Shun is the new kid in school, but he's already managed to attract the attention of the school bully, who's now making his life a living hell. It doesn't seem like things could get any worse, until the night he finds himself and a group of his classmates inside a creepy, abandoned mansion known as the Jailhouse. They quickly start to hear strange sounds and see weird things, but everything escalates when they realize they can't get out. Once they're trapped inside, a blue, unnaturally large figure chases after them. Is it a new species? Or is it the ghost of their old classmate who died in an accident? Nobody knows, but one thing is for certain... If it catches them, they're dead! The scariest game of tag in history begins!

Even if he has his closest friends on his side now, no one else seems to be willing to believe Shun about the dangers of the Jailhouse. Deciding to take matters into his own hands, he desperately codes an emergency update for his game to try and prevent any further tragedy. But they say the path to the Jailhouse is paved with good intentions... Will he give whoever gets stuck inside the tools to survive? Or will it all be used against them? Whoever the unlucky victims are next just might be in for an ugly, mutant surprise...

Kids who get called the worst names oftentimes find each other. That's how it was with us. Skeezie Tookis and Addie Carle and Joe Bunch and me. We call ourselves the Gang of Five, but there are only four of us. We do it to keep people on their toes. Make 'em wonder. Or maybe we do it because we figure that there's one more kid out there who's going to need a gang to be a part of. A misfit, like us. Skeezie, Addie, Joe, and Bobby -- they've been friends forever. They laugh together, have lunch together, and get together once a week at the Candy Kitchen to eat ice cream and talk about important issues. Life isn't always fair, but at least they have each other -- and all they really want to do is survive the seventh grade. That turns out to be more of a challenge than any of them had anticipated. Starting with Addie's refusal to say the Pledge of Allegiance and her insistence on creating a new political party to run for student council, the Gang of Five is in for the ride of their lives. Along the way they will learn about politics and popularity, love and loss, and what it means to be a misfit. After years of getting by, they are given the chance to stand up and be seen -- not as the one-word jokes their classmates have tried to reduce them to, but as the full, complicated human beings they are just beginning to discover they truly are.

Character theory is a powerful tool for understanding finite groups. In particular, the theory has been a key ingredient in the classification of finite simple groups. Characters are also of interest in their own right, and their properties are closely related to properties of the structure of the underlying group. The book begins by developing the module theory of complex group algebras. After the module-theoretic foundations are laid in the first chapter, the focus is primarily on characters. This enhances the accessibility of the material for students, which was a major consideration in the writing. Also with students in mind, a large number of problems are included, many of them quite challenging. In addition to the development of the basic theory (using a cleaner notation than previously), a number of more specialized topics are covered with accessible presentations. These include projective representations, the basics of the Schur index, irreducible character degrees and group structure, complex linear groups, exceptional characters, and a fairly extensive introduction to blocks and Brauer characters. This is a corrected reprint of the original 1976 version, later reprinted by Dover. Since 1976 it has become the standard reference for character theory, appearing in the bibliography of almost every research paper in the subject. It is largely self-contained, requiring of the reader only the most basic facts of linear algebra, group theory, Galois theory and ring and module theory.

Since 1984, we have organized satellite symposia on retinal degenerations that are held in conjunction with the biennial International Congress of Eye Research. The timing and location of our Retinal Degeneration Symposia have allowed scientists and clinicians from around the world to convene and present their exciting new findings. The symposia have been arranged to allow ample time for discussions and one-on-one interactions in a relaxed atmosphere, where international friendships and collaborations could be established. The IXth International Symposium on Retinal Degeneration was held on October 9-14, 2000 in Durango, Colorado and was attended by over 100 scientists from six continents. This book contains many of their presentations. Several events of note occurred at this meeting. First, thanks to the generous support of the Foundation Fighting Blindness, we were able to sponsor the travel of 11 young scientists from six countries. Most of them have contributed chapters to this volume. The response to the travel program was so overwhelming that we will make it regular feature of our meeting. This will allow other bright, young investigators to be introduced to the world experts who study retinal degenerations. Second, about 40% of the scientists who attended this meeting were there for the first time. We believe that this indicates a growing interest in retinal degeneration research and ensures that new talent will be attracted to this important area of investigation. The symposium received support from several organizations.

In the present era various international organizations, such as FAO, UNO, IAEA, FNCA, etc., have unanimously agreed that millions of people in both developing and developed countries are not only facing a shortage of food, but also non-availability of nutrients. The main reason put forward by these agencies is that there is less genetic diversity prevalent in the major crops, which has been further diminished since the inception of conventional plant breeding. Since the first decade of the last century the mutation breeding approach has been pivotal in enhancing the genetic diversity of crops, thereby enriching the genetic pool. `Mutagenesis: exploring genetic diversity of crops¿ describes the latest achievements in mutation breeding, with a particular focus on the development of novel mutant varieties and F1 hybrids of crops highly superior to the parental ones. The book details experimental as well as literary studies of induced mutagenesis and its role in developing the new potent varieties. The book will be useful for agricultural policy making authorities in countries of agricultural importance, scientific researchers, breeders, teachers and students keen to use mutation breeding and to explore its hidden potential to secure food and nutrient availability for the growing world population.