Bücher veröffentlicht von Mdpi AG

Psychiatric disorders in children and adolescents are relevant both in terms of their prevalence (they are roughly estimated to affect about 20% of school-aged children and adolescents) and of their impact on the quality of life of the child/adolescent and their family, but also on the society as a whole. Disorders affecting children and adolescents are increasingly seen as having highly specific features, and, therefore, require an equally specific approach despite the coexisting need to integrate contributions from other professions (e.g., pediatricians, psychiatrists, psychologists, and therapists of different sorts). However, the available data are still insufficient, especially for treatment options and too often therapeutic choices are still made based on studies conducted in adults. Even more important, the existence itself of some disorders is questioned especially outside the scientific field (e.g., ADHD). This Special Issue provided cutting edge data on different aspects of child and adolescent psychiatry, including etiopatogenesis, clinical characteristics and diagnosis, medical and neurological comorbidities (and psychiatric comorbidities of medical and neurological disorders), impact on patients/families/society (including school and other social groups), prognosis, and treatment options of the different disorders.

Several factors influence consumers' choices of food products. While price remains the main criterion, quality, pleasure, convenience, and health are also important driving factors in food market evolution. Food enterprises are making significant efforts to manufacture products that meet consumers' demands without compromising on safety standards. Additionally, the food industry also aims to improve the efficiency of transformation and conservation processes by minimizing energy consumption, process duration, and waste generation. However, foods are highly complex systems in which: (i) Non-linear dynamics and interactions among different temporal and spatial scales must be considered; (ii) A wide range of physical phenomena occur; (iii) Different food matrices, with different microstructures and properties are involved; and (iv) The number of quality and safety indicators (such as bacteria, total volatile basic nitrogen, color, texture, odor, and sensory characteristics) is substantial. Mathematical modeling and simulation are key elements that allow us to gain a deeper understanding of food processes and enable the use of tools such as optimization and real-time control to improve their efficiency. This Special Issue gathers research on the development of dynamic mathematical models that describe the relevant factors in food processes, and model-based tools to improve such processes. The contributions published in this Special Issue can be grouped into two categories: the evolution of safety and quality indicators in unprocessed food systems, and transformation and preservation processes.

This reprint presents the published papers of a Special Issue titled Antioxidant Activity of Essential Oils, of the journal Antioxidants, MDPI. Obviously, essential oils are a point of huge interest, due to them being rich in bioactive substances (with their recognised antioxidant, immunomodulatory, antibacterial, antiviral, etc., effects) and are also used extensively in the beauty/cosmetic industry, food products, etc. Considering the global trend of "return to nature", both in eating habits/nutrition, and in the adjuvant therapies (implying essential oils) addressed in the case of numerous diseases, and taking into account the interest of the authors who submitted their papers, the current topic can be considered to be of great interest and with increased and promising potential for future research.

This Special Issue contains contributions from colleagues, former students and collaborators of the late Prof. Miron Amusia, who was a world-leading figure in theoretical atomic physics over the past half a century. The focus of this Special Issue is on many-electron and multiphoton atomic processes that are at the forefront of contemporary atomic and molecular physics. Special attention is given to the many-electron correlation problem and its interplay with strong field laser-atom interactions. These scientific advances represent the lasting legacy of Prof. Amusia and his school.

Liquid biopsy shows promise for cancer screening and diagnostics. This reprint collects recent scientific literature on the identification and application of tumor biomarkers in biological fluids to improve the diagnosis of cancer and the identification of optimal therapeutic strategies.

This reprint addresses fundamental research about the integration of transport modes into unique mobility infrastructure and services, allowing for multimodal choices for passengers in their journey and increasing the sustainability of mobility. The reprint has important relevancy given the increasing attention devoted to sustainability aspects in aviation and the emerging need to achieve multimodality in transportation, by integrating the vertical dimension with the horizontal one, particularly in urban and peri-urban environments. New technologies and concepts are considered for implementing seamless door-to-door travel, which requires the implementation of fully integrated intermodal transport systems, allowing for passengers to have easy and seamless transfer between different transport modes, where Air Traffic Management (ATM) and air transport can play a fundamental role. The new paradigm in transport is of shifting from the optimization of the individual transport segments to the optimization of the overall journey, including all the possible transportation means that allow for achieving, in combination and with multimodal possible choice, a unique seamless door-to-door journey. Through this new paradigm, it will be possible to increase the efficiency of the overall transport chain by improving the interoperability of the different modes of transport, while simultaneously increasing environmental, social, and economic sustainability, prompting a more efficient use of existing and future infrastructure.

In order to be able to analyze and give proper advice on sport techniques, it is important to understand the biomechanical and physiological demands of different sports. In a coaching situation, feedback to the athlete should be given without too much delay. Over the past decades, sensor technology-related to sports monitoring has developed with huge steps. Senors are lighter, data transmission is mostly wireless, and software applications are more user-friendly.This book is addressed to all kinds of sensors that are currently being used for monitoring different sports.

Heusler type magnetic shape memory alloys (MSMAs) have gained a strong academic and practical importance during recent decades due to the giant effects they exhibit, particularly magnetostrain produced by magnetic field-induced twin boundaries motion and magneto(elasto)-caloric effects resulting from the magnetic field-induced martensitic transformation.This Special Issue intends to communicate the latest advances in R&D and theory of MSMAs. This book consists of a collection of eleven invited peer-reviewed papers, each detailing a particular aspect in the fundamental and/or applied investigation of MSMAs and related phenomena. The papers are a corpus of up-to-date information on the ongoing studies of MSMAs. It is hoped that this book will be useful to physicists and materials scientists, both specialists and graduate students, and enable future technological breakthroughs in engineering.

This book contains all the articles published in the Special Issue "Dynamic Modeling and Simulation for Control Systems" from the MDPI Mathematics journal. This Special Issue aims to cover important aspects of how to optimize the dynamic behavior of physical systems using special algorithms and artificial intelligence in the modeling, simulation, and optimization of components and systems from important fields such as astronautics, aerospace, avionics, robotics, manufacturing systems, mechanical engineering, power energy, materials technology, and neurorehabilitation. It is our hope that this Special Issue will contribute to the research on techniques for the modeling, simulation, and optimization of control systems in dynamic systems.

In this reprint, state-of-the-art research and review articles on emerging material systems for additive manufacturing (AM) are collected, with a focus on the process-structure-properties relationships.Additive manufacturing (AM) has grown and evolved rapidly in recent years. There are many exciting research and translational works in many areas of application, such as biomedical, aerospace and electronics. These advancements are typically coupled with materials development, which has resulted in more functionalities added to 3D-printed parts, such as multi-material fabrications and integration with machine learning or digital twins. Such enhancements in functionalities have enabled the evolution of AM from a rapid prototyping tool to an actual manufacturing solution. In this reprint, two reviews and thirteen original research articles are included to highlight the latest development in the field of materials science for AM.

The automotive industry has always been synonymous with research and innovation, but nowadays the industry is adding pressure and is establishing the agenda of the researchers from the field. Visions have been provided, and the hardware and the software exist; the only question remaining is: "who is going to deliver"?To answer this question, we encouraged scientists, researchers, industry specialists, and academics to share their vision of autonomous vehicles. What will the platform look like? What kind of hardware and software is most suitable? Who will make the connection between these two interdependent environments (and how), so that in the end the AI will define the process? These are the pressing issues of the current moment, and this Special Issue will help all those interested in the topic to promote their vision and ideas.Since the automotive field does not belong to a classical scientific field but has become an independent self-made scientific branch, all those who felt that they could contribute to this highly dynamic environment were requested to join in promoting their particular research or reviews in this Special Issue coordinated from both academia and the industry.

Nanomaterials are a large area of research at present. These materials, which have at least one of their dimensions in the nanoscale (i.e., in a length range from 1 nm to 100 nm), have remarkable or unconventional properties, unlike bulk materials. These materials are currently used in many applications; however, new potential uses are being investigated. In this sense, there is large interest in their use in medicine, electronic devices, the production and storage of energy, composite materials, etc. The production of nanomaterials is addressed through physical and/or chemical methods; however, most of these methods exhibit low reproducibility or a low production rate or make use of toxic chemicals. In order to avoid most of these drawbacks, the laser-based synthesis of nanomaterials has emerged as an alternative to overcome these limitations. This family of methods use a laser beam to produce different nanomaterials (e.g., nanoparticles, nanowires or 2D materials) using diverse approaches. Techniques such as those based on laser ablation, laser vaporization, pulsed laser deposition (PLD), laser-chemical vapor deposition (LCVD), etc., are being explored at present to fabricate these nanoscale materials with a controlled size and shape. In this context, here we present research papers addressing the most recent developments in this field to summarize the current state of the art in the synthesis of nanomaterials using laser techniques.

This reprint focuses on fundamental and applied research involving the combination of biomaterials and cancer cells to develop a three-dimensional (3D) tumor microenvironment in vitro, in which carcinogenesis mechanisms can be studied and therapies can be screened. Such models are becoming quite popular within the bioengineering community; thus, many technologies are being tested to obtain the best scaffold for each tumor. In any case, only a tight interaction of bioengineers with cancer biologists and oncologists can make such 3D models progress, with them finally reaching a clinical relevance. On the other hand, the medical community is approaching simpler 3D in vitro models not provided with sufficient extracellular matrix biomimicry, such as spheroids and organoids, which may not be self-exhaustive; therefore, cancer researchers could benefit from closer contact with bioengineers. The aim of this reprint is to help generate shared knowledge and promote strong interdisciplinary collaboration with the ultimate goal of contributing to the acceleration of the discovery and validation of more precise therapies to fight cancer.

The reprint "Sustainable Healthy Working Life for All Ages-Work Environment, Age Management and Employability" provide an outlet of research contributing to the development of theoretical and practical knowledge influencing people's working life. Working life is complex and there are many different factors that influence, such as the demographic change, pandemic and rapid technological development, etc., which place constantly changing demands on both employees, organizations/companies and society in different countries.This reprint covers new knowledge, as identified factors and areas that affect employees' ability to work to an older age, interventions and measures that enable a healthy and sustainable working life throughout the entire working life journey, from young to senior employees. The reprint also addresses the pressured work situation of school leaders in managing the education of children and young people in society, and what makes them stay or leave their jobs. In addition, the reprint addresses the way in which the Covid-19 pandemic has affected working life, not least for the health care professional groups and organizations.

This reprint focuses on fungi as they are considered one of the most harmful organisms, endangering the conservation of historical and artistic heritage worldwide. Fungi are a large group of organisms occupying many ecological niches, even those considered extreme, due to their ability to cope with many environmental factors and to feed on all organic materials, even those considered toxic. For these reasons, the conservation of artefacts of historical or artistic value must consider information on fungal diversity, ecology, and the methods of controlling or limiting their destructive action.Biocides have been used for decades as the method of choice to stop or mitigate fungal spreading when preventive measures fail. Recently, more attention has been paid to alternative control methods that are more respectful of the operator and the environment. Due to the wide range of materials used throughout history, and the microclimatic conditions to which they are subjected worldwide, more efforts are needed to cover this knowledge gap and set more sustainable protocols.

A major task for health professionals and health systems is effectively preventing and treating cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. This book offers an updated set of experimental and clinical information on the usefulness of nutraceutical products for the management of cardiometabolic diseases, which range from obesity and diabetes mellitus and their complications to hypercholesterolemia. The nutraceutical option may be used according the "beyond diet, before drug" strategy and is particularly relevant in the cardiometabolic field. The chapters of this book offer a deep insight into relevant issues in this nutraceutical field, such as experimental research for the preclinical identification of interesting compounds of natural origin, quality of nutraceutical products and their efficacy and safety, regulatory aspects, and the quality of evidence-based medicine.

Wood is a natural material that is available in large quantities and is easy to produce, making it the perfect material to consider for the circular economy. Its importance has dramatically increased in recent years. This increase is accompanied by the development of new research methods that open new possibilities in the areas related to wood and wood products in the process of their production, processing, and final use. The main topics of this Special Issue were the knowledge of the quality of wood and other lignocellulose materials; the processes of their effective utilization and processing for more efficient processing; the adoption of techniques and research around using wood for environmentally friendly composite production and the positive impact of this on the environment; wood's interaction with solid substances and with different mechanical loads, chemicals, and other substances; and the different forms of energy and surface modification of wood and wood composites.

"Language Development in Children: Description to Detect and Prevent Language Difficulties" is focused on the description of language development and the variables affecting the early detection and prevention of language difficulties. Although language difficulties are very common (14%), these difficulties are misdiagnosed due to the lack of visibility and knowledge from professionals of their long-term consequences in education and mental health. To prevent the misdiagnosed identification and assessment of language difficulties, more typical and atypical language studies are needed. In this sense, a good description of language acquisition could help to detect and prevent language difficulties. Nevertheless, most of the research on child language development has been conducted in English and several cross-linguistic studies have shown that some results about language development in English may not be transferred to other languages. Despite the increase in the number of studies, there is still little research about typical and atypical language acquisition in other languages and in bilingual populations. Therefore, this work aims to fill the current void in these studies, give them visibility, and show the latest research about language acquisition in children. In this sense, this work addresses works with several perspectives of child language from a psycholinguistic, psychological, linguistic, and/or educational point of view, including theoretical and empirical studies on typical and atypical child language acquisition and their association with other variables (either social or genetic) that could affect them.

A disease model displays pathological processes observed in human or animal diseases. The models are fundamental tools in biomedical research, and they are invaluable for providing new insights into mechanisms underlying organ function, establishing the pathophysiology of a disease, and testing potential therapeutic approaches.Models have been long used to study several diseases, including cardiovascular, oncologic, metabolic, infectious, and neurological diseases, among others. Animals or cells displaying pathological processes observed in human or animal diseases have been used as models. Moreover, mathematical models are also of great importance to disease modeling. Animal models offer the unique opportunity to investigate the function of genes and pathways and the in vivo effects of drugs, bridging the gap between basic science and the treatment of diseases. The selection of a suitable model system is a crucial step in research design. For disease modeling to be meaningful, a relevant cellular or genetic phenotype must be observed. Without the use of models, both research and clinical practice worldwide would be vastly different today.This Special Issue aimed to publish original research works or reviews with models of disease, highlighting their importance to search for new therapeutic strategies.

This reprint is mainly aimed at economists involved in the energy market. Energy market processes have an enormous impact on people's day-to-day economic activities. The economics of sustainability leads the way in theorizing how best to prevent environmental degradation whilst also fostering positive economic development. For these reasons, the focus of this reprint is mainly on pollution and the energy transition. Works on energy resources and future-oriented solutions that reduce the consumption of classical energy resources are explored in the reprint. Papers relating to contemporary accounting and the stock market are also presented. The geographical area of the works showcased here essentially covers the entire eastern hemisphere of the globe (Asia, Africa and Europe). They are mainly empirical studies, although in one case a bibliometric analysis is included.

This reprint focuses on land use/land cover (LULC), natural hazards and their interactions, changes, and impacts. Over the past few decades, the risks due to natural hazards have increased significantly, to a large extent due to changes in LULC, which are triggered mainly by anthropic pressure on landscapes, i.e., urbanization, forest management practices, agricultural practices, and the like. As a result, LULC changes contribute significantly to changes in the variability or magnitude of natural hazards, such as floods, landslides, and erosion. Therefore, this reprint provides a collection of studies focused on the interactions between LULC and different types of natural hazards, which were studied in several research areas around the world.

The Special Issue reprint covers a wide range of applications of 3D-printing in dentistry. Five out of eleven research papers deal with applications of 3D printing in orthodontics, one study presents a 3D-printed fitting system for the FFP2 that were applied during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the others address applications in prosthodontics and restorative dentistry.

The incidence of obesity has dramatically increased in recent decades, which has placed great pressure and a significant burden on people's lives and the economy. Drug treatment of obesity may have certain side effects, while surgical treatment also has risks and can cause negative emotions in people. Weight loss obtained through diet and exercise leads to a significant reduction in morbidity and mortality. Recently, there has been increasing interest in the possible beneficial effects of dietary supplements, which are products intended to "supplement" the diet. In addition to vitamins, minerals and amino acids, dietary supplements can contain herbs or other botanicals and many other ingredients. They are not drugs and are not intended to treat diseases; they are adjuvants in the management of obesity and metabolic diseases. As a consequence, there is a great need to determine specific dietary supplements for the management of obesity. This will be the content of this Special Issue.

The eradication of vector-borne diseases is threatened by the limited range of available insecticides, leading, inevitably, to the development of resistance. This is particularly concerning for malaria control, which relies heavily on insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) and indoor residual sprays (IRS). New chemistries are being developed, and innovative deployment of insecticides may play a role in overcoming resistance, either through new types of tools or new means of distribution. A variety of novel product types and vector control strategies are under development and evaluation, which is to be celebrated, but a strong evidence base is needed to guide effective operational deployment decisions. Novel approaches should be supported by robust data collected using appropriate and validated methods to monitor efficacy, durability, and any emerging resistance. This reprint presents original research into developing and characterizing new vector control products, as well as understanding and monitoring insecticide resistance. Review articles explore the impact of insecticide resistance and offer guidance on insecticide choice in the face of pyrethroid resistance. Consensus methodologies are presented, in the form of standard operating procedures (SOPs) designed to be adopted and used to generate reproducible data that can be compared and interpreted across and between studies. It is hoped that this collection of articles offers inspiration and guidance on how consistent data can be generated to inform more effective development, evaluation, and use of new and existing vector control tools.

We are pleased to present a Special Issue of Languages on the topic of Sign Language Emergence. Sign languages are the only extant languages that can be caught in the act of being born and developing with no model, and they, therefore, offer the only empirical evidence for language emergence in human societies. We have brought together a collection of articles on emerging sign languages that contribute a great deal to our current understanding of this process.This Special Issue covers eleven different emerging sign languages around the world. The articles deal with several aspects of language emergence, including, most notably: (1) the relationship between the emerging language and the culture of the larger society; (2) the role of iconicity in the emergence of sign language; (3) the relationship between the shared context in a small signing community and the degree of variation in the vocabulary; and (4) the vulnerability of budding sign languages. Spoken creole languages are also young, but are different from emerging sign languages, in that the speakers of pidgins from which creoles are assumed to have descended already had native languages. One article compares the features of creoles and of emerging sign languages.We are especially pleased with the diversity and breadth of interests of the contributors to the volume, who are based on four continents. The languages that they cover are equally diverse in their geographical provenance.

This Special Issue aims to provide a general overview of some geoscience applications of GNSS and InSAR techniques which are commonly used to study the surface deformation related to co- and post-seismic deformation, subsurface movements of magma beneath active volcanoes, soil deformation (e.g., natural/anthropic uplift or subsidence), monitoring of landslide, monitoring of industrial settlements, the motion of ice sheets, etc.

Each year, natural hazards, such as earthquakes, landslides, avalanches, tsunamis, floods, wildfires, severe storms, and drought, , affect humans worldwide, resulting in deaths, suffering, and economic losses. According to insurance broker Aon, 2010-2019 was the worst decade on record for economic losses due to disasters triggered by natural hazards, amounting to USD 3 trillion, which is USD 1 trillion more than for the period of 2000-2009. In 2019, the economic losses from disasters caused by natural hazards were estimated at over USD 200 billion (UNDRR Annual Report, 2019). In this context, remote sensing shows high potential to provide valuable information, at various spatial and temporal scales, concerning natural processes and their associated risks. The recent advances in remote sensing technologies and analysis, in terms of sensors, platforms, and techniques, are strongly contributing to the development of natural hazards research. With this Special Issue titled "Remote Sensing for Natural Hazards Assessment and Control", we proposed state-of-the-art research that specifically addresses multiple aspects on the use of remote sensing (RS) for Natural Hazards (NH). The aim was therefore to collect innovative methodologies, expertise, and capabilities to detect, assess, monitor, and model natural hazards. The present Special Issue of Remote Sensing encompasses 18 open access papers presenting scientific studies based on the exploitation of a broad range of RS data and techniques, as well as focusing on a well-assorted sample of NH types.

Maritime transport contributes to over 80% of global trading volumes. As such, marine policy has received a large amount of attention from industrial practitioners, researchers, policymakers, and the local community. In general, marine policy covers a wide-ranging area, including governance, international relations, economics, environments, and operations, amongst others. To a certain extent, marine policy fosters the sustainable development of the maritime industry. There has been a wide range of research in different disciplines of marine policy.The purpose of this book is to publish the most intriguing research with respect to the above subjects and to provide a rapid turn-around time regarding reviewing and publishing, as well as to disseminate articles freely for research, teaching, and reference purposes. Furthermore, the book aims to keep readers up to date with the latest developments and research in maritime affairs.

This reprint exists to solve high complexity issues in remote sensing data processing, geochemical data analysis, geophysical data analysis and appropriate applications of GIS techniques for data fusion designed for mineral and hydrocarbon exploration. This reprint contains updated and informative knowledge of remote sensing imagery, geochemistry, geophysics and geospatial techniques that can assist in delineating the signatures and patterns linked to deep-seated, covered, blind, or buried mineral deposits and onshore oil slick detection, offshore oil spill monitoring and hydrocarbon exploration. It includes several color figures for remotely-sensed recognition of mineralization-related footprints. Additionally, this reprint comprehends several interactive flowcharts for describing the procedures explained therein.

This Special Issue showcases some advanced methodologies used in surface water quality modelling. Its aim is to introduce several topics that are new in the field of surface water quality modelling and help spur new developments in each of the topics. It is intended for a readership consisting of researchers, academicians, consultants and government agency representatives. The editor of this Special Issue wishes to thank all authors, reviewers and academic editors in their contributions, without whom the publishing of this collective work would not have come to pass.