Partial differential systems with non-local nonlinearities: generation and solutions.

We develop a method for generating solutions to large classes of evolutionary partial differential systems with non-local nonlinearities. For arbitrary initial data, the solutions are generated from the corresponding linearized equations. The key is a Fredholm integral equation relating the linearized flow to an auxiliary linear flow. It is analogous to the Marchenko integral equation in integrable systems. We show explicitly how this can be achieved through several examples, including reaction-diffusion systems with non-local quadratic nonlinearities and the nonlinear Schrödinger equation with a non-local cubic nonlinearity. In each case, we demonstrate our approach with numerical simulations. We discuss the effectiveness of our approach and how it might be extended.This article is part of the theme issue 'Stability of nonlinear waves and patterns and related topics'.

A modular gene targeting system for sequential transgene stacking in plants.

A modular, selection-based method was developed for site-specific integration of transgenes into a genomic locus to create multigene stacks. High-frequency gene targeting was obtained using zinc finger nuclease (ZFN)-mediated double-strand break (DSB) formation at a pre-defined target genomic location using a unique intron directly downstream of a promoter driving a selectable marker gene to facilitate homology between target and donor sequences. In this system, only insertion into the target locus leads to a functional selectable marker, and regeneration from random insertions of the promoterless donor construct are reduced on selection media. A new stack of transgenes can potentially be loaded with each successive cycle of gene targeting by exchanging the selectable marker gene using the intron homology. This system was tested in maize using the pat selectable marker gene, whereby up to 30% of the plants regenerated on Bialaphos-containing medium were observed to have the donor construct integrated into the target locus. Unlike previous gene targeting methods that utilize defective or partial genes for selecting targeted events, the present method exchanges fully functional genes with every cycle of targeting, thereby allowing the recycling of selectable marker genes, hypothetically for multiple generations of gene targeting.

Positive and negative emotion in the daily life of dual-earner couples with children.

What is the emotional valence of family life and what factors contribute to this valence? Research indicates that most people are mildly happy but also that the years devoted to raising children are associated with diminished happiness and well-being, particularly for mothers. Public discourse is increasingly concerned that parenthood does not make us happy, but little empirical work has actually studied the emotional valence of family life. We addressed this gap in the literature with an intensive examination of the emotional valence of dual-earner family life. Specifically, we examined positive and negative emotional tone and expressivity throughout two weekday afternoons and evenings to test whether it was more positive or negative, explored gender differences in valence patterns, and qualitatively identified dinner food-related talk as a factor in mothers' evening emotion valence. Our sample was 30 dual-earner couples with young children who took part in a naturalistic observation study that involved continuous videotaping from the time that mothers and fathers left work until family members went to bed. Analyses revealed the following: (a) mild positive emotion was generally characteristic of both mothers and fathers, (b) mothers were more emotionally expressive than fathers, but (c) only mothers' positive emotion dropped during the evening period (5-8 p.m.) where the most salient feature of dinner was children's vocal expressions of distaste for dinner food. The implications of these findings for understanding the concurrent rewards and strains of everyday family life are discussed.

A cytogenetic abnormality and rare coding variants identify ABCA13 as a candidate gene in schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and depression.

Schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are leading causes of morbidity across all populations, with heritability estimates of approximately 80% indicating a substantial genetic component. Population genetics and genome-wide association studies suggest an overlap of genetic risk factors between these illnesses but it is unclear how this genetic component is divided between common gene polymorphisms, rare genomic copy number variants, and rare gene sequence mutations. We report evidence that the lipid transporter gene ABCA13 is a susceptibility factor for both schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. After the initial discovery of its disruption by a chromosome abnormality in a person with schizophrenia, we resequenced ABCA13 exons in 100 cases with schizophrenia and 100 controls. Multiple rare coding variants were identified including one nonsense and nine missense mutations and compound heterozygosity/homozygosity in six cases. Variants were genotyped in additional schizophrenia, bipolar, depression (n > 1600), and control (n > 950) cohorts and the frequency of all rare variants combined was greater than controls in schizophrenia (OR = 1.93, p = 0.0057) and bipolar disorder (OR = 2.71, p = 0.00007). The population attributable risk of these mutations was 2.2% for schizophrenia and 4.0% for bipolar disorder. In a study of 21 families of mutation carriers, we genotyped affected and unaffected relatives and found significant linkage (LOD = 4.3) of rare variants with a phenotype including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depression. These data identify a candidate gene, highlight the genetic overlap between schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and depression, and suggest that rare coding variants may contribute significantly to risk of these disorders.

Collaborative genome-wide association analysis supports a role for ANK3 and CACNA1C in bipolar disorder.

To identify susceptibility loci for bipolar disorder, we tested 1.8 million variants in 4,387 cases and 6,209 controls and identified a region of strong association (rs10994336, P = 9.1 x 10(-9)) in ANK3 (ankyrin G). We also found further support for the previously reported CACNA1C (alpha 1C subunit of the L-type voltage-gated calcium channel; combined P = 7.0 x 10(-8), rs1006737). Our results suggest that ion channelopathies may be involved in the pathogenesis of bipolar disorder.

Angiographic assessment of initial balloon angioplasty results.

PURPOSE: To determine the influence of three factors involved in the angiographic assessment of balloon angioplasty-interobserver variability, operator bias, and the definition used to determine success-on the primary (technical) results of angioplasty in the peripheral arteries. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Percent stenosis in 107 lesions in lower-extremity arteries was graded by three independent, experienced vascular radiologists ("observers") before and after balloon angioplasty and their estimates were compared with the initial interpretations reported by the physician performing the procedure ("operator") and an automated quantitative computer analysis. Observer variability was measured with use of intraclass correlation coefficients and SD. Differences among the operator, observers, and the computer were analyzed with use of the Wilcoxon signed-rank test and analysis of variance. For each evaluator, the results in this series of lesions were interpreted with three different definitions of success. RESULTS: Estimation of residual stenosis varied by an average range of 22.76% with an average SD of 8.99. The intraclass correlation coefficients averaged 0.59 for residual stenosis after angioplasty for the three observers but decreased to 0.36 when the operator was included as the fourth evaluator. There was good to very good agreement among the three independent observers and the computer, but poor correlation with the operator (P

A geometric theory of chaotic phase synchronization.

A rigorous mathematical treatment of chaotic phase synchronization is still lacking, although it has been observed in many numerical and experimental studies. In this article we address the extension of results on phase synchronization in periodic oscillators to systems with phase coherent chaotic attractors with small phase diffusion. As models of such systems we consider special flows over diffeomorphisms in which the neutral direction is periodically perturbed. A generalization of the Averaging Theorem for periodic systems is used to extend Kuramoto's geometric theory of phase locking in periodically forced limit cycle oscillators to this class of systems. This approach results in reduced equations describing the dynamics of the phase difference between drive and response systems over long time intervals. The reduced equations are used to illustrate how the structure of a chaotic attractor is important in its response to a periodic perturbation, and to conclude that chaotic phase coherent systems may not always be treated as noisy periodic oscillators in this context. Although this approach is strictly justified for periodic perturbations affecting only the phase variable of a chaotic oscillator, we argue that these ideas are applicable much more generally.