Award Data

Abstract E cigarettes (E-cigs) are increasingly popular worldwide, in particular, among youths. E-cigs may contribute to nicotine addiction and are unlikely to discourage conventional cigarette smoking. Mainstream and second-hand E-cig aerosols contain, in addition to nicotine, detectable levels of toxins including carcinogens and heavy metals such as formaldehyde, benzene, nitrosamines, cadmium a ...

Project SummaryUltrasonic vocalizations (USVs) are known to reflect emotional processing, brain neurochemistry and brain function - key observations in animal model studies. Collecting and processing USV data is time-intensive, manual, and costly. Most importantly, it limits researchers’ ability to employ fully effective, and nuanced experimental designs, and is a barrier to entry for other rese ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Augmentative and alternative communication devices with voice output (also known as Speech Generating Devices, or SGDs) enable individuals to speak by electronic means. Typical users of SGDs are individuals who have suffered from a stroke, traumatic brain injury, or who have neurodegenerative or neurodevelopmental disorders. In most cases, the user was able to ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Informed consent has become an essential component of the doctor-patient interaction. The informed consent process requires that patients not only be given information about proposed medical treatment, but that it be presented in an understandable way so the patient can make meaningful choices about medical alternatives. At the heart of the informed consent doc ...

Evolution of an Adaptable Prosthetic Foot Design for Normalization ofBiomechanics During Community Participation Summary/AbstractThe vision of this project is to improve the functional physical mobility of people with lower extremity amputations especially on uneven ground, side-slopes or when foot placement varies from side-to-side. People with amputations will be enabled to confidently participa ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The most common artificial voice source for post-laryngectomy speech rehabilitation is the hand-held buzzer or electrolarynx (EL). This device is relatively easy to use and enables most laryngectomees to verbally communicate, but with reduced intelligibility and markedly degraded naturalness. In addition, EL speech is often described as robotic and monotone, at ...

This Phase II project aims to assemble the key set of sensor modalities that are needed to reliably view the key process anomalies and properties of laser powder bed fusion. The research team will down-select from the Phase I sensors investigated and integrate the sensors into a sensor fusion software package that facilitates data collection and synchronization, and eventually feedback control of ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The proposed project builds upon Phase I proof of concept efforts wherein the basic foundational components of an Internet-based Treatment Fidelity Monitoring System, the ITFMS, were created to assist MTFC consultants and implementing agencies to improve clinical outcomes by moving more efficiently towards and maintaining fidelity of program implementation. I ...

PROJECT SUMMARY The β-hemoglobinopathies are prevalent genetic blood diseases with few treatment options. It is estimate that 7% of the worldandapos;s population carries an abnormal hemoglobin gene with 400,000 infants born annually with a severe life threatening hemoglobinopathy. Drug mediated induction of normal, but developmentally silenced, fetal hemoglobin (HbF) expression reduces anemia and ...

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The carbohydrate antigen sialyl-Lewis a (sLea) is widely expressed on epithelial tumors of the gastrointestinal tract, on breast cancer cells, and also on small cell lung cancer cells but is expressed minimally or not at all on normal tissues. sLea serves as a ligand for epithelial leukocyte adhesion molecules and higher expression of sLea was observed in patie ...