La vie et la mort en peinture

L'abstraction visuelle ne constituerait pas d'abord une réflexion sur la nature du beau en soi, mais une approche cognitive renvoyant aux épistémologies et aux idéologies des époques où elle se manifeste. L'étude de différents discours tenus sur l'abstraction picturale au XIXe et au XXe siècles permet de suivre les valeurs attribuées à cette notion, notamment autour de l'opposition entre le vitalisme et la mort à partir des réflexions d'A. Riegl et W. Worringer. La différenciation entre l'abstrait et le concret, le sujet et l'objet se voit ainsi constamment relancée, dans la possibilité de leur réversibilité.Visual abstraction is not, at least not in the first place, a reflection upon the nature of beauty as such, but rather a cognitive approach to the world that bears witness to the epistemologies and ideologies of those periods of history where it appeared. The study of some of the discourses that have been held about pictural abstraction during the 19th and 20th centuries, notably the opposition between vitalism and death founded on the works of A. Riegl and W. Worringer, allows us to understand the various values that have been given to the notion. The distinction between abstraction and concreteness, subject and object, can here be seen, in regard to the possibility of their reversibility, as an ever-open question

Dengue knowledge, attitudes and practices and their impact on community-based vector control in rural Cambodia

Background Globally there are an estimated 390 million dengue infections per year, of which 96 million are clinically apparent. In Cambodia, estimates suggest as many as 185,850 cases annually. The World Health Organization global strategy for dengue prevention aims to reduce mortality rates by 50% and morbidity by 25% by 2020. The adoption of integrated vector management approach using community-based methods tailored to the local context is one of the recommended strategies to achieve these objectives. Understanding local knowledge, attitudes and practices is therefore essential to designing suitable strategies to fit each local context. Methods and findings A Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices survey in 600 randomly chosen households was administered in 30 villages in Kampong Cham which is one of the most populated provinces of Cambodia. KAP surveys were administered to a sub-sample of households where an entomology survey was conducted (1200 households), during which Aedes larval/pupae and adult female Aedes mosquito densities were recorded. Participants had high levels of knowledge regarding the transmission of dengue, Aedes breeding, and biting prevention methods; the majority of participants believed they were at risk and that dengue transmission is preventable. However, self-reported vector control practices did not match observed practices recorded in our surveys. No correlation was found between knowledge and observed practices either. Conclusion An education campaign regarding dengue prevention in this setting with high knowledge levels is unlikely to have any significant effect on practices unless it is incorporated in a more comprehensive strategy for behavioural change, such a COMBI method, which includes behavioural models as well as communication and marketing theory and practice.</p

Discovering disease-causing pathogens in resource-scarce Southeast Asia using a global metagenomic pathogen monitoring system.

SignificanceMetagenomic pathogen sequencing offers an unbiased approach to characterizing febrile illness. In resource-scarce settings with high biodiversity, it is critical to identify disease-causing pathogens in order to understand burden and to prioritize efforts for control. Here, metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) characterization of the pathogen landscape in Cambodia revealed diverse vector-borne and zoonotic pathogens irrespective of age and gender as risk factors. Identification of key pathogens led to changes in national program surveillance. This study is a "real world" example of the use of mNGS surveillance of febrile individuals, executed in-country, to identify outbreaks of vector-borne, zoonotic, and other emerging pathogens in a resource-scarce setting