Utility of preoperative ultrasound in assessing the adequacy of autograft for anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective: Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction using tendon autograft requires imaging to evaluate graft adequacy. Ultrasound (US) offers an efficient adjunct to MRI; however, the utility of US is variable in prior literature and should be investigated. The primary aim of this study is to provide a statistical appraisal of literature assessing correlation of preoperative US measurements with intraoperative size of autografts during ACL reconstruction.

Heart rate variability parameters indicate altered autonomic tone in subjects with COVID-19.

COVID-19 is associated with long-term cardiovascular complications. Heart Rate Variability (HRV), a measure of sympathetic (SNS) and parasympathetic (PNS) control, has been shown to predict COVID-19 outcomes and correlate with disease progression but a comprehensive analysis that includes demographic influences has been lacking. The objective of this study was to determine the balance between SNS, PNS and heart rhythm regulation in hospitalized COVID-19 patients and compare it with similar measurements in healthy volunteers and individuals with cardiovascular diseases (CVD), while also investigating the effects of age, Body Mass Index (BMI), gender and race.

In Obesity, Esophagogastric Junction Fat Impairs Esophageal Barrier Function and Dilates Intercellular Spaces via HIF-2α.

Background & Aims: Dilated intercellular space (DIS) in esophageal epithelium, a sign of impaired barrier function, is a characteristic finding of GERD that also is found in obese patients without GERD. We have explored molecular mechanisms whereby adipose tissue products might impair esophageal barrier integrity.

Methods: We established cultures of visceral fat obtained during foregut surgery from obese and non-obese patients.

Widespread occurrence of benzimidazole resistance single nucleotide polymorphisms in the canine hookworm, Ancylostoma caninum, in Australia.

Canine hookworm (Ancylostoma caninum), a gastrointestinal nematode of domestic dogs, principally infects the small intestine of dogs and has the potential to cause zoonotic disease. In greyhounds and pet dogs in the USA, A. caninum has been shown to be resistant to multiple anthelmintics.

The cost of recovering Australia's threatened species.

Accounting for the cost of repairing the degradation of Earth's biosphere is critical to guide conservation and sustainable development decisions. Yet the costs of repairing nature through the recovery of a continental suite of threatened species across their range have never been calculated. We estimated the cost of in situ recovery of nationally listed terrestrial and freshwater threatened species (n = 1,657) across the megadiverse continent of Australia by combining the spatially explicit costs of all strategies required to address species-specific threats.