The conifer needle scale, Nuculaspis abietis (Schrank) emerged as an important pest of conifers in the Kelardasht region of Mazandaran province, Iran, in the late 1990's. This pest feeds on conifer needles and twigs causing needle drop and branch desiccation. Its discovery in Kelardasht in Mazandaran Province necessitated a local quarantine of conifers in the genera Picea, Abies, and Pinus. We studied the life history and ecology of this scale on Norway spruce, Picea abies, under laboratory and natural field conditions. The complete life cycle of females required 206.4 ± 5.7 days in the laboratory (25 ± 1°C, 65-75% RH, 14L : 10D) and 315.7 ± 9.3 days under field conditions. In Kelardasht, numbers of adult males and females peaked in mid-June and early May, respectively, and numbers of first and second instar nymphs in mid-July and early September. Lifetime fecundity was estimated to be 57.3 ± 5.1 eggs and 54.0 ± 4.4 nymphs per female under laboratory conditions. The sex ratio ranged from 59% female for second instar nymphs to 71% female for adults. Aspidiotiphagus citrinus (Crawford) (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae) was found naturally parasitizing the scale and overwintering in the larval stage on second instar nymphs. First generation adult wasps emerged in spring from overwintered second instar nymphs to parasitize 64.75% of first instar scales. Second generation wasps emerged from early September to mid-October and parasitized 19.75% of second instar scales, for a cumulative parasitism rate of 84.5%. and Arash RASEKH, J.P. MICHAUD, Hassan BARIMANI VARANDI.
Four new species of Acanthobothrium van Beneden, 1850 are described from guitarfish, Rhynchobatus cf. djiddensis (Forsskål), collected from the Gulf of Oman and Persian Gulf. Acanthobothrium janineae sp. n., a category 1 species, differs from all congeners in category 1 by having a long vagina extending into the vas deferens and different, proglottid and testis number except Acanthobothrium hypermekkolpos Fyler et Caira, 2010. Acanthobothrium fylerae sp. n., a category 1 species, can be differentiated by a combination of characters including the total length, proglottid and testis number, cirrus sac shape, and the length of the vagina and ovarian lobes. Both new species are similar to A. hypermekkolpos reported from Rhynchobatus laevis (Bloch et Schneider) from Australia in their scolex proper length, hook size and muscular pad, respectively. Acanthobothrium asrinae sp. n., a category 1 species, differs from other category 1 species by the shape of its hooks and the position of the tubercle at the mid-length of the axial prongs; in this respect it resembles A. bartonae Campbell et Beveridge, 2002 reported from Australia. Acanthobothrium jamesi sp. n. is among six category 1 species with post-ovarian testes. It differs from these species by total length, proglottid and testis number and the extension of the ovarian lobes. Although it is thought that R. djiddensis occurs in the region, the identities of the hosts of the newly described Acanthobothrium species await verification. There are two forms of host in the region and were designated as R. cf. djiddensis 1 and R. cf. djiddensis 2. More taxonomic work and the use of molecular techniques are needed to resolve the true identity of the host species., Loghman Maleki, Masoumeh Malek, Harry W. Palm., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Exhibition of lanthanide tetrad effect in PAAS-normalized REE patterns, and non-CHARAC (non-CHArge-RAdius Control) behavior of Y/Ho and Zr/Hf in limestone of the Ruteh Formation, Kanigorgeh district (NW Iran), were studied in order to understand the reasons of occurrence of lanthanides tetrad effects. The computed values show that the third and fourth tetrads can be used as a good and powerful geochemical tool for investigation of physicochemical conditions of the depositional environment of the limestones. Here, a new mathematical-based method using polar coordination system for tetrad effect values (Tp) was used to evaluate under studying limestone. The correlation between Tp and some geochemical parameters revealed that the limestone was likely deposited under two different conditions. The obtained results indicated that paleo-redox conditions, adsorption and scavenging by kaolinite and metallic oxides, degree of detrital input, diagenesis intensity, and complexation by polycarbonate ligands are likely the main mechanisms for occurrence of tetrad effect phenomenon in REE distribution patterns in the limestone. This means that tetrad effect phenomenon in REE distribution patterns of limestone can be applied as a good geochemical indicator to evaluate the deposition conditions in limestones., Ali Abedini, Mansour Rezaei Azizi and Ali Asghar Calagari., and Obsahuje bibliografii
The article deals with changes in the social status of women, their civil rights and women's activism in iran. The text focuses primarily on the period after the establishment of the Islamic Republic and the implementation of Sharica law. The situation and the rights of women have undergone change in the past three decades in connection with politics and the interests of the Islamist regime. Because of several limitations in relation to the rights of women, Iranian women have sought to influnce public opinion and to change laws through various women's journals and also through their professions. Female politicians have tried to change the system from inside by influencing the laws concerning women's issues and they have stood as candidates in parliamentary elections, even wanting to stand as candidates in presidential elections. The growing activism of Iranian women has been obvious, expecially since the 1990s, and it reached its peak during the post-election protests of June 2009, following the allegedly manipulated presidential elections., Martina Ponížilová., and Obsahuje bibliografii