Typology and Dynamics of Heavier Drinking Styles in Great Britain: 1978-2010.

AIMS: To identify a typology of heavier drinking styles in Great Britain and to identify socio-demographic trends in the typology over the period 1978-2010. METHODS: We applied multiple correspondence analysis and agglomerative hierarchical clustering to beverage-specific quantity-frequency measures of alcohol consumption in the repeated cross-sectional General Lifestyle Survey of Great Britain, 1978-2010. The cluster analysis focuses on the 60,043 adult respondents over this period reporting average drinking levels above the UK Government guidelines. We projected sex, age, income, education, socio-economic status and tobacco consumption variables onto the clusters to inspect socio-demographic trends in heavier drinking. RESULTS: We identified four stable clusters of heavier drinking: (a) high volume beer; (b) beer and spirit combination; (c) all beverage and (d) wine and spirit only. The socio-demographic characteristics of the clusters were distinct from both each other and the general population. However, all clusters had higher median incomes and higher smoking rates than the population. Increases in the prevalence of heavier drinking were driven by a 5-fold increase in the contribution of the female-dominated, wine and spirit only cluster. CONCLUSIONS: Recent changes in per capita alcohol consumption in Great Britain occurred within the context of a stable typology of heavier drinking styles and shifting socio-demographics. Identifying these trends is essential to better understand how drinking cultures develop over time and where potentially problematic drinking styles may emerge. Our findings suggest that careful attention to patterns and cultures of consumption is more important than relying on headline consumption data, for both understanding drinking behaviours and targeting interventions. SHORT SUMMARY: This analysis of alcohol consumption survey data identifies four styles of heavier drinking in Great Britain, which remain unchanged over the period 1978-2010. The socio-demographic characteristics of the drinking styles are distinct from both each other and the general population, with increased participation of female and older drinkers over time

Books in Arabic Script

The chapter approaches the book in Arabic script as the indispensable means for the transmission of knowledge across Eurasia and Africa, within cultures and across cultural boundaries, since the seventh century ad. The state of research can be divided into manuscript and print studies, but there is not yet a history of the book in Arabic script that captures its plurilinear development for over fourteen hundred years. The chapter explores the conceptual and practical challenges that impede the integration of the book in Arabic script into book history at large and includes an extensive reference list that reflects its diversity. The final published version was slightly updated, and includes seven illustrations of six Qurans from the holdings of Columbia University Libraries, four manuscripts and two printed versions. Moreover, the illustrations are images of historical artifacts which are in the public domain - despite Wiley's copyright claim

Omecamtiv mecarbil in chronic heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, GALACTIC‐HF: baseline characteristics and comparison with contemporary clinical trials

Aims: The safety and efficacy of the novel selective cardiac myosin activator, omecamtiv mecarbil, in patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) is tested in the Global Approach to Lowering Adverse Cardiac outcomes Through Improving Contractility in Heart Failure (GALACTIC‐HF) trial. Here we describe the baseline characteristics of participants in GALACTIC‐HF and how these compare with other contemporary trials. Methods and Results: Adults with established HFrEF, New York Heart Association functional class (NYHA) ≥ II, EF ≤35%, elevated natriuretic peptides and either current hospitalization for HF or history of hospitalization/ emergency department visit for HF within a year were randomized to either placebo or omecamtiv mecarbil (pharmacokinetic‐guided dosing: 25, 37.5 or 50 mg bid). 8256 patients [male (79%), non‐white (22%), mean age 65 years] were enrolled with a mean EF 27%, ischemic etiology in 54%, NYHA II 53% and III/IV 47%, and median NT‐proBNP 1971 pg/mL. HF therapies at baseline were among the most effectively employed in contemporary HF trials. GALACTIC‐HF randomized patients representative of recent HF registries and trials with substantial numbers of patients also having characteristics understudied in previous trials including more from North America (n = 1386), enrolled as inpatients (n = 2084), systolic blood pressure < 100 mmHg (n = 1127), estimated glomerular filtration rate < 30 mL/min/1.73 m2 (n = 528), and treated with sacubitril‐valsartan at baseline (n = 1594). Conclusions: GALACTIC‐HF enrolled a well‐treated, high‐risk population from both inpatient and outpatient settings, which will provide a definitive evaluation of the efficacy and safety of this novel therapy, as well as informing its potential future implementation

The unfinished nation : a concise history of the American people

xxxix, 948 p. : col. ill., col. maps ; 24 cm

The unfinished nation : a concise history of the American people

xxxix, 948 p. : col. ill., col. maps ; 24 cm

American History : A Survey

xlviii, 939 p. : il.; 28 c

American history : a survey

A survey, eleventh edition, is accompanied by a comprehensive, well-integrated collection of print and electronic resources for both students and instructors

American history : a survey. Volume II, Since 1865

xxx, 570 p. : ill. (chiefly col.), col. maps ; 29 c

American history : a survey. Vol. I, To 1877

1 v. (various pagings) : ill. (chiefly col.), col. maps ; 29 cm