New Releases by Jane Manning

Described as the "life and soul of British contemporary music", Jane Manning is an internationally celebrated English concert and opera soprano. In this new follow-up to her highly regarded New Vocal Repertory, Volumes I and II, she provides a seasoned expert's guidance and insight into the vocal genre she calls home. Vocal Repertoire for the Twenty-First Century spans the late middle-20th century through the second decade of the 21st. Manning's comprehensive selection of contemporary art songs ranges from the avant-garde to the more easily accessible, including substantial song cycles, shorter encore pieces, and songs suitable for auditions and competitions. The two-volume guide presents expertly-informed selections tailored to particular voice types. Each of the 160 selections is accompanied by a highly detailed performance guide, music examples, levels of difficulty, and a brief encapsulation of vocal characteristics or challenges contained in the piece. A supplemental companion website provides composer biographies and an up-to-date list of recommended recordings. With a focus on younger composers in addition to prominent figures, Manning encourages singers to refresh and expand their recital repertoire into less familiar territory, and discover the rewards therein. Volume 1 features works written before 2000, including pieces from such renowned composers as John Cage ("The Wonderful Widow of Eighteen Springs", "A Flower"), André Previn ("Five Songs"), and Igor Stravinsky ("The Owl and the Pussycat").

Part story, part atlas - this is a study of a city’s complexity. The most successful cities, the most interesting and sought-after ones, are those with an intrinsic and distinctive character that remain dynamic and relevant. They are complex and contradictory. And that is worth embracing. This is a visual, geographic and narrative journey that explains why London is the way it is today. Using stunning maps and artful imagery, it makes a compelling case for a finer grain understanding of density through a character-based approach to planning. Each character area is broken down, exploring the characteristics and character-based development potential. For those planning and designing projects, this is a reference book for the early stages of a design project and can help to inform site analyses which form the part of most architectural commissions and urban design studies. For lovers of maps and London, it is a must-read.

Described as the "life and soul of British contemporary music", Jane Manning is an internationally celebrated English concert and opera soprano. In this new follow-up to her highly regarded New Vocal Repertory, Volumes I and II, she provides a seasoned expert's guidance and insight into the vocal genre she calls home. Vocal Repertoire for the Twenty-First Century spans the late middle-20th century through the second decade of the 21st. Manning's comprehensive selection of contemporary art songs ranges from the avant-garde to the more easily accessible, including substantial song cycles, shorter encore pieces, and songs suitable for auditions and competitions. The two-volume guide presents expertly-informed selections tailored to particular voice types. Each of the 160 selections is accompanied by a highly detailed performance guide, music examples, levels of difficulty, and a brief encapsulation of vocal characteristics or challenges contained in the piece. A supplemental companion website provides composer biographies and an up-to-date list of recommended recordings. With a focus on younger composers in addition to prominent figures, Manning encourages singers to refresh and expand their recital repertoire into less familiar territory, and discover the rewards therein. Volume 2 features works written from 2000 onwards, including pieces from contemporary composers Mohammed Fairouz ("Annabel Lee"), Missy Mazzoli ("As Long as We Live"), Judith Weir ("The Voice of Desire"), and Raymond Yiu ("The Earth and Every Common Sight").

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second most common cause of cancer related death worldwide with an expected 1.8 million new cases this year (1). CRC claims approximately 1200 New Zealand lives per year and rectal cancer patients account for approximately 25% of CRC cases (2). The mainstay of treatment for locally advanced rectal cancer is neoadjuvant therapy followed by surgical excision. The purpose of neoadjuvant therapy is to reduce rates of local recurrence, increase sphincter preservation and to improve tumour resectability (3), however the risk to patients is exposure to unnecessary toxins and their effects. Most importantly, patient response to neoadjuvant therapy is varied, and complete pathological response will occur in 15-27% of patients (4). Therefore, a significant proportion of patients undergoing therapy will suffer unnecessary delays to surgery and toxic exposure. There are currently no clinically utilised biomarkers to predict response to neo-adjuvant therapy. Development of predictive markers would enable optimal treatment of patients and avoid ineffective and potentially harmful treatments. miRNA are short regulatory transcripts that are stable in biofluids. Their dysregulation has been extensively reported in CRC and their usefulness in the detection of cancer and as predictors of prognosis and treatment response is a rapidly growing area of research. Whilst the majority of work has been on tissue biomarkers, blood biomarkers would be less invasive and expose patients to less risk.This thesis has investigated changes in circulating miRNA levels in patients who have locally advanced rectal cancer and have undergone neoadjuvant therapy. The main aim of this study was to ascertain if miR-21, miR-29a, miR-143, and miR-145 levels in plasma prior to treatment can predict response to SCR and LCCR therapy. Plasma samples were taken prior to and after neoadjuvant therapy. RNA was extracted and miRNA levels were analysed using RT-qPCR. Relative expression was evaluated and compared to pathological specimen reports after surgery. In this pilot study we have found a significant increase in the relative expression miR-143 in plasma after SCR. There was no difference in expression of miR-21, miR-29a, miR-143 or miR-145 in patients with stage II and III rectal cancer compared to healthy controls. There was no difference in expression of target miRNA in patients who had a response to neoadjuvant therapy compared to those who did not respond.This is the first study to use patients’ plasma to evaluate the expression of these miRNA and examine whether this can predict TRG. This is important because finding a predictive blood biomarker is a more accessible and potentially clinically useful tool than tumour biopsy. Findings from this study will contribute to the pool of research on the use of miRNA’s in CRC for diagnostic and predictive tests. As this is a pilot study, future samples being collected from these patients may also contribute to knowledge on recurrence.

An introduction to 70 songs from the contemporary vocal repertoire which provides advice on performance and suggestions on programming. It is designed for young singers and singing students.

Little girls can be strong and fierce and brave—and sometimes their ferocity is just the thing they need to save the day. Millie is strong. Millie is fierce. But Millie has learned to keep her fierceness in check. And since she’s been sweet all summer long, Millie gets to have a sleepout with her friends. One where she promises to be well behaved. But things don't go as Millie planned, and our fierce little heroine is not happy. Still, she tries her best to keep her fierceness inside. But when the scary dog from next door howls at the girls' tent, Millie's ferocity saves them all! A perfect addition to a bookshelf filled with Fancy Nancy, Eloise, Olivia, and Ladybug Girl. Praise for the Millie Fierce books: *"Readers already know what Millie learns: To everything there is a time and purpose, including fierceness; they will welcome this validation."--Kirkus Reviews, starred review "Millie Fierce is a delightfully naughty mix between Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are and Molly Bang's When Sophie Gets Angry."--School Library Journal "An unexpected Yeatsian lilt to Manning's writing ("Millie frizzed out her hair and made the crazy eye") lifts the text out of the ordinary; her powers of observation set it apart, too."--Publishers Weekly

Two marriages down and aged 40, Eve decides to delve into THE INTERNET DATING WORLD! Eve was trusting and naive when she embarked on this adventure, but soon uncovered a complex world of cagey players and dodgy encounters. Now more worldly and wise, she knows how the game is played, is now the player, and is prepared to spill the beans. 'Eve's 30 Dates' is an honest, funny, crazy and romantic look at the world of internet dating with some very helpful tips along the way.

If Fancy Nancy got angry. Really, really angry. Millie is quiet. Millie is sweet. Millie is mild. But the kids at school don't listen to her. And she never gets a piece of birthday cake with a flower on it. And some girls from her class walk right on top of her chalk drawing and smudge it. And they don't even say they're sorry! So that's when Millie decides she wants to be fierce! She frizzes out her hair, sharpens her nails and runs around like a wild thing. But she soon realizes that being fierce isn't the best way to get noticed either, especially when it makes you turn mean. So Millie decides to be nice--but to keep a little of that fierce backbone hidden inside her. In case she ever needs it again. With bright art and an adorable character, it's easy to empathize with Millie. Because everyone has a bad day, once in a while. Praise for MILLIE FIERCE “Millie Fierce is a delightfully naughty mix between Maurice Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are and Molly Bang’s When Sophie Gets Angry.”--School Library Journal

"The overall aim of this research was to contribute to improving the quality of life and dignity of people living in shared supported accommodation who are subject to restrictive practices, defined in the Disability Services Act 2006 as 'any intervention that is used to restrict the rights of freedom of movement of a person with a disability, including (involving the use of, but not restricted to) chemical restraint, mechanical restraint or seclusion'. In recognition that the abuse of power through seclusion and constraint is more readily identifiable, this research sought to focus on subtle, less obvious forms of restrictive practice, such as household rules and dietary regimes. A specific objective as to adopt a partnership approach by engaging with support staff in order to define, identify and develop strategies for challenging the inappropriate exercise of power, which occurs at interpersonal and systemic levels in supported accommodation environments."--Executive summary, p. 6.

Meet Felicity Witch. For her entire life Felicity has wanted to turn herself into a cat. But witches may only perform this particular spell when they are 263 years old. Finally (finally) the magical day arrives—Felicity Witch's 263rd birthday! Happy Birthday! Poof! Now Felicity has a sleek coat and a long, graceful tail. She has a soft nose and speedy paws! Felicity loves being a cat. Will she ever be happy as her ordinary witchy self again? Meow

An introduction to 70 songs from the contemporary vocal repertoire which provides advice on performance and suggestions on programming. It is designed for young singers and singing students.