Transformer-based models and hardware acceleration analysis in autonomous driving: A survey

Transformer architectures have exhibited promising performance in various autonomous driving applications in recent years. On the other hand, its dedicated hardware acceleration on portable computational platforms has become the next critical step for practical deployment in real autonomous vehicles. This survey paper provides a comprehensive overview, benchmark, and analysis of Transformer-based models specifically tailored for autonomous driving tasks such as lane detection, segmentation, tracking, planning, and decision-making. We review different architectures for organizing Transformer inputs and outputs, such as encoder-decoder and encoder-only structures, and explore their respective advantages and disadvantages. Furthermore, we discuss Transformer-related operators and their hardware acceleration schemes in depth, taking into account key factors such as quantization and runtime. We specifically illustrate the operator level comparison between layers from convolutional neural network, Swin-Transformer, and Transformer with 4D encoder. The paper also highlights the challenges, trends, and current insights in Transformer-based models, addressing their hardware deployment and acceleration issues within the context of long-term autonomous driving applications

K2[FeII 3(P2O7)2(H2O)2]

The title compound, dipotassium diaqua­bis­(diphosphato)triferrate(II), K2[FeII 3(P2O7)2(H2O)2], was synthesized under solvothermal conditions. The crystal structure is isotypic with its Co analogue. In the structure, there are two crystallographically distinct Fe positions; one lies on an inversion center, the other on a general position. The first Fe2+ cation adopts a regular octa­hedral coordination with six O atoms, whereas the other is coordinated by five O atoms and a water mol­ecule. The [FeO6] octa­hedron shares its trans-edges with an adjacent [FeO5(H2O)] octahedron; in turn, the [FeO5(H2O)] octa­hedron shares skew-edges with a neighbouring [FeO6] octa­hedron and an [FeO5(H2O)] octa­hedron, resulting in a zigzag octa­hedral chain running along [001]. The zigzag chains are linked to each other by the P2O7 diphosphate groups, leading to a corrugated iron diphosphate layer, [Fe3(P2O7)2(H2O)2]2−, parallel to (100). The inter­layer space is occupied by K+ cations, which adopt an eight-coordination to seven O atoms and one water mol­ecule from a neighbouring iron diphosphate layer. Thus, the K+ ions not only compensate the negative charge of the layer but also link the layers into a network structure

Multiple Events of Allopolyploidy in the Evolution of the Racemose Lineages in Prunus (Rosaceae) Based on Integrated Evidence from Nuclear and Plastid Data.

Prunus is an economically important genus well-known for cherries, plums, almonds, and peaches. The genus can be divided into three major groups based on inflorescence structure and ploidy levels: (1) the diploid solitary-flower group (subg. Prunus, Amygdalus and Emplectocladus); (2) the diploid corymbose group (subg. Cerasus); and (3) the polyploid racemose group (subg. Padus, subg. Laurocerasus, and the Maddenia group). The plastid phylogeny suggests three major clades within Prunus: Prunus-Amygdalus-Emplectocladus, Cerasus, and Laurocerasus-Padus-Maddenia, while nuclear ITS trees resolve Laurocerasus-Padus-Maddenia as a paraphyletic group. In this study, we employed sequences of the nuclear loci At103, ITS and s6pdh to explore the origins and evolution of the racemose group. Two copies of the At103 gene were identified in Prunus. One copy is found in Prunus species with solitary and corymbose inflorescences as well as those with racemose inflorescences, while the second copy (II) is present only in taxa with racemose inflorescences. The copy I sequences suggest that all racemose species form a paraphyletic group composed of four clades, each of which is definable by morphology and geography. The tree from the combined At103 and ITS sequences and the tree based on the single gene s6pdh had similar general topologies to the tree based on the copy I sequences of At103, with the combined At103-ITS tree showing stronger support in most clades. The nuclear At103, ITS and s6pdh data in conjunction with the plastid data are consistent with the hypothesis that multiple independent allopolyploidy events contributed to the origins of the racemose group. A widespread species or lineage may have served as the maternal parent for multiple hybridizations involving several paternal lineages. This hypothesis of the complex evolutionary history of the racemose group in Prunus reflects a major step forward in our understanding of diversification of the genus and has important implications for the interpretation of its phylogeny, evolution, and classification

Optimal spinneret size for improvement of fiber's mechanical property

The effect of spinneret size and place on diameter and tensile property of cellulose acetate fibers is studied, and a criterion for the maximal breaking energy is obtained, and the spinneret distribution can be optimized for each spinning condition

Carbon-Chain Molecules in Molecular Outflows and Lupus I Region--New Producing Region and New Forming Mechanism

Using the new equipment of the Shanghai Tian Ma Radio Telescope, we have searched for carbon-chain molecules (CCMs) towards five outflow sources and six Lupus I starless dust cores, including one region known to be characterized by warm carbon-chain chemistry (WCCC), Lupus I-1 (IRAS 15398-3359), and one TMC-1 like cloud, Lupus I-6 (Lupus-1A). Lines of HC3N J=2-1, HC5N J=6-5, HC7N J=14-13, 15-14, 16-15 and C3S J=3-2 were detected in all the targets except in the outflow source L1660 and the starless dust core Lupus I-3/4. The column densities of nitrogen-bearing species range from 10$^{12}$ to 10$^{14}$ cm$^{-2}$ and those of C$_3$S are about 10$^{12}$ cm$^{-2}$. Two outflow sources, I20582+7724 and L1221, could be identified as new carbon-chain--producing regions. Four of the Lupus I dust cores are newly identified as early quiescent and dark carbon-chain--producing regions similar to Lup I-6, which together with the WCCC source, Lup I-1, indicate that carbon-chain-producing regions are popular in Lupus I which can be regard as a Taurus like molecular cloud complex in our Galaxy. The column densities of C3S are larger than those of HC7N in the three outflow sources I20582, L1221 and L1251A. Shocked carbon-chain chemistry (SCCC) is proposed to explain the abnormal high abundances of C3S compared with those of nitrogen-bearing CCMs. Gas-grain chemical models support the idea that shocks can fuel the environment of those sources with enough $S^+$ thus driving the generation of S-bearing CCMs.Comment: 7 figures, 8 tables, accepted by MNRA

Identification and determination of the major constituents in traditional Chinese medicine Longdan Xiegan Pill by HPLC-DAD-ESI-MS

AbstractA novel and sensitive HPLC-UV method has been developed for the simultaneous determination of twelve major compounds in Longdan Xiegan Pill. The chemical profile of the twelve compounds, including geniposidic acid (1), geniposide(2), gentiopicroside(3), liquiritin(4), crocin(5), baicalin(6), wogonoside(7), baicalein(8), glycyrrhizic acid (9), wogonin (10), oroxylin A (11) and aristolochic acid A (12), was acquired using high-performance liquid chromatography-diode array detector coupled with an electrospray tandem mass spectrometer (HPLC-DAD-ESI-MS). The analysis was performed on a Dikma Platisil ODS C18 column (250mm × 4. 6mm, 5μm) with a gradient solvent system of acetonitrile-0. 1% aqueous formic acid. The validation was carried out and the linearities (r>0. 9996), repeatability (RSD<1. 8%), intra- and inter-day precision (RSD< 1. 3%), and recoveries (ranging from 96. 6% to 103. 4%) were acceptable. The limits of detection (LOD) of these compounds ranged from 0.29 to 4. 17ng. Aristolochic acid A, which is the toxic ingredient, was not detected in all the batches of Longdan Xiegan Pill. Furthermore, hierarchical cluster analysis was used to evaluate the variation of the herbal prescription. The proposed method is simple, effective and suitable for the quality control of this traditional Chinese medicine (TCM)

The capsid protein p38 of turnip crinkle virus is associated with the suppression of cucumber mosaic virus in Arabidopsis thaliana co-infected with cucumber mosaic virus and turnip crinkle virus

AbstractInfection of plants by multiple viruses is common in nature. Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) and Turnip crinkle virus (TCV) belong to different families, but Arabidopsis thaliana and Nicotiana benthamiana are commonly shared hosts for both viruses. In this study, we found that TCV provides effective resistance to infection by CMV in Arabidopsis plants co-infected by both viruses, and this antagonistic effect is much weaker when the two viruses are inoculated into different leaves of the same plant. However, similar antagonism is not observed in N. benthamiana plants. We further demonstrate that disrupting the RNA silencing-mediated defense of the Arabidopsis host does not affect this antagonism, but capsid protein (CP or p38)-defective mutant TCV loses the ability to repress CMV, suggesting that TCV CP plays an important role in the antagonistic effect of TCV toward CMV in Arabidopsis plants co-infected with both viruses

Quantitative security analysis of three-level unitary operations in quantum secret sharing without entanglement

Quantum secret sharing (QSS) protocols without entanglement have showed high security by virtue of the characteristics of quantum mechanics. However, it is still a challenge to compare the security of such protocols depending on quantitative security analysis. Based on our previous security analysis work on protocols using single qubits and two-level unitary operations, QSS protocols with single qutrits and three-level unitary operations are considered in this paper. Under the Bell-state attack we propose, the quantitative security analyses according to different three-level unitary operations are provided respectively in the one-step and two-step situations. Finally, important conclusions are drawn for designing and implementing such QSS protocols. The method and results may also contribute to analyze the security of other high-level quantum cryptography schemes based on unitary operations

Comparison analysis of PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors plus lenvatinib or gemcitabine/cisplatin as first-line treatment for patients with advanced intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma

BackgroundIntrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) is a highly aggressive primary liver cancer, with increasing incidence worldwide. Effective first-line treatments for advanced ICC patients are currently limited. Therefore, our study aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of programmed death-1 (PD-1)/programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) inhibitors in combination with gemcitabine/cisplatin (GC) and lenvatinib as first-line treatment in advanced ICC patients.MethodsThis retrospective cohort study included 51 advanced ICC patients, among whom 25 patients were administered with PD-1/PD-L1 plus lenvatinib and 26 patients were administered with PD-1/PD-L1 plus GC. Baseline characteristics including demographic information, medical history, clinical characteristics, laboratory data, and imaging examination were collected. The primary endpoints were progression-free survival (PFS) and sixth- and ninth-month overall survival (OS) rate. Survival curve was plotted by the Kaplan–Meier method. A Cox proportion risk model was performed to investigate independent risk factors of PFS and OS. The secondary outcomes were objective response rate (ORR), disease control rate (DCR), and adverse events.ResultsThe median age of advanced ICC patients in our study was 58.0 (95% confidence interval [95% CI] = 48.0–72.4) years, with 33 male and 18 female patients. Patients in the PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors plus lenvatinib group were more likely to be in ECOG grade above 1, develop ascites, and have an elevated level of ALT. The ORR was 16.0% in the PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors plus lenvatinib group and 23.1% in the GC group (p = 0.777). The DCR was 52.0% in the lenvatinib group and 46.2% in the GC group (p = 0.676). The combination treatment of PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors plus lenvatinib was associated with longer PFS than the GC group; however, it was not statistically significant (lenvatinib: 9.5 months, GC: 5.1 months, p = 0.454). The sixth-month and ninth-month OS rates were 82.0% and 76.9% in the lenvatinib group and 87.4% and 71.5% in the GC group. After adjusting for confounders, multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that ECOG grade above 1 was an independent risk factor for PFS (hazard ratio [HR] = 3.388, 95% CI = 1.312–8.746, p = 0.012) and OS (HR = 4.220, 95% CI = 1.131–15.742, p = 0.032).ConclusionPD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors in combination with lenvatinib or GC all demonstrated significant efficacy and safety as first-line treatment in patients with advanced ICC. As for patients who refuse or are intolerant to chemotherapy, PD-1/PD-L1 plus lenvatinib would be recommended