A Methodology to Consider Explicitly Emissions in Dynamic User Equilibrium Assignment

This work presents a methodology to obtain Dynamic User Equilibrium (DUE) over a road network considering the exhausted gas effect of motorized traffic. On purpose, three emission models are integrated to the traffic simulator AIMSUN, and an entire modeling structure is proposed. The proposed methodology is tested on both a hypothetical test network and a real-world network in Istanbul, Turkey. With the use of dynamic traffic assignment components of AIMSUN, emissions are incorporated into dynamic cost functions. Furthermore, link travel times are considered in the dynamic cost functions in conjunction with emissions. The DUE condition is converged according to dynamic cost functions. Results with the employment of different emission models on a real road network are compared and discussed

COVID-19: vaccination vs. hospitalization

Objective Vaccination is the most efficient way to control the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, but vaccination rates remain below the target level in most countries. This multicenter study aimed to evaluate the vaccination status of hospitalized patients and compare two different booster vaccine protocols. Setting Inoculation in Turkey began in mid-January 2021. Sinovac was the only available vaccine until April 2021, when BioNTech was added. At the beginning of July 2021, the government offered a third booster dose to healthcare workers and people aged > 50 years who had received the two doses of Sinovac. Of the participants who received a booster, most chose BioNTech as the third dose. Methods We collected data from 25 hospitals in 16 cities. Patients hospitalized between August 1 and 10, 2021, were included and categorized into eight groups according to their vaccination status. Results We identified 1401 patients, of which 529 (37.7%) were admitted to intensive care units. Nearly half (47.8%) of the patients were not vaccinated, and those with two doses of Sinovac formed the second largest group (32.9%). Hospitalizations were lower in the group which received 2 doses of Sinovac and a booster dose of BioNTech than in the group which received 3 doses of Sinovac. Conclusion Effective vaccinations decreased COVID-19-related hospitalizations. The efficacy after two doses of Sinovac may decrease over time; however, it may be enhanced by adding a booster dose. Moreover, unvaccinated patients may be persuaded to undergo vaccination