Search

Structured Abstract Objectives To investigate pharyngeal airway changes in patients with Pierre Robin sequence ( PRS) longitudinally from childhood to adulthood. Setting and Sample Population Cleft Lip and Palate Unit, Clinic of Orthodontics, University of Zurich. Twenty-four patients born between 1970 and 1990 with non-syndromic PRS. Materials and Methods Lateral cephalograms at age 5 ( T1), 10 ( T2), 15 ( T3) and 20 ( T4) years were available. Variables describing pharyngeal airway dimensions, soft palate morphology, tongue and hyoid position, skeletal morphology and head posture were assessed. Results A significant increase in nasopharyngeal depth was found over the entire observation period ( T1 10.7 to T4 19.1 mm, p < 0.001), especially between T2 and T3 (change 3.8 mm, p < 0.001), and was mainly due to adenoid recession ( r = −0.75, p < 0.001; variation explained by 56%). Increase in velopharyngeal depth mainly took place between T3 and T4 (change 2.3 mm, p < 0.01). It was due to more anterior tongue posture ( r = 0.65, p < 0.001; 42.5% of variation explained), in turn allowing the soft palate to take a more vertical position ( r = −0.52, p < 0.001). Increase in oropharyngeal depth was associated with head extension and anterior mandibular positioning (36% of variation explained). However, significance was not reached ( T1 8.3 to T4 9.8 mm, p > 0.05). Conclusions Upper airway dimensions in children with PRS improve with time, except for the oropharyngeal airway. Despite large interindividual variation, the mean remained in the lower reaches of normality described in other studies. Thus, further research should investigate the prevalence of obstructive sleep apnoea in adults with PRS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, sulfur-containing copolyimides have attracted increasing attention as membrane materials for the separation of gaseous, vaporous, or liquid mixtures because of their superior separation properties. Therefore, a novel sulfur-containing copolyimide based on 4,4′-(hexafluoroisopropylidene)diphthalic anhydride, 4,4′-diaminodiphenylsulfide, and 3,5-diaminobenzoic acid was synthesized, characterized, and extensively investigated in toluene/ n-decane pervaporation experiments. To characterize the separation properties of the copolyimide, the flux and selectivity were determined with separation mixtures between 60 and 80 wt % toluene. The separation temperature was varied between 70 and 110°C. Thereby, we observed that when the temperature was increased from 70 to 90°C, the flux and selectivity did not change significantly. In contrast, a temperature change from 90 to 110°C caused an extensive increase in the flux. The most significant change was found for an 80 wt % toluene mixture, where an increase from 1.9 to 7 kg·μm·m−2·h−1 was observed. Simultaneously, the selectivity which is a measure of the quality of the separation (α) decreased from α = 11.8 to α = 9.3. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: (I) Introducing an intraoral camera system with a special positioner to allow computer-based analysis of reproducible images on lingual tooth surfaces and (II) comparing plaque removal by three manual toothbrushes with different brushhead designs (convex, multilevel and flat trimmed) on lingual mandibular tooth surfaces., Method: In a clinical single-blind, crossover, 24-h plaque-regrowth study on 25 subjects, a computer-based index (PPI) was used to evaluate pre- and postbrushing plaque on lingual surfaces of mandibular premolars and molars. Subjects brushed their teeth under standardized conditions at three visits, each time with a different, randomly assigned toothbrush., Results: The intraoral camera system allowed a reproducible and relatively convenient access to the lingual surfaces of the mandibular teeth and provided an increase in objectivity. Overall, each brush achieved statistically significant plaque removal, however, none reached clinical relevance. The multilevel brush was superior at specific sites, but failed to show statistically significant superiority in terms of overall plaque reduction. Without regard of the toothbrush used, the right handed subjects were less efficient in removing plaque from the right side compared to the left., Conclusions: The method is able to detect even small differences in plaque reduction. None of the different brushhead designs was able to compensate an insufficient brushing techniques.