Conception and testing of modular robotic kits based on Poppy Ergo Jr for educational purposes

International audienceThis research in Human Computer Interfaces combines different fields such as robotics, computer sciences , cognitive sciences, ergonomics and design. In partnership with 25 high schools in Nouvelle Aquitaine, the project is made to be flexible to the requirements of ISN (Informatique et Sciences du Numérique) or computer sciences courses and be a modular tool for teaching and learning basics of coding and robotics. It is made to be simple but also customizable. Users can find resources online and share their projects to the community. So far several studies have been leaded about Poppy Ergo Jr : the usability of the robot [Desprez et al., 2018b], the impact on how people perceive robots with the Euro382 test [Eurobarometer, 2012] and comparison with another robot, the Thymio [not published yet]

Novel Therapeutic Strategies for Malignant Salivary Gland Tumors: Lessons Learned from Breast Cancer

Malignant salivary gland tumors (MSGTs) account for 2–6% of all head and neck cancers. Despite the rarity, MSGTs have been of great interest due to a wide variety of pathological features and high metastasis rates resulting in poor prognosis. Surgical resection followed by radiation therapy represents the main treatment of this malignancy. Adjuvant therapy is reserved for the management of local recurrence, no longer amenable to additional local therapy, and for metastasis. Based on the studies from other types of tumors, particularly breast cancer, the expression and function of sex steroid hormone receptors in cancer have been extensively studied and applied to diagnosis and treatment. Although a number of studies in MSGTs have been published, the rationale for hormone therapy is still controversial due to the disparate results and insufficient number of cases. However, some recent reports have demonstrated that certain salivary gland neoplasms are similar to breast cancer, not only in terms of the pathological features, but also at the molecular level. Here, we shed light on the biological similarity between MSGTs and certain types of breast cancer, and describe the potential use of hormone and additional therapies for MSGTs

Stacks and D-Brane Bundles

In this paper we describe explicitly how the twisted ``bundles'' on a D-brane worldvolume in the presence of a nontrivial B field, can be understood in terms of sheaves on stacks. We also take this opportunity to provide the physics community with a readable introduction to stacks and generalized spaces.Comment: 24 pages, LaTeX; v2: references adde

Conception et évaluation de kits robotiques pédagogiques: Analyse écologique et expérimentale des utilisations de la robotique à l’école en termes de connaissances et de représentations

International audienc

Poppy Ergo Jr : un kit robotique au coeur du dispositif Poppy Éducation

International audiencePour favoriser une meilleure appréhension du monde numérique, le dispositif Poppy Éducation propose un kit robotique pédagogique open source baptisé « kit Ergo Jr ». Il se destine principalement aux élèves et enseignants de la fin du collège et du lycée, mais modularité a fait naître des projets à de nombreux niveaux, abordant de nombreuses disciplines. Nous présentons ici la démarche de conception centrée utilisateur qui a conduit son développement ainsi que les objectifs de dissémination qui y ont été associés. Nous présentons le kit en lui même, composé d'un robot à construire soi-même et d'un livret d'accompagnement pédagogique contenant des activités clé en main. Nous développons certains des usages qui en ont été fait dans le milieu scolaire, et plus particulièrement dans les sections ISN et ICN. Enfin, nous exposons les méthodes et résultats des questionnaires d'utilisabilité que nous avons fait remplir à des élèves de la région Nouvelle Aquitaine ayant pratiqué des activités avec le robot Ergo Jr. Ces questionnaires ont également été complétés par leurs enseignants

Livret pédagogique : Apprendre à programmer Poppy Ergo Jr en Snap!

Un livret composé d'activités pédagogiques pour apprendre les bases de la programmation (programmation séquentielles, boucles, conditions, variables etc.) et des idées de défis et de projets pour appliquer les connaissancesCe livret propose des activités et des petits défis à réaliser pour se familiariser avec le robot Poppy Ergo Jr et le langage de programmation Snap!

Role of Id-2 in the maintenance of a differentiated and noninvasive phenotype in breast cancer cells. Cancer Res

ABSTRACT Id proteins are inhibitors of basic helix-loop-helix transcription factors and generally stimulate cell proliferation and inhibit differentiation. We have shown that ectopic expression of Id-1 in murine mammary epithelial cells resulted in loss of differentiation and gain of invasive and proliferative abilities. Moreover, Id-1 was highly expressed in aggressive breast cancer cells in culture and in biopsies from infiltrating carcinomas. In contrast to Id-1, we found that, in vitro and in vivo, Id-2 mRNA and protein were up-regulated as mammary epithelial cells lost proliferative capacity and initiated differentiation. We further determined that this up-regulation of Id-2 was a necessary step toward a fully differentiated phenotype in breast cells. Here we show that one of the components of the extracellular matrix network, laminin, is responsible for the increase in Id-2 expression during differentiation. We also show that Id-2 expression is inversely correlated with the rate of proliferation in murine mammary epithelial cells and that Id-2 is expressed at a higher level in differentiated human breast cancer cells in comparison with very aggressive and metastatic cells. When reintroduced in aggressive breast cancer cells, Id-2 is able to reduce their proliferative and invasive phenotypes and decrease their level of matrix metalloproteinase 9 secretion as well as increase syndecan-1 expression. Moreover, little Id-2 protein expression is detectable in human biopsies from aggressive and invasive carcinomas in comparison with in situ carcinomas. In conclusion, Id-2 expression not only follows a pattern opposite to that of Id-1 during mammary gland development and breast cancer progression but also appears to act as an important protein for the maintenance of a differentiated and noninvasive phenotype in normal and transformed breast cells

A Human-Like Senescence-Associated Secretory Phenotype Is Conserved in Mouse Cells Dependent on Physiological Oxygen

Cellular senescence irreversibly arrests cell proliferation in response to oncogenic stimuli. Human cells develop a senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP), which increases the secretion of cytokines and other factors that alter the behavior of neighboring cells. We show here that “senescent” mouse fibroblasts, which arrested growth after repeated passage under standard culture conditions (20% oxygen), do not express a human-like SASP, and differ from similarly cultured human cells in other respects. However, when cultured in physiological (3%) oxygen and induced to senesce by radiation, mouse cells more closely resemble human cells, including expression of a robust SASP. We describe two new aspects of the human and mouse SASPs. First, cells from both species upregulated the expression and secretion of several matrix metalloproteinases, which comprise a conserved genomic cluster. Second, for both species, the ability to promote the growth of premalignant epithelial cells was due primarily to the conserved SASP factor CXCL-1/KC/GRO-α. Further, mouse fibroblasts made senescent in 3%, but not 20%, oxygen promoted epithelial tumorigenesis in mouse xenographs. Our findings underscore critical mouse-human differences in oxygen sensitivity, identify conditions to use mouse cells to model human cellular senescence, and reveal novel conserved features of the SASP