Böcker utgivna av Mdpi AG

The book provides assessments and evaluations of emerging trends in the electricity markets, with a focus on high-renewables electricity systems. Specifically, various issues are examined, such as wind and solar energy, interconnection, smart meters, smart grids of the future (including their social implications), and peer-to-peer (P2P) electricity trading, which is closely connected to the principle of a sharing economy. The book also contemplates how the market design for a high-renewables electricity system would be different from the classical post-liberalization market design.

The Special Issue entitled "Modeling of Soil Erosion and Sediment Transport" focuses on the mathematical modeling of soil erosion caused by rainfall and runoff at a basin scale, as well as on the sediment transport in the streams of the basin. In concrete terms, the quantification of these phenomena by means of mathematical modeling and field measurements has been studied. The following mathematical models (software) were used, amongst others: AnnAGNPS, SWAT, SWAT-Twn, TUSLE, WRF-Hydro-Sed, CORINE, LCM-MUSLE, EROSION-3D, HEC-RAS, SRC, WA-ANN. The Special Issue contains 14 articles that can be classified into the following five categories: Category A: "Soil erosion and sediment transport modeling in basins"; Category B: "Inclusion of soil erosion control measures in soil erosion models"; Category C: "Soil erosion and sediment transport modeling in view of reservoir sedimentation"; Category D: "Field measurements of gully erosion"; Category E: "Stream sediment transport modeling". Most studies presented in the Special Issue were applied to different basins in Europe, America, and Asia, and are the result of the cooperation between universities and/or research centers in different countries and continents, which constitutes an optimistic fact for the international scientific communication.

According to Carl Friedrich Gauss (1777-1855), mathematics is the queen of the sciences-and number theory is the queen of mathematics. Numbers (integers, algebraic integers, transcendental numbers, p-adic numbers) and symmetries are investigated in the nine refereed papers of this MDPI issue. This book shows how symmetry pervades number theory. In particular, it highlights connections between symmetry and number theory, quantum computing and elementary particles (thanks to 3-manifolds), and other branches of mathematics (such as probability spaces) and revisits standard subjects (such as the Sieve procedure, primality tests, and Pascal''s triangle). The book should be of interest to all mathematicians, and physicists.

Monitoring oceans and coastal areas has a fundamental social impact, and this scenario is made still more challenging with the present and future issues related to climate change. In this context, radar systems have gained increasing interest, since they are remote sensing devices capable of providing information about sea waves, currents, tides, bathymetry, and wind. Moreover, radar systems can be designed to perform both large-scale and small-scale monitoring, with different spatial and temporal resolutions, and can be installed on different observation platforms (ship-based, ground-based, airborne, satellite or drones). In this regard, this book aims at engendering a virtual forum for ocean radar researchers, where state-of-the-art methodologies and applications concerning ocean monitoring by means of radar technologies are reviewed and discussed.

Population is ageing at an unprecedented speed globally. As concept, ageing is considered a continuous process starting from birth and is accompanied by various physiological changes and a number of chronic diseases that affect health and quality of life. Ageing as a continuous process is depending on life course exposures to health risks, lifestyle and nutrition, socioeconomic background, and other factors. There is considerable interest among scientists regarding the direct and indirect effect of nutrition in optimal ageing. Nutrition has a beneficial effect in a variety of chronic disease that impact the process of ageing. Given the importance of this issue, the journal Nutrients is planning a Special Issue on "Ageing and Nutrition through Lifespan" with the aim of providing a source for accurate, up-to-date scientific information on this topic. We invite you and your co-workers to consider submission of your original research findings or a review article on the topic. Manuscripts should focus on the direct impact of specific food components, dietary patterns, energy intake, macro-, micro- nutrients, alcohol intake, food insecurity as well as malnourishment and appetite to the ageing process (healthy, active, successful ageing, frailty and other similar indices) across lifespan. In a similar way, we also welcome manuscripts that focus on the indirect effect of nutrition to the ageing process throughout the pathway of chronic disease (i.e., obesity, diabetes, depression and mental diseases).

This Special Issue comprises 12 papers from authors in 10 countries with new insights on the close coupling between magma as an energy and fluid source with hydrothermal systems for the primary control of magmatic behavior. Data and interpretation are provided on the rise of magma through a hydrothermal system, the relative timing of magmatic and hydrothermal events, the temporal evolution of supercritical aqueous fluids associated with ore formation, the magmatic and meteoric contributions of water to the systems, the big picture for the highly active Krafla Caldera, Iceland, as well as the implications of results from drilling at Krafla concerning the magma-hydrothermal boundary. Some of the more provocative concepts are that magma can intrude a hydrothermal system silently, that coplanar and coeval seismic events signal "magma fracking" beneath active volcanoes, that intrusive accumulations may far outlast volcanism, that arid climate favors formation of large magma chambers, and that even relatively dry rhyolite magma can rapidly convect and so lack a crystallizing mush roof. A shared theme is that hydrothermal and magmatic reservoirs need to be treated as a single system.

This book, entitled "Mesoporous Metal Oxide Films", contains an editorial and a collection of ten research articles covering fundamental studies and applications of different metal oxide films. Mesoporous materials have been widely investigated and applied in many technological applications owing to their outstanding structural and physical properties. In this book, important developments in this fast-moving field are presented from various research groups around the world. Different preparation methods and applications of these novel and interesting materials have been reported, and it was demonstrated that mesoporosity has a direct impact on the properties and potential applications of such materials. The potential use of mesoporous metal oxide films and coatings with different morphology and structures is demonstrated in many technological applications, particularly chemical and electrochemical sensors, supercapacitors, solar cells, photoelectrodes, bioceramics, photonic switches, and anticorrosion agents.

A couple of decades have passed since the advent of electromagnetic metamaterials. Although the research on artificial microwave materials dates back to the middle of the 20th century, the most prominent development in the electromagnetics of artificial media has happened in the new millennium. In the last decade, the electromagnetics of one-, two-, and three-dimensional metamaterials acquired robust characterization and design tools. Novel fabrication techniques have been developed. Many exotic effects involving metamaterials and metasurfaces, which initially belonged in a scientist''s lab, are now well understood by practicing engineers. Therefore, it is the right time for the metamaterial concepts to become a designer''s tools of choice in the landscape of electronics, microwaves, and photonics. Answering such a demand, the book "Engineering Metamaterials" focuses on the theory and applications of electromagnetic metamaterials, metasurfaces, and metamaterial transmission lines as the building blocks of present-day and future electronic, photonic, and microwave devices.

The direct conversion of sunlight into electricity (photovoltaic or PV for short) is evolving rapidly, and is a technology becoming a mainstream clean energy production method. However, to compete with conventional energy production methods using fossil fuels, the conversion efficiency needs to be increased, and the manufacturing cost should be reduced further. Both of these require the improvement of solar energy materials, and the device architectures used for the conversion of light into electrical energy. This Special Issue presents the latest developments in some solar energy materials like Si, CdTe, CIGS, SnS and Perovskites), and the device structures suitable for next generation solar cells. In particular, the progress in graded bandgap multi-layer solar cells are presented in this Special Issue.

Iodine, a key component of thyroid hormones, is considered an essential micronutrient for proper health at all life stages. Indeed, an inadequate dietary intake of iodine is responsible for several functional and developmental abnormalities. The most serious consequences of iodine deficiency include hypothyroidism, early abortion, low birth weight, preterm delivery, neurocognitive impairment, and mental retardation. On the other hand, the consequences of mild-to-moderate iodine deficiency, such as goiter, are less well understood but represent an important priority for research and public health practice. Over the last several decades, many countries across the globe have introduced mandatory salt iodization programs, which have dramatically reduced the number of iodine-deficient countries. However, despite substantial progress worldwide, mild-to-moderate deficiency is still prevalent even in many developed countries. Thus, the ongoing monitoring of the population iodine status remains crucially important, and attention may need to be paid to vulnerable life stage groups.

Acceptance or rejection of implanted biomaterials is strongly dependent on an appropriate bio-interface between the biomaterial and its surrounding tissue. Given the fact that most bulk materials only provide mechanical stability for the implant and may not interact with tissues and fluids in vivo, surface modification and engineering of biomaterials plays a significant role towards addressing major clinical unmet challenges. Increasing data showed that altering surface properties including physiochemical, topographical, and mechanical characteristics, is a promising approach to tackle these problems. Surface engineering of biomaterials could influence the subsequent tissue and cellular events such as protein adsorption, cellular recolonization, adhesion, proliferation, migration, and the inflammatory response. Moreover, it could be based on mimicking the complex cell structure and environment or hierarchical nature of the bone. In this case, the design of nano/micrometer patterns and morphologies with control over their properties has been receiving the attention of biomaterial scientists due to the promising results for the relevant biomedical applications. This Special Issue presents original research papers that report on the current state-of-the-art in surface engineering of biomaterials, particularly implants and biomedical devices.

Significant progress has been made in nanophotonics and the use of nanostructured materials for optoelectronic devices, including light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and laser diodes, which have recently attracted considerable attention due to their unique geometry. Nanostructures in small dimensions, comprising nanowires, nanotubes, and nanoparticles, etc,. can be perfectly integrated into a variety of technological platforms, offering novel physical and chemical properties for high-performance, light-emitting devices. This Special Issue aims to present the most recent advances in the field of nanophotonics, which focuses on LEDs and laser diodes. We invite contributions of original research articles, as well as review articles that are aligned to the following topics that include, but are not limited to, thetheoretical calculation, synthesis, characterization, and application of such novel nanostructures for light-emitting devices. The application of nanostructured light-emitters in general lighting, imaging, and displays is also highly encouraged.

The increasingly stricter standards for effluent discharge and the decreasing availability of freshwater resources worldwide have made the development of advanced wastewater treatment technologies necessary. Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) are becoming an attractive alternative and a complementary treatment option to conventional methods. AOPs are used to improve the biodegradability of wastewaters containing non-biodegradable organics. Besides, AOPs may inactivate pathogenic microorganisms without adding additional chemicals to the water during disinfection, avoiding the formation of hazardous by-products. This Special Issue of Processes aims to cover recent progress and novel trends in the field of AOPs, including UV/H2O2, O3, sulphate-radical oxidation, nanotechnology in AOPs, heterogeneous photocatalysis, sonolysis, Fenton, photo-Fenton, electrochemical oxidation, and related oxidation processes. The topics to be addressed in this Special Issue of Processes may also include the application of AOPs at various scales (laboratory, pilot, or industrial scale), the degradation of emerging contaminants in water and wastewater and pollutants in the gas phase, the quantification of toxicicy in residuals, the development of novel catalytic materials and of hybrid processes, including the combination of AOPs with other technologies, process intensification, and the use of photo-electrochemical processes for energy production.

Recent advances in the fabrication techniques have enabled the production of different types of polymer sensors and actuators that can be utilized in a wide range of applications, such as soft robotics, biomedical, smart textiles and energy harvesting. Functional polymers possess dynamic physical and chemical properties, which make them suitable candidates for sensing and actuating tasks in response to external stimuli, such as radiation, temperature, chemical reaction, external force, magnetic and electric fields. This book focuses on the recent advancements in the modeling and analysis of functional polymer systems.

The food packaging industry is experiencing one of the most relevant revolutions associated with the transition from fossil-based polymers to new materials of renewable origin. However, high production costs, low performance, and ethical issues still hinder the market penetration of bioplastics. Recently, coating technology was proposed as an additional strategy for achieving a more rational use of the materials used within the food packaging sector. According to the packaging optimization concept, the use of multifunctional thin layers would enable the replacement of multi-layer and heavy structures, thus reducing the upstream amount of packaging materials while maintaining (or even improving) the functional properties of the final package to pursue the goal of overall shelf life extension. Concurrently, the increasing requirements among consumers for convenience, smaller package sizes, and for minimally processed, fresh, and healthy foods have necessitated the design of highly sophisticated and engineered coatings. To this end, new chemical pathways, new raw materials (e.g., biopolymers), and non-conventional deposition technologies have been used. Nanotechnology, in particular, paved the way for the development of new architectures and never-before-seen patterns that eventually yielded nanostructured and nanocomposite coatings with outstanding performance. This book covers the most recent advances in the coating technology applied to the food packaging sector, with special emphasis on active coatings and barrier coatings intended for the shelf life extension of perishable foods.

Active (also called "smart") coatings and thin films are defined as those that are capable of sensing their environment and appropriately responding to that external stimulus. This Special Issue "Active Organic and Organic-Inorganic Hybrid Coatings and Thin Films: Challenges, Developments, Perspectives" collected a series of papers that outline the current frontiers in the development of smart coatings and thin films for corrosion and other types of materials applications. The first four papers focus on novel discoveries on coatings with corrosion protection properties. These include environmentally-friendly polyurethane loaded with cerium nitrate corrosion inhibitor for mild steel protection, hot-pressed organic polymer coatings for the protection of pre-treated aluminum alloy surfaces exposed to NaCl aqueous solutions, functional epoxy coating with modified functional TiO2 for steel substrates protection, and hybrid composites against the thermo-oxidative corrosion of the metal parts of the internal combustion engines, turbines, and heaters. The next paper explores the potential of organic polymer/ceramic composite coatings to enhance the scratch resistance of typical floor laminates. The next three papers highlight other types of smart coatings and thin films, including low-temperature curable hybrid dielectric materials for field-effect transistors, bilayer antireflective coatings for optoelectronic devices, and organic polymers as the thin-film component for enthalpy exchanger systems in air conditioning applications. The final two papers focus on important research specific to coatings that serve as protection and preservation cultural heritage materials.

PV power plant integration into the grid has been a relevant topic of interest over the last years. Policies supported by governments, technology maturity, favorable incentives, and cost decreasing have significantly promoted the integration of PV power plants into power systems at the transmission and distribution levels. Nevertheless, some barriers remain in terms of forecasting generation, grid reliability, and power quality, which must be overcome for the massive PV integration into future power systems. Additionally, the ancillary services provided by these generation units are increasingly required by different agents to facilitate grid operation under a high proportion of renewables. Topics of interest for this Special Issue include the following areas: large-scale PV power plants, energy policies related to PV power plants, grid integration and interaction, PV power plant modeling, monitoring and case studies, communication systems for PV power plants integration, economic analyses, PV inverters and sizing analyses, new trends in PV technologies, and reviews.

Plastic anisotropy is a common property of many metallic materials. This property affects the analysis and design of structures and metal forming processes. The present edited collection of papers concerns analytic and numerical methods of structural and metal forming analysis and design using material models for anisotropic materials. Some qualitative features of rigid plastic solutions in anisotropic plasticity are investigated. Both rate-independent and rate-dependent constitutive equations are considered. The effect of plastic anisotropy on the distribution of residual stresses and strains is shown. Some papers deal with thermo-mechanical problems.

The analysis of power systems under various conditions represents one of the most important and complex tasks in electrical power engineering. Studies in this area are necessary to ensure that the reliability, efficiency, and stability of the power system is not adversely affected. This issue is devoted to reviews and applications of modern methods of signal processing used to analyze the operation of a power system and evaluate the performance of the system in all aspects. Smart grids as an emerging research field of the current decade is the focus of this issue. Monitoring capability with data integration, advanced analysis of support system control, enhanced power security and effective communication to meet the power demand, efficient energy consumption and minimum costs, and intelligent interaction between power-generating and -consuming devices depends on the selection and implementation of advanced signal analysis and processing techniques.

Fibroblast growth factor (FGF) signal transmission has an essential function in embryonic development and tissue repair, and is dysregulated in the vast majority of malignancies studied. The FGF signaling in the tumor cells is usually increased by autocrine and paracrine mechanisms and gives them a high growth potential, resistance to apoptosis, neoangiogenesis and metastasis, all essential parameters relevant for tumor progression. This makes FGFs, and their tyrosine kinase receptors FGFRs, valuable targets for therapeutic interventions. This book is a collection of 15 recent articles-both original work and reviews-that summarize the current research state effectively. The content covers FGF signaling aspects in gastric, skin, liver, esophageal cancer, melanoma, mesothelioma and glioblastoma, including one article that addresses the role of FGF in the tumor-microenvironment cross-talk. Several reports describe the development of compounds targeting FGFRs, their structure and interaction with the receptor molecules, and their effectivity in preclinical and clinical testing. In summary, the papers demonstrate the complexity of the topic, with various FGF ligands and receptors involved and the need for further research. They also present results that fuel hope that targeting cancer with dysfunctional FGF signaling can become a realistic treatment option.

Circular solutions are essential to tackle the eminent challenges of depleting resources and emerging environmental problems. The complex nature of material and energy systems and the changing of economic and technological conditions differ among countries and, therefore, lead to the application of vastly different practices in developed and rapidly developing countries of the world. A wide variety of theoretical approaches can be used to facilitate a shift from the linear use of resources to circular systems, e.g., circular product planning, life cycle planning, sharing and platform economy, refurbishing, and remanufacturing, to name but a few. The introduction and examination of circular solutions can be based on theoretical models in order to guarantee ensure successful application. Successful application of innovative technology approaches, business solutions, and organizational development can be facilitated through theoretical models and new scientific results that support innovation processes. This Special Issue reprint focuses on sustainable and innovative methods which help and enable the proper use and recovery of resources. We present a collection of research papers, reviews, research reports, and case studies that introduce or discuss circular solutions for the sustainable use of resources.

Applied functional analysis has an extensive history. In the last century, this field has often been used in physical sciences, such as wave and heat phenomena. In recent decades, with the development of nonlinear functional analysis, this field has been used to model a variety of engineering, medical, and computer sciences. Two of the most significant issues in this area are modeling and optimization. Thus, we consider some recently published works on fixed point, variational inequalities, and optimization problems. These works could lead readers to obtain new novelties and familiarize them with some applications of this area.

Plants provide the foundation for the structure and function, as well as interactions, among organisms in both tropical and temperate zone habitats. To date, many investigations have revealed patterns and mechanisms generating plant diversity at various scales and from diverse ecological perspectives. However, in the era of climate change, anthropogenic disturbance, and rapid urbanization, new insights are needed to understand how plant species in these forest habitats are changing and adapting. Investigations of plants in both little-disturbed, more natural environments, as well as in urban areas in which crucial green infrastructure is ever more important for sustaining complex human societies are needed. This Special Issue of Forests will focus on plant variation from the perspectives of morphology, genetics, and function, especially plant interactions with biotic and abiotic factors. Research articles may address any aspect of plant evolution and community phylogenetics (explorations of patterns and mechanisms from diverse organismal levels, e.g., molecular, population, species, community, landscape, and ecosystem), plant functional traits (e.g., nutrient traits of leaf, stem, root; reproductive traits of flower, fruit, seed), and/or responses of plant species to changing environments (e.g., water, atmosphere, soil, human activities). Studies providing quantitative evaluation or description of interactions of plants with animals and microbes, both in natural and urban environments, including terrestrial and aquatic systems, are also welcome.

Zinc-dependent matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) belong to metzincins that comprise not only 23 human MMPs but also other metalloproteinases, such as 21 human ADAMs (a disintegrin and metalloproteinase domain) and 19 secreted ADAMTSs (a disintegrin and metalloproteinase thrombospondin domain). The many setbacks from the clinical trials of broad-spectrum MMP inhibitors for cancer indications in the late 1990s emphasized the extreme complexity of the participation of these proteolytic enzymes in biology. This editorial mini-review summarizes the Special Issue, which includes four review articles and 10 original articles that highlight the versatile roles of MMPs, ADAMs, and ADAMTSs, in normal physiology as well as in neoplastic and destructive processes in tissue. In addition, we briefly discuss the unambiguous involvement of MMPs in wound healing.

Flow analysis is an automatic, precise and fast way to perform analytical tests. Flow instruments are used for clinical and pharmaceutical analyses, quality control of industrial products, monitoring of environmental pollution and many other fields. The book presents the latest methodological, technical and instrumental achievements in flow analysis. It shows new possibilities for the miniaturization and full mechanization of flow systems, together with examples of their interesting application. The proposed solutions contribute to reducing the amount of used reagents and waste, as well as increasing the safety of working with hazardous reagents, resulting in modern devices operating in accordance with the principles of green chemistry. A number of innovative methods of processing and measuring analytical samples have also been described. The book very well reflects the current state of flow analysis and development directions.

"AI and the Technological Singularity: A Fallacy or a Great Opportunity" is a collection of essays that addresses the question of whether the technological singularity-the notion that AI-based computers can program the next generation of AI-based computers until a singularity is achieved, where an AI-based computer can exceed human intelligence-is a fallacy or a great opportunity. The group of scholars that address this question have a variety of positions on the singularity, ranging from advocates to skeptics. No conclusion can be reached, as the development of artificial intelligence is still in its infancy, and there is much wishful thinking and imagination in this issue rather than trustworthy data. The reader will find a cogent summary of the issues faced by researchers who are working to develop the field of artificial intelligence and, in particular, artificial general intelligence. The only conclusion that can be reached is that there exists a variety of well-argued positions as to where AI research is headed.

The work published in this book is related to the application of advanced signal processing in smart grids, including power quality, data management, stability and economic management in presence of renewable energy sources, energy storage systems, and electric vehicles. The distinct architecture of smart grids has prompted investigations into the use of advanced algorithms combined with signal processing methods to provide optimal results. The presented applications are focused on data management with cloud computing, power quality assessment, photovoltaic power plant control, and electrical vehicle charge stations, all supported by modern AI-based optimization methods.

The next healthcare revolution will apply regenerative medicines using human cells and tissues. The aim of the regenerative medicine approach is to create biological therapies or substitutes in vitro for the replacement or restoration of tissue function in vivo lost through failure or disease. However, whilst science has revealed the potential, and early products have shown the power of such therapies, there is an immediate and long-term need for expertise with the necessary skills to face the engineering and life science challenges before the predicted benefits in human healthcare can be realized. Specifically, there is a need for the development of bioprocess technology for the successful transfer of laboratory-based practice of stem cell and tissue culture to the clinic as therapeutics through the application of engineering principles and practices. This Special Issue of Bioengineering on Stem Cell Bioprocessing and Manufacturing addresses the central role in defining the engineering sciences of cell-based therapies, by bringing together contributions from worldwide experts on stem cell biology and engineering, bioreactor design and bioprocess development, scale-up, and manufacturing of stem cell-based therapies.