Improving Traffic Density Forecasting in Intelligent Transportation Systems Using Gated Graph Neural Networks

This study delves into the application of graph neural networks in the realm of traffic forecasting, a crucial facet of intelligent transportation systems. Accurate traffic predictions are vital for functions like trip planning, traffic control, and vehicle routing in such systems. Three prominent GNN architectures Graph Convolutional Networks (Graph Sample and Aggregation) and Gated Graph Neural Networks are explored within the context of traffic prediction. Each architecture's methodology is thoroughly examined, including layer configurations, activation functions,and hyperparameters. The primary goal is to minimize prediction errors, with GGNNs emerging as the most effective choice among the three models. The research outlines outcomes for each architecture, elucidating their predictive performance through root mean squared error and mean absolute error (MAE). Hypothetical results reveal intriguing insights: GCNs display an RMSE of 9.10 and an MAE of 8.00, while GraphSAGE shows improvement with an RMSE of 8.3 and an MAE of 7.5. Gated Graph Neural Networks (GGNNs) exhibit the lowest RMSE at 9.15 and an impressive MAE of 7.1, positioning them as the frontrunner

Genetic Aberrations of the K-ras Proto-oncogene in Bladder Cancer in Kashmiri Population

PURPOSE: To assess the frequency of specific point mutations in the K-ras gene in a group of Kashmiri patients with bladder cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We analyzed the incidence of K-ras exon 1 gene mutations in tumors and surgical margins in 60 patients with transitional cell carcinoma of varied clinical stages and histological grades using the polymerase chain reaction-single strand conformation polymorphism and DNA sequencing. RESULTS: A significant correlation was found between the K-ras, the lymph node status, and tumor recurrence (P < 0.05). Also, smokers and patients with higher tumor grade showed a significantly higher relative risk of developing K-ras mutations than the normal ones. CONCLUSION: K-ras exon 1 gene mutations were found with low frequency in the bladder cancer tumors from Kashmir valley, which suggests that K-ras gene might be involved in a sub-set of bladder tumors, but it needs further investigation on a larger cohort sample to authenticate the current findings

Polymorphic analysis of MHClinked Heat Shock Protein 70 genes: Their susceptibility and prognostic implication in Kangri cancer cases of Kashmiri population

Kangri cancer is a unique thermally-induced squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of skin that develops due to persistent use of Kangri (a brazier), used by Kashmiri people, to combat the chilling cold during winter months. We designed a large scale case-control study to characterize the frequency of two polymorphisms within the MHC class III-linked HSP70genes, Hsp70-2 and Hsp70-hom, in order to find any association of these genotypic variants for predisposition to and clinical outcome of Kangri cancer patients from Kashmir valley in North India. Polymerase Chain Reaction and restriction enzymes were utilized to characterize the frequency of two polymorphisms with in Hsp70-2 and Hsp70-hom genes in 118 Kangri carcinoma cases and 95 healthy controls from the same population of Kashmir. Association of high frequency allelic variants of Hsp70genes with various clinico-pathological features of prognostic significance was assessed by Chi-square test using SPSS software. In this study, allelic frequency of Hsp70-2 A/G heterozygote (0.87) ( P = 0.012) was found to be significantly high in Kangri cancer cases compared to control (0.736) with a Relative Risk of 2.45 fold. Conversely, the allelic frequency of Hsp70-2 A/A allele in homozygous condition was significantly low in Kangri cancer cases and worked out to be 0.084 (Vs 0.252 in control) with P is equal to 0.001, implicating it as a protective allele against Kangri cancer in subjects with this genotype . Similarly, significantly high frequency of 0.50 (Vs 0.29 in control) of Hsp70-homC/C allele was found in homozygous condition in Kangri cancer cases suggestive of a positive relative risk associated with this genotype (RR is equal to 2.47) ( P is equal to 0.002) . The overall allele frequency data analysis of Hsp70-2 and Hsp70-hom genes was significant (\u3c72 is equal to 12.38, P is equal to 0.002; and \u3c72 is equal to 12.21, P is equal to 0.002). The study also reveals considerable association of high frequency alleles of HSP70genes, especially of Hsp70-2 A/G or G/G in Kangri tumors with clinico-pathological features of poor prognosis. These results indicate that the relative risk of Kangri cancer associated with Hsp70-2 and Hsp70-hom gene polymorphisms is confined to Hsp70-2 A/G or G/G and Hsp70homC/C haplotype in our population. The study, therefore, suggests Hsp70-2 A/G or G/G and Hsp70homC/C genotypes as potential susceptibility markers and independent prognostic indicators in Kangri carcinoma patients in Kashmiri population

Exogenously-sourced ethylene increases stomatal conductance, photosynthesis, and growth under optimal and deficient nitrogen fertilization in mustard

In order to ascertain the stomatal and photosynthetic responses of mustard to ethylene under varying N availability, photosynthetic characteristics of mustard grown with optimal (80 mg N kg−1 soil) or low (40 mg N kg−1 soil) N were studied after the application of an ethylene-releasing compound, ethephon (2-chloroethyl phosphonic acid) at 40 days after sowing (DAS). The availability of N influenced ethylene evolution and affected stomatal conductance and photosynthesis. The effect of ethylene was smaller under deficient N where plants contained higher glucose (Glc) sensitivity, despite high ethylene evolution even in the absence of ethephon, potentially because the plants were less sensitive to ethylene per se. Ethephon application at each level of N increased ethylene and decreased Glc sensitivity, which increased photosynthesis via its effect on the photosynthetic machinery and effects on stomatal conductance. Plants grown with sufficient-N and treated with 200 μl l−1 ethephon exhibited optimal ethylene, the greatest stomatal conductance and photosynthesis, and growth. These plants made maximum use of available N and exhibited the highest nitrogen-use efficiency (NUE)

Plasma chemokines CXCL10 and CXCL9 as potential diagnostic markers of drug-sensitive and drug-resistant tuberculosis

Tuberculosis (TB) diagnosis still remains to be a challenge with the currently used immune based diagnostic methods particularly Interferon Gamma Release Assay due to the sensitivity issues and their inability in differentiating stages of TB infection. Immune markers are valuable sources for understanding disease biology and are easily accessible. Chemokines, the stimulant, and the shaper of host immune responses are the vital hub for disease mediated dysregulation and their varied levels in TB disease are considered as an important marker to define the disease status. Hence, we wanted to examine the levels of chemokines among the individuals with drug-resistant, drug-sensitive, and latent TB compared to healthy individuals. Our results demonstrated that the differential levels of chemokines between the study groups and revealed that CXCL10 and CXCL9 as potential markers of drug-resistant and drug-sensitive TB with better stage discriminating abilities

Techniques of EMG signal analysis: detection, processing, classification and applications

Electromyography (EMG) signals can be used for clinical/biomedical applications, Evolvable Hardware Chip (EHW) development, and modern human computer interaction. EMG signals acquired from muscles require advanced methods for detection, decomposition, processing, and classification. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the various methodologies and algorithms for EMG signal analysis to provide efficient and effective ways of understanding the signal and its nature. We further point up some of the hardware implementations using EMG focusing on applications related to prosthetic hand control, grasp recognition, and human computer interaction. A comparison study is also given to show performance of various EMG signal analysis methods. This paper provides researchers a good understanding of EMG signal and its analysis procedures. This knowledge will help them develop more powerful, flexible, and efficient applications

SMAD4 - Molecular gladiator of the TGF-β signaling is trampled upon by mutational insufficiency in colorectal carcinoma of Kashmiri population: an analysis with relation to KRAS proto-oncogene

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The development and progression of colorectal cancer has been extensively studied and the genes responsible have been well characterized. However the correlation between the <it>SMAD4 </it>gene mutations with <it>KRAS </it>mutant status has not been explored by many studies so far. Here, in this study we aimed to investigate the role of <it>SMAD4 </it>gene aberrations in the pathogenesis of CRC in Kashmir valley and to correlate it with various clinicopathological variables and <it>KRAS </it>mutant genotype.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We examined the paired tumor and normal tissue specimens of 86 CRC patients for the occurrence of aberrations in MCR region of <it>SMAD4 </it>and exon 1 of <it>KRAS </it>by PCR-SSCP and/or PCR-Direct sequencing.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The overall mutation rate of mutation cluster region (MCR) region of <it>SMAD4 </it>gene among 86 patients was 18.6% (16 of 86). 68.75% (11/16) of the <it>SMAD4 </it>gene mutants were found to have mutations in <it>KRAS </it>gene as well. The association between the <it>KRAS </it>mutant genotype with <it>SMAD4 </it>mutants was found to be significant (P =< 0.05). Further more, we found a significant association of tumor location, tumor grade, node status, occupational exposure to pesticides and bleeding PR/Constipation with the mutation status of the <it>SMAD4 </it>gene (P =< 0.05).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our study suggests that <it>SMAD4 </it>gene aberrations are the common event in CRC development but play a differential role in the progression of CRC in higher tumor grade (C+D) and its association with the <it>KRAS </it>mutant status suggest that these two molecules together are responsible for the progression of the tumor to higher/advanced stage.</p