bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Rapid and High Aspect Ratio Micro-hole Drilling With Multiple Micro-Second Pulses Using a CW Single-Mode Fiber Laser
Authors: Tu Jay , Lehman Ted , Reeves Nicolas 
Published: October 2016

AbstractLaser drilling is an important industrial process for the production of various sizes of holes. In this paper, we investigate rapid, high aspect ratio microhole drilling using multiple microsecond pulses based on the single pulse drilling technique reported in [17, 18]. It was established that there would be a synergistic effect if a subsequent pulse is irradiated at the target within 100 μs of the previous pulse before the melt solidifies. However, the peak power values of subsequent pulses decrease with higher repetition rates. The results show that the synergistic effect could outweigh the reduction in laser power. Another contributing factor of the synergistic effect is related to the melt ejection efficiency. As the hole deepens, the melt ejection becomes less effective to eject the melt completely out of the hole, resulting in a partially blocked hole. A subsequent laser pulse needs to reopen the hole before the hole can be deepened further. To overcome this hole blocking problem, shooting a subsequent pulse at a higher repetition rate also ensures that the energy absorption is more efficient when a subsequent laser pulse is irradiating at the hole blocking melt which is not yet solidified. This multiple-pulse drilling techniquewas applied for through-hole drilling. It was found that the total drilling times through an 800 μm plate were found to be 634 ms and 21.9 ms at 13 kHz and 20 kHz, respectively. The drilling efficiency at the 20 kHz repetition rate is drastically higher, needing only 428 shots, compared with 8240 shots at the 13 kHz, an improvement of nearly 200 times. It is confirmed that this multiple-pulse drilling technique with microsecond pulses using a 300Wsingle mode fiber laser is a viable technique to produce high aspect ratio through holes with a simple and robust setup for the production environment.
Gaseous Hydrocarbon Synfuels from Renewable Electricity via H2/CO2-Flexibility of Fixed-Bed Catalytic Reactors
Authors: Iglesias Gonzalez Maria , Schaub Georg 
Published: October 2016

Abstract
The increased generation of renewable electricity (wind, solar), due to its fluctuating characteristic, leads to an increasing storage demand. A potential storage technology is the conversion of electrical energy into chemical energy (e.g. in form of gaseous hydrocarbons), which can be easily stored and distributed in an existing natural gas grid. CO2 is the C-source of choice, from biogas plants or industrial processes, making possible the production and use of C-based fuels without increasing the CO2 emissions into the atmosphere. The combination of Fischer–Tropsch synthesis and CO2 shift reaction, using iron-based catalyst, offers the possibility to produce substitute natural gas (SNG) components from CO2. Due to the fluctuating nature of hydrogen production from renewable electrical energy, advantages can be identified if the chemical reactor is operated under variable load conditions. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the flexibility of a catalytic synthesis reactor as a potential component in a future energy system with a high contribution of renewable energy. The hydrogenation of CO2 to gaseous components is studied in a fixed-bed lab-scale reactor to determine kinetic parameters and hydrocarbon product distribution. Results from the experimental work are implemented in the mathematical model and are the basis for the conceptual design of the catalytic fixed-bed reactor able to operate under variable load conditions.
Engaging with T.S. Eliot: Four Quartets as a Multimedia Performance
Authors: Röder Katrin 
Published: October 2016

Abstract
This article explores a recent performance of excerpts from T.S. Eliot’s Four Quartets (1935/36–1942) entitled Engaging Eliot: Four Quartets in Word, Color, and Sound as an example of live poetry. In this context, Eliot’s poem can be analysed as an auditory artefact that interacts strongly with other oral performances (welcome addresses and artists’ conversations), as well as with the musical performance of Christopher Theofanidis’s quintet “At the Still Point” at the end of the opening of Engaging Eliot. The event served as an introduction to a 13-day art exhibition and engaged in a re-evaluation of Eliot’s poem after 9/11: while its first part emphasises the connection between Eliot’s poem and Christian doctrine, its second part – especially the combination of poetry reading and musical performance – highlights the philosophical and spiritual dimensions of Four Quartets.
Popular Songs, Poetry, and Performance: Observations on an On-going Debate
Authors: Herbe Sarah 
Published: October 2016

AbstractThis article revisits critical explorations of the question whether popular songs should be regarded as poetry or not and will explore the concepts of poetry that inform these discussions, with a special focus on the importance critics place on the aspect of performance in their attempts to either distinguish between songs and poetry or to (re-)align them. It will be shown that whether critics stress the differences or the similarities between poetry and popular songs does not only rest on their respective ideas of poetry, but also on their disciplinary agenda. The importance of the aspect of performance in popular songs, it is argued, can be illustrated by their ‘coverability,’ which will be briefly illustrated with the help of an analysis of a recent example of a cover version where the lyrics stay the same as in the original, whereas the overall effect is radically changed due to a transformed musical and vocal performance.
‘I wanna be a Rock Star!’ Lyrical Communication in Self-Referential Rock Songs
Authors: Fischer Pascal 
Published: October 2016

AbstractThe article uses insights into lyrical communication for an analysis of the lyrics of three popular rock songs: Dire Straits’ “Money for Nothing” (1985), AC/DC’s “Rock ‘N’ Roll Singer” (1975), and Nickelback’s “Rockstar” (2005). It explains how these songs about the figure of the rock star involve the careful listener in speculation about the relationship between the text-internal speaker, the singer (or performer), and the author. The discussion about the identity of the ‘I’ in the songs includes the possibility of a ‘mental appropriation’ by the audience. Showing the relevance of extra-textual factors for the message of these songs, the study also argues for a re-evaluation of the concept of the implied author.
The Selective Maintenance of Allelic Variation Under Generalized Dominance
Authors: Spencer Hamish G , Mitchell Cuilodair 
Published: October 2016

Abstract
Simple models of viability selection acting on variation at a single diploid locus only maintain multiple alleles for very restricted sets of fitnesses. Most of these models assume that fitnesses are independent, even if the genotypes share alleles. Here, we extend this result to a model with generalized dominance interactions, in which fitnesses are strongly affected by what we call the “primary effects” of the genotype’s component alleles, so that genotypes with shared alleles have correlated fitnesses. Nevertheless, in keeping with previously reported results, we also show that such fitness sets are easily constructed over time if recurrent mutation is occurring simultaneously. We find that such models maintain less variation over time than do (previous) models with independently sampled fitnesses, especially when the effects of genetic drift are taken into account. We also show that there is a weak tendency for greater weighting of primary effects to evolve over time.
Epigenetic Control of Phenotypic Plasticity in the Filamentous Fungus Neurospora crassa
Authors: Kronholm Ilkka , Johannesson Hanna , Ketola Tarmo 
Published: October 2016

Abstract
Phenotypic plasticity is the ability of a genotype to produce different phenotypes under different environmental or developmental conditions. Phenotypic plasticity is a ubiquitous feature of living organisms, and is typically based on variable patterns of gene expression. However, the mechanisms by which gene expression is influenced and regulated during plastic responses are poorly understood in most organisms. While modifications to DNA and histone proteins have been implicated as likely candidates for generating and regulating phenotypic plasticity, specific details of each modification and its mode of operation have remained largely unknown. In this study, we investigated how epigenetic mechanisms affect phenotypic plasticity in the filamentous fungus Neurospora crassa. By measuring reaction norms of strains that are deficient in one of several key physiological processes, we show that epigenetic mechanisms play a role in homeostasis and phenotypic plasticity of the fungus across a range of controlled environments. In general, effects on plasticity are specific to an environment and mechanism, indicating that epigenetic regulation is context dependent and is not governed by general plasticity genes. Specifically, we found that, in Neurospora, histone methylation at H3K36 affected plastic response to high temperatures, H3K4 methylation affected plastic response to pH, but H3K27 methylation had no effect. Similarly, DNA methylation had only a small effect in response to sucrose. Histone deacetylation mainly decreased reaction norm elevation, as did genes involved in histone demethylation and acetylation. In contrast, the RNA interference pathway was involved in plastic responses to multiple environments.
Genome Sequencing of Chromosome 1 Substitution Lines Derived from Chinese Wild Mice Revealed a Unique Resource for Genetic Studies of Complex Traits
Authors: Xu Fuyi , Chao Tianzhu , Liang Yingming , Li Kai , Hu Shixian , Wang Maochun , Zhou Yuxun , Xu Hongyan , Xiao Junhua 
Published: October 2016

Abstract
Mouse resources such as Collaborative Cross, outbred stocks, Hybrid Mouse Diversity Panel, and chromosome substitution strains have been instrumental to many progresses in the studies of complex traits genetics. We have established a population of chromosome 1 (Chr 1) substitution lines (C1SLs) in which donor chromosomes were derived from Chinese wild mice. Genome sequencing of 18 lines of this population showed that Chr 1 had been replaced by the donor chromosome. About 4.5 million unique single nucleotide polymorphisms and indels were discovered on Chr 1, of which 1.3 million were novel. Compared with sequenced classical inbred strains, Chr 1 of each C1SL had fivefold more variants, and more loss of function and potentially regulatory variants. Further haplotype analysis showed that the donor chromosome accumulated more historical recombination events, with the largest haplotype block being only 100 kb, and about 57% of the blocks were &lt;1 kb. Subspecies origin analysis showed that these chromosomes had a mosaic genome structure that dominantly originated from Mus musculus musculus and M. m. castaneus subspecies, except for the C57BL/6J-Chr1KM line from M. m. domesticus. In addition, phenotyping four of these lines on blood biochemistry suggested that there were substantial phenotypic variations among our lines, especially line C57BL/6J-Chr1HZ and donor strain C57BL/6J. Further gene ontology enrichment revealed that the differentially expressed genes among liver-expressed genes between C57BL/6J and C57BL/6J-Chr1HZ were enriched in lipid metabolism biological processes. All these characteristics enable C1SLs to be a unique resource for identifying and fine mapping quantitative trait loci on mouse Chr 1, and carrying out systems genetics studies of complex traits.
Effect of Two Lipoprotein (a)-Associated Genetic Variants on Plasminogen Levels and Fibrinolysis
Authors: Wang Hong , Hong Chan E , Lewis Joshua P , Zhu Yanbei , Wang Xing , Chu Xin , Backman Joshua , Hu Ziying , Yang Peixin , Still Christopher D , Gerhard Glenn S , Fu Mao 
Published: October 2016

Abstract
Two genetic variants (rs3798220 and rs10455872) in the apolipoprotein (a) gene (LPA) have been implicated in cardiovascular disease (CVD), presumably through their association with lipoprotein (a) [Lp(a)] levels. While Lp(a) is recognized as a lipoprotein with atherogenic and thrombogenic characteristics, it is unclear whether or not the two Lp(a)-associated genetic variants are also associated with markers of thrombosis (i.e., plasminogen levels and fibrinolysis). In the present study, we genotyped the two genetic variants in 2919 subjects of the Old Order Amish (OOA) and recruited 146 subjects according to the carrier and noncarrier status for rs3798220 and rs10455872, and also matched for gender and age. We measured plasma Lp(a) and plasminogen levels in these subjects, and found that the concentrations of plasma Lp(a) were 2.62- and 1.73-fold higher in minor allele carriers of rs3798220 and rs10455872, respectively, compared with noncarriers (P = 2.04 × 10−17 and P = 1.64 × 10−6, respectively). By contrast, there was no difference in plasminogen concentrations between carriers and noncarriers of rs3798220 and rs10455872. Furthermore, we observed no association between carrier status of rs3798220 or rs10455872 with clot lysis time. Finally, plasminogen mRNA expression in liver samples derived from 76 Caucasian subjects was not significantly different between carriers and noncarriers of these two genetic variants. Our results provide further insight into the mechanism of action behind two genetic variants previously implicated in CVD risk and show that these polymorphisms are not major modulating factors for plasma plasminogen levels and fibrinolysis.
Temporal Expression of a Master Regulator Drives Synchronous Sporulation in Budding Yeast
Authors: Chia Minghao , van Werven Folkert J 
Published: October 2016

AbstractYeast cells enter and undergo gametogenesis relatively asynchronously, making it technically challenging to perform stage-specific genomic and biochemical analyses. Cell-to-cell variation in the expression of the master regulator of entry into sporulation, IME1, has been implicated to be the underlying cause of asynchronous sporulation. Here, we find that timing of IME1 expression is of critical importance for inducing cells to undergo sporulation synchronously. When we force expression of IME1 from an inducible promoter in cells incubated in sporulation medium for 2 hr, the vast majority of cells exhibit synchrony during premeiotic DNA replication and meiotic divisions. Inducing IME1 expression too early or too late affects the synchrony of sporulation. Surprisingly, our approach for synchronous sporulation does not require growth in acetate-containing medium, but can be achieved in cells grown in rich medium until saturation. Our system requires solely IME1, because the expression of the N6-methyladenosine methyltransferase IME4, another key regulator of early sporulation, is controlled by IME1 itself. The approach described here can be combined easily with other stage-specific synchronization methods, and thereby applied to study specific stages of sporulation, or the complete sporulation program.
On Robust Association Testing for Quantitative Traits and Rare Variants
Authors: Wei Peng , Cao Ying , Zhang Yiwei , Xu Zhiyuan , Kwak Il-Youp , Boerwinkle Eric , Pan Wei 
Published: October 2016

AbstractWith the advance of sequencing technologies, it has become a routine practice to test for association between a quantitative trait and a set of rare variants (RVs). While a number of RV association tests have been proposed, there is a dearth of studies on the robustness of RV association testing for nonnormal distributed traits, e.g., due to skewness, which is ubiquitous in cohort studies. By extensive simulations, we demonstrate that commonly used RV tests, including sequence kernel association test (SKAT) and optimal unified SKAT (SKAT-O), are not robust to heavy-tailed or right-skewed trait distributions with inflated type I error rates; in contrast, the adaptive sum of powered score (aSPU) test is much more robust. Here we further propose a robust version of the aSPU test, called aSPUr. We conduct extensive simulations to evaluate the power of the tests, finding that for a larger number of RVs, aSPU is often more powerful than SKAT and SKAT-O, owing to its high data-adaptivity. We also compare different tests by conducting association analysis of triglyceride levels using the NHLBI ESP whole-exome sequencing data. The QQ plots for SKAT and SKAT-O were severely inflated (λ = 1.89 and 1.78, respectively), while those for aSPU and aSPUr behaved normally. Due to its relatively high robustness to outliers and high power of the aSPU test, we recommend its use complementary to SKAT and SKAT-O. If there is evidence of inflated type I error rate from the aSPU test, we would recommend the use of the more robust, but less powerful, aSPUr test.
Diversity Outbred Mice at 21: Maintaining Allelic Variation in the Face of Selection
Authors: Chesler Elissa J , Gatti Daniel M , Morgan Andrew P , Strobel Marge , Trepanier Laura , Oberbeck Denesa , McWeeney Shannon , Hitzemann Robert , Ferris Martin , McMullan Rachel , Clayshultle Amelia , Bell Timothy A , de Villena Fernando Pardo-Manuel , Churchill Gary A 
Published: October 2016

Abstract
Multi-parent populations (MPPs) capture and maintain the genetic diversity from multiple inbred founder strains to provide a resource for high-resolution genetic mapping through the accumulation of recombination events over many generations. Breeding designs that maintain a large effective population size with randomized assignment of breeders at each generation can minimize the impact of selection, inbreeding, and genetic drift on allele frequencies. Small deviations from expected allele frequencies will have little effect on the power and precision of genetic analysis, but a major distortion could result in reduced power and loss of important functional alleles. We detected strong transmission ratio distortion in the Diversity Outbred (DO) mouse population on chromosome 2, caused by meiotic drive favoring transmission of the WSB/EiJ allele at the R2d2 locus. The distorted region harbors thousands of polymorphisms derived from the seven non-WSB founder strains and many of these would be lost if the sweep was allowed to continue. To ensure the utility of the DO population to study genetic variation on chromosome 2, we performed an artificial selection against WSB/EiJ alleles at the R2d2 locus. Here, we report that we have purged the WSB/EiJ allele from the drive locus while preserving WSB/EiJ alleles in the flanking regions. We observed minimal disruption to allele frequencies across the rest of the autosomal genome. However, there was a shift in haplotype frequencies of the mitochondrial genome and an increase in the rate of an unusual sex chromosome aneuploidy. The DO population has been restored to genome-wide utility for genetic analysis, but our experience underscores that vigilant monitoring of similar genetic resource populations is needed to ensure their long-term utility.
X Chromosome Crossover Formation and Genome Stability inCaenorhabditis elegansAre Independently Regulated byxnd-1
Authors: McClendon T Brooke , Mainpal Rana , Amrit Francis R G , Krause Michael W , Ghazi Arjumand , Yanowitz Judith L 
Published: October 2016

AbstractThe germ line efficiently combats numerous genotoxic insults to ensure the high fidelity propagation of unaltered genomic information across generations. Yet, germ cells in most metazoans also intentionally create double-strand breaks (DSBs) to promote DNA exchange between parental chromosomes, a process known as crossing over. Homologous recombination is employed in the repair of both genotoxic lesions and programmed DSBs, and many of the core DNA repair proteins function in both processes. In addition, DNA repair efficiency and crossover (CO) distribution are both influenced by local and global differences in chromatin structure, yet the interplay between chromatin structure, genome integrity, and meiotic fidelity is still poorly understood. We have used the xnd-1 mutant of Caenorhabditis elegans to explore the relationship between genome integrity and crossover formation. Known for its role in ensuring X chromosome CO formation and germ line development, we show that xnd-1 also regulates genome stability. xnd-1 mutants exhibited a mortal germ line, high embryonic lethality, high incidence of males, and sensitivity to ionizing radiation. We discovered that a hypomorphic allele of mys-1 suppressed these genome instability phenotypes of xnd-1, but did not suppress the CO defects, suggesting it serves as a separation-of-function allele. mys-1 encodes a histone acetyltransferase, whose homolog Tip60 acetylates H2AK5, a histone mark associated with transcriptional activation that is increased in xnd-1 mutant germ lines, raising the possibility that thresholds of H2AK5ac may differentially influence distinct germ line repair events. We also show that xnd-1 regulated him-5 transcriptionally, independently of mys-1, and that ectopic expression of him-5 suppressed the CO defects of xnd-1. Our work provides xnd-1 as a model in which to study the link between chromatin factors, gene expression, and genome stability.
Challenges and Innovations in Surveying the Governmental Public Health Workforce
Authors: Leider Jonathon P. , Shah Gulzar , Rider Nikki , Beck Angela , Castrucci Brian C. , Harris Jenine K. , Sellers Katie , Varda Danielle , Ye Jiali , Erwin Paul C. , Brownson Ross C. 
Published: October 2016

Surveying governmental public health practitioners is a critical means of collecting data about public health organizations, their staff, and their partners. A greater focus on evidence-based practices, practice-based systems research, and evaluation has resulted in practitioners consistently receiving requests to participate in myriad surveys. This can result in a substantial survey burden for practitioners and declining response rates for researchers. This is potentially damaging to practitioners and researchers as well as the field of public health more broadly. We have examined recent developments in survey research, especially issues highly relevant for public health practice. We have also proposed a process by which researchers can engage with practitioners and practitioner groups on research questions of mutual interest.
Correlates of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages Purchased for Children at Fast-Food Restaurants
Authors: Cantor Jonathan , Breck Andrew , Elbel Brian 
Published: October 2016

Objectives. To determine consumer and fast-food purchase characteristics associated with the purchase of a sugar-sweetened beverage, as well as calories and grams of sugar, for children at a fast-food restaurant. Methods. We completed cross-sectional analyses of fast-food restaurant receipts and point-of-purchase surveys (n = 483) collected during 2013 and 2014 in New York City and Newark and Jersey City, New Jersey. Results. Caregivers purchased beverages for half of all children in our sample. Approximately 60% of these beverages were sugar-sweetened beverages. Fast-food meals with sugar-sweetened beverages had, on average, 179 more calories than meals with non–sugar-sweetened beverages. Being an adolescent or male, having a caregiver with a high school degree or less, having a caregiver who saw the posted calorie information, ordering a combination meal, and eating the meal in the restaurant were associated with ordering a sugar-sweetened beverage. Purchases that included a combination meal or were consumed in the restaurant included more beverage grams of sugar and calories. Conclusions. Characteristics of fast-food purchases appear to have the largest and most important association to beverage calories for children at fast-food restaurants. Targeting fast-food restaurants, particularly combination meals, may improve childhood obesity rates.