Spatial Planning of Rural tourism with MAPPAC technique. Case study Khur and Biabanak County, (Iran)

Reviewing the concepts of space and tourism industry, tourism is in an old, deep, unbreakable bound with spatial and physical dimensions. In this way, the lack of systematic and scientific ranking process in spatial locating of rural tourism spots and also improper distribution of infrastructures are the critical deficiencies in this field. The research intends to introduce the hidden potentials and unique capabilities of Khur and Biabanak County, Iran. And prioritize their tourism spots. So tourism planners would be able to recognize proper space distribution. First, the weights of each criterion were calculated by a pairwise comparison questionnaire of AHP method, and MAPPAC technique was used for ranking. AHP was done in Expert Choice software and MAPPAC in MS Excel. Results showed that villages such as Bayaze, Jandagh, Mehrejan, Garmeh, and Iraj which are also older have a higher rank.Reviewing the concepts of space and tourism industry, tourism is in an old, deep, unbreakable bound with spatial and physical dimensions. In this way, the lack of systematic and scientific ranking process in spatial locating of rural tourism spots and also improper distribution of infrastructures are the critical deficiencies in this field. The research intends to introduce the hidden potentials and unique capabilities of Khur and Biabanak County, Iran. And prioritize their tourism spots. So tourism planners would be able to recognize proper space distribution. First, the weights of each criterion were calculated by a pairwise comparison questionnaire of AHP method, and MAPPAC technique was used for ranking. AHP was done in Expert Choice software and MAPPAC in MS Excel. Results showed that villages such as Bayaze, Jandagh, Mehrejan, Garmeh, and Iraj which are also older have a higher rank

A Comparative Study of Learning Outcomes for Online Learning Platforms

Personalization and active learning help educational systems to close the gap between students with varying abilities. We run a comparative head-to-head study of learning outcomes for two popular online platforms: Platform A, which delivers content over lecture videos and multiple-choice quizzes, and Platform B, which provides interactive problem-solving exercises and personalized feedback. We observe a statistically significant increase in the learning outcomes on Platform B. Further, the results of the self-assessment questionnaire suggest that participants using Platform B improve their metacognition

Suitability of the predatory mites Iphiseiodes zuluagai and Euseius concordis in controlling Polyphagotarsonemus latus and Tetranychus bastosi on Jatropha curcas plants in Brazil

One of the most promising plant species for biofuel production in Brazil is the physic nut Jatropha curcas. Major phytosanitary problems include the attack of two pest mite species, the broad mite Polyphagotarsonemus latus and the spider mite Tetranychus bastosi. Owing to pesticide-related problems, there is an increasing demand for sustainable environmental-friendly control methods such as biological control. In this study we evaluated the suitability of the predatory mite species Iphiseiodes zuluagai and Euseius concordis in controlling P. latus and T. bastosi on J. curcas. The number of T. bastosi killed by I. zuluagai was lower than the number of P. latus consumed.Euseius concordis preyed upon both T. bastosi and P. latus but the number of prey killed was always lower in comparison with I. zuluagai. However, P. latus and T. bastosi are suitable for the development of I. zuluagai and E. concordis as oviposition of both predators did not differ in relation to prey species. The preference of I. zuluagai for leaves of plants infested by either P. latus or T. bastosi, combined with the higher values for predation obtained by this predatory mite when fed on P. latus, compared to those values obtained by E. concordis, suggests that I. zuluagai can be more efficient than E. concordis in reducing populations of P. latus and T. bastosi under field conditions. Furthermore, we report here on the first record of predatory mites associated with P. latus and T. bastosi on native J. curcas plants in Brazil. In conclusion, we emphasize the crucial importance of predatory mites as agents of natural biological control of mite pests on J. curcas in small farms

Alternative phenotypes of male mating behaviour in the two-spotted spider mite

Severe intraspecific competition for mates selects for aggressive individuals but may also lead to the evolution of alternative phenotypes that do not act aggressively, yet manage to acquire matings. The two-spotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae, shows male mate-guarding behaviour and male–male combat for available females. This may provide opportunity for weaker males to avoid fighting by adopting alternative mating behaviour such as sneaker or satellite tactics as observed in other animals. We investigated male precopulatory behaviour in the two-spotted spider mite by means of video-techniques and found three types of male mating behaviour: territorial, sneaker and opportunistic. Territorial and sneaker males associate with female teleiochrysales and spend much time guarding them. Territorial males are easily disturbed by rival males and engage themselves in fights with them. However, sneaker males are not at all disturbed by rival males, never engage in fights and, strikingly, never face attack by territorial males. Opportunistic males wander around in search of females that are in the teleiochrysalis stage but very close to or at emergence. To quickly classify any given mate-guarding male as territorial or sneaker we developed a method based on the instantaneous response of males to disturbance by a live male mounted on top of a brush. We tested this method against the response of the same males to natural disturbance by two or three other males. Because this method proved to be successful, we used it to collect territorial and sneaker males, and subjected them to morphological analysis to assess whether the various behavioural phenotypes are associated with different morphological characters. However, we found no statistical differences between territorial and sneaker males, concerning the length of the first legs, the stylets, the pedipalps or the body. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s10493-013-9673-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

The development supercapacitor from activated carbon by electroless plating-A review

The electrochemical capacitor (EC), also called as supercapacitor, is an energy storage device possessing a unlimited life-cycle and high power density known to store energy in the double-layer or through supercapacitance as a result of an applied potential. Fundamental values in relation to the major chemical and physical qualities of electrode materials are explained in the following review, with carbon-made electrodes, specially activated carbon highlighted in regards to their improvement of the typical power and energy densities of ECs. Supercapacitive materials, remarkably transition metal oxides are revealed by the potential to further develop EC performance through synergistic effects and asymmetric design. Recently, several chemically deposited metal oxide thin film electrodes as well as ruthenium oxide, manganese oxide, cobalt oxide, nickel oxide, iron oxide, ferrites etc., have been evaluated in supercapacitors. This review presents supercapacitor performance data of metal oxide thin film electrodes on activated carbon offered by electroless plating as a suitable, fast and economical technique. The supercapacitors demonstrated the specific capacitance (Sc) principles, which are relatively comparable with bulk electrode values; therefore, it is likely that metal oxide films will continue to play a major role in supercapacitor technology and are expected to significantly develop the capabilities of these devices in the near future

Some new species records of the predatory mite family Phytoseiidae (Acari: Mesostigmata) from The Netherlands

Thirteen species of phytoseiid mites collected from the Netherlands are re-described and illustrated. Among them 9 are new species records for the Dutch fauna and Metaseiulus (Metaseiulus) smithi (Schuster, 1957) is a new record for Europe. Metaseiulus (Metaseiulus) neosmithi nom. nov. Faraji is proposed as a replacement name for Metaseiulus (Metaseiulus) smithi Denmark & Evans, 2011. Also, Kampimodromus coryli Meshkov, 1999 is considered as a junior synonym of Kampimodromus langei (Wainstein & Arutunjan, 1973)

Mediolata

Key to adult females of Mediolata The following artificial key is compiled mainly based on the leg and palp chaetotaxy. Such data were ignored in the description of M. aegyptiaca (Zaher & Soliman), 1966, hence not presented in the key. Also, another species of Mediolata described from Egypt, M. pentascuta (Zaher & Gomma), 1978, is suspected to be conspecific with M. aegyptiaca. The mentioned differences between these two species seem to be intraspecific variations. This synonymy was also confirmed by Dr. Z. R. Soliman (senior author pers. comm.). To reach a definite conclusion regarding the identity of these species, the type materials need to be re­examined. These were not available during this study. 1. Palpfemur with three setae............................................................................................ 2 ­ Palpfemur with two setae.............................................................................................. 3 ­ Palpfemur with one setae ........................................................ M. delicata Fan & Zhang 2. Femora 4 ­ 4 ­ 3 ­ 2; palpgenu with one seta; dorsal setae short .... M. californica Gonzalez ­ Femora 5 ­ 5 ­ 2 ­ 1; palpgenu with two setae; dorsal setae very long ... M. horrida Momen 3. Femora 5 ­ 4 ­ 3 ­ 1, 5­4 ­ 2 ­ 1, 5­5 ­ 2 ­ 1 or 4 ­ 4 ­ 2 ­ 1................................................................ 4 ­ Femora 5­6 ­ 2 ­ 1 .......................................................................... M. conserva Kuznetsov 4. Femur II with five setae................................................................................................ 5 ­ Femur II with four setae................................................................................................ 8 5. Genu I with four setae................................................................................................... 6 ­ Genu I with two or three setae...................................................................................... 7 6. Opisthosoma almost completely covered with shields, ornamented with polygonalPublished as part of Faraji, Farid & Ueckermann, Edward A., 2006, A new species of Mediolata Canestrini from Spain (Acari: Stigmaeidae), re­description of M. chanti and a key to the known species of Mediolata, pp. 27-39 in Zootaxa 1151 on page 29, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17214

Investigation on electroless Cu-P-micro/nanoSiC composite coatings

Copper-phosphorus (Cu-P) coatings composited with superfine silicon carbide (SiC) particles were prepared by electroless plating. The composition, morphology, structure and roughness of the composite coatings, with micro- and nanosize SiC particles were studied respectively by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). It was shown that SiC particles are codeposited homogeneously and Cu-P-SiC composite coatings have crystalline structure. Mechanical properties of coatings were studied by Vickers hardness and wear testers. Cu-P/nano-SiC composite coating showed higher microhardness and better antiwear performance than microsize SiC composite coatings. Corrosion resistance of the electroless Cu-P composite coatings on carbon steel was studied in 3·5 wt-% NaCl and 1M HCl solutions by potentiodynamic polarisation technique. The study revealed that the corrosion resistance increases with incorporation of nano SiC particles in the Cu-