Clinical trials

The primary purpose of this interventional study is to examine the overall motor learning capacity from exposure to repeated perturbations among ambulatory people with multiple sclerosis (MS). This project will advance our understanding of learning new motor skills from exposure to external perturbations. If it is proven that people with MS can learn motor skills from perturbation training, the findings from this study will pave a theoretical foundation for applying perturbation training as a promising fall prevention intervention for people with MS.

Smoke Free SafeCare (SFSC) is a proposed braided intervention consisting of two evidence-based interventions: Some Things are Better Outside (STBO), aimed at promoting smoke free home rules, and SafeCare, aimed at reducing child maltreatment and improving mother and child outcomes. STBO is effective in creating smoke free homes and reducing second-hand smoke in low-SES (socioeconomic status) households. SafeCare is an effective parent training program that is broadly disseminated in child protective services in the United States. SafeCare is a promising mechanism to effectively increase the reach of STBO to reduce SHS (secondhand smoke) exposure in families with documented high rates of tobacco use and children with cumulative risk for negative health outcomes.

The goal is this pilot randomized trial is to learn if intervention 1 is feasible and acceptable. As a secondary goal, we aim to learn if intervention 1 reduces alcohol misuse and tobacco use in sexual assault survivors. The main questions it aims to answer are: * Is intervention 1 feasible to implement? * Is intervention 1 an acceptable intervention among the primary population, sexual assault survivors? * Does intervention 1 reduce alcohol misuse and tobacco use? Researchers will compare intervention 1 to an attention-placebo control group (e.g., online resources on healthy eating and nutrition). Participants will: * take online surveys at baseline, 1 month follow-up, and 3-month follow-up * answer text-message questions at baseline and post-test * view and engage in an educational program

The overall objective of this 14-month randomized crossover study is to seek evidence demonstrating that daily consumption of peanuts and peanut products improve cardiometabolic, cognitive, and intestinal health in a racially diverse prediabetes population.

The purpose of the study is to determine the effectiveness of wild blueberries on cardiovascular health, cognitive function, and gut microbiota composition in non-Hispanic Black and White adults with elevated blood pressure.

The goal of this clinical trial is to determine the effectiveness of using a freeze-dried wild blueberry powder on cardiometabolic health, cognitive function, and gut microbiota composition in adult women with prediabetes.

The goal of this experimental study is to examine the complex and multifaceted influence of peers on alcohol-involved sexual violence perpetration (ASVP) in U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) men. The specific aims are: Aim 1: Use ecological momentary assessment (EMA) to examine event-level effects of one's own alcohol use, peer alcohol use, and injunctive norms on ASVP intentions among dyads of Marine men who drink together (n=160 dyads; 320 total participants). Aim 2: Examine the individual and peer effects on ASVP behavior in an experimental paradigm with a gender x confederate (potential victim) intoxication status design. In-the-moment dyad-peer verbalized encouragement for ASVP ("go cues") will be assessed by qualitatively coding verbalizations during the interaction. Aim 3: Examine modifiable risk factors on ASVP intentions in vivo (Aim 1; EMA) and ASVP behavior in vitro (Aim 2; experiment) settings. Participants will complete: 1) an individual orientation session with informed consent, baseline assessment, and EMA demo; 2) 14 days of EMA completed individually; and 3) a dyadic session to complete an experimental paradigm via videoconferencing. All study procedures will be completed in off-duty time as to not interfere with military duties.

Whole-body vibration (WBV) and treadmill training (TT) are commonly-utilized rehabilitation interventions for children with neuromotor disorders. WBV has been shown in the literature to positively affect gait and lower body spasticity in this population. However, the effects of a single session of WBV are generally transient, lasting between ten minutes and two hours. Thus, it may be necessary to combine WBV with another intervention to reinforce improved movement patterns and maximize its potential benefits. Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate the effects of the addition of a single bout of WBV to a single bout of TT on the lower extremity spasticity and gait parameters of ambulatory children with CP.

The purpose of this study is to test if ublituximab changes walking functions and fall risk in people with relapsing multiple sclerosis (RMS). Twenty-five qualified people with RMS will undergo a 48-week ublituximab treatment. Before, 24 weeks into, and after the treatment, their ambulatory function, disability status, and cognition will be assessed. Additionally, they will experience large-scale slip perturbations on a treadmill under the protection of a safety harness at the last assessment. The outcome measures will be compared across the assessments to examine the effects of ublituximab on improving their walking function, disability status, cognition, and the responses to the unexpected slip perturbation.

This study will examine the overall capacity of people with Alzheimer's disease learning fall-resistant skills from perturbation training.

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn how a messaging campaign about reduced nicotine cigarettes and policy, combined with the use of very low nicotine cigarettes (VLNCs), affects smoking behavior and attitudes among adult smokers. The study also aims to assess the efficacy of the messages in different populations, including smokers with past-month serious psychological distress (SPD), low socioeconomic status (SES), and those in neither category. The primary hypothesis is: exposure to messages in combination with VLNC use will lead to less cigarettes use compared to VLNCs without messages. Researchers will compare: The effects of receiving VLNCs with messages (treatment group) to receiving VLNCs without messages (control group). Participants will: Complete a baseline survey and be randomly assigned to one of two groups: treatment (VLNCs + messages) or control (VLNCs only). Attend weekly study visits for surveys, breath samples, and receive supply of VLNCs , either with or without the messaging campaign. Complete brief daily surveys through text messages.

A plant-based diet will be utilized in the treatment of coronary artery disease.

Acute alcohol intoxication is a robust predictor of intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration for young adult men and women; therefore, interventions delivered proximally to drinking episodes - a period of high risk - are needed to reduce alcohol-facilitated IPV. This project seeks to improve public health by delivering a just-in-time text messaging intervention proximally to drinking episodes and evaluating the impact of the intervention on alcohol-facilitated IPV in a sample of at-risk young adult men and women. Additionally, through an innovative design this project is poised to answer these important questions: whether receiving a message, when, for whom, what type, and under what conditions this just-in-time messaging intervention leads to reductions in alcohol use and IPV perpetration.

About 60% of children with cerebral palsy (CP) have impaired arm function. Improving arm function requires hundreds of repetitions per day, which is impossible in a single clinical visit. Thus, therapeutic exercises should be sustained in the home environment; however, the compliance in performing home exercise is low due to poor motivation, boredom, and forgetfulness. A better home program is needed. The objective of this project is to examine the effect of our developed "THRIVE" system (Therapeutic Humanoid Robot In Virtual Environment: the combination of robot with virtual reality games), which can provide a motivating and tailored upper-extremity intervention program with instant feedback, to improve arm function in children with CP at their home. The investigators believe the newly developed "THRIVE" system can increase children's engagement and motivation in home exercises as the robot is their playmate to demonstrate and correct their movements. The investigators will also interview parents and children with CP to understand their impression of using technology at home to shape the intervention. The expected outcome is that children with CP receiving "THRIVE" will improve their arm function more and have better engagement than those who receive VR alone immediately after intervention and at follow-up. The long-term goal is to have the "THRIVE" system be the optimal home exercise platform as it can provide challenging but motivating exercises to improve children's arm function while assisting parents in supervising their children with CP to complete home exercises.

The purpose of this study is to understand how transcranial magnetic stimulation affects how quickly, easily, and accurately a person read. Transcranial magnetic stimulation is a technique that uses magnetic fields to briefly affect how well certain brain regions function. The investigators would like to better understand how long the effects of transcranial magnetic stimulation occur in the reading system and at what point the effect is strongest in this system. The main questions it aims to answer are: 1. At what point after stimulation are the greatest effects on behavior seen 2. How excitatory and inhibitory stimulation affect behavior Researchers will compare stimulation types against a sham condition to see effects on reading and language behavior. Participants will be asked to * undergo reading, language, and cognitive testing * receive an MRI * receive TMS stimulation * perform language, reading, and motor tasks

The goal of this experimental study is to examine the effect of alcohol, gender, and bystander attitudes on bystander barriers and sexual violence intervention among young adult men and women (age 21-20). The main questions it aims to answer are: * Does alcohol intoxication and gender influence bystander barriers and sexual violence intervention? * Does alcohol intoxication have a greater impact on bystander barriers and sexual violence intervention among men, compared to women? * Does alcohol intoxication have a greater impact on bystander barriers and sexual violence intervention among those with higher, compared to lower, prosocial bystander attitudes? Participants will be randomly assigned to one of two beverage conditions (alcohol or control beverage) and those assigned to alcohol will complete the study on either the ascending or descending alcohol limb. Participants will project themselves into a heat-of-the moment, risky sexual violence scenario that will assess bystander barriers and behavioral intentions. Researchers will compare those assigned to the alcohol and control beverage condition and men/women to see if this impacts bystander barriers and sexual violence intervention.