Bücher veröffentlicht von Mdpi AG

Interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) has demonstrated its potential in monitoring geological disasters, e.g., in relation to subsidence, landslides, earthquakes, and volcanoes. Such monitoring results provide significant information for further physical modeling, driving mechanism interpretation, developments in early warning technology, and the management and formulation of policies by relevant authorities and stakeholders. This reprint focuses on monitoring and modelling of geological disasters using InSAR observations. The content covers topics such as PS/DS processing, deformation parameter inversion, motoring deformation (e.g., earthquakes, volcanoes, and oil extraction), and driving mechanism interpretation. These excellent reports significantly contribute to further developments in the monitoring and modeling of geological disasters using InSAR techniques.

The climate changes that are becoming visible today are a challenge for the global research community. In this context, renewable energy sources, fuel cell systems, and other energy generating sources must be optimally combined and connected to the grid system using advanced energy transaction methods. As this reprint presents the latest solutions in the implementation of fuel cell and renewable energy in mobile and stationary applications, such as hybrid and microgrid power systems based on the Energy Internet, Blockchain technology, and smart contracts, we hope that they will be of interest to readers working in the related fields mentioned above.

This reprint contains twenty-one scientific papers related to the determination of the nature, timing, and magnitude of natural hydroclimate variability and related sedimentary-diagenetic processes during geological eras past and present. Such an approach will be essential for addressing the challenges posed by climate change in coastal and deep marine sedimentary archives, for establishing the hydrological regime through the determination of environmental parameters and examining the subsequent response of the marine biota through time. Furthermore, this reprint is a significant contribution to the study of reservoir quality characteristics and the subsequent potentiality of several marine resources (ores, hydrocarbons, and geoheritage).

This Special Issue on Interdisciplinary Research for Cultural Heritage Conservation in Applied Sciences aims to bring together some of the latest researches in this field. A total of 10 papers focusing on different aspects of cultural heritage were published on the topics: rock art, mural paintings, stone monuments, stained-glass windows, environmental sensors, historic infrastructures, and analects of Confucius.

This reprint compiles the articles, communications, and review articles from top researchers describing novel or new cutting-edge designs, developments, and/or applications of unmanned vehicles. This reprint encompasses the key topics related to drone design, communications as well as autonomous Flight and Navigation. Special attention is paid to the drones' applications to environmental and earth sciences, including in agriculture, forestry, water, and marine environments; other innovative applications are also explored including in relation to the field of application, such as the inclusion of new deep learning techniques.

Constant striving to reduce pollutant emissions, greenhouse gases and energy consumption, i.e., sustainable development, forces the development of new and improved materials, technologies and manufacturing processes. One of the areas of sustainable development of the global economy is also the development of laser devices and the spreading of laser technology applications.The book deals with important issues related to the development of science and technology in the field of application the laser beam for joining, surface treatment, coatings. However, the thematic scope is not limited only to mentioned issues. The scope of the book covers issues related to advances in computational modelling of heat sources in laser and arc processes, unique techniques of underwater welding or unique techniques of forced cooling the weld metal under solidification during arc welding or hybrid process of laser deposition under cryogenic conditions, microstructural and mechanical characterisation of coatings and joints produced by different welding technologies. The above book contains valuable information, both theoretical and practical research results in the field of advanced technologies of joining, surface treatment and coatings, quality control and assessment, as well as management of the technological processes. Therefore, I deeply believe that the book will be a valuable and helpful for young scientists, engineers, and students in the field of welding and surface engineering, materials science, and manufacturing engineering.

Taurine (2-aminoethanesulfonic acid) has been reported to have a lot of physiological and pharmacological functions in various tissues, cells, and organelles in many species since discovered in the gall bladder of bovine in 1827, and its novel functions and roles have now been focused in many fields. This Special Issue consisted of eight original and two review articles contains the newest findings on the roles of taurine as an essential nutrient for development and growth in fetuses and infants, and functional maintenance in the brain, skeletal muscles, and others in adults, in mammalian, chicken, and fish.

This reprint is of interest regarding contaminated sites remediation, which integrates the research results within 20 publications covering contaminated sites remediation's full life cycle. They include pollution investigation, environmental fate, pollution control, and review. In addition, the reprint addresses all aspects of contaminated site remediation, including heavy metal pollution, organic pollution, and combined pollution. These results can help to understand the remediation of the contaminated sites in depth throughout the life cycle and help break through the bottleneck of contaminated sites remediation and provide new ideas and methods for the development of contaminated sites remediation.

This Special Issue explores empirical studies of emotional mechanisms, qualitative and quantitative measurements of emotion, the recognition of emotional contexts, and the application of emotion. We introduce fourteen papers, ranging from lab-based studies aimed at understanding emotional mechanisms to applying emotion recognition in the real world (e.g., in driving, games, education, and virtual avatars). This Special Issue explores empirical studies of emotional mechanisms, qualitative and quantitative measurements of emotion, the recognition of emotional contexts, and the application of emotion. We introduce fourteen papers, ranging from lab-based studies aimed at understanding emotional mechanisms to applying emotion recognition in the real world (e.g., in driving, games, education, and virtual avatars).

¿This Special Issue reprint is dedicated to presenting open and challenging issues in earthquake engineering. It consists of 29 peer-reviewed papers that cover a broad range of subjects and applications related to the seismic assessment and design of structures. Based on advanced computational, analytical, numerical, and experimental approaches novel results and discussions are presented. Within this context, the first studies of this issue/reprint are focused on providing an insight into the seismic performance of structures taking into account significant engineering components that still have not been fully addressed. Subsequently, there are studies with new strategies to improve the effectiveness of the dampers on the seismic mitigation performance of structures. Concerning performance-based earthquake engineering, new approaches in the seismic fragility assessment of structures are introduced. Furthermore, new innovative types of reinforced steel for the seismic design and assessment of RC structures are analytically and experimentally evaluated. The seismic performance of retrofitted structures is also addressed, while analytical modeling tools that can effectively capture the seismic behavior of substandard RC structural elements are introduced. Some other papers provide experimental results to evaluate and/or validate the structural performance of elements, such as anchors, connectors, and nuclear components. Finally, this issue/reprint also incorporates modified methodologies and identification techniques to improve seismic analysis methods in the field of structural engineering.

This reprint aims to advance the current knowledge in ion irradiation studies and accelerated ageing of materials. The collected papers address various areas in the field, from the fundamentals of ion beam irradiation to innovative experimental characterization of the materials and related theoretical modelling. The present research contributes primarily to the understanding of the applied aspects of ion bombardment as a surrogate for neutron irradiation and a tool for experimental simulation of harsh radiation environments. At the same time, this Special Issue features several exciting studies on the microstructural characterization of the radiation tolerance of materials across a broad spectrum of scientific and industrial areas.

Today, there is a huge demand for advanced materials capable of providing technological innovations. Among these, "organic semiconductors" combine the progress of semiconductors and plastic of the last century, becoming the subject of intense industrial and academic research. More recently, organic-inorganic hybrid functional materials have become a potential platform for applications in extremely diverse fields such as optics, microelectronics, transportation, health, energy, and energy storage. The interest in them is explained by the fact that it is possible to combine the best characteristics of both components in a large variety of combinations; in this way, they represent an intriguing class of materials with a large spectrum of applications.This reprint contribution will consider recent developments in the field of organic and hybrid materials in two of the most useful and promising applications of the millennium: photovoltaics and photonics. Multiple aspects of the materials will be taken into consideration, from the synthesis and the photophysical characterization to the application.

Marine ecosystems encompass a wide variety of invertebrates, including pelagic and benthonic ones, from intertidal to deep-sea habitats in polar and tropical regions. In addition to their high environmental importance, some marine invertebrates also have great economic value. However, despite all of the research that has been conducted so far, much still remains to be learned about these animals. This Special Issue collects articles providing new and relevant information about some marine invertebrates, namely, echinoderms, crustaceans, placozoans, molluscs and annelids. In these articles, a variety of research methods were applied in order to progress our understanding of these marine animals, including light and electron microscopy, liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry, flow cytometry, and cell and tissue cultures.

This reprint focuses on electroencephalography (EEG) signal processing in biomedical engineering applications. EEG signals are used widely in clinical and research settings to provide cognitive and emotional state information. In addition to capturing complex neural patterns at high speeds, EEG signals are a reliable and non-invasive way of measuring the electrical activity in the brain. By examining various novel analysis and signal processing methods, this collection of papers provides a better understanding of cognitive states and brain activity.

In the study of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), we know that virally induced malignancies behave differently than those generated through other carcinogenic mechanisms. This paradigm extends into differences in tumor growth, treatment response and resistance, as well as invasion and metastasis. The inability to correctly diagnose and appropriately treat HNSCC at early stages has contributed to reduced survival for HNSCC patients, particularly those with HPV-negative disease. The examination of the molecular differences between HPV-positive and HPV-negative HNSCC will provide support for early diagnostic markers and guide appropriate treatment selection to improve patient care and survival.This Special Issue highlights current research efforts to understand the evolving contribution of human papillomavirus in HNSCC.

This reprint addresses the unique opportunities and challenges associated with human-computer interaction with intelligent systems. First, state-of-the-art reviews are presented about speech emotions, automatic spelling correction, and art usage in virtual reality. We encouraged authors to submit reports describing systems built for different languages and multilingual systems. The linguistic, emotional, prosodic, and dialogue aspects of speech communication are investigated. Special attention is given to sentiment and emotional analysis from text and speech. Speech audiometry, offline speech recognition, and text-independent speaker verification systems are elaborated. The rapidly growing domain of virtual reality applications is of interest both as an application domain in which new interfaces and interaction methods are needed and as a potential testbed for evaluating speech and other interface modalities.

This reprint focuses on PLA-based materials and the modification of their properties for biomedical applications. Special emphasis is placed on the supramolecular strategies that lead to unique structures in the micro- or nanoscale. The development and testing of novel biomaterials as drug delivery carriers, implants, or tissue engineering scaffolds are of particular interest. Special attention is given to understanding the structure-properties relationship, since this allows for the development of the most effective biocompatible materials.

Halophytes are a fascinating group of wild plants adapted to highly saline natural habitats, where most plant species and all our conventional crops would not survive. In fact, some halophytes can withstand even seawater salinity. In the current climate change scenario, increasing average temperatures and drought episodes contribute to the accelerated salinisation of irrigated cropland, especially in arid and semiarid regions, by the progressive accumulation in the soil of salts dissolved in irrigation water. This 'secondary salinisation' is one of the major causes of reducing crop yields worldwide. In this context, halophytes represent ideal experimental systems to investigate the mechanisms plants use to respond to high-salinity conditions. This knowledge will be essential for the genetic improvement of crop salt tolerance, which represents the most sensible strategy to address the abovementioned problem. Furthermore, halophytes could be the basis of a sustainable, 'saline' agriculture, after domestication and some breeding to improve agronomic characteristics. Then, they could be commercially cultivated for food, feed, fibre, or the production of biomolecules of industrial interest. Since they could be grown in saline land and irrigated with brackish water, they will not compete with our conventional crops for these limited resources, fertile land and good-quality water for irrigation. The articles included in this Special Issue address these different aspects of halophytes' research, although most focus on basic studies on salt-tolerance mechanisms.

This Special Issue includes manuscripts on mechanistic understanding, development, and implementation of advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) for the removal of contaminants of emerging concern in water and wastewater treatment. The main goal was successfully achieved under the joint effort of authors, anonymous reviewers, and editorial managers. In total, one review and 15 research papers are included in the Special Issue. These are mainly focused on catalyst synthesis, reactor design, treatment performance, kinetic modeling, reaction mechanisms, and by-product formation during electrochemical, photocatalytic, plasma, persulfate, chlorine, ozone-based, and Fenton-related AOPs at different scales. This Special Issue has received attention from researchers from different parts of the world such as Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, India, Mexico, and the USA. The guest editors are happy to see that all papers presented are innovative and meaningful, and hope that this Special Issue can promote mechanistic understanding and engineering applications of AOPs for the removal of contaminants of emerging concern in water.

This Special Issue aims to cover the recent research results being developed, both theoretically and experimentally, on the laboratory, pilot, and industrial scale about thermal processes in power plants. This reprint focuses on thermal and flow processes and their impact on highly efficient and low-emission electricity generation and heat production in thermal power plants. Special attention is given to steam condensers and separators for application in thermal power plants, development systems and tools for heat production forecasting in combined heat and power plants, presenting such ideas as the negative CO2 emission gas power plant cycle and production of gas fuels by sewage sludge gasification as well as about methods and techniques for CO2 capture.The research investigation results can find implementation in real-scale power technologies such as steam power plants, gas power plants, nuclear power plants, and hybrid power plants based on renewable energy sources.

Safety and sustainability are becoming ever bigger challenges for the mining industry with the increasing depth of mining. It is of great significance to reduce the disaster risk of mining accidents, enhance the safety of mining operations, and improve the efficiency and sustainability of development of mineral resource. This book provides a platform to present new research and recent advances in the safety and sustainability of mining. More specifically, Mining Safety and Sustainability presents recent theoretical and experimental studies with a focus on: safety mining, green mining, sustainable development, risk management of mines, mining methods and technologies, damage monitoring and prediction. It will be further helpful to provide theoretical support and technical support for guiding the normative, green, safe and sustainable development of the mining industry.

With increasing requirements for energy, resources and space, rock engineering projects are being constructed more often and are operated in large-scale environments with complex geology. Meanwhile, rock failures and rock instabilities occur more frequently, and severely threaten the safety and stability of rock engineering projects. It is well-recognized that rock has multi-scale structures and involves multi-scale fracture processes. Meanwhile, rocks are commonly subjected simultaneously to complex static stress and strong dynamic disturbance, providing a hotbed for the occurrence of rock failures. In addition, there are many multi-physics coupling processes in a rock mass. It is still difficult to understand these rock mechanics and characterize rock behavior during complex stress conditions, multi-physics processes, and multi-scale changes. Therefore, our understanding of rock mechanics and the prevention and control of failure and instability in rock engineering needs to be furthered. The primary aim of this Special Issue "Mathematical Problems in Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering" is to bring together original research discussing innovative efforts regarding in situ observations, laboratory experiments and theoretical, numerical, and big-data-based methods to overcome the mathematical problems related to rock mechanics and rock engineering. It includes 12 manuscripts that illustrate the valuable efforts for addressing mathematical problems in rock mechanics and rock engineering.

This reprint is focuses on how recent urbanization processes modifies the organization and management of the land uses at integrated rural areas in peri-urban and intra-metropolitan areas at local, national, and global levels.The Guest Editors expect that this reprint could serve to provide some answers regarding the impacts of urbanization on rural areas.

This Special Issue captures the latest research advances regarding remote sensing technologies and their applications in climate change research. A total of 16 original research articles authored by 105 researchers are included in this Special Issue, presenting recent advances in remote sensing technologies and the application of remote sensing technologies to climate change modeling, monitoring, and impact assessment.

Composites can be engineered to exhibit high strength, high stiffness, and high toughness. Composite structures have increasingly been used in various engineering applications. In recent decades, most fundamentals of science have expanded in length by many orders of magnitude. Nowadays, one of the primary goals of science and technology seems to be to develop reliable methods for linking the physical phenomena that occur over multiple length scales, particularly from a nano-/microscale to a macroscale. To engineer composites for high performance and to design advanced structures, the relationship between material nano-/microstructures and their macroscopic properties must be established to accurately predict their mechanical performance and failure. Multiscale simulation is a tool that enables studying and comprehending complex systems and phenomena that would otherwise be too expensive or dangerous, or even impossible, to study by direct experimentation and, thus, to achieve this goal.This reprint assembles high-quality chapters that advance the field of the multiscale simulation of composite structures, through the application of any modern computational and/or analytical methods alone or in conjunction with experimental techniques, for damage assessment or mechanical analysis and prediction.

Ciguatoxins (CTXs), which are responsible for Ciguatera fish poisoning (CFP), are liposoluble toxins produced by microalgae of the genera Gambierdiscus and Fukuyoa. This book presents 18 scientific papers that offer new information and scientific evidence on: (i) CTX occurrence in aquatic environments, with an emphasis on edible aquatic organisms; (ii) analysis methods for the determination of CTXs; (iii) advances in research on CTX-producing organisms; (iv) environmental factors involved in the presence of CTXs; and (v) the assessment of public health risks related to the presence of CTXs, as well as risk management and mitigation strategies.

This Special Issue collected original contributions, both research papers and reviews, showing recent results and/or positive advances in the behavior of new sustainable bio-materials under applied mechanical stress, both in static and dynamic mode, and evaluating the characteristics of resistance, moduli and/or viscoelasticity, in view of potential applications, such as tissue engineering, medical devices, surgical or dental implants, manufacturing of human parts, agriculture, packaging, textiles, electronics, automotive and aerospace, green buildings, and architecture and construction.

In the last few years, huge amounts of progress have been made regarding remote sensing in the field of computer vision. This success and progress is mostly due to the effectiveness of deep learning (DL) algorithms. In addition, the remote sensing community has shifted its attention to DL, and DL algorithms have been used to achieve significant success in many image analysis tasks. However, with regard to remote sensing, a number of challenges caused by difficulties in data acquisition and annotation have not been fully solved yet.This reprint is a collection of novel developments in the field of remote sensing using computer vision, deep learning, and artificial intelligence. The articles published involve fundamental theoretical analyses as well as those demonstrating their application to real-world problems.

As we know, a large amount of research confirms that physical activity (PA), physical fitness (PF), and motor competence (MC) are associated with health benefits in individuals of all ages. Achieving a sufficient level of PA and PF will consequently further contribute to better health-related biomarkers. Moreover, holding a good MC allows better participation in PA and exercise in life, promoting greater physical literacy.It is true that the measurement of PA in children and young people is subject to several conditioning factors which threaten validity and reliability. Additionally, it is good to remember that the World Health Organization guidelines on PA and sedentary behaviour for children recommend: (1) 180 min of PA (at any intensity) for two-year old children; (2) 180 min of PA, of which 60 min is moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), for 3- to 4-year-old children; and (3) at least 60 min of MVPA for children and adolescents from 5 to 17 years old.Therefore, understanding and developing strategies to promote PA behavior is now more important than in the past, because it is essential to improve fitness levels and MC in early ages. These strategies should cover all generations, children and youth, adults and the elderly, equally, because negative outcomes are visible in individuals of all ages.In this Special Issue, we show contributions that describe and list the link, monitoring and promotion between PA, PF, and MC.

This reprint compiles the articles, communications, and review articles from top researchers describing novel or new cutting-edge designs, developments, and/or applications of unmanned vehicles. This reprint encompasses the key topics related to drone design, communications as well as autonomous Flight and Navigation. Special attention is paid to the drones' applications to environmental and earth sciences, including in agriculture, forestry, water, and marine environments; other innovative applications are also explored including in relation to the field of application, such as the inclusion of new deep learning techniques.