Robust morris screening method (RMSM) for complex physiological models.

Background And Objectives: Morris screening sensitivity analysis (MSM) comes forth as the method needing the minimum number of model simulations to qualify the impact of input parameter variations on outputs of complex, nonlinear and overparametrized models. However, the reliability of MSM indices (mean and standard deviation) and the reproducibility of their results are rarely explored despite the input parameter tuning/identification needs. In fact, these models, such those used in medical applications as digital twins, often lie in this category and need efficient and robust tools to assess both sensitivity and reliability of the outputs to numerous input model parameters.

High-density Surface Electromyography as Biomarker of Muscle Aging.

Sarcopenia is a muscle disease with adverse changes that increase throughout the lifetime but with different chronological scales between individuals. Addressing "early muscle aging" is becoming a critical issue for prevention. Through the CHRONOS study, we demonstrated the ability of the high-density surface electromyography (HD-sEMG), a noninvasive, wireless, portable technology, to detect both healthy muscle aging and accelerated muscle aging related to a sedentary lifestyle, one of the risk factors of sarcopenia.

Ferulic acid content variation from wheat to bread.

The health-promoting effects of whole-grain consumption have been attributed in a large part to the phytochemical profile of the wheat grain, and particularly to the bioactive molecules present in bran. This study shed light on the impact of human practices, especially harvesting sites (terroirs) and wheat species and varieties, as well as bread-making conditions on the variation of the antioxidant and antimicrobial ferulic acid (FA) content. FA concentration in the bran of wheat species (durum and bread wheat) and varieties (Chevalier, Renan, Redon, Saint Priest le vernois rouge, Bladette de Provence, Pireneo, Rouge de Bordeaux, LA1823, Claudio et Bidi17) harvested in five sites in France on 2015 and 2017, has been evaluated.

Sourdough yeast-bacteria interactions can change ferulic acid metabolism during fermentation.

The metabolism of ferulic acid (FA) was studied during fermentation with different species and strains of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and yeasts, in synthetic sourdough medium. Yeast strains of Kazachstania humilis, Kazachstania bulderi, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae, as well as lactic acid bacteria strains of Fructilactobacillus sanfranciscensis, Lactiplantibacillus plantarum, Lactiplantibacillus xiangfangensis, Levilactobacillus hammesii, Latilactobacillus curvatus and Latilactobacillus sakei were selected from French natural sourdoughs. Fermentation in presence or absence of FA was carried out in LAB and yeasts monocultures, as well as in LAB/yeast co-cultures.

Performance comparison of coupling-evaluation methods in discriminating between pregnancy and labor EHG signals.

Background: Recent years have seen an increased interest in electrohysterogram (EHG) signals as a means to evaluate the synchronization of uterine contractions. Several studies have pointed out that the quality of signal processing - and hence the interpretation of measurement results - is affected significantly by the choice of measurement technique and the presence of non-stationary frequency content in EHG signals. To our knowledge, the effect of time variance on the quality of EHG signal processing has never been fully investigated.

Salivary gland epithelial cells from patients with Sjögren's syndrome induce B-lymphocyte survival and activation.

Objective: Primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) is characterised by chronic hyperactivation of B lymphocytes. Salivary gland epithelial cells (SGECs) could play a role in promoting B-lymphocyte activation within the target tissue. We aimed to study the interactions between SGECs from patients with pSS or controls and B lymphocytes.

Multiscale Hill-type modeling of the mechanical muscle behavior driven by the neural drive in isometric conditions.

In this study, we present a new model describing the mechanical behavior of the skeletal muscle during isometric contraction. This model is based on a former Hill-inspired model detailing the electromechanical behavior of the muscle based on the Huxley formulation. However, in this new multiscale model the muscle is represented at the Motor Unit (MU) scale.

Optimized scoring tool to quantify the functional performance during the sit-to-stand transition with a magneto-inertial measurement unit.

Background: Sit-to-stand is used as a qualitative test to evaluate functional performance, especially to detect fall risks and frail individuals. The use of various quantitative criteria would enable a better understanding of musculoskeletal deficits and movement strategy modifications. This quantification was proven possible with a magneto-inertial unit which provides a compatible wearable device for clinical routine motion analysis.

Speedup computation of HD-sEMG signals using a motor unit-specific electrical source model.

Nowadays, bio-reliable modeling of muscle contraction is becoming more accurate and complex. This increasing complexity induces a significant increase in computation time which prevents the possibility of using this model in certain applications and studies. Accordingly, the aim of this work is to significantly reduce the computation time of high-density surface electromyogram (HD-sEMG) generation.

Evaluation of the kinetic energy of the torso by magneto-inertial measurement unit during the sit-to-stand movement.

Sit-to-stand tests are used in geriatrics as a qualitative issue in order to evaluate motor control and stability. In terms of measured indicators, it is traditionally the duration of the task that is reported, however it appears that the use of the kinetic energy as a new quantitative criterion allows getting a better understanding of musculoskeletal deficits of elderly subjects. The aim of this study was to determine the feasibility to obtain the measure of kinetic energy using magneto-inertial measurement units (MIMU) during sit-to-stand movements at various paces.

Deregulation of microRNA expression in purified T and B lymphocytes from patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome.

Objective: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play an important role in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases such as primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS). This study is the first to investigate miRNA expression patterns in purified T and B lymphocytes from patients with pSS using a high-throughput quantitative PCR (qPCR) approach.

Methods: Two independent cohorts of both patients with pSS and controls, one for discovery and one for replication, were included in this study.

Role of the IL-12/IL-35 balance in patients with Sjögren syndrome.

Background: An interferon signature is involved in the pathogenesis of primary Sjögren syndrome (pSS), but whether the signature is type 1 or type 2 remains controversial. Mouse models and genetic studies suggest the involvement of T1 and type 2 interferon pathways. Likewise, polymorphisms of the IL-12A gene (IL12A), which encodes for IL-12p35, have been associated with pSS.

Extraction of the brachialis muscle activity using HD-sEMG technique and canonical correlation analysis.

The Brachialis (BR) is placed under the Biceps Brachii (BB) deep in the upper arm. Therefore, the detection of the corresponding surface Electromyogram (sEMG) is a complex task. The BR is an important elbow flexor, but it is usually not considered in the sEMG based force estimation process.

Realistic motor unit placement in a cylindrical HD-sEMG generation model.

The aim of this work is to assess an automatic optimized algorithm for the positioning of the Motor Units (MUs) within a multilayered cylindrical High Density surface EMG (HD-sEMG) generation model representing a skeletal muscle. The multilayered cylinder is composed of three layers: muscle, adipose and skin tissues. For this purpose, two different algorithms will be compared: an unconstrained random and a Mitchell's Best Candidate (MBC) placements, both with uniform distribution for the MUs positions.

Analysis of the sEMG/force relationship using HD-sEMG technique and data fusion: A simulation study.

The relationship between the surface Electromyogram (sEMG) signal and the force of an individual muscle is still ambiguous due to the complexity of experimental evaluation. However, understanding this relationship should be useful for the assessment of neuromuscular system in healthy and pathological contexts. In this study, we present a global investigation of the factors governing the shape of this relationship.

Impact of anti-TNF therapy on NK cells function and on immunosurveillance against B-cell lymphomas.

Objectives: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is associated with an increased risk of lymphoma linked to activity of the disease. Immunosuppressive drugs have been suspected to induce an additional risk. Since, NK cells have been recently shown to participate to anti-lymphoma immunosurveillance, we aimed to assess if anti-TNF might impact their anti-lymphoma activity.

Clinical relevance of RORγ positive and negative subsets of CD161+CD4+ T cells in primary Sjögren's syndrome.

Objective: The relevance of the Th17 pathway in primary SS (pSS) is unclear. Published studies have relied on restimulating circulating CD161 T cells in vitro for quantitation of IL-17-producing cells. While CD161 marks all IL-17 T cells, it is also expressed by other Th subsets.

Denoising of HD-sEMG signals using canonical correlation analysis.

High-density surface electromyography (HD-sEMG) is a recent technique that overcomes the limitations of monopolar and bipolar sEMG recordings and enables the collection of physiological and topographical informations concerning muscle activation. However, HD-sEMG channels are usually contaminated by noise in an heterogeneous manner. The sources of noise are mainly power line interference (PLI), white Gaussian noise (WGN) and motion artifacts (MA).

Fast generation model of high density surface EMG signals in a cylindrical conductor volume.

In the course of the last decade, fast and qualitative computing power developments have undoubtedly permitted for a better and more realistic modeling of complex physiological processes. Due to this favorable environment, a fast, generic and reliable model for high density surface electromyographic (HD-sEMG) signal generation with a multilayered cylindrical description of the volume conductor is presented in this study. Its main peculiarity lies in the generation of a high resolution potential map over the skin related to active Motor Units (MUs).

Cytometry by time-of-flight immunophenotyping identifies a blood Sjögren's signature correlating with disease activity and glandular inflammation.

Background: Mass cytometry has recently emerged as a promising tool for clinical research. However, few studies have demonstrated its benefit for patient stratification and biomarker identification. Primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS) is a prototype of chronic autoimmune disease, the pathogenesis of which remains unclear and for which treatment does not exist.

Increased Dickkopf-1 in Recent-onset Rheumatoid Arthritis is a New Biomarker of Structural Severity. Data from the ESPOIR Cohort.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is the most common chronic inflammatory rheumatic condition over the world. RA is potentially disabling because chronic inflammation of the joints leads to joint destruction. To date, the best predictor of radiographic progression for patients with early RA is the presence of radiographic erosions at baseline, but a limited number of predictive biomarkers of structural progression are currently used in daily practice.

CXCL13 and CCL11 Serum Levels and Lymphoma and Disease Activity in Primary Sjögren's Syndrome.

Objective: Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) is a severe complication of primary Sjögren's syndrome (SS). Ectopic germinal centers (GCs) in the salivary glands are predictors of the occurrence of NHL. Given the association between CCL11 and CXCL13 and ectopic GCs, we assessed the link between these chemokines and NHL, as well as the association between these chemokines and disease activity, in patients with primary SS.

Germline variation of TNFAIP3 in primary Sjögren's syndrome-associated lymphoma.

Background And Objective: A germline and coding polymorphism (rs2230926) of TNFAIP3 (A20), a central gatekeeper of nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kB) activation, was recently found associated with primary Sjögren's syndrome (pSS)-associated lymphoma in a French cohort. We aimed to replicate this association.

Patients And Methods: The rs2230926 polymorphism was genotyped in cases and controls of European ancestry from two independent cohorts from UK and France.