Bücher veröffentlicht von Mdpi AG

This reprinted edition of the Special Issue entitled "Rational Design of Non-Precious Metal Oxide Catalysts by Means of Advanced Synthetic and Promotional Routes" covers some of the recent advances in relation to the fabrication and fine-tuning of metal oxide catalysts by means of advanced synthetic and/or promotional routes. It consists of fourteen high-quality papers on various aspects of catalysis, related to the rational design and fine-tuning strategies during some of the most relevant applications in heterogeneous catalysis, such as N2O decomposition, the dry reforming of methane (DRM), methane combustion and partial oxidation, and selective catalytic reduction (SCR), among others.

Diet and physical activity are two key modifiable lifestyle factors that influence health across the lifespan (prevention and management of chronic diseases and reduction of the risk of premature death through several biological mechanisms). Community-based interventions contribute to public health, as they have the potential to reach high population-level impact, through the focus on groups that share a common culture or identity in their natural living environment. While the health benefits of a balanced diet and regular physical activity are commonly studied separately, interventions that combine these two lifestyle factors have the potential to induce greater benefits in community groups rather than strategies focusing only on one or the other. Thus, this Special Issue entitled "Combined Nutrition and Exercise Interventions in Community Groups" is comprised of manuscripts that highlight this combined approach (balanced diet and regular physical activity) in community settings. The contributors to this Special Issue are well-recognized professionals in complementary fields such as education, public health, nutrition, and exercise. This Special Issue highlights the latest research regarding combined nutrition and exercise interventions among different community groups and includes research articles developed through five continents (Africa, Asia, America, Europe and Oceania), as well as reviews and systematic reviews.

This reprint is a compilation of the articles submitted in the Special Issue entitled, "Heterogeneous Photocatalysis: A Solution for a Greener Earth", from the journal Catalysts, which presents an overview of the latest advances in the development of innovative photocatalytic processes.

This book focuses on active transport as a way to increase physical activity levels.Active commuting and active transportation on foot or by bicycle create opportunities for physical activity, provide transportation options for those without a car, encourage social cohesion, and reduce contributions to air pollution.

This book focusses on achieving low-power computation using memristive devices. The topic was designed as a convenient reference point: it contains a mix of techniques starting from the fundamental manufacturing of memristive devices all the way to applications such as physically unclonable functions, and also covers perspectives on, e.g., in-memory computing, which is inextricably linked with emerging memory devices such as memristors. Finally, the book contains a few articles representing how other communities (from typical CMOS design to photonics) are fighting on their own fronts in the quest towards low-power computation, as a comparison with the memristor literature. We hope that readers will enjoy discovering the articles within.

This book discusses the manifold applications of several non-destructive methods to a few classes of materials.In particular, X-ray imaging techniques (both in the laboratory and at synchrotron radiation sources) as well Eddy current and magnetic methods are used in a few example materials (metals, concrete and others) to assess the quality of large components and these techniques' suitability as materials characterization tools.Advanced non-destructive evaluation techniques, such as neutron and synchrotron X-ray diffraction, only available at large-scale installations, are also shown to yield particularly relevant information about the residual stress of additively manufactured materials and components. Such large-scale techniques complement laboratory tools well in accessing all the scales of application from micro-level to conventional non-destructive techniques.

Micromixers are an important component in micrototal analysis systems and lab-on-a-chip platforms which are widely used for sample preparation and analysis, drug delivery, and biological and chemical synthesis. The Special Issue "Analysis, Design and Fabrication of Micromixers II" published in Micromachines covers new mechanisms, numerical and/or experimental mixing analysis, design, and fabrication of various micromixers. This reprint includes an editorial, two review papers, and eleven research papers reporting on five active and six passive micromixers. Three of the active micromixers have electrokinetic driving force, but the other two are activated by mechanical mechanism and acoustic streaming. Three studies employs non-Newtonian working fluids, one of which deals with nano-non-Newtonian fluids. Most of the cases investigated micromixer design.

On 11 March 2020, the World Health Organisation declared novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) an unprecedented global pandemic. Nearly every country across the globe is struggling to reduce the spread of the COVID-19 virus and to limit its health, societal and economic consequences. As a response to that, with almost immediate effect, students, teachers and workers in general and across the globe were thrown into a new scenario of online work and education. In the midst of this emotional climate laden with fear, uncertainty, sadness and anxiety, millions of students all over the world were confined to their homes and the entire educational community had to adapt to a distance education model. The same occured with workers of different disciplines; they have to balance work and life in the same place. Therefore, homes suddenly became schools, universities and workplaces all at the same time. Against this backdrop, this Special Issue focuses on the study, evaluation and analysis of the opportunities the pandemic offers in three related aspects: first, for building an education for sustainable development. Second, for creating decent working conditions. Finally, to enhance health and well-being both at the workplace and at home. Authors from a range of disciplines, such as education, psychology, management, social sciences and other areas related to sustainable development, have contributed with differrent manuscripts. They address the challenges of studying, working and living in times of uncertainty in order to build sustainable development in those areas from theoretical and applied research.

This Special Issue aimed to cover the new developments in the synthesis and characterization of magnetic nanoconstructs ranging from conventional metal oxide nanoparticles to novel molecule-based or hybrid multifunctional nano-objects. At the same time, the focus was on the potential of these novel magnetic nanoconstructs in several possible applications, e.g. sensing, energy storage, and nanomedicine.

This reprint is a collection of papers in materials science and materials science with a focus on applications and social implementation. The core of this reprint is based on the papers presented at the symposia held at ISATE, an international conference organized by the Organization of National Colleges of Technology in Japan in cooperation with several countries worldwide. This is a compilation of these papers into a reprint. Therefore, this is a wide-ranging collection of papers, including interdisciplinary fields, such as mechanical engineering, electrical and electronic engineering, industrial chemistry, bioengineering, civil and architectural engineering, and agriculture. Science and technology are becoming more critical than ever to create a better future and pass the baton to the next generation in a suitable manner. For this purpose, materials science and materials engineering, which are the foundation of all industries, will become increasingly necessary for their implementation in society. We hope that this Special Issue reprint will be of great help to those who are experimenting with such objectives.

Lipid-based nanosystems, including solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) and nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs), cationic lipid nanoparticles, nanoemulsions, and liposomes, have been extensively studied to improve drug delivery through different administration routes. The main advantages of these systems are their ability to protect, transport, and control the release of lipophilic and hydrophilic molecules (either small-molecular-weight molecules or macromolecules); the use of generally recognized as safe (GRAS) excipients that minimize the toxicity of the formulations; and the possibility to modulate pharmacokinetics and enable the site-specific delivery of encapsulated payloads. In addition, the versatility of lipid-based nanosystems has further been demonstrated for the delivery of vaccines, the protection of active cosmetic ingredients, and the improvement of moisturizing properties of cosmetic formulations.Lipid-based nanosystems are well established and there are already different commercially approved formulations for various human disorders. This success has paved the way for the diversification of the pipeline of development, to address unmet medical needs for several indications, such as cancer, neurological disorders, and autoimmune, genetic, and infectious diseases.This Special Issue aims to update readers on the latest research on lipid-based nanosystems, both at the preclinical and clinical levels. A series of 15 articles (six reviews and nine studies) is presented, with authors from 12 different countries, showing the globality of the investigations that are being carried out in this area.

Additive manufacturing (AM), as an advanced manufacturing technology, has overturned the traditional concept of subtractive manufacturing. It has revolutionized advanced integrated structural design, high-performance material preparation, and the manufacturing of complex components. AM technology is changing the way products are developed, produced, and commercialized, leading to disruptive changes in the economy and society. AM technology has received extensive attention and research from the research community since its inception, and it is leading manufacturing technology and continues to be used with great effectiveness in the aerospace industry, automotive industry, medical plant applications, and many other fields. However, the development of additive manufacturing still faces demanding technical challenges; for example, due to insufficient process planning and inadequate process control, many defects are often observed in the products of AM processes, reducing production efficiency and deteriorating product quality. To promote AM technology toward high efficiency, high precision, high performance, and low cost in a green and intelligent direction, many advanced design and manufacturing technologies are in urgent need of further breakthroughs, such as numerical and analytical models for structural design, experimental methods, performance prediction, and process optimization.

Marine Drugs is very pleased to host a Special Issue in honour of Prof. Dr. Peter Proksch, who served as Editor in Chief for Marine Drugs from 2005 to 2009, for his excellent research contribution.

The Special Issue consists of 13 submitted papers. We acknowledge all authors for their contributions. We recognize that interest in the topics is expanding and are confident that the findings are beneficial to our readers.

Fungal natural products have made important contributions to the history of human civilization. Mr. Liu Jikai has had a significant influence on the field of chemistry in fungal natural products, leading a large number of Chinese scholars engaged in related research. We would like to take this opportunity to thank Mr. Liu Jikai for his efforts on fungal natural products chemistry and hope that all colleagues will make great progress for the future.

The aim of carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) is to reduce the amount of CO2 released into the atmosphere and to mitigate its effects on climate change. Over the years, naturally occurring CO2 sources have been utilized in enhanced oil recovery (EOR) projects in the United States. This has presented an opportunity to supplement and gradually replace the high demand for natural CO2 sources with anthropogenic sources. There also exist incentives for operators to become involved in the storage of anthropogenic CO2 within partially depleted reservoirs, in addition to the incremental production oil revenues. These incentives include a wider availability of anthropogenic sources, the reduction of emissions to meet regulatory requirements, tax incentives in some jurisdictions, and favorable public relations.The United States Department of Energy has sponsored several Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnerships (RCSPs) through its Carbon Storage program which have conducted field demonstrations for both EOR and saline aquifer storage. Various research efforts have been made in the area of reservoir characterization, monitoring, verification and accounting, simulation, and risk assessment to ascertain long-term storage potential within the subject storage complex. This book is a collection of lessons learned through the RCSP program within the Southwest Region of the United States. The scope of the book includes site characterization, storage modeling, monitoring verification reporting (MRV), risk assessment and international case studies.

The Special Issue entitled "Pediatric and adolescent nephrology facing the future: diagnostic advances and prognostic biomarkers in everyday practice" contains articles written in the era when COVID-19 had not yet been a major clinical problem in children. Now that we know its multifaceted clinical course, complications concerning the kidneys, and childhood-specific post-COVID pediatric inflammatory multisystem syndrome (PIMS), the value of diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers in the pediatric area should be appreciated, and their importance ought to increase.

This volume celebrates the 30th anniversary of the first very-high energy (VHE) gamma-ray Source detection: the Crab Nebula, observed by the pioneering ground-based Cherenkov telescope Whipple, at teraelectronvolts (TeV) energies, in 1989. As we entered a new era in TeV astronomy, with the imminent start of operations of the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) and new facilities such as LHAASO and the proposed Southern Wide-Field Gamma-ray Observatory (SWGO), we conceived of this volume as a broad reflection on how far we have evolved in the astrophysics topics that dominated the field of TeV astronomy for much of recent history.In the past two decades, H.E.S.S., MAGIC and VERITAS pushed the field of TeV astronomy, consolidating the field of TeV astrophysics, from few to hundreds of TeV emitters. Today, this is a mature field, covering almost every topic of modern astrophysics. TeV astrophysics is also at the center of the multi-messenger astrophysics revolution, as the extreme photon energies involved provide an effective probe in cosmic-ray acceleration, propagation and interaction, in dark matter and exotic physics searches. The improvement that CTA will carry forward and the fact that CTA will operate as the first open observatory in the field, mean that gamma-ray astronomy is about to enter a new precision and productive era.This book aims to serve as an introduction to the field and its state of the art, presenting a series of authoritative reviews on a broad range of topics in which TeV astronomy provided essential contributions, and where some of the most relevant questions for future research lie.

This book collects papers from the Special Issue "Singularly Perturbed Problems: Asymptotic Analysis and Approximate Solution", published in Axioms. These papers cover different aspects of singular perturbation theory and its applications: axiomatic approach in the analytic theory of singular perturbations; asymptotic solution of various types of singularly perturbed integral-differential and integral equations with weakly and rapidly varying kernels of the integral operators; propagation of two-dimensional periodic perturbations in a viscous continuously stratified fluid; asymptotic analysis of the stochastic linear-quadratic optimal control problem with two fast timescales in the dynamics; asymptotic solution of singularly perturbed Cauchy problem for different types of differential equations with "simple" turning points; asymptotic analysis of the complete Euclidean space controllability for different types of singularly perturbed differential systems with time delays; asymptotic solution of singularly perturbed systems in the critical case by the orthogonal projector method; application of the direct scheme method to asymptotic solution of one class of optimal control problems with three-tempo state variables; asymptotic analysis and solution of a cheap control linear quadratic zero-sum differential game; analysis of asymptotic behavior of the solutions for one class of singularly perturbed Neumann boundary value problems .

Augmented reality is a key technology that will facilitate a major paradigm shift in the way users interact with data and has only just recently been recognized as a viable solution for solving many critical needs. In practical terms, this innovation can be used to visualize data from hundreds of sensors simultaneously, overlaying relevant and actionable information over your environment through a headset. Semantic 3D reconstruction unlocks the promise of AR technology, possessing a far greater availability of semantic information. Although, there are several methods currently available as post-processing approaches to extract semantic information from the reconstructed 3D models, the results obtained results have been uncertain and evenly incorrect. Thus, it is necessary to explore or develop a novel 3D reconstruction approach to automatically recover 3D geometry model and obtained semantic information simultaneously.The rapid advent of deep learning brought new opportunities to the field of semantic 3D reconstruction from photo collections. Deep learning-based methods are not only able to extract semantic information but can also enhance fundamental techniques in semantic 3D reconstruction, techniques which include feature matching or tracking, stereo matching, camera pose estimation, and use of multi-view stereo methods. Moreover, deep learning techniques can be used to extract priors from photo collections, and this obtained information can in turn improve the quality of 3D reconstruction.

Primary energy consumption around the world has been increasing steadily since the Industrial Revolution and shows no signals of slowing down in the coming years. This trend is accompanied by the increasing pollutant concentration on the Earth's biosystems and the general concerns over the health and environmental impacts that will ensue. Air quality, water purity, atmospheric CO2 concentration, etc., are some examples of environmental parameters that are degrading due to human activities. These ecosystems can be safeguarded without renouncing industrial development, urban and economic development through the use of low environmental impact technologies instead of equivalent pollutant ones or through the use of technologies to mitigate the negative impact of high emissions technologies. Pollutant abatement systems, carbon capture technologies, biobased products, etc. need to be established in order to make environmental parameters more and more similar to the pre-industrialization values of the planet Earth. In 15 papers international scientists addressed such topics, especially combining a high academic standard coupled with a practical focus on green processes and a quantitative approach to environmental impacts.

The papers published in this Special Issue report on recent studies investigating the exploitation of by-products produced by the food industry. The topics investigated include the extraction setups used for valuable food waste by-products and their applications as adjuncts to food preparation; the appropriate selection of solvents and extraction processes; and the interactions between extracted fractions and supplementary foods. The papers evaluate a wide variety of foodstuffs and provide results regarding the extension their shelf-lives and activities as functional foods.

Recently, a revolution in nanotechnology has pervaded all fields related to animal science. This book collection focuses on the potential applications of nanotechnology in the field of animal science, particularly livestock production and medication. The studies/reviews published in this book show the preparation protocols and physiochemical and biological properties of the innovated nanoparticles, designated for different purposes. This is in line with the potential hazards of these materials. The book collection shows that nanoparticles and nanoparticle-based systems can be developed to serve different purposes in the field of animal production and veterinary, such as the management of reproduction and assisted reproductive techniques, rapid and robust disease diagnosis and treatment, drug delivery, and animal nutrition.

The aim of this reprint is to highlight the progress and fundamental aspects for the synthesis, characterization, properties, and application of novel polymeric materials, as well as their copolymers, composites, and nanocomposites.

The Special Issue provides twelve contributions, of which three original articles, seven narrative reviews, one systematic review, and one meta-analysis that, altogether, offer a multifaceted and multidisciplinary overview that allows to draw a picture as intriguing and fascinating as possible on the benefits of curcumin and also to suggest potential fields of activities still to be explored. Among the biological activities exerted by curcumin, the anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory properties reported in many studies make it a potential effective tool in preventing and counteracting chronic-degenerative diseases, very often associated with obesity and aging, such as cardiovascular diseases, T2D, metabolic dysfunctions, neurodegenerative diseases, and cancer, all of them characterized by the presence of oxidative and inflammatory processes. The main concerns that arise from the evaluation of the preventive/therapeutic effects of curcumin are, first of all, the still small number of randomized placebo-control studies available; in addition, small sample sizes have generally been considered, and different protocols and different formulations as well as different routes of administration of curcumin have been used. Thus, it is quite difficult to compare the results and to provide a standard protocol for the use of this promising natural compound. For these reasons, and taking in account the growing use of curcumin by the general population, further investigations to confirm and expand current findings are mandatory and research on curcumin and its effects on human health have to be fostered and promoted.

Throughout their life cycles-from production, usage, through to disposal-materials and products interact with the environment (water, soil, and air). At the same time, they are exposed to environmental influences and, through their emissions, have an impact on the environment, people, and health. Accelerated experimental testing processes can be used to predict the long-term environmental consequences of innovative products before these actually enter the environment.We are living in a material world. Building materials, geosynthetics, wooden toys, soil, nanomaterials, composites, wastes and more are research subjects examined by the authors of this book. The interactions of materials with the environment are manifold. Therefore, it is important to assess the environmental impact of these interactions. Some answers to how this task can be achieved are given in this Special Issue.

The MEET Special Issue aims at showing the gains in geothermal energy that can be achieved using a variety of techniques, depending on the geological setting of the underground. Among the list of exploitation concepts, enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) are particularly interesting, as their application is much less dependent of the underground setting, allowing, in turn, a large geographical deployment and market penetration in Europe. The challenges of EGS are multiple in terms of investment costs, the testing of novel reservoir exploitation approaches with an inherent risk of induced seismicity, and the presence of aggressive geothermal brines, damaging infrastructures. The conversion of oil wells or coproduction of heat or electricity together with oil is also addressed. This Special Issue summarizes the output of the H2020 MEET project based on laboratory experiments, geological field works on high-quality analogues, advanced reservoir modeling, the development of a decision-maker tool for investors and specific demonstration activities, such as chemical stimulation or the innovative monitoring of deep geothermal wells, and the production of electrical power via small-scale binary technology tested in various geological contexts in Europe.

This Special Issue comprises 15 papers broadly outlining current trends in nucleic acid biophysics. It contains original research papers and reviews on structure, stability, and interactions of canonical and non-canonical nucleic acids. The authors describe the use of established, time-honored experimental and computational techniques as well as their more recently developed counterparts. Molecular insights that can be gained from the papers collected in this issue range from the fundamental to the applied with emphasis on biological functions and biomedical prospects of nucleic acids. The collection is not meant to be exhaustive, but to highlight recent advances from select laboratories worldwide. Nevertheless, it represents a useful guide for scientists who wish to familiarize themselves with biophysical topics in nucleic acid research. This Special Issue will be useful both for researchers who study fundamental aspects of nucleic acid structure, stability, and dynamics, as well as for those that are mainly interested in practical biological and biomedical applications of nucleic acids.

The purpose of the Special Issue was to collect the results of research and experience on the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic for the energy sector and the energy market, broadly understood, that were visible after a year. In particular, the impact of COVID-19 on the energy sector in the EU, including Poland, and the US was examined. The topics concerned various issues, e.g., the situation of energy companies, including those listed on the stock exchange, mining companies, and those dealing with renewable energy. The topics related to the development of electromobility, managerial competences, energy expenditure of local government units, sustainable development of energy, and energy poverty during a pandemic were also discussed.