UKPMC: a full text article resource for the life sciences.

UK PubMed Central (UKPMC) is a full-text article database that extends the functionality of the original PubMed Central (PMC) repository. The UKPMC project was launched as the first 'mirror' site to PMC, which in analogy to the International Nucleotide Sequence Database Collaboration, aims to provide international preservation of the open and free-access biomedical literature. UKPMC (http://ukpmc.ac.uk) has undergone considerable development since its inception in 2007 and now includes both a UKPMC and PubMed search, as well as access to other records such as Agricola, Patents and recent biomedical theses. UKPMC also differs from PubMed/PMC in that the full text and abstract information can be searched in an integrated manner from one input box. Furthermore, UKPMC contains 'Cited By' information as an alternative way to navigate the literature and has incorporated text-mining approaches to semantically enrich content and integrate it with related database resources. Finally, UKPMC also offers added-value services (UKPMC+) that enable grantees to deposit manuscripts, link papers to grants, publish online portfolios and view citation information on their papers. Here we describe UKPMC and clarify the relationship between PMC and UKPMC, providing historical context and future directions, 10 years on from when PMC was first launched.

Down syndrome in births near landfill sites.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to examine the risk of giving birth to a child with Down syndrome associated with residence near landfill sites in England and Wales. METHODS: A 2-km zone around 6289 landfill sites processing special (hazardous), non-special and unknown waste type was used to indicate exposure. Postcodes within the 2-km zone were classified as 'exposed' and people living beyond 2 km comprised the reference population. Health outcome data were Down syndrome registrations from a national registry including 21 cytogenetic laboratories in England and Wales, for the years 1989 to 1998. With a Bayesian regression model, we calculated relative risks for the population living within 2 km of landfill sites relative to the reference population, assuming a common relative risk for all landfill sites. Adjustments were made for major confounders. RESULTS: There were 4640 cases of Down syndrome within 2 km of a landfill site. We found no excess risks of Down syndrome related to landfill sites. Adjustment for socio-economic status (SES) did not influence our estimates. There were no differences in risk between hazardous waste sites and other landfill sites. CONCLUSION: We found no excess risk of Down syndrome in populations living near landfill sites.