All-rounder: A flexible DNN accelerator with diverse data format support

Recognizing the explosive increase in the use of DNN-based applications, several industrial companies developed a custom ASIC (e.g., Google TPU, IBM RaPiD, Intel NNP-I/NNP-T) and constructed a hyperscale cloud infrastructure with it. The ASIC performs operations of the inference or training process of DNN models which are requested by users. Since the DNN models have different data formats and types of operations, the ASIC needs to support diverse data formats and generality for the operations. However, the conventional ASICs do not fulfill these requirements. To overcome the limitations of it, we propose a flexible DNN accelerator called All-rounder. The accelerator is designed with an area-efficient multiplier supporting multiple precisions of integer and floating point datatypes. In addition, it constitutes a flexibly fusible and fissionable MAC array to support various types of DNN operations efficiently. We implemented the register transfer level (RTL) design using Verilog and synthesized it in 28nm CMOS technology. To examine practical effectiveness of our proposed designs, we designed two multiply units and three state-of-the-art DNN accelerators. We compare our multiplier with the multiply units and perform architectural evaluation on performance and energy efficiency with eight real-world DNN models. Furthermore, we compare benefits of the All-rounder accelerator to a high-end GPU card, i.e., NVIDIA GeForce RTX30390. The proposed All-rounder accelerator universally has speedup and high energy efficiency in various DNN benchmarks than the baselines

Superhydrophobic Water-Solid Contact Triboelectric Generator by Simple Spray-On Fabrication Method

Energy harvesting is a method of converting energy from ambient environment into useful electrical energy. Due to the increasing number of sensors and personal electronics, energy harvesting technologies from various sources are gaining attention. Among energy-harvesting technologies, triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) was introduced as a device that can effectively generate electricity from mechanical motions by contact-electrification. Particularly, liquid-solid contact TENGs, which use the liquid itself as a triboelectric material, can overcome the inevitable friction wear between two solid materials. Using a commercial aerosol hydrophobic spray, liquid-solid contact TENGs, with a superhydrophobic surface (contact angle over 160°) can be easily fabricated with only a few coating processes. To optimize the fabrication process, the open-circuit voltage of sprayed superhydrophobic surfaces was measured depending on the number of coating processes. To demonstrate the simple fabrication and applicability of this technique on random 3D surfaces, a liquid-solid contact TENG was fabricated on the brim of a cap (its complicated surface structure is due to the knitted strings). This simple sprayed-on superhydrophobic surface can be a possible solution for liquid-solid contact TENGs to be mass produced and commercialized in the future

Outcomes of kidney transplantation over a 16-year period in Korea: An analysis of the National Health Information Database.

BackgroundThis study investigated the outcomes of kidney transplantation (KT) over a 16-year period in Korea and identified risk factors for graft failure using a nationwide population-based cohort.MethodsWe investigated the Korean National Health Insurance Service-National Health Information Database. Health insurance claims for patients who underwent KT between 2002 and 2017 were analyzed.ResultsThe data from 18,331 patients who underwent their first KT were reviewed. The percentage of antithymocyte globulin (ATG) induction continuously increased from 2.0% in 2002 to 23.5% in 2017. Rituximab began to be used in 2008 and had increased to 141 patients (9.6%) in 2013. Acute rejection occurred in 17.3% of all patients in 2002 but decreased to 6.3% in 2017. The rejection-free survival rates were 78.8% at 6 months after KT, 76.1% after 1 year, 67.5% after 5 years, 61.7% after 10 years, and 56.7% after 15 years. The graft survival rates remained over 80% until 12 years after KT, and then rapidly decreased to 50.5% at 16 years after KT. In Cox's multivariate analysis, risk factors for graft failure included being male, more recent KT, KT from deceased donor, use of ATG, basiliximab, or rituximab, tacrolimus use as an initial calcineurin inhibitor, acute rejection history, and cytomegalovirus infection.ConclusionsATG and rituximab use has gradually increased in Korea and more recent KT is associated with an increased risk of graft failure. Therefore, meticulous preoperative evaluation and postoperative management are necessary in the case of recent KT with high risk of graft failure

Universal primers for rift valley fever virus whole-genome sequencing

Rift Valley fever (RVF) is a mosquito-borne zoonotic disease causing acute hemorrhagic fever. Accurate identification of mutations and phylogenetic characterization of RVF virus (RVFV) require whole-genome analysis. Universal primers to amplify the entire RVFV genome from clinical samples with low copy numbers are currently unavailable. Thus, we aimed to develop universal primers applicable for all known RVFV strains. Based on the genome sequences available from public databases, we designed eight pairs of universal PCR primers covering the entire RVFV genome. To evaluate primer universality, four RVFV strains (ZH548, Kenya 56 (IB8), BIME-01, and Lunyo), encompassing viral phylogenetic diversity, were chosen. The nucleic acids of the test strains were chemically synthesized or extracted via cell culture. These RNAs were evaluated using the PCR primers, resulting in successful amplification with expected sizes (0.8–1.7 kb). Sequencing confirmed that the products covered the entire genome of the RVFV strains tested. Primer specificity was confirmed via in silico comparison against all non-redundant nucleotide sequences using the BLASTn alignment tool in the NCBI database. To assess the clinical applicability of the primers, mock clinical specimens containing human and RVFV RNAs were prepared. The entire RVFV genome was successfully amplified and sequenced at a viral concentration of 108 copies/mL. Given the universality, specificity, and clinical applicability of the primers, we anticipate that the RVFV universal primer pairs and the developed method will aid in RVFV phylogenomics and mutation detection. © 2023, The Author(s).11Nsciescopu

Energy-loss return gate via liquid dielectric polarization

One major energy loss in electronics is heat dissipation due to induced polarization in dielectric materials in the presence of electric fields. Kim et al. utilize large polarization in liquids to harvest dielectric loss via an energy-loss return gate design, which converts energy back to electricity

Roles of <i>ZnT86D</i> in Neurodevelopment and Pathogenesis of Alzheimer Disease in a <i>Drosophila melanogaster</i> Model

Zinc is a fundamental trace element essential for numerous biological processes, and zinc homeostasis is regulated by the Zrt-/Irt-like protein (ZIP) and zinc transporter (ZnT) families. ZnT7 is mainly localized in the Golgi apparatus and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and transports zinc into these organelles. Although previous studies have reported the role of zinc in animal physiology, little is known about the importance of zinc in the Golgi apparatus and ER in animal development and neurodegenerative diseases. In this study, we demonstrated that ZnT86D, a Drosophila ortholog of ZnT7, plays a pivotal role in the neurodevelopment and pathogenesis of Alzheimer disease (AD). When ZnT86D was silenced in neurons, the embryo-to-adult survival rate, locomotor activity, and lifespan were dramatically reduced. The toxic phenotypes were accompanied by abnormal neurogenesis and neuronal cell death. Furthermore, knockdown of ZnT86D in the neurons of a Drosophila AD model increased apoptosis and exacerbated neurodegeneration without significant changes in the deposition of amyloid beta plaques and susceptibility to oxidative stress. Taken together, our results suggest that an appropriate distribution of zinc in the Golgi apparatus and ER is important for neuronal development and neuroprotection and that ZnT7 is a potential protective factor against AD