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In 2023, Economies celebrates its 10th anniversary. Thanks to the incredible support from all of you, the journal has developed into a well-respected academic journal. Economies has been included in several journal rankings, has a decent and growing number of submissions by well-known experts, and obtains very satisfactory citation scores given its young age. We acknowledge these achievements with a dedicated Special Issue. Therefore, researchers from all areas of economic research have been invited to submit their contributions to this Special Issue.The Special Issue is titled "Recent Topics in Economic Research" and covers a broad range of topics that are currently at the forefront of economics research and that are within Economies' scope. This includes original research papers as well as comprehensive review papers on topics of actual importance in economics.

Metal¿insulator transitions (MITs) constitute a core subject of fundamental condensed matter research. The localization of conduction electrons occurs in a large variety of materials and engenders intriguing quantum phenomena such as unconventional superconductivity and exotic magnetism. Nearby an MIT, minuscule changes of the interaction strength via chemical substitution, doping, physical pressure, or even disorder can trigger spectacular resistivity changes from zero in a superconductor to infinity in an insulator near T = 0. While approaching an insulating state from the conducting side, deviations from Fermi-liquid transport in bad and strange metals are the rule rather than the exception. As the drosophila of electron¿electron interactions, the Mott MIT receives particular attention from theory as it can be studied using the Hubbard model. On the experimental side, organic charge-transfer salts and transition metal oxides are versatile platforms for working toward solving the puzzles of correlated electron systems. This Special Issue provides a view into the ongoing research endeavors investigating emergent phenomena around MITs.

The forest, as the main body of the terrestrial ecosystem, has a huge carbon sink function and plays an important role in coping with global climate change. This book on "Monitoring forest carbon sequestration with remote sensing" mainly focuses on new remote sensing theories, methods, and technologies for monitoring carbon sinks in forest ecosystems (including urban forest ecosystems) and calls for papers that present original research on the following broad topics: Application of new remote sensing techniques to estimate forest aboveground biomass carbon storage and soil carbon storage. Coupling remote sensing and ecosystem models to simulate the carbon cycle of a forest ecosystem. Application of new sensors or algorithms to retrieve vegetation parameters closely related to forest carbon sink functions, such as leaf area index, tree height, chlorophyll, maximum rate of rubisco carboxylase activity, sun-induced chlorophyll fluorescence, forest age, etc. Integration of multi-temporal or multi-sensor data to detect dynamic changes in and disturbances of forest resources.

This book includes papers from different research fields, reflecting the sectional talks presented at the 9th edition of the Scientific Conference of the Doctoral Schools from the "Dun¿rea de Jos" University of Galäi, which took place in June 2021. The objective of the 2021 Conference was to bring together perspectives and challenges in doctoral research in a common forum and to provide a platform enabling doctoral researchers to meet and share state-of-the-art developments in their fields. It consists of 16 papers presented at the 9th edition of the Scientific Conference of the Doctoral Schools from the "Dun¿rea de Jos" University of Galäi, in several fields such as: mechanical and industrial engineering, food science and biotechnology, electrical/electronic engineering, systems engineering and information technologies, chemistry, electrochemistry, and economic models and strategies.

This Special Issue is a collection of research topics on developing analytical and bioanalytical methods for isolation, identification, and determination of substances in biomedical and pharmaceutical matrices. Special attention is given to advancements in sample preparation, separation techniques and novel detection methods of small molecules, peptides, and monoclonal antibodies. The presented analytical methods exhibit several applications, including pharmacokinetic studies, therapeutic drug monitoring, microdialysis, toxicology, disease screening or drug stability study. Two comprehensive review articles were also presented on applying capillary electrophoresis to analyze bioactive compounds in herbal matrices.

This Special Issue on advanced sensor technologies contains contributions on the latest developments in mobile robotic systems and related research. Various topics with different ideas and applications from mobile robotics have found their place. New ideas are presented for mobile robots that specialise in cleaning floors, power lines and HVAC systems. We also find innovative approaches for navigation path planning using local minima-free potential fields, novel path primitives and/or their parameterisation for minimum-time planning, and various control approaches ranging from visual serving to model predictive and adaptive trajectory tracking, applied to wheeled robots, humanoid manipulators and flying robots. Localisation approaches using LiDAR, motion capture systems, fingerprint-based and biomechanical gait systems are also discussed. In addition to advances in methodology, applications in healthcare, mining tunnels, cleaning, warehouses and other areas are mentioned.

This reprint represents a collection of papers that aimed to highlight the importance of immunohistochemical findings and their role in improving the understanding of organ tissue functions.We focused our attention on farm animals because they represent not only a source of food in the supply chain, but also a source of income for breeders, a source of employment, and a primary tool in the quest for sustainable food production. To achieve this last aim, we asked authors for research that could potentially be applied to the purpose of this study, and whose results could be useful in improving farm management practices and the responsible use of natural resources.A total of 20 papers were contributed to this issue, written by 118 authors from 4 countries, and comprising 18 research articles and 2 communications articles.

This book focuses on the most recent technical innovations and developments in the area of microfluidics, particularly in relation to their biomedical applications.The advent of microfluidics has provided important insights into the fields of biomedical research and clinical diagnosis. Special attention is given to the isolation and detection of circulating tumor cells and exosomes, the generation of concentration dilutions, the rapid sensing and detection of single molecules and viruses, and the innovations in inertial microfluidics, electrical impedance, magnetic biosensors, and droplet microfluidics.

The recent studies focused on development of advanced carbon nanostructured materials, functionalized carbons, nanostructured oxides, electrocatalysts, and catalytic composite materials are collected in this reprint. The advantage of using novel catalytic materials and adsorbents in various applications is demonstrated.

The connected and automated vehicle (CAV) is a promising piece of technology, anticipated to enhance the safety and effectiveness of mobility. Advanced sensing technologies and control algorithms, working to acquire environmental data, analyze data, and regulate vehicle movements, are key functional components of CAVs. In recent years, the creation of innovative sensing technologies for CAVs has gained substantial attention. CAVs can now interpret sensory data to more accurately detect impediments, track their locations, navigate autonomously in a dynamic environment, and communicate with other nearby vehicles. This has been made possible by advancements in sensing technology. Additionally, by utilizing computer vision and other sensing techniques, the bodily movements, facial expressions, and even mental states of in-cabin persons can be identified.

Electrification plays a key role in decarbonizing energy consumption for various sectors, including transportation, heating, and cooling. There are several essential infrastructures for a smart city, including smart grids and transportation networks. These infrastructures are the complementary solutions to successfully developing novel services, with enhanced energy efficiency and energy security. This Special Issue includes high-quality papers that address issues related to cutting-edge smart city technologies in the electrification process, including but not limited to the following:Electrification of building environments and transportation systems;Role and impact of smart grids for smart cities;ICT and IoT infrastructures with big data for smart city electrification;Market, services, and business models for smart city electrification;Standards and implementation for smart city electrification;Advanced smart grid technology integration in smart cities, such as energy storage, demand-side management, and distributed energy resources.

Among the strategies for reducing the negative effects on the environment effected by the uncontrolled consumption and low potential for the recovery of conventional plastics, the synthesis of new biodegradable and recyclable plastics represents one of the most promising methods for minimizing the negative effects of conventional non-biodegradable plastics. The spectrum of existing biodegradable materials is still very narrow; thus, to achieve greater applicability, research is being carried out on biodegradable polymer mixtures, the synthesis of new polymers, and the incorporation of new stabilizers for thermal degradation, alongside the use of other additives such as antibacterials or new and more sustainable plasticizers. Some studies analyze direct applications, such as shape memory foams, new cartilage implants, drug release, etc.The reader can find several studies on the degradation of biodegradable polymers under composting conditions; however, novel bacteria that degrade polymers considered non-biodegradable in other, unusual conditions (such as conditions of high salinity) are also presented.

In this Special Issue, "Pathogenesis of Pregnancy-Related Complications", 4 reviews, 13 original papers, 1 communication, and 1 case report are compiled. These papers were published by scientific teams from 24 countries, including China, Tunisia, Canada, France, Serbia, Portugal, Spain, Chile, Singapore, Australia, the USA, Mexico, the Czech Republic, Germany, Sweden, Finland, the United Kingdom, Norway, Poland, Greece, Japan, Italy, Switzerland, and Israel, which is a really great achievement.

Heat transfer plays a crucial role in modern engineering and energy conversion efficiency. Understanding its mechanisms is essential for sustainable energy management. Waste heat recovery, an increasingly popular strategy, reduces energy consumption and promotes sustainability. This reprint highlights advancements in heat transfer technology and heat recovery systems, addressing the persistent demand for innovative solutions. The content focuses on four main categories: heat transfer and heat exchangers, heat recovery, renewables, and domestic hot water preparation systems.

Catalytic oxidation or reduction processes are among the most efficient processes for water and wastewater treatment. These include photocatalysis, sulfate and hydroxyl-radical-based advanced oxidation processes.This Special Issue contains the contributions of different research groups and discusses the recent progress and advances in catalytic processes in water and wastewater treatment.

This reprint features a dozen high-quality research studies and reviews on different types of nanofluids and their important topics related to thermophysical and electrical properties, as well as convective and boiling heat transfer characteristics, contributed by renowned researchers around the world. It is expected to be a useful resource for related industrial professionals and researchers in this emerging and popular field of nanofluids.

This book covers the theory and fabrication of plasmonic nanostructures, patterned surfaces, and devices for lossy mode resonance (LMR), surface plasmon resonance (SPR), surface-enhanced fluorescence spectroscopy (SEFS), and surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS)-based biosensors. The chapters in this book cover a range of topics, including the interplay between SPR and lossy mode resonance, fabrication of LSPR substrates using high-throughput techniques, recent advances in various nanostructures, recent developments in the field of nanostructured Ag substrates, and innovative advances in biosensors based on DNA nanotechnology. These chapters provide a comprehensive overview of recent developments in plasmonic biosensors, making this book essential reading for researchers working in biosensors and plasmonics.

Agricultural productivity should increase to meet the growing food demand. Tillage is defined as the mechanical manipulation of agricultural soil, and it is an extremely vital part of crop production, particularly for seedbed preparation and weed control. Tillage operations are carried out using mechanical force, commonly with a tractor-drawn tool to achieve the cutting, inversion, pulverization, and disturbance of soil. A significant part of the energy (from fossil fuels) used in crop production is expended in tillage. This energy use results in greenhouse gas emissions. It is essential that we reduce energy use (hence, greenhouse gas emissions) to achieve sustainable farming practices and improve crop production and design new tillage tools or optimize the existing tools.Although the design and evaluation of tillage tools are generally carried out using analytical methods and field experiments, with recent technological improvements, computer technology has been used for the design and evaluation of tillage tools. Additionally, sensor technology can improve the efficiency of tillage tools. This Special Issue collated innovative papers that make a significant contribution to the design and application of agricultural equipment in tillage systems. It involved original research and review papers from different research fields, such as agricultural engineering, engineering simulation, and precision agriculture.

The manuscripts published in this reprint provide new insights into the hypothalamic neuronal and non-neuronal pathways involved in the pathophysiology and development of obesity and related diseases such as diabetes. Via four original papers, six review manuscripts, and one perspective, this reprint will substantially contribute to the identification of novel therapeutic targets in the hypothalamus and novel approaches to combatting the progression of human obesity.

Among the strategies for reducing the negative effects on the environment effected by the uncontrolled consumption and low potential for the recovery of conventional plastics, the synthesis of new biodegradable and recyclable plastics represents one of the most promising methods for minimizing the negative effects of conventional non-biodegradable plastics. The spectrum of existing biodegradable materials is still very narrow; thus, to achieve greater applicability, research is being carried out on biodegradable polymer mixtures, the synthesis of new polymers, and the incorporation of new stabilizers for thermal degradation, alongside the use of other additives such as antibacterials or new and more sustainable plasticizers. Some studies analyze direct applications, such as shape memory foams, new cartilage implants, drug release, etc.The reader can find several studies on the degradation of biodegradable polymers under composting conditions; however, novel bacteria that degrade polymers considered non-biodegradable in other, unusual conditions (such as conditions of high salinity) are also presented.

"Molecules at Play in Cancer" is a collection of 24 research articles on recent findings about some important molecules responsible for either cancer development and proliferation, or anti-cancer therapy. It covers a wide range of tissues and organs affected by cancer: adrenal glands, blood, breasts, muscles, ovaries, prostate, stomach, and testicles.

This Special Issue covers current and relevant information about the applied anatomy of domestic animals, new companion animals and wild animals. It includes recent research and review articles on diverse topics based on the use of different diagnostic imaging techniques and more classic anatomical methods, providing a deeper insight into the healthy anatomy of diverse structures, which is crucial in high-quality medicine.

This book focuses on the forming technologies and mechanical properties of advanced materials. Plastic working is the most efficient and an important manufacturing technology in today's industry. Plastic working technologies enable giving the material the appropriate functional properties, which depend on the rheological conditions of the plastic forming process and on the thermoplastic treatments carried out during the forming process. Metal processing is one of the most important sectors of the economy. In addition to the continuous improvement in the existing methods of plastic working, new technologies are also implemented, the purpose of which is to reduce the energy consumption of processing and the modernization of technological machines and tools. The subjects of research articles published in this book are multidisciplinary, including friction and lubrication in sheet metal forming, the single-point incremental forming of polymeric and lightweight metallic sheets, the optimization of shear spinning parameters and the cutting performance of cutting tools, the numerical and experimental analysis of titanium sheet forming, the mechanical and structural properties of titanium alloy subjected to impact-oscillatory loading, macro- and microdeformation characteristics of Ti-2.5Al-1.5Mn foil, and the optimisation of the thermomechanical process of nickel-based oxide-dispersion-strengthened superalloys.

This reprint contains the most recent research in pavement engineering, which mainly addresses the performance-related properties of asphalt mixtures. We hope that this reprint is helpful for researchers and pavement industries to generate a better and deeper understanding of pavement materials, pavement construction, and pavement maintenance.

Pyrometallurgy is considered to be an environmentally friendly technology in processing of primary and secondary raw materials. The continuous development of pyrometallurgical processes to treat more complex raw materials requires direct support from fundamental research. In this reprint, 18 papers focusing on recent investigations into the existing and new pyrometallurgical processes such as recovery of cobalt through chlorination-volatilization, the extraction of tungsten from low-grade concentrates, copper and lead smelting, ironmaking, and steelmaking are collected. This reprint is expected to serve as a valuable reference for academia and the industry working on thermodynamics, kinetics, and technological optimization and development.

Biocatalysis is a sustainable alternative for the chemical industry in manufacturing, monitoring, and waste management. Biocatalytic processes perform with isolated enzymes or whole cells as biocatalysts. Whole-cell biocatalysts offer some unique advantages of cascade reactions catalyzed by multienzymes as well as a single bioredox reaction with cofactor regeneration in a single strain. Therefore, whole-cell biocatalysts are widely applied for biosynthesis/biotransformation to produce value-added chemicals as well as the complete mineralization of organic pollutants.Biological catalytic processing using whole-cell biocatalysts includes biocatalyst engineering, bio-reaction engineering, and downstream processing. In addition to the traditional screening of microbial strains and immobilized whole-cell biocatalysts, modern genetic engineering, metabolic engineering, and synthetic biology make tailored whole-cell biocatalysts possible. At the same time, some integrated processes have successfully been applied in the catalytic processing using living whole-cell biocatalysts, such as harnessing biocompatible chemistry to interface with the microbial metabolism as well as using various separation techniques for in situ product removal.This reprint on "Microbial Biocatalysis" provides a comprehensive overview of the recent developments of catalyst discovery, catalyst modification, and process intensification for whole cell catalysis in fermentation, biotransformation or biodegradation processes.

At the molecular level, the activation of growth factor receptors (GFRs) induces a mitogenic response and maintains cancer cell growth. The majority of malignant diseases are related to aberrant intra- and intercellular communication, associated with the GFR-mediated pathways. Moreover, the evasion of apoptotic signals and the requirement of angiogenesis were also found to be of fundamental importance for tumor progression and metastasis. In this context, a high expression of GFRs aids blood vessel formation, cell migration, and the inhibition of apoptosis. GFR-directed therapy that would theoretically selectively kill malignant cells and reduce the toxicity associated with nonselective conventional chemotherapy may be a promising treatment for cancer. Many intracellular proteins involved in GFR signal transduction can also function as oncogenes. Mutations affecting key proteins in the RAS/MAPK and PI3K/AKT pathways are known to be crucial in maintaining the malignancy of different types of cancers. This information has guided the development of compounds designed to target one or more of these pathways in cancer cells. Even though there have been important advances in our understanding of GFRs and their signaling, certain essential information is still lacking, and these membrane receptors are still being laboriously studied by several research groups, to find therapeutic solutions to unmet medical needs.

In recent years, inorganic oxidic nanomaterials have been extensively investigated for their outstanding properties that allow their use within a large variety of raising fields of interest, ranging from (photo)catalysis to the development of functional nanocomposites. Nanoscopic metal (eventually mixed) oxides are often fabricated following soft-chemistry approaches, characterized by the possibility of favouring specific morphologies, particles dimensions, and surface porosities through different synthetic methods and templating processes. In this context, surface functionalities and reactivity play a major role in the determination of nanomaterials final properties. For this reason, further surface functionalization with specific chemical moieties is often recommended to extend their field of application. This Special Issue, now edited as a book, aimed at extending the comprehension of the mechanisms involved in the synthesis and templating of inorganic oxidic nanomaterials, as well as in their surface functionalization and reactivity. Additionally, this Special Issue aimed at increasing the knowledge on the latest advances of these systems in (photo)catalysis, environmental clean-up processes, energy storage, controlled transport and/or release, biomedicine, sensing, development of smart-materials, stimuli-responsive materials, and nanocomposites. Nanomaterials of interest included: silica, alumina, titania, zirconia, zinc oxide, aluminosilicates, iron oxides, perovskites and titanates, rare earth oxides, and composites. Furthermore, particular attention was dedicated toward studies describing alternative ecofriendly preparation methods.

The application fields of colloid and interface chemistry are very wide, covering many aspects such as industrial and agricultural production, daily chemistry, enhanced oil recovery, and so on. The traditional experimental analysis of a colloid and interface chemistry system includes various instrumental analysis methods such as spectroscopy, rheometer, microscopes, etc. In recent decades, molecular simulation has become an important research method in this field. It can investigate at the molecular level and provide mechanisms or insights that are hard or even impossible to obtain from an experiment. Many applications of molecular simulation have been reported in the literature, such as the behavior of surfactant, self-assembly, enhanced oil recovery, adsorption around interface, etc. This reprint has collected ten research articles which relate to the application of molecular dyamics simulation in colloide and interface chemistry.

The reprint, "Rare Monogenic Diseases: Molecular Pathophysiology and Novel Therapies", provides a collection of original research articles and systematic reviews focused on diverse conditions stemming from a pathogenic single gene mutation. The articles are focused on the molecular mechanisms that are affected within a rare monogenic disorder, such as those involving gene expression, molecular pathways and cell death. Moreover, specific experimental therapies including drug discovery, drug repositioning, gene therapy and protein-based therapeutics are discussed.