In the dark recesses of Tyria, elder dragons have awoken from millennial slumbers. First came Primordus, which stirred in the Depths forcing the asura to flee to the surface. Half a century later, Jormag awoke and drove the norn from the frozen climes of the Northern Shiverpeaks, corrupting sons and brothers along the way. A generation later, Zhaitan arose in a cataclysmic event that reshaped a continent and flooded the capital of the human nation of Kryta. The races of Tyria stand on the edge of destiny. Heroes have battled against dragon minions, only to be corrupted into service of the enemy. Armies have marched on the dragons and been swept aside. The dwarves sacrificed their entire race to defeat a single dragon champion. The age of mortals may soon be over. This is a time for heroes. While the races of Tyria stand apart, six heroic individuals will come together to fight for their people: Eir, the norn huntress with the soul of an artist; Snaff, the asuran genius, and his ambitious assistant Zojja; Rytlock, the ferocious charr warrior in exile; Caithe, a deadly sylvari with deep secrets; and Logan, the valiant human guardian dealing with divided loyalties. Together they become Destiny's Edge. Together they answer the call. But will it be enough?

The purpose of the first four volumes of the Handbook of Genetics is to bring together collections of relatively short, authoritative essays or an notated compilations of data on topics of significance to geneticists. Many of the essays will deal with various aspects of the biology of certain species or species groups selected because they are favorite subjects for genetic investigation in nature or the laboratory. Often there will be an encyclo pedic amount of information available on such species, with new papers appearing daily. Most of these will be written for specialists in a jargon that is bewildering to a novice, and sometimes even to a veteran geneticist working with evolutionarily distant organisms. For such readers what is needed is a written introduction to the morphology, life cycle, reproductive behavior, and culture methods for the species in question. What are its particular advantages (and disadvantages) for genetic study, and what have we learned from it? Where are the classic papers, the key bibliogra phies, and how does one get stocks of wild type or mutant strains? Lists giving the symbolism and descriptions for selected mutants that have been retained and are thus available for future studies are provided whenever possible. Genetic and cytological maps, mitotic karyotypes, and haploid DNA values are also included when available. The chapters in this volume deal with invertebrate species that are favorites of geneticists. Attempts to obtain a chapter dealing with the genetics of Caenorhabditis elegans proved unsuccessful.

Many modern geneticists attempt to elucidate the molecular basis of phenotype by utilizing a battery of techniques derived from physical chemistry on subcellular components isolated from various species of organisms. Volume 5 of the Handbook of Genetics provides explanations of the advantages and shortcomings of some of these revolutionary tech niques, and the nonspecialist is alerted to key research papers, reviews, and reference works. Much of the text deals with the structure and func tioning of the molecules bearing genetic information which reside in the nucleus and with the processing of this information by the ribosomes resid ing in the cytoplasm of eukaryotic cells. The mitochondria, which also live in the cytoplasm of the cells of all eukaryotes, now appear to be separate little creatures. These, as Lynn Margulis pointed out in Volume 1, are the colonial posterity of migrant prokaryotes, probably primitive bacteria that swam into the ancestral precursors of all eukaryotic cells and remained as symbionts. They have maintained themselves and their ways ever since, replicating their own DNA and transcribing an RNA quite different from that of their hosts. In a similar manner, the chloroplasts in all plants are self-replicating organelles presumably derived from the blue-green algae, with their own nucleic acids and ribosomes. Four chapters are devoted to the nucleic acids and the ribosomal components of both classes of these semi-independent lodgers. Finally, data from various sources on genetic variants of enzymes are tabulated for ready reference, and an evaluation of this information is attempted."

The United States now spends approximately $115 billion annually to perform its metal removal tasks using conventional machining technology. Of this total amount, about $14 billion is invested in the aerospace and associated industries. It becomes clear that metal removal technology is a very important candidate for rigorous investigation looking toward improvement of produc tivity within the manufacturing system. To aid in this endeavor, work has begun to establish a new scientific and technical base that will provide prin ciples upon which manufacturing decisions may be based. One of the metal removal areas that has the potential for great economic advantages is high-speed machining and related technology. This text is con cerned with discussions of ways in which high-speed machining systems can solve immediate problems of profiling, pocketing, slotting, sculpturing, facing, turning, drilling, and thin-walled sectioning. Benefits to many existing programs are provided by aiding in solving a current management production problem, that of efficiently removing large volumes of metal by chip removal. The injection of new high-rate metal removal techniques into conventional production procedures, which have remained basically unchanged for a cen tury, presents a formidable systems problem, both technically and man agerially.The proper solution requires a sophisticated, difficult process whereby management-worker relationships are reassessed, age-old machine deSigns reevaluated, and a new vista of product/process planning and design admitted."

Despite the dramatic proliferation of research, clinical perspectives, and first-person accounts of Asperger Syndrome (AS) in the last 15 years, much of this information has focused on the application of the diagnosis to children, even though AS displays persistence over time in individuals. This book is one of the only guides to Asperger Syndrome as it manifests itself in adults. It integrates research and clinical experience to provide mental health professionals with a comprehensive discussion of AS in adulthood, covering issues of diagnosis as well as co-morbid psychiatric conditions, psychosocial issues, and various types of interventions from psychotherapy to psychopharmacology. It also discusses basic diagnostic criteria, controversies about the disorder, and possible interventions and treatments for dealing with the disorder."