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This reprint explores the challenges faced by Europe as it transitions to renewable energy sources to reduce carbon emissions and enhance energy security. With 10 articles covering various countries and sectors, the book delves into issues such as solar and wind energy intermittency, the role of energy policies, and the integration of energy grids and markets. The collection also includes studies on the impact of energy policies on residential energy efficiency, the use of financial incentives for eco-friendly housing, and the benefits of district heating. The reprint aims to provide policymakers, academics, and practitioners with valuable insights into the current state of renewable energy in Europe and the policies and actions that can be taken to achieve a sustainable energy future.

Microporous zeolites and nanoporous materials are important from an academic and industrial research perspective. These inorganic materials have found application as catalysts in several industrial processes in oil refinery, petro-chemical reactions, fine chemicals, speciality, drug discovery and pharmaceutical synthesis, exhaust emission control for stationary and mobile engines and industrial wastewater treatment. The reasons for their versatile applications in several industrial processes are their unique properties of microporous zeolites and nanoporous materials such as uniform pores, channel systems, shape selectivity, resistance to coke formation, thermal and hydrothermal stability. Furthermore, the possibility to tune the amount and strength of Brønsted and Lewis acid sites and their crystal size, as well as the possibility of modification with transition and noble metals, are key to their success as efficient, high selectivity and stable catalysts.

In order to build a promising future, health and sustainability must be interelated. Marine, forestry, agriculture, and food systems are important sources of bioproducts used in health applications. To explore the potential of such sources for the development of natural products capable of biological activities, it is necessary to develop new technologically sustainable strategies. Despite the range of natural compounds already available, there is a need to identify bioactive molecules (e.g., polysaccharides, proteins and peptides, polyunsaturated fatty acids, and polyphenols) from different natural sources with positive health properties, including antihypertensive, antidiabetic, anti-obesity, antimicrobial, anti-atherosclerotic, antioxidant, antithrombotic, immune-modulatory, relaxing, and satiety-inducing effects. The Second Edition of this Special Issue aimed to identify and gather works on the latest varied sources of bioproducts, the biological and functional activities of these bioactive compounds, their mechanisms of action, and the methods used for extraction and purification, without losing our focus on alignment with the concept of green technology.

Semiconductor lasers are carriers of both energy for industry and information for optical communications. The recent progress in research on semiconductor lasers has offered new perspectives regarding both their material growth and structural design. Most of the papers are review papers that briefly overview different types of semiconductors. Some of the papers include the newest research results. We all hope that this Special Issue can shed light on recent advances in the field of semiconductor lasers and their applications so that most of the readers' concerns about semiconductor lasers can be addressed and a conversation can be initiated.

Biosensors, especially non-invasive ones, are an area of extreme importance and fantastic advancements. As nanotechnology continually becomes more and more refined, its applications in a multitude of areas also grow. One area that has seen an explosion of innovations is healthcare. Such biosensors have allowed for the diagnosis, monitoring, and even treatment of a myriad of different disease states. This reprint highlights many of the past, current, and potential future advancements.

In this Special Issue of Toxics entitled, "Chemical and biological threats, hazard potential and countermeasures". In this special issue we would like to pay attention to various aspects of toxicology specifically focused on the chemical and biological threats, which may accidentally or on purpose endanger human health. Besides the characterization of such threats and their biological consequences we will focus on the available and novel experimental countermeasures capable to protect from and/or threat such exposures.

This volume comprises the first collection of papers submitted by the Editorial Board Members (EBMs) of the journal Mathematical and Computational Applications (MCA), as well as outstanding scholars working in the core research fields of MCA. This collection typifies the most insightful and influential original articles regarding key topics in these fields.

This reprint is focuses on distributions and moments and publish papers on the theory and applications of probability and statistics. Papers include original results of symmetric random walks and their characterization, stochastic processes, stochastic integrals, martingales, probability inequalities, statistics parameter estimation, stochastic differential equations, fractional Brownian motions, continuous time random walk models, anomalous diffusion models, Black-Scholes models, Monte Carlo methods, etc. This Special Issue is focused on concepts and techniques and is oriented toward a broad spectrum of applied mathematics and sciences. Focused review articles reviewed the state of the art and identify upcoming challenges and promising solutions for the scientific community.

The development of in vivo neuroimaging techniques has yielded an incredible amount of digital information about the brain. Neuroimaging techniques are increasingly being used to study human cognitive processes, create brain-machine interfaces, and also to identify and diagnose certain brain disorders. Currently, neuroscientists and medics actively use different methods for brain scans, including electro- and magnetoencephalography (EEG/MEG), functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), electrocorticography (ECoG), functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), positron emission tomography (PET), and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). Recent advances in signal processing and machine learning for neuroimaging data using various signal processing methods have made impressive progress in solving a number of practical tasks in medicine, healthcare, neuroscience, biomedical engineering, brain-machine interfaces, and cognitive science, to name but a few. This Special Issue aims to provide a forum for academic and industrial communities to present and discuss the latest theoretical and experimental results related to recent advances in neuroimaging data processing in terms of new theories, algorithms, architectures, and applications.

Plant stress could be defined as any unfavorable condition or substance that can affect or block the metabolism, growth or development of a plant. The response of the plant may vary depending on the frequency and intensity of the stressor, as well as the developmental stage of the plant.Plants, throughout their life cycle, are exposed to a large number of conditions or stressors. Abiotic stress is stress caused by non-living agents. Depending on the nature of the causal agent, it can be divided into physical and chemical. Physical (actually, physical-chemical) stresses include water deficits, salinity (in its osmotic component), temperature extremes (heat, cold, freezing), excessive or insufficient irradiation, anaerobiosis caused by waterlogging or flooding, mechanical stress caused by wind or excessive soil compaction and stress induced by wounds or injuries. Chemical stress is caused by salinity (in its ionic or toxic component), by the lack of mineral elements and by environmental pollutants such as sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx), chlorofluorocarbon compounds (CFCs), ozone (O3) and metals.The abiotic stresses that most negatively affect growth and production are probably drought, salt stress and temperature stress (high and low temperatures), all of which are associated with climate change.

This reprint focuses on field studies aimed at unraveling the complex networks created by interactions between parasites and hosts in a given ecosystem. Since most transboundary diseases have been propagated from the wilderness to anthropized areas, societies are increasingly concerned about the relevance of wildlife as it pertains to global health. In this respect, research on parasites that may affect the biology and population equilibrium of wildlife is of major interest, especially when a One Health perspective is considered. The studies compiled in the present Special Issue fall within several areas of interest, such as epidemiology, diagnosis, emerging zoonoses, food safety, conservation issues, parasite-host interactions, and the pathology of infections caused by parasites in wild host species.

The second volume of the Special Issue on "Micro-Electro Discharge Machining: Principles, Recent Advancements and Applications" confirms the growing interest in the micro-EDM technology as a suitable and efficient technology for machining novel, multilateral components, with demanding requirements in terms of precision, accuracy, and productivity.This volume consists of 10 original research papers which involve several approaches to micro-EDM and cover the enhancement of the process performance, such as the material removal rate, surface roughness, or machining accuracy, using advanced optimization methods. Some studies also consider several dielectric fluid additives and investigate the processability of new materials. Others investigate the combination of Reverse-micro-EDM with laser beam micromachining or explore new applications for the micro-EDM for fabricating antimicrobial nanosilver colloid.

The volume focuses on the zoomorphic art and design systems of ancient China and Central Asia. It offers a glimpse into convergent and shifting concepts of zoomorphism across political and cultural boundaries, and places special emphasis on nomadic cultural spheres. The papers explore the role of animals in one's creative process and the factors that might have contributed to the formation of a zoomorphic image system across different parts of ancient Central Eurasia. The reprint presents studies that span the disciplinary boundaries of Art History, Archaeology, Socio-Cultural Anthropology, and covers archaeological sites and museum collections from a vast geographical domain, from southern China to Kazakhstan and Siberia.

Polymeric biomaterials represent an essential tool in the biomedical field. Their high biocompatibility and ability to provide adequate regenerative support are fundamental for the development of new therapeutic devices. In particular, biomaterials derived from living organisms can exhibit not only structural roles but also several non-structural functions implicated in cellular growth, migration, and differentiation. Among them, type I collagen, a ubiquitous structural protein present in the mammalian body, plays a dominant role in maintaining the biological and structural integrity of various tissues. In recent years, with the goal of developing multi-functional collagen-based devices able to better promote the functional recovery of damaged tissues, numerous studies have focused on novel techniques and methods for the development and characterization of innovative and advanced high-performance formulations. The ability to control, modify, and tune collagen-based biomaterials performance by optimizing their architecture, besides modifying their chemistry, blending with other materials/therapeutics, or developing stimuli-responsive formulations, is an extremely important knowledge to acquire when specific multi-functionalities are sought.The present Special Issue collected 12 peer-reviewed interdisciplinary contributions on the broad topic of multi-functional collagen-based biomaterials.

In honor of Wojciech Zurek's 70th birthday, this Special Issue is dedicated to recent advances in our understanding the emergence of classical reality, and pays tribute to Zurek's seminal contributions to our understanding of the Universe. To this end, "Quantum Darwinism and Friends" collects articles that make sense of the apparent chasm between quantum weirdness and classical perception, and provides a snapshot of this fundamental, exciting, and vivid field of theoretical physics.

Dysregulation of Wnt signaling is known to be associated with various cancers. As such, identification of novel Wnt pathway targets in cancer and better characterization of already-known targets present exciting, emerging opportunities for cancer treatment. In this Special Issue, we feature papers which discuss the role of Wnt signaling and associated targets in cancer metabolism, tumor immune response, and tumor microenvironment. Papers discussing a range of Wnt-mediated cancers, including those of the colon, liver, pancreas, synovium, bladder, etc., are included.

Greenhouse cultivation provides an artificially controlled environment for the year-round production of vegetables, and has played an increasingly important role in agriculture production systems in recent decades. Recent works have shown that improving greenhouse conditions can promote the growth of vegetables and enhance the uptake of nutrients, leading to better vegetable quality. Meanwhile, greenhouse conditions not only directly influence soil nutrient cycling processes and properties, but also indirectly affect them by regulating vegetable root growth and plant-soil interactions. This Special Issue features twelve original research articles that deal with the effects of novel greenhouse practices and strategies on the yield and quality of horticulture crops, as well as greenhouse soil properties. Among these publications, three studied the effects of fertilizers, including organic and macro- and micro-nutrient fertilizers, on the growth and nutrient uptake of vegetables. Two articles described the effects of water and nutrient supply using irrigation or hydroponic supplying systems on the yield and quality of vegetables. Four articles investigated the effects of environmental conditions (mainly light and temperature) on the growth and quality of vegetables. In terms of degenerated greenhouse soil, three articles showed how reductive soil disinfestation decreased soil salinity, improved soil quality, and inactivated soil-borne pathogens.

The motivation for the present book is to provide an overview of novel applications of AI methods to industrial control systems by means of selected best practices in highlighting how such methodologies can be used to improve the production systems self-learning capacities, their overall performance, the related process and product quality, the optimal use of resources and the industrial systems safety, and resilience to varying boundary conditions and production requests.By means of its seven scientific contributions, the present book illustrates the increasing added value of the introduction of AI methods for improving the performance of control solutions with reference to different control and automation problems in different industrial applications and sectors, ranging from single manipulators or small unmanned ground vehicles up to complex manufacturing. Additionally, the role of AI to improve the performance of relevant engineering methodologies and digital instruments, such as cyberphysical systems, digital twins, and human-robot collaboration, are also effectively addressed in the included contributions.

Sex and gender can affect the incidence, prevalence, symptoms, course and response to drug therapy in many illnesses, with sex (the biological side) and gender (the social¿cultural one) being variously interconnected. During the two days of the meeting "Gender Differences in Diabetic Disease" held in Olbia, Italy, on 4 and 5 December 2020, we discussed the various medical, social, ethnic, psychological and anthropological aspects of gender differences to build as broad a picture as possible of how these differences are present and evident in diabetic disease. Type 2 diabetes is the perfect example to justify gender medicine. During the meeting, we also tried to identify the still-unclear points that deserve further studies.This book describes several aspects of gender medicine that are related to diabetes. Physiopathology, drug treatment, sexual and psychological aspects, diabetes complication, migration, burden of working with a chronic disease and aspects related to COVID-19 infection are explored in a gender differentiation way. The authors are from different fields: medical doctors, biologist, psychologist, nurse, pharmacist, anthropologist and so on.

Blockchain applications in different industries are booming, yet there are many unresolved challenges with the mass adoption of the technology. This reprint is an attempt to review some of the applications in different industries and propose solutions to some of the critical challenges in technology adoption.

An integral part of homeostasis includes daily rhythms in physiology, behavior, and metabolism. The circadian timing system enables organisms to adapt their biological functions to the cyclic nature of the Earth. Sleep is a fundamental physiological function, playing a crucial role in physical, mental and emotional health. Alterations of sleep quality and quantity caused by modern lifestyle and behavior as well sleep disorders are associated with an increased risk for chronic diseases. Chronic misalignment of endogenous rhythms can also lead to metabolic dysfunction. Research is starting to demonstrate the complex interrelationship between nutrition, sleep and the circadian system. For example, some foods and nutrients may impact the availability of substances that influence sleep. On the other hand, inadequate sleep is associated with an unhealthy nutrient intake and altered metabolism. Nutrients can act as drivers of circadian rhythms; they have the ability to influence circadian regulation and alter biological functions in specific tissues. A lacuna still exists in the knowledge surrounding the interplay of nutrition with sleep and the circadian system. In light of this, novel opportunities are disclosed for developing tailored nutritional recommendations with beneficial effects on sleep and circadian rhythmicity so as to improve life quality and prevent disease. The purpose of this Special Issue is therefore to collect contributions regarding this interplay and the related clinical implications.

Bioanalysis of endogenous substances, metabolites, and contaminants poisons is important in analyses of biological functions, metabolomics, forensic toxicology, patient diagnosis and biomonitoring of human exposure to hazardous chemicals. In these analyses, methods of sample preparation are essential for the isolation and concentration of target analytes from complex biological matrices. These processes, however, are time-consuming, labor-intensive and error-prone, and markedly influence the reliability and accuracy of determining target analytes. Thus, efficient sample preparation techniques and their integration with analytical methods have become significant. Solid-phase microextraction (SPME) is a simple and convenient sample preparation technique that has enabled automation, miniaturization, high-throughput performance, and online coupling with analytical instruments. Moreover, SPME has reduced analysis times, as well as solvent and disposal costs.This book consists of 14 original, peer-reviewed papers for the Special Issue in the MDPI journal Molecules. The topics covered include headspace fiber SPME (HS-SPME) gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), HS-in-needle microextraction GC-MS, thin film SPME liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), magnetic solid phase extraction LC-MS/MS, in-tube SPME LC-MS/MS and in-tube SPME LC-UV. Samples analyzed include plant-derived volatile organic compounds; body odor; metabolites in urine, plasma and saliva sample; and biomarkers of tobacco smoke exposure in hair and environmental estrogens.

Sarcomas are a group of rare cancers that arise in connective tissues of the body. Surgical resection is pivotal for the management of locoregional disease. In locally advanced or metastatic disease settings, systemic therapy has an important role in the multidisciplinary management of sarcoma. Cytotoxic therapy has been the primary treatment for many years. However, recent advances in molecular pathogenesis, the investigation of the tumour microenvironment, changes in clinical trial design, and increased international collaboration have led to the development of histology-driven therapy. Furthermore, genomic profiling has highlighted that, while some sarcomas have complex karyotypes, others are driven by translocation, amplification, and mutation, representing targets for the development of novel therapies. Checkpoint inhibitors have been used as single agents or in combination in clinical sarcoma trials. This progress will move the therapeutic modality in sarcoma patients from the "one-size-fits-all" approach towards a more personalized therapeutic algorithm and better outcomes soon. In this Special Issue, we present original research and review articles highlighting novel therapeutic approaches in the treatment of sarcoma patients.

This book aims to provide a wide range of viable alternative designs that utilize valuable compounds from spicy and aromatic plants. Spices and aromatic plants have been used for thousands of years to flavor food, but they can also be used for healing purposes. Until a few decades ago, however, this was performed with little knowledge of their actual properties. The attitude toward these plants has changed, and the need for knowledge has increased. The studies are oriented towards an in-depth analysis of the valuable compounds in these plants in order to be used in the food, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and agricultural industries.

Currently, cancer is the second leading cause of death worldwide and is the most complex and challenging disease known to humankind. Due to the complex underlying mechanisms of tumorigenesis and tumor metastasis, as well as the intrinsic limitations of conventional cancer therapies, the effective treatment of cancer remains a great challenge. Novel therapeutic strategies with superior anticancer ability urgently need to be discovered. In recent years, nano-drug delivery systems have been extensively investigated and applied as alternatives to conventional cancer treatments. Cancer nanomedicines aim to achieve the targeted delivery of chemotherapeutic drugs to the tumor site, utilizing strategies such as passive targeting, active targeting and stimuli-triggered drug release, while simultaneously decreasing drug accumulation in normal tissues, which together lead to improved therapeutic efficacy and reduced side effects. Currently, several cancer nanomedicines are in regular use, and several others are in various stages of development.This Special Issue will highlight recent progress in the development of novel nanomedicines and targeted drug delivery systems for cancer therapy.

The book presents a series of articles devoted to modeling, simulation, and optimization of processes, mainly chemical. General methods for process modeling and numerical simulation are described with flowsheeting. Population balances are addressed in detail with application to crystal production; energy saving is frequently optimized, including exergy analysis. The coupling between process simulation and computational fluid dynamics is studied for air classification and bubble columns. Pressure swing adsorption, reactive distillation, and nanofiltration are explained in general and applied to particular processes. The synthesis of carbon dots is solved by the design of experiments method. A safety study addresses the consequences of gas explosion.

In this book, 20 papers focused on different fields of power electronics are gathered. Approximately half of the papers are focused on different control issues and techniques, ranging from the computer-aided design of digital compensators to more specific approaches such as fuzzy or sliding control techniques. The rest of the papers are focused on the design of novel topologies. The fields in which these controls and topologies are applied are varied: MMCs, photovoltaic systems, supercapacitors and traction systems, LEDs, wireless power transfer, etc.

In the food and beverage industries, implementing novel methods using digital technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), sensors, robotics, computer vision, machine learning (ML), and sensory analysis using augmented reality (AR) has become critical to maintaining and increasing the products' quality traits and international competitiveness, especially within the past five years. Fermented beverages have been one of the most researched industries to implement these technologies to assess product composition and improve production processes and product quality. This Special Issue (SI) is focused on the latest research on the application of digital technologies on beverage fermentation monitoring and the improvement of processing performance, product quality and sensory acceptability.

The production and development of the built environment relates strongly to the fields of architecture and urban planning. The built environment experiences severe impacts from disasters that have become more frequent and intense around the world due to climate change and other human actions, requiring research on architectural design and urban planning that contributes to resilience. On the other hand, the built environment itself causes environmental impacts through the consumption of energy, land-use change and pressure on ecosystems, among a variety of other factors. Thus, research-informed policies, practices, and strategies relating to the built environment are necessary, requiring innovative and forward-thinking visions for a resilient and sustainable future. The built environment is multifold, with its manifestation determined by economic levels, political systems, demography, and natural resources. Therefore, contextual approaches and solutions in architecture and urban planning are essential to produce a diverse range of research findings. This publication serves as a platform to assemble such recent and innovative research findings relating to resilience and sustainability in the architecture and urban planning fields, and through an open access mode, disseminate this knowledge widely at a time when the world is facing critical challenges posed by disasters and environmental transformation.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD), including coronary artery disease, heart disease, arrhythmias, and other types of vascular diseases, is one of the leading causes of death around the world. It is estimated that approximately half of the variabilities of CVD appear to be attributed to genetics. Therefore, the other half of them have been attributed to acquired factors, including diet. It is of note that even a genetic predisposition to CVD can be canceled out by a healthy lifestyle. In this regard, it is important to acknowledge that acquired factors, including diet, are causally associated with CVD. Based on these facts, important papers are presented in this Special Issue entitled "The Effect of Diet on Cardiovascular Disease, Heart Disease, and Blood Vessels".