review in PROSPERO International prospective register of systematic reviews under number PROSPERO2014:CRD42014009267. Eligible studies included randomized and nonrandomized designs, process evaluations and qualitative methods. We electronically searched Medline, PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and the WHO Global Health Library and websites of relevant organizations. We followed standard systematic review methodology for the selection, data abstraction, and risk of bias assessment. We assessed the quality of evidence using the GRADE approach. RESULTS: Of 14,309 identified citations from databases and organizations' websites, we identified four eligible studies. Two studies used mixed-methods, one used quantitative methods, and one used qualitative methods. The available evidence suggests that information coordination between bodies providing health services in humanitarian crises settings may be effective in improving health systems inputs. There is additional evidence suggesting that management/directive coordination such as the cluster model may improve health system inputs in addition to access to health services. None of the included studies assessed coordination through common representation and framework coordination. The evidence was judged to be of very low quality. CONCLUSION: This systematic review provides evidence of possible effectiveness of information coordination and management/directive coordination between organizations, agencies and bodies providing or financing health services in humanitarian crises. Our findings can inform the research agenda and highlight the need for improving conduct and reporting of research in this field