Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Hyperpoints and Fine Vocabularies for Large-Scale Location Recognition

Structure-based localization is the task of finding the absolute pose of a given query image w.r. t. a pre-computed 3D model. While this is almost trivial at small scale, special care must be taken as the size of the 3D model grows, because straight-forward descriptor matching becomes ineffective due to the large memory footprint of the model, as well as the strictness of the ratio test in 3D. Recently, several authors have tried to overcome these problems, either by a smart compression of the 3D model or by clever sampling strategies for geometric verification. Here we explore an orthogonal strategy, which uses all the 3D points and standard sampling, but performs feature matching implicitly, by quantization into a fine vocabulary. We show that although this matching is ambiguous and gives rise to 3D hyperpoints when matching each 2D query feature in isolation, a simple voting strategy, which enforces the fact that the selected 3D points shall be co-visible, can reliably find a locally unique 2D-3D point assignment. Experiments on two large-scale datasets demonstrate that our method achieves state-of-the-art performance, while the memory footprint is greatly reduced, since only visual word labels but no 3D point descriptors need to be stored.
Retinal detachment risk in cytomegalovirus retinitis related to the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.

OBJECTIVES To compare the incidence of retinal detachment in patients treated with the ganciclovir implant compared with those treated using systemic therapy only, among 511 patients with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and cytomegalovirus (CMV) retinitis and to describe the influence of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) on retinal detachment incidence. PATIENTS AND METHODS All patients with AIDS and CMV retinitis at 1 center were followed up prospectively from CMV retinitis diagnosis for incidence of retinal detachment. Patient- and eye-specific data regarding demographic and clinical characteristics were collected at the time of CMV retinitis diagnosis. Use of anti-CMV and antiretroviral treatments and the development of an immunologic response to HAART during follow-up were recorded. RESULTS No significant difference in the rate of retinal detachment was found between eyes treated with systemic therapy only and those treated with ganciclovir implants, whether used as primary therapy or subsequent to using systemic anti-CMV therapy. The use of HAART was associated with a 60% reduction in retinal detachment rate (P<.001), with the greatest benefit observed among patients who developed an immunologic response to HAART. CONCLUSIONS Our results suggest that there is no substantial excess risk of retinal detachment when patients with AIDS and CMV retinitis are treated with ganciclovir implants as opposed to systemic anti-CMV therapy only. However, the use of HAART in these patients appears to reduce the risk of retinal detachment substantially.
Black Church Giving

Church giving is an understudied phenomenon; queries on Black Church giving are even rarer. In response to the latter dynamic, levels of tithing, income, and mission donations are examined based on a national sample of 1,601 Black churches across seven denominations using linear and ordered logit modeling. Findings show minimal ideological and programmatic effects. However, denominational differences suggest that Black congregations affiliated with the Church of God in Christ have higher relative percentages of tithers and those associated with the Presbyterian and United Methodist faiths have the lowest rates as compared with their Baptist peers. Moreover, African Methodist Episcopal Zion, Presbyterian, and United Methodist churches are more likely to have higher church incomes and mission giving than Baptists. Thus, although Baptists tend to generally have higher rates of church tithers, this pattern does not translate to higher church incomes or mission donations. As expected, church size and formally educated memberships positively influence giving patterns. Results provide important insights into the Black Church economic ethic.
Lymphocyte‐predominant and classical Hodgkin's lymphoma – comparison of outcomes

Abstract: Introduction: Lymphocyte predominant Hodgkin's lymphoma (LPHL) differs in histological and clinical presentation from classical Hodgkin's lymphoma (cHL). Treatment of LPHL patients using standard Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) protocols leads to complete remission (CR) in more than 95% of patients. However, differences in terms of relapse rates, survival and freedom from treatment failure (FFTF) between LPHL and cHL patients were suggested by a recent intergroup analysis. To obtain a more comprehensive picture, we reviewed all LPHL‐cases registered in the GHSG database and compared patient characteristics and treatment outcome with cHL patients. Patients and methods: We retrospectively analyzed 8298 HL patients treated within the GHSG trials (HD4–HD12): 394 LPHL patients and 7904 cHL patients. From 394 LPHL patients 63% were in early stage, 16% in intermediate and 21% in advanced stage of disease. Of the 7904 cHL patients analyzed, 22% were in early, 39% in intermediate and 39% in advanced stages. About 9% of LPHL patients had B symptoms compared to 40% in cHL patients. Results: About 91% LPHL vs. 86% cHL patients in early stages, 86% vs. 83% in intermediate and 79% vs. 75% in advanced stages reached CR/CRu. Additional analysis for LPHL IA patients showed 98% CR/CRu after extended field, 100% after involved field (IF) and 98% CR/CRu after combined modality treatment. About 0.3% LPHL patients developed progressive disease (PD) compared to 3.7% cHL patients. The relapse rate of LPHL patients was very similar to cHL (8.1% vs. 7.9%). There were 2.5% secondary malignancies in LPHL and 3.7% in cHL patients. About 4.3% LPHL patients and 8.8% cHL patients died. The FFTF rates for LPHL and cHL patients at a median observation of 41 or 48 months were 92% and 84%, respectively. The OS for LPHL and cHL patients was 96% and 92%, respectively. Conclusion: The cHL patients present more frequently with advanced stages and B symptoms compared to LPHL patients. There was no difference in treatment outcome in terms of CR/CRu, PD and mortality between LPHL and HL. Surprisingly, there were also no differences in patients with relapse.
Neonatal Hair Analysis by Liquid Chromatography-High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry to Reveal Gestational Exposure to Venlafaxine

Venlafaxine (VEN) is a second generation antidepressant drug, belonging to the class of selective serotonine and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors, widely used in the treatment of depression and anxiety disorders. Though its pharmacological profile is considered safe, treatment with VEN can cause several nervous, gastrointestinal, cardiovascular and genitourinary adverse effects. Therapeutic drug monitoring for VEN could be useful in specific situations, including exposure to the drug during pregnancy. A liquid chromatography-high-resolution mass spectrometry method was developed and validated for the assay of VEN in 2.5-mg hair samples from 2 newborn identical twin sisters. The analyte was extracted by a rapid, simultaneous pulverization and extraction step, allowing analysis when tiny amounts of hair are available, such as in the case of a newborn. Gradient elution on an Atlantis T3 column was performed using nordiazepam-d5 as an internal standard. Positive ion electrospray ionization and high-resolution full scan determination were performed in an Orbitrap mass spectrometer. The method was linear range in the range 0.2-25 ng/mg, and had a quantification limit of 0.2 ng/mg, a relative standard deviation in the range 0.7%-1.4% (intra-assay) and 2.9%-5.9% (interassay), and was accurate (as % relative error) in the range −9% to + 2%, using a hair sample size as low as 2.5 mg. The utilization of high-resolution/high accuracy mass spectrometry in full-scan mode allowed both the quantitative determination of VEN in the hair of the 2 newborns and the straightforward identification of 4 VEN metabolites, namely O-desmethylvenlafaxine, N-desmethylvenlafaxine, N,N-didesmethylvenlafaxine, and N,O-didesmethylvenlafaxine, by means of retrospective screening, thus unequivocally documenting in utero exposure.
Shared humour in aphasia groups: “They should be called cheer groups”

Background: Humour is considered as an integral aspect of interpersonal communication and is said to explain success in group and social situations. Directly elicited or spontaneously occurring humour has only relatively recently been investigated in therapeutic encounters with people with aphasia (PWA), mainly in one-to-one treatment sessions. In social participation groups for PWA, the focus is on increasing communicative effectiveness in conversation and on the adjustment to living with aphasia. Therefore, solidarity and supportive relationships are of particular importance and spontaneously occurring humour may facilitate social interaction. Aims: The aim of this study was to explore spontaneously occurring, conversationally based humour during interaction in social participation aphasia groups in terms of its functions, modalities, and initiators. Method: Ten sessions of a long-standing social participation aphasia group were video-recorded over a one-year period. The group consisted of 8–10 PWA (6 females and 4 males) who varied in aphasia severity, age (range 47–82 years) and time post onset (range 18–204 months) and two student clinicians (in each block) and two experienced aphasia clinicians. In this qualitative analysis of video-recorded group sessions, instances of humour were identified and subsequently categorised according to the functions they served within the group process. The modalities used to express humour and the initiators of the humorous events were also determined. Results: Six functions of humour were identified. Humour served to reinforce solidarity and togetherness and self-depredating humour was often used to manage identity. Humour was used as a face-saving strategy to cope with the difficulties associated with aphasia and communication. If disagreements occurred or complaints were voiced, humour acted as a means of mitigating or deflecting issues. Humour could also be used to avoid or redirect offensive, inappropriate or embarrassing topics. Finally, some group members used humour to increase their likeability by emphasising appealing personal qualities. Both verbal and non-verbal modalities were used to express humour, regardless of aphasia severity. The instances of humour were more frequently initiated by the group members than by the clinicians. Discussion and conclusion: Social participation aphasia groups are often permeated by humour; it is particularly relevant to PWA regardless of severity in promoting well-being, encouraging interaction, coping with the difficulties of aphasia, and discovering new ways of communicating. This study has shown that humour has a special part to play in providing individuals with aphasia the opportunity to participate in group conversation and to establish and maintain relationships, and also in demonstrating the success of therapy groups.
Modeling head related transfer functions

Head related transfer functions (HRTFs) characterize the transformation of a sound source to the sounds reaching the eardrums, and are central to binaural hearing. Because they are the result of wave propagation and diffraction, they can only be approximated by finitely parameterized filters. The functional dependence of the HRTF on azimuth and elevation is described, the requirements for a model are discussed, and existing models are reviewed. <<ETX>>
Residential Landscapes and House Societies of the Late Prehistoric Society Islands

We extend the ‘house society’ perspective to one of the most complex Eastern Polynesian chiefdoms, the Society Islands. Employing a landscape approach, we argue that competing elites used the flexibility of the ‘house society’ structure and its landed estates to promulgate and manipulate status differences. Our study documents how the social hierarchy and its ideological underpinnings were materialized in archaeologically visible ways, including investments in residential landscapes, site proxemics, and construction sequences. While communal investments in the landed material estate were staged over a few centuries, investments in the house’s ideology and corporate identity were established early on. Differences in house rank afforded some houses greater access to essential resources and facilitated their abilities to maintain and extend their corporate group, while affording them greater access to labor and continued wealth production over time. Our case study exemplifies the significant role that small-scale relations--quotidian interactions within neighborhoods--played as sources of social power.
"We were victims of our families' uncooperative behavior": Problems Faced by School Dropouts in Rural Ghana

Using the narratives by school dropouts, their parents, and teachers, this paper discusses the causes and consequences of dropping out of school. The paper demonstrates that some rural children in Ghana do not attend school due to cultural conventions on politeness, divorce, male privileges, poverty, the domestic role and economically viable ventures performed by children (with participation in such chores often overshadowing care and support for them), and weak teacher-student support system which prevents teachers from recognizing the factors hampering the children’s education. To rectify this precarious situation, the paper calls on educators, policy makers, the Social Welfare Department, parents and students to work in concert with each other.
Detection of Specific Antibody Reactivity to Toxocara Larval Excretory-secretory Antigens in Asthmatic Patients (5-15 Years)

Background & Purpose: Humans act as an intermediate host for Toxocara canis and Toxocara cati. Toxocara may be an important risk factor for asthma in humans. The aim of the present study was to evaluate immunoglobulin G (IgG) anti-Toxocara canis antibody, using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in asthmatic patients (aged 5-15 years), referring to a clinic of pulmonary diseases in Arak, Iran. Materials & Methods: In this bi-group cross sectional study, serum samples were collected from 110 children with confirmed asthma and 70 children without asthma within one year. IgG anti-Toxocara antibody was detected via ELISA method. The collected data were analyzed, using SPSS. Results: The seroprevalence of antibodies against Toxocara species was estimated at 1.8% (two males) in asmathic children via ELISA method; however, no antibodies against Toxocara canis were detected in the control group. There was no significant correlation between the frequency of antibodies against Toxocara and variables such as age, gender, or place of residence (P>0.05). Moreover, the frequency of antibodies against Toxocara was not significantly correlated with contact with dogs, consumption of unwashed fruits and vegetables, or use of raw/undercooked sheep liver (P>0.05). Conclusion: The present study showed anti-Toxocara antibody in 1.8% of asthmatic children and determined the seroprevalence of toxocariasis in asthmatic children and adolescents in Arak, Iran. Based on the findings, the low rate of infection with Toxocara among asthmatic children may be attributed to acceptable personal hygiene and religious considerations.
Effect of cultivation practices on cadmium concentration in rice grain

Cadmium (Cd) is one of the most toxic heavy metals, polluting the general environment. The application of sewage sludge, wastewaters and Cd-containing fertilizers causes an increase in Cd content in agricultural soils. Cd is easily taken up by plants and then enters the food chain, resulting in a serious health issue for humans. There is increasing concern regarding the occurrence of cadmium in rice, not only in the rice-growing areas of the Far East, but also in Europe. In this work we highlighted that, even when the agricultural soil is unpolluted and the concentration of Cd is low, e.g. 0.96 mg kg−1, the Cd content of rice may still exceed the regulatory limit of 0.2 mg kg−1. To reduce the uptake of Cd by rice, paddy-field flooding and soil amendment with lime and compost were tested in a field trial during 2003 and 2004 in Rosate, near Milan, Italy. We found that submersion was the main factor decreasing the Cd concentration in rice grain, producing maximum concentrations of 0.14 mg kg−1 in 2003 and 0.06 mg kg−1 in 2004. By comparison, Cd concentrations was at least two times higher for rice cultivated by irrigation only. Moreover, the addition of lime decreased the Cd concentration of rice by about 25% versus control under dry conditions. Lime addition thus appears to be a promising technique to reduce the bioavailability of soil Cd and minimize Cd concentrations in the produced rice. In contrast, the application of compost alone does not produced a significant effect. Differences in uptake over the years, with concentrations up to 40% lower in 2004, can be explained by differences in transpiration. These results shows that the influence of climatic conditions on Cd uptake in plants should not be underestimated. Such agronomic information represents a very helpful tool for rice growers, in particular in the case of cultivation of Cd-polluted soils and production of Cd-contaminated rice grain.
Digoxin Withdrawal After Cardiac Failure in Patients with Sinus Rhythm

A double-blind placebo-controlled crossover trial of digoxin withdrawal was undertaken in 22 patients with sinus rhythm who had a previous history of frank heart failure and were taking therapeutic doses of the drug. During the course of the study, 14 patients showed no clinical change whether taking digoxin or placebo, five patients deteriorated on placebo (four with heart failure and one with supraventricular tachycardia), and three on digoxin (two with heart failure and one with digoxin toxicity). These differences were not statistically significant. Compared to placebo, patients, while taking digoxin, had lower resting heart rates and significant shortening of all the systolic time intervals. The drug appears to exert a sustained positive inotropic effect during maintenance therapy, but this is not of clinical benefit to the majority of patients.
Indocyanine green: observations on its physical properties, plasma decay, and hepatic extraction.

Indocyanine green 1 (ICG) is a tricarbocyanine dye (Figure 1) which has been used in the indicator dilution technique for measuring cardiac output (1, 2). Animal studies (3) and preliminary observations of human subjects (4, 5) have suggested that this dye may have characteristics that could make its uptake, storage, and excretion by the liver helpful indices of hepatic function. The present investigations were carried out to determine whether indocyanine green has properties that may render it suitable for assessing liver function and hepatic blood flow in man.
Brand Architecture, Drivers of Consumer Involvement, and Brand Loyalty with Professional Sport Leagues and Teams

Understanding brand relationships as perceived by consumers is important for the successful management and marketing of connected brands. Brand architecture and consumer behavior literature was integrated in this study to examine brand relationships between professional sport leagues and teams from a consumers’ perspective. Online questionnaire data were gathered from football consumers (N = 752) to test the influence of leagues and teams on consumer loyalty. Consumers were segmented into three theoretically identified sport brand architecture groups: league dominant, team dominant, and co-dominant. Findings of CFA, MANOVA, paired-sample t-tests, frequency analysis, chi-square and linear regression analysis revealed that leagues and teams were in a co-dominant relationship with one another. Results revealed the brand architecture of leagues and teams as perceived by consumers, provide a reliable and valid tool to segment sport spectators, and showcase the influence of external factors on consumer loyalty with a team. Suggestions for league and team management and marketing are presented to better leverage their brand relationship and increase consumer loyalty with both brands.
Relationship Between Low Relative Muscle Mass and Coronary Artery Calcification in Healthy Adults

Objective—Sarcopenia or low muscle mass is related to cardiovascular risk factors; however, the association between low muscle mass and subclinical atherosclerosis has been largely unexplored. We investigated whether muscle mass is related to coronary artery calcification (CAC) in a large sample of middle-aged asymptomatic adults. Approach and Results—We performed a cross-sectional study of 31 108 asymptomatic adults without cancer, diabetes mellitus, or known cardiovascular disease who underwent a health checkup examination including cardiac tomography estimation of CAC scores between 2012 and 2013. Skeletal muscle mass index (SMI) [SMI (%)=total skeletal muscle mass (kg)/body weight (kg)×100] was estimated using a bioelectrical impedance analyzer. We assessed the relationship between SMI and CAC scores using both multivariate-adjusted Tobit models and multinomial logistic regression models. Of the 31 108 subjects, 3374 subjects (10.9%) had a CAC score 1 to 100, and 628 subjects (2.0%) had a CAC score >100. SMI was inversely associated with CAC score ratios. Specifically, in a multivariable-adjusted model adjusting for potential confounders, CAC score ratios (95% confidence intervals) of SMI for quartiles 1, 2, and 3 compared with quartile 4 were 2.27 (1.70–3.05), 1.46 (1.15–1.85), and 1.24 (0.98–1.55), respectively (P for trend <0.001). Adjusting for insulin resistance reduced the magnitude of the associations, but they remained statistically significant. Conclusions—Relative muscle mass was negatively associated with the prevalence of coronary calcification, supporting low muscle mass as an independent risk factor of coronary heart disease.
Integrating roboticist values into a Value Sensitive Design framework for humanoid robots

A good body of work in HRI has investigated how to design humanoids to effectively serve users' needs. This user centered approach has proved fruitful, but there exists relatively little work examining the intent and values of the roboticists themselves. Furthermore, we know little of how the values of roboticists influence their own designs. Such knowledge could help designers better reflect on whether their designs effectively convey particular ethics to their users. In this study, we analyzed 27 interviews of pioneer humanoid roboticists, seeking to identify the values of such roboticists. Our results suggest that roboticists' values are shaped by a dominant engineering-based background that emphasizes robotics as a field of integration (especially humanoids). Roboticists also see robots as testbeds for learning about humans themselves. We advocate a VSD approach for humanoids that goes beyond engineering disciplines and forces values to the forefront of discussion.
Tough Love and Discounting: Empirical Evidence

This paper presents empirical evidence concerning the tough love model of intergenerational altruism from U.S. and Japanese survey data. Our main finding is that parents' tendencies for tough love behavior depend on different measures of discount factors. We also investigate the hypotheses that parents' tendencies for tough love behavior is affected by their religious affiliations, religiosity, and their worldviews.