Disability in a Technology-Driven Workplace

New Internet and Web-based technology applications have meant significant cost and time efficiencies to many American businesses. However, many employers have not yet fully grasped the impact of these new information and communication technologies on applicants and employees with certain disabilities such as vision impairments, hearing problems or limited dexterity. Although not all applicants and employees who have a disability may experience IT-access problems, to select groups it can pose a needless barrier. The increasing dominance of IT in the workplace presents both a challenge and an opportunity for workers with disabilities and their employers. It will be up to HR professionals to ensure that Web-based HR processes and workplace technologies are accessible to their employees with disabilities.

The Impact of Business Size on Employer Response

More than 10 years have passed since the employment provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) came into effect for employers of 15 or more employees. Americans with disabilities continue to be more unemployed and underemployed than their nondisabled peers. Small businesses, with fewer than 500 employees, continue to be the most rapidly growing part of our national economy and therefore a potential source of employment for American job seekers with disabilities. A Cornell University survey of human resource professionals examined how employers of different sizes are complying with the ADA. The authors point to needed ADA and accommodation services that rehabilitation counselors can provide to employers

Absence and Disability Management Practices for an Aging Workforce

The goal of Disability and Absence Management programming is to limit absence, control costs, and retain workers to maintain a productive workforce. This can include the development of supportive policies (e.g. flexible work options), manager and employee education, supportive benefit programs, return to work programs, among others. Increasingly, older workers have become a group of interest among Absence and Disability Management professionals, in part because many baby boomers are forgoing retirement and working longer. Projections suggest that by 2020 those 55 and over could account for 25% of workers. This shift is especially important given that disability prevalence increases with age – as the workforce ages, organizations will increasingly need to ensure their programming supports older workers. During the fall and winter of 2012-13, Cornell University’s Employment and Disability Institute and the Disability Management Employer Coalition (DMEC) collaborated on a survey and key informant interviews with DMEC members and conference attendees to learn more about what organizations are doing to respond to and prepare for an aging workforce

What Works? Implementing Section 503. Survey Text and Flow

This survey was fielded to representatives of organizations that are federal contractors. Desired respondents were specifically human resources, compliance, or legal professionals who know about their organization\u27s efforts to implement the recent regulations for Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act. The survey asked respondents to anonymously provide information about organizational characteristics, affirmative action goals related to disability, use of the Voluntary Self ID form to collect disability status information, and internal practices and procedures their organization had found helpful or challenging

Numerical studies of the ABJM theory for arbitrary N at arbitrary coupling constant

We show that the ABJM theory, which is an N=6 superconformal U(N)*U(N) Chern-Simons gauge theory, can be studied for arbitrary N at arbitrary coupling constant by applying a simple Monte Carlo method to the matrix model that can be derived from the theory by using the localization technique. This opens up the possibility of probing the quantum aspects of M-theory and testing the AdS_4/CFT_3 duality at the quantum level. Here we calculate the free energy, and confirm the N^{3/2} scaling in the M-theory limit predicted from the gravity side. We also find that our results nicely interpolate the analytical formulae proposed previously in the M-theory and type IIA regimes. Furthermore, we show that some results obtained by the Fermi gas approach can be clearly understood from the constant map contribution obtained by the genus expansion. The method can be easily generalized to the calculations of BPS operators and to other theories that reduce to matrix models.Comment: 35 pages, 20 figures; reference added. The simulation code is available upon request to [email protected]

Insights into the Ecology and Evolutionary Success of Crocodilians Revealed through Bite-Force and Tooth-Pressure Experimentation

BackgroundCrocodilians have dominated predatory niches at the water-land interface for over 85 million years. Like their ancestors, living species show substantial variation in their jaw proportions, dental form and body size. These differences are often assumed to reflect anatomical specialization related to feeding and niche occupation, but quantified data are scant. How these factors relate to biomechanical performance during feeding and their relevance to crocodilian evolutionary success are not known.Methodology/Principal FindingsWe measured adult bite forces and tooth pressures in all 23 extant crocodilian species and analyzed the results in ecological and phylogenetic contexts. We demonstrate that these reptiles generate the highest bite forces and tooth pressures known for any living animals. Bite forces strongly correlate with body size, and size changes are a major mechanism of feeding evolution in this group. Jaw shape demonstrates surprisingly little correlation to bite force and pressures. Bite forces can now be predicted in fossil crocodilians using the regression equations generated in this research.Conclusions/SignificanceCritical to crocodilian long-term success was the evolution of a high bite-force generating musculo-skeletal architecture. Once achieved, the relative force capacities of this system went essentially unmodified throughout subsequent diversification. Rampant changes in body size and concurrent changes in bite force served as a mechanism to allow access to differing prey types and sizes. Further access to the diversity of near-shore prey was gained primarily through changes in tooth pressure via the evolution of dental form and distributions of the teeth within the jaws. Rostral proportions changed substantially throughout crocodilian evolution, but not in correspondence with bite forces. The biomechanical and ecological ramifications of such changes need further examination

Correlation functions quantify super-resolution images and estimate apparent clustering due to over-counting

We present an analytical method to quantify clustering in super-resolution localization images of static surfaces in two dimensions. The method also describes how over-counting of labeled molecules contributes to apparent self-clustering and how the effective lateral resolution of an image can be determined. This treatment applies to clustering of proteins and lipids in membranes, where there is significant interest in using super-resolution localization techniques to probe membrane heterogeneity. When images are quantified using pair correlation functions, the magnitude of apparent clustering due to over-counting will vary inversely with the surface density of labeled molecules and does not depend on the number of times an average molecule is counted. Over-counting does not yield apparent co-clustering in double label experiments when pair cross-correlation functions are measured. We apply our analytical method to quantify the distribution of the IgE receptor (Fc{\epsilon}RI) on the plasma membranes of chemically fixed RBL-2H3 mast cells from images acquired using stochastic optical reconstruction microscopy (STORM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). We find that apparent clustering of labeled IgE bound to Fc{\epsilon}RI detected with both methods arises from over-counting of individual complexes. Thus our results indicate that these receptors are randomly distributed within the resolution and sensitivity limits of these experiments.Comment: 22 pages, 5 figure

Primary non Hodgkin's lymphoma of the lacrimal sac

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Primary Non Hodgkin's Lymphoma (NHL) of the lacrimal sac is rare.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The clinical features of a 78 year old female who presented with epiphora and swelling of the left lacrimal sac are described.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Computerised tomography showed a mass involving the left lacrimal sac. Histopathological examination revealed a diffuse large B cell NHL. Immunohistological examination demonstrated B cell origin. Chemotherapy could not be administered due to co morbid conditions. The patient was treated with radiotherapy to a dose of 45 Gy in 25 fractions. Patient is disease free and on follow up after 36 months.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Primary radiotherapy is a treatment option with curative potential for localized NHL of the lacrimal sac and may be considered in patients who cannot tolerate appropriate chemotherapy.</p

The Effects of Biting and Pulling on the Forces Generated during Feeding in the Komodo Dragon (Varanus komodoensis)

In addition to biting, it has been speculated that the forces resulting from pulling on food items may also contribute to feeding success in carnivorous vertebrates. We present an in vivo analysis of both bite and pulling forces in Varanus komodoensis, the Komodo dragon, to determine how they contribute to feeding behavior. Observations of cranial modeling and behavior suggest that V. komodoensis feeds using bite force supplemented by pulling in the caudal/ventrocaudal direction. We tested these observations using force gauges/transducers to measure biting and pulling forces. Maximum bite force correlates with both body mass and total body length, likely due to increased muscle mass. Individuals showed consistent behaviors when biting, including the typical medial-caudal head rotation. Pull force correlates best with total body length, longer limbs and larger postcranial motions. None of these forces correlated well with head dimensions. When pulling, V. komodoensis use neck and limb movements that are associated with increased caudal and ventral oriented force. Measured bite force in Varanus komodoensis is similar to several previous estimations based on 3D models, but is low for its body mass relative to other vertebrates. Pull force, especially in the ventrocaudal direction, would allow individuals to hunt and deflesh with high success without the need of strong jaw adductors. In future studies, pull forces need to be considered for a complete understanding of vertebrate carnivore feeding dynamics

Genetic, environmental and stochastic factors in monozygotic twin discordance with a focus on epigenetic differences

PMCID: PMC3566971This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited