This project examines how to improve speech understanding with cochlear implants (CIs), particularly for older CI recipients. While older individuals benefit from CI technology, performance is poorer than that of younger implanted adults for difficult listening tasks. The mechanisms that contribute to this variability are not well-understood. The current project examines how differences in brain structure and function may contribute to success with a cochlear implant. To compare, we will also be examining how older patients without cochlear implants understand speech in difficult listening situations.

Smoking is one of the main public health problems. Smoking cessation is difficult because of nicotine dependence. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) over the frontal head has shown to be effective in the reduction of cigarette consumption and craving. In this study, we will evaluate the efficiency of a new form of rTMS called intermittent theta-burst stimulation (iTBS) for smoking cessation.

This multi-center, prospective, randomized, clinical trial for chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients referred for creation of a new arteriovenous fistula (AVF) in order to assess the safety and effectiveness of the SelfWrap, a bioabsorbable perivascular wrap, for supporting surgically-created AVFs and using them for dialysis.

This study will involve approximately 200 participants. Half of the subjects in this trial will receive AVFs supported by the SelfWrap, while the other half will receive a traditional AVF alone. Participants will be followed for a duration of 36 months.

This study for subjects that have been diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) and have recently completed preoperative chemotherapy in combination with pembrolizumab, followed by breast surgery. The subjects are expected to be in this study for up to 60 months.

This research is being done to assess whether it is safe and effective to stop oral anticoagulation medications (a blood-thinning medication) during prolonged periods of normal heart rhythm in participants with infrequent episodes of atrial fibrillation (AF).

You may qualify for this study if you have a history of atrial fibrillation (AF) and are currently taking an oral anticoagulant (a blood-thinning medication). You will be randomized to one of two groups: Control Group or Study Intervention Group.

If you are randomized to the Control group, you will be asked to stay on your previously prescribed oral anticoagulant. If you are randomized to the Study Intervention group, you will be asked to take the oral anticoagulant for 30 days only if a prolonged episode of AF is detected on an AF-sensing Apple smartwatch you will be provided.

This research is being done to assess whether it is safe and effective to stop oral anticoagulation medications (a blood-thinning medication) during prolonged periods of normal heart rhythm in participants with infrequent episodes of atrial fibrillation (AF).

You may qualify for this study if you have a history of atrial fibrillation (AF) and are currently taking an oral anticoagulant (a blood-thinning medication). You will be randomized to one of two groups: Control Group or Study Intervention Group.

If you are randomized to the Control group, you will be asked to stay on your previously prescribed oral anticoagulant. If you are randomized to the Study Intervention group, you will be asked to take the oral anticoagulant for 30 days only if a prolonged episode of AF is detected on an AF-sensing Apple smartwatch you will be provided.

This study is seeking participants with arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy (ACM), also known as arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia/cardiomyopathy (ARVD/C), due to a genetic abnormality known as a PKP2 variant. ARVD/C is an inherited disease where the muscle tissue in the right ventricle, one of the lower pumping chambers of the heart, dies and is replaced with scar tissue. This causes a weakened heart muscle and disrupts the heart's electrical system which can lead to heart failure and/or fatal heart rhythms. This study is looking at the safety and effectiveness of an investigational medication, meaning it is not yet approved for use by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The study medication is a gene therapy called LX-2020, and is designed to add new PKP2 genes to replace the faulty ones so your cells can make the correct PKP2 genes. The study medication is given via an intravenous (IV) line meaning in a vein. Participation in this study involve up to 25 visits including a hospitalization over the course of 1 year with an additional 4 years of follow up afterwards. Study related procedures include a variety of heart testing like electrocardiogram (ECG), echocardiogram, a test that records a tracing of the heart's electrical activity, Echocardiogram, (echo) a test that uses ultrasound to capture moving images of the heart, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), a test that shows an image of the heart and surrounding structures, sample collection including blood, urine, tissue, nasal mucus, saliva and stool, liver ultrasound, questionnaires, physical exams, and at least a two night stay in the hospital. Medications to suppress (meaning weaken) the immune system, before receiving the LX2020 are also required. Risks associated with gene therapy include an immune response that may cause inflammation in the liver, heart or other organs. It may damage red blood cells, cause a low platelet count or cause the formation of small blood clots. There are also risk related to the study procedures including bleeding associated with the heart biopsy, risks related to drawing blood, risks of radiation, and loss of confidentiality. There is potential benefit and in the future, others with ACM may benefit from the knowledge gained from this study.

This study involves research, and participation is voluntary. The purpose of the study is to see if a single dose and multiple doses of the study drug, AV 380, are safe and tolerated in cancer participants. This study will also help to look at how AV 380 behaves inside the human body (called pharmacokinetics), how the body responds to AV 380 (called pharmacodynamics), and how the immune system responds to AV 380 (called immunogenicity) when administered along with the standard anticancer treatment that a participant would usually receive if they were not in this study. First, the participant will have some tests to decide if it is safe for to join the study. These tests include blood and urine sampling, electrocardiogram, vital sign measurement, physical examination, cachexia assessment,which checks changes in proteins that affect appetite and computed tomography (CT) scan. If the study doctor thinks a participant is eligible to join, they will be assigned to one of 5 cohorts (a group of people with shared characteristics) (corresponding to 5 dose levels of AV 380) in which then they will receive AV 380 together with the Standard of Care treatment chemotherapy. Participants will need to visit the study site approximately every 1 week for the first 8 weeks and then every 2 weeks. In addition to the above-mentioned tests, then they will be also asked to have exercise tests and complete questionnaires during the study. Participants will also have post study treatment follow up visits 3 times after completion or discontinuation of AV 380. The total duration of the study is up to 7 months (including follow-up visits). Some reasonably foreseeable risks or discomforts with this study include chills, headache, and elevations in an enzyme called creatine phosphokinase which is found mainly in the heart, brain, and skeletal muscle. There is no direct benefit with participating in this study, but the information we get from this study will us improve treatment for people in the future.

Patients with large abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) (>5.5cm) are recommended to have surgery, but there is no therapy for small AAA (3-5cm). The purpose of this study is to collect ultrasound images and blood from patients with normal abdominal aorta as well as from patients with small AAA. Study participants include patients scheduled for an aortc ultrasound aorta and may fall into one of these categories. By analyzing the aortic wall ultrasound images and the blood levels of particular proteins, we hope to identify a target for drug therapy to stop AAA growth. Voluntary participation in this study does not change the original intent of the ultrasound and does not change patient treatment. The pictures gathered here are in addition to the standard ultrasound and cause no additional risk. Participation would include the standard aorta ultrasound, specific extra pictures (less than 5 minutes to collect), and collection of a blood sample. If a participant's aorta is within normal limits, no additional ultrasound visits or study visits will be indicated. If the participant has a small AAA, standard of care would be to return once per year for repeat ultrasound. Ongoing participation in the study will be to have the extra ultrasound images captured and repeat blood sampling, for a total of 3 years.

The purpose of the study is to evaluate the safety and how well the medication levosimenden works versus placebo in treating Pulmonary Hypertension and Heart Failure with a Preserved Ejection Fraction measured by a 6 minute walk. This is a condition where the lower left chamber (left ventricle) of the heart is not able to fill properly with blood during the filling phase and the amount of blood pumped out to the body is below normal. The study will also look at information obtained from the tests performed as part of the study to see if subjects have improvement in symptoms of heart failure. Levosimendan is a drug that has been FDA-approved for intravenous (IV) delivery to your body. This study aims to determine if the tablet form of the drug is as effective as the IV route. Tablets are much more attainable for patients to manage their heart failure from home, rather than going to an infusion clinic for treatments. Participation in this study will last approximately 12 weeks with the option to continue to the stage 2 phase of the study. If the stage 2 phase is selected as well, participation will last approximately 26 months or a little over 2 years. These visits will include such activities as blood tests, questionnaires, physical evaluation by a study doctor, echocardiogram, and 6 minute hall walks.

Participants will be randomized to either the treatment group (and receive the medication) or the control group (receive an inactive medication). Subjects will have a 50:50 chance of receiving the study medication during their participation in the trial. The treatment assignment is determined by randomization, where a computer selects at random which treatment group you will be in (like drawing straws). Neither the subject, nor the blinded personnel will know which group subjects are in. Neither the subject nor the study doctor will decide what group subjects are assigned.