The reconciliation of transnational economic, social and cultural human rights via the common interest

In general, human rights obligations are restricted to states' actions within their own territory in relation to their own citizens and residents. However, article 55(c) of the Charter of the United Nations refers to the promotion of 'universal respect for, and observance of, human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion', while article 56 affirms that '[a]ll Members pledge themselves to take joint and separate action, in cooperation with the Organisation, for the achievement of the purposes set forth in article 55'. Thus, states must promote human rights both individually and jointly. Furthermore, the Vienna Declaration affirms that the promotion and protection of human rights is a legitimate concern of the international community. Therefore, the implementation of human rights is clearly not a purely domestic matter. This is also evident from the horizontal operation of human rights between states as it is actually states which are the principal addressees of international human rights law. Inter-state complaint procedures are used to 'act in the common interest of protecting human rights'. Furthermore, jurisprudence, international treaties, soft law, and customary international law provide examples of a progressive development of the extension of the scope of human rights obligations beyond state borders. In particular, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), has interesting provisions which reveal that the 'existence of extraterritorial obligations in relationship to international cooperation and assistance based on specific provisions of the Covenant [is] clear'.Department of HE and Training approved lis

Addressing climate change through international human rights law: From (extra) territoriality to common concern of humankind

International human rights law (IHRL) offers potential responses to the consequences of climate change. However, the focus of IHRL on territorial jurisdiction and the causation-based allocation of obligations does not match the global nature of climate change impacts and their indirect causation. The primary aim of this article is to respond to the jurisdictional challenge of IHRL in the context of climate change, including its indirect, slow-onset consequences such as climate change migration. It does so by suggesting a departure from(extra)territoriality and an embrace of global international cooperation obligations in IHRL

Trogidae (Coleoptera : Scarabaeoidea) in forensic entomology : occurrence of known and new species in Queensland, Australia

During studies of necrophagous insect succession in pig carcases that were used as surrogates for human corpses, Trogidae were found to be fairly common at the carcases at a study site in south-east Queensland. During the identification of the species, one of the regular visitors to the carcases was found to be undescribed (Omorgus (Omorgus) bachorum sp. nov.). It is described in this paper. Also, while comparing the undescribed species to that of specimens in the Queensland Museum collection, another undescribed species was discovered, which is also described in this paper (Omorgus (Omorgus) undaraensis sp. nov.). One new synonym, Omorgus incognitus Strümpher & Scholtz, 2011 syn. nov., is also proposed; bringing the total number of Australian species of Omorgus Erichson, 1847 to 57.http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)2052-17582015-11-30hb201

An Eocene fossil scarab beetle (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea) from Tanzania

A fossil scarabaeoid (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea) Mahengea mckayi new genus, new species – the only well-preserved insect fossil and one of only a few insects found at the site – is described from an otherwise rich Eocene (~ 45.6 mya) maar Lagerstätte at Mahenge in central northern Tanzania. Numerous fossil fishes and plants have been recovered from this site and described. The dearth of insect fossils is surprising considering their richness in other deposits of similar origin and age. We suggest that the rich fish fauna present in the oxygen-rich parts of the water in the former volcanic crater lake may have scavenged most of the terrestrial insects that fell into the water. Although the fossil described here is undoubtedly that of a member of the Scarabaeoidea, the family placement remains unsure. Significance: We describe the first Eocene fossil scarab from Africa. It is one of only a few scarab fossils from the continent and one of the best-preserved insect (invertebrate) fossils from the deposit

Taxonomy of Colophon Gray (Coleoptera : Lucanidae) : new species and a status change

Three new species of the Cape high-mountain stag beetle genus, Colophon Gray (Coleoptera: Lucanidae), from South Africa are described. They are C. deschodti new species, C. switalae new species, and C. struempheri new species. The new taxa fall within a species complex of geographically disjunct entities related to Colophon stokoei Barnard. Furthermore, the mitochondrial COI gene shows a high degree of sequence divergence, with pairwise genetic distances between the species ranging between 7.4-10.7%. The new species are illustrated by photographs. Colophon eastmani nagaii Mizuka- mi is raised to species level on the basis of geographic range and molecular differences between it and the nominate subspecies. This brings the total number of described species in the genus to 21. An updated checklist of the South African species of Colophon is also provided.National Research Foundation of South Africa (NRF).http://www.mapress.com/zootaxa/hb2016Zoology and Entomolog

Magnetic-Dipole Spin Effects in Noncommutative Quantum Mechanics

A general three-dimensional noncommutative quantum mechanical system mixing spatial and spin degrees of freedom is proposed. The analogous of the harmonic oscillator in this description contains a magnetic dipole interaction and the ground state is explicitly computed and we show that it is infinitely degenerated and implying a spontaneous symmetry breaking. The model can be straightforwardly extended to many particles and the main above properties are retained. Possible applications to the Bose-Einstein condensation with dipole-dipole interactions are briefly discussed.Comment: New references added, implications with Bose-Einstein condensationare discussed and some portions of the manuscript rewritte

Overview and revision of the extant genera and subgenera of Trogidae (Coleoptera : Scarabaeoidea)

Extant genera and subgenera of the Trogidae (Coleoptera: Scarabaeoidea) are reviewed. Contemporary classifications of this family have been based exclusively on morphological characters. The first molecular phylogeny for the family recently provided strong support for the relationships between morphologically defined genera and subgenera. On the basis of morphological, molecular and biogeographical evidence, certain taxonomic changes to the genus-level classification of the family are now proposed. Trogidae is confirmed as being divided into two subfamilies, Omorginae Nikolajev and Troginae MacLeay, the former with two genera, Omorgus Erichson and Polynoncus Burmeister; and the latter with two genera, Trox Fabricius and Phoberus MacLeay stat. rev. Phoberus is restored to generic rank to include all of the Afrotropical (including Madagascan endemic) species; Afromorgus is confirmed at subgeneric rank within the genus Omorgus; and the monotypic Madagascan genus Madagatrox syn. n. is synonymised with Phoberus. The current synonymies of Pseudotrox Robinson (with Trox), Chesas Burmeister, Lagopelus Burmeister and Megalotrox Preudhomme de Borre (all with Omorgus) are all accepted to avoid creating speculative synonyms before definitive phylogenetic evidence is available. New combinations resulting from restoring Phoberus to a monophyletic genus are listed as an Appendix.http://booksandjournals.brillonline.com/content/journals/1876312x2018-01-31hb2016Zoology and Entomolog

Allopatric speciation in the flightless Phoberus capensis (Coleoptera : Trogidae) group, with description of two new species

The name Phoberus capensis (Scholtz) is applied to a small flightless, keratinophagous beetle endemic to the Cape Floristic Region of South Africa. Its gross distribution stretches from roughly 1000 km from the Cederberg (S32°24'22" E19°04'50") to Grahamstown (S33°20'07" E26°32'50"). The populations are spatially discrete, restricted to relict forests of the southern Cape and disjunct high montane refugia of the Cape Fold Mountains. We test the hypothesis that there is more than one distinct species nested within the name P. capensis. Phylogenetic relationships among populations were inferred using molecular sequence data. The results support three distinct evolutionary lineages, which were also supported by morphological characters. Divergence time estimates suggest Pliocene-Pleistocene diversification. Based on these results, it is suggested that the P. capensis lineage experienced climatically-driven allopatric speciation with sheltered Afrotemperate forests and high mountain peaks serving as important refugia in response to climatic ameliorations. The P. capensis complex thus represents a speciation process in which flight-restricted populations evolved in close allopatry, possibly as recently as the Pleistocene. Two divergent and geographically distinct lineages are described as novel species: The new species, P. disjunctus sp. n. and P. herminae sp. n., are illustrated by photographs of habitus and male aedeagi.This project was supported by funding to Clarke H. Scholtz from the National Research Foundation of South Africa (NRF).http://booksandjournals.brillonline.com/content/journals/1876312x2018-03-31hb2016Zoology and Entomolog

Phylogeny of the family Trogidae (Coleoptera : Scarabaeoidea) inferred from mitochondrial and nuclear ribosomal DNA sequence data

Trogidae constitute a monophyletic and biologically unique family within Scarabaeoidea, being the only keratinophagous group in the superfamily. Traditionally, the family has been divided into three distinctive genera, Polynoncus Burmeister, Omorgus Erichson and Trox Fabricius. Although the taxonomy of the group is relatively well studied, changes to the existing classification have recently been proposed and the family as currently constituted has not been subjected to phylogenetic analyses. Here we present a molecular phylogeny for this cosmopolitan family based on three partially sequenced gene regions: 16S rRNA, 18S rRNA and 28S rRNA (domain 2). Included in the analyses are representatives belonging to four of the five extant genera (and three of the four subgenera) from all major zoogeographic regions, representing about 20%of the known trogid species diversity in the family. Phylogenetic analyses performed included parsimony and Bayesian inference. We deduce their historical biogeography by using trogid fossils as calibration points for divergence estimates. Our analyses resolved relationships between and within genera and subgenera that are largely congruent with existing phylogeny hypotheses based on morphological data. We recovered four well-supported radiations: Polynoncus, Omorgus, Holarctic Trox and African Phoberus MacLeay. On the basis of this study, it is proposed that taxonomic changes to the generic classification of the family be made. The subgenera Trox and Phoberus should be elevated to genera to include the Holarctic and all the Afrotropical species, respectively, and Afromorgus returned to subgeneric rank. Estimates of divergence time are consistent with a Pangaean origin of the family in the Early Jurassic. The subsequent diversification of the major lineages is largely attributed to the break-up of Pangaea and Gondwana in the Middle Jurassic and early Late Cretaceous, respectively.http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1365-3113hb201