The Relationship between NASCAR and Sponsorship

poster abstractThe purpose of this study was to explore how the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) teams rely on the monetary support of sponsors, how sponsoring businesses’ receive a return on their investment with NASCAR, and how fan loyalty affects NASCAR’s business. NASCAR teams greatly rely on the monetary support of sponsors. Without sponsors within the sport, no products of NASCAR would exist. The cost of running a successful race team, almost $400,000 per event, is the cause of the need for sponsors in this sport business. Major costs cover, but are not limited to, drivers, engines, crewmembers, and tires. The current study explored how it is imbalanced to compare the necessity of monetary support between two major sports. Sponsoring businesses’ receive a return on their investment with their NASCAR partnership. When a business decides that they want to sponsor a team, there are different sponsorship packages from which to pick. Each package has different logo placement options and pricing. Fan loyalty effects NASCAR’s business. Although the sponsorships help the sport, they also help the business in which the monetary support is coming from. NASCAR promises a large return on investment for their sponsorship partners. Most return on investment is coming from television viewership. Related research that has been studied indicates that NASCAR fans are some of the most loyal fans in the sports industry. Fans frequently show their loyalty through purchasing and recommending sponsored brands. The study also found that NASCAR fans are able to identify a brands partnership with NASCAR more frequently than with another major sport, including the NFL. Relationships between sponsorships and NASCAR is what makes the sport what it is today

Breast Cancer Rehabilitation: Clinical Examination and Outcomes Assessment

Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in women in the United States. The treatment for breast cancer occurs along a protracted time period and includes many different disease treatment modalities. These treatments carry with them a large number of adverse effects that negatively impact function in both the short term and long term. It is necessary for rehabilitation providers to interface with patients being treated for breast cancer throughout the continuum of care so that interval assessments can be conducted to identify emerging impairments and alleviate disability. To achieve this, the rehabilitation provider must have an understanding of the clinical measurement tools best suited for examination and assessment of breast cancer-related impairments and disability. This article aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the evidence supporting the use of various clinical measurement tools for the breast cancer population and highlights the implementation of rehabilitation examination and assessment along the continuum of disease treatment

Toward a Research Agenda for Oncology Physical Therapy

Research Round-up: Cancer survivors frequently experience cancer treatment–related functional impairments and disability. While a growing body of evidence supports the effectiveness of rehabilitation interventions for these individuals, there are significant gaps in the existing literature and no interdisciplinary agreement on the priorities for cancer rehabilitation research. In 2016, the Oncology Section revised its strategic plan and set an objective to create an oncology rehabilitation research agenda for the physical therapy (PT) profession. To achieve this goal, the scope of the agenda, a development and review process, and dissemination plan need to be developed

Cancer Rehabilitation Publications (2008–2018) With a Focus on Physical Function: A Scoping Review

Background: Cancer rehabilitation research has accelerated over the last decade. However, closer examination of the published literature reveals that the majority of this work has focused on psychological interventions and cognitive and behavioral therapies. Recent initiatives have aggregated expert consensus around research priorities, highlighting a dearth in research regarding measurement of and interventions for physical function. Increasingly loud calls for the need to address the myriad of physical functional impairments that develop in people living with and beyond cancer have been published in the literature. A detailed survey of the landscape of published research has not been reported to our knowledge. Purpose: This scoping review systematically identified literature published between 2008 and 2018 related to the screening, assessment, and interventions associated with physical function in people living with and beyond cancer. Data Sources: PubMed and CINAHL were searched up to September 2018. Study Selection: Study selection included articles of all levels of evidence on any disease stage and population. A total of 11,483 articles were screened for eligibility, 2507 full-text articles were reviewed, and 1055 articles were selected for final inclusion and extraction. Data Extraction: Seven reviewers recorded type of cancer, disease stage, age of participants, phase of treatment, time since diagnosis, application to physical function, study design, impairments related to physical function, and measurement instruments used. Data Synthesis: Approximately one-third of the articles included patients with various cancer diagnoses (30.3%), whereas the rest focused on a single cancer, most commonly breast (24.8%). Most articles (77%) measured physical function following the completion of active cancer treatment with 64% representing the assessment domain. The most commonly used measures of physical function were the Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Health Survey Questionnaire (29%) and the European Organization for Research and Treatment of cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire-Cancer 30 (21.5%). Limitations: Studies not written in English, study protocols, conference abstracts, and unpublished data were excluded. Conclusions: This review elucidated significant inconsistencies in the literature regarding language used to define physical function, measurement tools used to characterize function, and the use of those tools across the cancer treatment and survivorship trajectory. The findings suggested that physical function in cancer research is predominantly measured using general health-related quality-of-life tools rather than more precise functional assessment tools. Interdisciplinary and clinician-researcher collaborative efforts should be directed toward a unified definition and assessment of physical function

A Comparison of the Upper Limb Lift Test between Women with Breast Cancer and Healthy Control Subjects

Presentation at the World Confederation for Physical Therapy Congress, held May 1-4, 2015, in Singapore. Background: Objective measures of upper limb (UL) function specific to breast cancer survivors (BC) are limited. Motion, strength, and muscular endurance are measurable components of UL function. A clinical test that quantifies these components is needed. Purpose: This study compares the Upper Limb Lift Test (ULLT) between women with BC and healthy control subjects (HC) at baseline, 1-3 months, and 12+ months post-operatively enrolled in a prospective surveillance trial with early intervention. A secondary purpose was to validate the ULLT by comparing findings to self-reported UL function, symptom distress, and shoulder motion in a group of women with BC and healthy control subjects

A Comparison of the Scapular Flip Test between Women with Breast Cancer and Healthy Controls

Presentation at the World Confederation for Physical Therapy Congress, held May 1-4, 2015, in Singapore. Background: The Scapular Flip test was designed to screen for spinal accessory nerve palsy. The spinal accessory nerve can be damaged in breast cancer surgery and treatment, resulting in scapular dyskinesis and upper limb (UL) impairment in women with breast cancer (BC). This test could be useful to screen for UL impairment in BC. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to describe shoulder impairments as defined by a positive Flip Test in a group of women with BC at baseline, 1-3 months, and 12+ months post-operatively, as compared to healthy control participants

User Needs Assessment of Information Seeking Activities of MIT Students - Spring 2006

The SFX/Verde Group was authorized to complete a user needs assessment in the form of a Photo Diary Study with MIT students in the spring of 2006. The goal of the study was to inform the MIT Libraries of online tool improvements that should be implemented to meet our most pressing user needs. Sixteen graduate students and sixteen undergraduate students participated in offering a fascinating glimpse into the information-seeking aspects of their academic lives. The team categorized user behaviors into goals and tasks and then analyzed the 277 goals and tasks and the 507 methods shared with us by the students in the study. The study yielded the following priorities for the Libraries' online tools: Make discovery easier and more effective. Incorporate trusted networks in finding tools. Continue to put links to the Libraries' services and resources where the users are. The study also showed that the students used a variety of highly successful strategies for performing quick lookups of information and finding specific known items. Finally, while the assessment focused on aspects of the students' work related to online tools, it also yielded rich information that could be useful in improving other aspects of the Libraries' services

Scapular Performance in Women with Breast Cancer Compared to Healthy Controls

The Scapular Flip Test is designed to recognize abnormal scapular position defined by winging/tipping of the scapula on resisted external rotation. Originally created to detect scapular dysfunction with spinal accessory nerve damage, the Scapular Flip Test may be a simple screening tool for any scapular dysfunction that results from breast cancer surgery and treatment to the shoulder and axillary region.https://ecommons.udayton.edu/dpt_symposium/1020/thumbnail.jp

CRISPR Knockout of the HuR Gene Causes a Xenograft Lethal Phenotype.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDA) is the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States, whereas colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer. The RNA-binding protein HuR (ELAVL1) supports a pro-oncogenic network in gastrointestinal (GI) cancer cells through enhanced HuR expression. Using a publically available database, HuR expression levels were determined to be increased in primary PDA and colorectal cancer tumor cohorts as compared with normal pancreas and colon tissues, respectively. CRISPR/Cas9 technology was successfully used to delete the HuR gene in both PDA (MIA PaCa-2 and Hs 766T) and colorectal cancer (HCT116) cell lines. HuR deficiency has a mild phenotype

Surveillance for West Nile Virus in Clinic-admitted Raptors, Colorado

In 2005, 13.5% of clinic-admitted raptors in northern Colorado tested positive for West Nile virus (WNV). Clinic-admitted–raptor surveillance detected WNV activity nearly 14 weeks earlier than other surveillance systems. WNV surveillance using live raptor admissions to rehabilitation clinics may offer a novel surveillance method and should be considered along with other techniques already in use