Executive MBA Capstone Projects at RIT Saunders College of Business: An Enriching Experience for All

Education of managers in academic programs such as Executive MBA programs presents a unique challenge to college administrators and faculty. Executive students are more demanding and critical and value experiential education more than students in undergraduate or MBA programs. Also compared to regular MBA students, executive students want to understand management in a more holistic way. They want to see the linkages between subject matter taught by different academic disciplines and understand how experienced managers can sort through the details, see the big picture, and make effective decisions. Over the years Executive MBA programs have used a variety of innovative pedagogy to introduce students to “real world” business problems. Methods used include case studies, simulations, field visits, guest lectures by business executives, and international trips. None of these approaches adequately provided the experiential learning desired by executive students. The Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) Saunders College of Business (SCB) Executive MBA program requires that all EMBA students complete a team-based capstone project that engages external clients. EMBA capstone teams analyze the problem defined by the client and recommend required action

Buying in: Analyzing the First Fan Adopters of a New National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Program

Establishing a strong fan base within the inaugural year of a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Program presents many challenges. Tracking consumers and their behavior becomes imperative as sport marketers seek to better understand the first fan adopters of a new program. With new NCAA football programs being established every year, sport marketers of a new program are challenged to not only find a loyal fan-base who will continue to support the program despite win or lose, but find new and innovative ways to grow their fan base. The purpose of this study was to examine attendance demographics and consumer behavior for the inaugural football season at a NCAA Division 1 program. Data were collected (n = 914) from a relatively equal distribution of fan groups (students- 34.8%, alumni- 32.9%, and other- 32.3%) via an in-person survey completed on a tablet interface. Results demonstrate that the level of fandom (temporary, devoted, or fanatic) impacts certain consumer behaviors, including; overall support of the program, media consumption, and game day behaviors

Is Unaided Active Learning an Effective Teaching Method for Those with Learning Disabilities?

The work presented here aims to address a critical knowledge gap in the engineering education literature through a preliminary study meant to determine if active learning is more effective when students with learning disabilities are first front-loaded with information. These preliminary findings aimed at not only determining if the work should be continued in the future, but also at evaluating if frontloading resulted in: (1) increased student engagement and (2) increased learning effectiveness. Preliminary findings conclude that students with documented, and undocumented, learning disabilities did have an increased understanding of the course content as a result of combining frontloading and active learning

Independent evaluation of a simple clinical prediction rule to identify right ventricular dysfunction in patients with shortness of breath

BACKGROUND: Many patients have unexplained persistent dyspnea after negative computed tomographic pulmonary angiography (CTPA). We hypothesized that many of these patients have isolated right ventricular (RV) dysfunction from treatable causes. We previously derived a clinical decision rule (CDR) for predicting RV dysfunction consisting of persistent dyspnea and normal CTPA, finding that 53% of CDR-positive patients had isolated RV dysfunction. Our goal is to validate this previously derived CDR by measuring the prevalence of RV dysfunction and outcomes in dyspneic emergency department patients. METHODS: A secondary analysis of a prospective observational multicenter study that enrolled patients presenting with suspected PE was performed. We included patients with persistent dyspnea, a nonsignificant CTPA, and formal echo performed. Right ventricular dysfunction was defined as RV hypokinesis and/or dilation with or without moderate to severe tricuspid regurgitation. RESULTS: A total of 7940 patients were enrolled. Two thousand six hundred sixteen patients were analyzed after excluding patients without persistent dyspnea and those with a significant finding on CTPA. One hundred ninety eight patients had echocardiography performed as standard care. Of those, 19% (95% confidence interval [CI], 14%-25%) and 33% (95% CI, 25%-42%) exhibited RV dysfunction and isolated RV dysfunction, respectively. Patients with isolated RV dysfunction or overload were more likely than those without RV dysfunction to have a return visit to the emergency department within 45 days for the same complaint (39% vs 18%; 95% CI of the difference, 4%-38%). CONCLUSION: This simple clinical prediction rule predicted a 33% prevalence of isolated RV dysfunction or overload. Patients with isolated RV dysfunction had higher recidivism rates and a trend toward worse outcomes

Risk stratification for arrhythmic death in an emergency department cohort: a new method of nonlinear PD2i analysis of the ECG

Heart rate variability (HRV) reflects both cardiac autonomic function and risk of sudden arrhythmic death (AD). Indices of HRV based on linear stochastic models are independent risk factors for AD in postmyocardial infarction (MI) cohorts. Indices based on nonlinear deterministic models have a higher sensitivity and specificity for predicting AD in retrospective data. A new nonlinear deterministic model, the automated Point Correlation Dimension (PD2i), was prospectively evaluated for prediction of AD. Patients were enrolled (N = 918) in 6 emergency departments (EDs) upon presentation with chest pain and being determined to be at risk of acute MI (AMI) >7%. Brief digital ECGs (>1000 heartbeats, ∼15 min) were recorded and automated PD2i results obtained. Out-of-hospital AD was determined by modified Hinkle-Thaler criteria. All-cause mortality at 1 year was 6.2%, with 3.5% being ADs. Of the AD fatalities, 34% were without previous history of MI or diagnosis of AMI. The PD2i prediction of AD had sensitivity = 96%, specificity = 85%, negative predictive value = 99%, and relative risk >24.2 (p ≤ 0.001). HRV analysis by the time-dependent nonlinear PD2i algorithm can accurately predict risk of AD in an ED cohort and may have both life-saving and resource-saving implications for individual risk assessment

Functional Change from Five to Fifteen Years after Traumatic Brain Injury

Few studies have assessed the long-term functional outcomes of traumatic brain injury (TBI) in large, well-characterized samples. Using the Traumatic Brain Injury Model Systems cohort, this study assessed the maintenance of independence between years 5 and 15 post-injury and risk factors for decline. The study sample included 1381 persons with TBI who received inpatient rehabilitation, survived to 15 years post-injury, and were available for data collection at 5 or 10 years and 15 years post-injury. The Functional Independence Measure (FIM) and Disability Rating Scale (DRS) were used to measure functional outcomes. The majority of participants had no changes during the 10-year time frame. For FIM, only 4.4% showed decline in Self-Care, 4.9% declined in Mobility, and 5.9% declined in Cognition. Overall, 10.4% showed decline in one or more FIM subscales. Decline was detected by DRS Level of Function (24% with >1-point change) and Employability (6% with >1-point change). Predictors of decline factors across all measures were age >25 years and, across most measures, having less than or equal to a high school education. Additional predictors of FIM decline included male sex (FIM Mobility and Self-Care) and longer rehabilitation length of stay (FIM Mobility and Cognition). In contrast to studies reporting change in the first 5 years post-TBI inpatient rehabilitation, a majority of those who survive to 15 years do not experience functional decline. Aging and cognitive reserve appear to be more important drivers of loss of function than original severity of the injury. Interventions to identify those at risk for decline may be needed to maintain or enhance functional status as persons age with a TBI

Public History and the study of Law: reviewing The Limehouse Golem (2017). Directed by Juan Carlos Medina [film]. 109 min. UK. Production: Lipsync Post, Number 9 Films.

This is an interdisciplinary discussion, looking at the use of popular history for the critical understanding of the reconstruction of crime and patriarchal hierarchy. By way of reviewing the recent movie The Limehouse Golem, it illustrates the significance of theoretically engaging with a period crime fiction movie. It is argued that this assessment is less relevant in terms of producing historical understanding; rather, what may be a fiction, reveals instead our own contemporary cultural fixations

MicroRNA circulating in the early aftermath of motor vehicle collision predict persistent pain development and suggest a role for microRNA in sex-specific pain differences

Abstract Background Molecular mediators influencing the transition from acute to persistent musculoskeletal pain following common stress exposures such as motor vehicle collision (MVC) remain poorly understood. In this exploratory, proof of concept study, we compared circulating microRNA (miRNA) expression profiles in the early aftermath of MVC among individuals who did and did not subsequently develop persistent pain. Blood RNA samples were obtained from African American individuals (n = 53) who presented to the emergency department after MVC and were discharged to home after evaluation. The presence or absence of severe pain in the axial region, the most common and morbid region in which post-MVC pain occurs, was assessed 6 weeks following MVC via standardized questionnaire. miRNA expression was determined using miRNA-sequencing; nonparametric analyses were used to compare miRNA expression levels among individuals with and without persistent pain. Results Thirty-two mature miRNA were differentially expressed (p < 0.05) in those with and without severe axial pain at 6 weeks. miR-135a-5p, a regulator of the serotonin receptor that is known to be stress-responsive, differed most significantly between groups (p = 3 × 10−4). This miRNA, and miR-3613-3p (p = 0.001) survived correction for multiple testing (FDR = 0.15) in this small sample. Interestingly, differentially expressed miRNA were enriched for X chromosome location. In secondary analyses, the eight X chromosome miRNA were (a) more significantly associated with axial pain in women than men, (b) expressed more highly in the peripheral blood of women than men, and (c) predicted in pathway analyses (DIANA miRPath v 2.0) to regulate neuronal and neuroendocrine pathways previously implicated in various pain pathologies. Conclusions These results show that circulating miRNA predict persistent severe axial pain after MVC and suggest that they may be involved in the pathogenesis of post-traumatic musculoskeletal pain. However, further studies are needed to determine if these miRNA play a direct causal role

Targeting transcription regulation in cancer with a covalent CDK7 inhibitor

Tumour oncogenes include transcription factors that co-opt the general transcriptional machinery to sustain the oncogenic state, but direct pharmacological inhibition of transcription factors has so far proven difficult. However, the transcriptional machinery contains various enzymatic cofactors that can be targeted for the development of new therapeutic candidates, including cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs). Here we present the discovery and characterization of a covalent CDK7 inhibitor, THZ1, which has the unprecedented ability to target a remote cysteine residue located outside of the canonical kinase domain, providing an unanticipated means of achieving selectivity for CDK7. Cancer cell-line profiling indicates that a subset of cancer cell lines, including human T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (T-ALL), have exceptional sensitivity to THZ1. Genome-wide analysis in Jurkat T-ALL cells shows that THZ1 disproportionally affects transcription of RUNX1 and suggests that sensitivity to THZ1 may be due to vulnerability conferred by the RUNX1 super-enhancer and the key role of RUNX1 in the core transcriptional regulatory circuitry of these tumour cells. Pharmacological modulation of CDK7 kinase activity may thus provide an approach to identify and treat tumour types that are dependent on transcription for maintenance of the oncogenic state.National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant HG002668)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant CA109901