Regulator of G-protein signaling 4 (RGS4) gene is associated with schizophrenia in Irish high density families

The regulator of the G-protein signaling 4 (RGS4) gene was shown to have a different expression pattern in schizophrenia patients in a microarray study. A family-based study subsequently implicated the association of this gene with schizophrenia. We replicated the study with our sample from the Irish Study of High Density Schizophrenia Families (ISHDSF). Single marker transmission disequilibrium tests (TDT) for the four core SNPs showed modest association for SNP 18 (using a narrow diagnostic approach with FBAT P = 0.044; with PDT P = 0.0073) and a trend for SNP 4 (with FBAT P = 0.1098; with PDT P = 0.0249). For SNP 1 and 7, alleles overtransmitted to affected subjects were the same as previously reported. Haplotype analyses suggested that haplotype G-G-G for SNP1-4-18, which is the most abundant haplotype (42.3%) in the Irish families, was associated with the disease (narrow diagnosis, FBAT P = 0.0061, PDT P = 0.0498). This was the same haplotype implicated in the original study. While P values were not corrected for multiple testing because of the clear prior hypothesis, these results could be interpreted as supporting evidence for the association between RGS4 and schizophrenia.

Superluminous supernovae from PESSTO

We present optical spectra and light curves for three hydrogen-poor superluminous supernovae followed by the Public ESO Spectroscopic Survey of Transient Objects (PESSTO). Time series spectroscopy from a fewdays aftermaximum light to 100 d later shows them to be fairly typical of this class, with spectra dominated by Ca II, MgII, FeII, and Si II, which evolve slowly over most of the post-peak photospheric phase. We determine bolometric light curves and apply simple fitting tools, based on the diffusion of energy input by magnetar spin-down, Ni-56 decay, and collision of the ejecta with an opaque circumstellar shell. We investigate how the heterogeneous light curves of our sample (combined with others from the literature) can help to constrain the possible mechanisms behind these events. We have followed these events to beyond 100-200 d after peak, to disentangle host galaxy light from fading supernova flux and to differentiate between the models, which predict diverse behaviour at this phase. Models powered by radioactivity require unrealistic parameters to reproduce the observed light curves, as found by previous studies. Both magnetar heating and circumstellar interaction still appear to be viable candidates. A large diversity is emerging in observed tail-phase luminosities, with magnetar models failing in some cases to predict the rapid drop in flux. This would suggest either that magnetars are not responsible, or that the X-ray flux from the magnetar wind is not fully trapped. The light curve of one object shows a distinct rebrightening at around 100 d after maximum light. We argue that this could result either from multiple shells of circumstellar material, or from a magnetar ionization front breaking out of the ejecta.

Ideals of A(G) and bimodules over maximal abelian selfadjoint algebras

This paper is concerned with weak⁎ closed masa-bimodules generated by A(G)-invariant subspaces of VN(G). An annihilator formula is established, which is used to characterise the weak⁎ closed subspaces of B(L2(G)) which are invariant under both Schur multipliers and a canonical action of M(G) on B(L2(G)) via completely bounded maps. We study the special cases of extremal ideals with a given null set and, for a large class of groups, we establish a link between relative spectral synthesis and relative operator synthesis.

Palgrave Literary Dictionaries (co-edited with Brian G. Caraher)

Martin Garrett, The Palgrave Literary Dictionary of Shelley (Palgrave, 2013).