Showing papers by "Gaurav Sharma published in 2019"

Creating a Multitrack Classical Music Performance Dataset for Multimodal Music Analysis: Challenges, Insights, and Applications

Abstract: We introduce a dataset for facilitating audio-visual analysis of music performances. The dataset comprises 44 simple multi-instrument classical music pieces assembled from coordinated but separately recorded performances of individual tracks. For each piece, we provide the musical score in MIDI format, the audio recordings of the individual tracks, the audio and video recording of the assembled mixture, and ground-truth annotation files including frame-level and note-level transcriptions. We describe our methodology for the creation of the dataset, particularly highlighting our approaches to address the challenges involved in maintaining synchronization and expressiveness. We demonstrate the high quality of synchronization achieved with our proposed approach by comparing the dataset with existing widely used music audio datasets. We anticipate that the dataset will be useful for the development and evaluation of existing music information retrieval (MIR) tasks, as well as for novel multimodal tasks. We benchmark two existing MIR tasks (multipitch analysis and score-informed source separation) on the dataset and compare them with other existing music audio datasets. In addition, we consider two novel multimodal MIR tasks (visually informed multipitch analysis and polyphonic vibrato analysis) enabled by the dataset and provide evaluation measurements and baseline systems for future comparisons (from our recent work). Finally, we propose several emerging research directions that the dataset enables.

Gridded Emissions of CO, NOx, SO2, CO2, NH3, HCl, CH4, PM2.5, PM10, BC, and NMVOC from Open Municipal Waste Burning in India

Abstract: Accurate emission inventories serve as critical inputs for air quality and climate models but are poorly constrained over India. We present a new municipal open waste burning emission inventory from India (OWBEII), at a resolution of 0.1° × 0.1°. Out of the 216 (201-232) Tg y-1 of waste produced in the year 2015, 68 (45-105) Tg y-1 was burned in the open. To determine emissions from waste burning, emission factors of 59 non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs), CH4, CO2, CO, and NO x were measured from garbage fires in rural and urban sites in India. The NMVOC emissions from open waste burning of 1.4-2 Tg y-1 increase India's total anthropogenic NMVOC budget by 8-12%, while BC emissions (40-110 Ggy-1) increase the total anthropogenic BC emissions by 8-12%. Open waste burning in India emits 3-7 Tg y-1 of CO and 58-130 Tg y-1 of CO2. Emissions increase the total anthropogenic CO and CO2 in the MIX-Asia inventory by 4-11% and 2-6%, respectively. Open waste burning may affect atmospheric OH reactivity and ozone formation rates downwind of urban centers through the emission of other highly reactive compounds such as acetaldehyde (20-320 Gg y-1), propene (50-170 Gg y-1), and ethene (50-190 Gg y-1) and is s source of carcinogenic benzene (30-280 Gg y-1).

A family of PIKFYVE inhibitors with therapeutic potential against autophagy-dependent cancer cells disrupt multiple events in lysosome homeostasis.

Abstract: High-throughput screening identified 5 chemical analogs (termed the WX8-family) that disrupted 3 events in lysosome homeostasis: (1) lysosome fission via tubulation without preventing homotypic lys...

An investigation into mistreatment of women during labour and childbirth in maternity care facilities in Uttar Pradesh, India: a mixed methods study.

Abstract: To investigate the nature and context of mistreatment during labour and childbirth at public and private sector maternity facilities in Uttar Pradesh, India. This study analyses mixed-methods data obtained through systematic clinical observations and open-ended comments recorded by the observers to describe care provision for 275 mothers and their newborns at 26 hospitals in three districts of Uttar Pradesh from 26 May to 8 July 2015. We conducted a bivariate descriptive analysis of the quantitative data and used a thematic approach to analyse qualitative data. All women in the study encountered at least one indicator of mistreatment. There was a high prevalence of not offering birthing position choice (92%) and routine manual exploration of the uterus (80%) in facilities in both sectors. Private sector facilities performed worse than the public sector for not allowing birth companions (p = 0.02) and for perineal shaving (p = < 0.001), whereas the public sector performed worse for not ensuring adequate privacy (p = < 0.001), not informing women prior to a vaginal examination (p = 0.01) and for physical violence (p = 0.04). Prepared comments by observers provide further contextual insights into the quantitative data, and additional themes of mistreatment, such as deficiencies in infection prevention, lack of analgesia for episiotomy, informal payments and poor hygiene standards at maternity facilities were identified. Mistreatment of women frequently occurs in both private and public sector facilities. This paper contributes to the literature on mistreatment of women during labour and childbirth at maternity facilities in India by articulating new constructs of overtreatment and under-treatment. There are five key implications of this study. First, a systematic and context-specific effort to measure mistreatment in public and private sector facilities in high burden states in India is required. Second, a training initiative to orient all maternity care personnel to the principles of respectful maternity care would be useful. Third, innovative mechanisms to improve accountability towards respectful maternity care are required. Fourth, participatory community and health system interventions to support respectful maternity care would be useful. Lastly, we note that there needs to be a long-term, sustained investment in health systems so that supportive and enabling work-environments are available to front- line health workers.

Honeycomb structured activated carbon synthesized from Pinus roxburghii cone as effective bioadsorbent for toxic malachite green dye

Abstract: Herein, we have demonstrated the designing of activated carbon from Pinus roxburghii cone (PRCAC) by facile carbonization method. The synthesized PRCAC was utilized for the removal of malachite green (MG), a basic dye from aqueous medium. The surface properties of PRCAC were elucidated by N2 adsorption- desorption and point zero charge studies. Quite attractive adsorption results were obtained by PRCAC due to it’s high surface area (202 m2/g). Influence of numerous elements; concentration of MG, pH, time, adsorbent dose and temperature were studied in detail. Low acidic medium found to be preferential for the adsorption process. The adsorption isotherm studies were also carried out and results showed that the data fitted well to Langmuir isotherm. Maximum adsorption capacity of PRCAC was found to be 250 mg/g. Different kinetic model were also studied for the undertaken adsorption reaction.

Carbon nitride, metal nitrides, phosphides, chalcogenides, perovskites and carbides nanophotocatalysts for environmental applications

Abstract: Effective technologies and materials are needed for environmental detoxification and clean energy production. The actual photocatalytic technology is largely dependent on metal oxide-based semiconductors, which have issues such as cost, limited spectral response and recombination problems. Alternatively, non-metal photocatalysts have recently emerged. This article reviews non-metal oxide photocatalytic materials such as carbon nitride, metal nitrides, phosphides, chalcogenides, perovskites and carbides for environmental clean-up and energy production.

Composite genome sequence of Bacillus clausii, a probiotic commercially available as Enterogermina®, and insights into its probiotic properties

Abstract: Some of the spore-forming strains of Bacillus probiotics are marketed commercially as they survive harsh gastrointestinal conditions and bestow health benefits to the host. We report the composite genome of Bacillus clausii ENTPro from a commercially available probiotic Enterogermina® and compare it with the genomes of other Bacillus probiotics. We find that the members of B. clausii species harbor high heterogeneity at the species as well as genus level. The genes conferring resistance to chloramphenicol, streptomycin, rifampicin, and tetracycline in the B. clausii ENTPro strain could be identified. The genes coding for the bacteriocin gallidermin, which prevents biofilm formation in the pathogens Staphylococcus aureus and S. epidermidis, were also identified. KEGG Pathway analysis suggested that the folate biosynthesis pathway, which depicts one of the important roles of probiotics in the host, is conserved completely in B. subtilis and minimally in B. clausii and other probiotics. We identified various antibiotic resistance, bacteriocins, stress-related, and adhesion-related domains, and industrially-relevant pathways, in the genomes of these probiotic bacteria that are likely to help them survive in the harsh gastrointestinal tract, facilitating adhesion to host epithelial cells, persistence during antibiotic treatment and combating bacterial infections.

projectR: An R/Bioconductor package for transfer learning via PCA, NMF, correlation, and clustering

Abstract: Motivation: Dimension reduction techniques are widely used to interpret high-dimensional biological data. Features learned from these methods are used to discover both technical artifacts and novel biological phenomena. Such feature discovery is critically import to large single-cell datasets, where lack of a ground truth limits validation and interpretation. Transfer learning (TL) can be used to relate the features learned from one source dataset to a new target dataset to perform biologically-driven validation by evaluating their use in or association with additional sample annotations in that independent target dataset. Results: We developed an R/Bioconductor package, projectR, to perform TL for analyses of genomics data via TL of clustering, correlation, and factorization methods. We then demonstrate the utility TL for integrated data analysis with an example for spatial single-cell analysis. Availability: projectR is available on Bioconductor and at https://github.com/genesofeve/projectR.

Electronic self-administered screening for substance use in adult primary care patients: feasibility and acceptability of the tobacco, alcohol, prescription medication, and other substance use (myTAPS) screening tool

Abstract: The TAPS Tool is a substance use screening and brief assessment instrument that was developed for use in primary care medical settings. It is one of the first screening instruments to provide rapid assessment of all commonly used substance classes, including illicit and prescription opioids, and is one of the only available screeners designed and validated in an electronic self-administered format (myTAPS). This secondary analysis of data from the TAPS Tool validation study describes the feasibility and acceptability of the myTAPS among primary care patients. Adult patients (N = 2000) from five primary care clinics completed the TAPS Tool on a tablet computer (myTAPS), and in an interviewer-administered format. Requests for assistance and time required were tracked, and participants completed a survey on ease of use, utilization of audio guidance, and format preference. Logistic regression was used to examine outcomes in defined subpopulations, including groups that may have greater difficulty completing an electronic screener, and those that may prefer an electronic self-administered approach. Almost all participants (98.3%) reported that the myTAPS was easy to use. The median time to complete myTAPS screening was 4.0 min (mean 4.48, standard deviation 2.57). More time was required by participants who were older, Hispanic, Black, or reported non-medical prescription drug use, while less time was required by women. Assistance was requested by 25% of participants, and was more frequently requested by those who with lower education (OR = 2.08, 95% CI 1.62–2.67) or age > 65 years (OR = 2.79, 95% CI 1.98–3.93). Audio guidance was utilized by 18.3%, and was more frequently utilized by participants with lower education (OR = 2.01, 95% CI 1.54–2.63), age > 65 years (OR = 1.79, 95% CI 1.22–2.61), or Black race (OR = 1.30, 95% 1.01–1.68). The myTAPS format was preferred by women (OR = 1.29, 95% CI 1.00–1.66) and individuals with drug use (OR = 1.43, 95% CI 1.09–1.88), while participants with lower education preferred the interviewer-administered format (OR = 2.75, 95% CI 2.00–3.78). Overall, myTAPS screening was feasible and well accepted by adult primary care patients. Clinics adopting electronic screening should be prepared to offer assistance to some patients, particularly those who are older or less educated, and should have the capacity to use an interviewer-administered approach when required.

Real-time hyperpolarized 13C magnetic resonance detects increased pyruvate oxidation in pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 2/4-double knockout mouse livers.

Abstract: The pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDH) critically regulates carbohydrate metabolism. Phosphorylation of PDH by one of the pyruvate dehydrogenase kinases 1-4 (PDK1-4) decreases the flux of carbohydrates into the TCA cycle. Inhibition of PDKs increases oxidative metabolism of carbohydrates, so targeting PDKs has emerged as an important therapeutic approach to manage various metabolic diseases. Therefore, it is highly desirable to begin to establish imaging tools for noninvasive measurements of PDH flux in rodent models. In this study, we used hyperpolarized (HP) 13C-magnetic resonance spectroscopy to study the impact of a PDK2/PDK4 double knockout (DKO) on pyruvate metabolism in perfused livers from lean and diet-induced obese (DIO) mice and validated the HP observations with high-resolution 13C-nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy of tissue extracts and steady-state isotopomer analyses. We observed that PDK-deficient livers produce more HP-bicarbonate from HP-[1-13C]pyruvate than age-matched control livers. A steady-state 13C-NMR isotopomer analysis of tissue extracts confirmed that flux rates through PDH, as well as pyruvate carboxylase and pyruvate cycling activities, are significantly higher in PDK-deficient livers. Immunoblotting experiments confirmed that HP-bicarbonate production from HP-[1-13C]pyruvate parallels decreased phosphorylation of the PDH E1α subunit (pE1α) in liver tissue. Our findings indicate that combining real-time hyperpolarized 13C NMR spectroscopy and 13C isotopomer analysis provides quantitative insights into intermediary metabolism in PDK-knockout mice. We propose that this method will be useful in assessing metabolic disease states and developing therapies to improve PDH flux.

Metabolism of hyperpolarized 13C‐acetoacetate to β‐hydroxybutyrate detects real‐time mitochondrial redox state and dysfunction in heart tissue

Abstract: Mitochondrial dysfunction is considered to be an important component of many metabolic diseases yet there is no reliable imaging biomarker for monitoring mitochondrial damage in vivo. A large prior literature on inter-conversion of β-hydroxybutyrate and acetoacetate indicates that the process is mitochondrial and that the ratio reflects a specifically mitochondrial redox state. Therefore, the conversion of [1,3-13 C]acetoacetate to [1,3-13 C]β-hydroxybutyrate is expected to be sensitive to the abnormal redox state present in dysfunctional mitochondria. In this study, we examined the conversion of hyperpolarized (HP) 13 C-acetoacetate (AcAc) to 13 C-β-hydroxybutyrate (β-HB) as a potential imaging biomarker for mitochondrial redox and dysfunction in perfused rat hearts. Conversion of HP-AcAc to β-HB was investigated using 13 C magnetic resonance spectroscopy in Langendorff-perfused rat hearts in four groups: control, global ischemic reperfusion, low-flow ischemic, and rotenone (mitochondrial complex-I inhibitor)-treated hearts. We observed that more β-HB was produced from AcAc in ischemic hearts and the hearts exposed to complex I inhibitor rotenone compared with controls, consistent with the accumulation of excess mitochondrial NADH. The increase in β-HB, as detected by 13 C MRS, was validated by a direct measure of tissue β-HB by 1 H nuclear magnetic resonance in tissue extracts. The redox ratio, NAD+ /NADH, measured by enzyme assays of homogenized tissue, also paralleled production of β-HB from AcAc. Transmission electron microscopy of tissues provided direct evidence for abnormal mitochondrial structure in each ischemic tissue model. The results suggest that conversion of HP-AcAc to HP-β-HB detected by 13 C-MRS may serve as a useful diagnostic marker of mitochondrial redox and dysfunction in heart tissue in vivo.

Highly Efficient Polydopamine-coated Poly(methyl methacrylate) Nanofiber Supported Platinum⁻nickel Bimetallic Catalyst for Formaldehyde Oxidation at Room Temperature.

Abstract: We fabricated one fibrous-membrane type of flexible and lightweight supported catalyst via loading platinum–nickel nanoparticles (PtNi NPs) directly on the polydopamine-coated polymethylmethacrylate electrospun-fibers (PMMA@PDA). The polymer support with the PDA layer provided numerous active sites, leading to well-monodispersed and sized PtNi NPs on the nanofibers. Through the rational design of PtNi NPs, the resultant catalyst system exhibited 90% conversion for decomposing HCHO (10 ppm) at room temperature with only a low dosage (0.02 g), retaining the high activity for 100 h. This superior catalytic performance stems from the formate oxidation, which was the key intermediate during HCHO decomposition, and was promoted by the existence of a sufficient Pt–OH–Ni interface in the PtNi NPs with an appropriate Pt/Ni ratio of 1:5. Such tailored Pt-based nanoparticles ideally work together with the polymer nanofibers as a support for catalytic reaction. Compared with classical catalysts, our system can handle a comparable efficiency with much lower air resistance and remarkably lower dosage. Furthermore, the membrane-like morphology provides easy handling and minimizes the leaching of catalyst nanoparticles.

Preparation and Characterization of Gum Acacia/Ce(IV)MoPO4 Nanocomposite Ion Exchanger for Photocatalytic Degradation of Methyl Violet Dye

Abstract: Gum acacia based nanocomposite ion exchanger has been fabricated using simple sol–gel method. The effect of biopolymer concentration on ion exchange capacity has been studied. The GA/CeMoPO4 nanocomposite ion exchanger has been well characterized using various techniques as FTIR, XRD, SEM and TEM. The GA/CeMoPO4 showed better ion exchange capacity of 1.04 meq/g in comparison to its inorganic counterpart GA/CeMoPO4 (0.65 meq/g). The various physicochemical properties including thermal stability, elution behavior and pH titrations were studied in detail. The photocatalytic nature of GA/CeMoPO4 and CeMoPO4 were investigated using methyl violet as test dye. The GA/CeMoPO4 showed 86% of methyl violet photodegradation in 2 h of illumination.

Facile Fabrication of Hierarchical rGO/PANI@PtNi Nanocomposite via Microwave-Assisted Treatment for Non-Enzymatic Detection of Hydrogen Peroxide

Abstract: A hierarchical composite based on the modified reduced graphene oxide with platinum-nickel decorated polyaniline nano-spheres (rGO/PANI@PtNi) was facilely prepared via microwave-assisted self-reduction for an application in nonenzymatic hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) detection. Compared to the pristine rGO, the composite exhibited a much tougher surface due to the stacking of conductive PANI nano-spheres on rGO sheets, leading to good dispersion of PtNi nanoparticles and a large active area. Furthermore, the multi-valance Ni2+/3+ in the PtNi particles effectively promoted the catalytic property of Pt sites and facilitated a superior electrochemical performance of PtNi alloy than that of neat Pt. Owing to the synergistic effect of the improved electrical conductivity and the promoted electrocatalytical property, the modified glassy carbon electrode (GCE) with rGO/PANI@PtNi nanocomposite displayed an outstanding electrochemical sensitivity towards H2O2 with a fast response time (<2 s), a wide linear range (0.1–126.4 mM), a low detection limit (0.5 µM), as well as a long-life stability for one week without obvious degradation. This novel strategy opens a novel and promising approach to design high performance sensors for H2O2 detection.