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Leaf-level gas exchange data support the mechanistic understanding of plant fluxes of carbon and water. These fluxes inform our understanding of ecosystem function, are an important constraint on parameterization of terrestrial biosphere models, are necessary to understand the response of plants to global environmental change, and are integral to efforts to improve crop production. Collection of these data using gas analyzers can be both technically challenging and time consuming, and individual studies generally focus on a small range of species, restricted time periods, or limited geographic regions. The high value of these data is exemplified by the many publications that reuse and synthesize gas exchange data, however the lack of metadata and data reporting conventions make full and efficient use of these data difficult. Here we propose a reporting format for leaf-level gas exchange data and metadata to provide guidance to data contributors on how to store data in repositories to maximize their discoverability, facilitate their efficient reuse, and add value to individual datasets. For data users, the reporting format will better allow data repositories to optimize data search and extraction, and more readily integrate similar data into harmonized synthesis products. The reporting format specifies data table variable naming and unit conventions, as well as metadata characterizing experimental conditions and protocols. For common data types that were the focus of this initial version of the reporting format, i.e., survey measurements, dark respiration, carbon dioxide and light response curves, and parameters derived from those measurements, we took a further step of defining required additional data and metadata that would maximize the potential reuse of those data types. To aid data contributors and the development of data ingest tools by data repositories we provided a translation table comparing the outputs of common gas exchange instruments. Extensive consultation with data collectors, data users, instrument manufacturers, and data scientists was undertaken in order to ensure that the reporting format met community needs. The reporting format presented here is intended to form a foundation for future development that will incorporate additional data types and variables as gas exchange systems and measurement approaches advance in the future. The reporting format is published in the U.S. Department of Energy's ESS-DIVE data repository, with documentation and future development efforts being maintained in a version control system.

The Inion FreedomPlate, a 'free-form' osteosynthesis plate, is a biodegradable plate with just pilot holes for drilling. The construction of the plate allows the surgeon a placement of screws in optimal position. The screw heads can either be countersunk into the plate or cut off. Furthermore, the plate can be cut and contoured to match the bone. The aim of this study was to determine the mechanical properties of the Inion FreedomPlate compared to a conventional biodegradable plate. Acrylic pipes were fixed together with plates and screws. Tensile and cantilever bending tests were performed to measure the fixation properties. In the tensile test, the samples were loaded with a constant speed of 5 mm/min until failure of fixation. The yield load, maximum failure load, and initial stiffness were recorded, and the failure mode was visually determined. In the cantilever bending test, the samples were loaded with a constant speed of 50 mm/min (with a moment arm of 45 mm) until failure of fixation. The yield bending moment and initial stiffness were recorded, and the failure mode was determined. The results of the study show that the new free-form plate provides at least as strong fixation as the tested conventional biodegradable plate. No clinically relevant difference was found between free-form plates fixed with into-the-plate countersunk screws and those fixed with screws without heads. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: This study was undertaken to evaluate whether the effects of hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) therapy could alter the critical size for spontaneous healing of a bone defect in the rabbit calvarial model. STUDY DESIGN: An animal trial of 12 weeks duration was conducted using 20 New Zealand white rabbits, which were randomly divided into 2 groups of 10 animals each. Calvarial defects were created in the parietal bones of each animal bilaterally. Defects were critical-sized, 15 mm on one side and supra-critical-sized, 18 mm on the contralateral side. Group 1 received a 90-min HBO treatment sessions at 2.4 absolute atmospheric pressure (ATA) per day for 20 consecutive days. Group 2 served as a control without any HBO treatment sessions. Five animals in each group were sacrificed at 6 and 12 weeks. Data analysis included qualitative assessment of the calvarial specimens, post-sacrifice radiographs, as well as histomorphometric analysis to compute the amount of regenerated bone within the defects. ANOVA and paired sample t test were used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: Both radiographic analysis and histomorphometric analysis demonstrated that HBO-treated animals had significantly more new bone within their defects compared with the control group (P < .001). There was no statistically significant difference between the percentage of new bone forming in the 15-mm and 18-mm HBO-treated defects. There was no difference between the 6-week and the 12-week HBO-treated groups. HBO is effective in enhancing the bony healing of full thickness critical sized as well as supra-critical-sized defects in the rabbit calvarial model. CONCLUSION: Bone regeneration was significantly greater in the HBO-treated animals regardless of the defect size. HBO may have increased the diameter of the rabbit critical-sized calvarial defect to more than 18 mm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to examine nasal airflow and olfactory functions in patients with repaired cleft palate compared with matching normal controls. STUDY DESIGN: The all-cleft group consisted of 25 patients with hard palate cleft comprising 15 patients with unilateral cleft palate and lip (UCLP); 2 with CP but no cleft lip (UCLP subgroup) and 8 patients with bilateral cleft lip and palate (BCLP subgroup). All had had surgical correction of the palate in infancy. The control group consisted of 20 nonaffected orthodontic patients. The median age of both groups was 14 years. The tests included the following: (1) nasal airflow measured by anterior rhinomanometry, (2) smell threshold for isoamyl-acetate determined using a 3-way forced choice method, (3) a self-administered questionnaire regarding the subjective perception of smell sense function, and (4) orthonasal and retronasal smell identification (correct/incorrect) and hedonics using visual analog scale (VAS). RESULTS: The respective test results follow. (1) When compared with the control group, the total airflow in the UCLP subgroup was significantly lower especially on the affected side; while in the BCLP subgroup it was lower than in the control group bilaterally. No significant difference was found between the cleft side of UCLP and BCLP subgroups. (2) The smell threshold of the UCLP subgroup was significantly higher than that of the control group and BCLP subgroup. No significant differences were found between right and left nostrils within the BCLP patients and between them and the control group. (3) No difference was found between the groups regarding the subjective perception of smell. (4) No significant differences were found between the UCLP and BCLP subgroups and between the all-cleft group and the control group, except for one item, regarding orthonasal and retronasal smell identification and hedonics. CONCLUSION: Although nasal airflow is significantly lower and the smell threshold higher on the cleft side, the day-to-day function of the sense of smell of cleft patients is similar to that of normal controls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mentoring, coaching, role modeling, and teaching all represent strategies in which one or more individuals help develop another individual. Although there are some similarities among those providing the guidance to the recipient of the development efforts, important differences exist. This article defines and discusses the similarities and differences between these roles. It goes on to focus on how surgical residents can best be served by mentors, coaches, role models, and teachers in their journey to becoming practicing surgeons. Guidance on how to best serve in one of these roles is provided along with guidance on how a surgical resident can take advantage of this excellent form of career development., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: The purpose was to evaluate predictors of reimbursement of oral and maxillofacial surgery services in the Medicare population., Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study of Medicare Physician and Other Supplier Aggregate Data from 2015. Clinicians were included if they were confirmed to be oral and maxillofacial surgeons (OMSs) by National Provider Identifier data. The primary outcome variable of this study was the proportion reimbursed (actual payment amount divided by charge amount). Predictor variables included type of practice (private vs academic), scope (cancer vs non-cancer), number of Medicare beneficiaries seen, number of unique Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes billed, and total amount charged. Descriptive statistics and regression analyses were calculated, with P < .05 considered significant., Results: The initial search revealed 952 providers categorized as performing maxillofacial surgery, with 894 confirmed to be OMSs (144 academic and 750 private practice). Of 894 OMSs, 39 were cancer surgeons and 855 were non-cancer surgeons. Academic OMSs saw more complex patients than OMSs in private practice (P < .0001). Academic surgeons (n = 144) charged an average of $116,876.92 to Medicare, with a mean payment amount of $22,219.62. Private practice surgeons (n = 750) submitted an average charge of $27,812.56, with average reimbursement of $9,472.76. Multiple linear regression showed that academia, cancer surgeons, number of unique CPT codes, higher Hierarchal Condition Category scores, and total submitted charge amount were negative predictors of the proportion of reimbursement., Conclusions: Roughly 10% of OMSs participate in and bill for Medicare. Factors associated with a lower reimbursement proportion include being in academia, treating head and neck cancer, billing more unique CPT codes, seeing sicker patients, and having larger total submitted charges. As third-party private insurers often follow fee schedules and rates set by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, this observed effect also should be evaluated in claims data of other insurers., (Copyright © 2018 American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Airborne Lidar Bathymetry (ALB) is an advanced and effective technology for mapping water bodies and measuring water depth in relatively shallow inland and coastal zones. The concept of using light beams to detect and traverse water bodies has been around since the 1960s; however, its popularity has increased significantly in recent years with the advent of relatively affordable hardware, supplemented with potent software applications to process and analyze resulting data. To achieve the most accurate final product, which is usually a digital elevation model (DEM) of the bottom of a water body, various quality-control (QC) measures are applied during and after an airborne mission. River surveys, in particular, present various challenges, and quantifying the quality of the end product requires supplemental surveys and careful analysis of all data sets. In this article, we discuss a recent ALB survey of the Frio River in Texas and summarize the findings of all QC measures conducted. We conclude the article with suggestions for successful ALB deployments at similar survey locations.