The proposed overall research aims to establish feasibility of delivering an individually-tailored, behavioral intervention to manage gestational weight gain [GWG] that adapts to the unique needs and challenges of overweight/obese pregnant women [OW/OB-PW] and will utilize control systems engineering to optimize this intervention; in other words, make this intervention manage GWG in OW/OB-PW as effectively and efficiently as possible.

You will be randomized into an intervention or attention control group from ~8 weeks gestation to ~37 weeks gestation with a BMI of 20-45 (>40 with physician consent). You will have 1 pre-intervention session that explains the study procedures and to get you ready for the study. Here you will also complete various measures of demographics, behavioral surveys, etc. Over the course of the study, you will weigh yourself each day, wear an activity monitor and complete various surveys. If you are randomized to the intervention group, you may have healthy eating demonstrations and/or physical activity sessions each week. You will have 1 post-intervention session where you will return your devices, complete a 30-60 minute interview and complete the last of the surveys.

$250

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. The loss of estrogen from menopause puts women at a greater risk of developing heart disease. The purpose of this study is to determine the effects of drinking beetroot juice on measures of blood vessel health and blood pressure. Participants will drink beetroot juice and placebo juice each for one week followed by blood pressure measurements and ultrasound imaging of an artery in the upper arm. A sub-aim of this study is to investigate the effects of estrogen status on blood vessel function between pre- and post-menopausal women.

There are a total of 6 in-person visits to the Clinical Research Center. You will be asked to drink beetroot juice (2 oz) every day for 7 days. Participants will undergo vascular assessments, blood pressure measurements, and blood draws (11 in total for 6 visits).

$120

People with narrowed blood vessels in their legs can only walk a short distance before needing to sit down due to pain in their calf muscles. Most of these patients do not follow their heart doctor's advice to walk at home because it hurts. A therapy that does not involve painful walking would be ideal for these patients to begin to treat their disease so they can eventually walk with less discomfort. We will ask patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD) to place both feet into inflatable ankle splints 30 minutes a day for 4 weeks to passively stretch their calf muscles. Before and after this 4-week program, we will measure the health and size of their leg blood vessels, the length, and function of their calf muscles and tendons, and how long they can walk without pain. We will also closely track their joint and foot movements and calf muscle oxygen levels while they walk down a hallway. People with and without risk factors for heart disease are also eligible for this study to compare differences in vascular and muscular health to patients with PAD. Volunteers without a PAD diagnosis or poor leg circulation will not undergo the 4-week stretch and no-stretch interventions.

Peripheral artery disease (PAD) and poor leg circulation patients: -4 visits to University Park Clinical Research Center ~3 hours per visit -1 blood draw -Wear a calf muscle stretching device for 30-min a day, 5 days a week, for 4 weeks and 4 weeks of no stretching -Several muscle and vascular ultrasound measurements -Walking performance tests on and off the treadmill -Wear a smartwatch to monitor physical activity during each 4-week stretch or no stretch intervention Participants with and without risk factors for heart disease: -2 visits to University Park Clinical Research Center within the same week lasting ~3 hours per visit -Not diagnosed with PAD or poor leg circulation -1 blood draw -Several muscle and vascular ultrasound measurements -Walking performance tests on and off the treadmill

PAD participants can receive up to $450 in compensation. Participants with and without heart disease risk factors (non-PAD participants) will receive $50 for their participation.

We will conduct a pilot study to test feasibility of an innovative light device and blue-light glasses for promoting better sleep and a novel, smart water bottle for proper hydration. We will also examine women’s sleep and hydration behaviors in relation to their perceptions of pain, and obtain feedback from the participants on the overall patient intervention content to reduce prescription opioid use and promote behavioral pain management strategies after delivery.

Currently recruiting pregnant women who are in their 2nd or 3rd trimester. Attend a pre-session (in person OR remote) to explain the use of the water bottle, lighting devices, activity monitors, and weight scale Use the devices for 22 days and complete surveys in your own home Attend a post-session (in person OR remote) to return devices and participate an interview about the last 22 days

$100

Endometriosis, is a disorder that occurs in women, is when tissue that should be normally found inside the womb is also found in sites outside of the womb. This disorder impairs the function of the endothelium, the cells that line the body’s blood vessels (endothelium). The endothelium helps to control blood flow in healthy vessels. Women with this disorder not only have an increased risk for high blood pressure and high cholesterol, they also have an increased risk for cardiovascular disease. They have a higher risk for cardiovascular disease, too. With this study, we will learn how endometriosis impairs the lining of blood vessels and increases the risk for disease. We will test two different intervention strategies to reduce long-term cardiovascular disease risk in women with endometriosis.

There will be 3 in person visits, blood draws will occur at all visits. On 2 of the visits blood flow experiments will be conducted. Participants will take oral medications.

390

This study looks at the relationship between motor control via. arm movement and visual stimuli. After participating in brief calibration protocol for the eye tracking system, participants will be moving a robotic handle to interact with visual stimuli during various tasks. Participants will spend approximately 2 hours in the lab.

There will be one approximately 2-hour visit. They will then be asked to complete 20-25 blocks of hand movements while looking at a moving virtual stimulus with a large visual background. Participants will receive regular breaks during the experiment.

$20

This study will use interviews to explore to explore perceptions of rurality, physical activity behaviors and physical activity intervention preferences among rural older adults who live in Pennsylvania

The frequency and severity of heat waves has increased in the last decades. Women over 65 are at the most vulnerable to adverse events during these events. This sex difference only occurs in middle aged and older adults suggesting that menopause could play a role in increased risk in the heat for women. It is important to identify the role that the menopause transition plays in the ability to regulate body temperature in aging women. In this study, we will identify the role of estrogen levels in pre and post menopausal women on their ability to tolerate heat.

For this study, you will visit the lab for a screening visit, a maximal exercise test, and 6 experimental sessions. Before each experimental visit, you will swallow a temperature-sensing capsule 1-2 hours prior to arriving. In one type of experiment (passive heat stress), conducted during 2 visits, you will wear a suit with tubing running hot water to warm your body. A small catheter will be placed in your forearm to measure skin blood flow. In the other type of experiment (active heat stress), conducted during 4 visits, you will perform light exercise in heat and humidity on at least two separate days with different heat and humidity conditions. Participants will receive estrogen treatment for a portion of the study.

430

The purpose of this study is to define how eye movements contribute to eye-hand coordination in individuals of the age group 18-50 (young adults) and 65-80 (older adults). Specifically, the aim of the study is to understand how slow eye movements affect arm and hand movements. All procedures to be used in our study will be non-invasive. The task during the study will be performed with a robotic handle that participants will grasp with their right hand. They will interact with visual stimuli by moving the robotic handle. The robotic environment will attempt to simulate real-world mechanical interactions, such as those experienced during catching a ball.

During this study, we will ask you to come to our laboratory located in 23 Recreation Building, Pennsylvania State University, on two days separated by a maximum of 48 hours. Both sessions will last approximately 90-120 minutes. During the first session, we will review the procedures with you and if you agree to participate, you will sign this form and then proceed to perform the study. You will perform about 20-25 blocks of hand movements. Each block will consist of 24-30 trials and each trial will last between 3-5 seconds.The second day will be identical to the first day but the order of trials within a block will be changed.

$10/hour

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).

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.

15

In this project, participants will perform experiments where they will be asked to look at salient virtual targets and make reaching movements to those targets, while ignoring other visual stimuli presented to them.

During this study, we will ask you to come to our laboratory located in 23 Recreation Building, Penn State University, on a single day.We will ask you to perform an eye-hand coordination task using a robot. You will sit in a modified chair and grasp a handle that permits you to move your hand leftward, rightward, towards and away from your body. A display system will project visual targets into the same plane as your hands, which will allow you to interact virtually with the visual targets. These targets will be either bright or dark and you will be instructed to look at some of these targets (while ignoring others) and make reaching movements to some of these targets.

20

The purpose of this study is to investigate psychobiological factors that impact the development and manifestation of eating disorder (ED) pathology in elite male and female athletes before and during their competitive season.

The purpose of this voluntary research study is to assess how changes in stress, cognitive flexibility, response inhibition, and reward delay predict the trajectory of eating disorder behaviors and associated side effects of energy deficiency from the off-season compared to the competitive season. Your participation in this study will last approximately the duration of one season of your sport, specifically 4-weeks of data collection prior to season commencement (baseline), 4-weeks of data collection during peak competition season, and 4-weeks of data collection during off-season. The total time spent in the lab will be approximately 10-14 hours. Procedures will occur three times and measurements will be taken twice following baseline measures (once during the peak competition season, once during off-season), if you agree to do so.

$50

Description: This research study is to assess energetic status, reproductive health, and bone health in a population of young exercising men. Secondarily, this study will also explore how diet, fitness, cardiovascular function, eating behaviors, stress, cognitive function, and sleep related to energy and reproductive outcomes in exercising men. Eligible young men (age 18-35) are those who are generally healthy and either a) exercising or b) not exercising.

There will be essentially 5 study visits - The first visit will include informed consent to take part in the study & completion of questionnaires and measurement of anthropometrics. Visit 2 will include tests of your metabolism, a blood draw, a saliva collection, and assessment of diet and physical activity. Visit 3 will be a short visit for a saliva collection. Visit 4 will include tests of stress (a hair sample), body composition, bone health, aerobic and anaerobic fitness, cognitive testing, and reproductive function. Visit 5 will consist of a results meeting and return of wearable devices and logs.

Menthol, capsaicin, and camphor are active ingredients often found in over-the-counter pain relief creams and gels. These ingredients typically work by interacting with certain receptors in the skin that are sensitive to temperature changes. There is limited information on how combining menthol with other substances that target similar receptors affects the body. These naturally occurring substances found in plants can widen small blood vessels in the skin through specific processes controlled by nerves in the skin. This study aims to understand how menthol, camphor, and capsaicin individually and together affect sensory function and blood flow in the skin. Additionally, as people age, their skin's nerve and blood vessel function tends to decrease. The study also seeks to explore how aging impacts the effects of these substances on sensory perception and how nerves and blood vessels work together in the skin.

There will be a screening visit and then 6 experiment visits where different topical analgesics will be applied to the forearm skin. We will measure skin blood flow.

240

Endometriosis, is a disorder that occurs in women, is when tissue that should be normally found inside the womb is also found in sites outside of the womb. Endometriosis is a disorder that is associated with systemic inflammation. This disorder impairs the function of the endothelium, the cells that line the body’s blood vessels (endothelium). The endothelium helps to control blood flow in healthy vessels. Women with endometriosis not only have an increased risk for high blood pressure and high cholesterol, they also have an increased risk for cardiovascular disease. With this study, we will learn how systemic inflammation in endometriosis impairs the lining of blood vessels and increases the risk for cardiovascular disease. We will use a short term intervention with a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory to examine how inflammation impact endothelial function in women with endometriosis

There will be 4 in person visits, at all visits blood will be drawn. Two of the visits will be experimental visits where we will measure skin blood flow and blood flow in the brachial artery. Participants will be required to take a placebo or the drug salsalate for 4 days prior to each experimental visit.

$450

This study is being conducted to understand what strategies are most successful: 1) in building and retaining a cohort of families from rural communities in Central Pennsylvania with recruitment beginning in pregnancy, infant/toddler age, and preschool age using a cohort sequential design; 2) for collecting clinical and semi-invasive, remote-based biobehavioral measurements to better characterize synergistic factors associated with obesity and substance use in this high risk population; and 3) for identifying points for future intervention, treatment, prevention, and policy efforts to reduce health disparities in maternal-child morbidity and promote positive family processes.

Cohort 1 (Pregnancy Cohort) will follow the assessment schedule as described below: Visit 1 will occur around 16-weeks gestation. You will complete online surveys. The surveys should take 1 hour or less.. Visit 2 will occur around 32-weeks gestation. You will complete online surveys, and a semi-structured health behaviors interview via Zoom. You may also be asked to collect hair and/or nail samples. The visit should take 2 hours or less. Visit 3 will occur around 6 months post-delivery. You will complete online surveys. The surveys should take 1 hour or less. Visit 4 will occur around 12 months post-delivery. You will complete online surveys and a parent-child interaction observation (one session). This visit should take 1 hour or less. Cohort 2 (12 month old child Cohort) will follow the assessment schedule as described below: Visit 1 will occur around 12 months post-delivery. You will complete online surveys, and a parent-child interaction observation (one session). You may also be asked to provide hair and/or nail samples. This visit should take 2 hours or less. Visit 2 will occur around 24 months post-delivery. You will complete online surveys. This visit should take 1 hour or less. Cohort 3 (24 month old child Cohort) will follow the assessment schedule as described below: Visit 1 will occur around 24 months post-delivery. You will complete online surveys. You may also be asked to provide hair and/or nail samples. This visit should take 1 hour or less. Visit 2 will occur around 36 months post-delivery. You will complete online surveys. This visit should take 1 hour or less. All electronic health record data will be extracted at the end of study participation.

$100-200

The aim of this study is to understand how brain stimulation affects learning of a novel task on a virtual reality system. Participation involves playing virtual reality games during non-invasive brain stimulation.

Single in person visit involving the application of a non-invasive brain stimulation technique during a reaching task in a 2D virtual reality environment.

25

This study design is a survey that collects information about students' active level and supplement use, with an emphasis on creatine. The difference between contact and non-contact athletes will be examined, in addition to people who are considered inactive/low activity. This will help provide information of how physical activity related supplementation use affects cognition in different populations, with varying amounts of neurotrauma.

All participants will complete a digital survey that provides information about their dietary supplementation and physical activity habits. As part of the survey, participants will be allowed to indicate their interest and availability to come to a laboratory setting to complete a brief batter of neurocognitive tests.

This study looks at how people use their eyes and body to interact with moving objects while standing up. Participants will stand at a robotic device and try to stop virtual objects moving at different speeds on a screen, similar to catching or blocking a ball. The research will help us understand how the brain coordinates sensory information to maintain balance.

Participants will be required to stand and interact with virtual objects by grasping a robotic manipulandum. A session will last approximately 120 minutes.

$30 per session

We are trying to better understand the ways in which people contract their muscles. Specifically, we want to learn more about how connections between our muscles influence how they produce forces. Participants in this study will have their calf muscle group activated while we record the individual muscles' electrical activity and the length of the muscle fibers. This research will help us to understand the underlying mechanical function of muscles in a more realistic context. This understanding may also have profound implications for current computer models of muscles, which most often ignore the connectivity between muscles.

There will be one in-person visit. At this visit, participants will have their calf muscle group activated while we record the individual muscles' electrical activity and the length of the muscle fibers.

$50

The purpose of this study is to determine if, compared to non-depressed adults, differences exist in skin blood flow and sweating responses to passive heat stress in adults with clinically diagnosed depression, those with depression who are prescribed and taking SSRIs (Selective Serotonin reuptake inhibitors) and those with depression who are prescribed and taking SNRIs (Serotonin-Norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors).

For this study, you will be asked to come into the lab for a screening visit, a maximal exercise test visit, and one experimental visits. *Before the experimental visit, you will be asked to swallow a temperature-sensing capsule to measure your internal body temperature 1-2 hours prior to arriving at the lab. During the passive heat stress experiment, you will wear a suit lined with tubing through which hot water will run, causing your body to warm up. We measure your sweat and skin blood flow responses.

50

This study will examine the impact of age, sex, and racial/ethnic background on vascular function.

There will be three (3) in-person visits: one screening, one experimental visit, and one visit to return equipment. Equipment includes a 24-hour Ambulatory Blood Pressure monitor and an 8-day accelerometer (physical activity tracker). Blood will be drawn at the screening and experimental visit. Participants will undergo tests for cardiovascular measures during the experimental visit.

$100

This research is being done to find out the effects of head cooling on cognition, brain activity as seen in EEG scans, inflammation of the brain, and mood in healthy subjects. What is specifically meant by healthy subjects in the context of this study is subjects who are not currently recovering from a traumatic brain injury.

This study includes an 8-day regimen of head cooling or rest at an average of 30 minutes per day, non-invasive cheek swabs used to collect saliva samples, and non-invasive brain activity testing and questionnaires.

$40

To examine women’s self-reported pregnancy hydration behaviors, especially during a global pandemic. This study will also examine other lifestyle behaviors (e.g., weight gain, exercise, eating behaviors, sleep, pain management). It is hypothesized that hydration behaviors will decrease due to lifestyle changes related to the pandemic. Secondary outcomes will also be influenced by hydration behaviors and pandemic lifestyle changes.

Several easy methods will be used to study how blood vessels change in middle-aged people. These methods include heating a small spot on the arm, using a small TENS unit, using an ultrasound with a blood pressure cuff on the arm, and taking a blood sample.

There will be 2 in-person visits, one will be ~1 hour, the other will be ~2. We will take a blood sample at each visit. The second visit will require you to be seated and resting the entire time.

75

The purpose of this research study is 1.) to determine if Parkinson’s Disease (PD) causes changes in the way that people sense the movements of and forces produced by their bodies, and to connect any of these changes in sensation to changes in the brain, and 2.) to identify how changes in movement might come from different parts of the nervous system. This study will use a combination of electromyography, via electrodes placed on the skin, and finger force recordings to infer how PD affects patients' sense of force production, and the neural mechanisms underlying this change.

Participants will complete a phone screen, then attend one in-person visit at Penn State Health. During the visit, they will perform finger-pressing tasks, have surface electrodes placed on their skin to record muscle activity, complete motor and memory assessments, and fill out questionnaires.

40

How does the brain decide to reach one way or the other? This study will examine how movement decisions are coordinated by neural mechanisms in the brain during manual interception and reaching actions.

Participants will be required to complete a simple virtual interception task with a handle. Participants will be screened and sign informed consent upon entry of the lab. They will then be fitted with EMG sensors and an eye-tracking reference sticker. They will be seated for this task. The task requires a participant to hold their hand steady at the epicenter of a circle, and reach as quickly and accurately as possible to one of 2 moving targets that will appear.

$20

This study explores how the brain, eyes, and muscles work together when people use their hands to track or catch moving objects. Participants will sit and use their right hand on a tablet to follow a moving virtual ball while wearing non-invasive sensors that record brain waves (EEG), muscle activity (EMG), and eye movements. The goal is to understand how the body prepares for and responds to motion using vision and movement control. The findings may help scientists improve therapies and technologies for people with movement difficulties, such as after a stroke or brain injury.

Participants will attend one in-person session lasting approximately 2 hours. During the session, they will wear an EEG cap, EMG sensors, and an eye tracker while completing a hand-tracking task using their right hand on a tablet.

20

This study will determine how well water, an electrolyte and carbohydrate based drink, and an electrolyte only drink hydrate the body. This study will measure how long the water from these drinks stay in your body. We will look at different hormones and electrolytes in the blood and urine to determine which drink keeps fluid in your body the longest.

There will be 4 in person visits. The first is a screening visit which will take about an hour. During the next three visits we will have you drink 1 L of a beverage and we will measure your blood and urine for a few hours after you drink it to determine how well it hydrates you. There will be a blood draw at each of the 4 visits.

150