When the COVID-19 global pandemic began, many higher education systems had to restructure their educational delivery system and transition to online learning. This posed a challenge for students in health professions education programs as it impacted their ability to participate in hands-on learning regarding patient care. As a result, the University of Cincinnati College of Nursing developed and implemented simulation-based learning experiences to allow graduate-level social worker, counselor, and psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner students the opportunity to learn as an interdisciplinary team in a virtual format. The Opioid Use Disorder Simulation Case Study discussed in this article was developed as part of the Serving At-risk Youth Fellowship Experience Training program with the overarching aim to prepare culturally competent providers to deliver direct patient care and education around prevention and recovery services to individuals with substance use disorders.

There is limited evidence available identifying best practices to promote and sustain optimal outpatient-to-inpatient handoff processes to ensure safe and reliable continuity of care. A sentinel event occurred during the transition of care from the outpatient-to-inpatient setting. A root cause analysis revealed that the facility's standard operating procedure for patient handoffs was not consistently followed. A Lean Six Sigma approach was used to improve patient transfer with the implementation of a Situation-Background-Assessment-Recommendation handoff policy. Inferential and statistical process control methods were used to assess performance outcomes pre- and postdissemination. Over 36 months there was a slow, steady decrease in patient transfer time including reduced variability. The most significant improvement effect occurred in the third year with a 50% reduction in transfer time. Longitudinal monitoring provides the opportunity to accurately identify beneficial outcomes, which develop downstream from initial quality improvement efforts.

Rationale: The ischemic environment following myocardial infarction induces a harsh, pro-inflammatory state that facilitates the removal of necrotic tissue. Manipulation of T cell responses after cardiac injury directly impacts the outcome of the reparative response. Previous studies have demonstrated Cortical Bone Derived Stem Cells (CBSCs) improve cardiac function after myocardial infarction. CBSCs produce a diverse paracrine profile; whether this can lead to the modulation of T cell response by manipulating T cell subsets and allowing for increased cardiac wound healing post-MI remains unknown. Objective: To determine whether CBSCs secrete a paracrine profile that promotes wound healing by modulating T cell response following myocardial injury. Methods and Results: CD3+ T-lymphocytes were isolated from the spleen of C57BL/6J male mice ages 8 to 12 weeks via Fluorescent Activated Cell Sorting (FACs). CBSC secretome was introduced to T cell populations via a transwell culture system in the presence of CD3/28 coated beads with IL2. T-regulatory (Treg) populations were quantified via FACs 24 hours after in vitro CBSC exposure. Treg populations exposed to CBSC secretome in hypoxic (1% O2) conditions expanded to 26.9% of the CD4+ compartment, a 4.5 fold increase compared to control conditions. This result was further confirmed via qRT-PCR analysis. T cell culture secretome was quantified via proteome profiling of 111 soluble cytokine proteins 24 hours post CBSC exposure. CBSCs express a robust chemotaxis signature that promotes immune cell recruitment. T cells cultured in the presence of CBSC (pre-conditioned or co-culture conditions) exhibit increased CCL5, CCL22, CD40, CXCL1, and Lipocalin-2. C-reactive protein, a pro-inflammatory marker, was decreased by ~5.5 fold in the presence of CBSCs, promoting wound healing. Conclusions: CBSCs secrete a diverse paracrine profile that promotes Treg expansion during hypoxic conditions. Expansion of Treg populations post-CBSC exposure in the post-IR heart leads to increased inflammation resolution and improved myocardial wound healing, allowing for increased cardiac function and repressed cardiac remodeling.

We give a protocol for secure multi-party computation of the scalar product of two sparse vectors of length n with O(log(log n)) rounds and polylogarithmic communication.

This phase III study was undertaken to evaluate the efficacy of an allogeneic whole-cell vaccine (Canvaxin™) plus bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) after complete resection of stage IV melanoma. After complete resection of ≤5 distant metastases, patients were randomly assigned to BCG+Canvaxin (BCG/Cv) or BCG+placebo (BCG/Pl). The primary endpoint was overall survival (OS); secondary endpoints were disease-free survival (DFS), and immune response measured by skin test (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00052156). Beginning in May 1998, 496 patients were randomized. In April 2005, the Data Safety Monitoring Board recommended stopping enrollment due to a low probability of efficacy. At that time, median OS and 5-year OS rate were 38.6 months and 44.9%, respectively, for BCG/Pl versus 31.4 months and 39.6% in the BCG/Cv group (hazard ratio (HR), 1.18; p=0.250). Follow-up was extended at several trial sites through March 2010. Median OS and 5-year and 10-year survival was 39.1 months, 43.3 and 33.3%, respectively, for BCG/Pl versus 34.9 months, 42.5 and 36.4%, in the BCG/Cv group (HR 1.053; p=0.696). Median DFS, 5- and 10-year DFS were 7.6 months, 23.8 and 21.7%, respectively, for BCG/Pl versus 8.5 months, 30.0%, and 30.0%, respectively, for the BCG/Cv group (HR 0.882; p=0.260). Positive DTH skin testing correlated with increased survival. In this, the largest study of postsurgical adjuvant therapy for stage IV melanoma reported to date, BCG/Cv did not improve outcomes over BCG/placebo. Favorable long-term survival among study patients suggests that metastasectomy should be considered for selected patients with stage IV melanoma.

Competition for the 2016 Daniel H. Wagner Prize for Excellence in Operations Research Practice provided the six finalist papers featured in this special issue of Interfaces. The prestigious Wagner Prize—awarded for achievement in implemented operations research, management science, and advanced analytics—emphasizes quality and originality of mathematical models and clarity of written and oral exposition. Researchers from the Université Laval, The Forestry Research Institute of Sweden, and the SDC, Sweden, won the competition for their development of a highly successful algorithm and software to determine optimal routing for trucks operating in the Swedish forestry industry. The remaining finalist papers describe work to improve hospital staffing, dealer inventory of automotive vehicles, agricultural productivity through genetic modifications of crops, wastewater treatment, and real-time video ad selection. Full presentation videos with slides are available in the INFORMS Video Library at https://www.informs.org/Resource-Center/Video-Library , and as electronic companions to the Interfaces articles.

Competition for the 2015 Daniel H. Wagner Prize for Excellence in Operations Research Practice provided the five finalist papers featured in this special issue of Interfaces. The prestigious Wagner Prize—awarded for achievement in implemented operations research, management science, and advanced analytics—emphasizes quality and originality of mathematical models and clarity of written and oral exposition. Researchers from Georgia Institute of Technology, Emory University, the University of São Paulo, and a major client organization—Centers for Disease Control and Prevention—won the competition for their invention and successful laboratory testing of original methods that will guide the rapid development of better vaccines to protect against pandemic-causing viruses. The remaining finalist papers describe work to improve repair and maintenance of railroad locomotives, testing of new-model automotive vehicles, location of products on shelves in supermarket stores, and organization of a national postal service.