Adapting Single-View View Synthesis with Multiplane Images for 3D Video Chat

Activities like one-on-one video chatting and video conferencing with multiple participants are more prevalent than ever today as we continue to tackle the pandemic. Bringing a 3D feel to video chat has always been a hot topic in Vision and Graphics communities. In this thesis, we have employed novel view synthesis in attempting to turn one-on-one video chatting into 3D. We have tuned the learning pipeline of Tucker and Snavely\u27s single-view view synthesis paper — by retraining it on MannequinChallenge dataset — to better predict a layered representation of the scene viewed by either video chat participant at any given time. This intermediate representation of the local light field — called a Multiplane Image (MPI) — may then be used to rerender the scene at an arbitrary viewpoint which, in our case, would match with the head pose of the watcher in the opposite, concurrent video frame. We discuss that our pipeline, when implemented in real-time, would allow both video chat participants to unravel occluded scene content and peer into each other\u27s dynamic video scenes to a certain extent. It would enable full parallax up to the baselines of small head rotations and/or translations. It would be similar to a VR headset\u27s ability to determine the position and orientation of the wearer\u27s head in 3D space and render any scene in alignment with this estimated head pose. We have attempted to improve the performance of the retrained model by extending MannequinChallenge with the much larger RealEstate10K dataset. We present a quantitative and qualitative comparison of the model variants and describe our impactful dataset curation process, among other aspects

Quantitative estimation of (-)-hinokinin, a trypanosomicidal marker in Piper cubeba, and some of its commercial formulations using HPLC-PDA

AbstractThe fruits of Piper cubeba have been used in Ayurvedic system of medicine for pain, tastelessness, painful urination and mouth diseases. Among its various chemical constituents, (-)-hinokinin, a trypanosomicidal dibenzylbutyrolactone lignan, is found in significant quantities. For quality evaluation of P. cubeba fruit and its commercial formulations, there is an urgent need to develop an analytical method based on (-)-hinokinin. For this purpose, an HPLC method was developed using photo diode array detector and Waters HR C18 column with gradient elution consisting of water and acetonitrile. The developed method was validated as per ICH-Q2B guidelines and found to be accurate, precise and linear over a wide range of concentrations (5–300µg/mL). (-)-Hinokinin contents were found to be in the range of 0.005–0.109%(m/m) in various P. cubeba samples. The developed method was extended to LC–MS for further identification and characterization of (-)-hinokinin in samples. The developed method is simple, rapid and specific, and can be used as a tool for quality control of P. cubeba fruits and its commercial formulations

THE MULTI-ACTIVITY HERBACEOUS VINE - TINOSPORA CORDIFOLIA

Tinospora cordifolia (Willd.) Miers ex Hook. F. and Thoms is a large deciduous, climbing shrub found throughout India, especially in the tropical parts ascending to an altitude of 300 m and also in certain parts of China (Anonymous). It belongs to the family Menispermaceae. It is known as heart-leaved Moonseed plant in English, Guduchi in Sanskrit, and Giloy in Hindi. It is known for its immense application in the treatment of various diseases in the traditional ayurvedic literature. T. cordifolia, also named as “heavenly elixir,” is used in various ayurvedic decoctions as panacea to treat several body ailments. (Mishra R,) Its root stems, and leaves are used in Ayurvedic medicine. T. cordifolia is used for diabetes, high cholesterol, allergic rhinitis (hay fever), upset stomach, gout, lymphoma and other cancers, rheumatoid arthritis, hepatitis, peptic ulcer disease, fever, gonorrhea, syphilis, and to boost the immune system (WebMD)

Hsp90 governs dispersion and drug resistance of fungal biofilms

Fungal biofilms are a major cause of human mortality and are recalcitrant to most treatments due to intrinsic drug resistance. These complex communities of multiple cell types form on indwelling medical devices and their eradication often requires surgical removal of infected devices. Here we implicate the molecular chaperone Hsp90 as a key regulator of biofilm dispersion and drug resistance. We previously established that in the leading human fungal pathogen, Candida albicans, Hsp90 enables the emergence and maintenance of drug resistance in planktonic conditions by stabilizing the protein phosphatase calcineurin and MAPK Mkc1. Hsp90 also regulates temperature-dependent C. albicans morphogenesis through repression of cAMP-PKA signalling. Here we demonstrate that genetic depletion of Hsp90 reduced C. albicans biofilm growth and maturation in vitro and impaired dispersal of biofilm cells. Further, compromising Hsp90 function in vitro abrogated resistance of C. albicans biofilms to the most widely deployed class of antifungal drugs, the azoles. Depletion of Hsp90 led to reduction of calcineurin and Mkc1 in planktonic but not biofilm conditions, suggesting that Hsp90 regulates drug resistance through different mechanisms in these distinct cellular states. Reduction of Hsp90 levels led to a marked decrease in matrix glucan levels, providing a compelling mechanism through which Hsp90 might regulate biofilm azole resistance. Impairment of Hsp90 function genetically or pharmacologically transformed fluconazole from ineffectual to highly effective in eradicating biofilms in a rat venous catheter infection model. Finally, inhibition of Hsp90 reduced resistance of biofilms of the most lethal mould, Aspergillus fumigatus, to the newest class of antifungals to reach the clinic, the echinocandins. Thus, we establish a novel mechanism regulating biofilm drug resistance and dispersion and that targeting Hsp90 provides a much-needed strategy for improving clinical outcome in the treatment of biofilm infections

User Modeling Tools for Virtual Architecture

As the use of virtual environments (VEs) is becoming more widespread, user needs are becoming a more significant part in those environments. In order to adapt to the needs of the user, a system should be able to infer user interests and goals. I developed an architecture for user modeling to understand users' interests in a VE by monitoring their actions. In this paper, I discussed the architecture and the virtual environment that was created to test it. This architecture employs sensors to keep track of all the users' actions, data structures that can store a record of significant events that have occurred in the environment, and a rule base. The rule base continually monitors the data collected from the sensors, world state, and event history in order to update the user goal inferences. These inferences can then be used to modify the flow of events within a VE

Incremental Prognostic Value of Echocardiographic Strain and Its Association with Mortality in Cancer Patients

Background Left ventricular global longitudinal systolic strain (GLS) has been shown to be superior to ejection fraction in detecting subclinical dysfunction in patients with cancer and predicting mortality in patients with cardiovascular disease. Cancer-related fatigue is common in the later stages of neoplastic malignancies and may be indicative of nonovert heart failure. The aim of this study was to determine whether reduced strain by echocardiography was associated with all-cause mortality in a cancer cohort. Methods In this retrospective study, 120 patients with cancer undergoing or scheduled to undergo chemotherapy and with normal ejection fractions (>50%) underwent assessments of GLS. GLS was derived by averaging all speckle-tracking strain segments of the left ventricle. Results Over an average follow-up period of 21.6 ± 13.9 months, 57 of 120 patients died. Univariate predictors of all-cause mortality (P < .10) were Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status, male sex, hematologic malignancy, β-blocker use, and GLS. Multivariate analysis of all significant univariate variables showed that Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status (hazard ratio, 2.12; 95% confidence interval, 1.54–2.92; P < .001), male sex (hazard ratio, 1.93; 95% confidence interval, 1.14–3.27; P = .014), and GLS (hazard ratio, 0.89; 95% confidence interval, 0.81–0.97; P = .012) were significantly and independently associated with mortality. Stepwise analysis of the multivariate associations showed an increase in the global χ2 value after adding GLS (P = .011) to significant clinical variables. Conclusions Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status, male sex, and GLS were significantly associated with all-cause mortality in patients with cancer with normal ejection fractions receiving chemotherapy. Adding GLS to significant clinical variables provided incremental prognostic information

On Bonferroni-Type Inequalities of the same Degree for the Probability of a Union

1 online resource (PDF, 16 pages