Bücher veröffentlicht von Mdpi AG

Gastroenterology and hepatology are fields of research that have improved considerably in recent years in terms of clinical approach, diagnosis, and therapy. However, there is still much to be clarified and explored, and many questions remain unanswered. Therefore, basic research, including translational and clinical discoveries, supported by technological innovations such as artificial intelligence, will enable further steps toward better, more refined treatments for many digestive diseases. The challenge of modern medicine will therefore be to connect these two fields to ensure optimal patient management. Further innovations will help clinicians to improve clinical practice, establish new guidelines, and provide personalized treatment based on patient characteristics. The aim of this Special Issue is to highlight recent advances and future challenges in gastroenterology and hepatology.

Biocontrol of plant diseases is considered one of the most important and current challenges of our society due to the need to look for eco-friendly alternatives to chemicals. Thus, research towards the biological control sensu lato [antagonist microorganisms, biostimulants, Induced Resistance (IR)] of plant diseases is an urgent demand for the agro-food sector of the Euroregion as well as for our society in the frame of the European Green Deal. Exploring different biocontrol tools as well as their combined effect against plant diseases is essential to generate knowledge on such topics to look for optimum management strategies in crop protection in the frame of organic and sustainable agriculture. Within this framework, this Special Issue of Plants brings together a collection of research papers on applied plant pathology and targeted reviews of biocontrol, including studies on antagonist microorganisms, biostimulants, and host resistance-inducers against plant diseases.

This Special Issue dives into the evolving realm of sports science by exploring innovative methods to enhance athletes' motor skills and performance. It showcases research studies aiming to discover validated strategies, cutting-edge approaches, and the intricate interplay of factors that shape athletic excellence. From training methodologies to technological advancements, this collection of empirical investigations and reviews offers valuable insights for both trainers and scientists. We invite readers to join us in uncovering the science behind peak athletic achievement.

Syngas (CO and H2) is a crucial platform for the production of a variety of high-value compounds. This reprint focused on research into the production of syngas, the conversion and application of syngas, and catalyst synthesis.

The materialisation of religiosity has been expressed since prehistoric times through material culture. This material culture serves as a tangible embodiment of faith, communicating the diversity of human spiritual experiences. It encompasses a wide range of objects, structures, symbols, and practices that not only shape religious identities, but also reflect the evolving nature of human society. This interaction between religious beliefs and their material expressions enables an understanding of the role of religion in shaping human culture and identity.Through 13 different approaches, this reprint aims to present a cross-cultural analysis of religiosity. Its main objective is to recognise the importance of this materialisation in the knowledge of different religions, as well as to maintain, preserve, and safeguard this diverse and rich heritage for future generations.

The application of generalized and fractional derivatives, such as Caputo and Riemann-Liouville derivatives, has witnessed a dramatic increase in recent years. This reprint focuses on related theoretical and applied research in areas such as the stability of time series, Lotka-Volterra systems, distributed delays, Fornberg-Whitham equations, abstract evolution and fractional wave equations, cantilever beams, and fractional Riccati and Volterra equations, as well as fractional visco-elasto-plasticity, spectral theory for fractional Sturm-Liouville problems, generalized differential equations, Mittag-Leffler functions, and fractional Laplacians.

The Special Issue "Cartography and Geomedia" presents a view of cartography as a combination of technology, science, and art, with a focus on the development of geomedia in a geomatic and design-based context. Individual considerations are presented according to the following topics: efficiency of mapping techniques; historical cartographic works in a geomedial context; cartographic pragmatics for cultural heritage, teaching, and tourism; and pragmatism in gaming cartography. The main conclusion is that the two approaches to learning, revealing, and understanding geographic phenomena-starting from a specific geographical phenomenon and starting from maps and geomedia to understand geographical space-have their pragmatic strengths.

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) remain the major cause of mortality and disability worldwide. Although cardiovascular outcomes have significantly improved due to early diagnosis and timely treatment, the prevalence of CVD is expected to increase in the coming years, highlighting the pressing need to identify novel biomarkers and disease-modifying treatments. In addition to classical risk factors, CVD burden is now recognized to be aggravated due to the growing population of cancer survivors treated with cardiotoxic cancer therapies or radiotherapy, which has fostered the development of a new field of research-cardio-oncology. Across the spectrum of CVD, multiple molecular pathways converge in endothelial dysfunction and myocardial remodeling, including inflammation, oxidative stress, defective calcium homeostasis, intercellular communication, and metabolic abnormalities. Therefore, a major future challenge in cardiovascular medicine lies in understanding the molecular basis of cardiac and valvular remodeling, paving the way for the identification of more efficient diagnostic and therapeutic tools. This Special Issue intended to bring together the latest findings in the field of cardiovascular biology and cardio-oncology, involving both cell-based studies and animal models of CVD, aiming to identify novel mechanisms underlying cardiac remodeling and dysfunction.

Due to the decreasing availability of fossil fuel resources and rising environmental awareness, innovative methods of renewable energy generation and utilization are rapidly becoming of interest to researchers. Electrical drives and power electronics are one of the most critical components of modern renewable energy systems. The robustness of machines and the increased efficiency of power semiconductor devices enable the improvement of many types of power conversion and generation systems. Thus, this reprint presents and disseminates recent advances regarding theory, modeling, design, application, control, and analysis related to the advancement of electrical engineering in renewable energy. It clarifies the junction of two interesting areas that serve to link information derived from electrical engineering and renewable energy, including recent techniques used to design and model various renewable energy systems, and demonstrates different ways to use power electronics in renewable systems. The reprint also discusses the best ways to identify, design, integrate, and operate the most appropriate technologies through key problems. And it offers some applications related to electrical power engineering and renewable energy technologies, including photovoltaic systems, solar water pumping systems, electric vehicles, microgrid systems, battery energy storage, etc.

This Special Issue aimed to collect and present all breakthrough research on all intentional or unintentional explosions and impact problems. During the last decade, the investigation of these phenomena has been an active area of research in different fields (i.e., civil, defense, mining, aeronautical, naval, etc.), including experimental studies, analytical models, or numerical simulations; and this Special Issue is a faithful reflection of this trend.A total of twenty-six papers (twenty-five research papers and one review paper) in various fields of blast and impact engineering including blast loading issues over structures, beams, walls; penetration and impact; explosives safety and security; blasting effects on rocks and tunnels; are presented in this Special Issue.

This Special Issue is mainly concerned with quantum algorithms, their mathematics from behind and the complexity issues arising from them. It comprises seven papers: Two of them are focused on improving the performance by means of quantum algorithms over the best instances of classical ones: "A Fast Quantum Image Component Labeling Algorithm" [1] by Yan Li, Dapeng Hao, Yang Xu and Kinkeung Lai. "Quantum Algorithms for Some Strings Problems Based on Quantum String Comparator" [2] by Kamil Khadiev, Artem Ilikaev and Jevgenijs Vihrovs. Another four papers deal with enhanced quantum algorithms: "Progress towards Analytically Optimal Angles in Quantum Approximate Optimisation": [3] by Daniil Rabinovich, Richik Sengupta, Ernesto Campos, Vishwanathan Akshay and Jacob Biamonte. "Quantum Weighted Fractional Fourier Transform" [4] by Tieyu Zhao, Tianyu Yang and Yingying Chi. "On the Amplitude Amplification of Quantum States Corresponding to the Solutions of the Partition Problem" [5] by Mauro Mezzini, Jose J. Paulet, Fernando Cuartero, Hernan I. Cruz and Fernando L. Pelayo. "On the Complexity of Finding the Maximum Entropy Compatible Quantum State" [6] by Serena Di Giorgio and Paulo Mateus. Last, but not least, one paper researched a classical operational research problem by means of quantum annealing: "GPS: A New TSP Formulation for Its Generalizations Type QUBO" [7] by Saul Gonzalez-Bermejo, Guillermo Alonso-Linaje and Parfait Atchade-Adelomou. As Guest Editors of this Special Issue, we would like to thank the authors and reviewers who made this possible by promoting, spreading research on and supporting quantum computing.

The reprint "Energy-efficient communication networks and systems" gives insights into the range of problems in the field of obtaining more energy-efficient communication networks and systems. The reprint contains the outcomes of the "Special Issue on energy-efficient communication networks and systems" organized for the Sensors journal published by the Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI). The 12 high-quality papers published in the frame of the Sensors journal Special Issue have been collected and reproduced in this book, demonstrating significant achievements in the field to which this reprint is dedicated.Published papers consolidated in this reprint are self-contained peer-reviewed scientific works. Among published papers, one paper is editorial, one paper is a review type of paper, and the remaining ten articles are research articles. The papers are authored by 40 authors coming from academia and industry. The published articles target the improvement of energy efficiency in the fields of fiber-wireless, vehicle-to-vehicle/infrastructure, sensors, satellites, 5G, virtual elements, and cognitive radio networks. The contributions of published papers provide valuable insights into the latest research and technologies for improving the energy efficiency of communication networks and systems.This reprint can serve the readers as a source of information when needed in their industrial, teaching and/or research and development activities since it presents the recent advances in different fields related to improving the energy efficiency of communication networks and systems.

This reprint examines the panorama of contemporary Islamic revivalism in the modern world. Constituted by methodologically and ideologically a wide variety of revivalist movements, Islamic revivalism is a complex multidimensional global reality. In a local context, it is a socio-religious reaction to the failure of state-led modernization projects and to general socio-economic quandaries, and in international context, it is a reaction to the wide-ranging crises of modernity. The collection provides important insights into the reality of contemporary Islamic revivalism through an examination of myriad socio-cultural, economic, and political problems facing Muslims at micro- and macro-levels of everyday living. It explains how Islamic revivalist movements are engaged in revivalist activities commonly known as Islamization at an individual level as well as at a community level and reveals that as a global reality, contemporary Islamic revivalism is neither necessarily violent nor anti-modernity but an attempt by religiously motivated concerned Muslims to bring about a self-conceived positive social transformation of individual societies and the modern world at large.

This reprint aims to present the latest developments in the casting and forming of light alloys. The preparation process and performance enhancement of Al, Mg or their composite materials are mainly studied. Particular attention has been paid to the relationship between process conditions, microstructural features, and mechanical properties.

Proteins and polysaccharides are two kinds of versatile natural macromolecules that are ubiquitous in nature. A tailored diet fortified with proteins and polysaccharides has been developed to ameliorate a wide array of diseases. This reprint contains experimental studies, reviews and systemic reviews that cover all beneficial aspects related to protein or polysaccharide fortification, especially for the treatment of various disorders and their complications.

This special issue "Separation, Extraction and Purification of Natural Products from Plants" contains high-quality multidisciplinary research and review articles on various aspects of natural products. Quality by design (QbD) is a science-based and risk-based concept. The implementation of QbD ensures consistent high quality of natural product. The advantages of the concept are reflected in the researches collected in this special issue, such as the two articles on the optimization of the steam distillation process from Jiangxi University of Chinese Medicine. Process analytical technology (PAT) is an important part of the implementation of QbD concept. Two articles from Dr. Li Wenlong combines spectroscopy and chemometrics, providing good examples on the monitoring of natural product preparation process. Chromatographic separation and analysis are very important for quality control of natural products. There are six articles from different countries focusing on this topic. There are two articles investigating separation technologies, including membrane filtration and ethanol precipitation. Traditional Chinese medicines are also an important category of natural products. A review from Zhejiang University talks about the quality control of Xiaochaihu Capsule. I received a lot of help from friends from universities and enterprises in completing this special issue. I would like to express my gratitude to them. My thanks also go to the editors of this journal of Separations.

Recent studies argue that we are facing a silent and not so novel socio-environmental crisis. This reprint is based on the evidence and confirms the need to continue the evaluation and research in several key aspects of land, from different approaches and disciplines. Therefore, the aim of this reprint- in the context of some Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) - is to bring together researchers from different fields and open a dialogue regarding some gaps of the land, including ageing and gender relationships. The current reprint focused on the following: Land and environment from sociological, health, psychological, political, technological, economic, communication and engineering sciences; Active ageing and dependent old age (role in relation to environment, accessibility, and usability; Gender studies regarding environmental issues; Differences or comparison of population (gender, feminisms, and intergenerational approach); Evaluation of programs and initiatives at different levels; Socio-health addressing land interactions and impacts on health (physical and psychosocial); Images, stereotypes, and attitudes from the different socio-political agents; New technologies and technological and economic approaches contribute to land, reduction of emissions/water consumption and the improvement of environmental management, sustainable construction, and buildings, among others.

Research in ophthalmic drug delivery has developed significant advances in the few last years, and efforts have been made to develop more effective topical formulations to increase drug bioavailability, efficiency, and safety. Drug delivery to the posterior segment of the eye remains a great challenge in the pharmaceutical industry due to the complexity and particularity of the eye's anatomy and physiology. Some advances have been made with the purpose of maintaining constant drug levels in the site of action. The anatomical ocular barriers have a great impact on drug pharmacokinetics and, subsequently, on the pharmacological effect.Despite the increasing interest in efficiently reaching the posterior segment of the eye with reduced adverse effects, there is still a need to expand the knowledge of ocular pharmacokinetics that allow the development of safer and more innovative drug delivery systems. These novel approaches may greatly improve the lives of patients with ocular pathologies.

Nowadays, fossil fuels are still the main source of primary energy in power generation, transport, and industry in general. Therefore, issues regarding environmental protection, and in particular, air protection, are of great importance. Hence, they have become a key part of the global policies of most developed countries. This Special Issue of Energies, entitled "NOx, PM, and CO2 Emission Reduction in Fuel Combustion Processes", deals with various methods and reduction technologies targeting pollutant emissions, especially NOx, CO2, and particulate matter, associated with different fuel combustion processes. This topic is focused mainly on conventional hydrocarbon fuels; however, we consider biofuels as well.

After successful government-led afforestation projects, what are the challenges for forest management in the face of climate change in East Asia? This reprint presents studies from the natural and social sciences related to forest conservation, engineering, disaster sociology, and forest policy in China and Japan. The papers cover a range of topics, including forest owners' attitudes, forest resource utilization, evaluation of forestry mechanization and forest roads, characteristics of damage from torrential rains, resilience of rural communities, economic transformation, and others.

From single-element detectors to array-format imagers, quantum dots and other thin optoelectronic films have played important roles in various fields including autonomous driving, industry inspection, remote sensing and biological imaging. This reprint focuses on fundamental and applied research on colloidal quantum dots and other thin-film optoelectronic materials including perovskites, lead chalcogenides, mercury chalcogenides and two-dimensional materials. The sensing spectrum covers X-ray, visible and infrared wavelengths. A diverse range of device configurations have been investigated such as photoconductors, photovoltaics and phototransistors.

The authentication of foods and beverages is a very current topic of great interest for all the actors involved in the food chain, including the food industry, consumers, and food science researchers. Food authenticity covers many different aspects related to mislabeling, adulteration, and misleading claims about origin, production methods, or processing technologies. As many factors may affect the chemical composition of foods (e.g., geographical origin, variety or breed, conditions of cultivation, and breeding and/or feeding), the implementation of accurate, robust, and high-throughput analytical methods is needed to assess their authenticity and traceability and, consequently, guarantee their safety and quality in terms of organoleptic, nutritional, and bioactive characteristics. For these purposes, multiple analytical tools can be employed in combination with advanced chemometrics, such as spectroscopic and chromatographic techniques, DNA-based methods, and state-of-the-art omics approaches. In this context, in 2020, the journal Foods launched the Special Issue "Food Authentication: Techniques, Trends and Emerging Approaches" to gather research papers and review articles dealing with the development and application of analytical techniques and emerging approaches in food authentication. Considering the success and popularity of this earlier Special Issue, we will now release a second Special Issue comprising ten valuable scientific contributions, including one review article, one commentary article, and eight original research articles.

Mangrove forests are in constant flux due to both natural and anthropogenic forces. The changing mangroves will have significant consequences to coastal communities. Observation and monitoring of the distribution and dynamics of mangroves is central to a wide range of scientific investigations conducted in both terrestrial and marine ecosystems. Recent advancements in remote sensing data availability, image-processing methodologies, computing and information technology, and human resource development have provided an opportunity to observe and monitor mangroves from local to global scales on a regular basis. The spectral, spatial, and temporal resolution of remote sensing data and their availability have improved, making it possible to observe and monitor mangroves with unprecedented spatial thematic and temporal details. This journal Remote Sensing Special Issue reprint dedicated to the observation and monitoring of mangroves using remote sensing from local to global scales. The Issue broadly covers the application of remote sensing using optical (multi-spectral and hyperspectral), radar, and Lidar data obtained from multiple platforms including ground, air, and space. The research papers published use the latest techniques to acquire, manage, exploit, process, and analyze a wide variety of remote sensing data for mangrove forest applications. Both research papers and innovative review papers are included.

This special issue contains original research papers and review articles on the subject of Quantum Geometry, a field that attempts to merge the geometric description of gravity, provided by Einstein's theory of general relativity, with the quantum mechanical description of the microscopic world. Diverse approaches are represented, including loop quantum gravity, matrix models, noncommutative geometry and modified gravity theories, together with other, less mainstream models.

Serious erosion problems related to significant negative sediment budgets in coastal systems have been identified worldwide. Artificial nourishments are a coastal erosion mitigation strategy that allows these negative budgets to be decreased by adding sediment to a coastal system. However, due to the complexity of coastal processes, it is difficult to evaluate sediment dynamics after the intervention. In consideration of this, this Special Issue disseminates the most updated scientific knowledge on understanding the sediment dynamics processes after artificial nourishments.

Pyrazoles are considered privileged structures in medicinal chemistry due to their remarkable biological activities and occurrence in many low-molecular-weight compounds present in several marketed drugs (e.g., Celebrex® and Viagra®). Pyrazoles are also found within a variety of agrochemicals (fungicides, insecticides, and herbicides) and are versatile scaffolds for synthetic manipulations. The structural features of pyrazoles (mainly tautomerism, with possible implications for their reactivity), as well as their diverse applications, have stimulated the work of several research groups towards the synthesis and functionalization of pyrazole-type compounds and the study of their properties.This is a reprint of articles from the Special Issue entitled "Recent Advances in the Synthesis, Functionalization and Applications of Pyrazole-Type Compounds II" published online in the open-access journal Molecules. The second edition of this Special Issue presents some of the most recent advancements in pyrazoles' chemistry. Ten original research articles and five reviews discuss new organic reactions and methodologies for the synthesis and functionalization of pyrazoles (including their reduced forms, pyrazolines), their use as ligands for the preparation of complexes, structural aspects and properties, and their applications in different fields.

In recent years, there have been significant advances made in emulsion science in order to improve the quality and performance of different emulsion-based products using new techniques and structural designs. Emulsion systems have been employed for many years to develop a wide variety of commercial emulsified products, including food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic products. Furthermore, this type of colloidal system has been utilized as a vehicle for the encapsulation and delivery of different bioactive compounds, such as antioxidants, vitamins, and fragrances. Therefore, a new generation of advanced emulsions may lead to products with enhanced quality and functionality.

Air pollution poses a significant risk to human health. Emissions from industrial activities, energy production, transport, waste management activities, and natural sources contribute to the many air pollution-induced problems, such as reduced visibility, adverse health effects, and global climate change. The residence time of pollutants in the atmosphere can extend from several days to months, and the corresponding spatial transportation scales are proportionally large, ranging from local to continental. Even though there is no region not affected by air pollution at some level, the situation is significantly worse in urban areas. Urban areas are hotspots of air pollution, and especially the large and densely populated metropolitan areas. Air pollutants can vary in type and characteristics, and can be of gaseous or particulate form, and can either be directly emitted or formed in the atmosphere from their precursor molecules.The aim of this Special Issue was to gather up-to-date research knowledge aiming at assessing air pollution at the urban and regional level, including both experimental and monitoring studies and mathematical/numerical modeling studies.

This reprint focuses on the fundamentals of smart grids control, with a special emphasis on solutions for electrical distribution grids with decentralized and local production, high renewable energy penetration and load and weather forecasts with uncertainties. Special attention is given to the power quality of smart grids. Techniques like blockchain, IoT and machine learning are analysed and discussed in order to carry out this task for smart grids.

This reprint is a comprehensive compilation of both fundamental and applied research findings related to power system dynamics in the context of large-scale renewable energy integration. The reprint contains an analysis of the complex dynamic behavior of power systems when integrating renewable energy sources, covering a wide range of topics in the process. It particularly focuses on the many innovative technical developments that have emerged in this field and explores the various ways to achieve renewable energy integration. The covered topics include the impact of renewable energy integration on system stability, reliability, and resilience, as well as issues related to system optimization, control, and management. The reprint provides a valuable resource for researchers, practitioners, and policymakers who are interested in the challenges and opportunities associated with the integration of renewable energy sources.