Böcker utgivna av Mdpi AG

The worldwide dissemination of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria, particularly those resistant to last-resource antibiotics, is a common problem to which no immediate solution is foreseen. In 2017, the World Health Organization (WHO) published a list of antimicrobial-resistant "priority pathogens", which include a group of microorganisms with high-level resistance to multiple drugs, named ESKAPE pathogens, comprising vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VRE), methicillin- and vancomycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA and VRSA), extended spectrum ¿-lactamase (ESBL) or carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae, carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii, carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa and extended spectrum ¿-lactamase (ESBL) or carbapenem-resistant Enterobacter spp. These bacteria also have the ability to produce several virulence factors, which have a major influence on the outcomes of infectious diseases. Bacterial resistance and virulence are interrelated, since antibiotics pressure may influence bacterial virulence gene expression and, consequently, infection pathogenesis. Additionally, some virulence factors contribute to an increased resistance ability, as observed in biofilm-producing strains. The surveillance of important resistant and virulent clones and associated mobile genetic elements is essential to decision making in terms of mitigation measures to be applied for the prevention of such infections in both human and veterinary medicine, being also relevant to address the role of natural environments as important components of the dissemination cycle of these strains.

Regulations that cover the legal obligations that manufacturers are bound to are essential for keeping the general public safe. Companies need to follow the regulations in order to bring their products to market. A good understanding of the regulations and the regulatory pathway defines how fast and at what cost the manufacturer can introduce innovations to the market. Regulatory technology and data science can lead to new regulatory processes and evidence in the medical field. It can equip stakeholders with unique tools that can make regulatory decisions more objective, efficient, and accurate. This book describes the latest research within the broader domain of Medical Regulatory Technology (MedRegTech). It covers concepts such as the complexity and user-friendliness of medical device regulations, novel algorithms for regulatory navigation, descriptive datasets from a health service provider, regulatory data science techniques, and considerations of the environmental impacts within a national health service. This book brings all these aspects together to offer an introduction into MedRegTech research. In the long term, these technologies and methods will help optimize the regulatory strategy for individual healthcare innovations and revolutionize the way we engage with regulatory services.

Dear colleagues,This Special Issue, "Endothelial Dysfunction: From Pathophysiology to Novel Therapeutic Approaches", focuses on the pathophysiology of endothelial dysfunction, new biomarkers for endothelial dysfunction related to cardiovascular disorders or tumors, and novel therapeutic approaches for endothelial dysfunctions.Vascular endothelium is an active tissue and plays a crucial role in the maintenance of vascular homeostasis. Chronic exposure to risk factors, such as hypertension, high cholesterolemia, or oxidative stress, induces endothelial dysfunctions and results in a loss of endothelial integrity, smooth muscle cell proliferation, and macrophage recruitment.The pathophysiology of endothelial dysfunction (ED) is complex and multi-factorial factors are involved, such as oxidative stress or chronic inflammation. The primary prevention of cardiovascular risk factors and endothelial dysfunctions, as well as the early detection of or molecular imaging techniques for endothelial dysfunction, helps to prevent the development of cardiovascular disorders. Novel therapeutic approaches or drug delivery systems for endothelial dysfunctions have had promising beneficial effects in preclinical or clinical levels by affecting the progression of atherosclerotic changes, tumor angiogenesis, and host-immune reactions near tumor environments.

At present, cyanobacteria and their toxins (also known as cyanotoxins) constitute a major threat for freshwater resources worldwide. Cyanotoxin occurrence in water bodies around the globe is constantly increasing, whereas emerging, less studied or completely new variants and congeners of various chemical classes of cyanotoxins, as well as their degradation/transformation products are often detected. In addition to planctic cyanobacteria, benthic cyanobacteria, in many cases, appear to be important toxin producers, although far less studied and more difficult to manage and control. This Special Issue highlights novel research results on the structural diversity of cyanotoxins from planktic and benthic cyanobacteria, as well as on their expanding global geographical spread in freshwaters.

The Special Issue presents valuable information on the perspective of using cereals/pseudocereal grains, vegetable byproducts, or flour processed by applying various techniques in baked goods and pasta products. At the same time, this Special Issue reveals the experience of authors regarding the use of plants' ingredients as a valuable strategy to improve the nutritional profile of food products, contributing to the reduction in nutrient deficiencies, or to make products for special nutrition such as low-sodium or gluten-free ones. The quality of the raw materials, the processing techniques, and the potential of certain vegetable byproducts from fruits or oilseeds represent key aspects for obtaining qualitatively enhanced food products. Furthermore, current approaches to diversify the range of bakery and pasta products which offer health benefits to consumers are also presented in this Special Issue.

Carotenoids are uniquely functional polyene pigments that are ubiquitous in nature; aside from being responsible for the color of a wide variety of vegetables, interest has been focused on food carotenoids due to their likely health benefits.This Special Issue, "Carotenoids in Fresh and Processed Food: Between Biosynthesis and Degradation", consists of five peer-reviewed papers that cover a numerous new insights on the chemistry of carotenoids together with some observations related to their protection from photodegradation. Moreover, other considerations about their biosynthesis and influencing parameters in fresh food are included.

The high volatility in financial markets, together with the ultra-low interest rate environment and increased life expectancy, constitute serious threats for providers of long-term investment guarantees and lifelong benefits. Even if the COVID-19 pandemic is currently causing a mortality shock, its influence on future mortality is not clear and one possible scenario could be a further increase in the life expectancy of survivors. The risk involved with all of these "exogenous" factors is amplified by the uncertainty characterizing individuals' behavior when making decisions concerning, e.g., surrender, partial withdrawals, annuitization, etc.This special issue aims at contributing to the study of suitable solutions allowing to build resilience against various risks that impact on life, health and pension insurance portfolios. In particular, it collects five high-quality research papers analysing theoretical or practical aspects related to the following topics: Design of new pension insurance products and risk-management of loan insurance; Assessing capital requirements for demographic risk in a life insurance portfolio - Stochastic models and numerical techniques; Analysis and risk-management of the long-run impact of COVID-19 on the life insurance business.