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This study aims to present a novel optimization technique to solve the combined economic emission dispatch (CEED) problem considering transmission losses, valve-point loading effects, ramp rate limits and prohibited operating zones. This is one of the most complex optimization problems concerning power systems.

The proposed algorithm has been called advanced particle swarm optimization (APSO) and was created by applying several innovative modifications to the classic PSO algorithm. APSO performance was tested on four test systems having 14, 40, 54 and 120 generators.

The suggested modifications have improved the accuracy, convergence rate, robustness and effectiveness of the algorithm, which has produced high-quality solutions for the CEED problem.

The results obtained by APSO were compared with those of several other techniques, and the effectiveness and superiority of the proposed algorithm was demonstrated. Also, because of its superlative characteristics, APSO can be applied to many other engineering optimization problems. Moreover, the suggested modifications can be easily used in other population-based optimization algorithms to improve their performance.

Following the significant role of critical thinking (CT), sense of efficacy beliefs and teaching style preferences in the success of teachers and consequently the success of the educational system, this study intended to explore their relationship and the possible influence of these three factors among English as a Foreign Language (EFL) university professors.

To this end, Watson–Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal-Form A, Teacher Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES) and Grasha's Teaching Style Inventory (TSI) were administered to 320 Iranian EFL university professors.

The data were examined via path analysis indicated that teachers' CT abilities and sense of self-efficacy beliefs significantly influenced the teaching style preferences. Moreover, it was concluded that Iranian EFL university professors' CT skills positively affect their sense of efficacy beliefs.

Future studies may advance the possible relationships among the sub-components of CT, self-efficacy beliefs and teaching style. Furthermore, further investigations are recommended to study the influence of university professors' CT, self-efficacy beliefs and teaching style preferences in enhancing their learners' achievement.

The implications of the present study may contribute to the field of teacher education in providing opportunities for teachers to develop and practice higher-order thinking and self-assisted skills.

The implications of this study may redound to the advantage of university professors, teacher educators and policy-makers.

This research is original. To the best of the researchers' knowledge, there has been no study investigated the possible relationships between CT, sense of efficacy beliefs and teaching style preferences in higher education.

This study aims to use porous concrete and mineral adsorbents (additives) for reducing the quantity and improving the quality of urban runoff.

The effects of adding mineral adsorbents and fine grains to porous concrete is tested for increasing its performance in improving the quality of urban runoff. Two levels of sand (10 and 20 per cent) and 5, 10 and 15 per cent of zeolite, perlite, LECA and pumice were added to the porous concrete. Unconfined compressive strength, hydraulic conductivity (permeability) and porosity of the porous concrete specimens were measured. Some of the best specimens were selected for testing the improvement of runoff quality. A rainfall simulator was designed and the quality of the runoff was investigated for changes in electrical conductivity (EC), total suspended solids (TSS), total dissolved solids (TDS) and chemical oxygen demand (COD).

The results of this study showed that compressive strength of the porous concrete was increased by adding fine grains to the concrete mixture. Fine grains decreased the permeability and porosity of the samples. Zeolite had the highest compressive strength. Samples having pumice own maximum permeability. Samples which had perlite, had the least compressive strength and permeability. Because of the fast flow of runoff water in the porous slab and its low thickness, sufficient time was not provided for effective functioning of the additives, and the removal percentage of the pollution parameters was low.

Porous concrete can ameliorate both quantity and quality of the urban runoff.

This paper considers two sectors critical to New Zealand's economy and identity – food and tourism – and addresses the question: what role will – or could – food and drink play in a more resilient tourism future for the country?

This is largely a conceptual paper, informed by the academic literature, media commentary and recent market research.

The paper concludes that there are trends apparent in the food and tourism sectors prior to the COVID-19 pandemic that have intensified during lockdown and which are likely to influence the resetting of tourism on a more resilient and regenerative pathway. Three potential trends in food and drink tourism are identified, labelled “Getting back to basics”, “Valuing local and locals” and “Food for well-being”.

By synthesising recent research and academic, industry and media commentaries, this paper provides a timely assessment of a potential future role of food and drink tourism in a reimagined tourism sector for New Zealand, with this assessment offering a starting point for further discussions about a more regenerative, equitable and inclusive tourism future.

The purpose of this study is to analyse the effects of Covid-19 on the supply chain management and to provide an agenda for future research in this context.

By using the SCOPUS database, a total of 191 articles of 1,323 research articles were selected for further analysis. Bibliometric analysis and science mapping were performed which included author influence, affiliation statistics, keywords, citations, co-citation and co-word analysis.

Five clusters were identified in the context of supply chain management under Covid-19: managing disruptions in global food supply chains (SCs), using Industry 4.0 technologies for sustainable SCs, collaboration across the supply network for contingency situations, coping with disease outbreaks in personal and professional lives and countering the ripple effect of pandemics. These clusters are potential areas for future research.

Literature is still rare about SC practices amid the Covid-19 crisis. Therefore, this study attempts to provide insights and fill the current gaps on this field.

Considering sustainability and resilience together is crucial in food supply chain (FSC) management, as it ensures a balanced approach that meets environmental, economic and social needs while maintaining the system's capacity to withstand disruptions. Towards this, a multi-objective optimisation model is proposed in this study to create an integrated sustainable and resilient FSC. The proposed model employs four objective functions – each representing a dimension of sustainability and one for resilience and utilises an augmented ϵ-constraint method for solving. The findings highlight the interplay between sustainability aspects and resilience, illustrating that overemphasis on any single dimension can adversely affect others. Further, the proposed model is applied to the case of Indian mango pulp supply chain and several inferences are derived. The proposed model would assist decision-makers in making a well-balanced choice based on sustainability and resilience considerations.

Starting from a critical analysis of the main criteria currently used to identify marginal areas, this paper aims to propose a new classification model of such territories by leveraging knowledge discovery approaches and knowledge visualization techniques, which represent a fundamental pillar in the knowledge-based urban development process.

The methodology adopted in this study relies on the design science research, which includes five steps: problem identification, objective definition, solution design and development, demonstration and evaluation.

Results demonstrate how to exploit knowledge discovery and visualization to obtain multiple mappings of inner areas, in the aim to identify good practices and optimize resources to set up more effective territorial development strategies and plans. The proposed approach overcomes the traditional way adopted to map inner areas that uses a single indicator (i.e. the distance between a municipality and the nearest pole where it is possible to access to education, health and transportation services) and leverages seven groups of indicators that represent the distinguishing features of territories (territorial capital, social costs, citizenship, geo-demography, economy, innovation and sustainable development).

The proposed model could be enriched by new variables, whose value can be collected by official sources and stakeholders engaged to provide both structured and unstructured data. Also, another enhancement could be the development of a cross-algorithms comparison that may reveal useful to suggest which algorithm can better suit the needs of policy makers or practitioners.

This study sets the ground for proposing a decision support tool that policy makers can use to classify in a new way the inner areas, thus overcoming the current approach and leveraging the distinguishing features of territories.

This study shows how the availability of distributed knowledge sources, the modern knowledge management techniques and the emerging digital technologies can provide new opportunities for the governance of a city or territory, thus revitalizing the domain of knowledge-based urban development.

Geotechnologies have a long tradition in several areas of society and research. The recent development of the ‘Internet of Everything’ (IoE) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technologies opened several doors to the contribution of tourism. Emergent technologies contributions to tourism and planning such as web mapping, augmented reality (AR), crowdsourcing and crowdsensing are relatively recent, and there is a lack of research around their potential for Creative Tourism enhancement. For example, combining web mapping with AR or storytelling can be an excellent contribution to operators, planners and tourists. For research purposes, new opportunities are open, particularly by integrating community-shared data. It is well known for the popularity of social networks, the exponential growth of photo sharing, but few studies have been implemented to understand their contribution to research. This chapter focuses on emerging geotechnologies concerning cultural mapping, Creative Tourism and sustainability. Since it is a new growing niche, more research is needed to develop and understand the potential of new approaches. Besides traditional techniques such as quantitative (e.g. surveys) and qualitative ones (e.g. interviews, focus groups and world café), it revises the role of geotechnologies on Creative Tourism development and growing activities. Results from case studies from Europe are analysed.

Studies the effects of exposure to light of the laser diode Melles Griot (λ = 670nm), He‐Ne laser (λ = 632.8nm) and argon laser (λ = 514nm) on selected soil micro‐organisms, fungi that destroy old manuscripts, pictures, stone, etc. and on humification and mineralization of soil samples. Also studies exposure effects on seed growth and biomass production of a few species of cultivated plants and on Chlorella cells and animal spermatozoa. Finds significant changes in comparison to control material (including results of the preliminary measurement of bio‐photon emission). Suggests a fruitful direction for studies on the synergistic effects of Se, laser and white light, as well as on the optimal level of exposure of living material to laser light. Concludes that the data obtained seem to be useful both for land reclamation and for the protection of the indoor environment against toxicogenic moulds and bacteria.

At the end of 2019, the first case of the Corona Virus Disease (COVID-19) was reported in Wuhan city of China. The disease was declared a pandemic without imagining the magnitude of damage currently caused in all branches of the economy. One of the most affected sectors was food and mostly perishable food (PF), which are more susceptible to environmental conditions. Thus, the research examines the effect of the COVID-19 outbreak on Ecuador's perishable food supply chains (PFSCs) during the pandemic. It contributes to new results on the special issue (SI) PFSC response to event risk and uncertainty, such as those that generated the pandemic.

The data used are from primary information sources, which were collected through a questionnaire. The questionnaire was applied to 298 companies belonging to the sector, and later the information was processed through partial least squares structural equation model. The convergent validity, discriminate and robustness tests provide arguments for the suitability of the model. Therefore, the findings are reliable and valid for the adequate measures to improve the PFSC due to a COVID-19 outbreak.

The results show that the perception of personal risk (PPR) produced by COVID-19 has caused the companies of the PFSC to adopt preventive policies (PO) to avoid contagion and guarantee the operation of the companies. In addition, the PPR has been responsible for the alterations in the demand and price (DP) of PF. Next, PO and DP have a significant effect on PFSC, which shows the evidence favouring the malfunction of PFSC operations due to anti-contagion PO, the mismatch of DP. On the contrary, circular economy practices contribute to the excellent performance of the PFSC. Finally, the research suggests some policy implications to consider in improving the PFSC.

This study is the first to be carried out in Ecuador's country on the PFSC; its contribution is unprecedented and makes it a road-map to be considered to guarantee the correct functioning of the PFSCs, and it will provide policymakers with valid elements to design efficient PFSCs that better respond to unforeseen events and uncertainties. Future research will focus on analysing the management of PF consumption in Ecuador during the pandemic.