Augmented virtual accessibility of CH: The web navigation model of inquisition prisons

The latest advances in the architectural survey and 3D reconstruction have produced new technologies and methodologies to enhance cultural assets and improve their accessibility. The possibility of virtually visiting a place of historical and cultural interest is often the only way to have access to it. This can happen for various reasons: users' disabilities, temporary site closure, assets located in remote and inaccessible places, and assets destined to disappear over time. Fortunately, new Geomatics and Computer Science technologies allow the virtual reconstruction of entire archaeological and monumental sites with high levels of accuracy. Considering the technologies related to VR, online virtual fruition techniques were recently adopted, using the open source WebGL JavaScript libraries. These libraries allow users to virtually explore the virtual model employing web browsers without installing any client-side applications. The work presented adopts these technologies. It falls within the VASARI project, whose goal is to create a single digital platform for the enhancement, use, and management of the Italian artistic heritage. In particular, the described work concerns the survey, 3D reconstruction, and web visualization of the archaeological site of the Inquisition Prisons located within the monumental complex of Palazzo Chiaramonte in Palermo, known as the "Steri" and today the headquarters of the Rectorate of the University of Palermo. The adopted workflow and encountered issues during implementation will be described

A Quantum Planner for Robot Motion

The possibility of integrating quantum computation in a traditional system appears to be a viable route to drastically improve the performance of systems endowed with artificial intelligence. An example of such processing consists of implementing a teleo-reactive system employing quantum computing. In this work, we considered the navigation of a robot in an environment where its decisions are drawn from a quantum algorithm. In particular, the behavior of a robot is formalized through a production system. It is used to describe the world, the actions it can perform, and the conditions of the robot's behavior. According to the production rules, the planning of the robot activities is processed in a recognize-act cycle with a quantum rule processing algorithm. Such a system aims to achieve a significant computational speed-up

Effect of Mucilage-Based Edible Coating Enriched with Oregano Essential Oil on Postharvest Quality and Sensorial Attributes of Fresh-Cut Loquat

Due to pulp browning, weight loss, firmness loss, and decay, loquat fruits, and even more minimally processed fruits have a very short post-harvest life. The aim of our study was to evaluate the effect of Opuntia ficus-indica mucilage-based edible coating enriched with oregano oil on postharvest quality, microbial growth, and sensorial attributes of fresh-cut cv Martorana loquat fruit during cold storage. Fresh-cut loquat fruits were dipped in the mucilage-based solution enriched with oregano essential oil (MO-EC) and in distilled water used as control (CTR). According to our results, the mucilage-based edible coating enriched with oregano oil significantly improved the postharvest life of minimally processed loquat fruits by preserving quality, nutraceutical value, and sensory aspects. MO-EC had a barrier effect on fresh-cut loquat fruit, reducing weight and firmness losses, inhibiting TSS, TA, ascorbic acid content decrease, and enhancing the antioxidant activity until the end of the cold storage period (11 days at 5 C). Microbiological analysis revealed that coated loquat fruits were characterized by a cell density of spoilage microorganisms 1 Log cycle lower than control fruits. The mucilage-based coating enriched with OEO positively affects the visual appearance of fresh-cut loquat fruits, at the end of the cold storage period, MO-EC samples did indeed report visual ratings that were five times greater than CTR samples. Our research suggests that applying mucilage-based coating enriched with OEO improves peeled loquat fruit shelf-life and allows the producers to sell products that are usually considered unmarketable (fruit with epicarp with large spot areas) to the market

Effect of Opuntia ficus-indica Mucilage Edible Coating in Combination with Ascorbic Acid, on Strawberry Fruit Quality during Cold Storage

Strawberry fruit is a nonclimacteric fruit and is one of the most consumed berries in the world. It is characterized by high levels of vitamin C, folate, vitamin E, β-carotene, and phenolic constituents as well asanthocyanins that are strictly related to health benefits. Strawberries are highly perishable fruit with a very short postharvest life due to their susceptibility to mechanical injury, rapid texture softening, physiological disorders, and infection caused by several pathogens (yeast and mold) that can rapidly reduce fruit quality. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of the application of Opuntia ficus-indica mucilage in combination with ascorbic acid, as edible coating, on quality, sensorial parameters, and microbiological characteristics of strawberry fruit during cold storage at 4 ± 0.5°C and 85% RH. Strawberries were characterized by a linear increase of weight loss during the storage at 4°C that was significantly higher (+11.3% on average) in the uncoated strawberries. The coating affected the ascorbic acid content of the strawberries that increased by 36.0% in coated strawberries; total soluble solid content and color of the strawberries were only affected by storage. Visual quality and sensorial analysis recorded higher scores in the coated samples at the end of the cold storage period. Furthermore, the mucilage coating did not negatively affect the natural taste of strawberries. The application of O. ficus-indica gel-based edible coating in combination with ascorbic acid, although not able to inhibit the microbial growth, limited significantly their development in coated strawberry fruits. Our results suggest that Opuntia mucilage plus 5% ascorbic acid could be a useful biochemical way of maintaining strawberry fruit quality and extending their postharvest life

Moral Mediators in the Metaverse: Exploring Artificial Morality through a Talking Cricket Paradigm

As technological innovations continue to shape our social interactions, the Metaverse introduces immersive experiences that reflect real-life practices, accessible by users through their avatars. However, these interactions also bring forth potential negative aspects, including discrimination and cyberbullying. While current automatic detection systems exist, educating users on appropriate behaviour remains crucial. Leveraging recent advancements in Artificial Intelligence, the paper focuses on creating virtual AI-controlled moral agents within the Metaverse to guide users in dealing with moral dilemmas. The research aims to understand how such agents impact users' perceptions and behaviours in ethically challenging virtual environments

ACCESSIBILITY TO UNDERWATER CULTURAL HERITAGE: INTERACTIVE WEB NAVIGATION OF THE ROMAN SUBMERSED VESSEL OF CALA MINNOLA

The possibilities offered by photogrammetric reconstruction based on computer vision algorithms allowed in recent years to develop new interesting solutions for the use and dissemination of knowledge on Cultural Heritage (CH). In the same way, the recent technological development in the field of Virtual Reality (VR) has offered new possibilities for the creation of interactive virtual environments which can be freely accessed via the browser using any type of device. These technologies acquire an additional relevance if applied to archaeological sites or monuments that are difficult to access, or even totally inaccessible, except by specialized personnel. In this case the virtual fruition on web becomes strategic for the valorization of CH, as in the case of submerged archaeological sites, where the virtual tour represents in fact the only opportunity of diffuse accessibility. The present case shows the virtual reconstruction of the wreck area of the Roman ship found on the seabed of Cala Minnola on the island of Levanzo (TP, Italy). The model, obtained from a Structure from Motion (SfM) processing of a chunk of photos originally intended for a traditional photogrammetric survey, was edited and inserted into a specific template based on HTML5 and linked to Javascript libraries (Three.js) which allowed browsing on web. Subsequently, the navigation model was appropriately adapted to the purpose, so as to make the use of the network more intuitive possible, considering any type of device and using the most common browsers (Chrome, Safari, Firefox). This experimentation is a viable procedure for spreading the knowledge of a submerged archaeological site in a simple way, by web-browsing. This type of navigation models with the future development of 5G networks will find greater diffusion and application, with the possibility of including increasingly complex environments in the navigation

AUGMENTED VIRTUAL ACCESSIBILITY OF CH: THE WEB NAVIGATION MODEL OF INQUISITION PRISONS

The latest advances in the architectural survey and 3D reconstruction have produced new technologies and methodologies to enhance cultural assets and improve their accessibility. The possibility of virtually visiting a place of historical and cultural interest is often the only way to have access to it. This can happen for various reasons: users' disabilities, temporary site closure, assets located in remote and inaccessible places, and assets destined to disappear over time. Fortunately, new Geomatics and Computer Science technologies allow the virtual reconstruction of entire archaeological and monumental sites with high levels of accuracy. Considering the technologies related to VR, online virtual fruition techniques were recently adopted, using the open source WebGL JavaScript libraries. These libraries allow users to virtually explore the virtual model employing web browsers without installing any client-side applications. The work presented adopts these technologies. It falls within the VASARI project, whose goal is to create a single digital platform for the enhancement, use, and management of the Italian artistic heritage. In particular, the described work concerns the survey, 3D reconstruction, and web visualization of the archaeological site of the Inquisition Prisons located within the monumental complex of Palazzo Chiaramonte in Palermo, known as the "Steri" and today the headquarters of the Rectorate of the University of Palermo. The adopted workflow and encountered issues during implementation will be described

CORRELATION BETWEEN IBD, INTESTINAL DYSBIOSIS, DIET AND MOOD TONE DISEASE: ANALYSIS OF LITERATURE

This essay's main goal the present review is to highlight the connections between intestinal dysbiosis and the ensuing activation of the mucosal lymphatic system. One of the study's goals is to investigate the impact on mood caused by a serotonergic deficit driven by mucosal inflammation. It assesses the relationship between food consumption and the onset of psychological and mental illness as a secondary end aim. Patients with inflammatory bowel diseases and psychological and psychiatric mood disorders appear to benefit therapeutically from the sort of diet they consume

Effect of Glucose and Inactivated Yeast Additions on the Fermentation Performances of Lactiplantibacillus pentosus OM13 during the Production of Nocellara del Belice Table Olives

The use of selected strains of lactic acid bacteria is necessary to produce fermented table olives with high hygiene and quality standards at the industrial level. A current tendency is the use of fermentation adjuvants (nutrients and activators) that can satisfy the nutritional needs of starter strains. In this study, five experimental protocols, different for nutrient and activator presence and addition of Lactiplantibacillus pentosus OM13 in freeze-dried form and after acclimatisation, were tested with the aim of improving the fermentation performances of the commercial starter. The trial inoculated with the starter strain acclimatised in the presence of nutrients and activator showed the most rapid acidification during the first phase of fermentation (third to ninth day), registering a pH loss of 3.40 units. The addition of adjuvants positively influences starter dominance (>89%) and rapid colonisation (>7 Log CFU/mL from third d) by indirectly limiting the presence of undesirable microorganisms. The analysis of volatile organic compounds revealed the presence of 32 chemicals distributed differently in each trial. Sensory evaluation showed that table olives produced with the different treatments were characterised by low bitterness, acidity, and absence of unpleasant odours/flavours. Control production showed slower acidification kinetics and lower sensory pleasantness than the other trials

Transcriptomics and metabolomics integration reveals redox-dependent metabolic rewiring in breast cancer cells

Rewiring glucose metabolism toward aerobic glycolysis provides cancer cells with a rapid generation of pyruvate, ATP, and NADH, while pyruvate oxidation to lactate guarantees refueling of oxidized NAD+ to sustain glycolysis. CtPB2, an NADH-dependent transcriptional co-regulator, has been proposed to work as an NADH sensor, linking metabolism to epigenetic transcriptional reprogramming. By integrating metabolomics and transcriptomics in a triple-negative human breast cancer cell line, we show that genetic and pharmacological down-regulation of CtBP2 strongly reduces cell proliferation by modulating the redox balance, nucleotide synthesis, ROS generation, and scavenging. Our data highlight the critical role of NADH in controlling the oncogene-dependent crosstalk between metabolism and the epigenetically mediated transcriptional program that sustains energetic and anabolic demands in cancer cells