Environment monitoring technical report for the SON cage fish culture site at Bugungu, Napoleon Gulf, northern Lake Victoria, March 2014

Source of the Nile Fish farm (SON) is located at Bugungu area in Napoleon Gulf, northern Lake Victoria. The proprietors of the farm and the National Fisheries Resources Research Institute (NaFIRRI) have an established collaborative arrangement where NaFIRRI provides technical back‐stopping to enable quarterly environment monitoring of the cage site as a mandatory requirement of the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA). The agreed study areas are selected physical‐chemical factors (water depth, water transparency/secchi depth, water temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, conductivity, and nutrient status), algal community (including primary production), aquatic invertebrates (zooplankton and macro‐benthos) and the fish community. This report presents field observations made during the first quarter (January‐March) field survey undertaken during March 2014; along with scientific interpretation and discussion of the results in reference to possible impacts of the cage facility to the water environment quality and aquatic biota. The

Structural features of geostrophic circulation in open region of the South China Sea

On the basis of observation data of water temperature and salinity the mean seasonal geostrophic circulation in open region of the South China Sea (SCS) was computed by the dynamic method relative to the 800 decibar reference surface. The results of computation let go to following notices: In both main monsoons (winter and summer) there are two main geostrophic eddies: the anticlockwise eddy in the northern and northwestern part, and the clockwise eddy in the southern part of the SCS with corresponding divergent and convergent zones. The main frontal zones go along the middle latitudes of the sea from the southern continental shelf of Vietnam to the area west of Luzon Island. The strength and stability of the current in winter are higher than in summer. The Kuroshio has an enough strong branch intruding into the SCS through Bashi Strait in winter creating in the sea the water structure similar to that of the Northwest Pacific subtropical and tropical regions. In summer the Kuroshio water can intrude directly only into the area southwest of Taiwan.

The characteristics of distribution and change of the seawater temperature and salinity of Cai river estuary and Northern Part of Nha Trang bay in the dry and rainy season

In this paper, some results of analyzing the hydrographic characteristics of the seawater temperature and salinity are presented. The received results showed that: in dry season, the influence of the Cai river water has is limited in Cai river estuary with the approximate transferable distance from the river mouth to the open sea of about 1 km. The isohaline 32%o could be defined as the separate boundary of the Cai river water; In rainy season, due to the river water discharges are high, the influence of Cai river water could be transferred to the open sea and island areas. The immerge of the Cai river water in the open sea areas in rainy season has changed the vertical structure of salinity and temperature in the northern part of Nhatrang bay. In both seasons, the Cai river water have influenced in the surface water layers 0 - 2m and the water layers deeper than 2m are influenced by the sea waters with the salinity of higher than 32%o.

Hydrogen-induced morphotropic phase transformation of single-crystalline vanadium dioxide nanobeams.

We report a morphotropic phase transformation in vanadium dioxide (VO2) nanobeams annealed in a high-pressure hydrogen gas, which leads to the stabilization of metallic phases. Structural analyses show that the annealed VO2 nanobeams are hexagonal-close-packed structures with roughened surfaces at room temperature, unlike as-grown VO2 nanobeams with the monoclinic structure and with clean surfaces. Quantitative chemical examination reveals that the hydrogen significantly reduces oxygen in the nanobeams with characteristic nonlinear reduction kinetics which depend on the annealing time. Surprisingly, the work function and the electrical resistance of the reduced nanobeams follow a similar trend to the compositional variation due mainly to the oxygen-deficiency-related defects formed at the roughened surfaces. The electronic transport characteristics indicate that the reduced nanobeams are metallic over a large range of temperatures (room temperature to 383 K). Our results demonstrate the interplay between oxygen deficiency and structural/electronic phase transitions, with implications for engineering electronic properties in vanadium oxide systems.

Fano resonance in Raman scattering of graphene

Fano resonances and their strong doping dependence are observed in Raman scattering of single-layer graphene (SLG). As the Fermi level is varied by a back-gate bias, the Raman G band of SLG exhibits an asymmetric line shape near the charge neutrality point as a manifestation of a Fano resonance, whereas the line shape is symmetric when the graphene sample is electron or hole doped. However, the G band of bilayer graphene (BLG) does not exhibit any Fano resonance regardless of doping. The observed Fano resonance can be interpreted as interferences between the phonon and excitonic many-body spectra in SLG. The absence of a Fano resonance in the Raman G band of BLG can be explained in the same framework since excitonic interactions are not expected in BLG. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Imaging the failure of a rock-fill dam following liquefaction

Rock-fill dams are popular in developing countries due to their ease of construction and use of local materials. They are used to store water and to provide flood defences. The presence of such dams in earthquake-prone regions poses risks, particularly from ground liquefaction. In this paper, results from physical model tests on dams with different configurations are presented. Model dams with impermeable cores including sheet pile walls and clay cores were tested and the effect of reservoir water was investigated. High-speed photography was used to capture the response of the model dams allowing the movement of foundation soil below the dam to be established. It is concluded that the stiffness of the impermeable core has a significant influence on the ultimate deformation of the dam. The presence of reservoir water led to increased downstream movements of the dam and differential settlements between the upstream and downstream sides.

Experimental and numerical investigation of the seismic behavior of rectangular tunnels in soft soils

Underground structures constitute crucial components of the transportation networks. Considering their significance for modern societies, their proper seismic design is of great importance. However, this design may become very tricky, accounting of the lack of knowledge regarding their seismic behavior. Several issues that are significantly affecting this behavior (i.e. earth pressures on the structure, seismic shear stresses around the structure, complex deformation modes for rectangular structures during shaking etc.) are still open. The problem is wider for the non-circular (i.e. rectangular) structures, were the soilstructure interaction effects are expected to be maximized. The paper presents representative experimental results from a test case of a series of dynamic centrifuge tests that were performed on rectangular tunnels embedded in dry sand. The tests were carried out at the centrifuge facility of the University of Cambridge, within the Transnational Task of the SERIES EU research program. The presented test case is also numerically simulated and studied. Preliminary full dynamic time history analyses of the coupled soil-tunnel system are performed, using ABAQUS. Soil non-linearity and soil-structure interaction are modeled, following relevant specifications for underground structures and tunnels. Numerical predictions are compared to experimental results and discussed. Based on this comprehensive experimental and numerical study, the seismic behavior of rectangular embedded structures is better understood and modeled, consisting an important step in the development of appropriate specifications for the seismic design of rectangular shallow tunnels.

Polarization dependence of double resonant Raman scattering band in bilayer graphene

The polarization dependence of the double resonant Raman scattering (2D) band in bilayer graphene (BLG) is studied as a function of the excitation laser energy. It has been known that the complex shape of the 2D band of BLG can be decomposed into four Lorentzian peaks with different Raman frequency shifts attributable to four individual scattering paths in the energy-momentum space. From our polarization dependence study, however, we reveal that each of the four different peaks is actually doubly degenerate in its scattering channels, i.e., two different scattering paths with similar Raman frequency shifts for each peak. We find theoretically that one of these two paths, ignored for a long time, has a small contribution to their scattering intensities but are critical in understanding their polarization dependences. Because of this, the maximum-to-minimum intensity ratios of the four peaks show a strong dependence on the excitation energy, unlike the case of single-layer graphene (SLG). Our findings thus reveal another interesting aspect of electron-phonon interactions in graphitic systems. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Revision of the genus Niwaella in China (Pisces, Cobitidae), with description of two new species

Loaches of the genus Niwaella, family Cobitidae, are distributed only in East Asia. At present only in Japan and South Korea have fishes of the genus Niwaella been found. Herein we revise the genus Niwaella in China. Son and He ( 2001) transferred the species Cobitis laterimaculata to the genus Niwaella, but their specimens were not N. laterimaculata, but a new species, N. longibarba sp. n., collected from Cao'ejiang River, Huangzezhen, Chengxian County, Zhejiang Province. The new species is distinguished from N. laterimaculata by its colour pattern of a row of slightly large, and long, scattered dark brown vertical bars on the dorsolateral surface, two or three striations on the caudal fin, and long barbels and undeveloped mental lobes. In this paper we also describe another new species, N. xinjiangensis sp. n., collected from Xinjiang River, Guangfeng County, Jiangxi Province, May 1990, with diagnostic colour pattern of 17 - 20 large and long, dark brown vertical bars on the dorsolateral surface, a dark stripe or rounded black spots along the lateral midline and some blotches below the lateral midline; it is a large-sized species, with shorter barbels, and longer caudal peduncle. Thus five species of the genus Niwaella are known, three are endemic to eastern China and two are endemic to either Japan or South Korea.

Electrical control of nanoscale functionalization in graphene by the scanning probe technique

Functionalized graphene is a versatile material that has well-known physical and chemical properties depending on functional groups and their coverage. However, selective control of functional groups on the nanoscale is hardly achievable by conventional methods utilizing chemical modifications. We demonstrate electrical control of nanoscale functionalization of graphene with the desired chemical coverage of a selective functional group by atomic force microscopy (AFM) lithography and their full recovery through moderate thermal treatments. Surprisingly, our controlled coverage of functional groups can reach 94.9% for oxygen and 49.0% for hydrogen, respectively, well beyond those achieved by conventional methods. This coverage is almost at the theoretical maximum, which is verified through scanning photoelectron microscope measurements as well as first-principles calculations. We believe that the present method is now ready to realize 'chemical pencil drawing' of atomically defined circuit devices on top of a monolayer of graphene. © 2014 Nature Publishing Group All rights reserved.

A novel preparation method of maleic anhydride grafted syndiotactic polystyrene and its blend performance with nylon6

This work is intended to provide a method for the preparation of maleic anhydride grafted syndiotactic polystyrene (sPS-g-MA). In particular, a novel solid reaction method by a radical grafting approach is investigated. The grafting reaction is performed at a solid state, where the syndiotactic polystyrene (sPS) is swollen in solvent at relatively low temperature compared to the conventional melt modification method. The formation of sPS-g-MA is directly confirmed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and by the morphology observation of sPS/polyamide-6 (Nylon6) blends, when sPS-g-MA is used as a reactive compatibilizer.

Giving and Receiving: Nuruddin Farah's Gifts, or, the Postcolonial Logic of Third World Aid

Woods, T. (2003). Giving and Receiving: Nuruddin Farah's Gifts, or, the Postcolonial Logic of Third World Aid. Journal of Commonwealth Literature, 38 (1), 91-112.

Les tribulations parisiennes de l’officier écrivain : l’oeuvre autobiographique de Yasmina Khadra et son accueil en France

This article describes Yasmina Khadra’s autobiographical work composed of two books: "L’écrivain" and "L’imposture des mots" and its reception in France. The main purpose of this study was to establish the literary genre of these books, which implies determining whether Khandra’s work represents an autobiography or an autofiction with reference to P. Lejeune’s and V. Colonna’s theoretical studies. The dividing line between two genres in Khandra’s works refl ects his inner split between being either a solder or a writer. The presentation will also help to understand the controversy resulting from Khandra’s participation in Algerian civil war. Moreover the analysis is related to modern Algerian history.