You may have given up on your dreams because you made a poor first impression, thinking you had only one shot and you blew it. But when great Italian sculptor Michelangelo first saw a slab of marble, he knew it was not everythingin 1499, he created the Piet statue, which featured a young mother cradling and mourning the body of her dead son. In this inspirational self-help guide, youll learn how to move beyond your false beliefs and take extraordinary action to improve yourself and those around you. The author shares important insights such as the following: The very essence, uniqueness, and complexity of your physical structure point to your inestimable value. All great accomplishments have humble beginnings. Oftentimes, this humility cloaks world-class potential. You have the power to choose to add, eliminate, and redefine words and meanings for your benefit. Focusing on your words in particular will help you dramatically transform your life. When carefully harnessed, the power generated from your words can propel you toward your destiny more assuredly than you think. Transform your life with decisive, positive action, and constantly improve yourself with the life lessons in You Are Wonderfully Complex.

Kelp bass (Paralabrax clathratus) and leopard sharks (Triakis semifasciata) are characterized by an acellular (anosteocytic) bony skeleton and a focally calcified cartilaginous endoskeleton, respectively. These skeletal forms are not considered to function as mineral reservoirs. Previous studies showed that implanted bone particles are resorbed in rats by large multinucleated cells with ultrastructural features (ruffled borders) characteristic of osteoclasts. We tested the ability of fish to resorb bone matrix and to adapt to reduced salinity conditions. Bone particles were implanted in sharks and bass maintained in seawater (34 ppt, 40.5 mg of calcium per dl) or in diluted seawater (26 ppt, 28.5 mg of calcium per dl). Sera and elicited tissues were harvested 4 weeks later. In sharks, bone particles were not resorbed, and multinucleated cells were not evident under either normal or hyposalinity conditions. Shark sera were isoosmolar with the seawater or diluted seawater, with serum chemistries of the hyposalinity group reflecting the 23% reduction in environmental minerals and electrolytes, compared to sharks in normal seawater. In marked contrast, bass adapted to diluted seawater resorbed bone particles and maintained normal serum chemistries. Electron microcopy showed that the bone particles were surrounded by large, foamy multinucleated cells, many with membrane specializations typical of osteoclasts from higher vertebrates, i.e., extensive clear zones apposed to intact bone matrix and active ruffled borders overlying areas of matrix undergoing dissolution. Although osteoclasts had not been described in these fish, this study shows that bass have stem cells that can be stimulated to differentiate into bone-resorbing osteoclasts.

Would you willingly throw your valuables in the trash? Or would you brush aside or walk away from wholesome and beneficial relationships? Or worse yet, would you refuse to reach within to retrieve treasures that could be of unquantifiable benefit to you and others? You probably would not; at least, not intentionally. Yet there are many who routinely and unwittingly overlook treasures that matter. In Valorize What Matters the author showcases diverse examples of those who not only preserved valuables and treasured relationships, but also exercised their rights to activate and share treasures that created positive ripples of value. Through stories, real-life examples, and multiple practical tips, the author shows how to recognize your genuine treasures and more importantly, ways to connect to, enjoy, improve and unleash them for your benefit, and the benefit of others. Lester K. A. Cox, a Fellow of the Institute of Canadian Bankers, has earned his undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of North Texas. He spent almost thirty years at two of Canada's largest banks before retiring from the industry. Over the years, he has been successful in helping many to focus on what really matters and achieve results beyond their initial expectations. He lives in the Greater Toronto Area with his wife, Joan, and their daughters Tiffany and Tanya.