Journal articles on the topic 'Boundaries: Congo'

Nationality in the Belgian Congo: Construction and Imagination This article discusses nationality law in the Belgian Congo and analyses theoretical disputes in the contemporary legal literature concerning issues of nationality and racial segregation in colonial society. The Belgian nationality of the black inhabitants of the Congo region is depicted as mere rhetoric, since it did not protect them from racial segregation and severe discrimination. The minor importance of national boundaries in colonial society and the domination of social reality by a hegemonic racial idiom were reflected in an insufficient and inaccurate nationality law. Colonial law and regulations moreover, were built around racial categories the mutual boundaries of which were not clearly defined.

AbstractBetween 1845 and 1850, the Congo coast became the most important source of slaves for the coffee growing areas in the Brazilian Empire. This essay develops a new methodology to understand the making of the ‘nations’ of 290 Africans found on the slave ship Jovem Maria, which boarded slaves in the Congo river and was captured by the Brazilian Navy near Rio de Janeiro in 1850. A close reading of such ‘nations’ reveals a complex overlapping between languages and forms of identification that alters the historian's use of concepts such as ‘ethnolinguistic group’ and ‘Bantu-based lingua franca’ in the Atlantic world. Building on recent developments in Central African linguistics, the article develops a social history of African languages in the Atlantic that foregrounds how recaptives negotiated commonalities and boundaries in the diaspora by drawing on a political vocabulary indigenous to their nineteenth-century homes in Central Africa.

This study focuses on the establishment of the force intervention brigade in the Democratic Republic of the Congo as an offensive armed force into the equation of peacekeeping and on the paradox related to legal, military and political issues. Introducing an overtly offensive combat force will confront controversial implications for UN peacekeeping’s basic principles regarding the use of force, consent of the host country and impartiality. The intervention brigade changed unprecedentedly the boundaries of peacekeeping while creating an environment of hesitation and reluctance in spite of successful actions and its renewed mandate since 2013.

This study focuses on the establishment of the force intervention brigade in the Democratic Republic of the Congo as an offensive armed force into the equation of peacekeeping and on the paradox related to legal, military and political issues. Introducing an overtly offensive combat force will confront controversial implications for UN peacekeeping’s basic principles regarding the use of force, consent of the host country and impartiality. The intervention brigade changed unprecedentedly the boundaries of peacekeeping while creating an environment of hesitation and reluctance in spite of successful actions and its renewed mandate since 2013.

Dissenters, whatever their cause, challenge the boundaries of their society. Revivalist dissenters are no exception. Their dissent has often been studied in terms of doctrinal nuance and generational tension. The slight variations of enthusiasm are bewildering to the outsider if dissent is understood simply as a ‘second generation movement’ attempting to ignite past passion in a revival that has become clerical and formulaic. This essay places one particular instance of revivalist dissent within the wider context of a counter-cultural stance towards migration, disadvantage, local spirituality and ecclesiastical governance and suggests that the movement is better understood by this holistic approach.

SummaryThe São Francisco Paleocontinental Block (SFPB) represents part of the Congo-São Francisco Paleocontinent (CSFP), amalgamated around 2 Ga. In the Neoproterozoic, a branched continental rift system evolved to ocean basins around most edges of the SFPB that remained only partially linked to the Congo Paleocontinent by means of the Bahia-Gabon Continental Bridge. After the Brasiliano—Pan-African orogeny, two relatively preserved CSFP sectors formed the São Francisco and Congo cratons, surrounded by Neoproterozoic orogenic belts. Recent results of upper mantle P-wave seismic tomography allowed us to suggest a delimitation in lithospheric depths of the Neoproterozoic SFPB, which comprise the São Francisco Craton, and that this would have been connected with the Congo Paleocontinent along the Araçuaí Belt. It is characterized by high-velocity anomalies and its boundaries with other blocks are marked by low-velocity anomalies at lithospheric depths. We tested the resolution of the tomographic results through synthetic models obtained by a ray tracing scheme using the observed ray configuration. We observe that the lateral resolution is adequate, but the method used was not able to set the depth reached by the SFPB. Our results indicate that the SFPB area in lithospheric depths is larger than the surface area ascribed to the São Francisco craton, and thus, the SFPB basement deeply extends beneath neighboring orogenic regions, suggesting that these Neoproterozoic mobile belts, such as Araçuaí Orogen and the Brasilia Fold Belt, reworked the continental crust. We observe a low-velocity anomaly in the SFPB central region, corresponding to the Pirapora aulacogen. Our results have a good spatial correspondence with the low Bouguer anomalies used to define the SFPB in previous studies. The limits of the SFPB are consistent with deviation of the mantle flow, as suggested by SKS fast polarization.

In this report, we present new data on the diversity and geographical distribution of genetic variants in Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV) in Russia. Partial S, M, and L segment sequences of the CCHFV genome were obtained from 500 serum samples from CCHF patients and 103 pools of ticks collected in the south of the European region of Russia in 2007–2017. The investigated viral strains belonged to the lineages Europe 1 (596 samples), Africa 3 (1 sample) and a new genetic lineage, Europe 3 (6 samples). The Russian CCHFV strains of the Europe 1 lineage formed four subgroups (Va-Vd) correlated with the geographical site of virus isolation. Segment reassortment events between strains of different subgroups within lineage Europe 1 were revealed. The complete S, M and L genome segments of 18 CCHFV strains belonging to different subgroups of the Europe 1 lineage and the complete S segments of 3 strains of the Europe 3 lineage and 1 strain of the Africa 3 lineage were sequenced. The analysis of the geographical distribution of CCHFV genetic variants in southern Russia revealed local viral populations with partially overlapping boundaries.

The raising worldwide water tainting from different sources has delivered admittance to unpolluted drinking water progressively testing. The release of effluents containing colors into water bodies become as a basic ecological worry lately. Regular treatment strategies are insufficient in wiping out these steady and risky poisons, requiring the investigation of novel methodologies. In this review, Cu-doped FeO nanoparticles were easily blended by using a co-precipitation strategy, and their synthetic qualities were entirely analyzed. These nanoparticles showed extraordinary adsorption abilities in the corruption of various color compounds. In particular, manufactured acidic color was focused on for expulsion utilizing metal-doped nanoparticles. Ideal boundaries for maximal acidic color not set in stone by surveying the adsorbent portion, beginning color focus, contact time, and temperature. The pH was distinguished as a critical variable, with the best incentive for maximal adsorption of Congo Red Dye viewed as less than 7. As indicated by late discoveries, Cu/FeO nanoparticles displayed unrivalled adsorption limit with regards to Congo Red Dye color at an ideal pH of 2, a measurement of 0.5 g/500 mL, a contact season of an hour and a half, and a color centralization of 150 ppm at 35° centigrade. Pseudo second order adsorption kinetic model exhibited amazing fitting outcomes for adsorption energy and balance information.

Abstract In the narrative of survival, Souvenez-vous de moi, l’enfant de demain (2011), Serge Amisi, former child soldier in the Democratic Republic of Congo from 1997 to 2011, recounts his story of forced recruitment in Kabila’s rebel troops. A hybrid text that pushes the boundaries between fiction as well as historical and personal truth, this testimony turns out to be a privileged writing space where the social and psychic reconstruction of the narrator can be achieved. In the first part, the article explores Amisi’s singular and powerful writing which blurs the lines between reality and fiction. In the second part, the paper demonstrates how Amisi summons his memory to restore the coping mechanisms which allowed him to adapt to the living conditions around him or to face the barbaric punishments while taking a childlike look at a dehumanizing historical reality.

In this paper I consider the phenomenon of the “child-witches” in Lubumbashi (Katanga, DRC) as the result of the intertwine of two dynamics: the accusation of children within the sphere of the family and the large number of street children in Congolese cities. On the one hand, witchcraft accusations within the family tend to work in two ways: as a mode of childrenʼs subjugation, exerted especially by pastors in neopentecostal churches; and as a “pragmatic of uncertainty” that allow Congolese families to deal with uncertainties of life, such as sickness, suffering, marital problems, failure, and death. On the other hand, children in the streets of Lubumbashi suggest a witchcraft discourse linked to the symbolic violence that should be read in terms of boundaries, margins, and liminality: street children are associated with witches because they have transgressed basic social norms and they live out of the ordinary social networks (kinship, family, school). In this vein, I propose an ethnographic approach which takes into account the multiform feature of the “child-witches” highlighting the importance of the everyday practices and ordinary objects in family ties definition and witchcraft accusations.

Abstract. New detailed vegetation reconstructions are proposed in Atlantic Central Africa from a modern pollen data set derived from 199 sites (Cameroon, Gabon and Congo) including 131 new sites. In this study, the concept of plant functional classification is improved with new and more detailed plant functional types (PFTs) and new aggregations of pollen taxa. Using the biomisation method, we reconstructed (1) modern potential biomes and (2) potential succession stages of forest regeneration, a new approach in Atlantic Central African vegetation dynamics and ecosystem functioning reconstruction. When compared to local vegetation, potential biomes are correctly reconstructed (97.5% of the sites) and tropical rain forest (TRFO biome) is well identified from tropical seasonal forest (TSFO biome). When the potential biomes are superimposed on the White's vegetation map, only 76.4% of the sites are correctly reconstructed. But using botanical data, correspondence and cluster analyses, the 43 sites from Congo (Mayombe) evidence more affinities with those of central Gabon and so they can also be considered as correctly reconstructed as TRFO biome and White's map should be revised. In terms of potential succession stages of forest regeneration, the mature forest (TMFO) is well differentiated from the secondary forest (TSFE), but inside this latter group, the young and the pioneer stages are not clearly identified due probably to their low sampling representation. Moreover, linked to their progressive and mosaic character, the boundaries between two forest biomes or two forest stages are not clearly detected and need also a more intensive sampling in such transitions.

Abstract. New detailed vegetation reconstructions are proposed in Atlantic Central Africa from a modern pollen data set derived from 199 sites (Cameroon, Gabon and Congo) including 131 new sites. In this study, the concept of plant functional classification is improved with new and more detailed plant functional types (PFTs) and new aggregations of pollen taxa. Using the biomisation method, we reconstructed (1) modern potential biomes and (2) potential succession stages of forest regeneration, a new approach in Atlantic Central African vegetation dynamics and ecosystem functioning reconstruction. When compared to local vegetation, potential biomes are correctly reconstructed (97.5% of the sites) and tropical evergreen to semi-evergreen forest (TRFO biome) is well identified from semi-deciduous forest (TSFO biome). When the potential biomes are superimposed on the White's vegetation map, only 76.4% of the sites are correctly reconstructed. But using botanical data, correspondence and cluster analyses, the 43 sites from Congo (Mayombe) evidence more affinities with those of central Gabon and so they can also be considered as correctly reconstructed as TRFO biome and White's map must be revised. In terms of potential succession stages of forest regeneration, the mature forest (TMFO) is well differentiated from the secondary forest (TSFE), but inside this latter group, the young and the pioneer stages are not clearly identified due probably to their low sampling representation. Moreover, linked to their progressive and mosaic character, the boundaries between two forest biomes or two forest stages are not clearly detected and need also a more intensive sampling in such transitions.

The article examines the main climatic and geographic conditions of the Republic of Congo. It was revealed that design in the Republic of Congo is carried out in a warm and humid climate. Based on examples of analyzed construction experience in humid climates, the author made proposals for architectural techniques for organizing the space of shopping and entertainment centers at three hierarchical levels. At the urban planning level, the author proposed organizing the landscape of streets and park areas in such a way as to organize the natural drainage of water from the surface and from the upper balls of the soil. At the level of building formation, techniques are associated with organizing the collection of rainwater through the shaping of the building. The possibilities of protecting retail spaces from rain using canopies are also considered. At the spatial level, it is proposed to drain the swampy area on the territory of the shopping and entertainment center by creating canals. It is proposed to design public areas of shopping centers in such a way that public areas, using their shape, can collect surface water from rain. Further research by the author will be aimed at creating volumetric-spatial methods for organizing shopping center buildings, taking into account the warm, humid climate of the region. Also, further research will be aimed at studying the ventilation of internal open spaces of shopping and entertainment centers. These studies are aimed at creating comfortable urban hygienic conditions within the boundaries of public centers, which should become shopping and entertainment centers.

Aim.To determine the boundaries of the Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF) natural focus in the Russian Federation at the current stage, to clarify the range of the main reservoirs and vectors of CCHF pathogen, to assess the epidemiological capacity of the natural focus.Materials and methods.The materials of epidemiological and epizootological monitoring of the CCHF natural focus, methods of epidemiological and epizootological analysis, molecular-genetic and cartographic methods were used in the work. The findings have been treated using by software package Microsoft Office Excel 2010.Results.The unified integrity of the CCHF semi-desert-steppe natural focus, which occupies vast territory of the southern part of the Russian Federation of 831 thousand square kilometres, is science-based. Expanding the geographic area of the CCHF agent with the involvement new administrative district can be seen. The trend of shifting of the CCHF natural focus borders in a northerly direction has been established. An increasing of epidemiological capacity of the CCHF natural focus has been noted.Hyalomma marginatumticks are the main reservoirs and vectors of CCHF virus. The genotype «Europe-1» is predominant genotype in the natural focus.Conclusion.It is necessary to improve the tactics of CCHF epidemiological surveillance using modern science-based approaches. For example, automated forecasting-modeling system, using results of multifactorial risk analysis, which have an impact on the intensity of CCHF epidemic appearances, allows to quantitative forecast epidemiological situation on this infection in the aggregate and for certain subjects of the south of the Russian Federation.

La gestion des ressources naturelles dans les aires protégées des pays du Bassin du Congo suscite des nombreux conflits. L’objectif de cette étude est d’analyser les conflits liés à l’exploitation des ressources naturelles dans le Domaine de chasse et Réserve de Bombo Lumene (DCRBL) en République Démocratique du Congo. La collecte des données a été réalisée à travers les entretiens individuels semi-dirigés et par focus groupe, l’observation participante et l’observation non participante au niveau local. Les résultats ont montré l’existence de nombreux conflits dans le DCRBL notamment les conflits horizontaux et les conflits verticaux. Les conflits horizontaux sont les conflits intra communauté (conflits entre agriculteurs au sein d'une même communauté) et les conflits inter communauté (agriculteurs et éleveurs au sein des communautés différentes). Les conflits verticaux sont ceux opposants les communautés locales et les gestionnaires du DCRBL. Au regard de ces résultats, plusieurs solutions ont été proposées par les répondants parmi lesquelles, la nouvelle délimitation des villages et du DCRBL, le respect des lois régissant le DCRBL et la création d’un comité de conservation communautaire. Les résultats de cette étude pourront servir d’outil de décisions pour les autorités étatiques, les gestionnaires des ressources naturelles et les communautés locales. Cependant, une étude socioéconomique est souhaitable en vue de détecter d’autres sources latentes de conflits. The management of natural resources in the protected areas of the Congo Basin countries gives rise to numerous conflicts. The aim of this study was to analyze the conflicts related to the exploitation of natural resources in the Bombo Lumene Hunting Domain and Reserve (DCRBL) in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Data collection was carried out through semi-directed individual interviews and focus groups, participant observation and non-participant observation at the local level. The results showed the existence of many conflicts in the DCRBL including horizontal conflicts and vertical conflicts. Horizontal conflicts are intra-community conflicts (conflicts between farmers within the same community) and inter-community conflicts (farmers and herders within different communities). Vertical conflicts are those between local communities and DCRBL managers. In view of these results, several solutions were proposed by the respondents, including the new boundaries of the villages and the DCRBL, compliance with the laws governing the DCRBL and the creation of the community conservation committee. The results of this study can be used as a decision-making tool for state authorities, natural resource managers and local communities. However, a socio-economic study is desirable in order to detect other latent sources of conflict.

We introduce four contributions to this special issue exploring insecurity in contemporary African cities, drawing on case studies from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Somalia, and South Africa. We problematise alarmist and decontextualised discourses surrounding Africa�s rapid urbanisation, identifying common findings across empirically rich contributions ranging from gangs and vigilantes to migration, mobile phone technology, and community (dis)connections to basic services. We show that marginal residents traverse blurred boundaries between formal/informal, legal/illegal, and acceptable/subversive in their quotidian struggle for survival, arguing that by reifying rather than reducing structural inequalities, Africa�s growing cities force many into �insurgent� forms of citizenship. Importantly, this is rarely entirely oppositional or supportive of the state and status quo: it occupies ambiguous social space as both resistance and collusion. The complicity of some state elements in producing transgressive or informal modes of urban governance and services underlines our key conclusion: addressing Africa�s urban insecurity requires political change: technological and infrastructural progress alone is insufficient.

This article explores current historical thinking regarding the ‘small wars’ fought on the frontiers of European empires during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. By drawing on a variety of examples ranging from South Africa to Bolivia and Australia to the Congo, the authors identify three major themes - the expansionist aims of imperial governments often being shrouded in a veneer of benevolence, the brutal fighting that occurred when Indigenous populations challenged the loss of traditional lands, and the speed with which the ostensibly ‘civilised’ European colonists discarded battlefield norms when they waged what were in effect wars of annihilation. In a challenge to the thematic or narrow temporal boundaries that have traditionally dominated scholarship, the authors avoid characterising these wars in discrete national terms. For though every frontier conflict possessed its own unique character, there are broad similarities that can be explored through an analysis of European thinking regarding these ‘small wars’ and the violence and destruction that accompanied them.

Two new Kneria species, K. luansaensis sp. nov. and K. maxi sp. nov., are described from the Luansa River, a left bank tributary of the lower Luapula in the Bangweulu–Mweru ecoregion, based on an integrative approach using morphological and COI barcoding evidence. While K. luansaensis sp. nov. occurs from the source of the Luansa further downstream to above the last of the three Sanshifolo Falls, K. maxi sp. nov. only occurs downstream of all these three major falls. In Kneria, males of about ≥ 33 mm LS have an opercular and a postopercular organ. The number of lamellae on the latter seems to contain some alpha-taxonomic information, although this requires further study as allometric changes occur at about ≤ 45 mm LS. Additional external morphological characters differ between sexes, i.e., the (i) pectoral fin width (wider in males than females), (ii) dorsal fin height (longer in males than females), and (iii) length of the longest ray of the lower caudal fin lobe (longer in males than females). Agriculture, fishing with ichthyotoxines, and logging are the most pressing threats on the Luansa and thus to both the new species. Their discovery in one of the rivers of the Kundelungu Plateau and its surroundings located outside the present-day boundaries of the Kundelungu National Park highlights the need for a refined and improved protection strategy for this freshwater key biodiversity area.

Between 2014 and 2016, the three West African countries of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone experienced the deadliest Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak in sub-Saharan Africa. Two years later, a tenth epidemic recurred in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), specifically in the North Kivu and Ituri provinces, which lasted until June 2020. Though they occurred in different countries, a review of how the EVD outbreaks in Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and the DRC were handled by the respective country governments, reveal gaps in disease detection, response and action due to lack of surveillance, an EVD preparedness plan, and weak health systems. This perspective discusses the EVD outbreaks in Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and the DRC, their effects, and draws attention to gaps that need to be addressed by these countries in order to be better prepared to handle future outbreaks. Acting on the proposed recommendations will not only benefit Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and the DRC in the future, but will be of benefit to EVD susceptible countries in sub-Saharan Africa, as we live in a global community where diseases are no respecters of boundaries.

The climate catastrophe is being caused by human effects on earth system processes that are surpassing several planetary boundaries. This crisis is driven significantly by the global food system. It has been increasing over recent years, yet food systems are essential in upholding food and nutrition security. This study proposed a novel method for enumerating national contributions to the cessation of the climate crisis by approximating nations’ aggregate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from food systems, within the equitable and sustainable planetary boundaries of climate change. This study included 221 nations, which were grouped as per their human development index (HDI) categories, income groups, and continental locations. During 1990–2018, the annual fair share, overshoot of emissions, and collective historical responsibility in the world of each country were assessed. There was a 22.52% increase in overshooting of GHG emissions from the global food system, starting in 1990. A group of 15 countries, including Brazil, China, Indonesia, and the U.S.A., were responsible for >67% of global overshoot. The primary liability is borne by countries with upper-, middle-, and high-income economies, and high to very-high HDI groups, as well as Asia and South America. Countries such as India, China, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and others have steadily increased their share of responsibility over the last 28 years. More than 76% of countries in the world, mostly from Africa, Europe, and Asia, proved to be absolute overshooters. After contextualising the study’s findings, the global food system’s decarbonization and its limits were discussed; some recommendations for prospective research were also offered. It appears that academics, governments, and policymakers should start concentrating more on reshaping and redesigning the global food system to be climate-friendly (i.e., a carbon-neutral food system), whilst being able to fairly allocate food and nutrition security to achieve long-term Sustainable Development Goal 2 (SDG 2).

The genus Toxicodryas, historically included with the renowned Australasian cat-eyed snakes of the colubrid genus Boiga, currently includes two widespread species (T. blandingii and T. pulverulenta) in western, central, and eastern Africa. We leverage findings from a recent phylogenomic and historical demographic analysis of this genus (based on 2848–4471 Rad-seq loci from across the genome), with robust sampling from throughout the ranges of both species, to define two additional taxonomic units, with species boundaries corresponding to river barriers. Additional morphometric data from scores of examined museum specimens and literature records bolster the recognition of these two new cryptic species. We hypothesize that T. blandingii occurs west of the confluence of the Congo and Ubangi rivers, whereas a cryptic new species that is found east of this biogeographic barrier has significantly higher numbers of ventral scale counts in both sexes, additional significant differences in several scale counts, and lower venom toxicity. Toxicodryas pulverulenta occurs west of the Niger Delta in West Africa, whereas a cryptic new species that is found east of this biogeographic barrier has significantly higher numbers of subcaudal scale counts in both sexes. A review of published information regarding morphological variation, ecology, natural history, habitat, and venom is summarized for these four Toxicodryas species.

Abstract. The United Nations has underscored the critical role of digital connectivity by integrating it into several sustainable development goals, with the ambition for nations worldwide to achieve comprehensive access by 2030. Over thousand million people, primarily in rural areas, are disconnected from the digital world, highlighting the urgent need for viable and sustainable telecommunications solutions. These areas are characterized by sparse populations and lower economic levels, presenting great challenges for connectivity. This work introduces a strategy for enhancing rural telecommunication planning using geospatial and remote sensing data, deep learning-based clustering techniques, network graphs, and terrain analysis. The objective is to develop an optimal network topology and identify prime locations for telecommunications infrastructure, such as towers or relay stations. The methodology begins with the application of an adapted Deep Embedded Clustering (DEC) technique to identify community boundaries accurately. Then, it combines geospatial data (such as roads, terrain slope, flatness, etc.) and remote sensing data (vegetation, waterways, etc.) through an optimization algorithm. This process aims to determine the most suitable sites for infrastructure placement and the best network topology for connecting these areas. The study focuses on the region of Congo, offering a detailed case study on the application of this approach. Experimental results are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed telecommunications expansion strategy.

In Russia, as in other countries, the problem of emerging natural focal infectious diseases (EIDs) became more acute toward the end of the 20th century. However, the situation in Russia is unknown to foreign readers, while the prevention and control of these diseases require international collaboration. The aim of the study is to provide a medical–geographical assessment of the distribution of the main natural focal EIDs in Russia, as well as to present the approaches used in the country to create aggregate maps of risk assessment. To consider its current status, we determined the most important natural focal EIDs for Russia (tick-borne encephalitis, ixodid tick-borne borrelioses, hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome, Crimean–Congo hemorrhagic fever, West Nile fever, Astrakhan spotted fever, leptospiroses, and tularemia) and analyzed the patterns of their epidemic manifestation. As a result, a working classification of such infections and a series of maps showing the current situation of EID morbidity in Russia were created. To design an aggregated risk map, we developed an original mapping methodology and recalculated the model disease incidence by taking data from administrative units and adjusting them for natural geographical boundaries (biomes) for European Russia, and then evaluated the risk of infection for separate model diseases and for a set of them. The highest risk rates are confined to the northwest regions of European Russia, the Cis-Urals and the Volga region, which are naturally related to forest biomes, as well as to the southern steppe regions of the interfluves between the Volga and the Don, and the foothills of the North Caucasus.

Monkeypox is now a disease of global public health concern, making it cut across boundaries into different countries, continents and spread worldwide. However, it originated in the Democratic Republic of Congo as a human pathogen in 1970, with the first case reported in Nigeria in 1971. The World Health Organization recently declared Nigeria the country with the highest burden of monkeypox-confirmed cases and deaths in Africa for the current outbreak. This study aimed to identify forms, challenges, strengths, and ways to further strengthen the surveillance system of monkeypox in Nigeria. We conducted a rapid narrative review of articles published in English on monkeypox between January 2018 and October 2022. Google Scholar and PubMed were searched with the following terms: "Monkeypox", "Surveillance system", "Strengthening", "Challenges" "Nigeria" and relevant publications were reviewed. The forms of surveillance systems in Nigeria include Indicator-based and Event-based surveillance, contact tracing, laboratory-based surveillance, sero-surveillance, and mortality surveillance. Shortage of highly skilled staff in public health interventions, insufficient testing capacities, power instability, poor healthcare systems and stigmatization from communities with misinformation, and co-epidemic surveillance burden in Nigeria are some of the challenges contributing to weak surveillance in the country. The Nigerian governments must focus on investing in surveillance systems and bolster preparedness to stem the rapid spread of infectious diseases. Strengthening the surveillance system in the country as a response intervention for monkeypox is no longer a matter of option in Nigeria but of necessity to prevent the forecasted effect the incidence portends.

AbstractBiological surveys starting in the 1950s provided clear evidence that the Itombwe Massif, located in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, is one of the most important areas for conservation in Africa. Further surveys in the mid 1990s and early 2000s showed key species were still present and could be conserved. Following a report on these surveys the Ministry of Environment established the Itombwe Reserve in 2006 without consulting local communities who have legitimate customary rights to reside within the area and use the region's natural resources. Although creating the Reserve was within the government's legal authority, its establishment violated the rights of the people there. Here we report over a decade of work by a consortium of international and national human rights and conservation NGOs, the local communities and the protected areas authority (Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature), to remediate this taking of customary rights. Starting in 2008 these partners began a participatory process with all 550 villages within and around the boundary of the Reserve. Using a community resource use mapping approach, developed from best practices, the team helped communities determine the boundary of the Reserve, and then pilot participatory zoning to identify zones for settlements, agriculture, hunting, gathering of non-timber forest products, and conservation. This process secured the customary rights of long-term residents in the Reserve and protected their lands from being taken by non-rights holders. As a result of this work the use rights of communities were largely restored and the communities agreed on 23 June 2016 to formalize the boundaries of the renamed Itombwe Nature Reserve.

The enhanced horizontal derivative (EHD) is an enhancement filter whose maxima provide estimated locations of the sources' boundaries. This filter is defined as the total horizontal derivative (THDR) of a weighted sum of vertical derivatives of increasing order. We consider some aspects of the practical implementation of the EHD filter, especially its robustness. A slightly different version of EHD, which we refer to as mEHD, is obtained when we switch the order of THDR and the weighted sum; that is, when we consider the weighted sum of total horizontal derivatives of the successive vertical derivatives. It turns out that mEHD can be more stable and provide a clearer enhanced map than the original filter, as demonstrated with examples of synthetic data and aeromagnetic data from Southern Brazil. Moreover, we address the choice of the weighting coefficients of the vertical derivatives, emphasizing that the standard choice of unitary weights may not be the most appropriate one. The enhanced horizontal derivative (EHD) is an enhancement filter whose maxima provide estimated locations of the sources' boundaries. This filter is defined as the total horizontal derivative (THDR) of a weighted sum of vertical derivatives of increasing order. We consider some aspects of the practical implementation of the EHD filter, especially its robustness. A slightly different version of EHD, which we refer to as mEHD, is obtained when we switch the order of THDR and the weighted sum; that is, when we consider the weighted sum of total horizontal derivatives of the successive vertical derivatives. It turns out that mEHD can be more stable and provide a clearer enhanced map than the original filter, as demonstrated with examples of synthetic data and aeromagnetic data from Southern Brazil.

AbstractIn the present study, we have attempted to map the plate boundary between Arabia and Africa at the Northern Red Sea rift region including the Suez rift, Gulf of Aqaba-Dead Sea transform and southeastern Mediterranean region by using gravity data analysis. In the boundary analysis method which was used; low-pass filtered gravity anomalies of the Northern Red Sea rift region were computed. Different crustal types and thicknesses, sediment thicknesses and different heat flow anomalies were evaluated. According to the results, there are six subzones (crustal blocks) separated from each other by tectonic plate boundaries and/or lineaments. It seems that these tectonic boundaries reveal complex structural lineaments, which are mostly influenced by a predominant set of NNW–SSE to NW–SE trending lineaments bordering the Red Sea and Suez rift regions. On the other side, the E–W and N–S to NNE–SSW trended lineaments bordering the South-eastern Mediterranean, Northern Sinai and Aqaba-Dead Sea transform regions, respectively. The analysis of the low pass filtered Bouguer anomaly maps reveals that the positive regional anomaly over both the Red Sea rift and South-eastern Mediterranean basin subzones are considered to be caused by the high density of the oceanic crust and/or the anomalous upper mantle structures beneath these regions whereas, the broad medium anomalies along the western half of Central Sinai with the Suez rift and the Eastern Desert subzones are attributed to low-density sediments of the Suez rift and/or the thick upper continental crustal thickness below these zones. There are observable negative anomalies over the Northern Arabia subzone, particularly in the areas covered by Cenozoic volcanics. These negative anomalies may be attributed to both the low densities of the surface volcanics and/or to a very thick upper continental crust. On the contrary, the negative anomaly which belongs to the Gulf of Aqaba-Dead Sea transform zone is due to crustal thickening (with limited heat flow values) below this region. Additionally in this study, the crustal thinning was investigated with heat flow, magnetic and free air gravity anomalies in the Northern Red Sea rift region. In fact, the crustal thinning of the study area was also proportional to the regions of observable high heat flow values. Finally, our results were found to be well correlated with the topography, free air, aeromagnetic and heat flow dataset profiles crossing most of the study area.

Several surface geophysical methods were used to study the displays of undermined spaces in their physical fields and to try to distinguish undermined from non-undermined parts of underground mining area. The studied area of the Čáry lignite mine in the Western Slovakia represents an actively subsided place with high risk to the population. Despite very low radioactivity and relatively high gas permeability of building geological formations, the results of soil radon emanometry show the possibility of radon gas accumulation inside the undermined spaces, but their permanent subsidence causes loosing of overlying material and escape of radon gas. The boundaries (edges) of undermined and sunken areas were identified as the only places with increased values of 222Rn activity, probably due to the presence of vertical supporting mine walls allowing radon gas accumulation and upward movement. Thus, the soil radon emanometry clearly indicates the borders between undermined or sunken and non-undermined parts.

Background: Radiation therapy is used in two-third of all patients diagnosed with cancer in any form and it has become an integral part of modern treatment strategies for many types of cancers in recent decade. Semi-urban and rural places in India lack healthcare facilities and so as the cancer care facilities. Aim: To identify the propensity of a metro-centric oncologic care in developing countries undermining the need of availability of facilities in smaller towns and cities. Methods: Data for state-wise population for 2016 and 2026 was projected using cohort component method. For the projection of cancer incidence and prevalence in 2016 and 2026, we assumed that the state-level prevalence and incidence of cancer in the year 2015 will not change over time in 2016. Data collected through telephonic interviews from the radiotherapy centers listed by Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB), India. Further, we assumed few scenarios of cancer incidence and prevalence increase and projected state wise cancer burden in 2026. Results: With almost 70% population of India residing in districts and cities lacking quality health care, the situation of cancer care is much grave. India is currently equipped with only 394 RTU (Radiation Therapy Unit) against requirement of almost 1300 RTU, amounting to 0.38 RTU per million populations as per World Health Organization. The public sponsored healthcare infrastructure for cancer treatment, and research is centralized with all the resources centered in metro/major cities. Eight metro cities of India with a combined population of 140.6 million hold control of 188 RTU under their boundaries. Thus, while habitants of these eight metro cities, constituting only 10.9% of the national population, avail treatment benefit from 38% of total RTU capacity of India, rest of Indian population at 1143.8 million strengths is left prey to the wrath of cancer with just 306 machines at disposal. In comparison, the developed nations as the United States of America, Australia, and the United Kingdom fare far better in RTU availability for treatment of diagnosed cancer patients, with RTU per million population density of 12.45, 10.12 and 5.04 respectively. Similar scenario has been seen in other LMICs in world like Congo, Mongolia, Sudan, Nigeria, Nepal etc. Conclusion: We observed that wide disparity exists in India concerning RTU and cancer facility availability and density per million populations in between metro cities and rest of India and a dire need of improvement to fight against cancer which is very similar to the situation in developing countries.

Groundwater is an important factor in establishing new urban communities, especially in coastal arid and semi-arid regions. Egypt is one of the world's driest countries, with hyper-arid territory accounting for 86% of the total area and arid and semi-arid terrain accounting for the rest. The present work aims to demonstrate the powerful integration of geophysical techniques to assess groundwater potentiality and suitability in Gara Oasis (GO), which describes a good example of Egypt's strategic southern extension of its arid north-western coast. Geophysical methods, including electrical resistivity and aeromagnetics, were used to evaluate groundwater resources. The study region reduced to pole total magnetic intensity map is subjected to digital filters that include derivatives, analytic signal, and tilt angle. The possible structures controlling the shallow and deep aquifers are delineated and integrated with geoelectric results. Moreover, two magnetic tomography sections are constructed to show the subsurface distribution of magnetic susceptibilities and formation boundaries. Ten vertical electric soundings (VESs) are measured and used in this study to construct four geoelectrical cross-sections. According to the results, Gara's commonly calculated subsurface resistivity model comprises six major resistivity layers. The 5th layer, in particular, is composed of Fractured dolomitic Limestone and represents a possible promising shallow aquifer. Moreover, as evidenced by various magnetic data filters, the shallow (Miocene carbonate) and deep (Nubian sandstone) aquifers are structurally controlled and regulated by a system of faults or contacts. These contacts trends NW–SE, E–W, and NE–SW as common trends emerged from the total derivative and tilt maps. Results suggest that the central part (N–S zone) together with the western side of Gara, have the most notable aquifer possibility demanded future improvement strategies.

Abstract The available aerial gamma-ray spectrometric data of Ar-Rassafeh Badyieh area (Area-2) are used herein for geological interpretations and mapping purposes. Those data are interpreted by the concentration-number (C-N) fractal modelling technique, with the use of log-log graphs. According to C-N model, different radioactive ranges of TC, eU, eTh, and K have been isolated. Those ranges are thereafter used to characterize the lithological outcrops in the study area. The radioactive signatures of all the outcrops in Area-2 have been discussed and documented through establishing the C-N maps of TC, eU, eTh, and K, and benefiting of the available geological map. The C-N fractal modelling technique proves its efficacy, where radioactive and lithological boundaries of outcrops are in concordance. The case study presented in this paper shows the importance and the role of airborne gamma-ray spectrometric and fractal modelling techniques to support the geological mapping and the interpretations in geological context, particularly when the study region is rugged and difficult to be accessed.

AbstractThe paper deals with the revision and enrichment of the present gravimetric database of the Slovak Republic. The output of this process is a new version of the complete Bouguer anomaly (CBA) field on our territory. Thanks to the taking into account of more accurate terrain corrections, this field has significantly higher quality and higher resolution capabilities. The excellent features of this map will allow us to re-evaluate and improve the qualitative interpretation of the gravity field when researching the structural and tectonic geology of the Western Carpathian lithosphere. In the contribution we also analyse the field of the newCBAbased on the properties of various transformed fields – in particular the horizontal gradient, which by its local maximums defines important density boundaries in the lateral direction. All original and new transformed maps make a significant contribution to improving the geological interpretation of theCBAfield. Except for the horizontal gradient field, we are also interested in a new special transformation ofTDXAS, which excellently separates various detected anomalies of gravity field and improves their lateral delimitation.

Background and context: The use of radiotherapy in developing countries is slowly gaining momentum but the gains are accompanied by some pitfalls. The breakdown of a teletherapy (cobalt 60) machine in Uganda is an example of the challenges to be considered while expanding access to treatment. It was a major test for the country and the Uganda Cancer Institute the agency of government responsible for provision of cancer services. It attracted a national and international outcry. This unprecedented response was based on the importance a seemingly old equipment in Kampala was playing in the entire region (Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo and southern Sudan). However, the manner in which the crisis was handled demonstrated clearly how to turn a misfortune into an opportunity given the many lessons learnt. Aim: In this paper we aim to highlight how the breakdown of the equipment triggered a major crisis and the response to the crisis resulting in the restoration of services within a reasonable time frame. We also want to show the long-term service modernization and expansion drive this has triggered within Uganda and the entire region. Strategy/Tactics: The restoration process comprised planning, decommissioning, renovation, security and safety systems, procurement of new machine, installation and commissioning. As this was ongoing there was the need for care provision for patient in need. Concurrently undertaken was public reassurance through building confidence and trust in the capacity for speedy restoration of services. Program/Policy process: All these steps were taken collaboratively within country, region and internationally. In the region there was support from the Aga Khan University Hospital Nairobi and internationally, technical support from the IAEA. Outcomes: Service has been fully restored, a new teletherapy cobalt machines installed and commissioned. The machine has modern capabilities compared with the previous. So far more than 200 patients have been treated. The numbers of patients are steadily increasing hence the government has embarked on modernization and expansion of the radiotherapy services in the country. What was learned: The breakdown of Uganda's radiotherapy machines has provided lessons that are important for handling health system operational crisis which may occur as we try to build complex delivery systems. It provided lessons that are important in the drive for expansion of radiotherapy services in developing countries. In particular that benefit of investments in modern equipment transcends national boundaries. Secondly how to limit potential impact of major crisis through regional and international collaboration. Further that the needs of patients is central in crisis management. Finally need to consider pooling infrastructure investments in tackling NCD's such as the East Africa's centre of excellence for skills and tertiary education project of the East African community.

Abstract Geophysical methods offer a broad spectrum of information by dealing with slope deformations. The electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) method is mainly applied for spatial localization of the landslide body and depicting the shear zone position. This article presents the application of the ERT method for the landslide hazardous areas by means of numerical modelling. Four different synthetic models with very small resistivity contrast (30 Ohm.m/50 Ohm.m), where each model represents a different type of slope deformation, were tested by several factors affecting the final inverse model: measurement point density, L1 and L2 norm and L-norm roughness filter components. The higher measurement points density helps mainly to detect the boundaries at greater depths. Inverse models computed using the L1 norm bring satisfactory results for compact anomalous bodies, i.e. water saturated landslide body. In the case of subtle conductive zones, i.e. shear planes, the L2 norm based inversion is recommended. For enhanced reconstruction of skewed anomalous objects, roughness filter including a diagonal component produces more accurate inverse image. The article also demonstrates the ability of the ERT method to detect and describe the shape of the slope deformation even by a relative subtle resistivity contrast

AbstractNumerical simulations of the geodynamo are becoming more realistic because of advances in computer technology. Here, the geodynamo model is investigated numerically at the extremely low Ekman and magnetic Prandtl numbers using the PARODY dynamo code. These parameters are more realistic than those used in previous numerical studies of the geodynamo. Our model is based on the Boussinesq approximation and the temperature gradient between upper and lower boundaries is a source of convection. This study attempts to answer the question how realistic the geodynamo models are. Numerical results show that our dynamo belongs to the strong-field dynamos. The generated magnetic field is dipolar and large-scale while convection is small-scale and sheet-like flows (plumes) are preferred to a columnar convection. Scales of magnetic and velocity fields are separated, which enables hydromagnetic dynamos to maintain the magnetic field at the low magnetic Prandtl numbers. The inner core rotation rate is lower than that in previous geodynamo models. On the other hand, dimensional magnitudes of velocity and magnetic fields and those of the magnetic and viscous dissipation are larger than those expected in the Earth’s core due to our parameter range chosen.

Abstract This paper is a general review which basically focuses on the role of geoelectrical surveys in characterizing and deriving the constraints and hydrogeological conditions in semi arid Khanasser valley region and its surroundings in Northern Syria. Schlumberger configuration has been used to carry out ninety six vertical electrical soundings VES, distributed on nine transverse and three longitudinal profiles. Their quantitative 1D interpretations with different techniques yield to develop several alternative approaches, that enable us to derive and determine the hydrological parameters of the structures controlled by the groundwater distributions. Two different northern and southern geological structures separated by Hobs-Serdah water divided line were electrically characterized. Both of them are of very conductive zones of a resistivity less than 4 Ωm, and related to the intrusion of salty water in Quaternary and Paleogene aquifers. The qualitative interpretation of the iso-apparent resistivity maps for different AB/2 spacings has allowed the delineation of those two structures. Those two identified structures have their evident influences on the distributions of thicknesses, resistivity, salinity, hydraulic conductivity, and transmissivity of both Quaternary and Paleogene aquifers. The high resistivity exceeding 300 Ωm on the measured VES is a very good signal of the presence of basalt formation of upper Miocene age in Jebel Al Hass in the west and Jebel Shbith in the east. The geometry and the electrical characteristics of Quaternary and Paleogene aquifers and the top of Maestrichtian have been well recognized. Quaternary paleosabkhas, fractured zones and tectonic features of the subsurface of Khanasser valley have been delineated through analyzing VES distributions along the executed longitudinal and transverse profiles. Different empirical relationships have been already established through coupling geoelectrical resistivity and hydrochemical data, which allows to derive and establish different salinity maps for different AB/2 spacings, and to outline the boundaries between fresh, brackish and saline waters. Two different alternative approaches have been also developed for geophysically computing and estimating the hydraulic conductivity and the transmissivity of the aquifers in the study region. The different hydrogeophysical approaches developed in this integrated geophysical research project for water resource management have been successfully applied in Khanasser valley, and can be recommended to be practiced in similar worldwide areas.

O presente artigo se debruça sobre o conto “Casa Assombrada”, coletado no único volume de contos que Virginia Woolf publicou em vida, Monday or Tuesday (1921), para investigar de que maneira seus contos intensificam a crise dos gêneros literários que seus romances encenam, por um lado; e para entender como tal crise é análoga à questão política que assombra toda sua obra, por outro lado: o gênero enquanto questão identitária. Em diálogo com a filosofia e com a crítica woolfiana, este estudo articula essa “crise dos gêneros” (gender x genre) e, ao mesmo tempo, produz uma contextualização histórico-cultural dos contos de Virginia Woolf. Palavras-chave: Virginia Woolf. Conto. Gênero literário. Questões de gênero. Referências AGAMBEN, Giorgio. Elogio da profanação. In: AGAMBEN, Giorgio. Profanações. Tradução Selvino Assman. São Paulo: Boitempo, 2007. p. 65-81 BENJAMIN, Walter. Sobre a linguagem em geral e sobre a linguagem humana. In: Linguagem, tradução, literatura. Tradução João Barrento. Belo Horizonte: Autêntica, 2018 [1916]. p. 9-27. BENZEL, Kathryn N.; HOBERMAN, Ruth. Trespassing boundaries: Virginia Woolf’s Short Fiction. New York: Palgrave MacMillan, 2004. BRAIDOTTI, Rosi. Nomadic theory: The portable Rosi Braidotti. New York: Columbia University, 2011. BRIGGS, Julia. Virginia Woolf, an Inner Life. Londres: Harcourt Brace, 2005. CIXOUS, Hélène. First names of no one. In: SELLERS, Susan (org.). The Hélène Cixous Reader. Londres: Routledge, 1994 [1974]. p. 25-35. DELEUZE, Gilles; GUATTARI, Félix. 28 de novembro de 1947 – Como criar para si um corpo sem órgãos?. Tradução Aurélio Guerra Neto. In: DELEUZE, Gilles; GUATTARI, Félix. Mil Platôs. São Paulo: 34, 1996 [1980]. v. 3. p. 11-34. FOUCAULT, Michel. Docile bodies. In: FOUCAULT, Michel; RABINOW, Paul (ed.). The Foucault reader. Toronto: Penguin, 1984a. p. 179-187. FOUCAULT, Michel. The body of the condemned. In: FOUCAULT, Michel; RABINOW, Paul (ed.). The Foucault reader. Toronto: Penguin, 1984b. p. 170-178. GOLDMAN, Jane. Modernism, 1910-1945, Image to apocalypse. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2004. GOLDMAN, Jane. The Cambridge introduction to Virginia Woolf. Cambridge: Cambridge University, 2006. HARRIS, Wendell. Vision and form: the English novel and the emergence of the story. In: MAY, Charles (ed.). The new short story theories. Athens, Ohio: Ohio University, 1994. p. 181-191. KRISTEVA, Julia. Stabat mater. Tradução A. Goldhammer. In: MOI, Toril (ed.). The Kristeva reader. Oxford: Blackwell, 1986 [1977]. p. 160-187. MATTHEWS, Brander. The philosophy of the short-story. Londres: Forgotten, 2015. [1901]. PEREIRA, Lucia Miguel. Dualidade de Virginia Woolf. In: ______. Escritos da maturidade. Rio de Janeiro: Graphia, 2005. [1944] p. 106-110. SELLERS, Susan (ed.). The Cambridge Companion to Virginia Woolf. 2. ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University, 2010. WOOLF, Leonard. Beginning again: an autobiography of the years 1911 to 1918. New York: Harvest, 1975. [1964] WOOLF, Leonard. Editorial Preface. In: WOOLF, Virginia; WOOLF, Leonard (eds.). Granite and rainbow. Londres: Harcourt, 1958. p. 7-8. WOOLF, Leonard. Foreword. In: WOOLF, Virginia; WOOLF, Leonard (eds.). A haunted house and other stories. Londres: Harcourt, 1944. p. v-vi. WOOLF, Virginia. A haunted house. In: WOOLF, Virginia; WOOLF, Leonard (eds.). A haunted house and other stories. Londres: Harcourt, 1944 [1921]. p. 3-5. WOOLF, Virginia. A room of one’s own & Three guineas. Londres: Oxford University, 1992 [1929] [1938]. WOOLF, Virginia. A sketch of the past. In: WOOLF, Virginia; SCHULKIND, Jeanne (eds.). Moments of being. London: Harcourt Brace, 1985 [1976]. p. 64-159. WOOLF, Virginia. Casa assombrada. In: WOOLF, Virginia. Contos completos. Tradução Leonardo Fróes. São Paulo: Cosac Naify, 2005 [1921]. p. 162-165. WOOLF, Virginia. Granite and rainbow, ed. Leonard Woolf. Londres: Harcourt, 1958. WOOLF, Virginia. Jacob’s room. Oxford: Oxford University, 2008 [1922]. WOOLF, Virginia. Kew gardens. In: WOOLF, Virginia; WOOLF, Leonard (eds.). A haunted house and other stories. Londres: Harcourt, 1944 [1919]. p. 28-36. WOOLF, Virginia. Men and women. In: WOOLF, Virginia; BARRETT, Michele (eds.). Women and writing. Londres: Harcourt, 1979 [1920]. p. 64-68. WOOLF, Virginia. Modern fiction. In: WOOLF, Virginia. The common reader: first series. Londres: Vintage, 2003 [1925]. p. 146-154. WOOLF, Virginia. Monday or Tuesday. Londres: The Hogarth, 1921. WOOLF, Virginia. Night and day. ed. Michael Whitworth. Cambridge: Cambridge University, 2018. WOOLF, Virginia. Professions for women. In: WOOLF, Virginia; WOOLF, Leonard (eds.). The death of the moth and other essays. Londres: Harcourt, 1942 [1931]. WOOLF, Virginia. The complete shorter fiction of Virginia Woolf. ed. Susan Dick. Orlando: Harcourt, 2006 [1985]. WOOLF, Virginia. The diary of Virginia Woolf, ed. Anne Olivier Bell, 5 vols. New York: Penguin, 1979-1985 [1977-1984]. WOOLF, Virginia. The letters of Virginia Woolf, ed. Nigel Nicolson, 6 vols. Londres: The Hogarth, 1975-1980. WOOLF, Virginia. The mark on the wall. In: WOOLF, Virginia; WOOLF, Leonard (eds.). A haunted house and other stories. Londres: Harcourt, 1944 [1921]. p. 37-47. WOOLF, Virginia. Thoughts on peace in an air raid. In: ______. The death of the moth and other essays, ed. Leonard Woolf. Londres: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1942. [1940] WOOLF, Virginia. The voyage out. Oxford: Oxford University, 2009 [1915]. WOOLF, Virginia. The waves. Oxford: Oxford University, 1992 [1931].

Boosting the lower oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activity of perovskite cathode material is essential for the development and widespread use of IT-SOFC. Oxygen ion migration at the cathode-electrolyte interface can enhance by introducing structural modifications consisting of high grain boundary density and heterointerfaces [1]. Herein, we fabricated Sr2CoNbO6- δ @Sm0.2Ce0.8O1.9 (SCNO@SDC) nanofiber composite using an electrospinning technique and examined the electrochemical impedance for the symmetric cell in air atmosphere. The distinct phases of SCNO and SDC were observed from XRD and FESEM-EDAX analysis. The ionic conductivity was analysed to monitor the electrochemical activity of synthesised material, and the results illustrated that the activation energy for the nanofiber was 0.51 eV lower than conventional composites’ 0.73 eV. The thermal expansion coefficient showed improvement as the value of 14.3 Х 10-6 K-1 for nanofiber composite than the 17.6 Х 10-6 K-1 of SCNO-SDC [2]. The symmetric SCNO|SDC|SCNO cell electrodes from nanofiber were fabricated, and electrochemical performance was compared with 20% SDC-SCNO composite in an air atmosphere with varying temperatures from 500oC to 700oC. Figure 1. compares polarisation resistance with increased temperature for nanofiber and conventional electrodes. The polarization resistance significantly decreased from 2.76 Ω cm2 to 0.69 Ω cm2 for the nanofiber composite than the conventional electrode 5.2 Ω cm2 to 2.1 Ω cm2 [3]. The sluggish ORR activity improved due to unique microstructure, high porosity, and specific surface area, which provides extensive triple phase boundaries and a continuous path for charge transfer [4]. Therefore, SCNO@SDC nanofiber composite offers an alternative approach for attaining efficient performance of IT-SOFC. References Choi, Y., Cho, H. J., Kim, J., Kang, J. Y., Seo, J., Kim, J. H., & Jung, W. (2022). Nanofiber Composites as Highly Active and Robust Anodes for Direct-Hydrocarbon Solid Oxide Fuel Cells. ACS nano, 16(9), 14517-14526. Li, Z., Peng, M., Zhao, Y., Li, J., & Sun, Y. (2021). Minimized thermal expansion mismatch of cobalt-based perovskite air electrodes for solid oxide cells. Nanoscale, 13(47), 20299-20308. Kumari, N., Tiwari, P. K., Haider, M. A., & Basu, S. (2017). Electrochemical performance of infiltrated Cu-GDC and Cu-PDC cathode for CO2 electrolysis in a solid oxide cell. ECS Transactions, 78(1), 3329. Zhao, B., Zhang, L., Zhen, D., Yoo, S., Ding, Y., Chen, D., & Liu, M. (2017). A tailored double perovskite nanofiber catalyst enables ultrafast oxygen evolution. Nature communications, 8(1), 1-9. Figure 1

“Transfer” XII: 1-2 (mayo 2017), pp. 212-225. ISSN: 1886-554 212 NOTICIAS / NEWS (“transfer”, 2017) 1) CONGRESOS / CONFERENCES: 1. 8th Asian Translation Traditions Conference: Conflicting Ideologies and Cultural Mediation – Hearing, Interpreting, Translating Global Voices SOAS, University of London, UK (5-7 July 2017) www.translationstudies.net/joomla3/index.php 2. 8th International Conference of the Iberian Association of Translation and Interpreting (AIETI8), Universidad de Alcalá, Madrid, Spain (8-10 March 2017) www.aieti8.com/es/presentation 3. MultiMeDialecTranslation 7 – Dialect translation in multimedia University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark (17-20 May 2017) https://mmdtgroup.org 4. Texts and Contexts: The Phenomenon of Boundaries Vilnius University, Lithuania (27-28 April 2017) www.khf.vu.lt/aktualijos/skelbimai/220-renginiai/1853-texts-andcontexts- the-phenomenon-of-boundaries 5. 21st FIT World Congress: Disruption and Diversification Australian Institute of Interpreters and Translators (AUSIT), Brisbane, Australia (3-5 August 2017) www.fit2017.org/call-for-papers 6. 6th International Conference on PSIT (PSIT6) - Beyond Limits in Public Service Interpreting and Translating: Community Interpreting & Translation University of Alcalá, Spain (6-8 March 2017) www.tisp2017.com “Transfer” XII: 1-2 (mayo 2017), pp. 212-225. ISSN: 1886-554 213 7. International Conference: What Grammar Should Be Taught to Translators-to-be? University of Mons, Belgium (9-10 March 2017) Contact: gudrun.vanderbauwhede@umons.ac.be; indra.noel@umons.ac.be; adrien.kefer@umons.ac.be 8. The Australia Institute of Interpreters and Translators (AUSIT) 2016 National Conference Monash University, Melbourne, Australia (18-19 November 2017) www.ausit.org/AUSIT/Events/National_Miniconference_2016_Call_ for_Papers.aspx 9. 1st Congrès Mondial de la Traductologie – La traductologie : une discipline autonome Société Française de Traductologie, Université de Paris Ouest- Nanterre-La Défense, France (10-14 April 2017) www.societe-francaise-traductologie.com/congr-s-mondial 10. Working Our Core: for a Strong(er) Translation and Interpreting Profession Institute of Translation & Interpreting, Mercure Holland House Hotel, Cardiff (19-20 May 2017) www.iti-conference.org.uk 11. International conference T&R5 – Écrire, traduire le voyage / Writing, translating travel Antwerp , Belgium (31 May - 1 June 2018) winibert.segers@kuleuven.be 12. Retranslation in Context III - An international conference on retranslation Ghent University, Belgium (7-8 February 2017) www.cliv.be/en/retranslationincontext3 “Transfer” XII: 1-2 (mayo 2017), pp. 212-225. ISSN: 1886-554 214 13. 11th International Conference on Translation and Interpreting: Justice and Minorized Languages under a Postmonolingual Order Universitat Jaume I, Castelló de la Plana, Spain (10-12 May 2017) http://blogs.uji.es/itic11 14. 31è Congrès international d’études francophones (CIÉF) : Session de Traductologie – La francophonie à l’épreuve de l’étranger du dedans Martinique, France (26 June – 2 July 2017) https://secure.cief.org/wp/?page_id=913 15. Complexity Thinking in Translation Studies: In Search of Methodologies KU Leuven, Belgium (1-2 June 2017) www.ufs.ac.za/humanities/unlistedpages/ complexity/complexity/home-page 16. 1st International Conference on Dis/Ability Communication (ICDC): Perspectives & Challenges in 21st Century Mumbai University, India (9-11 January 2017) www.icdc2016-universityofmumbai.org 17. Lost and Found in Transcultural and Interlinguistic Translation Université de Moncton, Canada (2-4 November 2017) gillian lane-mercier@mcgill.ca; michel.mallet@umoncton.ca; denise.merkle@umoncton.ca 18. Translation and Cultural Memory (Conference Panel) American Comparative Literature Association's 2017 Annual Meeting University of Utrecht, The Netherlands (6-9 July 2017) www.acla.org/translation-and-cultural-memory 19. Media for All 7 – A Place in Between Hamad bin Khalifa University, Doha, Qatar (23-25 October 2017) http://tii.qa/en/7th-media-all-international-conference “Transfer” XII: 1-2 (mayo 2017), pp. 212-225. ISSN: 1886-554 215 20. Justice and Minorized Languages in a Postmonolingual Order. XI International Conference on Translation and Interpreting Universitat Jaume I, Castellón, Spain (10-12 May 2017) monzo@uji.es http://blogs.uji.es/itic11/ 21. On the Unit(y) of Translation/Des unités de traduction à l'unité de la traduction Paris Diderot University, Université libre de Bruxelles and University of Geneva (7 July 2017 (Paris) / 21 October 2017 (Brussels) / 9 December 2017 (Geneva) www.eila.univ-paris-diderot.fr/recherche/conf/ciel/traductologieplein- champ/index?s[]=traductologie&s[]=plein&s[]=champ 22. The Translator Made Corporeal: Translation History and the Archive British Library Conference Centre, London, UK (8 May 2017) deborah.dawkin@bl.uk 23. V International Conference Translating Voices Translating Regions - Minority Languages, Risks, Disasters and Regional Crises Europe House and University College London, UK (13-15 December 2017) www.ucl.ac.uk/centras/translation-news-and-events/vtranslatingvoices 24. 8th Annual International Translation Conference - 21st Century Demands: Translators and Interpreters towards Human and Social Responsibilities Qatar National Convention Centre, Doha, Qatar (27-28 March 2017) http://tii.qa/en/8th-annual-international-translation-conference 25. Complexity Thinking in Translation Studies: In Search of Methodologies KU Leuven, Belgium (1-2 June 2017) www.ufs.ac.za/humanities/unlistedpages/ complexity/complexity/home-page “Transfer” XII: 1-2 (mayo 2017), pp. 212-225. ISSN: 1886-554 216 26. 15th International Pragmatics Conference (IPrA 2017) – Films in Translation – All is Lost: Pragmatics and Audiovisual Translation as Cross-cultural Mediation (Guillot, Desilla, Pavesi). Conference Panel. Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK (16-21 July 2017) http://ipra.ua.ac.be/main.aspx?c=*CONFERENCE2006&n=1296 2) CURSOS, SEMINARIOS, POSGRADOS / COURSES, SEMINARS, MA PROGRAMMES: 1. MA in Intercultural Communication in the Creative Industries University of Roehampton, London, UK www.roehampton.ac.uk/postgraduate-courses/Intercultural- Communication-in-the-Creative-Industries 2. Máster Universitario en Comunicación Intercultural, Interpretación y Traducción en los Servicios Públicos Universidad de Alcalá, Spain www3.uah.es/master-tisp-uah 3. Máster Universitario de Traducción Profesional Universidad de Granada, Spain http://masteres.ugr.es/traduccionprofesional/pages/master 4. Workshop: History of the Reception of Scientific Texts in Translation – Congrès mondial de traductologie Paris West University Nanterre-La Défense, France (10-14 April 2017) https://cmt.u-paris10.fr/submissions 5. MA programme: Traduzione audiovisiva, 2016-2017 University of Parma, Italy www.unipr.it/node/13980 “Transfer” XII: 1-2 (mayo 2017), pp. 212-225. ISSN: 1886-554 217 6. MA in the Politics of Translation Cairo University, Egypt http://edcu.edu.eg 7. Research Methods in Translation and Interpreting Studies University of Geneva, Switzerland (Online course) www.unige.ch/formcont/researchmethods-distance1 www.unige.ch/formcont/researchmethods-distance2 8. MA programme: Investigación en Traducción e Interpretation, 2016-2017 Universitat Jaume I, Castellón, Spain monzo@uji.es www.mastertraduccion.uji.es 9. MA programme: Traduzione Giuridica - Master di Secondo Livello University of Trieste, Italy Italy http://apps.units.it/Sitedirectory/InformazioniSpecificheCdS /Default.aspx?cdsid=10374&ordinamento=2012&sede=1&int=web &lingua=15 10. Process-oriented Methods in Translation Studies and L2 Writing Research University of Giessen, Germany (3-4 April 2017) www.uni-giessen.de/gal-research-school-2017 11. Research Methods in Translation and Interpreting Studies (I): Foundations and Data Analysis (Distance Learning) www.unige.ch/formcont/researchmethods-distance1 Research Methods in Translation and Interpreting Studies (II): Specific Research and Scientific Communication Skills (Distance Learning) www.unige.ch/formcont/researchmethods-distance2 University of Geneva, Switzerland “Transfer” XII: 1-2 (mayo 2017), pp. 212-225. ISSN: 1886-554 218 3) LIBROS / BOOKS: 1. Carl, Michael, Srinivas Bangalore and Moritz Schaeffer (eds) 2016. New Directions in Empirical Translation Process Research: Exploring the CRITT TPR-DB. Cham: Springer. http://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-319-20358-4 2. Antoni Oliver. 2016. Herramientas tecnológicas para traductores. Barcelona: UOC. www.editorialuoc.com/herramientas-tecnologicas-para-traductores 3. Rica Peromingo, Juan Pedro. 2016. Aspectos lingüísticos y técnicos de la traducción audiovisual (TAV). Frakfurt am Main: Peter Lang. www.peterlang.com?432055 4.Takeda, Kayoko and Jesús Baigorri-Jalón (eds). 2016. New Insights in the History of Interpreting. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. https://benjamins.com/#catalog/books/btl.122/main 5. Esser, Andrea, Iain Robert Smith & Miguel Á. Bernal-Merino (eds). 2016. Media across Borders: Localising TV, Film and Video Games. London: Routledge. www.routledge.com/products/9781138809451 6. Del Pozo Triviño, M., C. Toledano Buendía, D. Casado-Neira and D. Fernandes del Pozo (eds) 2015. Construir puentes de comunicación en el ámbito de la violencia de género/ Building Communication Bridges in Gender Violence. Granada: Comares. http://cuautla.uvigo.es/sos-vics/entradas/veruno.php?id=216 7. Ramos Caro, Marina. 2016. La traducción de los sentidos: audiodescripción y emociones. Munich: Lincom Academic Publishers. http://lincom-shop.eu/epages/57709feb-b889-4707-b2cec666fc88085d. sf/de_DE/?ObjectPath=%2FShops%2F57709feb“ Transfer” XII: 1-2 (mayo 2017), pp. 212-225. ISSN: 1886-554 219 b889-4707-b2cec666fc88085d% 2FProducts%2F%22ISBN+9783862886616%22 8. Horváth , Ildikó (ed.) 216. The Modern Translator and Interpreter. Budapest: Eötvös University Press. www.eltereader.hu/media/2016/04/HorvathTheModernTranslator. pdf 9. Ye, Xin. 2016. Educated Youth. Translated by Jing Han. Artarmon: Giramondo. www.giramondopublishing.com/forthcoming/educated-youth 10. Martín de León, Celia and Víctor González-Ruiz (eds). 2016. From the Lab to the Classroom and Back Again: Perspectives on Translation and Interpreting Training. Oxford: Peter Lang. www.peterlang.com?431985 11. FITISPos International Journal, 2016 vol.3: A Retrospective View on Public Service Translation and Interpreting over the Last Decade as well as the Progress and Challenges that Lie Ahead www3.uah.es/fitispos_ij 12. Dore, Margherita (ed.) 2016. Achieving Consilience. Translation Theories and Practice. Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. www.cambridgescholars.com/achieving-consilience 13. Antonini, Rachele & Chiara Bucaria (eds). 2016. Nonprofessional Interpreting and Translation in the Media. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang. www.peterlang.com/index.cfm?event=cmp.ccc.seitenstruktur.detai lseiten&seitentyp=produkt&pk=82359&cid=5&concordeid=265483 14. Álvarez de Morales, Cristina & Catalina Jiménez (eds). 2016. Patrimonio cultural para todos. Investigación aplicada en traducción accesible. Granada: Tragacanto. www.tragacanto.es/?stropcion=catalogo&CATALOGO_ID=22 “Transfer” XII: 1-2 (mayo 2017), pp. 212-225. ISSN: 1886-554 220 15. Poznan Studies in Contemporary Linguistics, special issue on Language Processing in Translation, Volume 52, Issue 2, Jun 2016. www.degruyter.com/view/j/psicl.2016.52.issue-2/issuefiles/ psicl.2016.52.issue-2.xml?rskey=z4L1sf&result=6 16. Translation and Conflict: Narratives of the Spanish Civil War and the Dictatorship Contact: alicia.castillovillanueva@dcu.ie; lucia.pintado@dcu.ie 17. Cerezo Merchán, Beatriz, Frederic Chaume, Ximo Granell, José Luis Martí Ferriol, Juan José Martínez Sierra, Anna Marzà y Gloria Torralba Miralles. 2016. La traducción para el doblaje. Mapa de convenciones. Castelló de la Plana: Publicacions de la Universitat Jaume I. www.tenda.uji.es/pls/www/!GCPPA00.GCPPR0002?lg=CA&isbn=97 8-84-16356-00-3 18. Martínez Tejerina, Anjana. 2016. El doblaje de los juegos de palabras. Barcelona: Editorial UOC. www.editorialuoc.com/el-doblaje-de-los-juegos-de-palabras 19. Chica Núñez, Antonio Javier. 2016. La traducción de la imagen dinámica en contextos multimodales. Granada: Ediciones Tragacanto. www.tragacanto.es 20. Valero Garcés, Carmen (ed.) 2016. Public Service Interpreting and Translation (PSIT): Training, Testing and Accreditation. Alcalá: Universidad de Alcalá. www1.uah.es/publicaciones/novedades.asp 21. Rodríguez Muñoz, María Luisa and María Azahara Veroz González (Eds) 2016. Languages and Texts Translation and Interpreting in Cross Cultural Environments. Córdoba: Universidad de Córdoba. www.uco.es/ucopress/index.php/es/catalogo/materias- 3/product/548-languages-and-texts-translation-and-interpreting“ Transfer” XII: 1-2 (mayo 2017), pp. 212-225. ISSN: 1886-554 221 in-cross-cultural-environments 22. Mereu, Carla. 2016. The Politics of Dubbing. Film Censorship and State Intervention in the Translation of Foreign Cinema in Fascist Italy. Oxford: Peter Lang. www.peterlang.com/view/product/46916 23. Venuti, Lawrence (ed.) 2017. Teaching Translation: Programs, Courses, Pedagogies. New York: Routledge. www.routledge.com/Teaching-Translation-Programs-coursespedagogies/ VENUTI/p/book/9781138654617 24. Jankowska, Anna. 2015. Translating Audio Description Scripts. Translation as a New Strategy of Creating Audio Description. Frankfurt: Peter Lang. www.peterlang.com/view/product/21517 25. Cadwell, Patrick and Sharon O'Brien. 2016. Language, culture, and translation in disaster ICT: an ecosystemic model of understanding. Perspectives: Studies in Translatology. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0907676X. 2016.1142588 26. Baumgarten, Stefan and Chantal Gagnon (eds). 2016. Translating the European House - Discourse, Ideology and Politics (Selected Papers by Christina Schäffner). Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. www.cambridgescholars.com/translating-the-european-house 27. Gambier, Yves and Luc van Doorslaer (eds) 2016. Border Crossings – Translation Studies and other disciplines. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. www.benjamins.com/#catalog/books/btl.126/main 28. Setton, Robin and Andrew Dawrant. 2016. Conference Interpreting – A Complete Course. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. https://benjamins.com/#catalog/books/btl.120/main “Transfer” XII: 1-2 (mayo 2017), pp. 212-225. ISSN: 1886-554 222 29. Setton, Robin and Andrew Dawrant. 2016. Conference Interpreting – A Trainer’s Guide. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. https://benjamins.com/#catalog/books/btl.121/main 5) REVISTAS / JOURNALS: 1. Technology and Public Service Translation and Interpreting, Special Issue of Translation and Interpreting Studies 13(3) Contact: Nike Pokorn (nike.pokorn@ff.uni-lj.si) & Christopher Mellinger (cmellin2@kent.edu) www.atisa.org/tis-style-sheet 2. Translator Quality – Translation Quality: Empirical Approaches to Assessment and Evaluation, special issue of Linguistica Antverpiensia, New Series (16/2017) Contact: Geoffrey S. Koby (gkoby@kent.edu); Isabel Lacruz (ilacruz@kent.edu) https://lans-tts.uantwerpen.be/index.php/LANSTTS/ announcement 3. Special Issue of the Journal of Internationalization and Localization on Video Game Localisation: Ludic Landscapes in the Digital Age of Translation Studies Contacts: Xiaochun Zhang (xiaochun.zhang@univie.ac.at) and Samuel Strong (samuel.strong.13@ucl.ac.uk) 4. mTm Translation Journal: Non-thematic issue, Vol. 8, 2017 www.mtmjournal.gr Contacts: Anastasia Parianou (parianou@gmail.com) and Panayotis Kelandrias (kelandrias@ionio.gr) “Transfer” XII: 1-2 (mayo 2017), pp. 212-225. ISSN: 1886-554 223 5. CLINA - An Interdisciplinary Journal of Translation, Interpreting and Intercultural Communication, Special Issue on Interpreting in International Organisations. Research, Training and Practice, 2017 (2) revistaclina@usal.es http://diarium.usal.es/revistaclina/home/call-for-papers 6. Technology and Public Service Translation and Interpreting, Special Issue of Translation and Interpreting Studies, 2018, 13(3) www.atisa.org/call-for-papers 7. Literatura: teoría, historia, crítica, special issue on Literature and Translation www.literaturathc.unal.edu.co 8. Tradumàtica: Journal of Translation Technologies Issue 14 (2016): Translation and mobile devices www.tradumatica.net/revista/cfp.pdf 9. Ticontre. Teoria Testo Traduzione. Special issue on Narrating the Self in Self-translation www.ticontre.org/files/selftranslation-it_en.pdf 10. Terminology, International Journal of Theoretical and Applied Issues in Specialized Communication Thematic issue on Food and Terminology, 23(1), 2017 www.benjamins.com/series/term/call_for_papers_special_issue_23 -1.pdf 11. Cultus: the Journal of Intercultural Communication and Mediation. Thematic issue on Multilinguilism, Translation, ELF or What?, Vol. 10, 2017 www.cultusjournal.com/index.php/call-for-papers 12. Translation Spaces Special issue on No Hard Feelings? Exploring Translation as an Emotional Phenomenon “Transfer” XII: 1-2 (mayo 2017), pp. 212-225. ISSN: 1886-554 224 Contact: severine.hubscher-davidson@open.ac.uk 13. Revista electrónica de didáctica de la traducción y la interpretación (redit), Vol. 10 www.redit.uma.es/Proximo.php 14. Social Translation: New Roles, New Actors Special issue of Translation Studies 12(2) http://explore.tandfonline.com/cfp/ah/rtrs-si-cfp 15. Translation in the Creative Industries, special issue of The Journal of Specialised Translation 29, 2018 www.jostrans.org/Translation_creative_industries_Jostrans29.pdf 16. Translation and the Production of Knowledge(s), special issue of Alif 38, 2018 Contact: mona@monabaker.com,alifecl@aucegypt.edu, www.auceg ypt.edu/huss/eclt/alif/Pages/default.aspx 17. Revista de Llengua i Dret http://revistes.eapc.gencat.cat/index.php/rld/index 18. Call for proposals for thematic issues, Linguistica Antverpiensia New Series https://lans-tts.uantwerpen.be/index.php/LANSTTS/ announcement/view/8 19. Journal On Corpus-based Dialogue Interpreting Studies, special issue of The Interpreters’ Newsletter 22, 2017 www.openstarts.units.it/dspace/handle/10077/2119 20. Díaz Cintas, Jorge, Ilaria Parini and Irene Ranzato (eds) 2016. Ideological Manipulation in Audiovisual Translation, special issue of “Altre Modernità”. http://riviste.unimi.it/index.php/AMonline/issue/view/888/show Toc “Transfer” XII: 1-2 (mayo 2017), pp. 212-225. ISSN: 1886-554 225 21. PUNCTUM- International Journal of Semiotics, special issue on Semiotics of Translation, Translation in Semiotics. Volume 1, Issue 2 (2015) http://punctum.gr 22. The Interpreters' Newsletter, Special Issue on Dialogue Interpreting, 2015, Vol. 20 www.openstarts.units.it/dspace/handle/10077/11848 23. Gallego-Hernández, Daniel & Patricia Rodríguez-Inés (eds.) 2016. Corpus Use and Learning to Translate, almost 20 Years on. Special Issue of Cadernos de Tradução 36(1). https://periodicos.ufsc.br/index.php/traducao/issue/view/2383/s howToc 24. 2015. Special Issue of IberoSlavica on Translation in Iberian- Slavonic Cultural Exchange and beyond. https://issuu.com/clepul/docs/iberoslavica_special_issue 26. The AALITRA Review: A Journal of Literary Translation, 2016 (11) www.lib.latrobe.edu.au/ojs/index.php/AALITRA/index 27. Transcultural: A Journal of Translation and Cultural Studies 8.1 (2016): "Translation and Memory" https://ejournals.library.ualberta.ca/index.php/TC/issue/view/18 77/showToc 28. JoSTrans, The Journal of Specialised Translation, issue 26 www.jostrans.org 29. L’Écran traduit, 5 http://ataa.fr/revue/archives/4518

This article discusses nationality law in the Belgian Congo and analyses theoretical disputes in the contemporary legal literature concerning issues of nationality and racial segregation in colonial society. The Belgian nationality of the black inhabitants of the Congo region is depicted as mere rhetoric, since it did not protect them from racial segregation and severe discrimination. The minor importance of national boundaries in colonial society and the domination of social reality by a hegemonic racial idiom were reflected in an insufficient and inaccurate nationality law. Colonial law and regulations moreover, were built around racial categories the mutual boundaries of which were not clearly defined. KEY WORDS : Congo, colonial law, nationality law, racial domination, colonial discourse

Iron oxide‐based nanostructures receive significant attention as efficient adsorbents for organic dye removal applications. Herein, iron oxide/carbon composite with well‐defined heterophase grain boundaries is synthesized by a simple precipitation method and followed by calcination. The local structure, spin dynamics and magnetic properties of heterophase iron oxides/carbon composite are thoroughly investigated to explore its cationic and anionic dye removal capability. To validate the effectivity of the presence of heterogeneous grain boundaries, iron oxide/carbon nanocomposite with homogeneous grain boundaries is also examined. For an initial dye concentration of 50 mg L‐1, pH 7 and adsorbent dose of 0.2 g L‐1, the Hetero‐IOCC exhibits a removal capacity of 71.63 mg g‐1 and 140.19 mg g‐1 for the cationic Crystal Violet and the anionic Congo Red dyes respectively. These values are significantly greater than those exhibited by as‐synthesised imidazole‐capped superparamagnetic α‐Fe2O3, 48.15 mg g‐1 and 53.19 mg g‐1; and homophase iron oxide/carbon nanocomposite, 12.51 mg g‐1 and 17.95 mg g‐1 respectively. Adsorption isotherms and kinetic studies indicate that the Langmuir isotherm model was found to be an appropriate model following the Elovich kinetic model. A detailed dye adsorption investigation on the pH effect, thermodynamic parameters, co‐existing ionic effect and reusability was also carried out.This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

AbstractIn the tropics, more precisely in equatorial dense rainforest, xylogenesis is driven by a little distinct climatological seasonality, and many tropical trees do not show clear growth rings. This makes retrospective analyses and modeling of future tree performance difficult. This research investigates the presence, the distinctness, and the periodicity of growth ring for dominant tree species in two semi‐deciduous rainforests, which contrast in terms of precipitation dynamics. Eighteen tree species common to both forests were investigated. We used the cambial marking technique and then verified the presence and periodicity of growth‐ring boundaries in the wood produced between pinning and collection by microscopic and macroscopic observation. The study showed that all eighteen species can form visible growth rings in both sites. However, the periodicity of ring formation varied significantly within and between species, and within sites. Trees from the site with clearly defined dry season had a higher likelihood to form periodical growth rings compared to those from the site where rainfall seasonality is less pronounced. The distinctness of the formed rings however did not show a site dependency. Periodical growth‐ring formation was more likely in fast‐growing trees. Furthermore, improvements can be made by a detailed study of the cambial activity through microcores taken at high temporal resolution, to get insight on the phenology of the lateral meristem.

AbstractThe ongoing Congo Basin drying is linked to decreasing atmospheric water vapour. To comprehend the processes reducing precipitation, we analysed water and Moist Static Energy components, associated with heating sources using ERA5 reanalysis data over the period 1981–2022. The findings reveal that the precipitation deficit in the Congo Basin during March–April–May and September–October–November is primarily attributed to a decreasing trend in the vertical moisture advection anomaly induced by vertical velocity anomalies. Following this, a horizontal moisture advection anomaly induced by specific humidity anomalies plays a significant role. However, evaporation, horizontal moisture advection anomalies induced by wind anomalies, and vertical moisture advection anomalies induced by specific humidity anomalies do not appear to contribute significantly to the drying trend in the region. The horizontal propagation of MSE advection anomalies exhibits a similar pattern to that of moisture flux advection anomalies, both at different boundaries and within the basin itself. Conversely, the contribution of vertical advection of MSE anomalies remains weak. By integrating moisture and MSE budgets, we interpret the declining precipitation trend as a consequence of uplift driven by horizontal MSE advection. Furthermore, our analysis indicates a decreasing trend in the atmospheric heating source within the basin in association with reduced precipitation. This reduction could signify a decrease in moisture influx into the basin, thereby providing more explanations for the observed drying.

The southwest part of Cameroon is composed of a range of geological structures and sedimentary basins, whose geological history dates from the Cretaceous, and their establishment would have originated from the opening of the South Atlantic. Among these structures, the most important is the Cameroon Volcanic Line, generally denoted CVL, followed by the southern part of the Central African Shear Zone (CASZ) called the Foumban Shear Zone (FSZ), the Ntem Complex, the Benue Trough, the northern margin of the Congo Craton, and many others. The major structures identified in this part are formed as a result of geodynamic activity between the Oligocene and the recent period, to which we can add the volcanism that exists along with the continental limit. The XGM201e_2159 model is used to highlight the geological structures of Southwestern Cameroon. First, we separated the regional and residual anomalies from Bouguer gravity data. Then, we used a combination of filters to enhance the signature of the residual anomalies in Southwest Cameroon. These filters identified various geological structures in the area. Finally, we applied the enhanced horizontal gradient amplitude (EHGA) and multi-scale horizontal derivative of the vertical derivative (MSHDVD) methods to reveal the geological contacts, allowing us to establish the corresponding structural map of the region. In addition, the results obtained in this study are the first to precisely define the circumferential demarcation of the continental and oceanic expansions of Mount Cameroon, while clearly illustrating the Bao, Bomana, Tiko, and Ekona faults that extend to the Bakassi Peninsula and the Douala outlet. Furthermore, they highlight the strike–slip faults in the summit vicinity. The structural map shows that most of the geological boundaries identified in the area are trending in the NE–SW, NNE–SSW, ENE–WSW, N–S, and NW–SE directions.