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Computer scientists and educational researchers evaluated effectiveness of computerized instruction tailored to evidence-based impairments in specific learning disabilities (SLDs) in students in grades 4-9 with persisting SLDs despite prior extra help. Following comprehensive, evidence-based differential diagnosis for dysgraphia (impaired handwriting), dyslexia (impaired word reading and spelling), and oral and written language learning disability, students completed 18 sessions of computerized instruction over about 3 months. The 11 students taught letter formation with sequential, numbered, coloured arrow cues with full contours who wrote letters on lines added to iPad screen showed more and stronger treatment effects than the 21 students taught using only visual motion cues for letter formation who wrote on an unlined computer monitor. Teaching to all levels of language in multiple functional language systems (by ear, eye, mouth and hand) close in time resulted in significant gains in reading and writing skills for the group and in diagnosed SLD hallmark impairments for individuals; also, performance on computerized learning activities correlated with treatment gains. Results are discussed in reference to need for both accommodations and explicit instruction for persisting SLDs and the potential for computers to teach handwriting, morphophonemic orthographies, comprehension, and composition.

Current transport at p-diamond Schottky contacts under reverse bias operation was investigated. Reverse current transport modes of several types were observed depending on the bias voltage range: thermionic emission (TE) associated with the image force barrier lowering was dominant in the lower voltage range of <50 V, whereas thermionic-field emission (TFE) mechanism governed transport in the higher voltage range. The Schottky barrier height ∅b estimated from the reverse characteristics was lower than that obtained from the forward characteristic by more than 0.4 eV, which indicates that the low Schottky barrier height ∅b low area localized in the patch shape at the diamond Schottky contact. This Schottky contact inhomogeneity was found to increase the reverse current effectively even though the ∅blow low area is smaller because the reverse current in TE mode flows preferentially through ∅blow low patches. The current transport mode changed from TE to TFE when the maximum electric field was >1MV cm-1, which indicates that a strong electric field concentration exists at the Schottky electrode fringe. When the high reverse voltage was biased, a sudden current increase occurred, followed by a permanent increase of reverse current, indicating that mid-gap defects were formed at the interface. These results indicate that reverse current and electric-field breakdown have different origins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The N and O K-shells were excited for a series of CH3CO(CH2)(sub n)CN (n = 0 - 3) to investigate the molecular size effects on the site specific photofragmentation of a core excited molecule. O and N atoms were separated by successively inserting a CH2 group between the two atoms.