Böcker utgivna av Mdpi AG

This book shows the potential of entropy and information theory in forecasting, including both theoretical developments and empirical applications. The contents cover a great diversity of topics, such as the aggregation and combination of individual forecasts, the comparison of forecasting performance, and the debate concerning the tradeoff between complexity and accuracy. Analyses of forecasting uncertainty, robustness, and inconsistency are also included, as are proposals for new forecasting approaches. The proposed methods encompass a variety of time series techniques (e.g., ARIMA, VAR, state space models) as well as econometric methods and machine learning algorithms. The empirical contents include both simulated experiments and real-world applications focusing on GDP, M4-Competition series, confidence and industrial trend surveys, and stock exchange composite indices, among others. In summary, this collection provides an engaging insight into entropy applications for forecasting, offering an interesting overview of the current situation and suggesting possibilities for further research in this field.

The global increase in air travel will require commercial vehicles to be more efficient than ever before. Advanced engine hot section materials are a key technology required to keep fuel consumption and emission to a minimum in next-generation gas turbines. Ceramic matrix composites (CMCs) are the most promising material to revolutionize gas turbine hot section materials technology because of their excellent highΓÇÉtemperature properties. Rapid surface recession due to volatilization by water vapor is the Achilles heel of CMCs. Environmental barrier coatings (EBCs) is an enabling technology for CMCs, since it protects CMCs from water vapor. The first CMC component entered into service in 2016 in a commercial engine, and more CMC components are scheduled to follow within the next few years. One of the most difficult challenges to CMC components is EBC durability, because failure of EBC leads to a rapid reduction in CMC component life. Key contributors to EBC failure include recession, oxidation, degradation by calciumΓÇÉaluminumΓÇÉmagnesium silicates (CMAS) deposits, thermal and thermoΓÇÉmechanical strains, particle erosion, and foreign object damage (FOD). Novel EBC chemistries, creative EBC designs, and robust processes are required to meet EBC durability challenges. Engine-relevant testing, characterization, and lifing methods need to be developed to improve EBC reliability. The aim of this Special Issue is to present recent advances in EBC technology to address these issues. In particular, topics of interest include but are not limited to the following: ΓÇóNovel EBC chemistries and designs; ΓÇóProcessing including plasma spray, suspension plasma spray, solution precursor plasma spray, slurry process, PS-PVD, EB-PVD, and CVD; ΓÇóTesting, characterization, and modeling; ΓÇóLifing.

This book is comprised of different paper contributions published in "Remote Sensing", under the Special Issue "Radar Imaging in Challenging Scenarios from Smart and Flexible Platforms," for which we served as guest editors. According to the general objective of the Special Issue, the papers included provide a good survey of newborn imaging radar systems, such as synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and ground penetrating radar (GPR), which are designed to operate in challenging scenarios. The latter includes the cases of forward-looking radar or lunar penetrating radar and smart and flexible platforms, such as small airplanes, drones or helicopters. The radar systems described in the book cover a wide range of the microwave spectrum, starting from the VHF band up to the X-band. In addition to the description of newborn systems, the Special Issue includes an important survey of data processing techniques aimed at achieving accurate radar imaging under complex acquisition geometries and/or monitoring scenarios. We thank the Editorial Office of Remote Sensing and all the authors and reviewers for their professional and hard work. Without their excellent contributions, the Special Issue, and thus this book, would not have been possible.

The complexity of radiation damage effects in materials that are used in various irradiation environments stems from the fundamental particle-solid interactions and the subsequent damage recovery dynamics after the collision cascades, which involves multiple length and time scales. Adding to this complexity are the transmuted impurities that are unavoidable from accompanying nuclear processes. Helium is one such impurity that plays an important and unique role in controlling the microstructure and properties of materials used in fast fission reactors, plasma-facing and structural materials in fusion devices, spallation neutron target designs, actinides, tritium-containing materials, and nuclear waste. Their ultra-low solubility in virtually all solids forces He atoms to self-precipitate into small bubbles that become nucleation sites for further void growth under radiation-induced vacancy supersaturations, resulting in material swelling and high-temperature He embrittlement, as well as surface blistering under low-energy and high-flux He bombardment. This Special Issue, "Radiation Damage in Materials-Helium Effects", contains review articles and full-length papers on new irradiation material research activities and novel material ideas using experimental and/or modeling approaches. These studies elucidate the interactions of helium with various extreme environments and tailored nanostructures, as well as their impact on microstructural evolution and material properties.

This Special Issue covers several recent advances in robotic devices applied to motor rehabilitation and assistance. The Special Issue has collected eight outstanding papers covering different aspects of assistance robotics and biosensors. The selected contributions cover several main topics related to assistance robotics, from the control of myoelectric prostheses to the rehabilitation and assistance of the lower and upper limbs.

Cardiovascular occlusive diseases, such as myocardial infarction or stroke, are still the major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide and are, particularly during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, drastically increasing. Arteriogenesis, which describes the process of natural arterial bypass growth, is a tissue- and life-saving process, which is given to us by mother nature to compensate for the function of a stenosed coronary or peripheral artery non-invasively. Since our first investigations on the mechanisms of collateral artery growth, more than 20 years ago, a lot of progress has been made, which we aim to make accessible in the current book. We present the available animal models and share information on the used state of the art techniques. We describe how fluid shear stress, the trigger for arteriogenesis, is translated into biochemical signal transduction cascades, and we also highlight the functional role of extracellular RNA and Il10. We address the problematic features of arteriogenesis in patients suffering from diabetes mellitus, and provide an overview of currently available or potentially therapeutic approaches to promote arteriogenesis in patients. We focus on the combination of ultrasound and microbubbles, the permanent occlusion of the internal mammary arteries, and simple exercise training. We believe that we have come much closer to achieving our goal of understanding the mechanisms of arteriogenesis, enabling clinicians to promote collateral artery growth in patients and cure vascular occlusive diseases.

Studies on the populations of luminous stars in nearby resolved galaxies have revealed a complex distribution in the luminosity-temperature plane (the HR diagram). The fundamentals of massive star evolution are mostly understood, but the roles of mass loss, episodic mass loss, rotation, and binarity are still in question. Moreover, the final stages of these stars of different masses and their possible relation to each other are not understood. The purpose of this volume is to provide a current review of the different populations of evolved massive stars. The emphasis is on massive stars in the Local Group, the Magellanic Clouds, and the nearby spirals M31 and M33.

Disasters such as earthquakes, cyclones, floods, heat waves, nuclear accidents, and large scale pollution incidents take lives and cause exceptionally large health problems. The majority of large-scale disasters affect the most vulnerable populations, which are often comprised of people of extreme ages, in remote living areas, with endemic poverty, and with low literacy. Health-related emergency disaster risk management (Health-EDRM) [1] refers to the systematic analysis and management of health risks surrounding emergencies and disasters; it plays an important role in reducing hazards and vulnerability along with extending preparedness, response, and recovery measures. This concept encompasses risk analyses and interventions, such as accessible early warning systems, timely deployment of relief workers, and the provision of suitable drugs and medical equipment, to decrease the impact of disaster on people before, during, and after disaster events. Disaster risk profiling and interventions can be at the personal/household, community, and system/political levels; they can be targeted at specific health risks including respiratory issues caused by indoor burning, re-emergence of infectious disease due to low vaccination coverage, and gastrointestinal problems resulting from unregulated waste management. Unfortunately, there has been a major gap in the scientific literature regarding Health-EDRM. The aim of this Special Issue of IJERPH was to present papers describing/reporting the latest disaster and health risk analyses, as well as interventions for health-related disaster risk management, in an effort to address this gap and facilitate major global policies and initiatives for disaster risk reduction.

Thin film processes are significantly incorporated in manufacturing display panels, secondary batteries, fuel/solar cells, catalytic films, membranes, adhesives, and other commodity films. This Special Issue on "Thin Film Processes" of Processes listed recent progress on thin-film processes, covering theoretical considerations, experimental observations, and computational techniques. Articles in this Issue consider comprehensive studies on thin film processes and related materials.