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Temperature fluctuations and related factors are among the main causes of climate change. Understanding the temporal and spatial variations in temperature can shed light on how species respond to climate change. Plants generally persist in suitable microclimates in response to environmental change; however, examining long-term temperature variations within a species’ range can be challenging using field observations. Thermal remote sensing, on the other hand, provides multi-scale time-series data with good coverage and regularity to overcome the challenges associated with field observations in environmental monitoring. Although changes in land surface temperature (LST) affect climate, hydrological processes, land-atmosphere interactions, and ecological activities, this metric has not received much research attention. This study aimed to analyze changes in habitat suitability and microclimatic conditions for Moringa peregrina . Seasonal changes in LST within the distribution range of the species were also investigated. To this aim, mean seasonal LST was computed in Google Earth Engine using the daily MODIS/006/MYD13A2 product from 2003 to 2023. Subsequently, a binary habitat suitability map was created based on the true skill statistic (TSS). The Mann-Kendall test was used to analyze seasonal LST trends. Major trends in LST were quantified based on the z-score, and compatibility with habitat suitability was evaluated via GAP analysis and the Kappa index. Seasonal temperature trends were evaluated by comparing each season with the following season using binary comparison. Landforms at presence points were regarded as microclimates and the sensitivity of microclimates to LST was evaluated using two methods: Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to quantify seasonal LST heterogeneity and the random forest (RF) approach was used to evaluate the effect of environmental parameters on habitat suitability within microclimates. The Kappa index revealed a weak overlapping between suitable / unsuitable habitat and the surfaces affected by the trend of changes. Moreover, the suitable habitat of Moringa peregrina in spring, autumn and winter is spatially overlapped by areas that have shown an increasing LST trend, and the presence points have not experienced an increasing temperature trend only in the summer. The findings show that the analysis of seasonal trends in LST provides insights into the effect of LST on habitat suitability and the condition of vegetation. The current study clearly shows that seasonal changes have had a significant impact on the distribution and habitat suitability of M . peregrina , particularly during summer and winter. Improved habitat suitability and range expansion were observed throughout the year. The study also highlights the role of landforms in regulating temperature. Landforms such as local ridges with minimal temperature fluctuations and regions near the Oman Sea were identified as potential future habitats due to favorable humidity conditions.

The orexin/hypocretin receptor type 1 (OX1R) plays a crucial role in regulating various physiological functions, especially feeding behavior, addiction, and reward. Genetic variations in the OX1R have been associated with several neurological disorders. In this study, we utilized a combination of sequence and structure-based computational tools to identify the most deleterious missense single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the OX1R gene. Our findings revealed four highly conserved and structurally destabilizing missense SNPs, namely R144C, I148N, S172W, and A297D, located in the GTP-binding domain. Molecular dynamics simulations analysis demonstrated that all four most detrimental mutant proteins altered the overall structural flexibility and dynamics of OX1R protein, resulting in significant changes in the structural organization and motion of the protein. These findings provide valuable insights into the impact of missense SNPs on OX1R function loss and their potential contribution to the development of neurological disorders, thereby guiding future research in this field.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the predictive accuracy of habitat suitability models, identifying the potential distribution range of Dorema ammoniacum , and its habitat requirements in the rangelands of Yazd province, central Iran. Bafgh, Mehriz and Nadoushan, were three habitats that were identified, and sampling was conducted in each habitat using a random-systematic method. A set of 10 plots were established (at equal distances) along 350 m long 18 transects. Soil samples (two depths: 0–30 and 30–60 cm from 36 profiles) were collected and measured in the laboratory. Elevation, slope, and aspect maps were derived, and climate information was collected from nearby meteorological stations. The habitat prediction of the species was modeled using Logistic Regression (LR), Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt), and Artificial Neural Network (ANN). The Kappa coefficient and the area under the curve (AUC) were calculated to assess the accuracy of the forecasted maps. The LR model for habitat prediction of the studied species in Mehriz (K = 0.67) and Nadoushan (K = 0.56) habitats were identified as good. The MaxEnt model predicted the habitat distribution for the selected species in Bafgh and Mehriz habitats as excellent (K = 0.89, AUC = 0.76, K = 0.89, AUC = 0.98), and in the Nadoushan habitat as very good (K = 0.78, AUC = 0.85). However, the ANN model predicted Bafgh and Nadoushan habitats as excellent and Mehriz habitat as very good (K = 0.87, K = 0.90, and K = 0.63, respectively). In general, in order to protect species D. ammoniacum , the development of its habitats in other areas of Yazd province and the habitats under study in conservation programs should be given priority.

It is worthwhile to note that, some probiotics such as and isolated from dairy products have significant therapeutic effects against cancer cells. Here, we evaluated anti-proliferation and the apoptotic effects of isolated Ab.RS22 from traditional dairy products on the HeLa cervical cancer cells The viability of treated HeLa cells with supernatant of in 0.5, 0.75, 1, 1.5, and 2 ng/ml concentrations, and IC values were detected by tetrazolium bromide. The Ab.RS22-induced cell death by flow cytometry was confirmed through evaluation of the expression of , , , and genes by quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reactions (qRT-PCR). Most cytotoxicity effects of on HeLa cells were detected in 2 ng/ml at 24 hr ( <0.01); also, the IC value was measured as 1.5 ng/ml. The findings of the flow cytometry assay showed that Ab.RS22 in 1.5 ng/ml concentration at 24 hr increased the percentage of both apoptosis and necrosis cells. Lactobacillus-induced cell death was verified through results of Real-time PCR; where expression of , , and genes was increased ( <0.01), and also expression of gene (anti-apoptotic) was decreased ( <0.05). Our findings showed that Ab.RS22 could dose-dependently inhibit the proliferation of the HeLa cells. Its apoptotic effect was confirmed via modulating / gene expression and activation of the caspase-3 mediated apoptosis pathway. Therefore, Ab.RS22 can be considered a valuable anticancer candidate against cervical cancer progression in subsequent studies.

Heterogeneity can be studied for any dynamic or fixed environmental factors over time. However, determining the extent of heterogeneity occurrence in terms of habitat suitability, variability of dynamic and fixed factors, as well as landform role is an issue that has received less attention. This study aimed to investigate the distribution of Moringa peregrina at two climate change scenarios, to identify the Region of High Heterogenetic (ROHH) of the habitats in those scenarios and to ascertain the heterogeneity of habitat variables of the species in southern Iran. The current and potential distributions of the species in mild and severe climate change scenarios of 2050 and 2070, respectively, were modeled through the Ensemble technique using the climatic and topographic (topoclimatic) variables. The current distribution with four predictions of mild to severe Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP2.5, RCP4.5, RCP6.0 and RCP8.5) were entered into the principal component analysis (PCA) each year to achieve the heterogeneity of distribution. Then, the ROHH was calculated for areas with fluctuations of more than 50%. The topoclimatic variables in the ROHH were compared with the value of each variable in the current distribution in different landforms. The climatic variables of temperature seasonality and mean diurnal range had the greatest impact on M. peregrina distribution. There was more than 90% spatial agreement between the species current and potential distributions under different climate change scenarios (minimum Kappa = 0.9). In climate change scenarios, increase in species distribution is mainly limited by reduced rainfall, high temperature and altitude. The heterogeneity of habitat variables varied greatly in the ROHH and current presence points, indicating the species attempt to occupy new ecological niches. The highest distribution of the species was in the canyons and mountain tops, and the species seeks to occupy these areas in the ROHH. The magnitude of fluctuations of habitat variables at the presence points and the ROHH was different, indicating the species crossing the current niche range to establish in new niche. The mean diurnal range (Bio2) and annual precipitation (Bio12) variables had the lowest heterogeneity in 2050 and 2070 scenarios. This study reports that the fluctuation of habitat variables in areas with high heterogeneity was different from the current distribution range of M. peregrina. No significant fluctuation was found in the distribution range of the species in climate change scenarios.

In this paper, we extend the result of Wardowski (Fixed Point Theory Appl. 2012:94, 2012) by applying some weaker conditions on the self map of a complete metric space and on the mapping F, concerning the contractions defined by Wardowski. With these weaker conditions, we prove a fixed point result for F-Suzuki contractions which generalizes the result of Wardowski. MSC: 74H10, 54H25.

We introduce the notion of generalized F -Suzuki type contraction in b -metric spaces and investigate the existence of fixed points of such mappings. The presented results generalize and improve several results of the topics in the literature.

Humic acid (HA) and Fulvic acid (FA) are major members of humic substances, which are extracted from organic sources including soil and peat. The pro-apoptotic and anti-melanogenic effects of HA and FA at the cellular and molecular levels in the A375 human melanoma cell line were examined in this study. The cytotoxicity effect of HA and FA were evaluated by cell viability assay. Apoptosis and cell cycle were investigated by flow cytometry. Real-time PCR was carried out to measure the expression of , and genes. Moreover, the changes in nanomechanical properties were determined through atomic force microscopy (AFM). It was found that HA and FA decrease cell viability with an IC value of 50 µg/ml (dose-dependent) for 14 hr, arrested cells in the G0/G1 phase, and increased the sub-G1 phase (induce apoptosis). Based on the AFM analysis, Young's modulus and adhesion force values were increased, also ultrastructural characteristics of cells were changed. Results of Real-time PCR revealed that HA and FA lead to a decrease in the expressions of and genes, and increase the gene expression. These results exhibited that HA and FA possess pro-apoptotic effects through increasing the expression in A375 cells. These molecular reports were confirmed by cellular nanomechanical assessments using AFM and flow cytometry. In addition, HA and FA inhibited melanogenesis by decreasing the expression of the gene. It is worthwhile to note that, HA and FA can be regarded to design new anti-cancer and anti-melanogenesis products.

Mountainous rangelands play a pivotal role in providing forage resources for livestock, particularly in summer, and maintaining ecological balance. This study aimed to identify environmental variables affecting range plant species distribution, ecological analysis of the relationship between these variables and the distribution of plants, and to model and map the plant habitats suitability by the Random Forest Method (RFM) in rangelands of the Taftan Mountain, Sistan and Baluchestan Province, southeastern Iran. In order to determine the environmental variables and estimate the potential distribution of plant species, the presence points of plants were recorded by using systematic random sampling method (90 points of presence) and soils were sampled in 5 habitats by random method in 0–30 and 30–60 cm depths. The layers of environmental variables were prepared using the Kriging interpolation method and Geographic Information System facilities. The distribution of the plant habitats was finally modelled and mapped by the RFM. Continuous maps of the habitat suitability were converted to binary maps using Youden Index ( J ) in order to evaluate the accuracy of the RFM in estimation of the distribution of species potential habitat. Based on the values of the area under curve (AUC) statistics, accuracy of predictive models of all habitats was in good level. Investigating the agreement between the predicted map, generated by each model, and actual maps, generated from fieldmeasured data, of the plant habitats, was at a high level for all habitats, except for Amygdalus scoparia habitat. This study concluded that the RFM is a robust model to analyze the relationships between the distribution of plant species and environmental variables as well as to prepare potential distribution maps of plant habitats that are of higher priority for conservation on the local scale in arid mountainous rangelands.

BackgroundSuitable habitat and landscape structure play a pivotal role in the success of forest restoration projects. This study aimed to model the habitat suitability of wild almond (Amygdalus scoparia Spach) using three individual species distribution models (SDMs), i.e., backpropagation artificial neural network (BP-ANN), maximum entropy (MaxEnt), generalized linear model (GLM), as well as the ensemble technique along with measuring the landscape metrics and analyzing the relationship between the distribution of the suitable habitat of the species in different landform classes in Fars Province, southern Iran.ResultsThere was no clear difference in the prediction performance of the models. The BP-ANN had the highest accuracy (AUC = 0.935 and k= 0.757) in modeling habitat suitability of A. scoparia, followed by the ensemble technique, GLM, and MaxEnt models with the AUC values of 0.890, 0.887, and 0.777, respectively. The highest discrimination capacity was associated to the BP-ANN model, and the highest reliability was related to the ensemble technique. Moreover, evaluation of variable importance showed that the occurrence of A. scoparia was strongly dependent on climatic variables, particularly isothermality (Bio 3), temperature seasonality (Bio 4), and precipitation of driest quarter (Bio 17). Analysis of the distribution of species habitat in different landform classes revealed that the canyon, mountain top, upland drainage, and hills in valley classes had the highest suitability for the species establishment.ConclusionsConsidering the importance of landform in the establishment of plant habitats, the combination of the outputs of the SDMs, landform, and the use of landscape metrics could provide both a clear view of habitat conditions and the possibility of analyzing habitat patches and their relationships that can be very useful in managing the remaining forests in semi-arid regions. The canyon, mountain top, and upland drainage classes were found to be the most important landforms to provide the highest suitable environmental conditions for the establishment of A. scoparia. Therefore, such landforms should be given priority in restoration projects of forest in the study area.