PastPlace: the historical gazetteer service from the people who brought you A Vision of Britain through Time

The PastPlace API offers a simple web service, responding to a variety of queries by returning information from the same database as underlies the Vision of Britain web site, in a range of structured formats. These queries can be typed into a web browser as URLs, and the response viewed in the browser. However, the queries would more usually be sent by another server on the web, and the response processed by that server. That server might itself be creating web pages for use by the general public, but it might also be a cataloguing or records management system, using our API as a name authority. This poster is the first public description of the servic

Long-term weight loss effects on all cause mortality in overweight/obese populations

This systematic review assesses the long-term effectiveness of weight loss on all cause mortality in overweight/obese people. Medline, Embase and Cinahl were searched (1966–2005). Cohort studies and trials on participants with Body Mass Index ¡Ý25 kg/m2, with weight change and mortality with ¡Ý 2 years follow-up were included finally identifying 11 papers based on 8 studies. There may be gender differences in the benefits for all cause mortality. The impact of weight loss in men on mortality was not clear with some studies indicating weight loss to be detrimental, while a recent cohort study showed benefits, if it were a personal decision. Other studies with no gender separation had similarly mixed results. However, one study indicated that overweight/obese women with obesity related illness, who lost weight intentionally within one year, had significantly reduced mortality rates of 19% -25%. In contrast, studies of overweight/obese diabetics irrespective of gender, showed significant benefit of intentional weight loss on mortality in a metaanalysis, HR=0.75(0.67- 0.83). There is some evidence that intentional weight loss has long-term benefits on all cause mortality for women and more so for diabetics. Long-term effects especially for men are not clear and need further investigation.National Health Service (NHS) R&D Health Technology Assessment Board

Preparation and organometallic complexes of the new unsymmetrical Ligand: Ph2PNHC6H4PPh2

Deprotonation of (2-diphenylphosphino)benzeneamine with BuLi followed by reaction with ClPPh2 in THF gave Ph2PNHC6H4PPh2 in good yields. The new unsymmetrical ligand has been incorporated into a number of complexes [[Rh(Ph2PNHC6H4PPh2)(cod)][ClO4] 2, RhCl2(eta(5)-C4Me5) (Ph2PNHC6H4PPh2-P-(N)) 3, [RhCl(eta(5)-C5Me5) (Ph2PNHC6H4PPh2-P(N)P)][Cl] 4, IrCl2(eta(5)-C5Me5) (Ph2PNHC6H4PPh2P(N)) 5, RuCl2(eta(6)-(MeC6H4Pr)-Pr-i) (Ph2PNHC6H4PPh2-P-(N)) 6, [RuCl(eta(6)-Me-(C6H4Pr)-Pr-i) (Ph2PNHC6H4PPh2-P-(N),P)][BF4] 7, RuCl2(eta(6)-C6Me6) (Ph2PNHC6H4PPh2-P-(N)) 8, [RuCl(eta(6)-C6Me6) (Ph2PNHC6H4PPh2-P-(N),P)][BF4] 9, RuCl2(eta(3):eta(3)-C10H16) (Ph2PNHC6H4PPh2-P-(N)) 10, OsCl2(eta(6)-(MeC6H4Pr)-Pr-i)(Ph2NHPC6H4PPh2-P-(N)) 11] to demonstrate its coordination behaviour as a monodentate or as a chelate ligand. The X-ray structures of for 5, 9 and 10 are reported. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.PostprintPeer reviewe

Bull’s-Eye and Nontarget Skin Lesions of Lyme Disease: An Internet Survey of Identification of Erythema Migrans

Introduction. Lyme disease is an emerging worldwide infectious disease with major foci of endemicity in North America and regions of temperate Eurasia. The erythema migrans rash associated with early infection is found in approximately 80% of patients and can have a range of appearances including the classic target bull’s-eye lesion and nontarget appearing lesions. Methods. A survey was designed to assess the ability of the general public to distinguish various appearances of erythema migrans from non-Lyme rashes. Participants were solicited from individuals who visited an educational website about Lyme disease. Results. Of 3,104 people who accessed a rash identification survey, 72.7% of participants correctly identified the classic target erythema migrans commonly associated with Lyme disease. A mean of 20.5% of participants was able to correctly identify the four nonclassic erythema migrans. 24.2% of participants incorrectly identified a tick bite reaction in the skin as erythema migrans. Conclusions. Participants were most familiar with the classic target erythema migrans of Lyme disease but were unlikely to correctly identify the nonclassic erythema migrans. These results identify an opportunity for educational intervention to improve early recognition of Lyme disease and to increase the patient’s appropriate use of medical services for early Lyme disease diagnosis

Health care costs, utilization and patterns of care following Lyme disease

BACKGROUND:Lyme disease is the most frequently reported vector borne infection in the United States. The Centers for Disease Control have estimated that approximately 10% to 20% of individuals may experience Post-Treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome - a set of symptoms including fatigue, musculoskeletal pain, and neurocognitive complaints that persist after initial antibiotic treatment of Lyme disease. Little is known about the impact of Lyme disease or post-treatment Lyme disease symptoms (PTLDS) on health care costs and utilization in the United States. OBJECTIVES:1) to examine the impact of Lyme disease on health care costs and utilization, 2) to understand the relationship between Lyme disease and the probability of developing PTLDS, 3) to understand how PTLDS may impact health care costs and utilization. METHODS:This study utilizes retrospective data on medical claims and member enrollment for persons aged 0-64 years who were enrolled in commercial health insurance plans in the United States between 2006-2010. 52,795 individuals treated for Lyme disease were compared to 263,975 matched controls with no evidence of Lyme disease exposure. RESULTS:Lyme disease is associated with $2,968 higher total health care costs (95$3,798 higher total health care costs (95% CI: 3,542-4,055, p<.001) and 66% more outpatient visits (95% CI: 64%-69%, p<.001) over a 12-month period, relative to those with no PTLDS-related diagnoses. CONCLUSIONS:Lyme disease is associated with increased costs above what would be expected for an easy to treat infection. The presence of PTLDS-related diagnoses after treatment is associated with significant health care costs and utilization

Direct Molecular Detection and Genotyping of Borrelia burgdorferi from Whole Blood of Patients with Early Lyme Disease

Direct molecular tests in blood for early Lyme disease can be insensitive due to low amount of circulating Borrelia burgdorferi DNA. To address this challenge, we have developed a sensitive strategy to both detect and genotype B. burgdorferi directly from whole blood collected during the initial patient visit. This strategy improved sensitivity by employing 1.25 mL of whole blood, a novel pre-enrichment of the entire specimen extract for Borrelia DNA prior to a multi-locus PCR and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry detection assay. We evaluated the assay on blood collected at the initial presentation from 21 endemic area patients who had both physician-diagnosed erythema migrans (EM) and positive two-tiered serology either at the initial visit or at a follow-up visit after three weeks of antibiotic therapy. Results of this DNA analysis showed detection of B. burgdorferi in 13 of 21 patients (62%). In most cases the new assay also provided the B. burgdorferi genotype. The combined results of our direct detection assay with initial physician visit serology resulted in the detection of early Lyme disease in 19 of 21 (90%) of patients at the initial visit. In 5 of 21 cases we demonstrate the ability to detect B. burgdorferi in early Lyme disease directly from whole blood specimens prior to seroconversion

The ALLEGRO trial : a placebo controlled randomised trial of intravenous lidocaine in accelerating gastrointestinal recovery after colorectal surgery

Acknowledgements The authors wish to acknowledge the following persons who have helped deliver the ALLEGRO trial: the programming team based in the Centre for Healthcare Randomised Trials, for their work in developing the study web portal; Sharon Wren and Zoe Batham for their administrative support; ACCORD in Edinburgh; the Perioperative Medicine Clinical Trials Network (POMCTN) for adopting the trial for promotion; and the local recruiting teams and participants. We are also indebted to the late Professor Kenneth Fearon, University of Edinburgh, for protocol development and study design. The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Health Technology Assessment Programme, National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), NHS or the Department of Health. Funding The trial is funded by the NIHR Health and Technology Assessment programme, project number 15/130/95. The funding body had no role in the design of the study, collection of data or the writing of this paper, nor will the funding body have a role in analysis, interpretation of data or in writing future manuscripts. The co-sponsors are University of Edinburgh & Lothian Health Board (AC- CORD), The Queen’s Medical Research Institute, 47 Little France Crescent, Ed- inburgh EH16 4TJ.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Getting the strain under control: Trans-Varestraint tests for hot cracking susceptibility

A new method for conducting Trans-Varestraint tests for assessing hot cracking susceptibility is proposed. Experiments were carried out, to validate the new method, with an industrial scale rig using tungsten inert gas welding. The hot cracking susceptibility of API-5L X65 and EN3B steel was compared. The results indicated that, by using the new method, the strain applied to the welding bead and consequently to the solidification front was controlled in a repeatable and reliable way. The results also indicated that EN3B has a maximum crack length (a parameter in the test) higher than X65 and it is reached at lower augmented strain thus demonstrating it is more susceptible to hot cracking, while also indicating that there is a capability of predicting the initiation position of hot cracks during welding. By using the method proposed, the capability of setting standardized test procedures for Trans-Varestraint tests is improved. It is recommended that future tests for assessing hot cracking susceptibility should employ the proposed method in order for the results to be comparable and to also study the effect of strain rate in hot cracking of materials