Bücher veröffentlicht von Mdpi AG

This reprint brings together many scientific contributions on current actinide research, both theoretical and experimental. Special attention is given to the theoretical modeling of the atomic spectra of actinides, the experimental study of their atomic and nuclear structure, and new developments in the production and spectroscopy of their elusive and rather exotic radionuclides.

This reprint represents a general view of what and how the research on plants at the molecular level (genetics, genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and so on) contributes to a good equilibrium among human needs, food security, and future strategies for mitigating the effects of global climate changes. Now more than ever, it is critical to understand the genetics and evolution of the gene mechanisms and the networks of different molecular pathways acting on plant abiotic stress tolerance in order to find new solutions for modern agricultural problems.This reprint is full of technical and specialized terms and, for this reason, its target audience is scientists and students trained in plant functional genomics, breeding, agronomy, and genetics. It is an exciting virtual tour through plant molecular responses to various environmental stresses, and new ideas and applications will be derived.

Environmental management and the preservation of biodiversity are widely considered a priority in the context of accelerating global changes affecting the physical and biological resources of our planet. This Special Issue of the journal will focus on "Coastal and Aquatic Ecosystems". The coastal region is a transition area between terrestrial and marine ecosystems. This transition area is now considered an important component of the biosphere, both in terms of ecosystems' diversity and in the provision of resources and services. Moreover, the coastal region is home to a significant number of distinct biological communities, including coral reefs, mangroves, salt meadows and wetlands, phanerogam meadows, and kelp forests, estuarine assemblages or coastal lagoons, forests, and grasslands. The diversity of coastal ecosystems is directly threatened by human activity.Remote sensing meets this challenge by offering a wide range of standard products on environmental coastal condition, thanks in particular to various state-of-the-art sensors. The development of innovative methods based on the integration of multi-source, multi-resolution, and multi-temporal images offers promising prospects for considering the different scales of ecosystems. Consequently, the products derived from remote sensing contribute to the development of temporal and spatial indicators for better knowledge and management of coastal and aquatic ecosystems.

This book covers various aspects of sustainable urbanisation. It includes empirical evidence, theoretical insights, and practical recommendations in order to inform and inspire sustainable urban strategies. The ten original research studies presented in this book explore topics such as green buildings, rail transportation, land-use efficiency, energy consumption, innovation management, heritage preservation, digital technologies, and behaviour change. The interdisciplinary and international scope of the issue reflects the complexity and diversity of the challenges and opportunities encountered when striving for urban sustainability. This Special Issue aims to provide researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and students with a comprehensive and up-to-date perspective on sustainable urban development.

This reprint, edited by Prof. Gaetano Santulli, MD, PhD, collects the most up-to-date peer-reviewed scientific papers dealing with cardiovascular medicine, from basic science to pre-clinical and clinical investigations, highlighting the fundamental importance of translational medicine in the challenging quest for new therapies to cure cardiovascular disease. Indeed, cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death worldwide, and the search for novel mechanisms and therapeutics is desperately needed. Therefore, both basic and translational studies in the cardiovascular field represent a paramount strategy to identify novel therapeutic targets and improve the quality of life of patients with cardiovascular disorders.

In the past two decades, great advancements have been made in phonetic, auditory, and psycholinguistic research on speech perception. As the fields have advanced, there has been increasing interdisciplinary collaboration between them, which has, in turn, revealed their interdependence. The aim of this Special Issue is to bring together top scholars in these three related areas to present research in a single volume with papers ranging from the neurophysiology of hearing, to phonetic and linguistic factors, to factors related to hearing loss and assistive devices, second language learning and accentedness, and the processing of speech and the mental lexicon. We invite you all to read the high-quality papers in this Special Issue.

The title of the current Special Issue, "Feature Papers in Materials Simulation and Design", has identified the aims of this collection since its opening: the gathering of research works and comprehensive review papers that advance the understanding and prediction of material behavior at different scales, from atomistic to macroscopic, through innovative modeling and simulation.In this context, interdisciplinary researches that tackled challenging and complex material problems where the governing phenomena might span different scales of material behavior, with an emphasis on the development of quantitative approaches to explain and predict experimental observations, have been collected. Similarly, particular attention has been given to homogenization techniques for the evaluation of the mechanical properties of new materials and multi-phase composites. Innovative numerical approaches for the mechanical analysis, highlighting their accuracy, reliability, and stability features, have been also welcomed. Significant space has been also given to advanced and sustainable technologies. From the aforementioned topics, it is evident that this Special Issue represents the ideal forum for disseminating excellent research findings, as well as sharing innovative ideas in this significant field.Throughout the several months of activity, this Special Issue has been able to attract much interesting research. Its success is proven by the sixteen papers collected and published.

Diabetes is a worldwide public health problem that can be explained by the classic model of the determinants of health. Thus, success in preventing diabetes mellitus and its associated complications not only depends on the individual but also on social and community networks as well as general socioeconomic, cultural, and environmental conditions. For that reason, we need to create conditions that ensure good health and social care for an entire population through the development and implementation of preventive strategies, promotion of healthy lifestyles, protection from diseases, and the design of targeted screening strategies. This aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development goal number 3, good health and well-being, which includes the achievement of universal health coverage and access to quality essential healthcare services. In addition, this also has a direct link to goal number 10, which focuses on reducing inequalities within and among countries. Pathological Mechanisms in Diabetes is a compilation of high-quality scientific evidence aimed at unraveling the molecular mechanisms involved in the association between diabetes and comorbidities and at describing their clinical and therapeutic implications. The variety of updated topics included from different approaches shows the need for more efficient preventive activities to reduce the incidence of this disease and its related complications.

Metal and metal oxide nanocomposites have received considerable attention as an alternative to conventional antimicrobial agents because of their diverse shape, size, high surface-to-volume ratio, chemical/physical stability, activity, and a greater degree of selectivity. The design and synthesis of metal and metal oxide nanocomposites (e.g. mono, bi-, tri-, and multi-metallic nanocomposites), as well as polymer-based nanocomposites and hydrogels with diversified nanostructures (e.g. nanoarrays, nanotubes, core-shell, nanosheets, and nanorods), has sparked considerable interest in terms of biomedical therapeutics, bioimaging, biosensors, drug delivery, and antimicrobial attributes.

The papers published in the Special Issue "Eco-Friendly Materials for Civil Construction: Utilization and Advantages" are now collected as a reprint supporting sustainability for changing our planet lifestyle of increasing consumerist and predatory actions. Indeed, this reprint serves as a warning that the traditional linear economy entails the generation of huge amounts of wastes and, consequently, a negative impact on the environment. Therefore, emphasis on sustainable action is mandatory for the required transition from a linear to a circular economy.The collection of papers comprising this reprint are intended to contribute to advance and understanding on the role of eco-friendly construction materials. They could not only promote saving in energy but also reduce pollution by incorporating urban, agricultural, and industrial wastes.

We are delighted to share our Special Issue on Talent Identification and Development in Youth Sports. In 2020, the editorial team had several informal discussions about the growing interest from researchers and practitioners in these disciplines, and subsequently wanted to create a platform to help advance this field of literature. Following these conversations, we decided to use the Personal Assets Framework (Côté et al., 2014, 2016) to outline our objectives and the potential research topics for our Special Issue. In doing so, it was hoped that the studies included can inform evidence-based youth sport policies and athlete development programmes. Submissions were encouraged from a diverse range of quantitative and qualitative research methods to examine the current context of talent identification and development in youth sports, as well as reviews to synthesise expert knowledge within these disciplines. In light of the articles that have been included within our Special Issue, we believe our initial aims of progressing the talent identification and development literature have been achieved, and now hope that the research presented can be utilised by key stakeholders (e.g., administrators, coaches, parents, practitioners) and organisational structures (e.g., national governing bodies, professional clubs, recreational teams, youth sport associations) to create more appropriate youth sport settings.

The field of healthcare is constantly evolving and advancing with new technologies and innovations. Among these, assistive technologies, robotics, and automated machines are rapidly gaining ground as powerful tools to improve the quality of care and enhance patient outcomes. From wearable devices that monitor vital signs to surgical robots that assist in complex procedures, these technologies have the potential to revolutionize the way we deliver healthcare. The development and the integration of assistive technologies, care robots, and automated machines are strategic both as single components, when paired together, and when interconnected in the health domain.This reprint explores the latest developments in assistive technologies, robotics, and automated machines in the health domain, providing a comprehensive overview of their applications and potential impact. The reprint is for the benefit of healthcare professionals, researchers, engineers, and students interested in these rapidly evolving fields.

The demand for plant proteins continues to increase due to the growing global population, rising protein deficiency, and their versatile environmental, functional, nutritional, and health benefits. Plant proteins represent a more sustainable source to (partially) supplement costly animal-based foods. Many factors can influence protein functionality and application, such as protein sources, production methods, molecular structures, chemical properties, food formulations and environment, and food processing techniques. The potential applications of plant proteins are diverse. This reprint covers diverse topics related to the characterization, chemistry, interaction, processing, modification, functionality, and/or application of various plant proteins in relation to human food.

The purpose of this reprint based on the Special issue "Molecules in Diabetes Melitus, Dyslipidemia and Cardiovascular Disease", IJMS journal, MDPI, is to present the impact in clinical practice as well as in medical research of novel molecules that have been introduced in the treatment of diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, and cardiovascular disease.

This reprint contains 12 high-quality original research papers by 74 authors from 17 countries on 3 continents: Asia (China, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Russia), Europe (Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom), and North America (USA). These papers were published in a Special Issue, "Performance and Modification of Wood and Wood-Based Materials", of the journal Forests. They provide examples concerning conventional and novel modification processes of wood and wood-based materials, their improved/modified properties, and their relevant applications.

A change from a consumer society to a sustainable and conserver society must focus on for the welfare of the planet and future generations through balance rather than by maximizing the exploitation of resources. This will bring about further growth as an option for both per capita consumption and the population. Muddled and tepid responses make it clear that the society has not developed a vision of what a truly sustainable society looks like. It is essential to bring awareness to the possibility of creating a sustainable society which will incorporate sustainable development goals (SDGs) to generate a future with more possibilities. In order to move towards a sustainable society, it is vital to provide the highest standard of wellbeing, from an environmental, human, and economic perspective. We can contribute by providing technical and scientific studies that can be accessed freely and implemented by all. These works cover the important parameters that can be addressed to achieve sustainability, such as being energetically sustainable, resource-sustainable, environmentally sustainable, fiscally sustainable, and socially sustainable.

The intention of this Special Issue is to focus on new aspects of drug discovery, including the search for new molecular targets of various diseases, the creation of new modern methods for diagnosing diseases, the development of new test systems and kits for assessing the selectivity and effectiveness of new drugs, the study of the molecular mechanisms of biologically active compounds, the formulation of new drugs, pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic studies, and preclinical trials of important molecules.

Since the introduction of robotic surgery in the early 2000s, several studies have demonstrated its safety and feasibility in various complicated procedures, including esophageal, gastric, and colorectal surgery (for both benign and malignant pathologies), hepatobiliopancreatic surgery, and gynecological and urological procedures.Robot-assisted surgery provides the advantages of a magnified tridimensional view and movement stability without a tremor, which facilitate a precise dissection. The EndoWrist instrument also facilitates dissection at difficult angles, thus enabling surgery in complex conditions.Even if some of the advantages of robotic surgery have been defined, we are still far from clearly recognizing precise indications for a robotic approach in gastrointestinal surgery.With this Special Issue, we aim to investigate the conditions that support the robotic approach in gastrointestinal surgery toward the definition of gold-standard robotic procedures, as established in urological surgery for prostatectomy.

Robotics and intelligent systems often appear to be linked, as they take advantage of the best abilities of each other towards a common goal. In industry, it is common to see robotic systems aided by machine learning and vice versa and in applications spanning from robot navigation, grasping, human-robot interaction/collaboration, safety, and team management, among others. Achievements targeting the industrial domain can be directly applied in robotic systems operating in other domains. While the advancements in the last few years have been enormous, industrial robotics and intelligent systems face several scientific and technological challenges related to their integration with other systems, interaction with humans, safety, flexibility, reconfigurability, and autonomy. These challenges are especially relevant when robots operate in unstructured industrial environments and share their workspaces with human co-workers and other robots. This reprint collects research and technological achievements related to advanced intelligent robotic systems. The contributions cover the coordination of multiple robots navigating on the factory floor, path planning strategies, human-robot interaction, robot redundancy and kinematics, systems integration, grasping, and manipulation.

Coasts are highly dynamic and geomorphologically complex systems that evolve under the growing pressures of climate change and anthropogenic activities, which can have direct or indirect impacts on the coastal environment. Among the major adverse effects, coastal erosion represents one of the most pressing global issues, especially in flat and low-lying coastal areas that appear to be particularly susceptible to beach erosion and related shoreline retreat. This Special Issue presents twelve papers on "Shoreline Dynamics and Beach Erosion" that contribute to the growing body of knowledge on the dynamics and spatial-temporal evolution of shorelines and beach systems. Using multi-, interdisciplinary, and new experimental approaches, coastal systems of variable complexities located in different geographic and climatic contexts are investigated. The major topics covered concern the morphodynamics and hydrodynamics of coastal systems, the driving factors of coastal erosion, and the use of models and indexes to study coastal vulnerability, and the mitigation of human and natural pressures affecting coastal ecosystems.

This Special Issue on "Carbon Dioxide Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS)" features invited articles on the latest technologies and developments in CCUS, including but not limited to pre-combustion carbon capture; post-combustion carbon capture; oxyfuel or chemical cycle combustion; conversion of CO2 to synthetic fuels; biomass thermal conversion; CO2 storage; BECCUS; and other abatement technologies.

This reprint considers a wide variety of topics concerning molecular and clinical advances in understanding early mammalian embryo development. The authors of various chapters of this book examine oocyte biology, preimplantation embryo development, blastocyst implantation in the uterus, and second cellular lineage differentiation. In addition, epigenetic contributions to reproduction, which may occur throughout pregnancy and in resultant offspring, are also considered. Environmentally induced epigenetic changes in germ cells can render mammalian offspring less healthy, and these changes can be difficult to reverse. Included in these changes are those caused by assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs). It remains to be determined whether the healthiest preimplantation embryos develop in vitro in conditions that mimic the physiological environment in vivo or whether simpler conditions can also foster this development in vitro. In this regard, a number of advances as well as challenges in ART are considered by the authors of the chapters included in this book.

This Special Issue, entitled the "Synthesis of Heteroaromatic Compounds", is an outstanding collection of fourteen original research papers and six review articles that discuss the advances made in both conventional and green preparatory methods, as well as the properties and applications of heteroaromatic molecules in industrial and medicinal chemistry areas of study.The collected works featured herein collate contributions from a truly international and diverse array of ninety experts in the fields of heteroaromatic compound synthesis, QSAR studies, computational chemistry and molecular docking, as well as bioactivity studies.

Fruit- and vegetable-based products (F&Vs) have been conventionally processed using thermal techniques such as pasteurization, scalding, and/and drying, ensuring microbial safety and/or enzyme deactivation. Although thermal treatments are the most cost-effective tools, they could also reduce bioactive compounds, nutrients, and even sensory attributes. Nowadays, non-thermal food-processing technologies such as UV light and high-pressure processing have been proposed to develop food products with extended shelf life and preserved/encouraged bioactive compounds, while preserving the sensory properties. This reprint addresses the existing knowledge gaps of novel thermal and non-thermal techniques in the production of F&Vs and their derivatives. This reprint focuses on the effect of thermal and non-thermal treatments (light stresses, high hydrostatic pressure, pulse electric fields, oscillating magnetic fields, cold plasma, ultrasound, drying, etc.) on shelf-life, key bioactive compound changes (antioxidants, nutraceuticals, flavonoids, and non-flavonoids), enzymatic antioxidant systems, and non-enzymatic antioxidant systems of fruit- and vegetable-based products. Apart from an editorial written by the guest editors, the Special Issue consists of 13 papers that cover a range of subjects: thermal and non-thermal treatments on whole fruits (n = 4); thermal and non-thermal treatments on fruit and vegetable byproducts (n = 3); and, thermal and non-thermal treatments on fruit-based beverages and purées (n = 6).