Shark Attacks in Dakar and the Cap Vert Peninsula, Senegal: Low Incidence despite High Occurrence of Potentially Dangerous Species

The International Shark Attack File mentions only four unprovoked shark attacks on the coast of West Africa during the period 1828–2004, an area where high concentrations of sharks and 17 species potentially dangerous to man have been observed. To investigate if the frequency of shark attacks could be really low and not just under-reported and whether there are potentially sharks that might attack in the area, a study was carried out in Dakar and the Cap Vert peninsula, Senegal. and 3 with unidentified sharks.These findings suggest that the frequency of shark attacks on the coast of West Africa is underestimated. However, they also indicate that the risk is very low despite the abundance of sharks. In Dakar area, most encounters along the coastline with potentially dangerous species do not result in an attack. Compared to other causes of water related deaths, the incidence of shark attack appears negligible, at least one thousand fold lower

K-edge X-ray absorption fine structure analysis of Pt/Au core-shell electrocatalyst : evidence for short Pt-Pt distance

A carbon-supported Pt-shell Au-core electrocatalyst (Pt/Au/C) was prepared by sequential deposition of Pt ions on the surface of Au nanoparticles supported on carbon. The area-specific activity of the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) for the prepared Pt/Au/C in 0.1 M HClO4, aqueous solution was approximately 2 times higher than that for a commercial carbon-supported Pt electrocatalyst (Pt/C). The core-shell structure was confirmed using electrochemical methods and Pt and Au K-edge X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) analysis. XAFS analyses indicated that the Pt-Pt bond distance for the Pt/Au/C catalyst was shorter than that for Pt foil and the Pt/C catalyst. In addition, the Au Au distance was much shorter than that for Au foil. The reason for the high ORR activity of Pt/Au/C is considered to be shorter Pt-Pt bond distance as compared to that of Pt/C