Analysis of spermiogenesis like a tool in the study of the triatomines of the Brasiliensis subcomplex

The specific identification and systematic of triatomines have been based fundamentally on morphological observations. These organisms are classified into complexes and specific subcomplexes, principally for morphological parameters and geographical disposition. The use of cytogenetic analyzes has been represented as a tool in systematic and taxonomy of triatomines. Thus, the present work, through the analysis of spermiogenesis, aims to characterize this stage of spermatogenesis in triatomines little studied, and especially to compare it among the species Triatoma lenti and T. sherlocki, to assist in the diagnosis of differentiation of these insects. The presence of the heteropyknotic corpuscle is shown as a diagnostic tool to differentiate T. sherlocki and T. lenti, since it is absent in T. lenti. The analysis of the spermiogenesis in T. sherlocki also allowed us to address morphological differences between elongating cells, which were relatively smaller and more filamentous when compared to T lenti. Furthermore, the flagellum was observed in all stages of cell differentiation and elongation. This structure, which helps in the locomotion of the sperm, is hardly observed in cytogenetic analysis, especially throughout spermiogenesis. Thus, although other comparative approaches should be taken, this paper allowed emphasizing the analysis of spermiogenesis as an important cytotaxonomic tool that assists in the differentiation of morphologically related species, such as T. lenti and T. sherlocki. © 2013 Académie des sciences.

Comparative analysis of spermatids of Rhipicephalus sanguineus sensu lato (Ixodidae) and Ornithodoros rostratus ticks (Argasidae): morphophysiology aimed at systematics

The phylogenetic relationships among tick species (Acari: Ixodida) have been revisited by several researchers over the last decades. Two subfamilies, Rhipicephalinae (Ixodidae) and Ornithodorinae (Argasidae), deserve special attention. The male reproductive system morphology, as well as the ultrastructure of the germ cells, may provide important information for phylogeny and systematics of metazoan groups, with spermatozoa exhibiting characters that can be used for this purpose. With that information in mind, this study aimed at evaluating, through a comparative analysis, the morphology of the male reproductive systems and germ cells of ticks species Rhipicephalus sanguineus and Ornithodoros rostratus. In order to do that, histology and scanning electron microscopy techniques were used. The results have shown that despite the similarities in the general morphology of the male reproductive system among studied Ixodida so far, there are morphological differences among the species studied herein, mainly the U-shaped testis (ancestral character) in O. rostratus and the pair testes (derived character) in R. sanguineus, and the general morphology of germ cells (spermatids V). Besides that, the morphological changes observed during the spermiogenesis appear to be different between the species studied here, probably characterizing the two families considered. The data generated in this study showed the importance of comparative internal morphology studies, mainly in regard to spermatology, despite the morphological data obtained herein not being enough to product a cladogram (sperm cladistics), it was already possible to observe clear differences among families Argasidae and Ixodidae in regard to the organization of their male reproductive systems and concerning the external morphology of spermatids. Data yet to be obtained through transmission electron microscopy techniques will allow the application of spermiocladistics and spermiotaxonomy as tools for tick systematics.

Observations of spermiogenesis and epididymal sperm maturation in the rufous hare wallaby, Lagorchestes hirsutus (Metatheria, Mammalia)

Acrosomal development in the early spermatid of the rufous hare wallaby shows evidence of formation of an acrosomal granule, similar to that found in eutherian mammals, the Phascolarctidae and Vombatidae. Unlike the other members of the Macropodidae so far examined, the acrosome of this species appears to be fully compacted at spermiation and extends evenly over 90% of the dorsal aspect of the nucleus. During spermiogenesis, the nucleus of the rufous hare wallaby spermatid showed evidence of uneven condensation of chromatin; this may also be related to the appearance of unusual nucleoplasm evaginations from the surface of the fully condensed spermatid. This study was unable to find evidence of the presence of Sertoli cell spurs or nuclear rotation during spermiogenesis in the rufous hare wallaby. The majority of spermatozoa immediately before spermiation had a nucleus that was essentially perpendicular to the long axis of the sperm tail. Nuclei of spermatozoa found in the process of being released or isolated in the lumen of the seminiferous tubule were rotated almost parallel to the long axis of the flagellum; complete parallel alignment occurred during epididymal maturation. At spermiation spermatozoa have characteristically small cytoplasmic remnants compared to those of other macropods. Unlike the majority of macropodid spermatozoa so far described, the spermatozoa of the rufous hare wallaby showed little evidence of morphological change during epididymal transit. There was no formation of a fibre network around the midpiece or of plasma membrane specializations in this region; the only notable change was a distinctive flattening of midpiece mitochondria and scalloping of the anterior mitochondrial sheath to accommodate the sperm head. Preliminary evidence from spermiogenesis and epididymal sperm maturation supports the classification of the rufous hare wallaby as a separate genus but also indicates that its higher taxonomic position may need to be re-evaluated.

Basal chromodorid sperm ultrastructure (Nudibranchia, Gastropoda, Mollusca)

The relationship between three genera considered basal in the Chromodorididae (Cadlina, Tyrinna, Cadlinella) has not yet been resolved by traditional morphological means. Here we examined the sperm ultrastructure of Tyrinna nobilis, Tyrinna evelinae, Cadlina flavomaculata and Cadlina cf. nigrobranchiata, with the expectation of finding phylogenetically informative characters. No Tyrinna or Cadlina species showed sperm similarities to Cadlinella. Both Cadlina species and Tyrinna nobilis (but not T. evelinae) exhibited coarse striations in the acrosomal pedestal. The putative fibers that occurred between the coarse striations of the pedestal are condensed into a layer in Cadlina and Tyrinna, but not in other species that also have coarse striations (Gymnodoris), and may constitute evidence for a close relationship. Tyrinna evelinae possessed fine acrosomal striations, which was shared with other Chromodorididae, Actinocyclidae and the cryptobranchs Rostanga and Aphelodoris. We also examined the sperm ultrastructure of 'Chromodoris' ambiguus, an animal which has shown molecular affinities to species of Cadlina, and not Chromodoris. The sperm of 'C'.' ambiguus did not exhibit the typical Cadlina characteristics, but also showed important differences to other investigated Chromodoris species.

Improving behaviour classification consistency: a technique from biological taxonomy

Quantitative behaviour analysis requires the classification of behaviour to produce the basic data. In practice, much of this work will be performed by multiple observers, and maximising inter-observer consistency is of particular importance. Another discipline where consistency in classification is vital is biological taxonomy. A classification tool of great utility, the binary key, is designed to simplify the classification decision process and ensure consistent identification of proper categories. We show how this same decision-making tool - the binary key - can be used to promote consistency in the classification of behaviour. The construction of a binary key also ensures that the categories in which behaviour is classified are complete and non-overlapping. We discuss the general principles of design of binary keys, and illustrate their construction and use with a practical example from education research.

Assessing the structure of learning outcomes from counselling using the SOLO taxonomy: an exploratory study

Thirty-five clients who had received counselling completed a letter to a friend describing in as much detail as possible what they had learned from counselling. The participants' written responses were analysed and classified using the Structure of Learning Outcomes (SOLO) taxonomy. The results suggested that an expanded SOLO offers a promising and exciting way to view the outcomes of counselling within a learning framework. If the SOLO taxonomy is found to be stable in subsequent research, and clients are easily able to be classified using the taxonomy, then this approach may have implications for the process of counselling. To maximise the learning outcomes, counsellors could use strategies and techniques to enhance their clients' learning.

Personalized recommender systems integrating social tags and item taxonomy

The social tags in web 2.0 are becoming another important information source to profile users' interests and preferences to make personalized recommendations. To solve the problem of low information sharing caused by the free-style vocabulary of tags and the long tails of the distribution of tags and items, this paper proposes an approach to integrate the social tags given by users and the item taxonomy with standard vocabulary and hierarchical structure provided by experts to make personalized recommendations. The experimental results show that the proposed approach can effectively improve the information sharing and recommendation accuracy.

Taxonomy and diagnostics of fruit fly infesting Opiine Braconids in Australia and the South Pacific

Opiine wasps (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Opiinae) are parasitoids of dacine fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae: Dacinae), the primary horticultural pests of Australia and the South Pacific. Effective use of opiines for biological control of fruit flies is limited by poor taxonomy and identification difficulties. To overcome these problems, this thesis had two aims: (i) to carry out traditional taxonomic research on the fruit fly infesting opine braconids of Australia and the South Pacific; and (ii) to transfer the results of the taxonomic research into user friendly diagnostic tools. Curated wasp material was borrowed from all major Australian museum collections holding specimens. This was supplemented by a large body of material gathered as part of a major fruit fly project in Papua New Guinea: nearly 4000 specimens were examined and identified. Each wasp species was illustrated using traditional scientific drawings, full colour photomicroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. An electronic identification key was developed using Lucid software and diagnostic images were loaded on the web-based Pest and Diseases Image Library (PaDIL). A taxonomic synopsis and distribution and host records for each of the 15 species of dacine-parasitising opiine braconids found in the South Pacific is presented. Biosteres illusorius Fischer (1971) was formally transferred to the genus Fopius and a new species, Fopius ferrari Carmichael and Wharton (2005), was described. Other species dealt with were Diachasmimorpha hageni (Fullaway, 1952), D. kraussii (Fullaway, 1951), D. longicaudata (Ashmead, 1905), D. tryoni (Cameron, 1911), Fopius arisanus (Sonan, 1932), F. deeralensis (Fullaway, 1950), F. schlingeri Wharton (1999), Opius froggatti Fullaway (195), Psyttalia fijiensis (Fullaway, 1936), P. muesebecki (Fischer, 1963), P. novaguineensis (Szépliget, 1900i) and Utetes perkinsi (Fullaway, 1950). This taxonomic component of the thesis has been formally published in the scientific literature. An interactive diagnostics package (“OpiineID”) was developed, the centre of which is a Lucid based multi-access key. Because the diagnostics package is computer based, without the space limitations of the journal publication, there is no pictorial limit in OpiineID and so it is comprehensively illustrated with SEM photographs, full colour photographs, line drawings and fully rendered illustrations. The identification key is only one small component of OpiineID and the key is supported by fact sheets with morphological descriptions, host associations, geographical information and images. Each species contained within the OpiineID package has also been uploaded onto the PaDIL website (www.padil.gov.au). Because the identification of fruit fly parasitoids is largely of concern to fruit fly workers, rather than braconid specialists, this thesis deals directly with an area of growing importance to many areas of pure and applied biology; the nexus between taxonomy and diagnostics. The Discussion chapter focuses on this area, particularly the opportunities offered by new communication and information tools as new ways delivering the outputs of taxonomic science.

Effective pattern taxonomy mining in text documents

Many data mining techniques have been proposed for mining useful patterns in databases. However, how to effectively utilize discovered patterns is still an open research issue, especially in the domain of text mining. Most existing methods adopt term-based approaches. However, they all suffer from the problems of polysemy and synonymy. This paper presents an innovative technique, pattern taxonomy mining, to improve the effectiveness of using discovered patterns for finding useful information. Substantial experiments on RCV1 demonstrate that the proposed solution achieves encouraging performance.

A critical analysis of sperm donation practices : the personal and social effects of disrupting the unity of biological and social relatedness for the offspring

This thesis critically analyses sperm donation practices from a child-centred perspective. It examines the effects, both personal and social, of disrupting the unity of biological and social relatedness in families affected by donor conception. It examines how disruption is facilitated by a process of mediation which is detailed using a model provided by Sunderland (2002). This model identifies mediating movements - alienation, translation, re-contextualisation and absorption - which help to explain the powerful and dominating material, and social and political processes which occur in biotechnology, or in reproductive technology in this case. The understanding of such movements and mediation of meanings is inspired by the complementary work of Silverstone (1999) and Sunderland. This model allows for a more critical appreciation of the movement of meaning from previously inalienable aspects of life to alienable products through biotechnology (Sunderland, 2002). Once this mediation in donor conception is subjected to critical examination here, it is then approached from different angles of investigation. The thesis posits that two conflicting notions of the self are being applied to fertility-frustrated adults and the offspring of reproductive interventions. Adults using reproductive interventions receive support to maximise their genetic continuity, but in so doing they create and dismiss the corresponding genetic discontinuity produced for the offspring. The offspring’s kinship and identity are then framed through an experimental postmodernist notion, presenting them as social rather than innate constructs. The adults using the reproductive intervention, on the other hand, have their identity and kinship continuity framed and supported as normative, innate, and based on genetic connection. This use of shifting frameworks is presented as unjust and harmful, creating double standards and a corrosion of kinship values, connection and intelligibility between generations; indeed, it is put forward as adult-centric. The analysis of other forms of human kinship dislocation provided by this thesis explores an under-utilised resource which is used to counter the commonly held opinion that any disruption of social and genetic relatedness for donor offspring is insignificant. The experiences of adoption and the stolen generations are used to inform understanding of the personal and social effects of such kinship disruption and potential reunion for donor offspring. These examples, along with laws governing international human rights, further strengthen the appeal here for normative principles and protections based on collective knowledge and standards to be applied to children of reproductive technology. The thesis presents the argument that the framing and regulation of reproductive technology is excessively influenced by industry providers and users. The interests of these parties collide with and corrode any accurate assessments and protections afforded to the children of reproductive technology. The thesis seeks to counter such encroachments and concludes by presenting these protections, frameworks, and human experiences as resources which can help to address the problems created for the offspring of such reproductive interventions, thereby illustrating why these reproductive interventions should be discontinued.