Americans with Disabilities Act: Dispelling the Myths. A Practical Guide To EEOC\u27s Voodoo Civil Rights and Wrongs

The time is at hand for reality to replace expectation as the employment provisions of the federal mandate not to discriminate against qualified individuals with disabilities, the Americans with Disabilities Act (the ADA ), are now the law of the land. A new era of rights, responsibilities, and opportunities dawned for private and governmental employers, and disabled persons when the rules of the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ( EEOC ) went into effect on July 26, 1992. A practical, common sense utilization of institutional solutions complemented by individualized applications, not ad hoc reactions, is essential. Other- wise employers\u27 worst fears will be realized and the euphoria in the community of disabled persons will be dashed on the rocks of frustrated, raised expectations

Shadow world evaluation of the Yang-Mills measure

A new state-sum formula for the evaluation of the Yang-Mills measure in the Kauffman bracket skein algebra of a closed surface is derived. The formula extends the Kauffman bracket to diagrams that lie in surfaces other than the plane. It also extends Turaev's shadow world invariant of links in a circle bundle over a surface away from roots of unity. The limiting behavior of the Yang-Mills measure when the complex parameter approaches -1 is studied. The formula is applied to compute integrals of simple closed curves over the character variety of the surface against Goldman's symplectic measure.Comment: Published by Algebraic and Geometric Topology at http://www.maths.warwick.ac.uk/agt/AGTVol4/agt-4-17.abs.htm

Judicial Conflict and Consensus: Behavioral Studies of American Appellate Courts

These original essays by major scholars of judicial behavior explore the frequency, intensity, and especially the causes of conflict and consensus among judges on American appellate courts. Together, these studies provide new insights into judges’ attitudes and values, role perceptions, and small group interactions. Sheldon Goldman is professor of political science at the University of Massachusetts. Charles M. Lamb is associate professor of political science at the State University of New York at Buffalo.https://uknowledge.uky.edu/upk_law/1003/thumbnail.jp

What is Diplograptus?

Diplograptus pristis (Hisinger, 1837) is the type species of the genus Diplograptus and name bearer for suborder Diplograptina. This species is primarily known from the Dalarne region of Sweden, where it occurs in the P. linearis Zone. D. pristis exhibits a suite of features (particularly the shape of the proximal end, the configuration of proximal spines, and the gradient in thecal form) that is uniquely shared with a number of other late Katian and earliest Hirnantian species including Glyptograptus nicholsoni Toghill, 1970; Glyptograptus posterus Koren’ & Tzai (in Apollonov et al. 1980); Orthograptus maximus Mu, 1945; and Orthograptus truncatus rarithecatus Ross & Berry, 1963. The phylogenetic affinities of the Diplograptus clade are equivocal, however. Two isolated, three-dimensionally preserved specimens of D. pristis from the Paasvere 309 core in Estonia reveal that the rhabdosome is aseptate and has a simple proximal structure comparable with a Pattern G astogeny. The pattern G astogeny, long, fully-sclerotized sicula, aseptate rhabdosome with free nema all point to its being a member of the derived orthograptids. On the other hand, the rapidly enclosed sicula and lack of antivirgellar spines together with the apertural spines on the first pair suggest archiclimacograptid affinity. Cladistic analysis supports orthograptid affinities. If these relations are correct, the Orthograptidae Mitchell, 1987, must be regarded as a junior synonym of the Diplograptidae Lapworth, 1873

A Review of the limnology of and water quality standards for Lake Mead

1. The waters of Las Vegas Bay, a heavily utilized recreational resource, receive discharges from a variety of municipal and industrial waste sources. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has determined, on the basis of numerous studies, that the present water quality violates state and federal standards and constitutes a public nuisance. Consultants have advised the Sewage and Wastewater Advisory Committee that rapid abatement of the alleged pollution conditions can be achieved by an advanced wastewater treatment (AWT) plant. 2. The major problems in Las Vegas Bay are an objectionable water color, excessive turbidity, noxious odors, and oxygen depletion in certain portions of the water column. Previous studies indicate that these problems are due to the effect of Las Vegas Wash on the Bay, and that the problems decrease as distance increases from the Las Vegas Wash inflow. The Wash provides a source of nutrients for high levels of algal production, which, in turn, are responsible directly for the pollution perceived by the public. Conditions in Boulder Basin, as opposed to those in Las Vegas Bay, have not reached an objectionable eutrophic level. 3. Most of the previous studies point to industrial and municipal wastewater discharges as the ultimate source of nutrients entering the Bay. One advisor argues that the nutrients arise from soil eroded into the Bay. 4. Adherents of the first position suggest that removal of nutrients from wastewater will abate the problems in Las Vegas Bay. Adherents of the second position suggest that control of soil erosion is the only step that can mitigate these pollution problems. 5. The following deficiencies in these previous studies prevent the formulation of a dependable strategy for decreasing the excessive algal production in Las Vegas Bay to acceptable levels: (i.) There has been no detailed attempt to ascertain the fate of Las Vegas Wash inflow. The fact that the bulk of this inflow may leave the Bay in a well-defined current does not imply that partial mixing of the current with the Bay is not affecting algal production. The presence of enteric bacteria in the Bay suggests that partial mixing, in fact, is occurring. (ii.) A systematic series of algal bioessays has not been undertaken to ascertain directly which nutrients limit algal production. (iii.) Inputs of phosphorus other than via the Wash discharge have been neglected, particularly internal loading from the sediments to the water column. (iv.) The effect of changing water level on dilution of nutrients in Las Vegas Bay has been neglected, despite the fact that the water volume in the Bay has increased about 75% between 1967 and 1976. (v.) The standard of 0.5 mg 1-1 phosphorus established by the EPA for Las Vegas Wash water does not rest on adequate evidence that these levels are necessary or sufficient to abate the problems in Las Vegas Bay, but rather upon the predicted performance of AWT. (vi.) The studies have not been designed to predict changes in Las Vegas Bay following various alternative treatment strategies. 6. Ecological Research Associates initiated a field study of Las Vegas Bay and Boulder Basin (20-23 September 1976) to resolve certain discrepancies in previous studies and to provide supplemental information consistent with the short duration of the study. 7. Specific conductivity, temperature, pH, and oxygen profiles agreed with those collected by previous investigators. High conductivity values reflecting the presence of a well-defined current representing the Las Vegas Wash inflow were observed in Las Vegas Bay. However, this current was not detected at the mouth of the Bay in Boulder Basin. These results do not support the notion that the Wash inflow does not mix in the Bay, but the detailed investigation necessary to decide this issue could not be performed during the short time period of the study. 8. Virtually all dissolved phosphorus occurs in inorganic form and in very low concentrations, indicating that biologically-available phosphorus is cycling extremely rapidly and that the amount of analytically detectable soluble phosphorus may not be particularly relevant for determining the potential algal production. 9. Algal productivity measurements in September were lower than those of previous investigators by more than 90% in some cases. The discrepancy may represent differences in methodology or real decreases in algal production. Many hypotheses may be invoked to explain the results if the latter is the case, but insufficient evidence exists to distinguish between them. The results emphasize that important questions concerning the source and fate of inflowing nutrients remain to be answered, because previous studies cannot account unequivocally for this decrease in productivity. Severely eutrophic conditions were not observed in Las Vegas Bay during the course of this study. 10. Algal bioassays demonstrated that inner Las Vegas Bay algae are responsive to nitrogen because of the heavy phosphorus loading. Virgin Basin algae (and hence, presumably, Boulder Basin samples) are stimulated by addition of wastewater, nitrogen or phosphorus. Recalculated N:P ratios, based on previous studies, suggest that all Las Vegas Bay and Boulder Basin stations, except for the inner Bay, are most limited by phosphorus. The implication is that the middle and outer Bay and the Basin are sensitive to further loading of phosphorus. The uncertainty of decisions based upon nitrogen to phosphorus ratios is emphasized in this report. 11. Sediment analyses indicate that phosphorus is removed from the water by sedimentation. Proper standards for phosphorus concentrations in inflowing waters cannot be established without taking into account the role of phosphorus sedimentation in Las Vegas Bay. 12. The application of Vollenweider\u27s relationship to Las Vegas Bay suggests that, even if EPA standards of 0.5 mg 1-1 phosphorus were met in Las Vegas Wash, the reduction in loading obtainable from present day AWT technology is not sufficient to produce the desired conditions in Las Vegas Bay. In any case, the Vollenweider relationship does not constitute an adequate basis on which to decide an abatement strategy for Lake Mead. 13. AWT treatment of Las Vegas Wash wastewater cannot guarantee the eradication of problems in Las Vegas Bay, both because the exact initial source of the nutrients is not established fully (i.e., wastewater or erosion) and because the effect of reducing phosphorus concentrations to 0.5 mg 1-1 in the Wash cannot be predicted at present. The predictive relationship used by other consultants to justify AWT has not been applied correctly. The correct application of this relationship to the condition in Las Vegas Bay demonstrates, on the contrary, that AWT technology will not be sufficient. The enormous expense and deleterious side effects of AWT technology are not justified on the basis of existing data. 14. Numerous alternatives to AWT exist. Upgraded secondary wastewater treatment combined with biological stripping of both nitrogen and phosphorus in an expanded Las Vegas Wash marsh is the alternative that deserves special consideration. Control of soil erosion and partial discharge of treated wastes directly to Boulder Basin also should be considered in this scheme. 15. Any further study should be addressed to the following specific points: (i.) The extent to which Las Vegas Wash inflow mixes with Las Vegas Bay water must be determined more precisely. (ii.) The stimulating effect of eroded soil washed into the Bay on algal productivity must be determined. (iii.) The level of algal growth that can be supported by water equivalent to that produced by various treatment strategies must be determined. A predictive model is recommended. (iv.) The magnitude of the potential internal phosphorus loading from the sediment upon the eventual reduction of external loading should be investigated. (v.) Downstream effects of alternative abatement strategies must be predicted

Adoptive transfer of cytomegalovirus-specific CTL to stem cell transplant patients after selection by HLA–peptide tetramers

Stem cell transplantation is used widely in the management of a range of diseases of the hemopoietic system. Patients are immunosuppressed profoundly in the early posttransplant period, and reactivation of cytomegalovirus (CMV) remains a significant cause of morbidity and mortality. Adoptive transfer of donor-derived CMV-specific CD8(+) T cell clones has been shown to reduce the rate of viral reactivation; however, the complexity of this approach severely limits its clinical application. We have purified CMV-specific CD8(+) T cells from the blood of stem cell transplant donors using staining with HLA-peptide tetramers followed by selection with magnetic beads. CMV-specific CD8(+) cells were infused directly into nine patients within 4 h of selection. Median cell dosage was 8.6 x 10(3)/kg with a purity of 98% of all T cells. CMV-specific CD8(+) T cells became detectable in all patients within 10 d of infusion, and TCR clonotype analysis showed persistence of infused cells in two patients studied. CMV viremia was reduced in every case and eight patients cleared the infection, including one patient who had a prolonged history of CMV infection that was refractory to antiviral therapy. This novel approach to adoptive transfer has considerable potential for antigen-specific T cell therapy

Physical Impacts of Climate Change on the Western US Electricity System: A Scoping Study

This paper presents an exploratory study of the possible physical impacts of climate change on the electric power system, and how these impacts could be incorporated into resource planning in the Western United States. While many aspects of climate change and energy have been discussed in the literature, there has not yet been a systematic review of the relationship between specific physical effects and the quantitative analyses that are commonly used in planning studies. The core of the problem is to understand how the electric system is vulnerable to physical weather risk, and how to make use of information from climate models to characterize the way these risks may evolve over time, including a treatment of uncertainty. In this paper, to provide the necessary technical background in climate science, we present an overview of the basic physics of climate and explain some of the methodologies used in climate modeling studies, particularly the importance of emissions scenarios. We also provide a brief survey of recent climate-related studies relevant to electric system planning in the Western US. To define the institutional context, we discuss the core elements of the resource and reliability planning processes used currently by utilities and by the Western Electricity Coordinating Council. To illustrate more precisely how climate-related risk could be incorporated into modeling exercises, we discuss three idealized examples. Overall, we argue that existing methods of analysis can and should be extended to encompass the uncertainties related to future climate. While the focus here is on risk related to physical impacts, the same principles apply to a consideration of how future climate change policy decisions might impact the design and functioning of the electric grid. We conclude with some suggestions and recommendations on how to begin developing this approach within the existing electric system planning framework for the West

Dissection of the left main coronary artery after blunt thoracic trauma: Case report and literature review

Blunt chest trauma is commonly encountered by surgeons and is rarely associated with cardiac injuries. The incidence of cardiac injury is rare but can be rapidly fatal, requiring prompt recognition and treatment. We review the case of a 37 year-old male who was involved in a head-on motor vehicle collision at highway speed and was found to have an isolated left main coronary artery dissection. We then review the supporting literature for evaluation of blunt cardiac injuries and the treatment options for traumatic coronary dissection

Alternatives to potentially inappropriate medications for use in e-prescribing software: triggers and treatment algorithms

Objective: To describe the development of evidence-based electronic prescribing (e-prescribing) triggers and treatment algorithms for potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) for older adults. Design: Literature review, expert panel and focus group. Setting: Primary care with access to e-prescribing systems. Participants: Primary care physicians using e-prescribing systems receiving medication history. Interventions: Standardised treatment algorithms for clinicians attempting to prescribe PIMs for older patients. Main outcome measure: Development of 15 treatment algorithms suggesting alternative therapies. Results: Evidence-based treatment algorithms were well received by primary care physicians. Providing alternatives to PIMs would make it easier for physicians to change decisions at the point of prescribing. Conclusion: Prospectively identifying older persons receiving PIMs or with adherence issues and providing feasible interventions may prevent adverse drug events