Did countries with stricter COVID-19 lockdowns stop the spread after all?
As the COVID-19 pandemic raged around the world, world leaders pursued different strategies for containing the virus, often with differing results.
The INFORMS Analytics+ Conference showcased how companies are turning advanced analytics and AI into measurable operational results
In most emergency departments, beds are a hot commodity. But some patients don’t actually need a bed for their treatment – and accurately identifying those people is a low-lift but effective way to increase efficiency without sacrificing care quality, finds a study recently published in the journal Management Science.
The researchers developed a simple decision tree, informed by mathematical and machine learning models, to help staff decide whether a patient truly needs a bed or can be routed to a “vertical processing pathway” – that is, an area where they can be treated sitting up. Many hospitals already have such an area but don’t necessarily have a systematic way to decide which patients are treated there.
American teenagers start their school day too early.
Medical experts have been clear for years: sleep cycle changes during puberty make it hard for teenagers to learn in the early morning. Later school start times have been linked to better sleep, improved mental health, stronger academic performance and even safer driving.
Most school district leaders know about this problem and care about fixing it. But changing the schedule can feel operationally impossible.
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As the COVID-19 pandemic raged around the world, world leaders pursued different strategies for containing the virus, often with differing results.
The expected prolonged supply chain disruptions in Ukraine, Russia and Belarus will likely add more pressure in the coming months – and maybe years – to Canada’s internal transport infrastructure.
As the COVID-19 pandemic rolls into its third year, many of us have more questions than ever about how or when the pandemic will end. One of the subjects we’ve seen discussed a lot is whether COVID is becoming “endemic” – but, to be honest, we didn’t even know what that word meant.
The soaring energy prices caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have plunged the energy sector into a state of crisis. Europe, which ordinarily sources almost 40% of its gas from Russia, is particularly vulnerable. The price of natural gas in Europe has seen a tenfold increase since the start of 2021.
In the last four weeks, more than 3.5 million Ukrainians have fled their country to escape Russian forces, facing an uncertain future and placing new economic demands on host countries such as Poland. Besides this recent crisis, more than 80 million people have been forcibly displaced worldwide, notably in Syria, Venezuela, Afghanistan, South Sudan, and Myanmar.

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