The main intervention cohort we describe here contains the 18 312 residents of 9051 residences at baseline. The cohort will be followed continuously through routine health data (demographics, mortality, hospital admissions and general practitioner records including prescriptions) with periodic updates of housing regeneration

intervention data. Here, we describe the baseline data for the primary health outcomes of emergency hospital admissions for cardiovascular and respiratory conditions and injuries for those aged epsilon 60 years. We will compare the health of residents within the homes before and after the housing regeneration work has taken place, and we will calculate the change in health service costs with use of hospital and General Practitioners (GP) services. We will LCL161 mouse also use a difference in differences approach Quizartinib inhibitor to assess changes in comparison with comparator cohorts. These

data will be accessible at the end of the study period in 2016. Further information about this study can be obtained from Ronan Lyons; [email protected]”
“Background: Left ventricular noncompaction (LVNC) is a myocardial disorder characterized by excessive left ventricular (LV) trabeculae. Current methods for quantification of LV trabeculae have limitations. The aim of this study is to describe a novel technique for quantifying LV trabeculation using cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) and fractal geometry. Observing that trabeculae appear complex and irregular, we hypothesize that measuring the fractal dimension (FD) of the endocardial border provides a quantitative parameter that can be used to distinguish normal from abnormal trabecular patterns.

Methods: Fractal analysis is a method of quantifying complex geometric patterns in biological structures. The resulting FD is a unitless measure index of how completely the object fills space. FD increases with increased structural complexity. LV FD was measured using a box-counting method on CMR short-axis cine stacks. Three groups were studied: LVNC

(defined by Epoxomicin Jenni criteria), n=30(age 41 +/- 13; men, 16); healthy whites, n=75(age, 46 +/- 16; men, 36); healthy blacks, n=30(age, 40 +/- 11; men, 15).

Results: In healthy volunteers FD varied in a characteristic pattern from base to apex along the LV. This pattern was altered in LVNC where apical FD were abnormally elevated. In healthy volunteers, blacks had higher FD than whites in the apical third of the LV (maximal apical FD: 1.253 +/- 0.005 vs. 1.235 +/- 0.004, p<0.01) (mean +/- s.e.m.). Comparing LVNC with healthy volunteers, maximal apical FD was higher in LVNC (1.392 +/- 0.010, p<0.00001). The fractal method was more accurate and reproducible (ICC, 0.97 and 0.96 for intra and inter-observer readings) than two other CMR criteria for LVNC (Petersen and Jacquier).

Conclusions: FD is higher in LVNC patients compared to healthy volunteers and is higher in healthy blacks than in whites.