Jose Luis

by and Department of Civil Engineering, Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja, Loja 1101608, Ecuador

The study of forest fragmentation has gained increased importance in light of the ongoing human-induced deforestation in tropical regions. Forest fragmentation can alter the structure and functioning of tropical forest remnants far from the forest edge. However, there is limited understanding of the long-term and large-scale consequences of fragmentation on the structural characteristics of tropical forests. Dynamic forest models may improve our understanding by simulating long-term ecological processes induced by forest fragmentation under different biogeographical settings. We evaluated the ability of a state-of-the-art forest growth model to reproduce changes in the three-dimensional distribution of plants in Amazonian forests affected by fragmentation. Forest structural metrics extracted from the model simulations were compared with those obtained using high-resolution terrestrial laser scans (TLS) of a 40-year-old forest fragmentation experiment in the Brazilian Amazon. Our chosen model had some functionality to study edge effects, but did not, in its existing form, capture their complexity, or reproduce the vertical distribution of plant material in old-growth forests. However, by adding a parameter to optimize tree mortality rates at varying edge distances, and incorporating a model of understory vegetation, the model performance improved substantially. Total Plant Area Index (PAI), and PAI at varying height intervals, amongst other metrics, showed greatly improved responses to edge effects, closer to the real-world observations by TLS. Our study highlights the potential of well-calibrated forest models in examining the mechanisms and impact of environmental changes on tropical forests.

Background The Coalition (Globus Medical) hybrid PEEK-titanium cage has been widely utilized in our practice for Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion (ACDF) over a 5-year period. A preliminary review of all the cases that we performed in these five years show to us an unexpectedly high rate of postoperative cage subsidence with the Coalition (Globus Medical) stand-alone cage. This prompted a formal investigation, the purpose of this study was, therefore, to systematically determine the true rate of subsidence for the Coalition cage in our cohort and to identify the independent risk factors that could explain this finding. Methods We conducted a retrospective analysis of 70 consecutive patients who underwent ACDF with the Coalition cage between 2018 and 2023. Data on demographic, clinical, and surgical variables were collected. The primary outcome was cage subsidence (≥ 3 mm) assessed on lateral radiographs at a mean follow-up of 28.8 months (range 12–48). Independent predictors were identified through a multivariable logistic regression model constructed using the purposeful selection of covariates strategy, a multi-step iterative process that accounts for both statistical significance and confounding effects. Results The overall patient-based subsidence rate was 38.6% (27 of 70 patients) at a mean radiographic follow-up of 28.8 months. Interrater reliability for subsidence assessment was substantial (Kappa = 0.759). In the multivariable analysis, preoperative diagnosis of radiculopathy was identified as the only independent predictor of subsidence, with an Adjusted Odds Ratio of 3.51 (95% CI: 1.13–10.91, p = 0.029). Contrary to initial assumptions, multi-level surgery (p = 0.441), smoking status (p = 0.615), and implant dimensions were not significant predictors in this cohort. Conclusion The Coalition cage demonstrated a high rate of subsidence in this series. A preoperative diagnosis of radiculopathy was the primary independent risk factor for this outcome, rather than multi-level fusion or specific implant characteristics. These findings suggest that the biomechanical requirements of disc height restoration in patients with radiculopathy may predispose them to higher subsidence rates when utilizing this specific standalone integrated fixation device.

Loading [MathJax]/jax/output/HTML-CSS/fonts/Gyre-Pagella/Monospace/Regular/Main.js by and

There are moments in the life of a nation when history seems to pause, inviting us not merely to celebrate where we have been, but to remember why we began. As America reaches her 250th anniversary, we stand on one of those mountaintops. We look back across two and a half centuries and see more than battles won, constitutions written, inventions imagined, or cities built. We see the remarkable unfolding of an idea—fragile in its infancy, improbable in its survival, yet radiant enough to become a beacon for generations longing to breathe free. Before there was an American flag waving over thirteen colonies, before there was a Constitution carefully balancing the powers of government, before there was even a nation to call the United States, there was a simple yet revolutionary conviction that human liberty did not originate in the halls of government, but in the heart of God Himself. The men who pledged their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor in Philadelphia were not proclaiming that they had discovered freedom. They believed they had discovered an eternal truth—that every man, woman, and child bears the image of the Creator and therefore possesses rights that no earthly ruler can rightly bestow or take away. That belief transformed subjects into citizens, colonies into a republic, and an impossible dream into the greatest experiment in self-government the world has ever known.

Access through your institution Buy or subscribe To the Editor:

Macau Business magazine | July 2026 As widely anticipated, Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai went to the Legislative Assembly, on 16 June, to

Loretta Pearl Poku Gunter Stober Diego Janches Brian Fuller Daniel O'Connor Leandro Maslov Eric Marderwald