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This article examines how non-linear time and circularity are deployed in the historical novel Nehanda (1993), written by Zimbabwean author Yvonne Vera. Using Adriana Cavarero’s work on inclination, I suggest that circular time as well as spatial roundness, which pervade the novel, are mobilised to centre African women’s voices, bodies and experiences of colonial domination and anticolonial struggles. Rehabilitating women as key historical agents of anticolonial mobilisation, Vera also proceeds to re-legitimise African knowledge production and transmission by highlighting the importance of orality, prophecy and spirituality in the fight against colonialism. Through its implicit critique of verticality, Nehanda calls into question both Western historiography on Africa and African patriarchal narratives of resistance and liberation. In a colonial context where verticality, inspired by Kant’s philosophy, gestured towards the superiority of the European man as an autonomous subject, raising himself above the others, Vera highlights how Nehanda’s authority and legacy stemmed from her “relational subjectivity” (Cavarero), that is, from the strength of her connection with her people, her land and her ancestors.

The MICROSCOPE mission was designed to test the weak equivalence principle (WEP), stating the equality between the inertial and the gravitational masses, with a precision of 10^{-15} in terms of the Eötvös ratio η. Its experimental test consisted of comparing the accelerations undergone by two collocated test masses of different compositions as they orbited the Earth, by measuring the electrostatic forces required to keep them in equilibrium. This was done with ultrasensitive differential electrostatic accelerometers onboard a drag-free satellite. The mission lasted two and a half years, cumulating five months worth of science free-fall data, two-thirds with a pair of test masses of different compositions-titanium and platinum alloys-and the last third with a reference pair of test masses of the same composition-platinum. We summarize the data analysis, with an emphasis on the characterization of the systematic uncertainties due to thermal instabilities and on the correction of short-lived events which could mimic a WEP violation signal. We found no violation of the WEP, with the Eötvös parameter of the titanium and platinum pair constrained to η(Ti,Pt)=[-1.5±2.3(stat)±1.5(syst)]×10^{-15} at 1σ in statistical errors.

International audience; In recent decades, the invasive Aedes albopictus vector has spread across Europe and is responsible for numerous outbreaks of autochthonous arboviral disease. The aim of this study was to identify epidemiological and sociological risk factors related to individual levels of exposure to Aedes albopictus bites. A multidisciplinary survey was conducted with volunteer blood donors living in areas either colonised or not by Aedes albopictus in mainland France. Individual levels of exposure were evaluated by measuring the IgG level specific to Aedes albopictus saliva. The most striking risk factors concerned the localisation and characteristics of the dwelling. Individuals living in areas colonised prior to 2009 or recently colo-nised (between 2010 and 2012) had higher anti-salivary gland extract IgG levels compared with those who were living in areas not yet colonised by Ae. albopictus. The type of dwelling did not seem to impact the level of exposure to Aedes bites. People living in apartments had a higher anti-salivary gland extract IgG level than those living in individual houses but the difference was not statistically significant. Interestingly, the presence of air conditioning or window nets was associated with a noticeable reduction in bite intensity.

In the framework of the In Service Aircraft for Global Observing System (IAGOS) program, airborne in-situ O3 and CO measurements are performed routinely using in-service aircraft, providing vertical profiles from the surface to about 10–12 km. Due to the specificity of IAGOS measurements (measurements around busy international airports), uncertainties exist on their representativeness in the lower troposphere as they may be impacted by emissions related to airport activities and/or other aircraft. In this study, we thus investigate how the IAGOS measurements in the lower troposphere compare with nearby surface stations (from the local Air Quality monitoring network (AQN)) and more distant regional surface stations (from the Global Atmospheric Watch (GAW) network). The study focuses on Frankfurt but some results at other European airports (Vienna, Paris) are also discussed. Results indicate that the IAGOS observations close to the surface do not appear to be strongly impacted by local emissions related to airport activities. In terms of mixing ratio distribution, seasonal variations and trends, the CO and O3 mixing ratios measured by IAGOS in the first few hundred metres above the surface have similar characteristics to the mixing ratios measured at surrounding urban background stations. Higher in altitude, both the difference with data from the local AQN and the consistency with the GAW regional stations are higher, which indicates a larger representativeness of the IAGOS data. Despite few quantitative differences with Frankfurt, consistent results are obtained in the two other cities Vienna and Paris. Based on 11 years of data (2002–2012), this study thus demonstrates that IAGOS observations in the lowest troposphere can be used as a complement to surface stations to study the air quality in/around the agglomeration, providing important information on the vertical distribution of pollution.

International audience; The MICROSCOPE space mission aims at testing the Equivalence Principle with an accuracy of 1E-15. It will test for the first time in space this founding principle of General Relativity. Whether it confirms or not the Equivalence Principle, it will bring a major constrain on new theories aiming to unify Gravity to Quantum Physics.The payload developed by ONERA is composed of two double inertial sensors giving full 6-axis measurements to be processed with on board GPS and star-trackers collected data. The on ground data processing takes into account the fine datation of the measurement pick up and the position of the satellite along its orbit to correct for the effect of the Earth’s gravity gradient in the difference of the acceleration of two bodies in free-fall. Once corrected the data will be analyzed to extract a possible signal of violation which is proportional to the Earth’s gravity field.In April 2016, the MICROSCOPE satellite will be launched from Kourou, French Guyana. At the time of the presentation, only the flight commissioning phase will be undergone comprising the health check of the instrument. This first step, decisive for the mission success, will be presented.

We present the features seen in the first 2 months (July and August 2012) of data collected over the Pacific by IAGOS (In-service Aircraft for a Global Observing System)-equipped aircraft. IAGOS is the continuation and development of the well-known MOZAIC (Measurement of Ozone and Water Vapour on Airbus in-service Aircraft) project where scientific instruments were carried on commercially operated A340 aircraft to make measurements of chemical species in the atmosphere. Here, we show data from an aircraft operated by China Airlines on routes from Taipei to Vancouver, which provided the first trans-Pacific measurements by an IAGOS-equipped aircraft. We describe the chemical composition of the extratropical upper troposphere/lower stratosphere (Ex-UTLS) across the Pacific basin in the Northern Hemisphere. The observed concentrations of ozone span a range from 18 to 500 ppbv indicating sources in the marine boundary layer and lowermost stratosphere, respectively. Concentrations of carbon monoxide (CO) greater than 400 ppbv are observed in the Ex-UTLS suggesting that plumes of pollution have been exported from the continent. These low concentrations of ozone and high concentrations of CO were rarely recorded in 8 yr of MOZAIC observations over the Atlantic.

Within the framework of a campaign to control urinary schistosomiasis in Niger, a quality control audit was performed on ultrasonographic assessment of morbidity due to Schistosoma haematobium. The purpose of this audit was to determine variance and reproductibility of epidemiological data provided by two trained independent observers. Three parameters were studied, i.e.,: interobserver variability on matched data, interobserver variance at the community level on the same or different subjects, including some after treatment with praziquantel, and intra-observer variance. A total of 1750 ultrasound examinations were carried out on 1416 inhabitants from 10 hyperendemic villages (70 p. 100 schoolchildren) according to a slightly modified version of the WHO Cairo protocol. Inter-observer variance at the individual level was high for some elementary abnormalities of the bladder. Variance was around 20 p. 100 for the 2 main indicators, i.e. presence of at least one bladder lesion and dilatation of the upper urinary tract. At the community level, inter-observer variance was moderate and the two observers' global assessment of morbidity due to Schistosoma haematobium was the same. Variations of morbidity related to level of endemicity were given perceived in parallel. Similar findings were noted for the intra-observer variability at the individual or community level. Ultrasound examination is supposed to furnish reliable morbidity data for selecting communities at risk and scheduling treatments during schistosomiasis control programs. The results of this study show that the level of inter- and intra-observer variance in ultrasonographic assessment in Niger is compatible with this critical role.

L'utilisation d'un vaccin faisant intervenir la mémoire immunitaire permettrait, d'une part, de contourner les problèmes posés par la chimiothérapie notamment la résistance au praziquantel et, d'autre part, d'espacer les interventions de contrôle. Les cibles théoriques sont la larve infestante, le ver adulte, l'oeuf ou le granulome inflammatoire, c'est-à-dire la réponse de l'hôte lors de la pénétration de la bilharzie dans les tissus. Des quatre candidats actuels, celui qui est le plus avancé est le Bilhvax qui est une 28GST développée par l'institut Pasteur de Lille. Les études expérimentales, en grande partie menées au Cermes, ont montré chez le singe une réduction de près de 80% de l'excrétion des oeufs avec un impact élevé sur la pathologie vésicale. Les essais cliniques ont déjà commencé en France, au Sénégal et au Niger. (Résumé d'auteur)

The economic importance of the trematode #Schistosoma bovis$ in African livestock has justified the development of a specific vaccine. Administered preventively to sheep, rSb28GST - the only molecule cloned from #S. bovis$ which has demonstrated vaccine potentialities in goats and cattle - reduced the mean worm burden in vaccinated animals and improved their health status compared with that of non-vaccinated controls. As in goats, but not in bovines, the fecundity of the settled worm pairs was not modified. Therefore, rSb28GST can be proposed as a universal tool for the prevention of clinical disorders engendered by the main schistosome species affecting domestic ruminants in the African continent. (Résumé d'auteur)

Dans cet article, nous proposons un modèle dynamique basé sur un ensemble de règles d'historisation et d'évolution. Le premier type de règles définit le mode de stockage des valeurs prises par un ou plusieurs attributs d'un objet. Le second type de règles précise la stratégie d'évolution des valeurs. De plus, nous proposons un langage d'interrogation des historiques. (Résumé d'auteur)