Digital Commons Network^™

Effect Of Using Mgo Coating With Multiple Coatings On The Optical Properties Of A Five-Layer Stack, Zainab I. Al-Assadi

Baghdad Science Journal

A high refractive index (H) 1.7376 dielectric material MgO was used, and four separate low refractive index (L) dielectric materials, BaF2 (Barium fluoride, 1.4825), Al2O3 (Alumina, 1.5322), GdF3 (Gadolinium Fluoride, 1.59) and LaF3 (Lanthanum Fluoride, 1.6056) were added as optical coatings. Five layers across two designs were used for each option. The first format was Glass/H/L/H/L/H, while the second was Glass/L/H/L/H/L. These were tested using MATLAB to calculate the optical properties (M, Rvis., Rsol., and Tsol.) of the resulting optical coatings were calculated to determine which coating the most efficient for colouring the glass of solar systems used as building …

Investigation Of Fractional Order Tumor Cell Concentration Equation Using Finite Difference Method, Kalyanrao Takale, Uttam Kharde, Shrikisan Gaikwad

Baghdad Science Journal

The fractional differential equation provides a powerful mathematical framework for modeling and understanding a wide range of complex, non-local and memory-dependent phenomena in various scientific, engineering and real-world applications. Liver metastasis is a secondary cancerous tumor that develops in the liver due to the spread of cancer cells from a primary cancer originating in another part of the human body. The primary focus of this study is to understand tumor growth in the human liver, both in the presence and absence of medication therapy. To achieve this, a temporal fractional-order parabolic partial differential equation is utilized, and its analysis is …

Patient-Specific Quality Assurance Of Dynamically-Collimated Proton Therapy Treatment Plans, Alonso Gutierrez, Eduardo Pons, Andrew Wroe

All Publications

Background: The dynamic collimation system (DCS) provides energy layer-specific collimation for pencil beam scanning (PBS) proton therapy using two pairs of orthogonal nickel trimmer blades. While excellent measurement-to-calculation agreement has been demonstrated for simple cube-shaped DCS-trimmed dose distributions, no comparison of measurement and dose calculation has been made for patient-specific treatment plans.

Purpose: To validate a patient-specific quality assurance (PSQA) process for DCS-trimmed PBS treatment plans and evaluate the agreement between measured and calculated dose distributions.

Methods: Three intracranial patient cases were considered. Standard uncollimated PBS and DCS-collimated treatment plans were generated for each patient using the Astroid treatment planning …

Peat Fires And Legacy Toxic Metal Release: An Integrative Biogeochemical And Ecohydrological Conceptual Framework, Colin P.R. Mccarter, Gareth D. Clay, Sophie L. Wilkinson, Gabriel Sigmund, Scott J. Davidson, Muh Taufik, Susan Page, Emma L. Shuttleworth, David Mclagan, Grant Chenier, Alexandra Clark, James M. Waddington

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

Peatlands are potent landscape sinks of natural and industrial toxic metals and metalloids (TMMs) but the long-term sequestration of TMMs in peatlands is at increasing risk due to climate change enhanced peatland fires. The ability of peatlands to retain TMMs results from a host of interacting hydrological, biological, geomorphological, and chemical feedbacks, which underpin peatland functionality in general. Fire is a transformative force that often disrupts these interactions and feedbacks, leading to the potential release of TMMs to our air, land, and water. Given that wildfire burned area and severity are increasing there is a need for a conceptual understanding …

Water Hyacinths Retain River Plastics, Louise J. Schreyers, Tim H.M. Van Emmerik, Thanh Khiet L. Bui, Lauren Biermann, Remko Uijlenhoet, Hong Quan Nguyen, Nicholas Wallerstein, Martine Van Der Ploeg

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

Rivers represent one of the main conduits for the delivery of plastics to the sea, while also functioning as reservoirs for plastic retention. In tropical regions, rivers are exposed to both high levels of plastic pollution and invasion of water hyacinths. This aquatic plant forms dense patches at the river surface that drift due to winds and currents. Recent work suggests that water hyacinths play a crucial role in influencing plastic transport, by efficiently trapping the majority of surface plastic within their patches. However, a comprehensive understanding of the interaction between water hyacinths and plastics is still lacking. We hypothesize …

Lifr Regulates Cholesterol-Driven Bidirectional Hepatocyte-Neutrophil Cross-Talk To Promote Liver Regeneration, Yalan Deng, Zilong Zhao, Marisela Sheldon, Yang Zhao, Hongqi Teng, Consuelo Martinez, Jie Zhang, Chunru Lin, Yutong Sun, Fan Yao, Michael A Curran, Hao Zhu, Li Ma

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Liver regeneration is under metabolic and immune regulation. Despite increasing recognition of the involvement of neutrophils in regeneration, it is unclear how the liver signals to the bone marrow to release neutrophils after injury and how reparative neutrophils signal to hepatocytes to reenter the cell cycle. Here we report that loss of the liver tumour suppressor Lifr in mouse hepatocytes impairs, whereas overexpression of leukaemia inhibitory factor receptor (LIFR) promotes liver repair and regeneration after partial hepatectomy or toxic injury. In response to physical or chemical damage to the liver, LIFR from hepatocytes promotes the secretion of cholesterol and CXCL1 …

Panel Stacking Is A Threat To Consensus Statement Validity, Kasper P Kepp, Preben Aavitsland, Marcel Ballin, Francois Balloux, Stefan Baral, Kevin Bardosh, Howard Bauchner, Eran Bendavid, Raj Bhopal, Daniel T Blumstein, Paolo Boffetta, Florence Bourgeois, Adam Brufsky, Peter J Collignon, Sally Cripps, Ioana A Cristea, Nigel Curtis, Benjamin Djulbegovic, Oliver Faude, Maria Elena Flacco, Gordon H Guyatt, George Hajishengallis, Lars G Hemkens, Tammy Hoffmann, Ari R Joffe, Terry P Klassen, Despina Koletsi, Dimitrios P Kontoyiannis, Ellen Kuhl, Carlo La Vecchia, Tea Lallukka, John Lambris, Michael Levitt, Spyros Makridakis, Helena C Maltezou, Lamberto Manzoli, Ana Marusic, Clio Mavragani, David Moher, Ben W Mol, Taulant Muka, Florian Naudet, Paul W Noble, Anna Nordström, Peter Nordström, Nikolaos Pandis, Stefania Papatheodorou, Chirag J Patel, Irene Petersen, Stefan Pilz, Nikolaus Plesnila, Anne-Louise Ponsonby, Manuel A Rivas, Andrea Saltelli, Manuel Schabus, Michaéla C Schippers, Holger Schünemann, Marco Solmi, Andreas Stang, Hendrik Streeck, Joachim P Sturmberg, Lehana Thabane, Brett D Thombs, Athanasios Tsakris, Simon N Wood, John P A Ioannidis

Faculty, Staff and Student Publications

Consensus statements can be very influential in medicine and public health. Some of these statements use systematic evidence synthesis but others fail on this front. Many consensus statements use panels of experts to deduce perceived consensus through Delphi processes. We argue that stacking of panel members toward one particular position or narrative is a major threat, especially in absence of systematic evidence review. Stacking may involve financial conflicts of interest, but nonfinancial conflicts of strong advocacy can also cause major bias. Given their emerging importance, we describe here how such consensus statements may be misleading, by analyzing in depth a …

Trem2 On Microglia Cell Surface Binds To And Forms Functional Binary Complexes With Heparan Sulfate Modified With 6-O-Sulfation And Iduronic Acid, Ilayda Ozsan Mcmillan, Li Liang, Guowei Su, Xuehong Song, Kelly Drago, Hua Yang, Claudia Alvarez, Amika Sood, James Gibson, Robert J Woods, Chunyu Wang, Jian Liu, Fuming Zhang, Tom J Brett, Lianchun Wang

2020-Current year OA Pubs

The triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells-2 (TREM2), a pivotal innate immune receptor, orchestrates functions such as inflammatory responses, phagocytosis, cell survival, and neuroprotection. TREM2 variants R47H and R62H have been associated with Alzheimer's disease, yet the underlying mechanisms remain elusive. Our previous research established that TREM2 binds to heparan sulfate (HS) and variants R47H and R62H exhibit reduced affinity for HS. Building upon this groundwork, our current study delves into the interplay between TREM2 and HS and its impact on microglial function. We confirm TREM2's binding to cell surface HS and demonstrate that TREM2 interacts with HS, forming HS-TREM2 …

Structure Of A Truncated Human Glcnac-1-Phosphotransferase Variant Reveals The Basis For Its Hyperactivity, Hua Li, Balraj Doray, Benjamin C Jennings, Wang-Sik Lee, Lin Liu, Stuart Kornfeld, Huilin Li

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Mutations that cause loss of function of GlcNAc-1-phosphotransferase (PTase) lead to the lysosomal storage disorder mucolipidosis II. PTase is the key enzyme of the mannose 6-phosphate (M6P) targeting system that is responsible for tagging lysosomal hydrolases with the M6P moiety for their delivery to the lysosome. We had previously generated a truncated hyperactive form of PTase termed S1S3 which was shown to notably increase the phosphorylation level of secreted lysosomal enzymes and enhance their uptake by cells. Here, we report the 3.4 Å cryo-EM structure of soluble S1S3 lacking both transmembrane domains and cytosolic tails. The structure reveals a high …

Critical Race Theory As Legal Epistemic Justice, Jasmine Gonzales Rose

Faculty Scholarship

“Critical Thinking: Not Critical Race Theory” and “Teach Truth: Not CRT,” proclaimed the front and back of a T-shirt on a fellow traveler passing in the airport. I was startled by the blatant misconceptions. The core pursuits of critical race theory (“CRT”) are to think critically, discover truth, and diversify knowledge about race and racism. Although I was aware of then-President Trump’s executive order barring federal diversity training and bills modeled after it, nothing had prepared me for the realization that my academic subfield had become so widely criticized that it was now the subject of T-shirt slogans. A few …

A Genome-Wide Association Meta-Analysis Of All-Cause And Vascular Dementia, Mega Vascular Cognitive Impairment And Dementia (Megavcid) Consortium

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

INTRODUCTION: Dementia is a multifactorial disease with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and vascular dementia (VaD) pathologies making the largest contributions. Yet, most genome-wide association studies (GWAS) focus on AD.

METHODS: We conducted a GWAS of all-cause dementia (ACD) and examined the genetic overlap with VaD. Our dataset includes 800,597 individuals, with 46,902 and 8702 cases of ACD and VaD, respectively. Known AD loci for ACD and VaD were replicated. Bioinformatic analyses prioritized genes that are likely functionally relevant and shared with closely related traits and risk factors.

RESULTS: For ACD, novel loci identified were associated with energy transport (SEMA4D), neuronal excitability …

Neural Correlates Of Novelty-Evoked Distress In 4-Month-Old Infants: A Synthetic Cohort Study, Courtney A Filippi, Anderson M Winkler, Dana Kanel, Jed T Elison, Hannah Hardiman, Chad Sylvester, Daniel S Pine, Nathan A Fox

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Observational assessments of infant temperament have provided unparalleled insight into prediction of risk for social anxiety. However, it is challenging to administer and score these assessments alongside high-quality infant neuroimaging data. In the current study, we aimed to identify infant resting-state functional connectivity associated with both parent report and observed behavioral estimates of infant novelty-evoked distress.

METHODS: Using data from the OIT (Origins of Infant Temperament) study, which includes deep phenotyping of infant temperament, we identified parent-report measures that were associated with observed novelty-evoked distress. These parent-report measures were then summarized into a composite score used for imaging analysis. …

Comprehensive Molecular Profiling Of Multiple Myeloma Identifies Refined Copy Number And Expression Subtypes, Sheri Skerget, Ravi Vij, Et Al.

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Multiple myeloma is a treatable, but currently incurable, hematological malignancy of plasma cells characterized by diverse and complex tumor genetics for which precision medicine approaches to treatment are lacking. The Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation's Relating Clinical Outcomes in Multiple Myeloma to Personal Assessment of Genetic Profile study ( NCT01454297 ) is a longitudinal, observational clinical study of newly diagnosed patients with multiple myeloma (n = 1,143) where tumor samples are characterized using whole-genome sequencing, whole-exome sequencing and RNA sequencing at diagnosis and progression, and clinical data are collected every 3 months. Analyses of the baseline cohort identified genes that are …

Mutant Nrf2e79q Enhances The Promotion And Progression Of A Subset Of Oncogenic Ras Keratinocytes And Skin Tumors, John G Witherspoon, Jonathan R Hall, Dereje Jima, Hannah M Atkins, Nathan T Wamsley, Michael B Major, Bernard E Weissman, Robert C Smart

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs), including lung, head & neck, bladder, and skin SCCs often display constitutive activation of the KEAP1-NRF2 pathway. Constitutive activation is achieved through multiple mechanisms, including activating mutations in NFE2L2 (NRF2). To determine the functional consequences of Nrf2 activation on skin SCC development, we assessed the effects of mutant Nrf2

An Interpretable Machine Learning-Based Cerebrospinal Fluid Proteomics Clock For Predicting Age Reveals Novel Insights Into Brain Aging, Justin Melendez, Yun Ju Sung, Miranda Orr, Andrew Yoo, Suzanne Schindler, Carlos Cruchaga, Randall Bateman

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Machine learning can be used to create "biologic clocks" that predict age. However, organs, tissues, and biofluids may age at different rates from the organism as a whole. We sought to understand how cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) changes with age to inform the development of brain aging-related disease mechanisms and identify potential anti-aging therapeutic targets. Several epigenetic clocks exist based on plasma and neuronal tissues; however, plasma may not reflect brain aging specifically and tissue-based clocks require samples that are difficult to obtain from living participants. To address these problems, we developed a machine learning clock that uses CSF proteomics to …

Malignant Peripheral Nerve Sheath Tumor, A Heterogeneous, Aggressive Cancer With Diverse Biomarkers And No Targeted Standard Of Care: Review Of The Literature And Ongoing Investigational Agents, Neeta Somaiah, Bishnuhari Paudyal, Robert E Winkler, Brian A Van Tine, Angela C Hirbe

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Malignant peripheral sheath tumor (MPNST) is a rare, aggressive form of soft-tissue sarcoma that presents a unique set of diagnostic and treatment challenges and is associated with major unmet treatment medical needs.

OBJECTIVE: The chief aim of this review is to consider the epidemiology, histology, anatomic distribution, pathologic signaling pathways, diagnosis, and management of MPNST, with a focus on potential targeted therapies. A subordinate objective was to establish benchmarks for the antitumor activity of such treatments.

RESULTS: MPNST has an incidence of 1:100,000 in the general population and 1:3500 among patients with the inherited condition of neurofibromatosis-1. Spindle-cell sarcomas …

Diverse And Multifunctional Roles For Perlecan (Hspg2) In Repair Of The Intervertebral Disc, James Melrose, Farshid Guilak

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Perlecan is a widely distributed, modular, and multifunctional heparan sulfate proteoglycan, which facilitates cellular communication with the extracellular environment to promote tissue development, tissue homeostasis, and optimization of biomechanical tissue functions. Perlecan-mediated osmotic mechanotransduction serves to regulate the metabolic activity of cells in tissues subjected to tension, compression, or shear. Perlecan interacts with a vast array of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins through which it stabilizes tissues and regulates the proliferation or differentiation of resident cell populations. Here we examine the roles of the HS-proteoglycan perlecan in the normal and destabilized intervertebral disc. The intervertebral disc cell has evolved to survive …

Complex Multi-Site Stereotactic Body Re-Irradiation With Ct-Guided Online Adaptive Radiotherapy, Domenic Sievert, Alden D'Souza, Xiaodong Zhao, Michael T. Prusator, Tom Mazur, Hyun Kim, Dean Hobbis

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Online adaptive radiotherapy optimizes a patient's treatment plan to their daily anatomy to account for inter-fraction motion. Daily target and organ-at-risk (OAR) delineation allows for optimized treatments and has been shown to have favorable outcomes in the abdominal region. Adaptive radiotherapy also has the potential to support fine control of dose in re-irradiation to OARs. Herein, we describe a complex multi-site re-irradiation case utilizing CT-guided adaptive radiotherapy. A 46-year-old man with metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma presented for re-irradiation of four metastatic lesions to the right acetabulum, T11, S2, and a gastrosplenic lymph node (gsLN). The right acetabulum, T11, and S2 lesions …

Antiretroviral Therapy And Cardiovascular Risk In People With Hiv In The United States-An Updated Analysis, Luis Parra-Rodriguez, John M Sahrmann, Anne M Butler, Margaret A Olsen, William G Powderly, Jane A O'Halloran

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Several antiretroviral therapy (ART) medications have been associated with increased cardiovascular risk, but less is known about the safety of modern ART. We sought to compare the risk of major adverse cardiac events (MACEs) among different ART regimens.

METHODS: Using insurance claims databases from 2008 to 2020, we identified adults aged <65 years who newly initiated ART. We compared non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI)-based regimens to protease inhibitors (PI)- and integrase inhibitors (INSTI)-based regimens. We used propensity score-weighted Kaplan-Meier functions to estimate the 6, 12, 18, 24, 36, and 48 months' risk and risk differences (RD) of MACE.

RESULTS: Among 37 935 ART initiators (median age, 40 years; 23% female; 26% Medicaid-insured), 45% started INSTI-, 16% PI-, and 39% NNRTI-based regimens. MACE occurred in 418 individuals (1.1%) within 48 months after ART initiation. Compared to NNRTI initiators, the risk of MACE was higher at 12 months …

A Novel Antigen Biomarker For Detection Of High-Level Of Loa Loa Microfilaremia, Sarah E Greene, Yuefang Huang, Kerstin Fischer, Bruce A. Rosa, John Martin, Makedonka Mitreva, Devyn Yates, Samuel Wanji, Joseph Kamgno, Philip J. Budge, Gary J. Weil, Peter U. Fischer

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Loiasis is a disease caused by the nematode Loa loa. Serious adverse events sometimes occur in people with heavy L. loa microfilaremia after ivermectin treatment. In regions of Central Africa where loiasis is endemic, this significantly impedes global elimination programs for lymphatic filariasis and onchocerciasis that use mass distribution of ivermectin. Improved diagnostic tests to identify individuals at increased risk of serious adverse events could facilitate efforts to eliminate lymphatic filariasis and onchocerciasis in this region.

METHODS AND FINDINGS: We previously identified the L. loa protein Ll-Bhp-1 in loiasis patient sera. Here, we further characterize Ll-Bhp-1 and report development …

Pfas Levels, Early Life Factors, And Mammographic Breast Density In Premenopausal Women, Yitao S Ning, Kayla R Getz, Joy K Kyeyune, Myung Sik Jeon, Chongliang Luo, Jingqin Luo, Adetunji T Toriola

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Mammographic breast density (MBD) is a strong risk factor and an intermediate phenotype for breast cancer, yet there are limited studies on how environmental pollutants are associated with MBD.

OBJECTIVE: We investigated associations of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), and perfluorohexane sulfonate (PFHxS) levels with measures of MBD and evaluated if early life factors modified any associations.

METHODS: Metabolon performed metabolomics analysis using ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography/tandem accurate mass spectrometry in fasting blood from 705 premenopausal women completing their annual screening mammogram in St. Louis, Missouri. We calculated least square means (LSM) of mammographic volumetric percent density (VPD), dense …

Spatial Single-Cell Isotope Tracing Reveals Heterogeneity Of De Novo Fatty Acid Synthesis In Cancer, Elena Buglakova, Måns Ekelöf, Michaela Schwaiger-Haber, Lisa Schlicker, Martijn R Molenaar, Mohammed Shahraz, Lachlan Stuart, Andreas Eisenbarth, Volker Hilsenstein, Gary J Patti, Almut Schulze, Marteinn T Snaebjornsson, Theodore Alexandrov

2020-Current year OA Pubs

While heterogeneity is a key feature of cancer, understanding metabolic heterogeneity at the single-cell level remains a challenge. Here we present

Examining The Most Important Risk Factors For Predicting Youth Persistent And Distressing Psychotic-Like Experiences, Nicole R Karcher, Aristeidis Sotiras, Tara A Niendam, Elaine F Walker, Joshua J Jackson, Deanna M Barch

2020-Current year OA Pubs

BACKGROUND: Persistence and distress distinguish more clinically significant psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) from those that are less likely to be associated with impairment and/or need for care. Identifying risk factors that identify clinically relevant PLEs early in development is important for improving our understanding of the etiopathogenesis of these experiences. Machine learning analyses were used to examine the most important baseline factors distinguishing persistent distressing PLEs.

METHODS: Using Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study data on PLEs from 3 time points (ages 9-13 years), we created the following groups: individuals with persistent distressing PLEs (n = 305), individuals with transient distressing …

Etomoxir-Carnitine, A Novel Pharmaco-Metabolite Of Etomoxir, Inhibits Phospholipases A2 And Mitochondrial Respiration, Sung Ho Moon, Xinping Liu, Christopher M Jenkins, Beverly Gibson Dilthey, Gary J Patti, Richard W Gross

2020-Current year OA Pubs

Mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation serves as an essential process for cellular survival, differentiation, proliferation, and energy metabolism. Numerous studies have utilized etomoxir (ETO) for the irreversible inhibition of carnitine palmitoylcarnitine transferase 1 (CPT1), which catalyzes the rate-limiting step for mitochondrial long-chain fatty acid β-oxidation to examine the bioenergetic roles of mitochondrial fatty acid metabolism in many tissues in multiple diverse disease states. Herein, we demonstrate that intact mitochondria robustly metabolize ETO to etomoxir-carnitine (ETO-carnitine) prior to nearly complete ETO-mediated inhibition of CPT1. The novel pharmaco-metabolite, ETO-carnitine, was conclusively identified by accurate mass, fragmentation patterns, and isotopic fine structure. On the …

Volume 51-2 Complete Issue, Steven M. Schnell

The Geographical Bulletin

Volume 51-2 Complete Issue

Using Willingness-To-Pay Surveys When Assessing Dam Removal: A New Hampshire Case Study, Jo Beth Mullens, Veronica Wanstreet

The Geographical Bulletin

As dams in the United States age and become obsolete and river restoration emerges as a new priority, dam removals have increased . Feasibility studies serve to detail the costs and benefits of such proposed dam removals; however, most do not consider intangibles such as the benefits derived from reconnecting seasonal fish habitat or improving the biological diversity within a river . In this research, a willingness-to-pay survey was used to assign a monetary value to intangible goods associated with the proposed removal of an historic dam on the Ashuelot River in southwestern New Hampshire . Within the town where …

Photosystem Stress Of Understory Balsam Fir (Abies Balsamea) In Ontario, Canada As Measured By Chlorophyll Fluorescence, Shannon R. Mccarragher, David Goldblums

The Geographical Bulletin

The goal of this research was to assess the health and physiological stress of understory balsam fir (Abies balsamea) seedlings and saplings within Lake Superior Provincial Park (LSPP) in Ontario, Canada to provide an indication of the degree to which they are affected by ambient light levels . The photochemical efficiency of balsam fir photosystem II was tested by measuring fluorescence . Seedlings and saplings within four sites were sampled and measured for their daily photochemical efficiencies . It was hypothesized that the sampled balsam fir would display little, if any, light stress because balsam fir is relatively shade tolerant …

Interview: Douglas Deur, Steven M. Schnell

The Geographical Bulletin

Doug Deur is currently a consultant and research faculty member, working with groups of native peoples on issues relating to tribal land and resource use, cultural significance of landscapes, and sense of place . Trained in cultural geography and anthropology at the University of Oregon, Simon Fraser University, and Louisiana State University, he currently dwells in the mist-shrouded forests of the Oregon coast

Volume 51-1 Complete Issue, Steven M. Schnell

The Geographical Bulletin

Volume 51-1 Complete Issue

Tropical Deforestation In The Ecuadorian Chocó: Logging Practices And Socio-Spatial Relationships, Santiago López, Rodrigo Sierra, Milton Tirado

The Geographical Bulletin

This article examines the implications of forest management on biodiversity at a local level and the relationships between deforestation and its geographic and demographic contexts at a regional level in the Ecuadorian Chocó region . We evaluated the implications of logging practices on biodiversity through the comparison of two 5-ha vegetation quadrats in two areas with and without forest management . Results of the local evaluation showed that the managed forest had higher tree density, larger basal area, and more commercial tree species per hectare than the unmanaged area . Yet, forest gaps were notably large in both research sites …