Böcker utgivna av Mdpi AG

The COVID-19 pandemic drastically changed our lifestyle when, on 30 January 2020, the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus disease outbreak a public health emergency of international concern. Since then, many governments have introduced unprecedented containment measures, hoping to slow the spread of the virus. International research suggests that both the pandemic and the related protective measures, such as lockdown, curfews, and social distancing, are having a profound impact on the mental health of the population. Among the most commonly observed psychological effects, there are high levels of stress, anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic symptoms, along with boredom and frustration. At the same time, the behavioral response of the population is of paramount importance to successfully contain the outbreak, creating a vicious circle in which the psychological distress impacts the willingness to comply with the protective measures, which, in turn, if prolonged, could exacerbate the population''s distress. This book includes: i) original studies on the worldwide psychological and behavioral impact of COVID-19 on targeted individuals (e.g., parents, social workers, patients affected by physical and mental disorders); ii) studies exploring the effect of COVID-19 using advanced statistical and methodological techniques (e.g., machine learning technologies); iii) research on practical applications that could help identify persons at risk, mitigate the negative effects of this situation, and offer insights to policymakers to manage the pandemic are also highly welcomed.

Mathematical modeling is a powerful approach supporting the investigation of open problems in natural sciences, in particular physics, biology and medicine. Applied mathematics allows to translate the available information about real-world phenomena into mathematical objects and concepts. Mathematical models are useful descriptive tools that allow to gather the salient aspects of complex biological systems along with their fundamental governing laws, by elucidating the system behavior in time and space, also evidencing symmetry, or symmetry breaking, in geometry and morphology. Additionally, mathematical models are useful predictive tools able to reliably forecast the future system evolution or its response to specific inputs. More importantly, concerning biomedical systems, such models can even become prescriptive tools, allowing effective, sometimes optimal, intervention strategies for the treatment and control of pathological states to be planned.The application of mathematical physics, nonlinear analysis, systems and control theory to the study of biological and medical systems results in the formulation of new challenging problems for the scientific community. This Special Issue includes innovative contributions of experienced researchers in the field of mathematical modelling applied to biology and medicine.

Modern industry, driven by the recent environmental policies, faces an urgent need for the production of lighter and more environmentally-friendly components. High-strength low-alloy steels are key materials in this challenging scenario because they provide a balanced combination of properties, such as strength, toughness, formability, weldability, and corrosion resistance. These features make them ideal for a myriad of engineering applications which experience complex loading conditions and aggressive media, such as aeronautical and automotive components, railway parts, offshore structures, oil and gas pipelines, power transmission towers, and construction machinery, among others. The goal of this book is to foster the dissemination of the latest research devoted to high-strength low-alloy (HSLA) steels from different perspectives.

Optimal performance of the electric machine/drive system is mandatory to improve the energy consumption and reliability. To achieve this goal, mathematical models of the electric machine/drive system are necessary. Hence, this motivated the editors to instigate the Special Issue "Mathematical Approaches to Modeling, Optimally Designing, and Controlling Electric Machine", aiming to collect novel publications that push the state-of-the art towards optimal performance for the electric machine/drive system. Seventeen papers have been published in this Special Issue. The published papers focus on several aspects of the electric machine/drive system with respect to the mathematical modelling. Novel optimization methods, control approaches, and comparative analysis for electric drive system based on various electric machines were discussed in the published papers.

The anthropogenic loading of phosphorus (P) to water bodies continues to increase worldwide, in many cases leading to increased eutrophication and harmful algal blooms. Determining the sources of P and the biogeochemical processes responsible for this increase is often difficult because of the complexity of the inputs and pathways, which vary both in spatial and temporal scales. In order to effectively develop strategies to improve water quality, it is essential to develop a comprehensive understanding of the relationship of P pools with biological uptake and cycling under varied soil and water conditions. In this ebook, eight chapters cover the various aspects of basic-applied research on mineral-P interaction and how these reactions impact P mobilization, bioavailability, transfer, and speciation of P in different soil matrices using advanced analytical methods. Some of these methods include the application of XANES and field-based research related to stream bank legacy nutrients; natural and anthropogenic eutrophication and its relationship to climate change; and the evaluation of the impact of P due to (i) grazing systems, (ii) weathering and vegetation, and iii) soil and manure management practices. In addition, two review chapters take a holistic approach to cover an expansive area of P transformation processes along the cropland-riparian-stream continuum and the assessment of legacy P. Together, these contributions improve our current understanding of the reactions and processes that impact P concentration, speciation, cycling, loss, and transfer from agroecosystems.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer suggests that the burden of women''s cancers including breast, ovarian, and womb will rise by 50% over the next 20 years. It is essential for us to improve early diagnosis and prevention of these cancers in our health systems. The last decade has seen significant strides in our ability to understand and predict a woman''s risk of these cancers and offer personalized medicine approaches for risk management. There have been improvements in identifying individuals at increased risk, as well as implementing and evaluating strategies for screening and prevention. In this special collection, we bring together 16 articles from leading scientists and researchers. These capture some of the important advances observed in estimating cancer risk, providing genetic testing, offering risk management to those at increased risk, as well as screening and prevention of breast, ovarian, and womb cancers in women. This makes an important contribution to the rapidly advancing knowledge base across the area of personalized medicine and precision prevention of ovarian, endometrial, and breast cancers.

Metals are necessary to maintaining living standards in modern society, due to their countless applications in transportation, building and construction, household appliances, electronic devices, etc. Therefore, humans'' generation and consumption of metals is considerable, and demand is projected to skyrocket continuously as technology advances. Unfortunately, easily exploitable ore deposits have been depleted, which forces mining industries to develop complex ore deposits with low-grade and fine grain sizes to meet the high forecasted demand for metals. In general, metals can be extracted from ores in two ways; either by the concentration of valuable minerals via flotation followed by smelting, or by direct extraction of metals from ores via leaching followed by purification and recovery processes. The first stages in each scenario, flotation and leaching are, therefore, of crucial importance to ensuring the continued supply of metals. This book is a compilation of a Special Issue of Metals, entitled "Advances in Selective Flotation and Leaching Process in Metallurgy", where 12 papers contributed by experts in the area were published. Papers published in this Special Issue cover a wide range of topics, including flotation, microencapsulation, agglomeration, leaching, solvent extraction, electrowinning, precipitation, and cementation. All the papers are of high scientific value and will be of great interest to the readers of Metals.