Linpack evaluation on a supercomputer with heterogeneous accelerators

Abstract—We report Linpack benchmark results on the TSUBAME supercomputer, a large scale heterogeneous system equipped with NVIDIA Tesla GPUs and ClearSpeed SIMD accelerators. With all of 10,480 Opteron cores, 640 Xeon cores, 648 ClearSpeed accelerators and 624 NVIDIA Tesla GPUs, we have achieved 87.01TFlops, which is the third record as a heterogeneous system in the world. This paper describes careful tuning and load balancing method required to achieve this performance. On the other hand, since the peak speed is 163 TFlops, the efficiency is 53%, which is lower than other systems. This paper also analyses this gap from the aspect of system architecture. I

英語教育における流暢さと即興力の育成 ── 中学生の話すことにおける意識の一考察 ──

The major goals of this study are to examine junior high school students’ awareness of fluency and impromptu skill in terms of speaking in English as a Foreign Language (hereafter, EFL) and to consider what to do, by way of future research and creation of daily lessons, in order to raise awareness and to develop their practical speaking abilities.　Recent Japanese EFL education (see MEXT 2017a-e) emphasizes that developing learners’ fluency and impromptu skill is particularly important.　This is because traditional Japanese EFL education has focused on acquisition of grammar, drawing learners’ attention to individual forms rather than to meaning.　Problematic outcomes of such an approach are tendencies for learners to comprehend texts/utterances in a heavy bottom-up manner and to refrain from speaking/writing without confirming that what they are about to say/write is grammatically correct.　In this study, 419 junior high school students in 1st to 3rd grades responded to a short paper-and-pencil questionnaire that examined their awareness of fluency and impromptu skill in EFL speaking.　Results of analyses showed a significant difference in awareness of impromptu skill between 1st and 2nd grades and between 1st and 3rd grades, whereas no significant differences were found in awareness of fluency between these three grades.　Moreover, results of analyses showed no correlation between 1st graders’ mid-term/ final exam scores and their awareness of fluency/impromptu skill, but showed a correlation between 2nd graders’ final exam scores and their awareness of fluency and between 2nd graders’ final exam scores and their awareness of impromptu skill.　Based on this and other information obtained in the study, we consider issues for future research and creation of classroom activities that develop fluency and impromptu skill in Japanese EFL education

Sternoclavicular joint septic arthritis following paraspinal muscle abscess and septic lumbar spondylodiscitis with epidural abscess in a patient with diabetes: a case report

BACKGROUND: Septic arthritis of the sternoclavicular joint (SCJ) is extremely rare, and usually appears to result from hematogenous spread. Predisposing factors include immunocompromising diseases such as diabetes. CASE PRESENTATION: A 61-year-old man with poorly controlled diabetes mellitus presented to our emergency department with low back pain, high fever, and a painful mass over his left SCJ. He had received two epidural blocks over the past 2 weeks for severe back and leg pain secondary to lumbar disc herniation. He did not complain of weakness or sensory changes of his lower limbs, and his bladder and bowel function were normal. He had no history of shoulder injection, subclavian vein catheterization, intravenous drug abuse, or focal infection including tooth decay. CT showed an abscess of the left SCJ, with extension into the mediastinum and sternocleidomastoid muscle, and left paraspinal muscle swelling at the level of L2. MRI showed spondylodiscitis of L3-L4 with a contiguous extradural abscess. Staphylococcus aureus was isolated from cultures of aspirated pus from his SCJ, and from his urine and blood. The SCJ abscess was incised and drained, and appropriate intravenous antibiotic therapy was administered. Two weeks after admission, the purulent discharge from the left SCJ had completely stopped, and the wound showed improvement. He was transferred to another ward for treatment of the ongoing back pain. CONCLUSION: Diabetic patients with S. aureus bacteremia may be at risk of severe musculoskeletal infections via hematogenous spread

Direct observations of spin fluctuations in spin-hedgehog-anti-hedgehog lattice states in MnSi1−x_{1-x}Gex_x (x=0.6x=0.6 and 0.80.8) at zero magnetic field

The helimagnetic compounds MnSi$_{1-x}$Ge$_{x}$ show the three-dimensional multiple-$q$ order as referred to as spin-hedgehog-anti-hedgehog (SHAH) lattice. Two representative forms of SHAH are cubic-3$q$ lattice with $q \| \langle100\rangle$ and tetrahedral-4$q$ lattice with $q \| \langle111\rangle$, which show up typically for $x=1.0-~0.8$ and for $x=0.6$, respectively. Here, we have investigated the spin fluctuations in the MnSi$_{1-x}$Ge$_{x}$ polycrystalline samples with $x=0.6$ and $0.8$ by using the time-of-flight (TOF) neutron inelastic scattering and MIEZE-type neutron spin echo techniques to elucidate the microscopic origin of the unconventional Hall effect in the SHAH lattice states. This research is motivated by the observation of a sign change in the unconventional Hall resistivity as a function of temperature [Y. Fujishiro et al., Nat. Comm. $\textbf{10}$, 1059 (2019)]. The present results reveal the correspondences between the temperature ranges where the positive Hall resistivity and spin fluctuations are observed. These results agree well with the theoretical model of the conduction electrons scattered by the fluctuating spin clusters with a non-zero average of sign-biased scalar spin chirality as a mechanism of the positive Hall resistivity [H. Ishizuka and N. Nagaosa, Sci. Adv. $\textbf{4}$, eaap9962 (2018)].Comment: 10 pages, 8 figure

Monoclonal gammopathy of renal significance (MGRS)-related AL amyloidosis complicated by amyloid myopathy: a case report

BACKGROUND: Lately, monoclonal gammopathy of renal significance (MGRS) has been defined as a group of renal disorders that are strongly associated with monoclonal protein, including amyloid immunoglobulin light chain (AL) amyloidosis. Amyloid myopathy is rare (1.5% of all patients with amyloidosis) and the prognosis is poor. Furthermore, only approximately 20% of patients with amyloid myopathy are reported to have renal involvement, indicating a lack of data in the literature. CASE PRESENTATION: Here, we report a rare case of MGRS-related AL amyloidosis complicated by amyloid myopathy that presented with muscle weakness in the upper and lower limbs, neck and fingers, and nephrotic syndrome. Blood, urine, and bone marrow examination revealed monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) (Bence Jones protein-lambda). Muscle biopsy of the vastus lateralis muscle demonstrated amyloid proteins in the sarcolemma and in the blood vessel walls on Congo red staining, suggesting amyloid myopathy, and tiny inclusions in fibers on modified Gomori trichrome stain. Although we thought they were reminiscent of nemaline bodies, we could not confirm the nature of this structure. Renal biopsy demonstrated amyloid proteins in the mesangial region, part of the capillary walls, and the blood vessel walls on direct fast scarlet staining. As these amyloid proteins were positive for p-component staining and negative for amyloid A staining, β2-microglobulin, and pre-albumin, and as lambda light chains were positive in the mesangial region, we diagnosed the patient with MGRS-related AL amyloidosis. Although he was treated with melphalan and dexamethasone, his symptoms did not improve. CONCLUSIONS: AL amyloidosis involving the kidneys and muscles has a poor prognosis, and a delayed diagnosis of amyloid myopathy is common because of its rarity and frequent misdiagnosis, which increases organ function deterioration. Therefore, early detection, therapeutic intervention, and careful follow-up are crucial