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Purpose: The primary aim of this study was to investigate how speech-language pathologists (SLPs) from Estonia, Finland, and Lithuania rate the significance of different features for diagnosing childhood apraxia of speech (CAS) in their languages., Method: An online survey was conducted among 197 Estonian, Finnish, and Lithuanian SLPs who have worked with children with CAS. The SLPs were asked to rate the significance of 63 features for CAS diagnosis in their respective language. Cross-linguistic patterns in diagnostic features were examined with simple correspondence analysis (SCA) and via descriptive statistics., Results: The ratings revealed six to seven diagnostic features that were considered very significant for CAS diagnosis by the majority of respondents in each country. The SCA highlighted differences between Lithuanian SLPs and Estonian and Finnish SLPs. Some possible language-specific associations were noted, such as palatalization errors for Lithuanian and Estonian and diphthong distortions for Estonian. The respondents from all countries rated highly those features that can easily be applied to most languages (e.g., groping) and gave lower ratings to features that may be influenced by the linguistic structure of different languages (e.g., word stress errors)., Conclusions: Overall, SLPs provided high ratings to CAS features that occur universally across languages, whereas features specific to languages, such as prosody-related errors, were not as highly rated. Several language-specific features were highlighted, providing direction for future research and emphasizing the importance of language-specific considerations in CAS research and diagnosis.

The purpose of this study was to investigate relationships between speech inconsistency, speech production skills, phonological awareness and nonword repetition (NWR) in 24 preschool-aged Finnish-speaking children with speech sound disorder (SSD) and in 31 children with typical speech and language development (TD). Speech inconsistency was assessed by a picture-naming task repeated three times during one assessment session. The participants' speech production skills were assessed with the Finnish Test for Phonology and a diadochokinetic (DDK) task. Phonological awareness was investigated by the tasks of Rhyme and initial syllable awareness and Syllable segmentation, and NWR by ten 2-4-syllabic nonwords. The findings indicated that the children with SSD were less accurate in speech production and NWR than the children with TD. No difference was found in phonological awareness. Among the children with SSD, speech inconsistency was correlated with accuracy in overall speech production, DDK task, and NWR. Among the children with TD, speech inconsistency was correlated with accuracy in overall speech production, partly with phonological awareness, and with NWR. The results provide support for the idea that when assessing speech inconsistency in children with SSD, a process-oriented approach may be needed in order to obtain an adequately broad picture of their skill profiles.

This study examined intra-word accuracy and consistency in 32 preschool-aged Finnish-speaking children with speech sound disorder (SSD) compared to their typically developing (TD) age- and gender-matched peers. Accuracy and consistency of speech production were assessed by a picture-naming task repeated three times in one assessment session. Responses were classified into four categories: 1) consistently correct, 2) consistently incorrect, 3) variable with hits (when a child's variable responses included at least one matched with the adult target), and 4) variable with no hits (when responses included at least two different response types without the matched adult target). In addition, relationships between intra-word accuracy and consistency and children's receptive vocabulary knowledge and articulatory ability based on spontaneous speech samples were investigated. The findings showed that the children with SSD produced significantly more often 'consistently incorrect' and 'variable with no hits' responses than the TD children. There was a significant negative correlation between 'variable with no hits' responses and receptive vocabulary knowledge and articulatory abilities among the children with SSD. As intra-word accuracy and consistency has not previously been studied in Finnish children with SSD, the findings highlighted the need for drafting guidelines for assessment and intervention by paying close attention to high intra-word variability without correct word forms already from age three onwards.

This study examined intra-word consistency and accuracy in typically developing Finnish children and their relation to children's vocabulary size and phonological skills. A total of 80 typically developing Finnish children aged 3;0 to 6;11 were asked to name 20 words three separate times during a single assessment session. Responses were classified into four categories: 1) consistently correct productions, 2) consistently incorrect productions, 3) variable productions with hits (variable productions including at least one matched adult target), and 4) variable productions with no hits. The results revealed that 5- and 6-year-old children produced significantly more often consistently correct responses than younger children. However, even for the 3- and 4-year old children the most frequent response type was consistently correct production. Between these two youngest age groups (3 and 4), the only significant difference was in consistently incorrect responses, which the 3-year-olds produced more often than the older children. There was a significant negative correlation between consistently incorrectly produced words and children's phonological skills, but no other relationships were found. The results indicate that when assessing children with speech sound disorder (SSD), Finnish clinicians need to take into account the fact that even 3-year-old typically developing children generally produce words correctly, either consistently or inconsistently.

The proper sealing of stoppings is an important step in reducing leakage from the intake to the return airways. Leakage and the subsequent loss of ventilation resulting from improperly sealed stoppings can lead to unhealthy and unsafe working conditions. The research presented in this paper investigates the total leakage of a stopping, including air leakage through the stopping, at the stopping perimeter, and through the coalbed. The study also examines sealing considerations for stoppings that are constructed under roof control screen, the effects that wooden wedges had on inhibiting efficient application of polyurethane foam sealant, and airflow leakage through the surrounding coal. The work involved building a stopping in a dead end room of the NIOSH Safety Research Coal Mine and then pressurising the room using compressed air. Stopping leakage was evaluated by measuring air pressure loss in the enclosed room due to the air leakage. Part of the research utilises a diluted soap solution that was applied to the stopping and the surrounding coal to detect air leakage signified by bubble formations. The results show that stopping leakage can be minimised with proper sealing.

Adult human epidermis was cultured in whole skin organ culture under serum-free conditions in the presence of 35SO4. Proteoglycans (PG) comprised about 25% of the total (35SO4)-labeled material produced by epidermis. The rest of the incorporated activity displayed solubility characteristics typical of lipids. The molecular mass and the composition of the 35SO4-labeled epidermal PG and glycosaminoglycans (GAG) were studied using gel filtrations and agarose gel electrophoresis. The 35SO4-label of the epidermal PG was located in heparan sulfate (HS, approximately 75%) and chondroitin/dermatan sulfate (CS/DS, 25%), but not in keratan sulfate as determined by nitrous acid, chondroitinase AC II, chondroitinase ABC, and keratanase digestions, respectively. The molecular mass of the GAG chains was 10-40 kDa. The 35SO4-labeled PG were distributed between 60 and 600 kDa in agarose gel electrophoresis, with the highest activity at 350 kDa. Smaller activity peaks occurred at 150 and 60 kDa. Digestion of the PG with heparitinase removed most of the activity at 350 and 150 kDa, whereas chondroitinase ABC removed that at 60 kDa. A small amount of activity migrating between 600 and 1000 kDa was not affected by any of the GAG-degrading enzymes. Pulse chase experiments showed that the epidermal PG had an average half life of 24 h. The results thus demonstrate that human epidermis produces at least three different, rapidly metabolized PG. The PGs from 150 to 350 kDa contained heparan sulfate chains, whereas those at 60 kDa were chondroitin/dermatan sulfate PG.