Exploring Smartphone Application Usage Logs with Declared Sociological Information

International audienceIn this paper we present an exploratory smartphone usage study with logs collected from users in the wild, combined with the sociodemographic, technological and cultural information provided by them. We observe a high diversity among users' most used applications, but by classifying applications into services we find significant correlations between service usage and socio-demographic profile. We discuss that sociological information has rich potential in characterizing smartphone usage and can be applied to interesting incentive strategies and use cases based on users' sociological context

MicroRNAs in vascular tissue engineering and post-ischemic neovascularization

Increasing numbers of paediatric patients with congenital heart defects are surviving to adulthood, albeit with continuing clinical needs. Hence, there is still scope for revolutionary new strategies to correct vascular anatomical defects. Adult patients are also surviving longer with the adverse consequences of ischemic vascular disease, especially after acute coronary syndromes brought on by plaque erosion and rupture. Vascular tissue engineering and therapeutic angiogenesis provide new hope for these patients. Both approaches have shown promise in laboratory studies, but have not yet been able to deliver clear evidence of clinical success. More research into biomaterials, molecular medicine and cell and molecular therapies is necessary. This review article focuses on the new opportunities offered by targeting microRNAs for the improved production and greater empowerment of vascular cells for use in vascular tissue engineering or for increasing blood perfusion of ischemic tissues by amplifying the resident microvascular network

Refining smartphone usage analysis by combining crowdsensing and survey

International audienceCrowdsensing has been used quite regularly in recent years to study smartphone usage. However context information associated with smartphone usage is mostly of the type geo-localisation, user mobility, temporal behavior etc. Furthermore most studies are not sufficiently user-centric i.e. don't consider the perception or cognitive aspects of the user. In this paper we collect data about social context and user perception via in-app and on-line questionnaires and show that when these are combined with crowdsensed data can help improve both sensing and survey and can be applied to interesting cases

Le capteur, c'est vous !

National audienceLes capteurs présents sur les smartphones et les tablettes offrent une mine d'informations sur les utilisateurs et les lieux qu'ils traversent. Des chercheurs expérimentent la collecte de données via les terminaux mobiles

RVOT premature ventricular contractions induce significant anatomical displacement during 3D mapping: A cause of mid-term ablation failure?

International audienceBACKGROUND: Catheter ablation is a first-line treatment for symptomatic right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT) premature ventricular complexes (PVCs). There is evidence of displacement of the ablation target site during PVCs relative to the location in sinus rhythm (SR). AIM: To analyse the extent of displacement induced by RVOT PVCs and its effect on the ablation sites and the mid-term efficacy of ablation. METHODS: In this multicentre French study, we retrospectively included 18 consecutive adults referred for ablation of RVOT PVCs using a three-dimensional (3D) mapping system. PVC activation maps were performed conventionally (initial map), then each PVC activation point was manually reannotated considering the 3D location on a previous SR beat (corrected map). The ablation-site locations on the initial or the corrected area, including the 10 best activation points, were analysed. Mid-term efficacy was evaluated. RESULTS: The direction of map shift during PVCs relative to the map in SR occurred along a vertical axis in 16 of 18 patients. The mean activation-point displacement for each of the 18 mapped chambers was 5.6±2.2mm. Mid-term recurrence of RVOT PVCs occurred in 5 (28%) patients. In all patients with recurrences, no significant ablation lesion was located on the corrected (true) site of origin. CONCLUSIONS: RVOT PVCs induce a vertical anatomical shift that can mislead physicians about the true location of the arrhythmia’s site of origin. Our study highlights the association between mid-term PVC recurrence and the absence of spatial overlap between ablation points and the corrected site of origin

Induction of human trophoblast stem cells from somatic cells and pluripotent stem cells

International audienceHuman trophoblast stem cells (hTSCs) derived from blastocysts and first-trimester cytotrophoblasts offer an unprecedented opportunity to study the placenta. However, access to human embryos and first-trimester placentas is limited, thus preventing the establishment of hTSCs from diverse genetic backgrounds associated with placental disorders. Here, we show that hTSCs can be generated from numerous genetic backgrounds using post-natal cells via two alternative methods: (1) somatic cell reprogramming of adult fibroblasts with OCT4, SOX2, KLF4, MYC (OSKM) and (2) cell fate conversion of naive and extended pluripotent stem cells. The resulting induced/converted hTSCs recapitulated hallmarks of hTSCs including long-term self-renewal, expression of specific transcription factors, transcriptomic signature, and the potential to differentiate into syncytiotrophoblast and extravillous trophoblast cells. We also clarified the developmental stage of hTSCs and show that these cells resemble day 8 cytotrophoblasts. Altogether, hTSC lines of diverse genetic origins open the possibility to model both placental development and diseases in a dish