A validated hand grading scale.

Background: Following the popularity of facial cosmetic procedures to reverse the signs of aging, cosmetic procedures that rejuvenate the hand are being sought. Irregular surface pigmentation, prominence of superficial veins and tendons, thinning of the dermis, and loss of subcutaneous fat typically characterize aging of the hand.

Objectives: To develop the Hand Grading Scale for objective quantification of the severity of hand aging and to establish the reliability of this photonumeric scale for clinical research and practice.

A validated grading scale for crow's feet.

Objective: To develop the Crow's Feet Grading Scale for objective quantification of the severity of lateral canthal lines and to establish the reliability of this photonumeric scale for clinical research and practice.

Materials And Methods: A 5-point photonumeric rating scale was developed to objectively quantify the severity of lateral canthal lines at rest and at maximum contracture of the orbicularis oculi. Nine experts rated photographs of 35 subjects, twice, with regard to the aspect crow's feet in comparison with morphed images.

A validated grading scale for marionette lines.

Background: Melomental folds, or marionette lines, are one of the consequences of facial aging. The curvilinear wrinkles formed because of facial movements and the aging process extend downward from the oral commissures.

Objectives: To develop the Marionette Lines Grading Scale for objective quantification of the severity of melomental folds and to establish the reliability of this photonumeric scale for clinical research and practice.

A validated lip fullness grading scale.

Objectives: To develop the Lip Fullness Grading Scale for objective quantification of lip volume for a reliable assessment and to establish the reliability of this photonumeric scale for clinical research and practice.

Materials And Methods: A 5-point photonumeric rating scale was developed to objectively quantify fullness of upper and lower lip separately. Nine experts rated photographs of 35 subjects, twice, separately for upper and lower lip.

A validated grading scale for forehead lines.

Background: As with other facial wrinkles, the gradual loss and disorganization of collagen fibers and elastin, connective tissues that provide underlying support for skin, cause horizontal forehead rhytides in large part.

Objectives: To develop the Forehead Lines Grading Scale for objective quantification of horizontal forehead rhytides at rest and with expression and to establish the reliability of this photonumeric scale for clinical research and practice.

Materials And Methods: The Forehead Lines Grading Scale is a 5-point photonumeric rating scale that was developed to objectively quantify resting (static) and hyperkinetic (dynamic) forehead lines.

A validated brow positioning grading scale.

Background: One of the first areas to show facial aging is the periorbital region, where brow malposition contributes to the overall appearance of aging. Movement and positioning of the brows are also sex specific. Men may desire a low brow, whereas women may prefer high, arched brows.

Investigating the abstractness of children's early knowledge of argument structure.

In the current debate about the abstractness of children's early grammatical knowledge, Tomasello & Abbott-Smith (2002) have suggested that children might first develop 'weak' or 'partial' representations of abstract syntactic structures. This paper attempts to characterize these structures by comparing the development of constructions around verbs in Tomasello's (1992) case study of Travis, with those of 10 children (Stage I-II) in a year-length, longitudinal study. The results show some evidence that children's early knowledge of argument structure is verb-specific, but also some evidence that children can generalize knowledge about argument structure across verbs.