This is a reprint of the Special Issue The Rule of Law and Human Mobility in the Age of the Global Compacts: Relativising the Risks and Gains of Soft Normativity?, which hosts nine contributions that critically dive in the normative, administrative, and judicial obstacles and potential standing of the legal framework and implementation setting of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration (GCM) and the Global Compact for Refugees (GCR). The following four thematic clusters are proposed: 1. The justiciability of the actionable commitments under the Global Compacts before domestic courts as a threshold for the degree of judicial protection for migrants and refugees; 2. How human rights treaties and the Global Compacts are connected might matter for the level of rights protection; 3. Externalized migration policies and border management as a threat for the regional scope of human rights and as a risk factor for the rule of law; and 4. Data-driven and evidence-based migration policies, including digital technology as facilitators for standardizing migration and asylum decisions. By inquiring into human rights protection at the boundaries of the political commitments under the Global Compacts, this reprint engages in a conversation about the confinements that migrants and refugees encounter when accessing their substantive and procedural rights and encourages legal science/scholars to map an emerging field of study within global migration governance.
This reprint presents a collection of twelve scientific articles that delve into the complex relationship between climate change and food security in various regions of the world. The articles examine the impact of climate change on crop production, water resources, and livestock farming, and they explore potential adaptive measures to mitigate the effects of climate change on food security. The articles cover a wide range of geographic locations, from Southeastern Poland to Central Ethiopia, Algeria, Egypt, South Africa, Afghanistan, and Canada. Each article provides valuable insight into the impact of climate change on food security, including the potential link between drought and wild blueberry production in Maine, the use of geospatial assessments to guide climate adaptation strategies for flood-tolerant rice varieties in India, and the impact of non-conventional agricultural spaces on mitigating the effects of climate change on food security in Quebec, Canada. The authors also explore the impact of climate-smart agriculture interventions on food security and dietary diversity in Myanmar, as well as the determinants of smallholder livestock farmers' household resilience to food insecurity in South Africa. Additionally, the reprint includes a case study on water profitability analysis to improve food security and climate resilience in the Egyptian Nile Delta. Taken together, these articles provide a comprehensive understanding of the impact of climate change on food security and highlight the need for innovative solutions to ensure sustainable food systems in the face of climate change.
Pathogenic microorganisms, including fungi, oomycetes, bacteria, viruses, and viroids, constitute a serious threat to agriculture worldwide. In Spain, one of the countries with the highest proportion of agricultural gross domestic product in Europe, the agri-food industry is the main manufacturing activity. Consequently, the presence and emergence of microorganisms causing serious plant diseases to economically important crops is especially relevant. In line with this, Spain has an important number of research groups interested in plant pathology, with scientists working on many aspects of pathogenic microorganism-plant interactions, from the basic aspects to more applied studies. In recent years, numerous important advancements have been achieved by scientists working in Spain in terms of the biological and molecular characterization of plant pathogenic microorganisms, in elucidating mechanisms of microbe pathogenesis, plant resistance to microbe infection, and plant-microbe-vector interactions. All these new achievements have provided essential knowledge for agricultural researchers worldwide.The aim of this Special Issue was to provide a platform for Spanish researchers interested in plant pathogenic microorganisms to share their recent results related to microbe-plant host interactions, microbe-vector interactions, microbe-microbe interactions, evolution, ecology, and control strategies.
Milk and meat products originating from small ruminants contain biologically active compounds, such as high-quality proteins, vitamins, minerals and fatty acids that have been proven to have beneficial effects on human nutrition, metabolism and health. However, the raising consumer demands for safe animal products of high nutritional value has reshaped the direction of livestock production and food industry. Currently, research efforts are focused on the development of niche functional products that fortify human health and are in harmony with the concept of sustainable production, green economy, environmental protection, and proper health and welfare status of farm animals. Innovative feeding strategies are therefore evaluated that could promote ruminal function, enhance animal health and welfare status, increase production yield, improve quality of milk and meat products and prolong their shelf life by minimizing environmental burden and production costs.
The reliability of high-voltage equipment is critical to the safe operation of the power grid. This reprint focuses on the new developments and advances in both fundamental and applied research on the testing, monitoring, and diagnostics of high-voltage equipment, including insulators, transformers, etc.
Fluvial hydraulics deals with the flow of water, the motion of sediment, and the erosion of channel beds in rivers. Fluvial hydraulics is complex because velocity, slope, depth, and channel roughness are all subject to changes resulting from erodible beds and sediment transport due to the presence of in-stream infrastructure, vegetation in channel beds/banks, and ice cover on water surfaces.The aim of this reprint is to present research that improves our knowledge of sediment transport, local scour around in-stream infrastructures, and fluvial processes in the presence of either vegetation in channel beds or ice cover on water surfaces. It aims to include not only the latest advancements in the mechanics of sediment transport and local scour around in-stream infrastructures but also the impacts of vegetation in channel beds on bed deformation and flow structures. Research regarding the interaction between river ice, riverbed deformation, and in-stream infrastructures.In total, twelve original contributions are presented in this reprint. Among the topics of interest for this Special Issue are: 1) turbulent flow structure, Reynolds stress, and local scour around in-stream infrastructures under an ice-covered flow condition; 2) interactions among ice jam accumulation, channel bed deformation, and in-stream infrastructures; and 3) turbulent flow structures in the presence of vegetation in a channel bed or under a shallow flow condition.We hope that the results of the presented research will benefit river engineers and hydrologists.
The recycling of asphalt mixtures has significant contributions towards the reduction in greenhouse gases, pollution, natural resources, and energy consumption. Sustainable road materials and technologies can provide a powerful boost to "carbon-neutral strategies", and so it is crucial to continue moving towards improving these technologies and theories.This Special Issue includes new findings in the field of regenerated asphalt mixtures, including the high-content regeneration of RAP, cold recycling technologies, regenerated mechanisms, eco-regenerating agents, and anti-aged materials. Additionally, novel materials, fast maintenance technologies, and functional materials are also addressed in this Special Issue, such as bio-asphalt materials, intelligent transportation, self-healing technologies, solid waste resource applications, numerical simulations, smart road materials and technologies, etc.
This reprint emphasizes the perspectives and challenges surrounding COVID-19 and obesity-related cancers, including but not limited to the risk factors of severe COVID-19 in cancer patients; the complications of COVID-19 in cancer patients; the challenges in cancer treatment and surgery; guidelines for cancer care during COVID-19; delayed diagnosis and suboptimal cancer management; the impact of COVID-19 on cancer screening, early diagnosis and cancer presentation; immune response after SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination in cancer patients; psychological distress among cancer survivors; telehealth in cancer care; the role of diet and nutraceuticals in the prevention of severe COVID-19 and cancer; and the effects of COVID-19 pandemic on cancer research.
Fire-induced smoke influences the safe evacuation of occupants and firefighters' ability to extinguish a fire. About 80% of deaths in fires were caused by toxic smoke, according to statistics. Hence, how to control smoke is of great importance in order to reduce fire hazards. In this Special Issue, the scope was to gather original, fundamental and applied research concerning experimental, theoretical, computational and case studies that contribute towards the understanding of fire-induced smoke.
Global change induced extreme climate events are becoming more common than ever. Soil carbon and nitrogen pools correlated significantly with changes in atmospheric greenhouse gas. Large increase in atmospheric greenhouse gases, majorly carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and methane, can enhance the heating of atmosphere, which will be generally followed by global warming. Mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions including various strategies, such as the sequestrations of carbon and nitrogen in soil, plant or ecosystems, efficient management of agricultural and forestry ecosystems, mitigation of ecosystem carbon and nitrogen leaching, etc. The mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions from all kinds of sources will be therefore crucial in mitigation of global climate change.This reprint gathered latest case studies and methodologies, including, but not limited to measurement and mitigation strategies of carbon and nitrogen pools in soil, plant, or ecosystems, and greenhouse gas emissions, will substantially improve our understanding of the potential, ability, and capacity of ecosystems in mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions and hence global climate change. This reprint can be used by colleagues working on global climate change, ecology, agriculture, forestry and policy makers associated with global change. Chapters included in this reprint were contributed by colleagues from China, Egypt, Italy, Jordan, Mexico, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, etc. It can be used in most countries in the world.
This reprint is a collection of the research papers published in the "Advances in Friction, Lubrication, Wear and Oxidation in Metals Manufacturing" Special Issue. It acts as an update on the state of the art concerning studies on friction, wear and oxidation properties of materials; the development and performance of novel lubricants; and advanced simulation strategies for friction contacts.
This Special Issue of Atmosphere, "Atmospheric Aqueous-Phase Chemistry", comprises ten original articles dealing with different aspects of chemistry in atmospheric liquid water. Liquid water in cloud and fog droplets and in moist aerosol particles is ubiquitous in the atmosphere. Dissolved species from the soluble aerosol fraction, as well as soluble trace gases, undergo chemical reactions in the aqueous phase via different mechanisms, usually yielding different products from those in the gas phase. In addition to their different reactivity, the chemical species solubility determines their fate in the atmosphere, i.e., their involvement in gas-phase or aqueous-phase chemistry.The articles of this Special Issue can be divided into three groups: (i) the first is mostly based on field measurements and/or combined field and modeling studies giving insights into the chemical characterization of different atmospheric liquid water samples from various environments; (ii) the second group is focused on studies of aqueous-phase reactivity of some important atmospheric organic compounds; and (iii) the final group comprises articles based on predictive modeling and/or combined modeling and laboratory studies providing insight into aqueous secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation.
Pathogenic fungi and mycotoxins threaten plant and animal health and cause economic losses. This book focuses on the recent research progress into pathogenic fungi and mycotoxins in China. The molecular mechanisms of mycotoxin biosynthesis and pathogenic fungi growth and development are reported from the perspectives of transcription regulation, histone modification and enzymes, providing a theoretical basis for discovering new control targets. This Special Issue not only includes a review about the microbial degradation of mycotoxins, but also discusses several new chemical and biological methods which inhibit the biosynthesis of mycotoxin. Special attention is also given to the effect of nutrition on the production of mycotoxins. Some papers have also been collected about detection assays and the risk assessments of mycotoxins. The fundamental and applied research into mycotoxins is not only of particular interest but is also important for reducing economic losses.
Our reprint consists of 13 papers. In the first five papers, the influencing factors of biodiversity and community composition are addressed. In the sixth and seventh papers, the spatial distribution patterns and drivers of arid plants under the background of global climate change are examined. The eighth paper describes leaf stoichiometry in arid zones. The ninth studies the change in carbon allocation depending on plant growth stage and the tenth deals with the use of condensed water by plants. Papers 11-13 look at the relationship between plants and soil.
The first international Precision Agriculture Pakistan Conference (PAPC), in 2022, was held in person at PMAS-Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi (PMAS-AAUR), Pakistan. The PAPC provided opportunities to local researchers to collaborate with national and international researchers in the field of Digital and Precision Agriculture through oral and poster presentations, exhibits, field demonstrations, as well as discussions and the exchange of information. The world's leading Precision and Digital Agriculture researchers from Canada, China, the USA, Australia and Turkey gave keynote addresses during the PAPC 2022. The conference introduced new ideas, solutions and research in the agricultural sector, especially considering global climate change.
This Special Issue collects research on and applications of the relationship between food, nutrition, and databases. The development of databases of nutrients, bioactive compounds, and metabolites are key tools for human health and public nutrition and represent resources for a wide range of applications in food, pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, epidemiology, and medicinal areas. The current research trends are highlighted.
This Special Issue contains selected papers from works presented at the 11th EASN (European Aeronautics Science Network) International Conference on Innovation in Aviation & Space, which was held from the 1st until the 3rd of September 2021. About 420 remote participants contributed to a high-level scientific gathering providing some of the latest research results on the topic, as well as some of the latest relevant technological advancements. Nineteen interesting papers, which cover a wide range of topics including characterization, analysis and design, as well as numerical simulation, are contained in this Special Issue.
This Special Issue collates seven papers regarding the assessment or monitoring of hydrological disasters such as droughts and flood using remote sensing and geography information system (GIS) techniques.. The new published research focused on evaluations and models of various hydrological hazards such as droughts and floods. Furthermore, we include two original scientific articles addressing the subject of water quality. This Special Issue received investigations based on different techniques such as remote sensing, GIS, machine learning and monitoring. All papers present findings characterized as unconventional, provocative, innovative and methodologically new. Scientific findings presented in this Special Issue highlight how a combination of various modern analysis techniques (e.g., remote sensing, GIS) can improve our understanding of complex hydrological hazards such as droughts and floods. We hope that the research contained within this Special Issue is useful to the scientific community, policymakers and stakeholders at large in the field of hydrological hazards.
We are facing a complicated public health issue in the form of global drug shortages, including antibiotics. Synthetic biology empowers the next generation of antibiotics development, bringing us into a new era.
The subject of this reprint covers the latest research in the field of wind energy methods and technologies. The results of work on modeling and optimization of wind turbines, their location, methods of monitoring and diagnostics, and development prospects were presented. Contemporary problems, dangers and risks in the field of wind engineering were also pointed out.
Dielectrophoresis (DEP) continues to be an effective technique for the label-free identification and manipulation of targeted particles in multiple applications. This second volume of the "Micromachines for Dielectrophoresis" series includes 13 novel contributions to the field in aspects ranging from fundamentals and theoretical modeling to applications.
At present, the textile sector is involved in many diversified fields for the development and sustainability of novel products and polymer-based composites, with several challenges present when it comes to producing innovative, novel, and durable materials. The fabrication of textiles and polymer-based composites as advanced and multifunctional materials in applied industries is a core fundamental concept of this Special Issue, including textile materials, their structures, surface-treated textiles, nanocoated textiles, mathematical modeling, and the use of artificial intelligence (machine learning) for the predicting their most important parameters; textile material reinforcement in composites and polymer composites; and the synthesis, characterization, and applications of textile-based polymer composites for economic and environmental sustainability. This Special Issue covers the following research topics:Synthesis and characterization of functional textiles-natural, synthetic, blended, etc.;Synthesis and characterization of polymer composites-natural, synthetic, hybrid, inorganic, etc.;Analysis of developed composites-interfacial, mechanical, thermal, physical, etc.;Surface treatment of textile-based polymer composites-coating, sorption processes. etc.
Multicomponent pharmaceutical materials are solids in which at least one component is an active pharmaceutical ingredient (API). This kind of pharmaceutical solid has attracted interest in the past decade as a promising alternative to the laborious and expensive process of traditional pipeline drug development. The application of crystal engineering techniques into the design of pharmaceutical salts, co-crystals, and other multicomponent materials, in addition to the achievement of more environmentally friendly synthetic approaches, has succeeded in modulating the physicochemical, mechanical, and pharmacokinetic properties of drugs, thereby working toward the enhancement of their clinical performance.This Special Issue welcomes original research articles and reviews devoted to all aspects related to the field of multicomponent pharmaceutical solids. Our interests include the fundamentals of applied research, using theoretical and experimental approaches, the development of synthetic methods, the screening of multicomponent materials, structure-activity rationale, the salt-co-crystal continuum identification, the enhancement in physicochemical/mechanical/pharmacokinetic performance, as well as the functionality and applications of multicomponent pharmaceuticals solids.
Social good is typically defined as an actions and services that benefit the general public. In this case, internet connection, education, and healthcare are all good examples of social goods. However, new media innovations and the explosion of online communities have added new meaning to the term. Social good is now about global citizens uniting to unlock the potential of individuals, technology, and collaboration to create a positive societal impact.
Carbazoles are important aromatic heterocyclic compounds isolated from plants or synthetically obtained. Today, many carbazole derivatives are used in different industrial sectors, especially in the fields of physical chemistry, materials chemistry, and pharmaceuticals.In this Special Issue, "Carbazole derivatives: latest progress and prospects", recent studies on carbazole derivatives that are utilized, such as ¿1-blocking, anticancer (e.g., STAT inhibitors, microtubule-targeting agents), and antidiabetic as well as antiviral (e.g., for the treatment of COVID-19 infection) agents, are reported.
This reprint focuses on recent advances in the processing of surface electromyography (EMG) signals acquired during human movement, as well as on innovative approaches to sense muscle activity.A wide range of methods is examined, including machine learning techniques to detect the onset/offset timing of muscle activity and approaches to evaluate muscle fatigue and analyze muscle synergies and co-contractions. Applications of these techniques are explored in different medical scenarios, e.g., for the benefit of patients suffering from low back pain, stroke survivors, and patients requiring polysomnography.
This reprint covers different aspects of the West Nile virus (WNV), a mosquito-borne pathogen that belongs to the Flavivirus genus (family Flaviviridae).The virus is maintained in nature in a rural cycle between mosquito vectors, mainly Culex species, and avian hosts. Spillover from this cycle occasionally results in outbreaks in horses and humans. In severe cases, the infection can induce neurological signs, such as meningitis and encephalitis, and in some cases, it can lead to death. The virus has spread across the world in this century, including its expansion in the Americas since 1999, and an increase in the number of outbreaks and its severity has been observed in Europe in recent years. Considering all these aspects, an approach including public, animal and environmental health is the best option to increase the knowledge of this problem, making this disease an excellent example of a "One Health" issue. Bearing in mind this multidisciplinary aspect, the volume includes contributions related to the pathogenesis, vaccines, diagnosis and epidemiology of the virus both in humans and animals.
The theme of entrepreneurship in the post-pandemic context is essential for the economic and social revitalization of economies. Despite this importance, this theme has hardly been explored, and therefore one of the central aspects of this reprint is to bring the debate on the competitiveness of micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises in various sectors to academic discussion. Through 11 chapters, involving the collaboration of more than 30 authors, this reprint pragmatically discusses a wide range of strategies and critical success factors for fostering entrepreneurship. This reprint also presents a set of practical solutions for various sectors, from tourism to agriculture, covering several countries, from Latin America to Asia to Europe. The various chapters present very diverse methodological approaches.
The application of novel experimental tools in many scientific fields has created an urgent need for an improved understanding of many new physical phenomena that emerge under such conditions. In particular, phenomena that occur in low-dimensional systems have drawn the interest of many experimental and theoretical groups globally. The aim of this reprint is to provide an overview of the current research in low-dimensional systems by attracting contributions from a number of specialists in the field. This way, we attempt to provide important insights on the large variety of scientifically fascinating and technologically important phenomena that are currently being investigated. The covered topics include original research articles on the fundamental principles and experimental aspects that apply to various low-dimensional systems, such as quantum dots, graphene systems, ultrathin films, superconducting films, novel nanoscale devices, etc. This reprint includes research papers from both theoretical and experimental groups. Many phenomena are studied from a multi-disciplinary perspective in such a way as to explore key important developments in the field.
This book focuses on research concerning various types of nanoparticles in terms of their toxicity, removal of antibiotics, and behavior in natural environments. In addition, reviews on microplastics in the atmosphere and the possible health impacts of microplastics/nanoplastics on humans are included
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