Simulation testing of traffic flow delays in bus stop zone

Traffic flows are subject to certain delays due to the maneuvering of buses entering and leaving the stop. The study of how these delays change depending on the frequency of arrival of buses to a stop and, the change of lanes on the road, the intensity of the traffic flow on the road is important in organizing traffic and planning the movement of buses along the route. The article uses simulation models built in the PTV VISSIM program to estimate the delay time of the traffic flow on 2, 3, and 4 lane roads for 4 different values of the intensity of the traffic flow and 5 different values of the bus arrival frequency at the stop. The results obtained are analyzed. The changing nature of traffic flow delays in various scenarios has been studied

Predicting the next pandemic: VACCELERATE ranking of the World Health Organization's Blueprint for Action to Prevent Epidemics

Introduction: The World Health Organization (WHO)'s Research and Development (R&D) Blueprint for Action to Prevent Epidemics, a plan of action, highlighted several infectious diseases as crucial targets for prevention. These infections were selected based on a thorough assessment of factors such as transmissibility, infectivity, severity, and evolutionary potential. In line with this blueprint, the VACCELERATE Site Network approached infectious disease experts to rank the diseases listed in the WHO R&D Blueprint according to their perceived risk of triggering a pandemic. VACCELERATE is an EU-funded collaborative European network of clinical trial sites, established to respond to emerging pandemics and enhance vaccine development capabilities. Methods: Between February and June 2023, a survey was conducted using an online form to collect data from members of the VACCELERATE Site Network and infectious disease experts worldwide. Participants were asked to rank various pathogens based on their perceived risk of causing a pandemic, including those listed in the WHO R&D Blueprint and additional pathogens. Results: A total of 187 responses were obtained from infectious disease experts representing 57 countries, with Germany, Spain, and Italy providing the highest number of replies. Influenza viruses received the highest rankings among the pathogens, with 79 % of participants including them in their top rankings. Disease X, SARS-CoV-2, SARS-CoV, and Ebola virus were also ranked highly. Hantavirus, Lassa virus, Nipah virus, and henipavirus were among the bottom-ranked pathogens in terms of pandemic potential. Conclusion: Influenza, SARS-CoV, SARS-CoV-2, and Ebola virus were found to be the most concerning pathogens with pandemic potential, characterised by transmissibility through respiratory droplets and a reported history of epidemic or pandemic outbreaks

Comparative analysis of the weight and quality of urban bus transport services: a case study of Baku

With the growth of the population and the expansion of the territory of large cities, certain difficulties arise in meeting the needs of passengers for transportation. This article studied the satisfaction of users with the city's public transport system, especially the bus transport. Thus, a survey was conducted among passengers in Baku to assess their satisfaction with public transport. The survey covered all districts of Baku in general. The study was conducted in October 2021. The questions were aimed at identifying the weight, reasons for preferring the different types of public transport, the level of satisfaction of the population with these types, assessing the quality of services and the lack of urban bus transport. The level of satisfaction of survey participants with the work of public transport by gender and age groups was determined. Subsequently, this study showed that most of the population movements are carried out by bus transport. The analysis revealed factors that reduce the quality of service on bus routes. In addition, it examined the reasons why the population chose the bus transport, the shortcomings of the bus transport, the effectiveness of dedicated bus lanes, and attitudes toward the use of alternative public transport. Summarily, this study was passenger service to increase passenger satisfaction toward attracting more people to public transport

Potential for producing concrete blocks using sulphur polymeric concrete in Kuwait

The current sulphur production in Kuwait is 0.9 million tons/y, of which 0.5 million tons is consumed locally, mainly for the sulphuric acid production. Continuous increase in production is expected as it will reach 3.1 million tons by 2017, which would stipulate the need for its applications in different fields.The development of new applications for sulphur becomes fundamental. Sulphur concrete (SC) has a relatively simple composition and manufacture and very interesting characteristics and properties. SC materials have many specialized applications in the construction industry and transportation. Currently, they are used primarily in areas where conventional materials like Portland cement concrete (PCC) has failed, such as in acidic and saline chemical environments.This paper gives some highlights of the experiments at the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR) laboratory facilities. The project’s research work was carried out by finding and defining a set of mixture proportions or recipes for modified sulphur concrete (SC) that were most promising based on the test results with the emulsified bitumen additive and the different ingredients. These optimum mixes were used to produce small scale precast sulphur concrete units

Desulfurization of Heavy Oil–Oxidative Desulfurization (ODS) As Potential Upgrading Pathway for Oil Sands Derived Bitumen

Heavy oil usually contains percentage levels of sulfur. Most of the sulfur in heavy oil is found in bulky thiophenic structures. Thiophenic sulfur is difficult to remove by catalytic hydrodesulfurization, but it can readily be oxidized. The sulfoxides and sulfones produced from sulfur oxidation can be solvent extracted from the heavy oil as a result of their increased polarity. Oxidative desulfurization of heavy oil was studied using Canadian Cold Lake bitumen (5% S, 1100 kg/m³), with air as oxidant. At the conditions investigated, namely, autoxidation at 145–175 °C followed by water washing, 46–47% of the sulfur in the bitumen could be removed. This is equivalent to >20 kg sulfur per ton oil. Part of the sulfur was removed as SO₂ and part as water extracted sulfur-containing compounds. Lower autoxidation temperatures led to better desulfurization. The main challenge was to prevent free radical addition reactions that cause a viscosity increase and bitumen hardening. Autoxidation of undiluted bitumen and bitumen–water mixtures resulted in hardening. Hardening was prevented when bitumen was diluted with naphtha (<i>n</i>-heptane). However, the oxidized sulfur compounds could not be extracted with water from the bitumen–heptane phase, and some material was precipitated as a result of solvent deasphalting. Oxidation selectivity was studied using a model dibenzothiophene and <i>n</i>-heptane mixture. Some precipitation was also observed, and the chemistry was analogous to the precipitation chemistry (gum formation) that undermines storage stability of transportation fuels