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Research on the potential causes of population fluctuations in small mammals generally has focused more on biotic than abiotic factors. In this study, we asked whether the rate of population change of 2 widespread small rodents in deciduous forests of North America are associated with a set of weather events expected to affect the rodents either directly or indirectly. We analyzed a long-term (1995–2016) livetrapping data set from 6 field plots in southeastern New York, estimated rates of population change for white-footed mice and eastern chipmunks, and asked whether these rates are associated with any of a set of 5 weather variables selected a priori. Rates of population change of white-footed mice (Peromyscus leucopus), but not of chipmunks (Tamias striatus), were significantly lower during hurricane than non-hurricane years and in summers with drought than in non-drought summers. Reduced population growth of white-footed mice occurred during the same or subsequent season but we detected no longer-term effects. Neither species was affected by autumn precipitation, summer heat waves, or winter cold. Hurricane- and drought-induced changes in abundance of white-footed mice could affect their short-term interactions with prey (e.g. gypsy moth pupae, tree seeds, and songbird eggs) and parasites (e.g. ticks and zoonotic pathogens). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To perform a systematic review that determines the percentage of published orthopedic surgery and sports medicine systematic reviews and meta-analyses that have a conclusive conclusion., Methods: A systematic review was performed using PRISMA guidelines. Six high-quality orthopedics journals were chosen for analysis over a 10-year eligibility period. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses published in these journals were included in the investigation. Narrative, scoping, and umbrella reviews were excluded. A systematic review or meta-analysis was defined as having an inconclusive conclusion if the conclusion in the manuscript body or abstract was stated directly as inconclusive, indeterminate, unknown, or having a lack of evidence (or no evidence). A conclusive conclusion stated a direct answer to the study's primary and/or accessory outcomes. Due to the categorical nature of the data, comparisons were made using χ 2 test and logistic regression., Results: There were 1,108 systematic reviews/meta-analyses analyzed (30.9 ± 70.3 studies analyzed per review). More reviews (69.9%) were published with conclusive conclusions rather than without (30.1%). More reviews were surgical (73%) rather than nonsurgical. The United States and North America published the most reviews by country and continent, respectively. There were statistically significant differences between countries (highest proportion with China) and continents (highest proportion with Asia) based on the number of conclusive conclusions in published reviews, respectively. There were no significant differences in the proportion of conclusive conclusion reviews between the 6 analyzed journals. Australia published the largest proportion on nonsurgical reviews. The British Journal of Sports Medicine published a significantly higher proportion of nonsurgical reviews than the other 5 journals. There was no temporal relationship with the proportion of conclusive conclusion reviews., Conclusions: This systematic review observed that only 70% of orthopedic systematic reviews and meta-analyses published in 6 high-quality orthopedic journals over a 10-year eligibility period had conclusive conclusions., Level of Evidence: Level IV, systematic review and/or meta-analysis of studies with Levels I to IV., (Copyright © 2021 Arthroscopy Association of North America. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Vitamin D regulates intestinal epithelial and immune functions, and vitamin D receptor deficiency increases the severity of murine colitis. Bioavailable 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) is available to target tissues and may be a driver of immune function. The aim is to evaluate the relationship of bioavailable 25(OH)D to the clinical expression of treatment naive pediatric ulcerative colitis (UC)., Methods: The PROTECT (Predicting Response to Standardized Pediatric Colitis Therapy) study enrolled children ≤17 years newly diagnosed with UC. Free and total 25(OH)D were directly measured and 25(OH)D fractions were compared with disease activity measures., Results: Data were available on 388 subjects, mean age 12.7 years, 49% female, 84% with extensive/pancolitis. The median (IQR) total 25(OH)D concentration was 28.5 (23.9, 34.8) ng/mL, and 57% of subjects demonstrated insufficient vitamin D status (25(OH)D < 30 ng/mL). We found no evidence of association between total 25(OH)D and disease activity. Regression models adjusted for age, sex, race, and ethnicity demonstrated that an increase from 25th to 75th percentile for bioavailable and free 25(OH)D were associated with a mean (95th CI) decrease in the Pediatric Ulcerative Colitis Activity Index (PUCAI) of -8.7 (-13.7, -3.6) and -3.1 (-5.0, -1.2), respectively. No associations were detected between 25(OH)D fractions and fecal calprotectin or Mayo endoscopy score., Conclusions: Vitamin D insufficiency is highly prevalent in children with newly diagnosed UC. We found associations of free and bioavailable, but not total 25(OH)D, with PUCAI. Bioavailable vitamin D may contribute to UC pathophysiology and clinical activity.