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Walkability has become a research topic of great concern for preserving public health, especially in the era of the COVID-19 outbreak. Today more than ever, urban and transport policies, constrained by social distancing measures and travel restrictions, must be conceptualized and implemented with a particular emphasis on sustainable walkability. Most of the walkability models apply observation and subjective methods to measure walkability, whereas few studies address walkability based on sense perception. To fill this gap, we aim at investigating the perceived neighbourhood walkability (PNW) based on sense perception in a neighbourhood of Brussels. We designed a survey that integrates 22 items grouped into 5 dimensions (cleanness, visual aesthetics, landscape and nature, feeling of pressure, feeling of safety), as well as the socio-demographic attributes of the participants. Using various statistical methods, we show that socio-demographics have almost no effects on perceived neighbourhood walkability. Nonetheless, we found significant differences between groups of different educational backgrounds. Furthermore, using a binomial regression model, we found strong associations between PNW and at least one item from each grouping dimension. Finally, we show that based on a deep neural network for classification, the items have good predictive capabilities (78% of classification accuracy). These findings can help integrate sense perception into objective measurement methods of walkable environments. Additionally, policy recommendations should be targeted based on differences of perception across socio-demographic groups.

Closed-loop supply chain networks are gaining research popularity due to environmental, economic and social concerns. Such networks are primarily designed to overcome carbon footprints and to retrieve end of life products from customers. This study considers a multi echelon closed-loop supply chain in the presence of machine disruption. A multi-objective model is presented to optimize the total cost, the total time and emissions in a closed-loop supply chain network. The aim is to analyze the trade-off between the objectives of cost, time, and emissions and how these decisions are impacted by the selection of different available machines. A number of solution approaches are tested on a case study from the tire industry. The results suggest the improved performance of the hybrid heuristic and the importance of controlling disruption in a closed-loop supply chain network. Furthermore, there is a trade-off between the different objective functions which can help the decision maker to choose a particular solution according to the preference of an organization. Finally, conclusion and future research avenues are provided.

Drought is a noteworthy cause of low agricultural profitability and of crop production vulnerability, yet in numerous countries of Africa little to no consideration has been paid to readiness for drought calamity, particularly to spatial evaluation and indicators of drought occurrence. In this study, biophysical and socio-economic data, farmers’ community surveys and secondary data from remote sensing on soil characteristics and water demand were used to evaluate the predictors of drought in inland valley rice-based production systems and the factors affecting farmers’ mitigation measures. The study intervened in three West African countries located in the Sudan-Sahel zone, viz. Burkina Faso, Mali and Nigeria. Significant drying trends occurred at latitudes below 11°30′ whilst significant wetting trends were discerned at latitude above 11°30′. Droughts were more frequent and had their longest duration in the states of Niger and Kaduna located in Nigeria and in western Burkina Faso during the period 1995–2014. Among 21 candidate predictors, average annual standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index and duration of groundwater availability were the most important predictors of drought occurrence in inland valleys rice based-production systems. Land ownership and gender affected the commitment of rice farmers to use any mitigation measure against drought. Drought studies in inland valleys should include climatic water balance and groundwater data. Securing property rights and focusing on women’s association would improve farmers’ resilience and advance drought mitigation measures.

We present in this paper a qualitative study of couple ethical purchasing behavior, based on interviews with French consumers. The analysis of joint decision making allows us to distinguish between ethical couples who favor the choice of ethical products when making purchase decisions together and unethical couples who do not. Our results show that ethical couples are characterized by a positive exchange of information, use of verbal and tactical persuasion strategies, and trust in the knowledge of the partner, while unethical couples are characterized by a negative exchange of information, difficulties with joint decision making, and conflict-minimizing strategy. Time, money, and pleasure appear as the most critical factors restricting couples’ purchase of ethical products. Our research provides the first empirical evidence about the dynamics of influence of one partner over the other within couples regarding ethical purchasing behavior.

Thymus vulgaris L. is an emblematic species of the Mediterranean tradition. As a crop, this species has been spread wherever possible by man around the World. Often escaped from cultivations, defining its natural environment and the limits of its natural range is very much complicated as these have been greatly altered and influenced by human presence, in a positive or in a negative way. In addition to ecology and biogeography studies, we carried out human ecology research to understand whether, in a multidisciplinary (pan-ecological) approach, the case study of the Th. vulgaris subsp. vulgaris community can be considered of natural or of naturalised origin. An ecological, bio-geographical, and floristic review on this species is reported to help the discussion. Our study could be a good way to improve scientific discussions and applications even for other places and other situations. Some outlook and proposals are reported to improve management and conservation measures, in order to foster our ″green-sphere″ protection strategies through plants.

γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is an amino acid used for mitigating the detrimental effects of heat stress in broilers. In addition, a growing body of literature suggests that the in ovo feeding of various nutrients can enhance the post-hatch thermotolerance of broilers. Therefore, we hypothesized that the supplementation of GABA during incubation might have positive effects in heat-stressed broilers. Chicks hatched from eggs were divided into three groups described as follows: chicks hatched from eggs incubated at normal temperature and then raised under thermoneutral temperature (CON); chicks hatched from eggs incubated at normal temperature but raised under cyclic heat stress (HS) (CON+HS); and chicks hatched from eggs injected with 60 mg of GABA dissolved in 0.6 mL of distilled water but raised under cyclic HS (G10+HS). The HS was applied between 28 and 31 days of age with ambient temperatures raised from 22 ± 1 °C to 33 ± 1 °C for 6 h daily. Compared to the CON group, average daily weight gain was significantly lower in the CON+HS but not in the G10+HS group. Feed intake was significantly decreased in both the CON+HS and G10+HS groups. Compared to the CON group, plasma corticosterone levels were significantly increased in the CON+HS group, but not the G10+HS group. Hepatic mRNA levels of the acetyl-CoA carboxylase gene (ACC) were significantly reduced in the G10+HS group compared to the CON group. In addition, positive Pearson correlation coefficients were found in mRNA levels between fatty acid synthase (FAS) and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate oxidase 1 (NOX1) (r = 0.55, p < 0.05), NOX1 and NOX4 (r = 0.65, p < 0.01), and catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) (r = 0.62, p < 0.05). Taken together, the results suggest that this study can serve as a basis for future work focusing on the in ovo feeding of GABA as a technique to combat heat stress in broilers.

Improper disposal of household unwanted medications (UMs) is an emergency problem around the world that adversely affects the sustainability of the environment and human’s health. However, the current disposal practices, mainly based on advertising and collecting status, are unsatisfactory in most countries and regions. Thus, some scholars proposed an alternative disposal practice that is to provide incentives to customers. This study aims to compare a Single Model (advertising only) with a Joint Model (advertising with take-back pricing) in a two-echelon reverse supply chain (RSC) that is composed of one disposer and one collector. In each model, four games (non-cooperative, collector as the Stackelberg leader, disposer as the Stackelberg leader, and cooperative) were established in order to identify the optimal pricing and advertising strategies for both members. The results of the study indicate that there is a Pareto dominant range for Joint Model compared to Single Model, whereas Single Model has no Pareto improvement in any games. Furthermore, in non-cooperative games of Joint Model, it is better to implement the leader-follower structure rather than simultaneous movement structure. Additionally, it is verified that the cooperative game is feasible, which leads to the cooperation between the disposer and the collector, and the extra profit from the cooperation can be shared based on the Nash bargaining game. However, in Single Model, it is better for the disposer to act as a channel leader and the collector figures the follower.

Supply chain management environmental and social criteria are practical and research concerns due to regulatory, stakeholder, and economic pressures. Effective holistic sustainable supply management schemes require the evaluation and selection of suppliers. Supplier evaluation requires the balancing of multiple criteria. Multiple criteria tools, each with advantages and limitations, are necessary for the supplier evaluation and selection problem. This paper introduces a new methodological approach including complementary, analytic hierarchy process (AHP), decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) techniques and Bayesian networks (BN). The combination of DEMATEL, AHP and Bayesian approaches, although they are supportive and complementary methods, has seen limited investigation. The Bayesian network approach can complement DEMATEL and AHP to help improve the accuracy of AHP input data. Alternatively, DEMATEL and AHP can provide expert and more objective inputs for intangible factors, used in the Bayesian network approach. The validity and efficacy of this approach is demonstrated through a real industrial case using decision-makers’ inputs and outputs. The study shows the advantages and disadvantages of each method. Finally, we present results with managerial and research implications and future research directions.