Around the Bar and Other Lofty Ambitions is a collection of stories centering on fractured or broken relationships. The people in these stories can all be found in various stages of distress. From the bright and hopeful, unaware of an impending disaster, to those who wander through their lives, already devastated and reeling from past trauma, these people, collectively, represent the full spectrum of the process of suffering and recovering from pain. Here, you'll find the story of a boy attempting to reach manhood by hitting a home run for the first time, unaware that there are many, much darker ways to grow up. Elsewhere, a colicky baby causes a weary couple, their marriage driven to splinters, to flirt with the idea of abandonment and freedom. On the steps of an old cathedral, a pair of homeless men argue the role of God in the wake of a tragic bus accident, one desperate to believe there's a point to it all and one resigned that they are alone. And in a quiet airport at night, a man is forced to face his own looming mortality after a frightening, near-death experience on a plane. Though these stories serve as a dark microscope for the bitter, the disillusioned, and the desperate, a distant, minimalist style is used to undercut the heaviness that accompanies the collection and offers a clinical and introspective view. This collection pays homage to the late Raymond Carver who created a window to a new world of the modern American short story, but left so much more to be explored in his death. In life, people, feelings, and bonds fall apart, but the stories in Around the Bar and Other Lofty Ambitions seeks to find the beauty in erosion.

Current models of hematopoiesis are based on differentiation of multipotent progenitor cells into developmental intermediates of increasingly restricted developmental potential. Controlling this differentiation is a transcriptional network with signature patterns of gene expression characteristic of particular lineages. Within these networks, key transcription factors function to regulate induction of lineage specific genes as well as repress expression of genes associated with alternative cell fates. Key specification and commitment factors functioning in B and T cell development have been identified and studied for over a decade. To date, no transcriptional regulators have been identified that specify or commit progenitors to the natural killer (NK) cell lineage. Id2 is a transcription factor expressed very early in NK cell ontogeny and is required for the development of NK cells. Using expression of Id2 as a marker for development of the NK lineage, I sought to identify NK lineage specification or commitment factors. In this work, Ets1 was identified as a regulator of Idb2 expression. While previous work has described a role for Ets1 in development of NK cells, my analysis of Ets1 +/+ and Ets1-/- mice revealed a requirement for Ets1 in immature NK cells, much earlier than previously described. In addition, I found that Ets1 controls the expression of the NK transcriptome, as loss of Ets1 resulted in dysregulated expression of a large number of NK lineage associated genes. I also found that Ets1-/- NK cells display characteristics of spontaneous activation, indicating that Ets1 may have a role in repressing part of a terminal differentiation or activated effector gene program in NK cells.

Carefully curated stories from After Dinner Conversation magazine to create a themed short story book about the philosophy and ethics of sex and sexuality. Perfect for classrooms and book clubs, each story is 1,500-7,000 words and comes with five suggested discussion questions.

Literally the ramblings of a man of questionable sanity, I Don't Think I'm Doing This Diary Thing Right is a collection of musings and random thoughts by Kevin Ramirez, usually written when he should have been working or sleeping. In this book, the author self-reflects through a series of ridiculous observations, explores the use of hashtags, though he is on record of vehemently admonishing hashtags and anyone who uses them, and shares conversations he has had with his anthropomorphized brain. At times, silly and other times, absurd, this diary is designed to allow readers to see how he views people and the world. Spoiler Alert: It's not pretty.

The main goal of this study is to investigate the effects of using basalt fibers on the fresh, mechanical, durability and corrosion properties of basalt fiber reinforced concrete (BFRC). The study is performed with varying basalt fiber volumes of 0%, 0.15%, 0.30%, 0.45% and 0.50% by total concrete volume; utilizing two different water/cement (w/c) ratios of 0.35 and 0.40. The results were compared to conventional concrete as well as steel fiber reinforced concrete (SFRC). The first part of the experimental program consisted of 14 different concrete mixtures that have been cast using conventional Portland cement with a design compressive strength of 5,075 psi at 28 days (typical strength for slabs and similar applications in which fiber reinforced concrete (FRC) are utilized). The second part of the experimental program investigated the effect of basalt fiber on corrosion rates and corrosion potential for steel reinforcement embedded in mortar mixtures. The first experimental program included fresh, mechanical and durability properties of the developed concrete mixtures. The fresh properties included slump and unit weight; mechanical properties included compressive strength, tensile strength, flexural strength and average residual strength; durability properties included unrestrained drying shrinkage and chloride ion penetrability evaluation. The developed mixtures were prepared and evaluated by the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standards. The second experimental program investigated the effects of basalt fibers on corrosion properties of steel reinforcement embedded in mortar by performing a rapid macrocell corrosion evaluation test, prepared and evaluated by Federal Highway Association (FHWA) Report FHWA-HRT-07-043.It is concluded that the use of basalt fibers reduces slump values as fiber volume increases, however with the use of the right amount of HRWA, slump target values can be achieved. Results indicate that the use of basalt fibers improve tensile, flexural, and average residual strength properties as fiber volume increase; up to 28.92%, 45.86% and 71.82%, respectively. Results also suggest that the use of basalt fibers may decrease compressive strength at 28 days. Durability properties are also improved with the addition of basalt fibers as fiber volume increases. It is suggested to use a fiber volume of 30% to optimize overall mechanical and durability properties of the mixtures. On the other hand, results suggest that the use of basalt fibers may increase corrosion rates and accelerate the time of corrosion of steel reinforcement embedded in mortar. Therefore, is not suggested to be used for such applications.

This book is about how one moment can change everyone life. It also show how you can make an effect on someone without knowing. The characters in this book all have a different ways of thinking and are all from different places. But in the end they are all able to come together and work out their differences and learn from their mistake. This book also contains some mature scene in which you shouldn't allow kids under the age of 16 to read. Also this book was a project in which I had to work with 3 other members to write. I hope you enjoy this book and share it with your fiends and family.