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1. Individual differences and long-term consequences of tDCS augmented cognitive training

   Katz, B. ; Au, J. ; Buschkuehl, M. ; Abagis, T. ; Zabel, C. ; Jaeggi, S. ; Jonides, J. ( October 2017 , Journal of cognitive neuroscience)

   A gr e at d e al of i nt er e st s urr o u n d s t h e u s e of tr a n s cr a ni al dir e ct c urr e nt sti m ul ati o n (t D C S) t o a u g m e nt c o g niti v e tr ai ni n g. H o w e v er, eff e ct s ar e i n c o n si st e nt a cr o s s st u di e s, a n d m et aa n al yti c e vi d e n c e i s mi x e d, e s p e ci all y f o r h e alt h y, y o u n g a d ult s. O n e m aj or s o ur c e of t hi s i n c o n si st e n c y i s i n di vi d u al diff er e n c e s a m o n g t h e p arti ci p a nt s, b ut t h e s e diff er e n c e s ar e r ar el y e x a mi n e d i n t h e c o nt e xt of c o m bi n e d tr ai ni n g/ sti m ul ati o n st u di e s. I n a d diti o n, it i s u n cl e ar h o w l o n g t h e eff e ct s of sti m ul ati o n l a st, e v e n i n s u c c e s sf ul i nt er v e nti o n s. S o m e st u di e s m a k e u s e of f oll o w- u p a s s e s s m e nt s, b ut v er y f e w h a v e m e a s ur e d p erf or m a n c e m or e t h a n a f e w m o nt hs aft er a n i nt er v e nti o n. H er e, w e utili z e d d at a fr o m a pr e vi o u s st u d y of t D C S a n d c o g niti v e tr ai ni n g [ A u, J., K at z, B., B u s c h k u e hl, M., B u n arj o, K., S e n g er, T., Z a b el, C., et al. E n h a n ci n g w or ki n g m e m or y tr ai ni n g wit h tr a n scr a ni al dir e ct c urr e nt sti m ul ati o n. J o u r n al of C o g niti v e N e u r os ci e n c e, 2 8, 1 4 1 9 – 1 4 3 2, 2 0 1 6] i n w hi c h p arti ci p a nts tr ai n e d o n a w or ki n g m e m or y t as k o v er 7 d a y s w hil e r e c ei vi n g a cti v e or s h a m t D C S. A n e w, l o n g er-t er m f oll o w- u p t o a ss es s l at er p erf or m a n c e w a s c o n d u ct e d, a n d a d diti o n al p arti ci p a nt s w er e a d d e d s o t h at t h e s h a m c o n diti o n w a s b ett er p o w er e d. W e a s s e s s e d b a s eli n e c o g niti v e a bilit y, g e n d er, tr ai ni n g sit e, a n d m oti v ati o n l e v el a n d f o u n d si g nifi c a nt i nt er a cti o ns b et w e e n b ot h b as eli n e a bilit y a n d m oti v ati o n wit h c o n diti o n ( a cti v e or s h a m) i n m o d els pr e di cti n g tr ai ni n g g ai n. I n a d diti o n, t h e i m pr o v e m e nt s i n t h e a cti v e c o nditi o n v er s u s s h a m c o n diti o n a p p e ar t o b e st a bl e e v e n a s l o n g a s a y e ar aft er t h e ori gi n al i nt er v e nti o n. ■ 

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2. Toward Personalizing Students' Education with Crowdsourced Tutoring

   https://doi.org/10.1145/3430895.3460130  

   Prihar, Ethan ; Patikorn, Thanaporn ; Botelho, Anthony ; Sales, Adam ; Heffernan, Neil ( June 2021 , Lerning @ Scale 2021)

   null (Ed.)

   A s m or e e d u c at or s i nt e gr at e t h eir c urri c ul a wit h o nli n e l e ar ni n g, it i s e a si er t o cr o w d s o ur c e c o nt e nt fr o m t h e m. Cr o w ds o ur c e d t ut ori n g h a s b e e n pr o v e n t o r eli a bl y i n cr e a s e st u d e nt s’ n e xt pr o bl e m c orr e ct n e s s. I n t hi s w or k, w e c o n fir m e d t h e fi n di n g s of a pr e vi o u s st u d y i n t hi s ar e a, wit h str o n g er c o n fi d e n c e m ar gi n s t h a n pr e vi o u sl y, a n d r e v e al e d t h at o nl y a p orti o n of cr o w d s o ur c e d c o nt e nt cr e at or s h a d a r eli a bl e b e n e fit t o st ud e nt s. F urt h er m or e, t hi s w or k pr o vi d e s a m et h o d t o r a n k c o nt e nt cr e at or s r el ati v e t o e a c h ot h er, w hi c h w a s u s e d t o d et er mi n e w hi c h c o nt e nt cr e at or s w er e m o st eff e cti v e o v er all, a n d w hi c h c o nt e nt cr e at or s w er e m o st eff e cti v e f or s p e ci fi c gr o u p s of st u d e nt s. W h e n e x pl ori n g d at a fr o m Te a c h er A SSI S T, a f e at ur e wit hi n t h e A S SI S T m e nt s l e ar ni n g pl atf or m t h at cr o w d s o ur c e s t ut ori n g fr o m t e a c h er s, w e f o u n d t h at w hil e o v erall t hi s pr o gr a m pr o vi d e s a b e n e fit t o st u d e nt s, s o m e t e a c h er s cr e at e d m or e eff e cti v e c o nt e nt t h a n ot h er s. D e s pit e t hi s fi n di n g, w e di d n ot fi n d e vi d e n c e t h at t h e eff e cti v e n e s s of c o nt e nt r eli a bl y v ari e d b y st u d e nt k n o wl e d g e-l e v el, s u g g e sti n g t h at t h e c o nt e nt i s u nli k el y s uit a bl e f or p er s o n ali zi n g i n str u cti o n b a s e d o n st u d e nt k n o wl e d g e al o n e. T h e s e fi n di n g s ar e pr o mi si n g f or t h e f ut ur e of cr o w d s o ur c e d t ut ori n g a s t h e y h el p pr o vi d e a f o u n d ati o n f or a s s e s si n g t h e q u alit y of cr o w d s o ur c e d c o nt e nt a n d i n v e sti g ati n g c o nt e nt f or o p p ort u niti e s t o p er s o n ali z e st u d e nt s’ e d u c ati o n. 

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3. Energy Harvesting Performance of a Flapping Foil with Leading Edge Motion

   Prier, M. ( April 2019 , Dissertation)

   F or c e d at a f or a fl a p pi n g f oil e n er g y h ar v e st er wit h a cti v e l e a di n g e d g e m oti o n o p er ati n g i n t h e l o w r e d u c e d fr e q u e n c y r a n g e i s c oll e ct e d t o d et er mi n e h o w l e a di n g e d g e m oti o n aff e ct s e n er g y h ar v e sti n g p erf or m a n c e. T h e f oil pi v ot s a b o ut t h e mi dc h or d a n d o p er at e s i n t h e l o w r e d u c e d fr e q u e n c y r a n g e of 𝑓𝑓 𝑓𝑓 / 𝑈𝑈 ∞ = 0. 0 6 , 0. 0 8, a n d 0. 1 0 wit h 𝑅𝑅 𝑅𝑅 = 2 0 ,0 0 0 − 3 0 ,0 0 0 , wit h a pit c hi n g a m plit u d e of 𝜃𝜃 0 = 7 0 ∘ , a n d a h e a vi n g a m plit u d e of ℎ 0 = 0. 5 𝑓𝑓 . It i s f o u n d t h at l e a di n g e d g e m oti o n s t h at r e d u c e t h e eff e cti v e a n gl e of att a c k e arl y t h e str o k e w or k t o b ot h i n cr e a s e t h e lift f or c e s a s w ell a s s hift t h e p e a k lift f or c e l at er i n t h e fl a p pi n g str o k e. L e a di n g e d g e m oti o n s i n w hi c h t h e eff e cti v e a n gl e of att a c k i s i n cr e a s e d e arl y i n t h e str o k e s h o w d e cr e a s e d p erf or m a n c e. I n a d diti o n a di s cr et e v ort e x m o d el wit h v ort e x s h e d di n g at t h e l e a di n g e d g e i s i m pl e m e nt f or t h e m oti o n s st u di e d; it i s f o u n d t h at t h e m e c h a ni s m f or s h e d di n g at t h e l e a di n g e d g e i s n ot a d e q u at e f or t hi s p ar a m et er r a n g e a n d t h e m o d el c o n si st e ntl y o v er pr e di ct s t h e a er o d y n a mi c f or c e s. 

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4. L oo p D e l t a : E m b e dd i n g L o c a li t y - a w a r e O pp o r t un i s t i c D e l t a C o m p r e ss i o n i n I n li n e D e dup li c a t i o n f o r Hi g h l y E ffic i e n t D a t a R e du c t i o n

   Zhang, Yucheng ; Jiang, Hong ; Feng, Dan ; Jiang Nan ; Qui, Taorong ; Huang, Wei ( July 2023 , USENIX annual technical conference)

   A s a c om pl e men t t o da ta d edupli cat ion , de lta c om p ress i on fu r- t he r r edu c es t h e dat a vo l u m e by c o m pr e ssi n g n o n - dup li c a t e d ata chunk s r e l a t iv e to t h e i r s i m il a r chunk s (bas e chunk s). H ow ever, ex is t i n g p o s t - d e dup li c a t i o n d e l t a c o m pr e ssi o n a p- p ro a ches fo r bac kup s t or ag e e i t h e r su ffe r f ro m t h e l ow s i m - il a r i t y b e twee n m any de te c ted c hun ks o r m i ss so me po t e n - t i a l s i m il a r c hunks , o r su ffer f r om l ow (ba ckup and r es t ore ) th r oug hpu t du e t o extr a I/ Os f or r e a d i n g b a se c hun ks o r a dd a dd i t i on a l s e r v i c e - d i s r up t ive op e r a t i on s to b a ck up s ys t em s. I n t h i s pa p e r, w e pr opo se L oop D e l t a t o a dd ress the above - m e n t i on e d prob l e m s by an e nha nced em b e ddi n g d e l t a c o m p - r e ss i on sc heme i n d e dup li c a t i on i n a non - i n t ru s ive way. T h e e nha nce d d elt a c o mpr ess ion s che m e co m b in e s f our key t e c h - ni qu e s : (1) du a l - l o c a li t y - b a s e d s i m il a r i t y t r a c k i n g to d e t ect po t e n t i a l si m il a r chun k s b y e x p l o i t i n g both l o g i c a l and ph y - s i c a l l o c a li t y, ( 2 ) l o c a li t y - a wa r e pr e f e t c h i n g to pr efe tc h ba se c hun ks to a vo i d ex t ra I/ Os fo r r e a d i n g ba s e chun ks on t h e w r i t e p at h , (3) c a che -aware fil t e r to avo i d ext r a I/Os f or b a se c hunk s on t he read p at h, a nd (4) i nver sed de l ta co mpressi on t o perf orm de lt a co mpress i o n fo r d at a chunk s t hat a re o th e r wi se f o r b i dd e n to s er ve as ba se c hunk s by r ew r i t i n g t e c hn i qu e s d e s i g n e d t o i m p r ove r es t o re pe rf o rma nc e. E x p e r i m e n t a l re su lts indi ca te t hat L oop D e l t a i ncr ea se s t he c o m pr e ss i o n r a t i o by 1 .2410 .97 t i m e s on t op of d e dup li c a - t i on , wi t hou t no t a b l y a ffe c t i n g th e ba ck up th rou ghpu t, a nd i t i m p r ove s t he res to re p er fo r m an ce b y 1.23.57 t i m e 

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5. Elucidation of a dynamic interplay between a beta-2 adrenergic receptor, its agonist, and stimulatory G protein

   https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2215916120  

   Han, Yanxiao ; Dawson, John R. ; DeMarco, Kevin R. ; Rouen, Kyle C. ; Bekker, Slava ; Yarov-Yarovoy, Vladimir ; Clancy, Colleen E. ; Xiang, Yang K. ; Vorobyov, Igor ( March 2023 , Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences)

   G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) represent the largest group of membrane receptors for transmembrane signal transduction. Ligand-induced activation of GPCRs triggers G protein activation followed by various signaling cascades. Understanding the structural and energetic determinants of ligand binding to GPCRs and GPCRs to G proteins is crucial to the design of pharmacological treatments targeting specific conformations of these proteins to precisely control their signaling properties. In this study, we focused on interactions of a prototypical GPCR, beta-2 adrenergic receptor (β 2 AR), with its endogenous agonist, norepinephrine (NE), and the stimulatory G protein (G s ). Using molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, we demonstrated the stabilization of cationic NE, NE(+), binding to β 2 AR by G s protein recruitment, in line with experimental observations. We also captured the partial dissociation of the ligand from β 2 AR and the conformational interconversions of G s between closed and open conformations in the NE(+)–β 2 AR–G s ternary complex while it is still bound to the receptor. The variation of NE(+) binding poses was found to alter G s α subunit (G s α) conformational transitions. Our simulations showed that the interdomain movement and the stacking of G s α α1 and α5 helices are significant for increasing the distance between the G s α and β 2 AR, which may indicate a partial dissociation of G s α The distance increase commences when G s α is predominantly in an open state and can be triggered by the intracellular loop 3 (ICL3) of β 2 AR interacting with G s α, causing conformational changes of the α5 helix. Our results help explain molecular mechanisms of ligand and GPCR-mediated modulation of G protein activation. 

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