Search results for ""virus""

Survivors of a global plague battle for life on an empty planet. A gripping vision of a post-apocalyptic world...'A fine piece of British post-apocalyptic fiction''Nation's novel is based on his original cult series...and is all the better for it, being far, far more gritty and realistic' SUNDAY SUNA virus has wiped out 95 per cent of the world's population in just a few weeks, leaving the remaining 5 per cent to stay alive in a world devoid of the most basic amenities - electricity, transport and medicine. The few survivors of the human race are forced to fall back on the most primitive skills in order to live and re-establish some semblance of law and order.Abby Grant, widowed by the plague, moves through this new dark age with determination, sustained by hope that her son, who fled his boarding school at the onset, has survived. She knows she must relearn the skills on which civilisation was built. With others, she founds a commune and the group return to the soil. But marauding bands threaten their existence. For Abby, there's a chance for a new life and love when she encounters James Garland, the fourteenth Earl of Woodhouse, who is engaged in a desperate fight to save his ancestral home. But more important, she must find her son.

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A guide to the new research in the field of fractional order analysis Fractional Order Analysis contains the most recent research findings in fractional order analysis and its applications. The authors—noted experts on the topic—offer an examination of the theory, methods, applications, and the modern tools and techniques in the field of fractional order analysis. The information, tools, and applications presented can help develop mathematical methods and models with better accuracy. Comprehensive in scope, the book covers a range of topics including: new fractional operators, fractional derivatives, fractional differential equations, inequalities for different fractional derivatives and fractional integrals, fractional modeling related to transmission of Malaria, and dynamics of Zika virus with various fractional derivatives, and more. Designed to be an accessible text, several useful, relevant and connected topics can be found in one place, which is crucial for an understanding of the research problems of an applied nature. This book: Contains recent development in fractional calculus Offers a balance of theory, methods, and applications Puts the focus on fractional analysis and its interdisciplinary applications, such as fractional models for biological models Helps make research more relevant to real-life applications Written for researchers, professionals and practitioners, Fractional Order Analysis offers a comprehensive resource to fractional analysis and its many applications as well as information on the newest research.

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'A powerfully evociative story of the resilience and triumph of the human spirit' TAYLOR JENKINS REID, BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF DAISY JONES AND THE SIX'Extraordinary . . . it's such a great book' GRAHAM NORTONDiana O'Toole's life is going perfectly to plan. At twenty-nine, she's up for promotion to her dream job as an art specialist at Sotheby's and she's about to fly to the Galápagos where she's convinced her surgeon boyfriend, Finn, is going to propose.But then the virus hits New York City and Finn breaks the news: the hospital needs him, he has to stay. But you should still go, he insists. And reluctantly, she agrees. Once she's in the Galápagos, the world shuts down around her, leaving Diana stranded - albeit in paradise. Completely isolated, with only intermittent news from the outside world, Diana finds herself examining everything that has brought her to this point and wondering if there's a better way to live.But not everything is as it seems . . .'What a masterpiece! All her books are great but this was exceptional!' ***** Real Reader Review'Keep the tissues to hand and prepare to get emotional' ***** Real Reader Review'What a twist!' ***** Real Reader ReviewMAD HONEY, the stunning and compelling Sunday Times bestseller by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan is available now.

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AHFS Drug Information® 2024 contains the most dependable drug information available—all in one place. It is the most comprehensive evidence-based source of drug information complete with therapeutic guidelines and off-label uses.With expanded and revised content supported by more than 97,000 references and incorporating the advice of numerous subject matter experts, AHFS DI helps you protect your patients and your practice.Updates in the new edition:Clinical perspective sections that include place of therapy discussions and recommendations from therapeutic guidelines.Expanded coverage of specialty medications used to treat a variety of complex, chronic conditions that often require special handling and administration and may require careful oversight to manage severe adverse effects and dosage adjustments.Contemporary topics such as new RSV treatments and vaccines, safety issues associated with the glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) agonists, novel orphan drugs, biosimilars, and more.Expanded content on new and emerging gene therapies.Updates to a variety of vaccine monographs including the pneumococcal, rabies, and respiratory syncytial virus vaccinesExpanded content on off-label uses and long-term clinical data,MedWatch alerts, Standardize4Safety information, REMS data, and focused FDA updates for various medications.New content on over 175 new molecular entities (NMEs) or new therapeutic biological products and substantive revisions on approximately 190 medications.

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From the science of bodies to insects and beyond, science is gross and this book is full of fun ways to learn about it. Explore the layers of your skin and or make a model of intestines to figure out the science of poop. Investigate how germs spread, or the makeup of a virus and why snot helps keep you healthy. When you’ve had enough of anatomy, you can take stock of the creepy critters (dustmites!) in your own bed. Emma Vanstone, author of This Is Rocket Science and Snackable Science Experiments, has 60 new activities to investigate everything icky so you can find out exactly how all the smelliest, stickiest, scariest things work. Whether you want to discover the funny things a body does or the ghastly creatures all around you, there’s always something new to learn. Find out what makes your breath so smelly or why stinky foods taste better when you hold your breath. Do your own easy, exciting dissections with homemade models for a brain or heart. Experiment in your own home by making spooky mirror messages or take a terrifying bath with the Bug Bath Bomb. There’s plenty of cool, revolting activities to help you learn about the world. The book has 60 crafting projects and 75 colour photosgraphs.

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More relevant than ever as the Coronavirus, COVID-19 pandemic sweeps the globe, False Alarm (Originally released in 2008) reminds readers to look closely at the facts as the media covers the national pandemic news and spread of the virus, as well as reinforces the notion that we must arm ourselves against fear tactics that inhibit our abilities to properly make decisions in a world of uncertainty. Life today for citizens of the developed world is safer, easier, and healthier than for any other people in history thanks to modern medicine, science, technology, and intelligence. So why is an epidemic of fear sweeping America? The answer, according to nationally renowned health commentator Dr. Marc Siegel, is that we live in an artificially created culture of fear. In False Alarm, Siegel identifies three major catalysts of the culture of fear—government, the media, and big pharma. With fascinating, blow-by-blow analyses of the most sensational false alarms of the past few years, he shows how these fearmongers manipulate our most primitive instincts—often without our even realizing it. False Alarm shows us how to look behind the hype and hysteria, inoculate ourselves against fear tactics, and develop the emotional and intellectual skills needed to take back our lives.

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From the acclaimed author of Immigrant, Montana comes a one-of-a-kind novel about memory, politics, a world of lies, and the ways in which truth can be not only stranger than fiction, but a fiction of its own.'A shimmering assault on the Zeitgeist.' – The New YorkerWhen Satya attends a prestigious artists’ retreat, he finds the pressures of the outside world won’t let up: the US president rages online; a dangerous virus envelops the globe; and the twenty-four-hour news cycle throws fuel on every fire. These Orwellian interruptions begin to crystallize into an idea for his new novel about the lies we tell ourselves and each other. Satya scours his life for moments where truth bends toward the imagined, and misinformation is mistaken as fact.As he sifts through newspaper clippings, the President’s tweets, childhood memories from India, and moments as an immigrant, a husband, father, and teacher, Amitava Kumar’s A Time Outside This Time captures our feverish political moment with a precisely observant intelligence and an eye for the uncanny.A brilliant meditation on life in a post-truth era, this piercing novel captures the sentiment on all our minds, of how impossible it can feel to remember, or to imagine, a time outside of this one.

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More relevant than ever as the Coronavirus, COVID-19 pandemic sweeps the globe, False Alarm (Originally released in 2008) reminds readers to look closely at the facts as the media covers the national pandemic news and spread of the virus, as well as reinforces the notion that we must arm ourselves against fear tactics that inhibit our abilities to properly make decisions in a world of uncertainty. Life today for citizens of the developed world is safer, easier, and healthier than for any other people in history thanks to modern medicine, science, technology, and intelligence. So why is an epidemic of fear sweeping America? The answer, according to nationally renowned health commentator Dr. Marc Siegel, is that we live in an artificially created culture of fear. In False Alarm, Siegel identifies three major catalysts of the culture of fear—government, the media, and big pharma. With fascinating, blow-by-blow analyses of the most sensational false alarms of the past few years, he shows how these fearmongers manipulate our most primitive instincts—often without our even realizing it. False Alarm shows us how to look behind the hype and hysteria, inoculate ourselves against fear tactics, and develop the emotional and intellectual skills needed to take back our lives.

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One of Fortune's 'Best Books of 2021'When Ralph Waldo Emerson published his seminal essay on self-reliance in 1841, the United States was still reeling from the effects of a calamitous financial collapse four years earlier. His positive vision for the power of individualism and personal responsibility was issued in a climate of panic and uncertainty, at a time when the values of society and humanity were shifting. Emerson’s text is widely available to read online, but this new edition, produced with Design Observer, elevates his wisdom through the printed word. The global pandemic of 2020 has reshaped our world as well as our thinking, but Emerson’s call to independence remains as relevant and energizing as ever. Written as the first waves of the virus surged, Jessica Helfand's twelve accompanying essays address various aspects of artistic engagement — writing, drawing, thinking, making — expanding on the spirit of Emerson’s essay to reimagine the process and practice of what it means to be truly creative. Presented in a covetable pocket-book format intended to be read, carried, consulted and to inspire throughout our new daily lives, and featuring two marker ribbons for easy reference, this is a timeless book for all places and all seasons.

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Charlie Higson's The Enemy is the first in a jaw-dropping zombie horror series for teens. Everyone over the age of fourteen has succumbed to a deadly zombie virus and now the kids must keep themselves alive. When the sickness came, every parent, police officer, politician - every adult fell ill. The lucky ones died. The others are crazed, confused and hungry. Only children under fourteen remain, and they're fighting to survive.Now there are rumours of a safe place to hide. And so a gang of children begin their quest across London, where all through the city - down alleyways, in deserted houses, underground - the grown-ups lie in wait.But can they make it there - alive?'Higson has got the balance of blood and gore just right' Daily Mirror'Clever...fast-paced...inventive' GuardianCharlie Higson is the author of the bestselling Young Bond series of novels for young readers, including Silverfin and Double or Die, and the spine-tingling, teen zombie-horror series The Enemy.Can't wait for the next instalment? This edition contains the first chapter of the mind-blowing first chapter of the second book The Dead.Check out www.the-enemy.co.uk for more blood, more zombies and more terror.

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IMPACTS OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC Enables Readers to Understand the Impact of International Legislative and Policy Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic The wide array of legal and policy responses to the COVID-19 pandemic have significant implications regarding the functioning of countries and their respective societies. This book addresses the impact of international legislative and policy responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in a range of countries. To aid the reader in understanding country-specific developments, each chapter focuses on a specific country and addresses the legal frameworks and policy approaches used to support measures to prevent transmission and otherwise reduce the impact of the virus on society and the economy. Sample topics discussed in the work include: The effect certain policies may have on civil liberties, such as due process, and the right to privacy in specific countries The provision of public goods in the face of the pandemic Policymakers in public health agencies and other branches of government, along with academics studying global pandemic response, homeland security, and emergency management will be able to use this book as a comprehensive resource to understand the current state of COVID-19 policies around the world and the potential future effects of these policies.

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The return of the famous shared-world superhero books created and edited by George R. R. Martin, author of A GAME OF THRONESIn the six decades since the alien plague known as the Wild Card virus spread a wave of mutations around the globe, humanity has begun to come to terms with its consequences. Grotesque half-human creatures known as 'jokers' inhabit an underworld of their own, while the legendary prodigies known as 'aces' have become real-world superheroes, complete with colourful names and costumes.Now a new generation of aces has taken its place on the world stage, becoming crucial players in international events. At the United Nations, veteran ace John Fortune has assembled a team of young heroes, known as The Committee, to assist at trouble spots around the world - including an invasion of zombies in hurricane-ravaged New Orleans, a freak nuclear explosion in a small Texas town, and a fateful showdown with the forces of the oil-rich Islamic caliphate in the Middle East.But The Committee's opponents have their own aces and jokers ready to do battle, including a Marxist revolutionary, a brutal mercenary, a young boy with apocalyptic powers and - most terrifyingly of all - a sinister arm of the FBI known as SCARE.

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New York Times Bestselling Author! Boys and girls, what is more fun that playing Minecraft? Going on a rollicking adventure into the world you love!Gameknight999 and his father, Monkeypants271, traveled all the way to The End and banished the evil virus Herobrine to the only place they knew nothing could survive: the Void. They thought they had finally destroyed the enemy . . .But through the Void, Herobrine’s viral lines of code were able to spread all throughout The End, infecting the horrible Ender Dragon. After gaining the teleportation powers of the endermen, the dragon escaped out into the Overworld! Terrorizing Minecraft, the dragon’s evil presence is now transforming the lush and beautiful land into the dark and desolate world of The End. It will be up to Gameknight999, his dad, and their NPC friends to defeat the dragon without releasing Herobrine, while at the same time battling a massive army led by Feyd, the king of the endermen, and Xa-Tul, the zombie king. With everything on the line, Gameknight must use every bit of skill and bravery to save the entire Overworld from destruction.This adventure series is created especially for readers who love the fight of good vs. evil, magical academies like Hogwarts in the Harry Potter saga, and games like Minecraft, Terraria, and Pokemon GO.

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“Readers who enjoyed The Strain Trilogy, by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan, will find plenty to satisfy them here.”—San Francisco Book Review When the end came, it came quickly. No one knew where or exactly when the Omega Virus started, but soon it was everywhere. And when the ones spreading it can’t die, no one stands a chance of surviving.San Francisco, California. Father Xavier Church has spent his life ministering to unfortunate souls, but he has never witnessed horror like this. After he forsakes his vows in the most heartrending of ways, he watches helplessly as a zombie nun takes a bite out of a fellow priest’s face…University of California, Berkeley. Skye Dennison is moving into her college dorm for the first time, simultaneously excited to be leaving the nest and terrified to be on her own. When her mother and father are eaten alive in front of her, she realizes the terror has just begun…Alameda, California. Angie West made millions off her family’s reality gun show on the History Channel. But after she is cornered by the swarming undead, her knowledge of heavy artillery is called into play like never before…Within weeks, the world is overrun by the walking dead. Only the quick and the smart, the strong and the determined, will survive—for now.EXPANDED BY THE AUTHOR

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In March 2020, COVID-19 overtook the United States, and life changed for America. In a matter of weeks the virus impacted millions, with lockdown measures radically reshaping the lives of even those who did not become infected. Yet despite the fear, hardship, and heartbreak from this period of collective struggle, there was hope. In The Helpers, journalist Kathy Gilsinan profiles eight individuals on the front lines of the coronavirus battle: a devoted son caring for his family in the San Francisco Bay Area; a not-quite-retired paramedic from Colorado; an ICU nurse in the Bronx; the CEO of a Seattle-based ventilator company; a vaccine researcher at Moderna in Boston; a young chef and culinary teacher in Louisville, Kentucky; a physician in Chicago; and a funeral home director in Seattle and Los Angeles. These inspiring individual accounts create an unforgettable tapestry of how people across the country and the socioeconomic spectrum came together to fight the most deadly pandemic in a century. Beautifully written and profoundly moving, The Helpers is about ordinary people who stepped up to meet an extraordinary moment. “This is the story of how we beat the pandemic,” Gilsinan writes, “but I hope that it someday serves as an introduction to the story of how we made a better country. That future starts with people like the ones in this book.”

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As officials scrambled in 2020 to manage the spread of COVID, the reverberations of the crisis reached well beyond immediate public health concerns. The governance problems that emerged in the pandemic would be problems in other climate-related disasters, too. Many of these governance problems wound up in court. Businesses filed insurance claims for lost commerce; when the claims were denied, some companies sued. Defense attorneys tried to get inmates released from prison, citing dangerous living conditions. As state governments ordered closures and otherwise tried to adapt, interest organizations that had long sought to limit government authority challenged them in court. Political officials railed against litigation they argued would stop businesses from reopening. The United States, like other countries, governs partly through litigation, and litigation is one way of seeing the multiple governance failures during the pandemic. Drawing on databases of cases filed, news reports, and the websites of advocacy groups and law firms, Susan M. Sterett argues that governing during the pandemic, or in any disaster, must include the human institutions intertwined with the effects of the virus. Those institutions reveal problems well beyond the reach of technical expertise. Failures in private insurance as a way of governing risk, conflicts about the primacy of religion, government authority, and health, are problems that predated the pandemic and will persist in future disasters.

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In February 2003, a Chinese physician crossed the border between mainland China and Hong Kong, spreading Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)—a novel flu-like virus—to over a dozen international hotel guests. SARS went on to kill about 800 people and sicken 8,000 worldwide. By the time it disappeared in July 2003 the Chinese public health system, once famous for its grassroots, low-technology approach, was transformed into a globally-oriented, research-based, scientific endeavor. In Infectious Change, Katherine A. Mason investigates local Chinese public health institutions in Southeastern China, examining how the outbreak of SARS re-imagined public health as a professionalized, biomedicalized, and technological machine—one that frequently failed to serve the Chinese people. Mason grapples with how public health in China was reinvented into a prestigious profession in which global recognition took precedent over service to vulnerable local communities. This book lays bare the common elements of a global pandemic that too often get overlooked, all of which are being thrown into sharp relief during the present COVID-19 outbreak: blame of "exotic" customs from the country of origin and the poor bearing the most severe consequences. Mason's argument resonates profoundly with our current crisis, making the case that we can only consider ourselves truly prepared for the next crisis once public health policies, and social welfare more generally, are made more inclusive.

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Essentials of Oral Histology and Embryology: A Clinical Approach, 6th Edition uses a patient-centered approach to help dental professionals build a strong foundation in oral biology and basic science. It provides clear explanations of the anatomy of oral and facial tissues - and of normal and abnormal orofacial development - so that you can provide effective oral health care for all patients. In addition to the stages of tooth development, it covers eruption and shedding of teeth, plus the parts of teeth - including enamel, dentin, dental pulp, and cementum. Written by Daniel J. Chiego, Jr., a noted dental educator and researcher, this book gives you the knowledge you need to succeed in the classroom and in clinical practice. Cutting-edge content provides essential knowledge of the basics of oral biology with a focus on practical clinical application. Clinical Comment, Consider the Patient, Quandaries in Science, and Case Study boxes apply scientific content to everyday dental practice and explore the boundaries of scientific research. Self-evaluation questions and practice quizzes help you prepare for classroom and national board exams. NEW! Coverage of COVID-19 includes how the virus affects the oral cavity. Updated full-color illustrations, micrographs, and histographs add to the already robust art program that supplements content by depicting various stages within the development of oral structures.

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Once known a the "great fire, "the spotted death" or "destroying angel", smallpox has been rivaled only by plague as a source of supreme terror. Spreading easily through the air, especially in crowded urban conditions, smallpox even today is fatal to 25% of its victims; there is no known cure once symptoms appear. Although naturally occurring smallpox was eradicated in 1977, recent terrorist attacks in the United States have raised the appalling possibility that someone might craft a deadly biological weapon from stocks of the virus that remain in known (and perhaps unknown) laboratories. In "The Greatest Killer" Donald R. Hopkins provides a fascinating account of smallpox and its role in human history. Starting with its origins 10,000 years ago in Africa or Asia, Hopkins follows the disease on its rampage through both the ancient and modern worlds, including its spread to Europe and the Americas. He describes how smallpox often wiped out whole villages and decimated the populations of entire regions, and how the disease disrupted agriculture and trade. Smallpox changed the course of history as it removed or temporarily incapacitated heads of state, halted or exacerbated wars, and devastated populations that had never been exposed to the disease. In Hopkins's history, smallpox was one of the most dangerous - and influential -characters that shaped the course of world events.

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Hari Kunzru's Transmission is a witty novel about cyberspace, a Bollywood dancer and a world where everyone is connected.It's the twenty-first century, and everything and everyone is connected.Meet Arjun Mehta, an Indian cybergeek catapulted into California's spiralling hi-tech sector; Leela Zahir, beguiling Bollywood actress filming in the midge-infested Scottish wilds; and Guy Swift, hyped-up marketing exec lost in a blue-sky tomorrow of his own devising. Three dislocated individuals seeking nodes of connectivity - a place to fit in. Yet this is the twenty-first century, and their lives are about to become unexpectedly entangled as a virus spreads, and all their futures are rewired. But will it take them further from their dreams, or closer to their hearts?'An aphoristic joke, a neat turn of phrase; a joke that makes you laugh . . . there's nothing Kunzru couldn't manage in prose. Thoroughly engrossing' Literary Review'Funny, heartfelt and beautifully written, confirms Kunzru as one of the most talented writers of his generation' Image'Very enjoyable, I couldn't put it down. Funny and wry; it is deftly plotted; its characters intimately drawn. Blissful' Observer'Utterly affecting, a novel with devastating satirical bite' Financial TimesHari Kunzru is the author of the novels The Impressionist, Transmission, My Revolutions and Gods Without Men, and the story collection Noise. He lives in New York.

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Applications of Genome Engineering in Plants Understand the keys to creating the food of the future Genome engineering in plants is a field that has made enormous strides in recent years. In particular, the CRISPR-Cas system has been used in a number of crop species to make significant leaps forward in nutritional improvement, stress tolerance, crop yield, and more. As scientists work to meet global food needs and foster sustainable agriculture in a changing world, genome engineering promises only to become more important. Applications of Genome Engineering in Plants details the history of, and recent developments in, this essential area of biotechnology. It describes advances enabling nutritional improvement, nutraceuticals improvement, flavonoid enrichment, and many more crop enhancements, as well as subjects such as biosafety and regulatory mechanisms. The result is a thorough and essential overview for researchers and biotech professionals. Applications of Genome Engineering in Plants readers will also find: Chapters on trans-gene free editing or non-transgenic approaches to plant genomes Detailed discussion of topics including nanotechnology-facilitated genome editing, engineering for virus resistance in plants, and more Applications of genome editing in oil seed crops, vegetables, ornamental plants, and many others Applications of Genome Engineering in Plants is ideal for academics, scientists, and industry professionals working in biotechnology, agriculture, food science, and related subjects.

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Imagine that we had some way to look directly at the molecules in a living organism. An x-ray microscope would do the trick, or since we’re dreaming, perhaps an Asimov-style nanosubmarine (unfortunately, neither is currently feasible). Think of the wonders we could witness firsthand: antibodies atta- ing a virus, electrical signals racing down nerve fibers, proteins building new strands of DNA. Many of the questions puzzling the current cadre of sci- tists would be answered at a glance. But the nanoscale world of molecules is separated from our everyday world of experience by a daunting million-fold difference in size, so the world of molecules is completely invisible. I created the illustrations in this book to help bridge this gulf and allow us to see the molecular structure of cells, if not directly, then in an artistic rendition. I have included two types of illustrations with this goal in mind: watercolor paintings which magnify a small portion of a living cell by one million times, showing the arrangement of molecules inside, and comput- generated pictures, which show the atomic details of individual molecules. In this second edition of The Machinery of Life, these illustrations are presented in full color, and they incorporate many of the exciting scientific advances of the 15 years since the first edition.

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HIV/AIDS affects every walk of life, and has a profound influence on everything we do -- in our closest relationships, at work, at home, at school, college or university. Not a day goes by without a reference to the pandemic in newspapers or on the electronic media. Just as the virus infects the body and every cell in the body, so it affects every single person living on the planet. This book addresses various issues around HIV/AIDS, what it is, how it is spread, what can be done to avoid becoming HIV positive and how to live positively once someone is infected, all discussed in the context of the workplace. "Working with HIV/AIDS" has been developed around the SAQA Fundamental Unit Standard 13915 (Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of HIV/AIDS in a workplace, and its effects on a business sub-sector, own organisation and a specific workplace) for use on NQF level 3. In-line with the unit standard requirements, the book includes a variety of formative assessment activities, using individual, pair and group work assignments, that should appeal to a wide range of learners or readers, as well as actual case studies, fact boxes, other useful and up-to-date information and glossary terms. The book should appeal to a wide audience, from learners at schools and tertiary institutions to members of the general public.

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If you're looking for a gripping new crime series, you'll love Aline Templeton. Featuring DI Marjory Fleming - 'Big Marge' - and set in Galloway. If you enjoy novels by Ann Cleeves, Faith Martin, Val McDermid and LJ Ross, try Cold in the Earth.'The crime czar of the Scottish small town!' Val McDermidDeath is in the air. Death is on the ground. Death is everywhere for the people of Galloway.As a catastrophic virus devastates the Scottish countryside, killing cattle and destroying lives, a body is discovered in a dug-up field. Detective Inspector Marjory Fleming finds herself at the stormy heart of a troubled, trapped community.Thousands of miles away in New York, Laura resolves to unearth the dark secrets of her past. Determined to find the truth about her older sister's disappearance fifteen years ago.A dead body, a missing girl, and a mysterious family's dangerous obsession with bull running provide a sinister backdrop to DI Fleming's first murder investigation. And as the cold shadow of death looms ever larger over this quiet corner of rural Britain, one thing becomes clear: it won't be her last.Reader reviews:'An engaging thriller which also touched me emotionally''A beautifully written crime thriller . . . Gripping from start to finish''Great to come across a new to me author who writes so well, a cut above so many police procedurals'

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Prison. Just reading the word conjures up mental images of harshness and negativity. While the word 'criminal' summons feelings of fear, disgust, anger, aggression, and revenge. These near-universal feelings about criminals are the foundation of prisons as places where harm, through neglect, indifference, and paucity, festers and replicates like a virus. For this reason, any conversation about prison and its potential for anything other than harm must start with the people who live there. In The Shadow of Childhood Harm, Wolff, using a balance of compassion and evidence, takes readers through the lives of people who end up inside prison. Guided by the words of those who have lived the experience of harm, she weaves an expansive body of research that lays bare the harm that began in childhood (the curse) and its subsequent shadow that later, during adolescence and adulthood, manifests as harm to self and others, eventually culminating in crime that results in incarceration, where harm there, once again, repeats like a bad dream. With authority and rigor, Wolff uses ethics, law, science, and compassion, to call out the anti-humanism roots underpinning the (un)intelligent design of the current correctional system and rings in a new way of intelligently designing and maintaining a just, fair, and person-centered system of asylum of and for humanity.

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In the bestselling vein of Guillermo Del Toro and Justin Cronin, the acclaimed author of Chimera and The Hydra Protocol delivers his spectacular breakout novel—an entertaining page-turning zombie epic that is sure to become a classic.Anyone can be positive . . . The tattooed plus sign on Finnegan's hand marks him as a Positive. At any time, the zombie virus could explode in his body, turning him from a rational human into a ravenous monster. His only chance of a normal life is to survive the last two years of the potential incubation period. If he reaches his twenty-first birthday without an incident, he'll be cleared.Until then, Finn must go to a special facility for positives, segregated from society to keep the healthy population safe. But when the military caravan transporting him is attacked, Finn becomes separated. To make it to safety, he must embark on a perilous cross-country journey across an America transformed—a dark and dangerous land populated with heroes, villains, madmen, and hordes of zombies. And though the zombies are everywhere, Finn discovers that the real danger may be his fellow humans.Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome meets World War Z and I Am Legend in this thrilling tale that has it all: a compelling story, great characters, and explosive action, making Positive the ultimate zombie novel of our time.

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Building resilience,the ability to bounce back more quickly and effectively,is an urgent social and economic issue. Our interconnected world is susceptible to sudden and dramatic shocks and stresses: a cyber-attack, a new strain of virus, a structural failure, a violent storm, a civil disturbance, an economic blow. Through an astonishing range of stories, Judith Rodin shows how people, organizations, businesses, communities, and cities have developed resilience in the face of otherwise catastrophic challenges: Medellin, Colombia, was once the drug and murder capital of South America. Now it's host to international conferences and an emerging vacation destination. Tulsa, Oklahoma, cracked the code of rapid urban development in a floodplain. Airbnb, Toyota, Ikea, Coca-Cola, and other companies have realized the value of reducing vulnerabilities and potential threats to customers, employees, and their bottom line. In the Mau Forest of Kenya, bottom-up solutions are critical for dealing with climate change, environmental degradation, and displacement of locals. Following Superstorm Sandy, the Rockaway Surf Club in New York played a vital role in distributing emergency supplies. As we grow more adept at managing disruption and more skilled at resilience-building, Rodin reveals how we are able to create and take advantage of new economic and social opportunities that offer us the capacity to recover after catastrophes and grow strong in times of relative calm.

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Brazil's Zika outbreak revealed extreme health disparities and reproductive injustice across racial and socioeconomic lines.Brazil's 2015 Zika outbreak led to severe illnesses for many and the birth of several thousands of children with severe brain damage. Even though mosquito-borne diseases such as the Zika virus affect people across society, these children were born almost exclusively to poor, and usually non-white, women. In Viruses and Reproductive Injustice, Ilana Löwy explores the complicated health disparities and reproductive injustice that led to these cases of congenital Zika syndrome.Löwy examines the history of the outbreak in Brazil and connects it to broader questions concerning reproductive rights, the medical science behind understanding new pathogens, and the role of international health organizations in battling—or ignoring—public health crises. The explanation behind the strongly skewed distribution of cases among social classes was far from straightforward or obvious during the Zika outbreak. Löwy argues that the disproportionate effect of Zika on births among the poor is primarily a function of dramatic disparities in access to contraception and prenatal care, as well as Brazil's anti-abortion laws: only wealthier women have access to safe abortions. This is a book about the changing meaning of an infectious disease outbreak and a haunting demonstration that an epidemic is both a biological and a political event produced by the complicated entanglement of humans, viruses, and mosquitoes.

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Plague. The word itself is like a blow, connoting misery, miasma and death. Plague takes many forms: influenza, typhus, cholera, the Black Death, and, recently, AIDS. AIDS has reminded us that epidemic infectious disease is not simply a historical phenomenon—or one limited like famine to remote continents —and is a vivid and painful illustration of how epidemics take place at a number of levels —biological event, social perception, collective response, and, finally, the individual, the existential and the moral. In Time of Plagueexamines the many ways in which catastrophic infectious and contagious diseases are both biologically and socially defined. In the politically charged age of AIDS, In Time of Plague analyzes what past epidemics tell us about this new, deadly virus: How has the definition of disease differed throughout history? How have new technologies and advances in epidemiology changed our perception and response to disease? When has quarantine been appropriate or effective? What norms should govern our thinking about responsibility, culpability, legality, and confidentiality? What does society owe the victims? What, in turn, are the responsibilities of the carrier population? Featuring essays by such distinguished scholars as Lewis Thomas, Joshua Lederberg, Dorothy Nelkin, Sander Gilman, Barbara Guttmann Rosenkrantz, Baruch S. Blumberg, George Kateb, and David A. J. Richards, among others, from a wide range of disciplines, this work seeks to answer some of these pressing questions.

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Ficus carica, the fig, is one of the ancient crop plants originated from Anatolia. This is one of the most precious fruit crops beneficial to human health. It contains vitamins, minerals, protective compounds, and high carbohydrate content for human diet. On the one hand some people are starving in remote areas in the world, and on the other hand some people are getting obese. The more global climate change affects agricultural production and the food chain, the more the divide between the poor and the rich opens. While some experts draw attention to food security from farm to fork, some others advocate sustainable energy usage. When we are combating a global Covid-19 pandemic nowadays, remembering to help and back each other up has never been so important and striking in human history. Therefore, fig fruit can be considered as a functional food for human consumption. This noteworthy piece of work is composed of 10 chapters and covers the following subjects: Chapter 1, ancient history and cultural heritage; Chapter 2, production, trade, and marketing; Chapter 3, genetic diversity; Chapter 4, characteristics and caprification potentials; Chapter 5, gender identification using molecular markers; Chapter 6, effect of cordon pruning system; Chapter 7, virus diseases; Chapter 8, arthropod pests and nematodes; Chapter 9, postharvest handling and storage; and Chapter 10, modified atmosphere packaging and edible surface coating of fig plant.

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In 2019 a group of book-lovers began to turn from their usual diet of contemporary novels to read classics of the ‘English eerie’ like Arthur Machen’s 'The Great God Pan'. The documents recovered, (edited by Phil Smith of 'Mythogeography'), and published here as 'Living In The Magical Mode', describe the subsequently inspired attempts of these readers – in a time of virus and social and climate catastrophe –– to live anew, with ‘magic-as-ordinary’, to do magic as if it were the washing up. At first, the readers fall on new ways of remaking their everyday lives in the magical mode, but the mode soon find ways to remake the readers. Challenging assumptions, magic turns lives upside down and shakes out mysteries. The documents of 'Living In The Magical Mode' describe a pulling back of veils, until all veils but one are exhausted; then the book-lovers put their hands upon the veil inside themselves.... 'Living In The Magical World' crosses dream wastelands, racecourses, motorway cafes, edgeland quarries and suburban valleys, in an adventure of encounters with ‘others’. It brings its readers to an occulted realm of unbounded desires that once unfolded refuses to recede. The surviving documents of the book club, reprinted here, describe the final frantic efforts of what remains of its members to understand a collision of many worlds and make novel webs of reconciliation.

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From acclaimed writer Dan Smith – author of My Friend the Enemy, Nisha's War and Big Game, now a major motion picture starring Samuel L. Jackson – comes BOY X, a thrilling, no-holds-barred action survival series. Praise for Dan Smith: 'Action, adventure, wolves, snow ... this story has EVERYTHING. I devoured it so quickly I need to read it again.' EMMA CARROLL on She Wolf 'This book grabbed me from page one … highly recommended' HISTORICAL NOVEL SOCIETY on My Friend the Enemy Kidnapped and drugged, Ash wakes up on a remote tropical island. His mum – a genetic scientist – has been imprisoned and infected with a deadly virus. Where is he, and what’s he doing there? He sets out to cross the jungle to find out and rescue his mother. Soon he realizes he’s quicker and sharper than before. But there’s something else ... why are theanimals watching him, and how can he use the jungle to his advantage? A real-life survival adventure set on a jungle island. The start of a new no-holds-barred action survival series: Bear Grylls meets The Maze Runner. From the award-winning author of acclaimed WW2 adventure novels My Friend the Enemy and My Brother’s Secret. Dan Smith’s most recent project, Big Game, is the novelisation of the hit movie starring Samuel L. Jackson – sold so far in 23 territories worldwide.

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April Hunt "will keep you on the edge of your seat" (Lori Foster, New York Times bestselling author) in this heart-pounding new romantic suspense.All work and no play didn't make Dr. Mia Santiago a dull girl--it turned her into one the world's most renowned virologists, and her research on the Fatal Collision virus could save millions of lives. More lives than she'd ever been able to save as a bedside field doctor for the United States Army. But when masked men infiltrate her lab and steal her life's work, suddenly her good intentions don't matter. If she wants to prevent a devastating outbreak, she'll have to team up with an unsociable Army vet who pisses her off and makes her heart race in equal measure.Roman Steele has made it a policy to avoid as much human interaction as possible since returning from war an amputee. A risk analysis for a local federal-sponsored lab was supposed to be an easy assignment, but it quickly turned into something else when he meets Mia Santiago and has to rescue her from kidnapping by the men who broke into her lab. Sparks ignite as Roman and Mia fight their attraction--and the ticking clock--as they go on the ultimate man-hunt that leads them straight into Roman's past.

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The new version of Apple's Mac server platform offers many new services to support workgroups at home or the office. The new software is an evolutionary revision of Snow Leopard Server, but is priced for everyone at $50. "Using OS X Lion Server" helps non-sysadmins set up and maintain services for sharing files, mail and calendars on their desktops, tablets, or mobile devices. The book covers new web, wiki, chat and podcasting server management tool, as well as tools for managing configurations of multiple OS installations across a network. The book concludes with advice for setting up a home media server. Apple has released 6 versions of their Mac server platform. The original Lion announcement said that the server components would be bundled with the OS and not marketed as a separate project. This changed in the Spring of 2011 and Apple announced the server package would be available separately for $50. Major features include: File sharing between Mac, Windows, Linux and over the Internet iCal Server Wiki Server iChat Server Address Book Server SMTP, POP/IMAP, mailing lists, webmail server Server-side spam filtering and virus detection Podcasting tools and services Web server Directory services and authentication Profile manager for supporting multiple OS installations Networking and VPN services Distributed computing with Xgrid Automated backups and RAID Xsan

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In the only history of its kind, Etheridge traces the development of the Centers for Disease Control from its inception as a malaria control unit during World War II through the mid-1980s . The eradication of smallpox, the struggle to identify an effective polio vaccine, the unraveling of the secrets of Legionnaires' disease, and the shock over the identification of the HIV virus are all chronicled here. Drawing on hundreds of interviews and source documents, Etheridge vividly recreates the vital decision-making incidents that shaped both the growth of this institution as well as the state of public health in this country for the last five decades. We follow the development of the institution as it was transformed by the will and the imagination of remarkable individuals such as Dr. Joseph Mountin, one of the first heads of the CDC. Often characterized as abrasive and impatient, Mountin pushed the CDC to become a vital player in eradicating the threat of communicable disease in the United States. Others such as Dr. Alexander Langmuir brought the expertise necessary to establish epidemiology as one of the primary functions of the CDC. Created to serve the states and to answer any call for help whether routine or extraordinary, the CDC is now widely recognized as one of the world's premier public health institutions.

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A Winnipeg Free Press Top Read of 2021 What if David Bowie really was holding the fabric of the universe together? The death of David Bowie in January 2016 was a bad start to a year that got a lot worse: war in Syria, the Zika virus, terrorist attacks in Brussels and Nice, the Brexit vote—and the election of Donald Trump. The end-of-year wraps declared 2016 “the worst … ever.” Four even more troubling years later, the question of our apocalypse had devolved into a tired social media cliché. But when COVID-19 hit, journalist and professor of public policy Andrew Potter started to wonder: what if The End isn’t one big event, but a long series of smaller ones? In On Decline, Potter surveys the current problems and likely future of Western civilization (spoiler: it’s not great). Economic stagnation and the slowing of scientific innovation. Falling birth rates and environmental degradation. The devastating effects of cultural nostalgia and the havoc wreaked by social media on public discourse. Most acutely, the various failures of Western governments in their responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. If the legacy of the Enlightenment and its virtues—reason, logic, science, evidence—has run its course, how and why has it happened? And where do we go from here?

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The COVID-19 pandemic that swept the planet in the early 2020s killed more than six million, delivered unimaginable human suffering and $22 trillion in lost global growth. We weren't prepared and should have been.Unraveling the secrets of microbes, an invisible parallel universe of tiny life forms all around us, is central to managing the big twenty-first-century challenges of pandemics, bioterrorism, food security and climate change. Scientists, technologists, entrepreneurs and political leaders are racing to decode this biological realm with powerful new tools to extend human lifespans and make the world safer and more prosperous. Yet such technologies need to be handled with care. The price of getting this wrong will be unbearable.Man Versus Microbe is about humanity's competitive, symbiotic and precarious relationship with the microbial world. Brian Bremner (Senior Executive Editor, Bloomberg) offers a book on the exhilarating fields of synthetic biology and genetics, abundant with material on emerging technologies to deepen one's understanding of how virus hunters chase bugs or how geneticists unlock the workings of a microbe's constituent DNA. This book is for readers who want to learn more about humanity's fight to contain future pandemics and better understand the risks and opportunities of living in the world of microbes. After navigating through a disruptive pandemic, we are all amateur epidemiologists now.

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The first book in the series, The Five Clues, is a real-time murder-mystery thriller and family drama, combining an exciting race against time with a heart-rending story about a teenager learning to live with the loss of a beloved parent. Walking back from her mother's grave, 13-year-old schoolgirl Edie Marble finds a note in a pocket of the sheepskin coat that she hasn't worn since the day, a year earlier, when she received the awful news of her mother's death. The note is from her mother, who had been looking into a corporate human rights violation and had become fearful for her life after receiving death threats. She trusts only Edie - because of their special bond and Edie's intelligence - and has laid a trail of clues for Edie to find that will help her to shed light on the violation and uncover the mystery around her death. Through her wit and determination, Edie steadily gathers evidence and negotiates the dramatic twists and turns of the story by collaborating with her friends and family to gradually unearth a sinister attempt by a pharmaceutical company to conceal their illegal development of a lethal virus. As Edie's investigations progress she is introduced, in parallel, to the Three Principles, which help her conquer various psychological stresses and support her in coming to terms with her grief. Reading age 11+

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'Kerry Brown's Xi is the perfect primer for understanding Xi Jinping's status as China's greatest ruler since Mao and as this century's least assailable statesman' John Keay, author of China: A History'A valuable primer for anyone looking to get up to speed on Xi Jinping's rise to global power' Jeff Wasserstrom, Guardian'Offers a nuanced and thorough explanation of Xi's China and why the Communist Party, for all its flaws, has long life in it' Oliver Farry, Irish TimesAlthough Xi Jinping came to power a decade ago, he remains an enigmatic figure in the West. His priority has always been to keep Chinese society as stable as possible, steering a course through a period of astounding economic growth, while ensuring that nothing challenges the political status quo.But with unrest stirring in Hong Kong, reports of human rights abuses taking place in the Xinjiang region and, devastatingly, the outbreak of a virus that would change the world, suddenly understanding Xi's China is more important than ever before.In this short and timely book, academic and author Kerry Brown examines the complexities behind the man, explaining the impact that his rule is already having on the West. But who is Xi really, and what is his vision for China's future? And, crucially, what does that mean for the rest of the world?

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Shakespeare's 154 sonnets anagrammed into wildly new poems about queer desire and kink.The Wild Hunt Divinations: A Grimoire is a stunning second collection from National Poetry Series winner, Trevor Ketner. Comprised of 154 sonnets, each anagrammed line-by-line from Shakespeare's sonnets, the book refracts these lines through the thematic lens of transness, queer desire, kink, and British paganism. The sonnets come together to form a grimoire that casts a trancelike and intense spell on the reader. Centered on love and desire in the English canon, this collection speaks to the ever-emerging and beautiful manifestations of queer love and desire. Relentless, excessive, wild, and tender, The Wild Hunt Divinations: A Grimoire sets itself to chanting from beginning to end.When forty winters shall beseige thy brow,gowns web (herb hysteria)—let's thin flowerythen—gaudy bicep—insistent herd—leaf dyedto holy doorway—hunt syrups—doze—giventhat i swallow debt, let me whorl—feed lard/ ale / ill breath—they get eye winks—husband,of thudhurt, eyeray, saltwar—sheets yell,tan—nude hyphen—i knot woe; sinewy, it seesfingernails (limp waters, a hand sea), leather sets,meshes—hewed out virus—debauchery: try a mopor a match—i hot—i lucid—i wonderflush—stiffens:exoskeleton / cum—cuddly human mass—la,sings a boyish brute in his coven—cut—yep,hood him—we want a wren duet / to be shelter,a trans thud, sob, melt—oh, welt / honeyed wife.

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A narrative guide to help scientists improve their collaboration techniques and build trusting relationships with their research teams.The days of scientists conducting solitary inquiries in isolated labs are effectively over, with most researchers instead collaborating in cross-functional teams. In addition to mastering the technical skills necessary in their respective fields, scientists must now learn strategies for better communication and relationship building to succeed in reaching their research goals. In Scientific Collaboration, biosecurity researcher and animal disease ecologist Jeanne M. Fair shares exciting—and occasionally cringeworthy—true stories of scientists working together. These examples provide an approachable way to introduce the principles crucial to effective scientific collaboration.From the global community of scientists measuring sea-ice decline to cooperative private-public sector investigations of harrowing virus outbreaks, the experiences described demonstrate how scientists can rise to meet challenges together. Fair explains how to foster the principles of community, integrity, loyalty, communication, and compassion among teams. Scientists adopting and applying these principles will improve communication and trust among team members while they work toward the common goal of discovery.Highlighting multidisciplinary research teams that have achieved transformational breakthroughs as well as stories of tough lessons learned, Scientific Collaboration provides a foundation for increasing research productivity while bringing more fun into the collaborative process. This book will appeal to all scientists and team leaders in this new scientific world, wherein the most important breakthroughs happen through cooperation, combined effort, and mutual trust.

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Renowned author Joseph Bruchac tells a powerful story of a girl who learns more about her Penacook heritage while sheltering in place with her grandparents during the coronavirus pandemic.Malian loves spending time with her grandparents at their home on a Wabanaki reservation—she’s there for a visit when, suddenly, all travel shuts down. There’s a new virus making people sick, and Malian will have to stay with her grandparents for the duration.Everyone is worried about the pandemic, but Malian knows how to keep her family safe: She protects her grandparents, and they protect her. She doesn’t go out to play with friends, she helps her grandparents use video chat, and she listens to and learns from their stories. And when Malsum, one of the dogs living on the rez, shows up at their door, Malian’s family knows that he’ll protect them too.Told in verse inspired by oral storytelling, this novel about the COVID-19 pandemic highlights the ways in which Indigenous nations and communities cared for one another through plagues of the past, and how they keep caring for one another today.**Four starred reviews!**Boston Globe-Horn Book Fiction & Poetry HonorNPR Books We LoveKirkus Reviews Best BooksSchool Library Journal Best BooksChicago Public Library Best Fiction for Younger ReadersJane Addams Children’s Book Award FinalistNerdy Book Club Award—Best Poetry and Novels in Verse

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More exciting adventures from the longest running shared-world superhero series created and edited by George R.R. Martin, bestselling author of GAME OF THRONESDecades after an alien virus changed the course of history, the surviving population of Manhattan still struggles to understand the new world left in its wake. Natural humans share the rough city with those given extraordinary - and sometimes terrifying - traits. While most manage to coexist in an uneasy peace, not everyone is willing to adapt. Down in the seedy underbelly of Jokertown, residents are going missing. The authorities are unwilling to investigate, except for a fresh lieutenant looking to prove himself and a collection of unlikely jokers forced to take matters into their own hands - or tentacles. The deeper into the kidnapping case these misfits and miscreants get, the higher the stakes are raised.Edited by No.1 NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author George R.R. Martin and acclaimed author Melinda M. Snodgrass, LOWBALL is the latest mosaic novel in the acclaimed Wild Cards universe, featuring original fiction by Carrie Vaughn, Ian Tregillis, David Anthony Durham, Melinda M. Snodgrass, Mary Anne Mohanraj, David D. Levine, Michael Cassutt and Walter Jon Williams.Perfect for old fans and new readers alike, LOWBALL delves deeper into the world of aces, jokers, and the hard-boiled men and women of the Fort Freak police precinct in a pulpy, page-turning novel of superheroics and mystery.

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Some did not expect him to last long as Prime Minister. Few predicted he would succeed in the footsteps of Lee Kuan Yew. When Goh Chok Tong took over as the second Prime Minister of Singapore in 1990, many - from within and without the country - wondered aloud if the young country would survive Lee Kuan Yew.But Goh would confound the naysayers, leading Singapore for 14 years through recessions, terrorist attacks, electoral setbacks and even a mysterious virus. Standing Tall captures the transformation of a political leader, evolving from a Prime Minister with a touch of naivety to a hard-nosed strategist. He would introduce some of the country's most controversial policies, including the foreign talent scheme and formula for ministerial salaries, while advancing a kinder and gentler Singapore with the likes of MediFund and Edusave.The unchartered post-Cold War world which Goh stepped into posed challenges to the new leader, yet he not only cemented but also expanded Singapore's global space and stature. Along the way, he overcame hurdles from Bill Clinton's administration, exchanged quips with Nelson Mandela, and even saved Li Peng from a possibly severe heart attack.This sequel is written by author and journalist Peh Shing Huei, who also penned . Through interviews and access to People's Action Party documents and Goh's notes, this authorised biography uncovers rare insights into Singapore politics. Standing Tall tells the untold story of the Goh Chok Tong years, as he continues with Singapore's transformation into a global city.

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The return of the famous shared-world superhero books created and edited by George R. R. Martin, author of the A Song of Ice and Fire series. The American Triad Series #1: Mississippi Roll #2: Low Chicago #3: Texas Hold 'Em WILD CARDS, MEET WILD WEST Following World War II, the Earth’s population was devastated by a terrifying alien virus. Those who survived were changed forever. Some, known as Jokers, were cursed with bizarre mental and physical abnormalities; others, granted superhuman abilities, are the lucky few known as Aces. San Antonio, home of the Alamo, is also host to the USA’s top high school jazz competition, and the musicians at Xavier Desmond High are excited to outplay their rivals. But they are also Jokers: kids with superabilties and looks that make them stand out. On top of that, well, they are teenagers – prone to mischief, mishaps, and romantic misunderstandings. Michelle Pond, aka The Amazing Bubbles, thinks that her superhero know-how has prepared her to chaperone the event. But little does she know the true meaning of the saying, "Don't mess with Texas." Edited by #1 New York Times bestselling author George R.R. Martin, Texas Hold ’Em features the writing talents of David Anthony Durham, Max Gladstone, Victor Milan, Diana Rowland, Walton Simons, Caroline Spector, and William F. Wu. Praise for Wild Cards ‘GREAT’ – The Guardian ‘A complex, intricately imagined universe’ The Telegraph

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The return of the famous shared-world superhero books created and edited by George R. R. Martin, author of A GAME OF THRONESThe heart of the world is bleeding, the People's Paradise of Africa is having it out with the Caliphate, and the Sudan is a charnel house. The powers-that-be aren't doing anything. The UN might set up a committee. But the time for action is now. So, one by one, the aces join the fight, each for their own reasons ...The Wild Card virus kills 90 percent of the folks who catch it, but those who survive gain special powers. Some become grotesque mutants like the half-man, half-rhino Denys Finch. They're the jokers. Some get trivial powers. They're deuces. And some - the aces - develop wild superpowers. Like Bubbles, who can absorb any amount of energy. Or Bugsy, who can turn his body into wasps. Or Double Helix, the shape-changing, teleporting assassin.And Tom Weathers, the Radical. The strongest, most versatile of the aces - he can fly, he's strong enough to rip the turret off a tank, he can shoot heat rays from his hands ... but his greatest strength is his total conviction in the rightness of his cause. Whatever the cause is at the moment.At this particular moment, he's found a way to get more aces for the People's Paradise. Lots more aces. And that's where the trouble starts ...

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Tom Smith used to be somebody. Now he's just another refugee, fleeing the smoking ruins of civilization. Well, maybe not just another refugee. Late of the Bank of the Americas where he used to be the global managing director for Security, Tom and his fellow survivors watched New York City burn. His plan to the save New York long enough to find a cure for the zombie virus hadn't survived the bloody scrimmage between angry cops, cunning gangsters, and rapacious City officials. Now only millions of infected humans, driven mad by the high infectious tailored rabies virus, inhabited the city. But Tom and some trusted allies were able to stay one step ahead and escaped offshore. Now they're holed up in a safe house in coastal Virginia and it's time to breakout. Between him and his objective, one of the bank's prepared evacuation camps in the Cumberland Valley, are hundreds of miles of clogged roads, burnt-out towns and howling mobs of infected humans who know only hunger. He must corral his motley team, complete with middle-schoolers, to navigate the treacherous landscape. And yet he feels his odds are good. But there's always someone smarter. And they like things just the way they are. Without a fat checkbook and the team of hired spec-ops mercenaries it used to bring, how will Tom Smith fend off entrepreneurial marauders, a brilliant sociopath or two and a kill-count hungry member of the E-4 mafia? And if he pulls it off, no one is sure how they will they re-start civilization. But Tom Smith has the spark of an idea. About Black Tide Rising: “. . . an entertaining batch of . . . action-packed tales. Certainly, fans of Ringo’s particular brand of action-adventure will be pleased.”—Booklist "This anthology broadens Ringo’s Black Tide world, serving up doses of humanity amid the ravenous afflicted. Comedy has a place in this harsh reality, and these stories stir adventure and emotion at a frantic clip throughout. Zombie fiction fans will be thrilled."—Library Journal About the Black Tide Rising Series: “Not only has Ringo found a mostly unexplored corner of the zombie landscape, he's using the zombie frame to tackle a broader theme: the collapse and rebirth of civilization. The zombie scenes are exciting, sure, but its the human story that keeps us involved. A fine series.”—Booklist About Under a Graveyard Sky: “Ringo combines humor and horror in this strong series debut, the thinking reader’s zombie novel.”—Publishers Weekly About John Ringo: “[Ringo’s work is] peopled with three-dimensional characters and spiced with personal drama as well as tactical finesse.”—Library Journal “. . . Explosive. . . . fans. . .will appreciate Ringo’s lively narrative and flavorful characters.”—Publishers Weekly “. . .practically impossible not to read in one sitting . . . exceedingly impressive . . . executed with skill, verve, and wit.”—Booklist “Crackerjack storytelling.”—Starlog BLACK TIDE RISING SERIES: Under a Graveyard Sky To Sail a Darkling Sea Islands of Rage and Hope Strands of Sorrow Black Tide Rising The Valley of Shadows

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Finn and Explorer Troop 301 get trapped on a planet riddled with viral robots in the third book of this funny chapter book series based on the award-winning kids’ podcast!Finn’s best robot bud, Foggy, comes down with a weird virus while exploring a planet full of dancing robots. But he won’t let Finn help him. Foggy only wants to dance the Hokey Pokey with his new robot friends!Now Finn and Explorers Troop 301 have to find a cure before the robots attack. But can Finn also fix his friendship with Foggy? Or will his robot BFF stay on the two-stepping planet forever?Blast off into a brand-new adventure inspired by the popular award-winning kids’ podcast! Like the podcast, the books are sort of like Scooby-Doo meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer in space. The story centers on Finn Caspian, an 8-year-old boy aboard The Famous Marlowe 280 Interplanetary Exploratory Space Station. He and his friends Abigail, Elias, and Vale are Explorers Troop 301, taking off from the Marlowe to explore uncharted planets, help the occasional alien, and solve a mystery that threatens to destroy the Marlowe.The books in this series are for kids ages 7 to 12 looking for a funny illustrated story to tear through. They contain no violence, a little bit of suspense, and some aliens who are real chuckleheads...

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