Experience with a vectorized general circulation weather model on Star-100

A version of an atmospheric general circulation model was vectorized to run on a CDC STAR 100. The numerical model was coded and run in two different vector languages, CDC and LRLTRAN. A factor of 10 speed improvement over an IBM 360/95 was realized. Efficient use of the STAR machine required some redesigning of algorithms and logic. This precludes the application of vectorizing compilers on the original scalar code to achieve the same results. Vector languages permit a more natural and efficient formulation for such numerical codes

Localization of a 64-kDa phosphoprotein in the lumen between the outer and inner envelopes of pea chloroplasts

The identification and localization of a marker protein for the intermembrane space between the outer and inner chloroplast envelopes is described. This 64-kDa protein is very rapidly labeled by [γ-32P]ATP at very low (30 nM) ATP concentrations and the phosphoryl group exhibits a high turnover rate. It was possible to establish the presence of the 64-kDa protein in this plastid compartment by using different chloroplast envelope separation and isolation techniques. In addition comparison of labeling kinetics by intact and hypotonically lysed pea chloroplasts support the localization of the 64-kDa protein in the intermembrane space. The 64-kDa protein was present and could be labeled in mixed envelope membranes isolated from hypotonically lysed plastids. Mixed envelope membranes incorporated high amounts of 32P from [γ-32P]ATP into the 64-kDa protein, whereas separated outer and inner envelope membranes did not show significant phosphorylation of this protein. Water/Triton X-114 phase partitioning demonstrated that the 64-kDa protein is a hydrophilic polypeptide. These findings suggest that the 64-kDa protein is a soluble protein trapped in the space between the inner and outer envelope membranes. After sonication of mixed envelope membranes, the 64-kDa protein was no longer present in the membrane fraction, but could be found in the supernatant after a 110000 × g centrifugation

Ponticulin plays a role in the positional stabilization of pseudopods

Ponticulin is a 17-kD glycoprotein that represents a major high affinity link between the plasma membrane and the cortical actin network of Dictyostelium. To assess the role of ponticulin in pseudopod extension and retraction, the motile behavior of two independently generated mutants lacking ponticulin was analyzed using computer-assisted two- and three-dimensional motion analysis systems. More than half of the lateral pseudopods formed off the substratum by ponticulin-minus cells slipped relative to the substratum during extension and retraction. In contrast, all pseudopods formed off the substratum by wild-type cells were positionally fixed in relation to the substratum. Ponticulin-minus cells also formed a greater proportion of both anterior and lateral pseudopods off the substratum and absorbed a greater proportion of lateral pseudopods into the uropod than wild-type cells. In a spatial gradient of cAMP, ponticulin-minus cells were less efficient in tracking the source of chemoattractant. Since ponticulin-minus cells extend and retract pseudopods with the same time course as wild-type cells, these behavioral defects in ponticulin-minus cells appear to be the consequence of pseudopod slippage. These results demonstrate that pseudopods formed off the substratum by wild-type cells are positionally fixed in relation to the substratum, that ponticulin is required for positional stabilization, and that the loss of ponticulin and the concomitant loss of positional stability of pseudopods correlate with a decrease in the efficiency of chemotaxis

The protein import apparatus of chloroplasts

Routing of cytosolically synthesized precursor proteins into chloroplasts is a specific process which involves a multitude of soluble and membrane components. In this review we wil1 focus on early events of the translocation pathway of nuclear coded plastidic precursor proteins and compare import routes for polypeptide of the outer chloroplast envelope to that of internal chloroplast compartments. A number of proteins housed in the chloroplast envelopes have been implied to be involved in the translocation process, but so far a certain function has not been assigned to any of these proteins. The only exception could be an envelope localized hsc 70 homologue which could retain the import competence of a precursor protein in transit into the organelle

3D time series analysis of cell shape using Laplacian approaches

Background: Fundamental cellular processes such as cell movement, division or food uptake critically depend on cells being able to change shape. Fast acquisition of three-dimensional image time series has now become possible, but we lack efficient tools for analysing shape deformations in order to understand the real three-dimensional nature of shape changes. Results: We present a framework for 3D+time cell shape analysis. The main contribution is three-fold: First, we develop a fast, automatic random walker method for cell segmentation. Second, a novel topology fixing method is proposed to fix segmented binary volumes without spherical topology. Third, we show that algorithms used for each individual step of the analysis pipeline (cell segmentation, topology fixing, spherical parameterization, and shape representation) are closely related to the Laplacian operator. The framework is applied to the shape analysis of neutrophil cells. Conclusions: The method we propose for cell segmentation is faster than the traditional random walker method or the level set method, and performs better on 3D time-series of neutrophil cells, which are comparatively noisy as stacks have to be acquired fast enough to account for cell motion. Our method for topology fixing outperforms the tools provided by SPHARM-MAT and SPHARM-PDM in terms of their successful fixing rates. The different tasks in the presented pipeline for 3D+time shape analysis of cells can be solved using Laplacian approaches, opening the possibility of eventually combining individual steps in order to speed up computations

Debiasing Decisions. Improved Decision Making With A Single Training Intervention

From failures of intelligence analysis to misguided beliefs about vaccinations, biased judgment and decision making contributes to problems in policy, business, medicine, law, and private life. Early attempts to reduce decision biases with training met with little success, leading scientists and policy makers to focus on debiasing by using incentives and changes in the presentation and elicitation of decisions. We report the results of two longitudinal experiments that found medium to large effects of one-shot debiasing training interventions. Participants received a single training intervention, played a computer game or watched an instructional video, which addressed biases critical to intelligence analysis (in Experiment 1: bias blind spot, confirmation bias, and fundamental attribution error; in Experiment 2: anchoring, representativeness, and social projection). Both kinds of interventions produced medium to large debiasing effects immediately (games ≥ -31.94% and videos ≥ -18.60%) that persisted at least 2 months later (games ≥ -23.57% and videos ≥ -19.20%). Games, which provided personalized feedback and practice, produced larger effects than did videos. Debiasing effects were domain-general: bias reduction occurred across problems in different contexts, and problem formats that were taught and not taught in the interventions. The results suggest that a single training intervention can improve decision making. We suggest its use alongside improved incentives, information presentation, and nudges to reduce costly errors associated with biased judgments and decisions

Dialectics and difference: against Harvey's dialectical post-Marxism

David Harvey`s recent book, Justice, nature and the geography of difference (JNGD), engages with a central philosophical debate that continues to dominate human geography: the tension between the radical Marxist project of recent decades and the apparently disempowering relativism and `play of difference' of postmodern thought. In this book, Harvey continues to argue for a revised `post-Marxist' approach in human geography which remains based on Hegelian-Marxian principles of dialectical thought. This article develops a critique of that stance, drawing on the work of Jacques Derrida, Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari. I argue that dialectical thinking, as well as Harvey's version of `post-Marxism', has been undermined by the wide-ranging `post-' critique. I suggest that Harvey has failed to appreciate the full force of this critique and the implications it has for `post-Marxist' ontology and epistemology. I argue that `post-Marxism', along with much contemporary human geography, is constrained by an inflexible ontology which excessively prioritizes space in the theory produced, and which implements inflexible concepts. Instead, using the insights of several `post-' writers, I contend there is a need to develop an ontology of `context' leading to the production of `contextual theories'. Such theories utilize flexible concepts in a multilayered understanding of ontology and epistemology. I compare how an approach which produces a `contextual theory' might lead to more politically empowering theory than `post-Marxism' with reference to one of Harvey's case studies in JNGD