Many sorting algorithms have been studied in the past, but there are only a few algorithms that can effectively exploit both SIMD instructions and threadlevel parallelism. In this paper, we propose a new parallel sorting algorithm, called Aligned-Access sort (AA-sort), for shared-memory multi processors. The AA-sort algorithm takes advantage of SIMD instructions. The key to high performance is eliminating unaligned memory accesses that would reduce the effectiveness of SIMD instructions. We implemented and evaluated the AA-sort on PowerPC ® 970MP and Cell Broadband Engine TM . In summary, a sequential version of the AA-sort using SIMD instructions outperformed IBM's optimized sequential sorting library by 1.8 times and GPUTeraSort using SIMD instructions by 3.3 times on PowerPC 970MP when sorting 32 M of random 32-bit integers. Furthermore, a parallel version of AA-sort demonstrated better scalability with increasing numbers of cores than a parallel version of GPUTeraSort on both platforms.

We report three Japanese children with Mycobacterium avium infection of the skin who also developed lichen scrofulosorum, a previously undescribed association. They were healthy except for the presence of several noduloulcerative lesions associated with multiple asymptomatic papules on the trunk and extremities. Histology of the ulcerative lesions showed features of mixed-cell granuloma, whereas the papular lesions showed features consistent with lichen scrofulosorum. M. avium was identified by polymerase chain reaction-aided DNA-DNA hybridization analysis in specimens obtained from the noduloulcerative lesions. Both the noduloulcerative and the papular lesions responded well to combination chemotherapy consisting of antituberculous agents and antibiotics.

We succeeded in performing mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) of the localization of capsaicin in crosssections of the Capsicum fruits at a resolution of 250 µm using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF)mass spectrometry. Post source decay of protonated capsaicin ion revealed structural information of the corresponding amide, vanillylamide, and C9 chain fatty acid. MALDI-TOF-MSI confirmed that localization of capsaicin in the placenta is higher than that in the pericarp. In addition, it revealed no localization of capsaicin in seed and the higher localization of capsaicin at placenta surface compared with that in the internal region. A quantitative difference was detected between localizations of capsaicin at placenta, pericarp and seed in the Capsicum fruits. This imaging approach is a promising technique for rapid quality evaluation of general food as well as health food and identification of medicinal capsaicin in plant tissues.

We report a case of hemobilia caused by pseudoaneurysm of the cystic artery in a 71-year-old woman who presented with fever and epigastric colicky pain with jaundice. Liver function tests showed signs of obstructive jaundice. On the second day, patient had a massive hematemesis and melena with hypovolemic shock. Hemobilia was diagnosed by endoscopically visualizing bleeding from the papilla of Vater. An emergent angiography demonstrated the presence of a pseudoaneurysm in the cystic artery. Selective embolization of the cystic artery was then performed to interrupt the blood fl ow into the pseudoaneurysm. Immediately after embolization, patient was hemodynamically stabilized. Although the patient did not undergo cholecystectomy after embolization due to severe co-morbidities, no signs of ischemic gallbladder have been observed. Hemobilia should be included in the differential diagnosis of upper gastrointestinal bleeding with unknown etiology. Embolization could be an option for pseudoaneurysms of the cystic artery especially in highrisk patients.

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