THE ROLE OF GIS IN ADDRESSING ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL AND TOURISTIC CHALLENGES IN MOHAMMEDIA CITY, MOROCCO

During the last years, Morocco’s Environmental, Social and Touristic perspectives has improved significantly, but it remains one of the biggest challenges for Mohammedia city. The purpose of this study is to locate an optimal site for the construction of a new Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP) in order to help the environment, to select an appropriate site for the construction of a new School that will benefit the social needs of the city and to create a suitable tour plan of touristic sites for tourism. It was carried out by using Geographic Information System (GIS), Remote Sensing (RS), Global Positioning System (GPS) devices, Digital cameras and Multi- criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA).Throughout the process, the used data for both WWTP and School selection include the remote sensing data of multi spectral satellite imageries and the digital elevation model combined with vector data of land use (LU) layers, and for Tour creation the used data include collected photographs and GPS data from the site. According to MCDA, the results presents an optimal site with an area of 48283,02 m2 for a new WWTP, a suitable area with an area of 3200 m² for a new School and a city tour for tourists with a distance of 27 km.

GIS-based research on climate suitable region of Loquat in Lishui, Zhejiang province of China

To develop a climatic suitability index and conduct the cultivation division of loquat in Lishui, Zhejiang province of China, we introduced the multi-indicator comprehensive risk assessment method to combine with the hazard factor model, necessary climatic elements during the growing season of loquat and geographic information elements. Results show that the annual active accumulated temperature (rainfall ) over most Lishui is more than 4500°C (1600mm). The two climatic factors above can well meet the needs of loquat growth. The frozen injury days over most Lishui during the young fruit period of loquat are more than 10.0 days, which are higher than those during the flowering period. The annual mean number of continuous overcast rain occurrences is less than 4.5. The climatic mean annual occurrence of persistent abnormal high temperature weather is less than 1. Overall, the most suitable area for the cultivation of loquat mainly located over the relatively flat areas such as river valleys and basins, especially the banks of the Oujiang River in Qingtian and Xiaoxi River valley in Jingning. The excellent combinations of light, heat and water with relatively few meteorological disasters just like frozen injury, continuous rain and high temperature provide a good climatic conditions of the high-quality of loquat planting.

Projecting the Potential Distribution Areas of Ixodes scapularis (Acari: Ixodidae) Driven by Climate Change

Ixodes scapularis is a vector of tick-borne diseases. Climate change is frequently invoked as an important cause of geographic expansions of tick-borne diseases. Environmental variables such as temperature and precipitation have an important impact on the geographical distribution of disease vectors. We used the maximum entropy model to project the potential geographic distribution and future trends of I. scapularis. The main climatic variables affecting the distribution of potential suitable areas were screened by the jackknife method. Arc Map 10.5 was used to visualize the projection results to better present the distribution of potential suitable areas. Under climate change scenarios, the potential suitable area of I. scapularis is dynamically changing. The largest suitable area of I. scapularis is under SSP3-7.0 from 2081 to 2100, while the smallest is under SSP5-8.5 from 2081 to 2100, even smaller than the current suitable area. Precipitation in May and September are the main contributing factors affecting the potential suitable areas of I. scapularis. With the opportunity to spread to more potential suitable areas, it is critical to strengthen surveillance to prevent the possible invasion of I. scapularis.

Modeling the Climate Suitability of Northernmost Mangroves in China under Climate Change Scenarios

Mangroves are important wetland ecosystems on tropical and subtropical coasts. There is an urgent need to better understand how the spatial distribution of mangroves varies with climate change factors. Species distribution models can be used to reveal the spatial change of mangroves; however, global models typically have a horizontal resolution of hundreds of kilometers and more than 1 km, even after downscaling. In the present study, a maximum entropy model was used to predict suitable areas for the northernmost mangroves in China in the 2050s. An approach was proposed to improve the resolution and credibility of suitability predictions by incorporating land-use potential. Predictions were made based on two CMIP6 scenarios (i.e., SSP1-2.6 and SSP5-8.5). The results show that the northern edge of the natural mangrove distribution in China would migrate from 27.20° N to 27.39° N–28.15° N, and the total extent of suitable mangrove habitats would expand. By integrating 30 m resolution land-use data to refine the model’s predictions, under the SSP1-2.6 scenario, the suitable habitats of mangroves are predicted to be 13,435 ha, which would increase by 33.9% compared with the current scenario. Under the SSP5-8.5 scenario, the suitable area would be 23,120 ha, with an increased rate of 96.5%. Approximately 40–44% of the simulated mangrove patches would be adjacent to aquacultural ponds, cultivated, and artificial land, which may restrict mangrove expansion. Collectively, our results showed how climate change and land use could influence mangrove distributions, providing a scientific basis for adaptive mangrove habitat management despite climate change.

Renormalization of metabolic coupling treats age-related degenerative disorders: an oxidative RPE niche fuels the more glycolytic photoreceptors

Retinitis pigmentosa is characterized by a dysregulation within the metabolic coupling of the retina, particularly between the glycolytic photoreceptors and the oxidative retina pigment epithelium. This phenomenon of metabolic uncoupling is seen in both aging and retinal degenerative diseases, as well as across a variety of cell types in human biology. Given its crucial role in the health and maintenance of these cell types, the metabolic pathways involved present a suitable area for therapeutic intervention. Herein, this review covers the scope of this delicate metabolic interplay, its dysregulation, how it relates to the retina as well other cell types, and finally concludes with a summary of various strategies aimed at reinstating normal metabolic coupling within the retina, and future directions within the field.

GEO-TOURISM LAND SUITABILITY ANALYSIS OF CITATAH KARST AREA IN BANDUNG BASIN USING SPATIAL MULTI CRITERIA EVALUATION (SMCE)

The research goal is to evaluate land suitability for geo-tourism focuses on geology and landscape. Most of the Citatah karst area is natural-based industries or mining in particular. The ecological disturbance is an impetus for decision-makers to choose new use of land to deal with the conservation issues. SMCE techniques that apply geographic information systems (GIS) and analytical hierarchy processes. The use of land is formulated based on policy and stakeholder analysis. The research benefit is the possibility to change the area from mining to a geo-tourism area. There are two important results of research in spatial analysis, namely: intensive and extensive tourism areas, and the rest is for protective or no suitable area of tourism. In conclusion, the land suitability analysis is important for tourism industry development.

Industrial park land capability assessment and post-evaluation in Markazi province

Markazi province in Central Iran is a highly attractive area for the development of industrial centers; however, over the last few decades, unregulated development has led to environmental and socioeconomic issues. The purpose of this research is to evaluate the existing industrial parks and identify potential areas for appropriate development. An industrial land capability assessment utilized 14 main criteria and 10 constraint parameters of socioeconomic, infrastructural, biological, and physical aspects using a geographic information system-based analytical network process model. Results show that Markazi province has 14.27% of highly suitable and 11.32% of extremely suitable area for industrial development; contrariwise, 60.14% of the province has no potential or is classified as an exclusion zone. Moreover, 44.4% (i.e., 8 parks) of the province’s industrial parks are located in unsuitable zones. According to the land capability of Markazi province, the need to organize existing industrial parks and integrate industrial units alongside existing centers and potential areas should be considered in the industrial development policies of the province. The results of the sensitivity analysis also support the research findings.

Changes in the potential distribution of the guava fruit fly Anastrepha striata (Diptera, Tephritidae) under current and possible future climate scenarios in Colombia

Climate change has affected the geographical distributions of most species worldwide; in particular, insects of economic importance inhabiting tropical regions have been impacted. Current and future predictions of change in geographic distribution are frequently included in species distribution models (SDMs). The potential spatial distributions of the fruit fly Anastrepha striata Schiner, the main species of agricultural importance in guava crops, under current and possible future scenarios in Colombia were modeled, and the establishment risk was assessed for each guava-producing municipality in the country. SDMs were developed using 221 geographical records in conjunction with nine scenopoetic variables. The model for current climate conditions indicated an extensive suitable area for the establishment of A. striata in the Andean region, smaller areas in the Caribbean and Pacific, and almost no areas in the Orinoquia and Amazonian regions. A brief discussion regarding the area's suitability for the fly is offered. According to the results, altitude is one of the main factors that direct the distribution of A. striata in the tropics. The Colombian guava-producing municipalities were classified according to the degree of vulnerability to fly establishment as follows: 42 were high risk, 16 were intermediate risk, and 17 were low risk. The implementation of future integrated management plans must include optimal spatial data and must consider environmental aspects, such as those suggested by the models presented here. Control decisions should aim to mitigate the positive relationship between global warming and the increase in the dispersal area of the fruit fly.

Prediction of Potentially Suitable Distributions of Codonopsis pilosula in China Based on an Optimized MaxEnt Model

Species distribution models are widely used in conservation biology and invasive biology. MaxEnt models are the most widely used models among the existing modeling tools. In the MaxEnt modeling process, the default parameters are used most often to build the model. However, these models tend to be overfit. Aiming at this problem, this study uses an optimized MaxEnt model to analyze the impact of past, present and future climate on the distributions of Codonopsis pilosula, an economic species, to provide a theoretical basis for its introduction and cultivation. Based on 264 distribution records and eight environmental variables, the potential distribution areas of C. pilosula in the last interglacial, middle Holocene and current periods and 2050 and 2070 were simulated. Combined with the percentage contribution, permutation importance, and jackknife test, the environmental factors affecting the suitable distribution area of this species were discussed. The results show that the parameters of the optimal model are: the regularization multiplier is 1.5, and the feature combination is LQHP (linear, quadratic, hinge, product). The main temperature factors affecting the distribution of C. pilosula are the annual mean temperature, mean diurnal range, and isothermality. The main precipitation factors are the precipitation seasonality, precipitation in the wettest quarter, and precipitation in the driest quarter, among which the annual average temperature contributes the most to the distribution area of this species. With climate warming, the suitable area of C. pilosula exhibits a northward expansion trend. It is estimated that in 2070, the suitable area of this species will expand to its maximum, reaching 2.5108 million square kilometers. The highly suitable areas of C. pilosula are mainly in Sichuan, Gansu, Shaanxi, Shanxi, and Henan Provinces. Our findings can be used to provide theoretical support related to avoiding the blind introduction of C. pilosula.