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An experimental setup has been developed to perform experiments on a planar, crossed electric and magnetic field or crossed-field (CF) device. The structure, which is 15 cm long and 10 cm wide with an anode-to-sole gap of 2 cm, can measure electron beam perturbation as a function of injected beam current and magnetic field. The applied maximum anode to sole voltage is 3 kV and the applied maximum magnetic field is 0.02 T. A beam-measurement system, which consists of an anode with eight segmented sections and nine segmented end collectors, is incorporated. Eight silicon-gated field emitter arrays (Si-GFEAs) are used for the electron source. For the experiment, 1.5 mA of injected current at 50-V pulse was used. Experimental results without an applied magnetic field and with a magnetic field with different tilts are compared with simulation results and 1-D theory. The experimental planar crossed-field configurations demonstrate electron stability thresholds in current density and magnetic field tilt that agree with theory and simulation.

Inhibition of the sperm transport process in the female reproductive tract could lead to infertility. We previously showed that a pan-serine protease inhibitor, 4-(2-aminoethyl)benzenesulfonyl fluoride (AEBSF), blocked semen liquefaction in vivo and resulted in a drastic decrease in the number of sperm in the oviduct of female mice. In this study, we used a mouse model to test the efficacy of AEBSF as a reversible contraceptive, a sperm motility inhibitor, and a spermicide. Additionally, this study evaluated the toxicity of AEBSF on mouse vaginal tissues in vivo and human endocervical cells in vitro. We found that female mice treated with AEBSF had significantly less pups born per litter as well as fertilization rates in vivo compared to the vehicle control. We then showed that AEBSF reduced sperm motility and fertilization capability in vitro in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, AEBSF also exhibited spermicidal effects. Lastly, AEBSF treatment in female mice for 10 min or 3 consecutive days did not alter vaginal cell viability in vivo, similar to that of the vehicle and non-treated controls. However, AEBSF decreased cell viability of human ectocervical (ECT) cell line in vitro, suggesting that cells in the lower reproductive tract in mice and humans responded differently to AEBSF. In summary, our study showed that AEBSF can be used as a prototype compound for the further development of novel non-hormonal contraceptives for women by targeting sperm transport in the female reproductive tract.

Purpose: Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) can demonstrate a preference for using digital technologies which can represent a relative strength within the autism community. Such a strength would have implications for digitally mediated interventions and support for autism. However, research to date has not developed a methodology for assessing the capabilities of minimally verbal children on the autism spectrum with intellectual disability (ID) to use digital technology. Design/methodology/approach: Six minimally verbal children with ASD and ID undertook an accessible assessment that identified what capabilities for interacting with a digital tablet device they could and could not demonstrate. Twelve brief assessments were demonstrated, including turning on the device, adjusting the volume, operating the camera, touching, tilting and rotating the screen. Findings: Participants could be assessed on their digital capabilities. In this study, participants could largely touch and swipe the screen effectively and leave the app, but could not tilt and rotate the screen nor turn on the digital tablet device. Research limitations/implications: While the numbers were small, the findings indicate that the digital capabilities of this group can usefully be assessed. Future research can use such assessments to highlight how intervention effectiveness and support can be enhanced by matching the digital capacities of minimally verbal children with ASD and ID to technological support. This is a preliminary study and a greater understanding of children’s prior experiences with technology will better inform how and which digital capabilities develop. Originality/value: This is the first study to assess a range of basic capabilities for using digital tablet devices in minimally verbal children with ASD and ID.

E-learning has been continuously present in current educational discourse, thanks to technological advances, learning methodologies and public or organizational policies, among other factors. However, despite its boom and dominance in various subject areas, this thematic does not yet exist in the world system of publications. Therefore, works in this thematic end up being published under related categories, particularly in education or computer science, thus fragmenting and make invisible the existing knowledge. This work is based on the hypothesis that the scientific communication of e-learning has a sufficient degree of cohesion to be considered as a thematic category in itself. From a bibliometric approach, its scientific production was analyzed, obtaining the bibliographic data of SCOPUS and SCImago Journal & Country Rank, selecting its main descriptors and generating visualizations through VOSViewer with the mapping overlay technique, to represent its set and proximity. As a result, it was determined that a set of 219 publications show a high bibliometric interrelation among its articles and these are presented mainly in the social sciences and transversally between computer science and health professions. This set serves as a channel of scientific communication and structure of knowledge on the thematic and can therefore be considered as the basis for establishing the “e-learning” thematic category in the world system of scientific publications, contributing to the consolidation of the discipline, to its access and development by researchers.

There are many studies that encourage the use of mobile device solutions to improve the skills of people with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). There are a number of apps that may be useful for people with ASD, some specifically designed for them, and others not. The main goal of the SMART-ASD project is to assist in the selection of adequate technology and all related accessories. In this project, the users' data are maintained into an ontology. This ontology also includes information about devices, apps, and protection. The system is a hybrid recommendation system that guides parents and professionals in the selection of the adequate technology. This paper presents the SMART-ASD model and its representation by reusing an ontology from related projects.

This paper argues that presence, as shown in virtual environments, can usefully be seen as comprising various subtypes and that these in turn may have common conceptual and ontological features with a sense of agency as defined by Russell (1996, Agency: Its Role in Mental Development, Erlbaum.). Furthermore, an analysis of Russell's characterization of the concept of agency may be useful for acquiring insight into the sense of presence itself and the variables affecting it. Empirical evidence from cognitive developmental research and the positive results of attempts to develop symbolic understanding in people with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in virtual environments suggest that presence may be more about experiencing agency than either pretending to be there or constructing and reconstructing mental models in real time. This analysis is used to shed some light on the current issues of presence research and to open up new philosophical and psychological aspects, in relation to both presence and ASD.