Validation of GWAS-Identified Variants for Anti-TNF Drug Response in Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Meta-Analysis of Two Large Cohorts.

We aimed to validate the association of 28 GWAS-identified genetic variants for response to TNF inhibitors (TNFi) in a discovery cohort of 1361 rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients monitored in routine care and ascertained through the REPAIR consortium and DANBIO registry. We genotyped selected markers and evaluated their association with response to TNFi after 6 months of treatment according to the change in disease activity score 28 (ΔDAS28). Next, we confirmed the most interesting results through meta-analysis of our data with those from the DREAM cohort that included 706 RA patients treated with TNFi.

NFKB2 polymorphisms associate with the risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis and response to TNF inhibitors: Results from the REPAIR consortium.

This study sought to evaluate the association of 28 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within NFKB and inflammasome pathway genes with the risk of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and response to TNF inhibitors (TNFi). We conducted a case-control study in a European population of 1194 RA patients and 1328 healthy controls. The association of potentially interesting markers was validated with data from the DANBIO (695 RA patients and 978 healthy controls) and DREAM (882 RA patients) registries.

Steroid hormone-related polymorphisms associate with the development of bone erosions in rheumatoid arthritis and help to predict disease progression: Results from the REPAIR consortium.

Here, we assessed whether 41 SNPs within steroid hormone genes associated with erosive disease. The most relevant finding was the rheumatoid factor (RF)-specific effect of the CYP1B1, CYP2C9, ESR2, FcγR3A, and SHBG SNPs to modulate the risk of bone erosions (P = 0.004, 0.

Ultra-Low Power Sensor Devices for Monitoring Physical Activity and Respiratory Frequency in Farmed Fish.

Integration of technological solutions aims to improve accuracy, precision and repeatability in farming operations, and biosensor devices are increasingly used for understanding basic biology during livestock production. The aim of this study was to design and validate a miniaturized tri-axial accelerometer for non-invasive monitoring of farmed fish with re-programmable schedule protocols. The current device (AE-FishBIT v.

Evaluation of 12 GWAS-drawn SNPs as biomarkers of rheumatoid arthritis response to TNF inhibitors. A potential SNP association with response to etanercept.

Research in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is increasingly focused on the discovery of biomarkers that could enable personalized treatments. The genetic biomarkers associated with the response to TNF inhibitors (TNFi) are among the most studied. They include 12 SNPs exhibiting promising results in the three largest genome-wide association studies (GWAS).

Correction: Polymorphisms at phase I-metabolizing enzyme and hormone receptor loci influence the response to anti-TNF therapy in rheumatoid arthritis patients.

The original version of this Article contained an error in the spelling of the author Ana Rodríguez-Ramos, which was incorrectly given as Ana Rodríguez Ramos. This has now been corrected in both the PDF and HTML versions of the Article.

iDeLog: Iterative Dual Spatial and Kinematic Extraction of Sigma-Lognormal Parameters.

The Kinematic Theory of rapid movements and its associated Sigma-Lognormal model have been extensively used in a large variety of applications. While the physical and biological meaning of the model have been widely tested and validated for rapid movements, some shortcomings have been detected when it is used with continuous long and complex movements. To alleviate such drawbacks, and inspired by the motor equivalence theory and a conceivable visual feedback, this paper proposes a novel framework to extract the Sigma-Lognormal parameters, namely iDeLog.

Polymorphisms at phase I-metabolizing enzyme and hormone receptor loci influence the response to anti-TNF therapy in rheumatoid arthritis patients.

The aim of this case-control study was to evaluate whether 47 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in steroid hormone-related genes are associated with the risk of RA and anti-TNF drug response. We conducted a case-control study in 3 European populations including 2936 RA patients and 2197 healthy controls. Of those, a total of 1985 RA patients were treated with anti-TNF blockers.

Anthropomorphic Features for On-Line Signatures.

Many features have been proposed in on-line signature verification. Generally, these features rely on the position of the on-line signature samples and their dynamic properties, as recorded by a tablet. This paper proposes a novel feature space to describe efficiently on-line signatures.

Validation study of genetic biomarkers of response to TNF inhibitors in rheumatoid arthritis.

Genetic biomarkers are sought to personalize treatment of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), given their variable response to TNF inhibitors (TNFi). However, no genetic biomaker is yet sufficiently validated. Here, we report a validation study of 18 previously reported genetic biomarkers, including 11 from GWAS of response to TNFi.

Static and Dynamic Synthesis of Bengali and Devanagari Signatures.

Developing an automatic signature verification system is challenging and demands a large number of training samples. This is why synthetic handwriting generation is an emerging topic in document image analysis. Some handwriting synthesizers use the motor equivalence model, the well-established hypothesis from neuroscience, which analyses how a human being accomplishes movement.

Myoelectronic signal-based methodology for the analysis of handwritten signatures.

With the overall aim of improving the synthesis of handwritten signatures, we have studied how muscle activation depends on handwriting style for both text and flourish. Surface electromyographic (EMG) signals from a set of twelve arm and trunk muscles were recorded in synchronization with handwriting produced on a digital Tablet. Correlations between these EMG signals and handwritten trajectory signals were analyzed so as to define the sequence of muscles activated during the different parts of the signature.

Dynamic Signature Verification System Based on One Real Signature.

The dynamic signature is a biometric trait widely used and accepted for verifying a person's identity. Current automatic signature-based biometric systems typically require five, ten, or even more specimens of a person's signature to learn intrapersonal variability sufficient to provide an accurate verification of the individual's identity. To mitigate this drawback, this paper proposes a procedure for training with only a single reference signature.

Generation of Duplicated Off-Line Signature Images for Verification Systems.

Biometric researchers have historically seen signature duplication as a procedure relevant to improving the performance of automatic signature verifiers. Different approaches have been proposed to duplicate dynamic signatures based on the heuristic affine transformation, nonlinear distortion and the kinematic model of the motor system. The literature on static signature duplication is limited and as far as we know based on heuristic affine transforms and does not seem to consider the recent advances in human behavior modeling of neuroscience.

A Behavioral Handwriting Model for Static and Dynamic Signature Synthesis.

The synthetic generation of static handwritten signatures based on motor equivalence theory has been recently proposed for biometric applications. Motor equivalence divides the human handwriting action into an effector dependent cognitive level and an effector independent motor level. The first level has been suggested by others as an engram, generated through a spatial grid, and the second has been emulated with kinematic filters.

Static Signature Synthesis: A Neuromotor Inspired Approach for Biometrics.

In this paper we propose a new method for generating synthetic handwritten signature images for biometric applications. The procedures we introduce imitate the mechanism of motor equivalence which divides human handwriting into two steps: the working out of an effector independent action plan and its execution via the corresponding neuromuscular path. The action plan is represented as a trajectory on a spatial grid.

Genetic variants within immune-modulating genes influence the risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis and anti-TNF drug response: a two-stage case-control study.

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disease that arises as a result of the interaction between genetic and environmental factors. A growing body of research suggests that genetic variants within immune-related genes can influence the risk of developing the disease and affect drug response.

Materials And Methods: To test this hypothesis, we carried out a comprehensive two-stage case-control study in a White population of 1239 White RA patients and 1229 healthy controls to investigate whether 49 single nucleotide polymorphisms within or near 17 immune-related genes modulate the risk of developing RA and antitumor necrosis factor (anti-TNF) drug response.

Rheumatoid arthritis response to treatment across IgG1 allotype - anti-TNF incompatibility: a case-only study.

Introduction: We have hypothesized that incompatibility between the G1m genotype of the patient and the G1m1 and G1m17 allotypes carried by infliximab (INX) and adalimumab (ADM) could decrease the efficacy of these anti-tumor necrosis factor (anti-TNF) antibodies in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods: The G1m genotypes were analyzed in three collections of patients with RA totaling 1037 subjects. The first, used for discovery, comprised 215 Spanish patients.

Modeling the lexical morphology of Western handwritten signatures.

A handwritten signature is the final response to a complex cognitive and neuromuscular process which is the result of the learning process. Because of the many factors involved in signing, it is possible to study the signature from many points of view: graphologists, forensic experts, neurologists and computer vision experts have all examined them. Researchers study written signatures for psychiatric, penal, health and automatic verification purposes.

Genetic variants within the TNFRSF1B gene and susceptibility to rheumatoid arthritis and response to anti-TNF drugs: a multicenter study.

Background: Recent research suggests that genetic variants in the tumor necrosis factor receptor 2 (TNFRSF1B) gene may have an impact on susceptibility to rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and drug response. The present population-based case-control study was carried out to evaluate whether 5 tagging single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within the TNFRSF1B gene are associated with the risk of RA and response to antitumor necrosis factor (TNF) drugs.

Methods: The study population included 1412 RA patients and 1225 healthy controls.

FCGR polymorphisms in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis with Fc-containing TNF inhibitors.

Objectives: Reproducible association of a functional polymorphism in FCGR2A with response to a TNF inhibitor (TNFi) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) led us to explore other FcγR functional polymorphisms.

Methods: Functional polymorphisms FCGR3A F158V, FCGR2B I223T and promoter VNTR in FCGRT were analyzed in up to 429 patients with RA. Response to TNFi was recorded during standard care at 3, 6 and 12 months of follow-up.

Association of FCGR2A with the response to infliximab treatment of patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Objectives: We aimed to assess a functional polymorphism in FCGR2A H131R, for association with the treatment response to Fc-containing inhibitors of tumor necrosis factor (TNF).

Methods: A total of 429 biologic-naive patients with rheumatoid arthritis collected in two sets (299 and 130) were treated during standard care with infliximab (INX), etanercept, or adalimumab. Response to the treatment was evaluated at 3, 6, and 12 months of follow-up as the change in the Disease Activity Score (DAS) 28 from baseline and as the response by the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) criteria.

Lack of validation of genetic variants associated with anti-tumor necrosis factor therapy response in rheumatoid arthritis: a genome-wide association study replication and meta-analysis.

Introduction: In this study, our aim was to elucidate the role of four polymorphisms identified in a prior large genome-wide association study (GWAS) in which the investigators analyzed the responses of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) to treatment with tumor necrosis factor inhibitors (TNFi). The authors of that study reported that the four genetic variants were significantly associated. However, none of the associations reached GWAS significance, and two subsequent studies failed to replicate these associations.

Gender-specific effects of genetic variants within Th1 and Th17 cell-mediated immune response genes on the risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis.

The present study was conducted to explore whether single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in Th1 and Th17 cell-mediated immune response genes differentially influence the risk of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in women and men. In phase one, 27 functional/tagging polymorphisms in C-type lectins and MCP-1/CCR2 axis were genotyped in 458 RA patients and 512 controls. Carriers of Dectin-2 rs4264222T allele had an increased risk of RA (OR = 1.

Application of the Teager-Kaiser energy operator in bearing fault diagnosis.

Condition monitoring of rotating machines is important in the prevention of failures. As most machine malfunctions are related to bearing failures, several bearing diagnosis techniques have been developed. Some of them feature the bearing vibration signal with statistical measures and others extract the bearing fault characteristic frequency from the AM component of the vibration signal.