The current study aims to investigate the development of English as a Second Language (ESL) learners' language skills over time, focusing on the interplay between the mode of production (i.e., speech versus written mode) and linguistic features related to complexity, accuracy, and fluency. To address this question, the study will collect spoken and written data from ESL learners in the U.S. at five measurement points throughout an academic year (FA23 to SP24), analyzing their production data using various complexity, accuracy, and fluency measures. The objective is to contribute to the existing body of second language (L2) development research by examining whether the interaction among time, production mode, and proficiency, as well as the varying relationships among the measures, significantly influence the observed outcomes.

Over the course of an academic year (FA23 to SP24), participants will attend five in-person visits, spaced at 7-week intervals. During each visit, they will be asked to write an essay for 20 minutes and deliver a 5-minute spoken monologue in response to prompts similar to those found in the TOEFL speaking section.

$75 ($15 per visit)

this trial is examining what happens if a less toxic therapy is given to triple negative breast cancer subjects who's tumor is completely gone after receiving pre surgery chemotherapy.

Participants will need to come to all research visits, reports any side effects of medication, if they are taking any over the counter medications.

This research is being done to better understand how certain parts of the brain may react differently in people who have a particular eating disorder, anorexia nervosa, which may help us understand why they respond to food in the way they do. This may help us design more effective treatments for people with anorexia nervosa.

You will complete a package of surveys for personality, psychopathology, an evaluation of taste functions, and an MRI/fMRI examination.

Up to a total of $150.

This trial will address the safety of withdrawing hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) in patients with systemic lupus erythematous who are 60 years of age or older. In this older population the benefits of HCQ are expected to decrease since disease activity decreases with advancing age. The study will test whether HCQ can be safely discontinued in stable/quiescent patients.

Participants will be in this study for about 1 year, during which time they will come to 7 visits in the research clinic. The first visit will take up to 2 hours and will include blood and urine sampling and completion of self-assessment questionnaires. Subsequent visits will take up to 1 hour. Participants will be randomized to receive either the active drug hydroxychloroquine or placebo. The treatment will be blinded to both the participant and the investigator. Diaries will be requested in which the participant keeps track of dosing of the study medication.

The purpose of this study is to use the Decipher risk score to guide intensification (for higher Decipher gene risk) or de-intensification (for low Decipher gene risk) of treatment to better match therapies to an individual patient’s cancer aggressiveness. The study will test your tumor tissue for many different genes that all together indicate the risk of your cancer spreading; this is called the Decipher risk score. If you have a higher Decipher risk score, you will be assigned to the part of the study that compares the use of 6 months of hormone therapy and radiation treatment (usual treatment) to the use of darolutamide (BAY 1841788) plus the usual treatment. The purpose of this study is to determine whether the additional drug can reduce the chance that your cancer will come back and spread.

The purpose of this study is to use the Decipher risk score to guide intensification (for higher Decipher gene risk) or de-intensification (for low Decipher gene risk) of treatment to better match therapies to an individual patient’s cancer aggressiveness. The study will test your tumor tissue for many different genes that all together indicate the risk of your cancer spreading; this is called the Decipher risk score. If you have a higher Decipher risk score, you will be assigned to the part of the study that compares the use of 6 months of hormone therapy and radiation treatment (usual treatment) to the use of darolutamide (BAY 1841788) plus the usual treatment. The purpose of this study is to determine whether the additional drug can reduce the chance that your cancer will come back and spread.

The purpose of this study is to compare the effects, good or bad, of giredestrant versus an approved endocrine therapy (a treatment that blocks or removes hormones), on patients with breast cancer. In this study, subjects will get either giredestrant or a drug chosen specifically by the study doctor. Subjects can participate in this study based on breast cancer characteristics, current condition, and how well previous anti-cancer therapies were tolerated.

• You should not join another research study. • For women: If you can become pregnant, you must use a reliable non-hormonal birth control method during the study and for 9 days after your final dose of giredestrant or, if you are in the group receiving approved endocrine therapy prescribed by the study doctor, a period of time that your study doctor will discuss with you. This will be 21 days after if you are prescribed letrozole or anastrozole, 30 days after if you are prescribed exemestane, and 60 days after if you are prescribed tamoxifen. Talk with your study doctor about what birth control method may be best for you. Depending on the study treatment you receive, you might be restricted from donating eggs during this same period. Tell your study doctor right away if you get pregnant during this period. If you get pregnant, the study doctor will want to follow up with you on the outcome of the pregnancy and collect information on the baby. • For men: you must agree to take precautions as outlined below for each treatment arm: –If you are in the group receiving approved endocrine therapy prescribed by the study doctor, you study doctor will discuss with you what precautions you will need to take. –If you are in the group receiving giredestrant, and your partner is pregnant or able to become pregnant, you must use a condom during the study and for 9 days after your final dose of giredestrant. This will be 21 days after if you are prescribed letrozole or anastrozole, 30 days after if you are prescribed exemestane, and 90 days after if you are prescribed tamoxifen. You must not donate sperm during this same period. Tell your study doctor right away if your partner becomes pregnant during these periods. The study doctor or research staff will advise you of the possible risks to your unborn child and will make an effort to contact your partner to get her permission to collect information about the pregnancy and the baby. No matter what your partner decides, you can continue to take part in this study. • You should not use certain medications during this study. Your study doctor will talk to you about these medications.

This study will explore the relationship between multimodal brain MRI findings and cognitive/mood outcomes in Parkinson's Disease (PD) patients following Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS). Patients already planning to undergo DBS for PD who choose to take part in this study will have study visits before and after DBS to collect motor, neurobehavioral and physical therapy measurements.

Patients who are already planning to undergo DBS for PD who choose to take part in this study will have study visits before and after DBS surgery to collect motor, neurobehavioral and physical therapy measurements. While many of these components are part of as standard of care, some assessments will need to be collected specifically for research purposes. There are two in-person visits (one before DBS surgery and one approximately 3-6 months after surgery). As part of the study, an MRI to gather data to answer our research questions will be conducted. This is in addition to the clinical MRI that is part of the regular assessment to determine if an individual is suitable for the DBS surgery.

$130 if components of study are completed

This study is looking at patients with oligometastasis comparing chemotherapy and SABR with chemotherapy alone

• Blood counts and blood chemistry done at initiation and every three months to make sure you are not having any side effects from the study affecting your blood counts. • CT or MRI scans done at initiation and every three months to monitor the response of the treatment to your cancer • Physical exams done every three months to confirm your general well-being and to detect side effects from the study. Compete physical and well being form as set below: • Baseline • 3 months from start of treatment • 6 months from start of treatment • 9 months from start of treatment • 12 months from start of treatment • 18 months from start of treatment • 24 months from start of treatment

This study continues our exploration into the mechanisms underlying the control of blood flow. During the experiments, we noninvasively measure skin blood flow (SkBF) and forearm blood flow (FBF) with a FLPI and venous occlusion plethysmography (VOP), respectively. The FLPI uses a low energy laser to measure SkBF. VOP uses blood pressure cuffs on the upper arm and wrist, and an elastic strain gauge encircling the forearm between the cuffs to measure the change in forearm-circumference over time from which we calculate FBF. For each experiment, we collect SkBF and FBF data for a 20-minute baseline, expose the skin of the forearms to negative pressure and then collect SkBF and FBF data for an additional 30-90 minutes. Each subject participates in 2 experiments that differ only in the protocol for the application of negative pressure (i.e. continuous, pulse).

The purpose of this study is to compare the usual treatment alone (radiation and chemotherapy) to adding maintenance nivolumab to the usual treatment. The addition of nivolumab to the usual treatment could shrink your cancer or prevent it from returning. But, it could also cause side effects, which are described in the risks section below. This study will help the study doctors find out if this different approach is better than the usual approach. To decide if it is better, the study doctors will be looking to see if the nivolumab increases the lifetime of the patient without progression for 10 years. This immunotherapy drug, nivolumab, is already approved by the FDA for use in advanced and incurable head and neck cancer. But, most of the time it is not used until the cancer is very advanced and chemotherapy stops working. In this study we believe the use of nivolumab has a chance of preventing the cancer from coming back for patients with your type of cancer. There will be about 286 people taking part in the first part (phase II) of the study and 458 more people taking part in second part (phase III), if the results of the phase II portion are promising and if there is evidence that nivolumab may prolong your life.

The purpose of this study is to compare the usual treatment alone (radiation and chemotherapy) to adding maintenance nivolumab to the usual treatment.

We will investigate the effects of acute intravenous infusion of the hormone, angiotensin-(1-7), on cardiovascular function in healthy older adults in a randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study.

Participation in this study will include three separate visits to the Clinical Research Center within the Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. Participants will first have a screening visit to determine if they are able to participate in this study. If eligible based on the screening visit, they will participate in two study visits separated by at least one week. At each study visit, they will be infused with doses of a placebo or angiotensin-(1-7) for about two hours. Before and at the end of the infusion, we will measure blood pressure and blood flow, nerve activity with an acupuncture-type needle in your leg, and collect blood samples from a small plastic tube (catheter) placed in the arm. Cells will also be collected from inside the vein using the catheter if the participant is willing. The study visits will include intravenous infusion of angiotensin-(1-7) or saline for approximately two hours, starting with increasing doses and holding at a steady-state dose. Endothelial function will be measured and blood samples and endothelial cells (if willing) will be collected at baseline and at the end of infusions. Blood pressure, heart rate, and muscle sympathetic nerve activity via microneurography will be measured throughout the study.

$25 per hour; additional $25 per study visit for cell collection

This study examines how each brain hemisphere contributes to motor control and coordination. Participants play virtual reality/computer games to look at how their arms move during different activities.

Participants play 2D virtual reality/computer games by making reaching movements with position tracking sensors attached to their hands and upper arms.

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Patients diagnosed withy inoperable node positive non small cell lung cancer will be randomized to with radiation therapy to all know sites of disease in the lung, followed by immunotherapy or radiation to the primary lung tumor, followed by radiation to the lymph nodes followed by immunotherapy

Participants will be required to come to all study visits, report to the study doctor any new medications, prescription or over the counter that they may be taking,

This study uses virtual reality to investigate how sensory aspects of an environment influence eating behavior. Specifically, subjects will be immersed in a virtual outdoor café environment and consume a standardized meal while being exposed to either a pleasant or unpleasant smell. Total food intake and mood will be measured following each visit.

Answer initial screening and demographics questionnaires. Two in-person visits to the lab to experience a VR setting and consume a provided meal. One visit will include a small hair sample. Answer questionnaires following the VR experience.

$20 in pre-paid gift card

The purpose of this trial is to evaluate the safety and efficacy of 18 weeks of HyBryte (topical gel) treatment in combination with visible light therapy in subjects with cutaneous T-cell lymphoma when compared to placebo (no active ingredient). Cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL), of which the most common early stages are also known as mycosis fungoides (MF), is the most common type of T cell lymphoma. Participants will be enrolled in this trial for 30 weeks and will follow up at the clinic site every 4 weeks following the last trial treatment for a total of 12 weeks.

Participants will attend in person visits over 30 weeks. At different timepoints throughout the study participants will have their skin evaluated and photographed, have blood drawn, have an ECG done, and apply the study medication as directed by the study team.

This study is being done to answer the following question: Will the addition of a new drug, darolutamide, to standard Androgen Deprivation Therapy (ADT) (a hormonal therapy that is a usual approach to treatment) after surgery cure more men with prostate cancer than using Androgen Deprivation Therapy alone? We are doing this study because we want to find out if this approach is better or worse than the usual approach for your prostate cancer. The usual approach is defined as care most people get for prostate cancer.

This study is being done to answer the following question: Will the addition of a new drug, darolutamide, to standard Androgen Deprivation Therapy (ADT) (a hormonal therapy that is a usual approach to treatment) after surgery cure more men with prostate cancer than using Androgen Deprivation Therapy alone? We are doing this study because we want to find out if this approach is better or worse than the usual approach for your prostate cancer. The usual approach is defined as care most people get for prostate cancer.

Comparing runners' perceptions of their running gait biomechanics to actual mechanics using RunScribe wearable technology validated drone video capture and subsequent kinematic analysis in a natural outdoor running environment.

You will complete a survey and be asked to run a short distance on a track at your typical long distance pace while being filmed by a drone and while wearing a wearable RunScribe device on your shoe.

$50

We will investigate the effects of the hormone angiotensin-(1-7) on energy expenditure in patients with obesity.

This is an outpatient study that requires a screening visit, and if eligible, one study visit in the Clinical Research Center within the Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. The screening visit will take about one hour and includes a brief physical examination and medical history, urine pregnancy test if female and of childbearing potential, measurement of heart rhythm, collection of blood samples, and measurements of body composition. If eligible based on the results of the screening visit, participants will be invited to participate in one study visit that will take about four hours. Participants will complete food recall and activity questionnaires prior to the study visit and asked not to change eating or physical activity patterns. A urine pregnancy test will be given for females of childbearing potential. Participants will lie down on a bed and a catheter (small plastic tube) will be placed in a vein in each arm to draw blood samples and to give study medications. Equipment will then be placed to measure heart rate, blood pressure, breathing rate, and the amount of oxygen in the blood. After placing this equipment, participants will be allowed to rest for at least 20 minutes. Resting energy expenditure will then be measured by asking participants to breathe through a canopy placed over their head that is connected to a metabolic cart for 45 minutes. Blood samples will be taken to measure hormones influencing resting energy expenditure. Participants will then receive either angiotensin-(1-7) or normal saline (salt water) through the catheter in the arm for up to two hours. Angiotensin-(1-7) is a substance that the body produces naturally; however, in this form, it is considered experimental, which means the Food and Drug Administration has not approved it for this use. Participants will receive either angiotensin-(1-7) or normal saline. The treatment will be randomly assigned meaning that it is determined purely by chance, and neither the participant nor study investigators will know which treatment is received. Blood pressure, heart rate, breathing rate, and oxygen in the blood will be measured continuously while giving angiotensin-(1-7) or normal saline. During the last 45 minutes of the treatment, resting energy expenditure will be measured again and additional blood samples taken. Participants will also have the option of allowing for a small piece of fat to be taken from under the skin in the abdominal region (fat tissue biopsy). Participants will then be allowed to recover for at least 20 minutes and then all equipment will be removed. After the study visit, a nurse will contact participants to check on general well-being and answer any questions.

$25 per hour; additional $75 for fat tissue biopsy

A phase 3 clinical trial to investigate the effectiveness and safety of a study drug in subjects in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis

You will be required to attend 8 in-person visits at the Hershey Medical Center over the span of approximately one year. During the study you will have physical examinations, complete questionnaires, review your medical history and current medications, have vital signs and ECGs taken, have blood tests performed, complete pulmonary function testing, and potentially have a high resolution CT scan done. You will take the inhaled treprostinil or placebo daily at home throughout the study.

The objective of this protocol is to study urothelial cancer with detailed health history, tumor and/or normal tissues available for genomic sequencing to study cancers in the bladder, upper urinary tract, and urethra. There will be 3 groups of subjects in this study: 1) Urothelial cancer patients receiving care at Penn State Health 2) Relatives of patients with urothelial cancer 3) High risk-cohort of individuals with family history of urothelial cancers or inherited cancer syndromes (such as Lynch syndrome) candidates for urothelial cancer screening evaluation

All subjects will be asked to fill out questionnaires to assess risk factors for urinary cancer and document family history of cancer. You will be asked to provide a blood sample and urine sample for genetic testing. Patients with urothelial cancer will be asked to allow us to test leftover tissue from a past or future biopsy to test cancer and/or normal cells for certain mutations. We may also ask you for a saliva sample, cheek swab, skin biopsy, or nail clippings for comparison.

The broad goal of this project is to provide both theoretical and algorithmic solutions for efficient adaptive federated learning, as well as build practical adaptive federated learning systems for real-world applications.

Each participant carrying or wearing a smart device will conduct six activities, including (a) Wiping the whiteboard; (b) Walking; (c) Moving a suitcase; (d) Rotating the chair; (e) Sitting; (f) Standing up and sitting down. We will collect nine signals from each smart device, including three axes of the accelerometer, three axes of the gyroscope, and three axes of the magnetometer.

$20

The purpose of this study is to create a tool that will evaluate a patients social determinants of health, which is the environment in which someone is born, works and lives. This tool could provide information to physicians that could help the patient avoid negative health outcomes.

The purpose of this study is to assess if a healthy diet containing cottonseed oil improves markers of heart and metabolic health compared to healthy diets containing other commonly consumed plant oils. Participants will be asked to consume three different healthy diets containing plant oils for 28 days each, with a minimum 1-month break between the three diets. Measurements of blood markers (sugar, insulin, cholesterol), blood pressure, and heart health, will be done at the start of the study and the end of each diet period.

In this study, you will be asked to consume three different diets for 28 days each. The diets will be provided and include 3 meals, 2 snacks and beverages daily. These diets will meet your energy and nutrient needs. You will be asked not to eat any foods outside of what is provided by the study. You will have a minimum 1-month break between the three diets. Testing will be conducted on two consecutive days at the start of the study, and the end of each of the three diet periods (a total of 8 testing days). For these visits, you will need to fast for 12 hours prior and avoid alcohol for 48 hours prior. At these visits, we will take a blood draw, measure your body weight, and perform non-invasive tests to assess your vascular health.

500

The purpose of this research study is to understand the health effects of a new oral nicotine pouch, and also to understand if this product can help reduce traditional cigarette smoking. Participants will be asked to reduce their cigarette smoking by at least 50% with the help of the nicotine pouches.

After smoking your usual brand cigarettes for one week, you will be randomly assigned to one of six nicotine pouch groups to use over 16 weeks and asked to reduce your cigarette smoking over that time by at least 50% by using a nicotine pouch in place of your cigarettes. During the 16 weeks, there will be 2 phone call contacts and 4 in-person study contacts. During in-person contacts you will complete study questionnaires and you will be asked to provide urine, exhaled carbon monoxide, mouth cell samples, and other health measurements. You will record your cigarette and nicotine pouch use every day through a daily text message. Lastly, you will be followed up for a last study contact (virtual) 4 weeks later.

$500

A Phase 2 Clinical Trial to assess whether study drug DWN12088 is safe and effective in Patients With Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis

During this study, you will be asked to come to in-person visits at the Hershey Medical Center over a period of 6 months During that time you will visit the study center 8 times and have various tests done including: signing informed consent, providing demographics, having a chest CT scan, reviewing medical history, having a physical exam done, having vital signs and an ECG taken, having bloodwork done, receiving study drug, receiving patient diaries, having study drug administered, performing lung function tests (spirometry, DLCO and 6-minute walk test), and completing questionnaires.

The purpose of this study is to investigate why some individuals who have a few findings of autoimmunity eventually develop a condition such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). In addition to stored biosamples from the SMILE clinical trial, new samples will be collected from persons with findings such as lab tests that are suggestive of lupus with an emphasis on recruitment of individuals ofnon-European ancestry, who were under-represented in the previous clinical trial.

Participants in this study will answer questions about their health and have a short physical exam performed on them. They will provide a blood and urine sample. These procedures will be repeated every twelve months for three years (a total of four times). Both routine and experimental tests will be performed on the blood and urine samples. Genetic studies will be done to help understand the risk of developing lupus.

We are conducting a series of focus groups to examine why people use technologies driven by artificial intelligence, and what gratifications people gain from those interactions. This is part of a larger project to understand human-AI interaction (HAII), a relatively new concept in the field of human-computer interaction. Our goal is to help pioneer a definition of HAII by first understanding the basics of how and why people use AI-driven technologies. Focus groups will consist of 5-10 people and will take no more than one hour to complete. All consenting adults near the State College area are welcome to participate.

This research is being done to study the deterioration of the central olfactory system (sense of smell system) in the brains of patients diagnosed with early- stage Parkinson’s disease.

This trial will be comparing two doses of AAV2-hAQP1 against a placebo for patients with head and neck cancer who have severe dry mouth from receiving radiation.

Patient's will be required to come to all study visits, reports any signs and symptoms they are having and all medications they are taking. You will be required to come in for 2 pre screening visits that will include signing the consent, collecting of saliva, completing questionnaires, seeing the study doctor, having blood drawn, providing a urine specimen to see if you qualify to participate. If you meet the qualifications to participate you will have one visit in which you will receive medication to dry your mouth, than the study doctor will place the medication into the glands in your mouth that produce saliva. You will then be requires to come in the next week for additional saliva collection and to see the study doctor. After that you will come in monthly to see the study doctor too see how you are feeling,complete questionnaires and provide a urine specimen.

dependent upon miles traveled

Determine if free radicals produced by electronic cigarettes or conventional cigarettes impact inflammation and oxidative stress responses in users.

Subjects will come to the Clinical Research Center at Hershey and if they are a nicotine user they will bring their product/device (cigarette or e-cigarette) with them. Healthy volunteers will answer the same questionnaires and provide the same samples but will not use any nicotine during their visit. They will provide blood, urine, buccal cell, saliva, exhaled breath and exhaled breath condensate samples. They will be videotaped using their own devices and they will answer questionnaires. This is a one-time visit that will last around 2 hours.

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