Naturalistic speech samples of 29 3-year-olds diagnosed with specific expressive language delay (SU-E) were compared to those produced by 19 age-matched normally developing peers in order to determine their improvement in phonological skills since age 2, when Rescorla and Ratner (1996) studied them. Specifically, the groups were compared with regard to vocalization rate, verbalizations, fully intelligible utterances, phonetic inventories, percentages of consonants correct (PCC), phonological processes, and mean length of utterance (MLU). Results revealed that there was no significant difference between the groups in their numbers of vocalizations (as there had been at age 2), although there continued to be differences in their phonetic inventories, PCC scores, and overall intelligibility. These findings suggest that at age 2 the children with SU-E were not only less phonologically skilled but less talkative, whereas by age 3 they were equally vocal. Analysis of the phonetic inventories of the children demonstrated that for most consonants, the SLI-E group followed the some pattern of development as the comparison children, but more of the normally developing group had productive control of each consonant, consistent with findings of Rescorla and Ratner. There continued to be differences in intelligibility as measured by rates of verbalization (those utterances with at least one intelligible word) and fully intelligible utterances. Using these measures, we found that approximately half the SU-E children had caught up with their normally developing peers in terms of articulation, whereas half of them continued to be significantly delayed. Finally, although some of the late-bloomer group had caught up to the comparison children in language skills, as measured by MLU, many had not, suggesting that there was a tendency for the children to catch up in some articulation skills before catching up in language abilities.

The risks of technological accidents in the energy sector and their potentially disastrous effects have been analyzed over the past decades, and are nowadays generally recognized to constitute a key factor in an encompassing assessment of energy security. In contrast, the issue of intentional attacks on energy infrastructures has received increased attentionmore recently, particularly due to growing dependence of energy imports fromand transit routes through regions considered less reliable and politically stable. Both types of risks, however, illuminate different vulnerabilities. Therefore, the focus of the present analysis was on these two risk categories: accidents and intentional attacks in the energy sector. Risk assessment resultswere based on quantitative data from the databases ENSAD (Energy-related Severe Accident Database) and EIAD (Energy Infrastructure Attack Database). Evaluations examined similarities and differences between technological accidents and intentional attacks in terms of frequencies and consequences, considering time-series trends and regional patterns. A key difference is that accidents are typically rare and independent events, whereas intentional attacks are often multiple events and concentrated both in time and space, resulting in distinct hotspots. Concerning consequences, the severity distribution for accidents generally stretches over a broad range, with low-probability high-consequence events being an important factor of both energy chain performance and as a measure of risk aversion. On the other hand, these types of consequences are usually less important for intentional attacks because targeted energy infrastructures are often of “linear” nature (e.g. pipelines and transmission lines) that are difficult to protect and usually lead through remote areas with low population density. However, when frequently attacked substantial business and supply disruptions can occur. In summary, the joint analysis of accidents and intentional attacks provides a comprehensive and complementary approach on two types of risks that have rather different properties, but are essential in an energy security perspective.

Our results are consistent with other surveys among AI women, which report that Healthy People 2010 goals for breast (90%) and cervical (70%) cancer screening have not been met. Improvements in breast and cervical cancer screening among AI women attending IHS facilities are needed.

From October 1997 through March 1998, three outbreaks of gastrointestinal illness among school children were linked to company A burritos. In September 1998, a similar outbreak occurred in three North Dakota schools following lunches that included company B burritos. We conducted an investigation to determine the source of the North Dakota outbreak, identify other similar outbreaks, characterize the illness, and gather evidence about the cause. The investigation included epidemiologic analyses, environmental investigation, and laboratory analyses. In North Dakota, a case was defined as nausea, headache, abdominal cramps, vomiting, or diarrhea after lunch on 16 September 1998. Case definitions varied in the other states. In North Dakota, 504 students and staff met the case definition; predominant symptoms were nausea (72%), headache (68%), abdominal cramps (54%), vomiting (24%), and diarrhea (16%). The median incubation period was 35 min and median duration of illness was 6 h. Eating burritos was significantly associated with illness (odds ratio, 2.6; 95% confidence interval, 1.6 to 4.2). We identified 16 outbreaks that occurred in seven states from October 1997 through October 1998, affecting more than 1,900 people who ate burritos from two unrelated companies. All tortillas were made with wheat flour, but the fillings differed, suggesting that tortillas contained the etiologic agent. Results of plant inspections, tracebacks, and laboratory investigations were unrevealing. More than two million pounds of burritos were recalled or held from distribution. The short incubation period, symptoms, and laboratory data suggest that these outbreaks were caused by an undetected toxin or an agent not previously associated with this clinical syndrome. Mass psychogenic illness is an unlikely explanation because of the large number of sites where outbreaks occurred over a short period, the similarity of symptoms, the common food item, the lack of publicity, and the link to only two companies. A network of laboratories that can rapidly identify known and screen for unknown agents in food is a critical part of protecting the food supply against natural and intentional contamination.