Available evidence from the literature suggests that the prevalence of autistic disorder may be on the rise world wide, but no prevalence studies have been carried out till date in the Arabian Gulf region. A representative random sample of 694 three-year-old United Arab Emirates national children was evaluated in a two-stage study in the community. In the first stage, using Autism Screening Questionnaire, 58 per 10 000 children were noted to have autistic features. In the second stage using clinical interview, the weighted prevalence was estimated to be 29 per 10 000 for a DSM-IV diagnosis of pervasive developmental disorder (PDD). However, none of these children had been diagnosed prior to the study. Presence of autistic features was associated with male gender, presence of behavioural problems and a family history of developmental delay. The rate of PDD observed in the UAE is comparable with that reported from western countries. However, the lack of recognition of these disorders suggests the need for a comprehensive screening program, as early diagnosis can open the door for early intervention which in turn may improve the prognosis.

Computer Failure Grounds United Airlines Flights
On Wednesday morning, at the height of the day’s opening travel rush, the computers at the United Airlines operations center suddenly crashed. When a backup computer system inexplicably failed to take up the slack, United was forced to cancel flight departures around the globe. The outage lasted for roughly two hours, and caused delays of up to 90 minutes for more than 250 flights. Another 24 domestic U.S. flights were canceled altogether. In a brief statement posted to its Web site, United apologized for the travel disruptions. “We are very sorry for the inconvenience Wednesday morning’s computer outage may have caused you,” the company said. “While United’s operation returns to normal, we continue to encourage you to check the status of your flight before going to the airport.” Company spokespersons said that United hoped to have all operations back to normal by the end of the day on Wednesday, but conceded that problems and delays might linger until midday on Thursday. Critical Computer System The system failure did not pose any operational danger to flights, which remained in constant radio communication with air traffic controllers. However, many United flights landed without any idea of which gate they would be using, and many more flights were simply unable to take off. The crashed computer system, known as Unimatic, is an essential component of flight operations for United Airlines. Among other things, the system tracks flight time for airplane crews, balances weight and loads on flights, and manages flight plans for pilots. The airline cannot function if the Unimatic system is not operating properly; among other things, Federal law prohibits passenger flights from taking off without a weight-and-balance analysis. The numerous delays on Wednesday will contribute to United’s already poor on-time performance. According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, which began tracking airline on-time departures and arrival in…

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