This report examines Russia’s growing use of private military companies (PMCs) to increase its influence through irregular means. In recent years, Moscow has expanded its overseas use of PMCs to countries such as Ukraine, Syria, Libya, Sudan, the Central African Republic, Madagascar, and Mozambique. Many of the PMCs operating in these countries, such as the Wagner Group, frequently cooperate with the Russian government—including the Kremlin, Ministry of Defense (particularly the Main Intel...

A collection of stories exploring the depths of human connection and the power of nature.This anthology weaves together tales of conservation, mentorship, and the search for redemption. From the Smoky Mountains to the icy Sea of Mortla, characters grapple with their pasts, confront cultural divides, and strive to find their place in the world.Discover the joy of unlikely friendships, the sting of betrayal, and the resilience of the human spirit in the face ...

How do we get to a point where we can no longer recognize ourselves?How do our happiness and success become a memory instead of a lifestyle?If we are not mindful of ourselves and our actions, it becomes so easy to get consumed in the things of this world that we end up trying to merely survive when really, we should be laying foundations so that we can thrive. Those bad habits that have stolen your productivity, your focus, and the fulfillment in your life have no more power than you give ...

Once a person hikes a long trail, they catch the bug, but does it get any easier the second time around? Four years after starting the Appalachian Trail with his brother, Brian takes to the Continental Divide Trail for his second thru-hike in familiar company. However, trail life is not always as rewarding and romantic as the pictures you see or second-hand stories you hear."Divided" provides an accurate account of life on trail: what hikers ponder, eat, love, loathe, and the questi...

This issue of Clinics in Geriatric Medicine, guest edited by Drs. James D. Katz and Brian Walitt of the NIH, is devoted to Rheumatic Diseases in Older Adults. Articles in this outstanding issue include Rheumatology Pharmacotherapy Pearls for the General Practitioner; Sarcopenia - Pathogenesis and Management; Osteoporosis and Metabolic Bone Diseases; Osteoarthritis; Regional Rheumatic Disorders and Rehabilitation in Older Adults; Rheumatological Manifestations of Malignancy; Sjögren’s Syndr...

This issue of Rheumatic Disease Clinics, guest edited by Drs. James Katz and Brian Walitt with the NIH, will cover several key aspects of diagnosing and treating Rheumatic Diseases in Older Adults. The Consulting Editor for the series is Dr. Michael Weisman. The topics discussed in the issue will include: Pharmacotherapy Pearls for the Geriatrician, Pathogenesis and Management of Sarcopenia, A Review of Osteoporosis in the Older Adult, Regional Rheumatic Disorders and Rehabilitation in Old...

From the editors of Lost Signals comes the new volume in technological horror. Nineteen authors, both respected and new to the genre, team up to deliver a collection of terrifying, eclectic stories guaranteed to unsettle its readers. In Lost Films, a deranged group of lunatics hold an annual film festival, the lost series finale of The Simpsons corrupts a young boy’s sanity, and a VCR threatens to destroy reality. All of that and much more, with fiction from Brian Evenson, Gemma Files, Kel...

In A Critical Companion to Wes Craven, contributors use a variety of theoretical frameworks to analyze distinct areas of Craven’s work, including ecology, auteurism, philosophy, queer studies, and trauma. This book covers both the successes and failures contained in Craven’s extensive filmography, ultimately revealing a variegated portrait of his career. Scholars of film studies, horror, and ecology will find this book particularly interesting.

This collection contributes to the theoretical literature on social reproduction—defined by Marx as the necessary labor to arrive the next day at the factory gate—and extended by feminist geographers and others into complex understandings of the relationship between paid labor and the unpaid work of daily life. The volume explores new terrain in social reproduction with a focus on the challenges posed by evolving theories of embodiment and identity, nonhuman materialities, and diverse econ...

This thoroughly updated second edition of Fast Facts: Rheumatoid Arthritis provides an easy-to-read overview of how the condition is thought to develop and how it is diagnosed, monitored and treated. Written by two leading UK and US rheumatologists, it covers the many recent developments in this field, including: - Recently published classification criteria - The emerging role of anti-CCP autoantibodies - The latest developments in ultrasound and MRI - The association between RA and cardiovas...

Pain Assessment and Pharmacologic Management, by highly renowned authors Chris Pasero and Margo McCaffery, is destined to become the definitive resource in pain management in adults. It provides numerous reproducible tables, boxes, and figures that can be used in clinical practice, and emphasizes the benefits of a multimodal analgesic approach throughout. In addition, Patient Medication Information forms for the most commonly used medications in each analgesic group can be copied and given...

The conditions of Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis are excellent examples of how the exponential growth of knowledge in biomedical science can make a remarkable impact on clinical practice and patient’s quality of life. It has led to the development of unique novel immunomodulatory treatments. These are continuously being refined to treat not only the two original conditions in the gut, but the systemic immunologic illness with its associated extraintestinal disorders. New therapies ...