Please read the abstract in the section 00front of this document / Dissertation (MSc (Zoology))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Zoology and Entomology / unrestricted

O centro de organização da vida privada oitocentista é a família, instituição que recebe importante destaque na Comédie humaine, de Honoré de Balzac. No conjunto que forma essa obra, encontramos diferentes estruturas familiares, desde a elementar, exemplo mais tradicional de família, composta por pai, mãe e filhos, até as desordenadas, como é o caso dos Gobseck, objeto de estudo dessa dissertação. A família Gobseck é formada por duas cortesãs e um usurário. Sarah é mãe de Esther e sobrinha-neta de Jean-Esther van Gobseck. Nos episódios de suas vidas, narrados em alguns livros de Balzac, não percebemos momentos de interação e de convivência entre os três, contudo alguns traços fazem com que a influência do sangue prevaleça em distintos momentos da vida de cada um. Considerando, entre outros fatores, a constituição não tradicional dessa família, cujos componentes exercem profissões reprováveis pela sociedade, a falta de convívio e a ambição por dinheiro dos três, temos o objetivo de observar qual é o lugar dessa família na sociedade criada pelo escritor, qual o seu papel social em um mundo governado pelas leis do capital e quais as características individuais que fazem com que se aproximem ou se afastem. / The hub of the organisation of private life in the 1800s is the family, an institution which receives great distinction in the Comédie humaine, by Honoré de Balzac. On the whole which comprises this work, we find different familial structures, from the elementary, most traditional example of family, composed by a father, a mother and children, to the disorganised, such as the case of the Gobsecks, object of study of this thesis. The Gobseck family is composed of two courtesans and a usurer. Sarah is Esther\'s mother and grand-niece of Jean-Esther van Gobseck. In the episodes of their lives, narrated in some of Balzac\'s books, we do not perceive moments of interaction and intimacy between them, however, some traces make the influence of blood prevail in different moments of each one of their lives. Considering, among other factors, the non-traditional constitution of this family, whose components practice trades which are repproachable by society, the lack of intimacy and the greed for money all three have, our objective is observing what place this family has in the society created by the writer, what is their social role in a world ruled by the laws of capital and which individual characteristics make them get closer or draw apart.

Estudos morfológicos representam ferramentas básicas para ampliação do conhecimento sobre determinado táxon e abrem caminhos para o desenvolvimento de outros estudos em diversas áreas como taxonomia, filogenia, etologia e ecologia. Neste trabalho, buscamos aprimorar o conhecimento morfológico na família Pentatomidae, investigando as variações presentes nas pernas de percevejos e como elas se desenvolvem ao longo do ciclo de vida. Estudando comparativamente as expansões tibiais e o aparato tibial na subfamília Asopinae, e verificamos que ambas as estruturas possuem uma ampla variação morfológica. As expansões podem estar presentes nas superfícies dorsal e ventral da tíbia, ou apenas na dorsal. A estrutura pode apresentar diferentes tamanhos entre as espécies, podendo ser até duas vezes a largura do eixo central da tíbia como nos gêneros Cazira e Heteroscelis, ou em outros casos como Alceorrhynchus, que se apresenta de forma diminuta. Além disso, as expansões podem ocorrer ao longo de toda a tíbia, ou apenas apicalmente. Em relação ao aparato tibial, verificamos que o número de cerdas é bastante variável entre as espécies analisadas, e que possui relação com o tamanho geral do inseto. Ainda, verificamos que a região circundante à estrutura apresenta morfologia variável. Com base nas variações encontradas, dez caracteres morfológicos foram propostos. Além dos adultos, estudamos a morfologia e alometria da tíbia ao longo da ontogenia em nove espécies de Pentatomidae das subfamílias Asopinae, Pentatominae e Edessinae. Foi constatado que o número de cerdas aumenta em cada estágio de desenvolvimento nas espécies de Asopinae, enquanto nas demais o número se mantém praticamente o mesmo. A alometria do aparato tibial se demonstrou positiva para todas as espécies de Asopinae nos testes realizados, enquanto nas subfamílias Pentatominae e Edessinae a alometria da estrutura foi maioritariamente negativa ou isométrica. Foi demonstrado que assim como em outros insetos, as pernas apresentam um crescimento acelerado em comparação com outras estruturas do corpo, neste caso, da cabeça. Além disso, constatamos que a largura de tíbia apresenta uma queda de tamanho do quinto ínstar para o estágio Adulto, e hipotetizamos que este fenômeno possa ter relação com a perda de estruturas presentes nas pernas das ninfas responsáveis por dar maior suporte ao peso do inseto. Os estágios imaturos de Tynacantha marginata Dallas são descritos, estruturas corporais são exploradas e comparadas morfologicamente, e características diagnósticas que permitem a identificação dos ovos e ninfas da espécie são fornecidas. / Morphological studies are basic tools to increase knowledge about a given taxon, opening paths for the development of other studies in several areas such as taxonomy, phylogeny, ethology and ecology. In this work, we aimed to improve the morphological knowledge in the Pentatomidae family, examining the variations present in the legs of stink bugs and how they develop throughout the life-cycle. Comparatively studying the tibial expansions and the foretibial apparatus in the Asopinae subfamily, we found that both structures have a wide morphological variation. The expansions may be present on the dorsal and ventral surfaces of the foretibia, or only on the dorsal surface. The structure can present different sizes between the species, being able to be up to twice the width of the tibial axis as in the genus Cazira and Heteroscelis, or in other cases like Alceorrhynchus, appears in a diminutive form. Besides, the expansions may occur along the entire tibia, or only apically. In relation to the foretibial apparatus, we verified that the number of setae is quite variable among the analyzed species, and that it is related with the general size of the insect. Also, we verified that the region surrounding the structure presents variable morphology. Based on the variations found, ten morphological characters are proposed. In addition to the adults, we studied the morphology and allometry of the foretibia along the ontogeny in nine species of Pentatomidae of the subfamilies Asopinae, Pentatominae and Edessinae. It was observed that the number of setae increases at each stage of development in the Asopinae species, while in the others the number remains practically the same. Allometry of the tibial apparatus was shown to be positive for all Asopinae species in the performed tests, while in the Pentatominae and Edessinae subfamilies the allometry of the structure was mostly negative or isometric. It has demonstrated that, as in other insects, the legs exhibit accelerated growth compared to other structures of the body, in our case, the head. In addition, we verified that tibia width shows a decrease in size of the fifth instar for the adult stage, and hypothesized that this phenomenon is related to the loss of structures present in the legs of the nymphs responsible for giving support to the weight of the insect. The immature stages of Tynacantha marginata Dallas are described, body structures are explored and morphologically compared and diagnostic features that allow identification of the eggs and nymphs of the species are provided.

The mite superfamily Rhodacaroidea is a member of the order Mesostigmata. The families Digamasellidae Evans, Halolaelapidae Karg, Laelaptonyssidae Womersley, Ologamasidae Ryke, Rhodacaridae Oudemans and Teranyssidae Halliday constitute this superfamily. The main morphological characteristic considered in this study for inclusion of mites in the Rhodacaroidea is the insertion of seta st4 on the sternal shield. These mites have been found in soil, litter, rodent nests, mosses, lichens, termite nests, on Coleoptera [mainly bark beetles (Curculionidae: Scolytinae)] and in galleries made by them in tree trunks. Digamasellids, ologamsids and rhodacarids are commonly mentioned in the literature as predators of nematodes, small insects, mites and springtails, and at least one species, appears to have potential as a biological control agent against insect and mite pests in the soil. The taxonomic concepts of the families belonging to Rhodacaroidea are confusing do to the frequent taxonomic changes over time. As a consequence, it has been quite often difficult to determine to which family a determined species of this group belongs. Several authors contributed significantly to the taxonomic knowledge of Rhodacaroidea, but few are still professionally active. The general objective of this thesis was to establish the bases to facilitate the identification of Rhodacaroidea mites. Diagnoses of the genera of Rhodacaridae, a key for their identification and an updated list of the species within each genus were prepared. This family is presently composed of 148 species arranged in 15 genera. A dichotomous key to the genera as well as updated and complemented lists of the species within each genus of Digamasellidae, Laelaptonyssidae, Ologamasidae and Teranyssidae were also prepared. Digamasellidae is composed of 277 species arranged in 11 genera, Laelaptonyssidae, 8 species in one genus, Ologamasidae 450 species in 44 genera and Teranyssidae, a single species. The species of the rhodacarid genera Interrhodeus Karg, Pennarhodeus Karg, Poropodalius Karg and Protogamasellopsis Evans and Purvis were examined and a characterization of the genera, diagnoses of each species, complementary descriptions of some species and a key to help in the separation of the species of each genus were provided. The re-examination of those species allowed the conclusion that they are correctly placed in the Rhodacaridae. Also as result of this work, a new genus and five new species of Rhodacaridae and four new species of Ologamasidae were described and new records of mites of those groups were determined, as the result of analyses of mites from southern Brazil and Iran. A taxonomic key to separate the 60 species of Gamasiphis (Ologamasidae) described from different parts of the world was prepared. The study conducted represents a significant contribution to the knowledge of the taxonomy of Rhodacaroidea. / Os ácaros da superfamília Rhodacaroidea são membros da ordem Mesostigmata. As famílias Digamasellidae Evans, Halolaelapidae Karg, Laelaptonyssidae Womersley, Ologamasidae Ryke, Rhodacaridae Oudemans e Teranyssidae Halliday constituem esta superfamília. A principal característica morfológica considerada neste estudo para a inclusão de ácaros em Rhodacaroidea é a inserção de seta st4 no escudo esternal. Estes ácaros são encontrados no solo, folhedo, ninhos de roedores, musgos, liquens, ninhos de cupins, em Coleoptera [principalmente besouros de casca (Curculionidae: Scolytinae)] e em galerias feitas por estes em troncos de árvores. Os Digamasellidae, Ologamsidae e Rhodacaridae são comumente citados na literatura como predadores de nematóides, pequenos insetos, ácaros e Collembola. Pelo menos uma espécie parece ter potencial como agente de controle biológico contra insetos e ácaros pragas que ocorrem no solo. Os conceitos taxonômicos das famílias pertencentes à Rhodacaroidea são confusos devido às mudanças taxonômicas freqüentes ao longo do tempo. Como conseqüência, freqüentemente, é difícil de se determinar a que família uma determinada espécie deste grupo pertence. Vários autores contribuíram significativamente para o conhecimento taxonômico das espécies de Rhodacaroidea, mas poucos desses ainda estão profissionalmente ativos. O objetivo geral desta tese foi estabelecer as bases para facilitar a identificação de ácaros Rhodacaroidea.. A elaboração da diagnose dos gêneros de Rhodacaridae, uma chave para a identificação destes e uma lista atualizada das espécies dentro de cada gênero foram preparadas. Esta família é atualmente composta por 148 espécies distribuídas em 15 gêneros. Uma chave dicotômica para a separação dos gêneros, bem como uma atualização e complementação das listas das espécies dentro de cada gênero de Digamasellidae, Laelaptonyssidae, Ologamasidae e Teranyssidae também foram preparadas. Digamasellidae é composta de 277 espécies de 11 gêneros, Laelaptonyssidae, 8 espécies de um gênero, Ologamasidae 450 espécies de 44 gêneros e Teranyssidae, uma única espécie. As espécies de Interrhodeus Karg, Pennarhodeus Karg, Poropodalius Karg e Protogamasellopsis Evans e Purvis, todos Rhodacaridae, foram examinadas, realizando-se a caracterização dos gêneros, a diagnose de cada espécie, descrições complementares de algumas espécies e uma chave para ajudar na separação das espécies de cada gênero. A re-avaliação dessas espécies permitiu a conclusão de que estas estão corretamente colocadas em Rhodacaridae. Também como resultado deste trabalho, um novo gênero e cinco novas espécies de Rhodacaridae assim como quatro novas espécies de Ologamasidae foram descritas e novos registros de ácaros desses grupos foram estabelecidos, como resultado do estudo de ácaros do sudeste do Brasil e Iran. Uma chave taxonômica para separar as 60 espécies de Gamasiphis (Ologamasidae) descritas de diferentes partes do mundo foi preparada. O estudo realizado representa uma significativa contribuição para o conhecimento da taxonomia de Rhodacaroidea.

Seemingly unscrupulous entities, referred to as “predatory” journals, have appeared in scholarly publishing over the past decade. Predatory journals have been characterized as using questionable publishing practices and consequently, as publishing questionable research. At the outset of this thesis, such assertions were based on little evidence, making it difficult to understand how to identify a predatory journal and judge the extent of the potential problem they present. This thesis sought to: (1) determine how the apparent operations of predatory journals differ from their presumed legitimate counterparts; (2) to characterize the epidemiology and reporting of biomedical research published in predatory journals; and (3) to determine what, if any, guidance health research funders provide about selecting journals in which to publish funded research. Predatory journals appear to be distinct from presumed legitimate journals in several ways. For example, they lack descriptions of their editorial processes, ethical policies, and content preservation arrangements more often than presumed legitimate journals. Researchers, globally, have published clinical and preclinical studies reporting on millions of research subjects in predatory journals. Such content is poorly reported against established reporting guidelines; some of it originates from high profile institutions and is supported by well-known biomedical research funders. Most major funders propose journal publication as one way of achieving open access, yet few provide guidance on how to select a journal for this purpose. These thesis findings suggest that some features encountered on journals’ websites may signal potentially questionable journal practices. These features should be further evaluated to determine their accuracy in detecting predatory journals. Additionally, researchers may be sending research to predatory journals which may be of low quality, low priority, or unacceptable in legitimate journals. This is problematic because genuine research efforts/participant contributions may go undetected and never contribute to future knowledge generation. Future research ought to be done to determine why and how researchers, globally, choose where to publish. Research funders ought to agree on guidance and policies to ensure funded research can be found by others and is published in journals indicating basic standards for facilitating this.

Coccinella septempunctata L. (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) has been introduced to North America in recent decades, raising concerns of adverse impacts on native lady beetles, including the congeneric C. transversoguttata richardsoni (Brown). The central focus of my dissertation is to understand the importance of reproduction, in particular, in promoting invasion of C. septempunctata and its replacement of native lady beetles in alfalfa fields of western North America. Studies were conducted to compare reproductive tactics of the invasive C. septempunctata and the native C. transversoguttata, by addressing: 1) maximum rate of reproduction of overwintered lady beetles, 2) population dynamics of the invasive and native lady beetles and their aphid prey, and seasonal reproductive patterns, over a 3-year period (2004'2006) in alfalfa fields, 3) reproductive tactics and plasticity in response to various prey availabilities, and 4) ovarian dynamics and observation of oosorption in response to prey removal. The invasive C. septempunctata gained a reproductive advantage over native, North American lady beetles from its larger body size when feeding on abundant prey. The invasive species gained additional advantage by its allocation of prey to larger numbers of relatively small eggs. In alfalfa fields, females of C. septempunctata reproduced more readily and laid more eggs than females of C. transversoguttata even at low prey density. C. septempunctata females collected from the field were also more successful in approaching their maximum body weights and reproduction, as observed under ideal conditions, than were females of native C. transversoguttata. In the laboratory, C. septempunctata females produced larger numbers of relatively small eggs, and they maintained their body weights even as they were producing eggs at low rates when aphids were provided in limited numbers. More immediate adjustment of reproductive effort with prey removal, and higher recovery of reproductive rate when prey again became available, were observed in C. septempunctata, compared with C. transcersoguttata. These reproductive abilities of C. septempucntata may contribute to its invasion success and dominance in alfalfa fields. Further studies are needed to determine why females of C. septempunctata are in better physiological condition than are females of C. transversoguttata in spring alfalfa fields.

Background: The evidence-based approach to policymaking has greatly facilitated policymakers' capacity to make scientifically informed policy decisions, especially in the medical and public health contexts. However, this approach is most beneficial for policy development when trustworthy research is used. Predatory journals and publishers pose a potential threat to evidence-based policy making, since they are more likely than traditional academic journals to publish unreliable evidence. Research Objectives: The purpose of this thesis is to advance knowledge on what factors contribute to the citation of predatory journal articles in policy documents by answering the following research questions: 1) How do people preparing public health documents consider the trustworthiness of research evidence? 2) How do they source and evaluate the research evidence they cite? Methods: I identified a cross-sectional sample of public health policy documents from Overton - the world's largest policy document database - that cited articles published by the OMICS group. OMICS is a well-established predatory publisher. I extracted meta-data (e.g., document source) and document characteristics such as whether they described their method of selection or quality assessment for cited sources. Authors of these documents with contact information listed, as well as a convenience sample of people who have prepared public health documents, were invited for a semi-structured interview. I thematically analyzed these interviews by organizing the codes (both deductive and inductive) into key overarching themes. Results: Two hundred forty-two public health policy documents were included. The World Health Organization was the most common source accounting for 45 documents (19%). A total of 283 articles were cited from 126 OMICS journals. Only 54 (22%) of the policy documents described their source-selection methodology, and 22 (9%) assessed the quality of cited sources. Five key overarching themes were generated from the thematic analysis of the interview data, highlighting that information cited in policy documents is sourced and evaluated in several ways, many of which are related to a series of factors which could be contributing to the predatory journal citations. Conclusion: Public health policy documents are prepared using a variety of methods for information selection and evaluation, but the exact approach for doing so is rarely reported within the document itself. This may contribute to the reliance on untrustworthy research to inform policy; and thus, may help amplify misinformation entering policy globally. Certain steps can be taken to help minimize any potential negative impact of relying on such sources, but a better understanding of policymakers' perspectives may be required to ensure successful implementation.

This dissertation examines the relationship of political instability and economic failure to predatory organized crime in multiple nations. This is an important issue since each year the increase in predatory crime networks contributes to international economic failure, security risks, and the spread of organized crime. In an effort to understand the relationship between state failure and economic failure on the one hand, and organized crime on the other, this study will seek to address three goals. First, the study tests the degree to which variables that imply economic failure and state failure correlate with predatory organized crime. Second, the study determines the extent of the relationship between the social and economic indicators and predatory organized crime in multiple nations. Third, the study examines the future implications of predatory organized crime predictor variables in the context of national strategies to eradicate or reduce organized crime. This study investigates the relationship in failed states between predatory crime groups and various economic and state stability indicators. In particular, this study examines the impact of seven predictor variables on the variation in Predatory Organized Crime in 122 countries. The findings suggest that the state failure hypothesis correctly articulates the failure of the state to offer key social goods such as security, stability, and justice, thereby producing an environment where crime groups assume state responsibilities. The findings also support the economic failure hypothesis that poor economic outcomes such as high unemployment, low SES, and a dependency on an underground economy encourage the development of criminal groups. The ultimate goal of this study is to assist policy makers, policy analysts, scholars, and officials at donor agencies and international financial institutions in establishing effective tools for identifying and removing predatory organized crime units. Analytical results provide general support to all hypotheses. Moreover, policy implications for predatory organized crime control in developing countries are discussed. The author's objective is to increase understanding of this issue and show the need for further research.

Denna uppsats innehåller en kvantitativ studie som syftar till att undersöka det kriminologiska fenomenet edges enligt Brantingham & Brantingham (1993). Edges är förklarade som en kriminogen miljö som attraherar ett högt antal predatory crimes (a.a.).Studien var utförd i en svensk kontext i staden Malmö, där nio centrala delområden inkluderades, bestående av totalt 218 gator: Gamla Staden, Lugnet, Möllevången, Norra Sofielund, Rådmansvången, Södervärn, Södra Sofielund, Västra Sorgenfri och Östra Sorgenfri. Antalet anmälda personrån under en treårsperiod (2013-2015) jämfördes med edges, bestående av de nämnda 218 gatorna som via observationer blivit indelade i tre kategorier (ingen edge, svag edge och skarp edge). Syftet med studien var att undersöka om där existerar ett signifikant samband mellan predatory crimes och edges.Resultaten visade att där finns ett svagt signifikant samband mellan antalet personrån och edges. Forskarna för studien upptäckte även att där kanske existerar ett samband mellan längden på en gata och huruvida gatan är en edge eller inte. Studiens slutsats är att mera vetenskaplig forskning rörande edges i en svensk kontext behövs i syfte att kunna fastställa ifall fenomenet är av vikt för svensk kriminologi. / This paper contains a quantitative study which aims to examine the criminological phenomena edges according to Brantingham & Brantingham (1993). Edges are explained as a criminogenic environment, which attracts a high number of predatory crimes (a.a.).The study was performed in a Swedish context in the city of Malmö, including nine central districts consisting of a total of 218 streets: Gamla Staden, Lugnet, Möllevången, Norra Sofielund, Rådmansvången, Södervärn, Södra Sofielund, Västra Sorgenfri and Östra Sorgenfri. The number of reported person robberies during a three year period (2013-2015) were compared to edges, consisting of the mentioned 218 streets who trough observations were split into three categories of edges (no edge, weak edge and sharp edge). The aim with the study was to examine if there exists a significant relation between predatory crimes and edges.The results showed that there is an existing but weak significant relation between the number of reported person robberies and edges. The scientists of the study also discovered that there may exist a relation between the length of the streets and whether the streets are an edge or not. The conclusion from the study is that more scientific research concerning edges in a Swedish context is needed in aim to have the ability to conclude if the phenomena is of real importance for Swedish criminology.

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