Today’s Extended Reality (XR) applications that call for specific Diminished Reality (DR) strategies to hide specific classes of objects are increasingly using 360° cameras, which can capture entire ...areas in a single picture. In this work, we present an interactive-based image processing, editing and rendering system named SPIDER, that takes a spherical 360° indoor scene as input. The system is composed of a novel integrated deep learning architecture for extracting geometric and semantic information of full and empty rooms, based on gated and dilated convolutions, followed by a super-resolution module for improving the resolution of the color and depth signals. The obtained high resolution representations allow users to perform interactive exploration and basic editing operations on the reconstructed indoor scene, namely: (i) rendering of the scene in various modalities (point cloud, polygonal, wireframe) (ii) refurnishing (transferring portions of rooms) (iii) deferred shading through the usage of precomputed normal maps. These kinds of scene editing and manipulations can be used for assessing the inference from deep learning models and enable several Mixed Reality applications in areas such as furniture retails, interior designs, and real estates. Moreover, it can also be useful in data augmentation, arts, designs, and paintings. We report on the performance improvement of the various processing components on public domain spherical image indoor datasets.
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Cannabinoids, endogenous and exogenously administered, are known to positively regulate food intake and energy balance. Since CB1 receptor antagonists reduce food intake and ...antagonize overweight, we developed a new CB1 receptor antagonist in an attempt to identify a compound with potential application in overeating disorders. The newly developed SM-11 compound dose-dependently decreases food intake in rats by 15–20%. Moreover, SM-11 reduces self-administration of palatable food in both food restricted and ad libitum fed rats, suggesting an action on the hedonic component of food intake. Thus, we next tested the effect of SM-11 on the stimulating properties of the CB1 receptor agonist WIN55,212-2 (WIN) on the electrophysiological activity of Nucleus Accumbens-projecting dopaminergic neurons of the ventral tegmental area (VTA). SM-11 fully and readily antagonized the WIN-induced increments in single spiking and burst firing of antidromically-identified dopamine neurons. When administered to naïve (no WIN-pretreated) rats, SM-11 did not alter basal neuronal activity, thereby suggesting a pure antagonistic profile. SM-11 thus appears as a promising candidate in the search of potential anti-obesity medications.
A pivotal role in osteoporosis development is played by radical oxygen species (ROS), the increased production of which is related to inhibited osteoblastic activity and bone formation. A new field ...of research could involve medicinal plants with antioxidant and protective effects in osteoporosis. Furthermore, considering the multifactorial metabolic aspects of osteoporosis, the pharmacological association of multiple medicinal plants could improve patient response. The aim of the present study is to evaluate in vitro and in vivo the protective effects of a natural formula containing lactoferrin 12%, Equisetum arvensis ES 54%, soy isoflavones 34% and vitamin D3 0.002%, in PBMC and C2C12 cells and in the bone matrix of young (3-month-old) and aged (12-month-old) female Sprague-Dawley rats, following chronic (21 days) administration. In this context, we assayed the activities of several inflammation and bone homeostasis mediators, such as IL-6, TNFα, PGE2, osteoprotegerin, RANK, RANKL and NFkB. In vitro studies showed that natural formula (5-1000μg/ml) was able to significantly inhibit ROS and PGE2 production. In the same concentration range, the natural formula inhibited both TNFα and IL-6 gene expression. In the in vivo studies, we administered to young and aged female rats the natural formula at 5mg/rat for 21 days, finding a significant reduction in inflammatory PGE2 and NFkB activity. Nevertheless, we observed a significant increase in osteoprotegerin/RANKL ratio only in aged rats, compared to the respective control group. In conclusion, our findings corroborate the rational use of natural formula in the prevention and management of osteoporotic disease.
Imoviral is a natural product formulation containing a mixture of uncaria, shiitake and ribes extracts. All ingredients are recognized as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory agent and immunomodulant. In ...order to evaluate the rational basis of extract mixture as immunomodulatory agent, we tested the effect of Imoviral formulation on macrophage response to lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced stress. The effect was evaluated as variation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) production and as cytokine gene expression. The extract did not affect cell viability up to 250 μg/ml. Treatment with extract (10-150 μg/ml) reduced ROS and PGE2 production as well as IL-8 and TNF-α gene expression. A pre-treatment with extract blunted LPS-induced production of ROS and PGE2, markers of oxidative and inflammatory stress, as well as the gene expression of all cytokines tested, indicators, in vitro, of immune response activation. In conclusion, we demonstrated that Imoviral formulation could be a useful tool to modulate the immune function, reducing the oxidative and inflammatory markers related to bacterial attack. Experimental data suggest that Imoviral extract mixture could also represent a preventive pharmacological strategy to enhance cell resistance to bacterial infections.
Plants of cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon) furnish edible fruits and derivates that have been used for the prevention and treatment of urinary tract infections. In the present work we compare two ...commercial extracts that contain proanthocyanins (PACs) at 4 percent and 20 percent for antimicrobial, antiproliferative, antiradical and protective properties against oxidative stress on cell lines. Both extracts showed antimicrobial activity (MIC values range 3-100 microg/ml). Extract at 20 percent PACs showed higher antiproliferative activity against HepG2 and MCF7 cells, but not against C2C12 cells. Both extracts showed a dose-dependent free-radical scavenging capacity, and a protective effect on the cell damage was also revealed by reduction of intracellular active oxygen species release. Cranberry extracts confirmed antioxidative properties and efficacy in reduction of cell viability that resulted stronger against tumor cells. The pretreatment with cranberry extracts, furthermore, reveal an increase of cell resistance against oxidative stress, suggesting a potential role as a dietary supplement in preventing free-radical damage. The proanthocyanidin content is critical to determine the extract efficacy. In cellular experiments the extracts resulted clearly differentiated in their activity, and the activity was strongly influenced by PACs content. Only in DPPH test the free radical scavenging activity seemed to be directly related to proanthocyanidins content.
Background: The antimicrobial activity of Essential Oils (EOs) has been used for centuries and nowadays the efforts to develop natural preservatives in postharvest management have augmented interest ...in their possible applications. Materials and Methods: Rosmarinus officinalis L. and Myrtus communis L. EOs, and two of their components, α- and β-pinene, have been tested in vitro against Penicillium digitatum, with the aim to assess their antifungal effects when applied as fumigation. The pathogen, inoculated on PDA dishes, was treated by EO-vapors contact and the fungal growth inhibition was recorded in order to evaluate the EOs antifungal activity. Results: The exposure to the EOs vapors shows different ability in the control of fungal growth related to the EO concentration used and the elapsed time between the fungal inoculum and EO vapor contact. The greatest antifungal activity was observed for rosemary EO, while a less control was found for the myrtle one. Treatment performed with α-pinene showed a control of the pathogen that was similar to the myrtle, whereas control with β-pinene was very poor. Highlight: Our finding revealed that plant EOs could be successful in controlling fungal postharvest disease in a dose and compound dependent manner, but deeper researches are needed about treatment parameters because the effectiveness seems to be affected by treatment modalities.
•Helichrysum italicum ssp. michrophyllum is an endemic species of Sardinia.•Essential oils profiles of 146 genotypes from two habitats have been studied.•The species has economical value for ...pharmacological, aromatic and ornamental uses.•Correlation between essential oils and environmental conditions was found.•Significant differences in seaside and mountains groups have been found.
Helichrysum italicum (Asteraceae) is a small shrub of the Mediterranean area which colonizes a wide range of habitats. In Sardinia, Italy, the species is widely dispersed in different environments ranging from sandy beaches to holm hoak forests 1250m above sea level (a. s. l.). Recently, the species has been attributed an increasing economical value mainly for its pharmacological, aromatic proprieties and ornamental uses.
In this study, the chemical profiles of 146 H. italicum ssp. microphyllum genotypes from two contrasting habitats (seaside and mountains) in Sardinia were explored. Significant differences in volatile fractions between the two groups were found, displaying a correlation between secondary metabolite production and habitat type. Multivariate analysis of variance revealed that monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes (oxygenated/not oxygenated), alcohols, ester were quantitatively differentially produced in the plants growing under different environmental conditions (P<0.0001). However, discriminant analysis also showed that compositional separation among samples is not simply the question if the habitat is from the coast or the mountains: plants from four seaside sites separate most remarkably from the rest, and in the latter plants from three mountain sites become distinct. It means that there is a fairly homogeneous and large group of plants in which habitat type is not a distinguishing feature regarding volatile oil composition.
Considering the importance of climatic conditions in plant development and growth, the relationship between meteorological variables and chemical compounds of the volatile fraction was explored by principal component analysis. Nerolidol is mostly positively correlated to mean winter temperature, while italicene, bergamotene, nerol and curcumene are positively influenced by spring and summer precipitation. Finally, Mantel test revealed a significant correlation (Spearman, P=0.002) between chemical and meteorological matrices of Euclidean distances, suggesting that the most diverse chemical profiles belonged to plants from the farther climatic locations.
Aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of phytocomplexes of Uncaria, Shiitake and Ribes in terms of viability and inflammatory response on immune cell-derived cultures.
Standardized extracts ...of Uncaria, Shitake and Ribes and their commercial formulation were tested on cell lines PBMC, U937 and macrophage. The activity was evaluated in terms of cell viability (MTT test), variations of oxidative marker release (ROS and PGE2) and modulatory effects on immune response (gene expression of IL-6, IL-8 and TNFα, RT-PCR).
Cell viability was not affected by extracts, except subtle variations observed only at higher doses (>250 µg/mL). The extract mixture was well tolerated, with no effects on cell viability up to doses of 500 µg/mL. Pre-treatment of macrophages with subtoxic doses of the extracts reduced the basal release of oxidative markers and enhanced the cell response to exogenous oxidant stimulation, as revealed by ROS and PGE2 release reduction. The same treatment on macrophage resulted in a selective modulation of the immune response, as shown by an increase of IL-6 mRNA and, partially, IL-8 mRNA, while a reduction was observed for TNFα mRNA.
Data confirm that extracts and their formulations can act as regulator of the immune system with mechanisms involving the oxidative stress and the release of selected proinflammatory cytokines.
A novel device for the study of antimicrobial activity by vapour contact of volatile substances have been designed. This "big size" system, made up in inert acrylic material, is furnished with a fan ...and a hot plate with the aim to have a quick evaporation of volatile substances. It is able to contain fruits or other food products under controlled atmosphere and it can simulate real condition of storage or as well real condition of food pre-treatment by antimicrobial volatile substances. Such system is suitable to perform both in vitro (disk diffusion test) and in vivo (exposure and testing of food products) experiments. To shed light on the behaviour of this chamber the concentration in the head space of several substances have been monitored by GC-MS analysis during the time. Both single (mono-terpene compounds) and mixture of terpenoids have been studied. Different behaviours have been founds depending on the starting molecules studied. Limonene, myrcene and eucalyptol, in single standard experiment, show a similar shape of head space concentration curve versus the time: the concentration increases at the beginning, then reaches a maximum and decreases until it reaches a plateau. In contrast linalool shows a head space concentration curve constant during the time, whereas mixtures of terpenes like myrcene and linalool show a concentration curve of vapour phase in agreement with Raloult's Law. The experiments carried out with Essential Oils (EOs) shows that in our system only more volatile fraction of EOs compose the vapour phase.
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