As a distinguished and admired American diplomat of the last half century, Burns has played a central role in the most consequential diplomatic episodes of his time: from the bloodless end of the Cold War and post-Cold War relations with Putin's Russia to the secret nuclear talks with Iran. Here he recounts some of the seminal moments of his career, drawing on newly declassified cables and memos to give readers a rare, inside look at American diplomacy in action, and of the people who worked with him. The result is an powerful reminder of the enduring importance of diplomacy. -- adapted from jacket
A New York Times Bestseller For Lady Gaga, kindness is the driving force behind everything she says and does. The quiet power of kindness can change the way we view one another, our communities, and even ourselves. She embodies this mission, and through her work, brings more kindness into our world every single day. Lady Gaga has always believed in the importance of being yourself, being kind to yourself, and being kind to others, no matter who they are or where they come from. With that sentiment in mind, she and her mother, Cynthia Germanotta, founded Born This Way Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to making the world a kinder and braver place. Through the years, they've collected stories of kindness, bravery and resilience from young people all over the world, proving that kindness truly is the universal language. And now, we invite you to read these stories and follow along as each and every young author finds their voice just as Lady Gaga has found hers. Within these pages, you’ll meet young changemakers who found their inner strength, who prevailed in the face of bullies, who started their own social movements, who decided to break through the mental health stigma and share how they felt, who created safe spaces for LGBTQ+ youth, and who have embraced kindness with every fiber of their being by helping others without the expectation of anything in return. In one story, you’ll read about a young person with an autoimmune disease, who after being bullied at school, learned how to practice self-love and started an organization with the mission of educating others about the importance of self-love, too; and in another story, you’ll meet a young person who decided to start a movement to help eliminate the stigma surrounding mental health and encouraged others to talk about their feelings openly and honestly, a reminder that kindness and mental wellness go hand in hand. Not only were we moved by these individual acts of kindness, but we were also touched by the many stories of organizations, neighborhoods, and entire communities that fully dedicated themselves to helping those in need and found new, innovative ways to make our world a kinder and braver place. Individually and collectively, these stories prove that kindness not only saves lives but builds community. Kindness is inclusion, it is pride, it is empathy, it is compassion, it is self-respect and it is the guiding light to love. Kindness is always transformational, and its never-ending ripples result in even more kind acts that can change our lives, our communities, and our world.
Ion channels are intimately involved in the everyday physiological functions that enable us to live a full and varied life. When disease strikes, malfunction of ion channels or their dependent is often involved, either as the cause or the effect of the illness. Thus, billions of dollars have been, and still are being, invested in research to understand the physiological and pathophysiological functions of ion channels in an attempt to develop novel therapeutic treatments for a wide range of diseases. This book provides a comprehensive overview of ion channel structure and function. It comprises two major parts. Part one is an introductory overview of the ion channel superfamily and the generic aspects of ion channel function. This part also reviews the methodologies by which ion channel function can be studied from the perspective of performing detailed biophysical characterization through to the deployment of high throughput approaches for identifying novel ion channel ligands. Part two of the book provides an in-depth review of the individual ion channel subfamilies and, as such, is subdivided into four broad sections: Voltage-Gated Ion Channels, Extracellular Ligand-Gated Ion Channels, Intracellular Ligand-Gated Ion Channels, and Polymodal-Gated Ion Channels, with each chapter focused on specific family members. These chapters have been written by world leading experts and provide a detailed overview of the structure, biophysics, localization, pharmacology, physiology, and disease relevance of each particular ion channel subfamily. Reviewing both the basic principles of ion channel function and providing a detailed up-to-date review of the phsyiological and pharmacological aspects of individual ion channel sub-families, this book constitutes both an excellent introduction to the field for non-specialists, as well as a highly valuable reference text for experienced researchers already working in the ion channel area.
A step-by-step guide to the art of channeling for those who wish to connect with a spirit guide. By using this safe, simple, and effective process, thousands have achieved mastery with their higher selves. (Channeling)
'Skip the blurbs and just start reading this very funny book' MICHAEL MOORE. Earth used to be Galaxy Entertainment's most lucrative show. The inhabitants of the Western Galaxy – the saviest, richest demographic in the Milky Way – just couldn't get enough of the day-to-day details of the average Earthling's life. But Channel Blue's ratings are flagging and its producers are planning a spectacular finale. In just three weeks, their TV show will go out with a bang. The trouble is, so will Earth. Only one man can save our planet and he's hardly a likely hero...
A young diplomat's account of her assignment in South Sudan, a firsthand example of US foreign policy that has failed in its diplomacy and accountability around the world. In 2017, Elizabeth Shackelford wrote a pointed resignation letter to her then boss, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. She had watched as the State Department was gutted, and now she urged him to stem the bleeding by showing leadership and commitment to his diplomats and the country. If he couldn't do that, she said, "I humbly recommend that you follow me out the door." With that, she sat down to write her story and share an urgent message. In The Dissent Channel, former diplomat Elizabeth Shackelford shows that this is not a new problem. Her experience in 2013 during the precarious rise and devastating fall of the world's newest country, South Sudan, exposes a foreign policy driven more by inertia than principles, to suit short-term political needs over long-term strategies. Through her story, Shackelford makes policy and politics come alive. And in navigating both American bureaucracy and the fraught history and present of South Sudan, she conveys an urgent message about the devolving state of US foreign policy.
"Author Scott Kelby (Editor-in-Chief of Photoshop User magazine) shows you how to unlock the power of Photoshop's channels and really start using Photoshop like a pro. But this isn't just a book of theory and technical jargon, this is a step-by-step, project-based book that will teach you exactly how to start using channels in your everyday work."--BOOK JACKET.
A gripping and atmospheric debut that is at once a chilling gothic mystery and a love letter to Victorian fiction. Nobody ever goes to Hartwood Hall. Folks say it’s cursed… It’s 1852 and Margaret Lennox, a young widow, attempts to escape the shadows of her past by taking a position as governess to an only child, Louis, at an isolated country house in the west of England. But Margaret soon starts to feel that something isn’t quite right. There are strange figures in the dark, tensions between servants, and an abandoned east wing. Even stranger is the local gossip surrounding Mrs. Eversham, Louis’s widowed mother, who is deeply distrusted in the village. Lonely and unsure whom to trust, Margaret finds distraction in a forbidden relationship with the gardener, Paul. But as Margaret’s history threatens to catch up with her, it isn’t long before she learns the truth behind the secrets of Hartwood Hall.
Knowledge of cardiac ion channels and transporters has advanced remarkably in the last two decades with the development of patch-clamp and molecular biological techniques. This textbook offers a comprehensive overview of structures and functions of ion channels and transporters in the heart. Readers are first introduced to the molecular biology and electrophysiology of all the important ion channels. After discussing their developmental changes, the pharmacology and pathophysiology of clinically-relevant ion channels are reviewed. Molecular aspects of the cardiac excitation-contraction coupling and intracellular Ca2+ regulation by ion transporters are also described. The book will be useful to electrophysiologists, cardiac physiologists and pharmacologists, and molecular biologists interested in ion channels at all levels. For research specialists, the book will provide a perspective of the field. The book can be used as a reference source for working scientists in the fields of ion channels, biophysics, cardiac electrophysiology, and pharmacology. It is aimed at graduate and medical students, designed for use as a textbook for graduate and medical courses.
Voltage-gated ion channels are transmembrane proteins in which at least one gate is controlled by the transmembrane potential. They are frequently very selectively permeable to sodium (Nav channels), potassium (Kv channels) or calcium (Cav channels) ions. Depending on the channels, opening of the activation gate is triggered by membrane depolarization (Kv, Nav and Cav channels) or hyperpolarization (HCN channels for instance). In addition, in many voltage-gated channels, a so-called inactivation gate is also present. Compared to the activation gate, the latter is oppositely coupled to the potential: In Kv, Nav and Cav channels, upon membrane depolarization, the inactivation gate closes whereas the activation gate opens. Depending on the cell types in which they are expressed and their physiological role, various voltage-dependent channels can be characterized by their conductance, ion selectivity, pharmacology and voltage-sensitivity. These properties are mainly dictated by the amino-acids sequence and structure of the pore forming subunit(s), presence of accessory subunit(s), membrane composition, intra- and extracellular ions concentration. Noteworthy, despite a profound variety of these ion channels characteristics, it seems that most of them obey to the same global, four-fold structure now obtained by several X-ray crystallography experiments. Given the wealth of electrophysiological, biochemical, optical, and structural data regarding ion channels voltage-dependency, we decided to put together in this e-book, up to date reviews describing the molecular details of these complex voltage-gated channels.
