The objective of this study was to describe a numerical scoring system for the measurement of maxillary arch constriction in patients born with unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP). A modification of the Huddart/Bodenham scoring system was compared and contrasted with the current methods of measuring treatment outcome, the GOSLON and 5-year indices. The GOSLON and 5-year indices are represented by 10 sets of study models grouped into five categories representing the range of possible outcomes in terms of dental arch relationship, with two sets of models in each of the five categories, whilst the modified Huddart/Bodenham method uses the frequency and severity of crossbite of the dental occlusion to evaluate maxillary arch constriction. The latter system was found to be more objective and reliable, and to correlate well with current recommended standards. It was also more versatile and more sensitive to interarch discrepancies. However, further work is required to refine it to reflect the potential for orthodontic treatment to mask interarch discrepancy following surgery.

The aim of this retrospective study was to describe the use and reliability of a numerical scoring system (modified Huddart/Bodenham) for the measurement of maxillary arch constriction in patients born with unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP), and to compare and contrast the new scoring system with the current methods of measuring treatment outcome, the Goslon and 5-year-old indices. Dental study models of 50 patients aged 5 years, and 50 patients aged 10 years, were scored using the 5-year-old and Goslon indices, respectively. Four examiners scored each set of models using the modified Huddart and Bodenham system, and repeated the scoring one month later. The intra- and inter-rater reliability of the numerical scoring system was assessed using the Kappa (kappa) statistic. The scores using the new method were correlated with the 5-year-old and Goslon scores using Spearman's (rho) and Kendall's (tau) rank correlation coefficients. There was a high level of intra-rater reliability for both the 5 (0.87: incisors, 0.91: canines, 0.88: molars) and 10 (0.9: incisors, 0.84: canines, 0.78: premolars/molars) year models. The weighted kappa values measuring inter-rater reliability were above 0.85 and 0.74, respectively, for all examiners. There was a statistically significant correlation between the modified Huddart/Bodenham scores and both the 5-year-old and Goslon scores in all cases (P < 0.001). It is concluded that the modified Huddart/Bodenham system provides an objective and reliable assessment of maxillary arch constriction. It has a high degree of correlation with the recommended standards, but is more versatile and sensitive to inter-arch discrepancies.

Intact biomass of an albino and a melanic strain of Aureobasidium pullulans, as well as purified melanin from the latter strain, was capable of tributyltin chloride (TBTC) removal from solution. Melanized biomass had a greater biosorptive capacity than albino biomass, this difference being attributable to the presence of melanin. Purified melanin had a large capacity for TBTC biosorption, the calculated maximum uptake capacity, qe, being approximately 35 mmol (g dry wt) -1. TBTC biosorption by intact biomass and melanin obeyed the Langmuir adsorption isotherm over the concentration range used, and was relatively unaffected by external pH between pH 3.5 and 6.5: an approximate 20% decrease in TBTC biosorption resulted at external pH 2.5. A TBTC concentration of 0.3 ~tM in growth medium resulted in a lag period which was longer with the albino strain (approximately 50 h) than with the pigmented strain (approximately 25 h). The addition of melanin to TBTC-containing growth media resulted in a reduction in toxicity and attainment of higher cell yields. The applied and environmental significance of these interactions are discussed.

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