7 research outputs found
Co-design Hardware and Algorithm for Vector Search
Vector search has emerged as the foundation for large-scale information
retrieval and machine learning systems, with search engines like Google and
Bing processing tens of thousands of queries per second on petabyte-scale
document datasets by evaluating vector similarities between encoded query texts
and web documents. As performance demands for vector search systems surge,
accelerated hardware offers a promising solution in the post-Moore's Law era.
We introduce \textit{FANNS}, an end-to-end and scalable vector search framework
on FPGAs. Given a user-provided recall requirement on a dataset and a hardware
resource budget, \textit{FANNS} automatically co-designs hardware and
algorithm, subsequently generating the corresponding accelerator. The framework
also supports scale-out by incorporating a hardware TCP/IP stack in the
accelerator. \textit{FANNS} attains up to 23.0 and 37.2 speedup
compared to FPGA and CPU baselines, respectively, and demonstrates superior
scalability to GPUs, achieving 5.5 and 7.6 speedup in median
and 95\textsuperscript{th} percentile (P95) latency within an eight-accelerator
configuration. The remarkable performance of \textit{FANNS} lays a robust
groundwork for future FPGA integration in data centers and AI supercomputers.Comment: 11 page
Experimental Investigation on the Mechanical Performance of Steel-ECC Composite Girders with Corrugated Webs under Negative Moment
In order to improve the cracking performance in the negative moment region of composite continuous girder bridges with corrugated webs, engineered cementitious composite (ECC) is used instead of conventional normal concrete (NC). Web and concrete types are used as the main research parameters in experiments. The test results indicate that steel-ECC specimens have a higher flexural load capacity and stiffness than steel-NC specimens. The cracks of steel-ECC specimens are characterised by small width and dense distribution. Nonlinear finite element models are established and verified by experimental results. The simulated load–displacement curves are similar to the experimental ones, and the models have a high degree of accuracy. The ECC slab strength, thickness and width are used as parameters for the investigation to analyse the effect of the ECC slab on the flexural bearing capacity of composite girders. Compared with the results of calculations according to the code, the bearing capacity obtained from the parametric analysis is higher. It suggests that the contribution of the ECC slab needs to be considered when calculating the bearing capacity of the steel-ECC composite girder with corrugated webs
Immunotherapy as adjuvant therapy for a patient with adenosquamous carcinoma of the intrahepatic bile duct: A case report and literature review
Adenosquamous carcinoma (ASC) is a rare histological type of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, which includes both adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma. The clinical features, physical examination, routine laboratory tests, and imaging examinations of patients with ASC are nonspecific. ASC is easily misdiagnosed as hepatocellular carcinoma, and patients with ASC always have a poor prognosis. This study reports a patient with ASC who was diagnosed based on pathological results, underwent surgical resection, and received postoperative chemotherapy (gemcitabine plus cisplatin) combined with immunotherapy (sintilimab). During the 1-year follow-up, the patient was in good condition, and no signs of cancer recurrence were noted. This case highlights that surgical resection and chemotherapy combined with immunotherapy may be feasible for patients with ASC
Alternative pathway of bile acid biosynthesis contributes to ameliorate NASH after induction of NAMPT/NAD+/SIRT1 axis
Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is emerging as a serious liver disorder characterized by hepatic steatosis and liver inflammation. Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) and NAD+-dependent deacetylase, SIRT1, play important roles in lipid metabolism in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). However, their effects on liver inflammation and homeostasis of bile acids (BAs), the extensively proved pathophysiological actors in NASH, have not been fully understood. NASH animal model was induced by a methionine-choline-deficient (MCD) diet in C57BL/6J mice and intraperitoneally injected with NAD+ precursor, an agonist of upstream rate-limiting enzyme NAMPT or downstream SIRT1, or their vehicle solvents. Free fatty acid (FFA) was applied to HepG2 cells to construct the cell model. Induction of NAMPT/NAD+/SIRT1 axis could remarkably alleviate the aggravated inflammation in the liver of NASH mice, accompanied by decreased levels of total BAs throughout the enterohepatic system and a switch of BA synthesis from the classic pathway to the alternative pathway, resulting in less production of pro-inflammatory 12-OH BAs. The expressions of key enzymes including cyp7a1, cyp8b1, cyp27a1 and cyp7b1 in BA synthesis were significantly modulated after NAMPT/NAD+/SIRT1 axis induction in both animal and cell models. The levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines in liver were significantly negatively correlated with the intermediates in NAD+ metabolism, which may also be related to their regulation on BA homeostasis. Our results indicated that induction of NAMPT/NAD+/SIRT1 axis may be a potential therapeutic strategy for NASH or its complications related with BAs