Respiratory muscle stiffness is age- and muscle-specific.

We investigated the possible contribution of respiratory muscles to the well documented increase in chest wall stiffness with age. Diaphragm and internal intercostal muscle strips were dissected from male Fischer 344 rats of 3, 6, 12, and 24 months of age. Muscles were subjected, in vitro, to stress-strain and yield point tests.

Evaluation of mandibular infiltration versus block anesthesia in pediatric dentistry.

The authors consider mandibular infiltration as a possible alternative to mandibular block anesthesia in young children. The study sample comprised eighteen children ages six to nine years old who required bilateral identical treatment on primary mandibular molars. A random number table was used to determine which side of the mouth was to receive the block or the infiltration technique and a coin toss determined which would be administered first: A short 27 gauge needle was used to inject a 2 percent lidocaine solution with 1:100,000 epinephrine, in both techniques.

Impact of orthognathic surgery on normal and abnormal personality dimensions: a 2-year follow-up study of 61 patients.

The psychological adjustments and self-concepts of 61 orthognathic surgery patients were evaluated before surgery and at 1 month, 6 months, 1 year, and 2 years after surgery. The impact of orthognathic surgery on self-concept and personality adjustment was assessed. Significant improvements in group scores were found with the use of a repeated measures ANOVA in the following subscales of personality disturbances: general maladjustment, psychosis, neurosis, personality disorder, and personality integration.

A computer program for calculating kappa: application to interexaminer agreement in periodontal research.

The kappa statistic is a frequently used measure of interobserver agreement when two or more observers are asked to rate the same items or subjects on some criterion. The advantage of the kappa statistic over simple agreement is that it corrects for agreement by chance. In dental research, because multiple examiners may be involved in assessing subject variables such as attachment loss, bleeding on probing, or periodontal pocket depth, some statistical measure of agreement is needed.