Notes on Cesonia, a newly recorded genus for the Asian spider fauna (Araneae, Gnaphosidae)

The spider species Cesonia aspida Chatzaki, 2002, together with its genus Cesonia Simon. 1893, was found in Anatolia (Turkey) and represent new records for the Asian spider fauna. Its characteristic features, drawings of genitalia, a photograph of the general habitus and a distribution map for Eurasia are presented

Fuel Cell Development with Non-Precious Metal Catalysts

Proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells are clean energy sources which are offering solutions to some problems that are caused by climate change and global warming. One of the biggest obstacles in the way of development of PEM fuel cells is the high price of the Pt catalyst; this makes up a large percent of the total cost of the fuel cell. Our research group achieves high fuel cell performance using non-precious, Fe-CNT-PA. This new catalyst can make PEM fuel cells more commercial in future applications. This research tests fuel cell performance using this new catalyst and compares it to the commercial Pt/C catalyst. We propose that Fe-CNT-PA has a good catalytic activity as the PT catalyst. The results of the fuel cell test shows the performance is close to commercial cathode material activity, but more research is necessary to advance the performance of the non-precious catalyst

INVESTIGATION OF HEALTHY EATING SELF-EFFICACY AND CONSCIOUS AWARENESS: A STUDY ON ADOLESCENT CHILDREN WHO DIFFER ACCORDING TO THEIR SPORTING STATUS

This study aims to determine the mindfulness and healthy eating self-efficacy levels of adolescents according to their sports status. For this reason, healthy eating self-efficacy scale for children and mindfulness scale for adolescents were used in our study. After the scale data were collected by convenience sampling method, homogeneity results and cronbach alpha values were calculated. Then, the results of the study were obtained by MANOVA analysis. According to the results of the analysis, it has been determined that the ones with the highest value are male adolescent students who do sports. In addition, it has been concluded that doing sports has a positive effect on female students both on conscious awareness and on healthy eating self-efficacy levels. These results show that doing sports can provide significant physical and psychological benefits for adolescents

Measuring the marketing performances of state forest enterprises in Turkey

Today, any enterprise has to consider marketing as important as production. Production and marketing are two complementary activities in enterprises. The increase in marketing effectiveness is achieved through measuring the activity outcomes that can be described as marketing performance. Because marketing is a social science and, therefore, determining the marketing performance system concretely, examining it and determining its principles may not be possible, a need for a new model was felt to represent the real system, and, consequently, a multi dimensional purpose-system model was developed. This model was applied in the eighty-nine state forest enterprises in Turkey which arebranches of the General Directorate of Forestry and which are run on the principles of business enterprise. This study covers a limited period of time (1999 - 2003), and 41 variables were developed in order to measure the marketing performances of these enterprises. As a result of the statisticalanalyses, the total production area (TPA), total production costs (TPC), total number of the personnel working in the management unit (TNPWM), total growing stock (TGS), total investment amount (TIA), number of the assistant personnel separated from the management unit (NAPSM), distance to city center (DCC), total marketing/sale expenditure (TME), total management unit area (TMUA), total sales (TS), total forest area (TFA), total personnel expenditures (TPE), total production amount (TPAM) andtotal market priced product income (TMPPI) were found to be the most important marketing variables in the state forest enterprises. It was also found that the marketing performance could be explained 77.328% with the 14 variables that were used in this model

Uma pesquisa sobre o efeito da imagem do país na experiência turística memorável no contexto de algumas variáveis demográficas

With the world economy developing based on experience, businesses are trying to create unique experiences to differentiate themselves. The transformation of these experiences into a memorable tourism experience (MTE) not only affects customer satisfaction, but also positively affects the country image which is the impression of consumers about the country. Therefore, this study intents to find the effect of country image on MTE and to reveal which dimensions of country image affect the MTE. Moreover, the effect of demographic factors on the perception of the country image will be investigated. The study was carried out with 707 international tourists visited Antalya, a well-known destination in Turkey, during the months of May-October in 2018. As a result of hierarchical regression analysis the effect of country image on MTE was partially supported and it was revealed that MTE had a positive effect on hedonism, novelty, local culture, and meaningfulness dimensions. Regarding the second objective, a significant difference was found between the marital status, age groups and educational status of international tourists and their country image perceptions. Due to the impact of country image on MTE, policy makers need to make continuous improvement in the context of political, technological, and environmental factors.Con la economía mundial desarrollándose basada en la experiencia, las empresas intentan crear experiencias únicas para diferenciarse. La transformación de estas experiencias en una experiencia turística memorable (MTE) no solo afecta la satisfacción del cliente, sino que también afecta positivamente la imagen país, que es la impresión de los consumidores sobre el país. Por lo tanto, este estudio intenta encontrar el efecto de la imagen del país en el MTE y revelar qué dimensiones de la imagen del país afectan el MTE. Además, se investigará el efecto de los factores demográficos en la percepción de la imagen país. El estudio se realizó con 707 turistas internacionales que visitaron Antalya, un destino muy conocido en Turquía, durante los meses de mayo-octubre de 2018. Como resultado del análisis de regresión jerárquica, se confirmó parcialmente el efecto de la imagen del país en MTE y se reveló que MTE tuvo un efecto positivo en las dimensiones de hedonismo, novedad, cultura local y significado. En cuanto al segundo objetivo, se encontró una diferencia significativa entre el estado civil, los grupos de edad y el nivel educativo de los turistas internacionales y la percepción de su imagen país. Debido al impacto de la imagen del país en MTE, los formuladores de políticas deben realizar mejoras continuas en el contexto de factores políticos, tecnológicos y ambientales.Com a economia mundial se desenvolvendo com base na experiência, as empresas estão tentando criar experiências únicas para se diferenciar. A transformação dessas experiências em uma experiência turística memorável (MTE) não afeta apenas a satisfação do cliente, mas também afeta positivamente a imagem do país que é a impressão dos consumidores sobre o país. Portanto, este estudo pretende encontrar o efeito da imagem do país no MTE e revelar quais dimensões da imagem do país afetam o MTE. Além disso, será investigado o efeito de fatores demográficos na percepção da imagem do país. O estudo foi realizado com 707 turistas internacionais que visitaram Antalya, um conhecido destino da Turquia, durante os meses de maio a outubro de 2018. Como resultado da análise de regressão hierárquica, o efeito da imagem do país no MTE foi parcialmente suportado e revelou-se que o MTE teve um efeito positivo nas dimensões hedonismo, novidade, cultura local e significado. Em relação ao segundo objetivo, foi encontrada uma diferença significativa entre o estado civil, as faixas etárias e a escolaridade dos turistas internacionais e a percepção da imagem do país. Devido ao impacto da imagem do país no MTE, os formuladores de políticas precisam fazer melhorias contínuas no contexto de fatores políticos, tecnológicos e ambientais

Effects of image and advertising efficiency on customer loyalty and antecedents of loyalty: turkish banks sample

The present study examines the relationships between image, advertising efficiency, customer satisfaction, customer expectation, perceived quality, perceived value, customer complaint and customer loyalty. These variables are increasingly recognised as being sources of competitive advantage. However, little empirical research has been conducted to examine these variables simultaneously and their relationships with post-purchase behaviour especially service organizations like banks. The present study was therefore designed to develop an understanding of the relationships between these variables and their influence on loyalty. An integrative model was developed and tested by using data collected from the customers of Turkish banks. The results reveal that bank image and advertising efficiency influence customer loyalty and antecedents of loyalty significantly

Endothelial nitric oxide synthase activity involves in the protective effect of ascorbic acid against penicillin-induced epileptiform activity

AbstractAscorbic acid and nitric oxide are known to play important roles in epilepsy. The aim of present study was to identify the involvement of nitric oxide (NO) in the anticonvulsant effects of ascorbic acid on penicillin-induced epileptiform activity in rats. Intracortical injection of penicillin (500, International Units (IU)) into the left sensorimotor cortex induced epileptiform activity within 2–5min. Thirty minutes after penicillin injection, nitric oxide synthase (NOS) inhibitor, NG-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester (l-NAME, 100mg/kg), neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) inhibitor 7-nitroindazole (7-NI, 40mg/kg), NO substrate, l-arginine (500mg/kg) were administered with the most effective dose of ascorbic acid (100mg/kg) intraperitoneally (i.p.). The administration of l-arginine significantly decreased the frequency of epileptiform activity while administration of l-NAME did not influence the mean frequency of epileptiform activity. Injection of 7-NI decreased the mean frequency of epileptiform activity but did not influence amplitude. Ascorbic acid decreased both the mean frequency and amplitude of penicillin-induced epileptiform activity in rats. The application of l-NAME partially and temporarily reversed the anticonvulsant effects of ascorbic acid. The results support the hypothesis of neuro-protective role for NO and ascorbic acid. The protective effect of ascorbic acid against epileptiform activity was partially and temporarily reversed by nonspecific nitric oxide synthase inhibitor l-NAME, but not selective neuronal nitric oxide synthase inhibitor 7-NI, indicating that ascorbic acid needs endothelial-NOS/NO route to decrease penicillin-induced epileptiform activity