New Releases by Julia Kay

Maudie: An Unusual Dog Sarah Bentley's world shatters when her husband, John, passes away unexpectedly. Isolated and overwhelmed by grief, she withdraws from the world, her days blending into a blur of sorrow. A chance encounter with neighborhood children, who mistake her for a reclusive witch, jolts Sarah into self-awareness. Determined to reclaim her life, she embarks on a journey of transformation-starting with a fresh haircut and reconnecting with old friends. Enter Maudie, a stray dog with an unusual appearance and an uncanny ability to sense Sarah's pain. As Sarah opens her heart to this unexpected companion, she discovers that healing often comes from the most unlikely sources. "Maudie: An Unusual Dog" is a heartwarming tale of loss, friendship, and the transformative power of love. Join Sarah and Maudie as they navigate the challenges of starting over and find solace in each other's company.

Purpose: Human papilloma virus-negative head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is associated with high levels of tumour hypoxia, poor patient prognosis and very little clinical progress over the last few decades. Therapeutic targeting of tumour hypoxia in HNSCC may be possible through the use of hypoxia activated prodrugs (HAPs). HAPs have yet to be successful in clinical trials despite good preclinical antitumour activity, likely due to a lack of patient stratification strategies for tumour hypoxia and appropriate preclinical models. The aim of this master's thesis was to investigate tumour hypoxia and expression of candidate genes of HAP sensitivity in patient derived xenograft (PDX) and cell line xenograft (CLX) models of HNSCC as well as to determine the sensitivity of CLX models to selected HAPs. Experimental Design: The hypoxic fraction of six novel PDX models and six CLX models of HNSCC was assessed through pimonidazole (pimo) immunohistochemistry. Evaluation of Toustrup gene signature classification and expression of POR, SLFN11 and MKI67 were carried out by whole-transcriptome RNA sequencing of seven CLX models and NanoString analysis of nine second generation (P2) PDX models that were also compared to their original (P0) clinical specimens. The ex vivo anticancer activity of DNA cytotoxins PR-104 and TH- 302, the DNA-PK inhibitor SN38023 and nitro-CBI compounds SN30726 and SN38737 were assessed as single agents or in combination with 13 Gy radiation (RAD) through excision assays carried out on two CLX models (UT-SCC-54C and UT-SCC-74B). Results: CLX models displayed significantly higher pimo-positive hypoxic fractions (HF) (5.6% ± 0.7%) than PDX models of comparable size (4.8% ± 0.4%, P

There IS hope... The worst part about mental illness is the sense of loneliness, feeling as if no one understands what you are going through. I understand. I've been there. The black dog. The dark night of the soul. You are not alone. It can feel like nothing will ever get better. Anxiety eats you alive, while depression snuffs out that spark inside you. A voice whispers "there is no hope." It tells you, "give up, it will never get better." That voice LIES. You are in control of your life and your wellbeing. You are the only person who can turn things around. There is a way out of this vicious cycle. But no one else can save you. The responsibility is yours, and yours alone. You are stronger than you think! Julia Kay also writes fiction under the pen name Kaye Draper. She believes that one of the most damaging things we can do as a society is to deny mental illness and put on a mask that says everything is okay when it's not. Depression and anxiety can be incredibly isolating. We can feel like we are abnormal, like we are alone, like no one else understands...when in reality, our neighbor is struggling with the same issues. We need to share our stories. We need to reach out our hands and hearts to one another. You are not alone. Join Julia on Facebook at: @nocureneeded. Or, visit her website, No Cure Needed, for resources and motivation for depression, anxiety, self-development, and growth at: nocureneeded.com.

Cuddles is the most loved toy rabbit in the world. But what happens when he gets separated from the little girl who loves him so much? How will he get back to her? And, indeed, why was he called away in the first place? This is a delightful story, lavishly illustrated in watercolours by new author, Julia Kay. Children everywhere will fall in love with Cuddles, and want to follow his story again and again.

Based on the popular international collaborative art project, Julia Kay's Portrait Party, this book features hundreds of portraits in multiple mediums and styles teamed with tips and insights on the artistic process. The human face is one of the most important subjects for artists, no matter their chosen medium. Pulling from 50,000 works of portraiture created by the artists of the international online collaborative project Julia Kay’s Portrait Party, Portrait Revolution presents a new look at this topic—one that doesn’t limit itself to one medium, one style, one technique, or one artist. By presenting portraits in pencil, pen, charcoal, oils, watercolors, acrylics, pastels, mixed media, digital media, collage, and more, Julia Kay and co. demonstrate the limitless possibilities available to aspiring artists or even to professional artists who are looking to expand creatively. Along with works in almost every conceivable medium, Portrait Revolution shines a spotlight on different portrait-making techniques and styles (featuring everything from realism to abstraction). With tips, insights, and recommendations from accomplished portrait artists from around the globe, this all-in-one inspiration resource provides everything you’ll need to kick-start your own portrait-making adventure.

Cuddles is the most loved toy rabbit in the world. But what happens when he gets separated from the little girl who loves him so much? How will he get back to her? And, indeed, why was he called away in the first place? This is a delightful story, lavishly illustrated in watercolours by new author, Julia Kay. Children everywhere will fall in love with Cuddles, and want to follow his story again and again.

Livia travels the world and finds friends, fun, and romance in the former Inca capital. Cusco has a strong grip on her and soon reveals vivid faces and moods as colorful, challenging, and surprising as the rainy season. A city so old yet so new. A world so foreign yet so close. A love so incomplete yet SO not...

Julia Kay's Portrait Party (JKPP) is an international collaborative project of artists who make portraits of each other. This catalog contains all 70 portraits from the 5th Anniversary show, grouped as they were exhibited. Member artists from 20 countries are represented here as either subjects or portraitists. Now you can revisit the show, or see it for the first time, in the comfort of your own home.

It has been estimated that 100 million plus individuals could perish if a virulent influenza pandemic were to occur. In wake of the 2009-10 H1N1 pandemic and in an era of economic austerity, however, industry lacks clear incentives to invest in vaccines for other high-risk strains. The cyclic nature of pandemics also means we can expect another influenza pandemic within the next 20 years. In this environment, design of incentive mechanisms for funding development of vaccines against strains with known pandemic potential, but for whom vaccine technology is currently lacking, would be welcomed. This research explores which novel incentive mechanisms could induce investment in and development of processes for production of vaccines for these high risk strains. Interviews with vaccine developers and funding agencies and analysis of the pipeline of influenza vaccines in development were conducted. This thesis finds that there is a dearth of vaccines against influenza strains of known pandemic potential, such as H2, H7 and H9; that current pandemic preparedness efforts are not focused on these strains; that funding for pandemic preparedness efforts in H2, H7 and H9 would help incentivize development of vaccines against these strains; and that support for seasonal influenza, regulatory changes, alignment of public and private sector goals, and increased vaccine acceptance are also required to incentivize the development of vaccines against strains of known pandemic potential such as H2, H7 and H9. Furthermore, this thesis recommends that policy makers increase funding for pandemic preparedness so that programs may be initiated or expanded to include additional high risk influenza strains; that US and EU regulatory regimes for pandemic influenza vaccines be harmonized; and that governments promote public awareness of the importance of influenza vaccination.

Take one adventurous little boy and one bathtub, put them together, and you’ve got—Captain Gulliver Snip and his clipper ship! Gulliver sails his marvelous ship in search of high seas. Though it’s not all smooth sailing for this intrepid explorer. When his ship sinks, Gulliver leaps overboard and makes his way to a deserted island, only to be chased up a tree by a tiger. But now the bathroom is a mess, and Gulliver’s mother is none too pleased. By contrasting scenes of Gulliver’s fantasy world on one page with his reality on the facing page, newcomer Julia Kay tells a swashbuckling story fit for the youngest adventurer. http://gulliversnip.com/