Disability and international cooperation and development : a review of policies and practices

The purpose of this review is to canvas policies and, to the extent possible, practices of major multilateral and bilateral development agencies, aimed at including disability in development. Development that includes disability, as referenced in this review, is understood as development in which persons with disabilities participate as both actors and beneficiaries. It can be achieved by disability specific initiatives, by adding disability-specific components to development programs, by fully inclusive programming, designed to include disability concerns into all development processes, or by a combination of these approaches. While this review does not claim to be exhaustive, it does attempt to provide as comprehensive as possible an overview of policies and practices on disability and development (D&D), both within and among the United Nations (UN) system, and among major bilateral development agencies. It should be noted that this is a dynamic issue and thus many development agencies are either in the process of crafting new disability policies or strategies or are currently reviewing their existing approaches with a view to modifying or amending them. Section two of this report reviews the international legal and policy framework pertinent to the consideration of D&D with particular attention to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Section three reviews multilateral agencies and structures, particularly those within the UN system, and reviews their existing policies and/or practices related to D&D. Section four includes coverage of regional structures supporting the inclusion of disability indevelopment. Section five identifies bilateral development agencies that, either as matter of written policy or as evidenced through practice, have taken steps to design and implement programs and practices that are inclusive of disability. Section six provides conclusions.Population Policies,Disability,Social Cohesion,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Gender and Law

Are toe weakness and deformity associated with falls in older people

Hallux valgus and lesser toe deformities are highly prevalent foot problems in older adults, affecting up to 74% of this population. One suggested cause of these toe deformities is inadequate strength of the intrinsic flexor muscles of the toes [1]. Adequate toe flexor strength is essential to control body weight shifts, propel the body during gait and assist in shock absorption during repeated impacts. Furthermore, a previous study using a qualitative measure of toe flexor strength reported associations between poor toe flexor strength and poor performance in balance and functional tests in elderly people [2]. Of further concern, in a sample of retirement home dwellers, fallers were more likely to have severe hallux valgus and fail a clinical test of toe-flexor strength more often than non-fallers [3]. However, this association has not been investigated in community-dwelling older people or assessed using a quantitative method of toe flexor strength. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine whether toe flexor strength or the presence of hallux valgus or lesser toe deformities were associated with the risk of falling in older community dwelling adults

Expenditure and resource utilisation for cervical screening in Australia

BACKGROUND The National Cervical Screening Program in Australia currently recommends that women aged 18-69 years are screened with conventional cytology every 2 years. Publicly funded HPV vaccination was introduced in 2007, and partly as a consequence, a renewal of the screening program that includes a review of screening recommendations has recently been announced. This study aimed to provide a baseline for such a review by quantifying screening program resource utilisation and costs in 2010. METHODS A detailed model of current cervical screening practice in Australia was constructed and we used data from the Victorian Cervical Cytology Registry to model age-specific compliance with screening and follow-up. We applied model-derived rate estimates to the 2010 Australian female population to calculate costs and numbers of colposcopies, biopsies, treatments for precancer and cervical cancers in that year, assuming that the numbers of these procedures were not yet substantially impacted by vaccination. RESULTS The total cost of the screening program in 2010 (excluding administrative program overheads) was estimated to be A$194.8M. We estimated that a total of 1.7 million primary screening smears costing$96.7M were conducted, a further 188,900 smears costing $10.9M were conducted to follow-up low grade abnormalities, 70,900 colposcopy and 34,100 histological evaluations together costing$21.2M were conducted, and about 18,900 treatments for precancerous lesions were performed (including retreatments), associated with a cost of $45.5M for treatment and post-treatment follow-up. We also estimated that$20.5M was spent on work-up and treatment for approximately 761 women diagnosed with invasive cervical cancer. Overall, an estimated $23 was spent in 2010 for each adult woman in Australia on cervical screening program-related activities. CONCLUSIONS Approximately half of the total cost of the screening program is spent on delivery of primary screening tests; but the introduction of HPV vaccination, new technologies, increasing the interval and changing the age range of screening is expected to have a substantial impact on this expenditure, as well as having some impact on follow-up and management costs. These estimates provide a benchmark for future assessment of the impact of changes to screening program recommendations to the costs of cervical screening in Australia

Exploiting retrograde transport of Shiga-like toxin 1 for the delivery of exogenous antigens into the MHC class I presentation pathway

AbstractShiga-like toxin 1 (SLT) from Escherichia coli 0157:H7 enters mammalian cells by endocytosis from the cell surface to the endoplasmic reticulum before translocating into the cytosol. Here, SLT was engineered at its N- or C-terminus to carry a peptide derived from influenza virus Matrix protein for delivery to major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I molecules. We show that SLT N-Ma was capable of sensitising cells for lysis by appropriate cytotoxic T-lymphocytes whilst no killing of SLT-resistant cells was observed. Our results demonstrate that peptide was liberated intracellularly and that retrograde transport of a disarmed cytotoxic protein can intersect the MHC class 1 presentation pathway

Cytotoxic Hydrogen Bridged Ruthenium Quinaldamide Complexes Showing Induced Cancer Cell Death by Apoptosis

This report presents the first known p-cymene ruthenium quinaldamide complexes which are stablized by a hydrogenbridging atom, [[{(p-cym)RuIIX(N,N)}{H+ }{(N,N)XRuII(p-cym)}][PF6] (N,N = functionalised quinaldamide and X = Cl or Br). These complexes are formed by a reaction of [p-cymRu(-X)2]2 with a functionalised quinaldamide ligand. When filtered over NH4PF6, and under aerobic conditions the equilibrium of NH4PF6 NH3 + HPF6 enables incorporation of HPF6 and the stabilisation of two monomeric ruthenium complexes by a bridging H+ , which are counter-balanced by a PF6 counterion. Xray crystallographic analysis is presented for six new structures with O···O distances of 2.430(3)-2.444(17) Å, which is significant for strong hydrogen bonds. Chemosensitivity studies against HCT116, A2780 and cisplatin-resistant A2780cis human cancer cells showed the ruthenium complexes with a bromide ancillary ligand to be more potent than those with a chloride ligand. The 4'-fluoro compounds show a reduction in potency for both chloride and bromide complexes against all cell lines, but an increase in selectivity towards cancer cells compared to non-cancer ARPE-19 cells, with a selectivity index > 1. Mechanistic studies showed a clear correlation between IC50 values and induction of cell death by apoptosis

Using Raccoons as an Indicator Species for Metal Accumulation Across Trophic Accumulation across Trophic Levels: A Stable Isotope Approach

: The fact that raccoons (Procyon lotor) are an opportunistic omnivore has severely complicated interpreta- tions of contaminant uptake patterns due to the inability to determine the trophic position an individual occupies. Moreover, few studies have examined the relationships between heavy metal bioaccumulation and trophic struc- ture, especially in the terrestrial environment. In this study, the stable isotopes of nitrogen were used to charac- terize the feeding habits of the raccoon at the population level and to determine whether metal burden was relat- ed to trophic feeding structure within a welldefined ecosystem. Raccoon populations were isotopically distinct, and significant positive relationships existed between some trace element contents and 6 1 5 ~of muscle when site was used as a covariable in a statistical model. Although the transfer of metals through terrestrial ecosystems is com- plex, our study showed that some of the variation in contaminant body burdens in raccoon populations can be attributed to trophic feeding position and that 1 5 ~ / 1 4 ~ ratios of muscle tissue provide a quantitative measure of this process. The potential for using omnivores such as the raccoon, as a sentinel species for contaminant studies, should be explored further since the ambiguity of the relative trophlc level an animal occupies can be directly esti- mated. This provides a more extensive sampling across trophic levels using a single species, which can have broad consequences for ecological risk assessment

Epi-illumination SPIM for volumetric imaging with high spatial-temporal resolution.

We designed an epi-illumination SPIM system that uses a single objective and has a sample interface identical to that of an inverted fluorescence microscope with no additional reflection elements. It achieves subcellular resolution and single-molecule sensitivity, and is compatible with common biological sample holders, including multi-well plates. We demonstrated multicolor fast volumetric imaging, single-molecule localization microscopy, parallel imaging of 16 cell lines and parallel recording of cellular responses to perturbations

Raccoons as potential vectors of radionuclide contamination to human food chains from a nuclear industrial site

Although the raccoon (Procyon lotor) is commonly harvested and consumed throughout the southeastern United States, little is known regarding the fate and effects of environmental pollutants to this species, and the potential for it to act as a contaminant vector to humans or other predators. Muscle and liver tissues were collected from 76 raccoons from locations on and near the Department of Energy\u27s Savannah River Site (SRS) in South Carolina and analyzed for radiocesium (137Cs). Raccoons were trapped from areas near a former reactor cooling reservoir known to be contaminated from former nuclear production activities, a stream drainage system also known to have received 137Cs contamination from low level releases, and 4 on-site reference areas that have been unimpacted by nuclear production activities. Raccoons from 3 hunting areas 3-15 km of SRS were used as off-site reference samples. 137Cs levels differed between the 3 treatment groups (contaminated, on-site reference, off-site reference) for both muscle and liver tissues. Muscle and liver samples from raccoons from on-site reference areas were higher in 137Cs than those from off-site reference animals. 137Cs in raccoon tissues from contaminated habitats exceeded levels in the pooled reference animals. The 2 contaminated areas differed in 137Cs tissue levels. Only 1 of 20 raccoons from contaminated sites on the SRS exceeded the European Economic Community (EEC) limit for 137Cs in edible muscle tissue of 0.6 Bq 137Cs/g fresh-weight edible muscle. Further, none of the raccoons from the on-site reference areas exceeded EEC limits for muscle. It is unlikely that the hunting public faces any significant risk from exposure to raccoons from the SRS. Although some raccoons might stray off the SRS which is closed to public access, most of the heavily contaminated areas are not adjacent to the edges of the site, decreasing the potential for off-site movement of contaminated animals

Metals and metallothionein in the liver of raccoons: utility for environmental assessment and monitoring

The relationship between metallothionein levels and concentrations of several metals and radionuclides was examined in liver tissues of raccoons (Procyon lotor, n = 47) from the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site in South Carolina to determine the applicability of metallothioneins as an initial screening device for exposure assessment in free-living mammals and environmental monitoring. Using a fluorescent marker and a cell sorter to measure metallothionein, a significant positive correlation was found across animals between levels of metallothioneins and concentrations of selenium (Pearson’s r = .30) , mercury (Pearson’s r = .31) , and copper (Pearson’s r = .30) in liver tissue. Arsenic, cobalt, silver, thallium, and tin were below detection limits in most or all liver samples. Other metals, including cadmium, chromium, radiocesium ( 137Cs) , copper, lead, manganese, strontium, and vanadium, showed only weak and nonsignificant correlations with metallothionein. Concentrations of mercury were correlated with concentrations of selenium (Pearson’s r = .73) , manganese (Pearson’s r = .56) , and strontium (Pearson’s r = .57). In an a posteriori test, there was a still unexplained positive correlation between mercury (Pearson r = .56) , selenium (Pearson r = .54) , and radiocesium (Pearson’s r = .38) concentrations and background cellular autofluorescence, and a negative correlation of strontium with the latter (Kendall tau = –.38) . Background cellular autofluorescence may represent a generalized cellular stress response, or a yet unidentified biomarker. To better understand which metals contribute to the induction of metallothionein, principle component analysis (PCA) was performed. The first three principle components explained 78% of the variance, with highest loadings being from mercury and radiocesium. Metallothionein levels did not correlate well with the principal components from the metals and radiocesium, while autofluorescent background levels tended to correlate better

Attitudes and perceptions about ecological resources and hazards of people living around the Savannah River Site

Although considerable attention is devoted to environmental monitoring and assessment with respect to both pollutants and the status of particular plant or animal populations, less attention is devoted to assessing people\u27s attitudes about the relative importance of ecological resources. In this paper we examine the attitudes and perceptions about ecological resources of people living around the Department of Energy\u27s Savannah River Site (SRS), in South Carolina. Our overall hypothesis is that people who are directly affected by the possible outcomes and consequences of a particular hazard (i.e., those people employed at SRS) will undervalue the risks and overvalue the potential benefits from future land uses that favour continued site activity, compared to people who live near but are not employed at SRS. We interviewed 286 people attending the Aiken Trials horse show on 14 March 1997. There were few gender differences, although men hunted and fished more than women, women ranked three environmental concerns as more severe than did men, and women were more concerned about the effect of SRS on property values. Maintenance of SRS as a National Environmental Research Park ranked first as a future land use; nuclear production ranked second, followed by hunting and hiking. Only residential development ranked very low as a future land use. There were many differences as a function of employment history at SRS: (1) people who work at SRS think that the federal government should spend funds to clean up all nuclear facilities, and they think less money should be spent on other environmental problems than did non-employees, (2) people who work at SRS ranked continued current uses of SRS higher than did people who never worked at SRS, and (3) people who work at SRS are less concerned about the storage of nuclear material or accidents at the site than are people who never worked at the site