This paper describes the requirements for building accessible user interface for users with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and presents the user interface (UI) of Open Book, a reading assistive tool for people with ASD. The requirements are extracted from both existing research on improving reading comprehension for people with ASD, and from the feedback of users and clinical professionals. The findings are applied in practice to create the user interface of Open Book tool. Key screens of the user interface are presented. It is implied that the features of the UI for people with ASD can be successfully applied to improving overall accessibility of any graphical user interface.

To reveal the effect of chlorine substituents in the ring of aromatic amine on the synthesis process of benzoxazine monomer and on its polymerization ability, as well as to develop a fire-resistant material, a previously unreported benzoxazine monomer based on 3,3′-dichloro-4,4′-diaminodiphenylmethane was obtained in toluene and mixture toluene/isopropanol. The resulting benzoxazine monomers were thermally cured for 2 h at 180 °C, 4 h at 200 °C, 2 h at 220 °C. A comparison between the rheological, thermal and fire-resistant properties of the benzoxazines based on 3,3′-dichloro-4,4′-diaminodiphenylmethane and, for reference, 4,4′-diaminodimethylmethane was made. The effect of the reaction medium on the structure of the oligomeric fraction and the overall yield of the main product were studied and the toluene/ethanol mixture was found to provide the best conditions; however, in contrast to most known diamine-based benzoxazines, synthesis in the pure toluene is also possible. The synthesized monomers can be used as thermo- and fire-resistant binders for polymer composite materials, as well as hardeners for epoxy resins. Chlorine-containing polybenzoxazines require more severe conditions for polymerization but have better fire resistance.

A novel type of phosphazene containing an additive that acts both as a catalyst and as a flame retardant for benzoxazine binders is presented in this study. The synthesis of a derivative of hexachlorocyclotriphosphazene (HCP) and meta-toluidine was carried out in the medium of the latter, which made it possible to achieve the complete substitution of chlorine atoms in the initial HCP. Thermal and flammability characteristics of modified compositions were investigated. The modifier catalyzes the process of curing and shifts the beginning of reaction from 222.0 °C for pure benzoxazine to 205.9 °C for composition with 10 phr of modifier. The additive decreases the glass transition temperature of compositions. Achievement of the highest category of flame resistance (V-0 in accordance with UL-94) is ensured both by increasing the content of phenyl residues in the composition and by the synergistic effect of phosphorus and nitrogen. A brief study of the curing kinetics disclosed the complex nature of the reaction. An accurate two-step model is obtained using the extended Prout–Tompkins equation for both steps.

As a result of this work, a previously unreported benzoxazine monomer based on 3,3'-dichloro-4,4'-diaminodiphenylmethane was obtained, characterized by 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy, and its thermal and rheological properties were studied. A comparison between the properties of benzoxazines based on diamines (3,3'-dichloro-4,4'-diaminodiphenylmethane and 4,4’-diaminodimethylmethane). The effect of the reaction medium on the structure of the oligomeric fraction and the overall yield of the main product was studied. The synthesized monomers can be used as thermo- and fire-resistant binders for polymer composite materials, as well as hardeners for epoxy resins.

We used the measurements of the photo-luminescence spectra vs photon pumping and Coulomb blockade charge tuning together with Kelvin probe microscopy to study piezo-electric fields in self-organized InP/GaInP2 quantum dots (QDs) having a strong Wigner localization regime. These exciton/electron state-filling measurements together with the surface potential imaging and the band structure calculations demonstrate a piezo-electric doping and type-I optical transitions induced in these dots by an atomic ordering (AO) of GaInP2. Our results clarify a critical role of AO in the formation of natural Wigner and anyon molecules and represent an important step for realization of the topological quantum gates using these QDs.

In this paper we study the solution of a system of equations Ax=b with singular and nearly singular, symmetric positive definite coefficient matrix A. Our algorithm based on, the Divide and Conquer strategy leading to the Divide-andConquer Algorithm (D&C algorithm) with, Cholesky's factorization algorithm. The Cholesky's factorization will be used to convert the matrix into a product of the form LL T , where L is a lower triangular matrix. The algorithm will be implemented on MATLAB and simulated as a user-subroutine. The user-subroutine is considering MATLAB features for reducing the round-off error especially for sensitive systems. Numerical examples will be given of a non-singular matrix and another for illconditioned matrix. The effect of round-off error will be analyzed. Results will be compared with previous ones, where LU factorization is used.

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Abstract:The article presents the major findings of a comprehensive study (White