Böcker utgivna av Mdpi AG

Lipid-based nanosystems, including solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) and nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs), cationic lipid nanoparticles, nanoemulsions, and liposomes, have been extensively studied to improve drug delivery through different administration routes. The main advantages of these systems are their ability to protect, transport, and control the release of lipophilic and hydrophilic molecules (either small-molecular-weight molecules or macromolecules); the use of generally recognized as safe (GRAS) excipients that minimize the toxicity of the formulations; and the possibility to modulate pharmacokinetics and enable the site-specific delivery of encapsulated payloads. In addition, the versatility of lipid-based nanosystems has further been demonstrated for the delivery of vaccines, the protection of active cosmetic ingredients, and the improvement of moisturizing properties of cosmetic formulations.Lipid-based nanosystems are well established and there are already different commercially approved formulations for various human disorders. This success has paved the way for the diversification of the pipeline of development, to address unmet medical needs for several indications, such as cancer, neurological disorders, and autoimmune, genetic, and infectious diseases.This Special Issue aims to update readers on the latest research on lipid-based nanosystems, both at the preclinical and clinical levels. A series of 15 articles (six reviews and nine studies) is presented, with authors from 12 different countries, showing the globality of the investigations that are being carried out in this area.

Additive manufacturing (AM), as an advanced manufacturing technology, has overturned the traditional concept of subtractive manufacturing. It has revolutionized advanced integrated structural design, high-performance material preparation, and the manufacturing of complex components. AM technology is changing the way products are developed, produced, and commercialized, leading to disruptive changes in the economy and society. AM technology has received extensive attention and research from the research community since its inception, and it is leading manufacturing technology and continues to be used with great effectiveness in the aerospace industry, automotive industry, medical plant applications, and many other fields. However, the development of additive manufacturing still faces demanding technical challenges; for example, due to insufficient process planning and inadequate process control, many defects are often observed in the products of AM processes, reducing production efficiency and deteriorating product quality. To promote AM technology toward high efficiency, high precision, high performance, and low cost in a green and intelligent direction, many advanced design and manufacturing technologies are in urgent need of further breakthroughs, such as numerical and analytical models for structural design, experimental methods, performance prediction, and process optimization.

Marine Drugs is very pleased to host a Special Issue in honour of Prof. Dr. Peter Proksch, who served as Editor in Chief for Marine Drugs from 2005 to 2009, for his excellent research contribution.

The Special Issue consists of 13 submitted papers. We acknowledge all authors for their contributions. We recognize that interest in the topics is expanding and are confident that the findings are beneficial to our readers.

Fungal natural products have made important contributions to the history of human civilization. Mr. Liu Jikai has had a significant influence on the field of chemistry in fungal natural products, leading a large number of Chinese scholars engaged in related research. We would like to take this opportunity to thank Mr. Liu Jikai for his efforts on fungal natural products chemistry and hope that all colleagues will make great progress for the future.

The aim of carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) is to reduce the amount of CO2 released into the atmosphere and to mitigate its effects on climate change. Over the years, naturally occurring CO2 sources have been utilized in enhanced oil recovery (EOR) projects in the United States. This has presented an opportunity to supplement and gradually replace the high demand for natural CO2 sources with anthropogenic sources. There also exist incentives for operators to become involved in the storage of anthropogenic CO2 within partially depleted reservoirs, in addition to the incremental production oil revenues. These incentives include a wider availability of anthropogenic sources, the reduction of emissions to meet regulatory requirements, tax incentives in some jurisdictions, and favorable public relations.The United States Department of Energy has sponsored several Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnerships (RCSPs) through its Carbon Storage program which have conducted field demonstrations for both EOR and saline aquifer storage. Various research efforts have been made in the area of reservoir characterization, monitoring, verification and accounting, simulation, and risk assessment to ascertain long-term storage potential within the subject storage complex. This book is a collection of lessons learned through the RCSP program within the Southwest Region of the United States. The scope of the book includes site characterization, storage modeling, monitoring verification reporting (MRV), risk assessment and international case studies.

The Special Issue entitled "Pediatric and adolescent nephrology facing the future: diagnostic advances and prognostic biomarkers in everyday practice" contains articles written in the era when COVID-19 had not yet been a major clinical problem in children. Now that we know its multifaceted clinical course, complications concerning the kidneys, and childhood-specific post-COVID pediatric inflammatory multisystem syndrome (PIMS), the value of diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers in the pediatric area should be appreciated, and their importance ought to increase.

This volume celebrates the 30th anniversary of the first very-high energy (VHE) gamma-ray Source detection: the Crab Nebula, observed by the pioneering ground-based Cherenkov telescope Whipple, at teraelectronvolts (TeV) energies, in 1989. As we entered a new era in TeV astronomy, with the imminent start of operations of the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) and new facilities such as LHAASO and the proposed Southern Wide-Field Gamma-ray Observatory (SWGO), we conceived of this volume as a broad reflection on how far we have evolved in the astrophysics topics that dominated the field of TeV astronomy for much of recent history.In the past two decades, H.E.S.S., MAGIC and VERITAS pushed the field of TeV astronomy, consolidating the field of TeV astrophysics, from few to hundreds of TeV emitters. Today, this is a mature field, covering almost every topic of modern astrophysics. TeV astrophysics is also at the center of the multi-messenger astrophysics revolution, as the extreme photon energies involved provide an effective probe in cosmic-ray acceleration, propagation and interaction, in dark matter and exotic physics searches. The improvement that CTA will carry forward and the fact that CTA will operate as the first open observatory in the field, mean that gamma-ray astronomy is about to enter a new precision and productive era.This book aims to serve as an introduction to the field and its state of the art, presenting a series of authoritative reviews on a broad range of topics in which TeV astronomy provided essential contributions, and where some of the most relevant questions for future research lie.

This book collects papers from the Special Issue "Singularly Perturbed Problems: Asymptotic Analysis and Approximate Solution", published in Axioms. These papers cover different aspects of singular perturbation theory and its applications: axiomatic approach in the analytic theory of singular perturbations; asymptotic solution of various types of singularly perturbed integral-differential and integral equations with weakly and rapidly varying kernels of the integral operators; propagation of two-dimensional periodic perturbations in a viscous continuously stratified fluid; asymptotic analysis of the stochastic linear-quadratic optimal control problem with two fast timescales in the dynamics; asymptotic solution of singularly perturbed Cauchy problem for different types of differential equations with "simple" turning points; asymptotic analysis of the complete Euclidean space controllability for different types of singularly perturbed differential systems with time delays; asymptotic solution of singularly perturbed systems in the critical case by the orthogonal projector method; application of the direct scheme method to asymptotic solution of one class of optimal control problems with three-tempo state variables; asymptotic analysis and solution of a cheap control linear quadratic zero-sum differential game; analysis of asymptotic behavior of the solutions for one class of singularly perturbed Neumann boundary value problems .

Augmented reality is a key technology that will facilitate a major paradigm shift in the way users interact with data and has only just recently been recognized as a viable solution for solving many critical needs. In practical terms, this innovation can be used to visualize data from hundreds of sensors simultaneously, overlaying relevant and actionable information over your environment through a headset. Semantic 3D reconstruction unlocks the promise of AR technology, possessing a far greater availability of semantic information. Although, there are several methods currently available as post-processing approaches to extract semantic information from the reconstructed 3D models, the results obtained results have been uncertain and evenly incorrect. Thus, it is necessary to explore or develop a novel 3D reconstruction approach to automatically recover 3D geometry model and obtained semantic information simultaneously.The rapid advent of deep learning brought new opportunities to the field of semantic 3D reconstruction from photo collections. Deep learning-based methods are not only able to extract semantic information but can also enhance fundamental techniques in semantic 3D reconstruction, techniques which include feature matching or tracking, stereo matching, camera pose estimation, and use of multi-view stereo methods. Moreover, deep learning techniques can be used to extract priors from photo collections, and this obtained information can in turn improve the quality of 3D reconstruction.

Primary energy consumption around the world has been increasing steadily since the Industrial Revolution and shows no signals of slowing down in the coming years. This trend is accompanied by the increasing pollutant concentration on the Earth's biosystems and the general concerns over the health and environmental impacts that will ensue. Air quality, water purity, atmospheric CO2 concentration, etc., are some examples of environmental parameters that are degrading due to human activities. These ecosystems can be safeguarded without renouncing industrial development, urban and economic development through the use of low environmental impact technologies instead of equivalent pollutant ones or through the use of technologies to mitigate the negative impact of high emissions technologies. Pollutant abatement systems, carbon capture technologies, biobased products, etc. need to be established in order to make environmental parameters more and more similar to the pre-industrialization values of the planet Earth. In 15 papers international scientists addressed such topics, especially combining a high academic standard coupled with a practical focus on green processes and a quantitative approach to environmental impacts.

The papers published in this Special Issue report on recent studies investigating the exploitation of by-products produced by the food industry. The topics investigated include the extraction setups used for valuable food waste by-products and their applications as adjuncts to food preparation; the appropriate selection of solvents and extraction processes; and the interactions between extracted fractions and supplementary foods. The papers evaluate a wide variety of foodstuffs and provide results regarding the extension their shelf-lives and activities as functional foods.

Recently, a revolution in nanotechnology has pervaded all fields related to animal science. This book collection focuses on the potential applications of nanotechnology in the field of animal science, particularly livestock production and medication. The studies/reviews published in this book show the preparation protocols and physiochemical and biological properties of the innovated nanoparticles, designated for different purposes. This is in line with the potential hazards of these materials. The book collection shows that nanoparticles and nanoparticle-based systems can be developed to serve different purposes in the field of animal production and veterinary, such as the management of reproduction and assisted reproductive techniques, rapid and robust disease diagnosis and treatment, drug delivery, and animal nutrition.

The aim of this reprint is to highlight the progress and fundamental aspects for the synthesis, characterization, properties, and application of novel polymeric materials, as well as their copolymers, composites, and nanocomposites.

The Special Issue provides twelve contributions, of which three original articles, seven narrative reviews, one systematic review, and one meta-analysis that, altogether, offer a multifaceted and multidisciplinary overview that allows to draw a picture as intriguing and fascinating as possible on the benefits of curcumin and also to suggest potential fields of activities still to be explored. Among the biological activities exerted by curcumin, the anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory properties reported in many studies make it a potential effective tool in preventing and counteracting chronic-degenerative diseases, very often associated with obesity and aging, such as cardiovascular diseases, T2D, metabolic dysfunctions, neurodegenerative diseases, and cancer, all of them characterized by the presence of oxidative and inflammatory processes. The main concerns that arise from the evaluation of the preventive/therapeutic effects of curcumin are, first of all, the still small number of randomized placebo-control studies available; in addition, small sample sizes have generally been considered, and different protocols and different formulations as well as different routes of administration of curcumin have been used. Thus, it is quite difficult to compare the results and to provide a standard protocol for the use of this promising natural compound. For these reasons, and taking in account the growing use of curcumin by the general population, further investigations to confirm and expand current findings are mandatory and research on curcumin and its effects on human health have to be fostered and promoted.

Throughout their life cycles-from production, usage, through to disposal-materials and products interact with the environment (water, soil, and air). At the same time, they are exposed to environmental influences and, through their emissions, have an impact on the environment, people, and health. Accelerated experimental testing processes can be used to predict the long-term environmental consequences of innovative products before these actually enter the environment.We are living in a material world. Building materials, geosynthetics, wooden toys, soil, nanomaterials, composites, wastes and more are research subjects examined by the authors of this book. The interactions of materials with the environment are manifold. Therefore, it is important to assess the environmental impact of these interactions. Some answers to how this task can be achieved are given in this Special Issue.

The MEET Special Issue aims at showing the gains in geothermal energy that can be achieved using a variety of techniques, depending on the geological setting of the underground. Among the list of exploitation concepts, enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) are particularly interesting, as their application is much less dependent of the underground setting, allowing, in turn, a large geographical deployment and market penetration in Europe. The challenges of EGS are multiple in terms of investment costs, the testing of novel reservoir exploitation approaches with an inherent risk of induced seismicity, and the presence of aggressive geothermal brines, damaging infrastructures. The conversion of oil wells or coproduction of heat or electricity together with oil is also addressed. This Special Issue summarizes the output of the H2020 MEET project based on laboratory experiments, geological field works on high-quality analogues, advanced reservoir modeling, the development of a decision-maker tool for investors and specific demonstration activities, such as chemical stimulation or the innovative monitoring of deep geothermal wells, and the production of electrical power via small-scale binary technology tested in various geological contexts in Europe.

This Special Issue comprises 15 papers broadly outlining current trends in nucleic acid biophysics. It contains original research papers and reviews on structure, stability, and interactions of canonical and non-canonical nucleic acids. The authors describe the use of established, time-honored experimental and computational techniques as well as their more recently developed counterparts. Molecular insights that can be gained from the papers collected in this issue range from the fundamental to the applied with emphasis on biological functions and biomedical prospects of nucleic acids. The collection is not meant to be exhaustive, but to highlight recent advances from select laboratories worldwide. Nevertheless, it represents a useful guide for scientists who wish to familiarize themselves with biophysical topics in nucleic acid research. This Special Issue will be useful both for researchers who study fundamental aspects of nucleic acid structure, stability, and dynamics, as well as for those that are mainly interested in practical biological and biomedical applications of nucleic acids.

The purpose of the Special Issue was to collect the results of research and experience on the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic for the energy sector and the energy market, broadly understood, that were visible after a year. In particular, the impact of COVID-19 on the energy sector in the EU, including Poland, and the US was examined. The topics concerned various issues, e.g., the situation of energy companies, including those listed on the stock exchange, mining companies, and those dealing with renewable energy. The topics related to the development of electromobility, managerial competences, energy expenditure of local government units, sustainable development of energy, and energy poverty during a pandemic were also discussed.

This book is a Special Issue on "Selected Papers from the 1st International Electronic Conference on Entomology". It contains 1 editorial, 19 research papers and 2 review papers. The contributors come from 23 different countries around the world.

This Special Issue on "New Trends in Catalysis for Sustainable CO2 Conversion", released in the Catalysts open access journal, shows new research about the development of catalysts and catalytic routes for CO2 valorization, in addition to the optimization of the reaction conditions for the process. This issue includes ten articles and three reviews about different innovative processes for CO2 conversion.Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is a physical process consisting of the separation the CO2 (emitted by industry and the combustion processes for energy generation) and its transportation to geological storage isolates it from the atmosphere in the long term. However, the most promising routes for CO2 mitigation are those pursuing its catalytic valorization. By applying specific catalysts and suitable operating conditions, CO2 molecules react with other components to form longer chains (i.e., hydrocarbons). Accordingly, effort should be made to catalytically valorize CO2 (alone or co-fed with syngas) as an alternative way of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and obtaining high-value fuels and chemicals. Carbon capture and utilization (CCU) is a developing field with significant demand for research in the following aspects:The development of new catalysts, catalytic routes, and technologies for CO2 conversion;The study of new processes for obtaining fuels and chemicals from CO2;Optimization of the catalysts and the reaction conditions for these processes;Further steps in advanced processes using CO2-rich feeds (H2+CO2 or CO2 mixed with syngas), increasing product yields.

It is increasingly being recognized that land use and land cover changes driven by anthropogenic pressures are impacting terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems and their services, human society, and human livelihoods and well-being. This Special Issue contains 12 original papers covering various issues related to land use and land use changes in various parts of the world (see references), with the purpose of providing a forum to exchange ideas and progress in related areas. Research topics include land use targets, dynamic modelling and mapping using satellite images, pressures from energy production, deforestation, impacts on ecosystem services, aboveground biomass evaluation, and investigations on libraries of legends and classi¿cation systems.

The purpose of this Special Issue was to collect and present research results and experiences on energy supply in the Visegrad Group countries. This research considers both macroeconomic and microeconomic aspects. It was important to determine how the V4 countries deal with energy management, how they have undergone or are undergoing energy transformation and in what direction they are heading. The articles concerned aspects of the energy balance in the V4 countries compared to the EU, including the production of renewable energy, as well as changes in its individual sectors (transport and food production). The energy efficiency of low-emission vehicles in public transport and goods deliveries are also discussed, as well as the energy efficiency of farms and energy storage facilities and the impact of the energy sector on the quality of the environment.

Development provides an especially sensitive window whereby environmental contaminants can have significant and lasting effects on the morphology and function of many organs and systems. The importance of understanding developmental effects of environmental contaminants extends not only to developmental stages, but also to encompass the hypotheses of the developmental or fetal origins of adult disease. Such effects of environmental contaminants during development extend to health outcomes that can persist in adulthood, first become apparent in adulthood, or manifest in adulthood but only after a second hit/stressor. The diverse nature of possible environmental contaminants, ranging from persistent organic pollutants to emerging contaminants of concern, along with the diverse range of health implications, including autism, diabetes, cancer, infertility, and lower urinary tract function, make understanding developmental effects of environmental contaminants an ever growing and important field of study.This Special Issue aims to explore a variety of topics in line with the aims and scope of Toxics. Specifically, topics related to the developmental effects of environmental contaminants and/or their metabolites on the molecular, cellular, tissue, organ, organ system or organism, including mechanisms of toxicity, metabolism, risk assessment and management, as well as multiple stressor impacts in the context of aging or disease progression following developmental exposures.

Marine drugs have drawn considerable attention due to their significant biological and pharmacological properties, such as antimicrobial or antibacterial activities and antitumor effects, among others. The frequent occurrence of heterocyclic motifs in the structure of many of these targets has revealed the key role of these units as promising pharmacophores. In this Special Issue we have gathered several original papers which highlight the isolation, structural elucidation and biological essays of newly isolated heterocyclic marine drugs, as well as reviews which give an overview of the isolation, synthesis and pharmacological activities of different classes of marine heterocycles.

Hydrogels are a class of soft materials with crosslinked network structures. They show good biocompatibility, biodegradability, hydrophilicity, and mechanical properties similar to those of tissue, so they have a wide range of applications. In recent years, a variety of multifunctional hydrogels with excellent performance have been developed, greatly expanding the depth and breadth of their applications. This book is the reprint of the Special Issue "Advances in Hydrogels", which focused on the recent advances regarding hydrogels, aiming to provide reference for researchers in related fields. This book included one editorial, thirteen original research articles, and three valuable reviews from thirteen different countries including Canada, China, Thailand, Mexico, India, Saudi Arabia, Chile, Germany, the Czech Republic, Colombia, Romania, Israel, and the USA.

Despite the past two decades of research progress, glioma still remains the most challenging of all primary central nervous system (CNS) tumors. The complexity of its pathogenesis makes the disease hard to deal with, especially glioblastoma multiforme (GBM, WHO grade IV), the most aggressive brain tumor entity. This Special Issue collect studies that focus on the pathogenesis of glioma, such as its cell origin, the role of GSCs, genomic alterations, animal models, etc. We have collected 10 high-quality papers, and we welcome all researchers to read.

Advanced sensing, fault diagnosis, and structural health management are important parts of the maintenance strategy of modern industries. With the advancement of science and technology, modern structural and mechanical systems are becoming more and more complex. Due to the continuous nature of operation and utilization, modern systems are heavily susceptible to faults. Hence, the operational reliability and safety of the systems can be greatly enhanced by using the multifaced strategy of designing novel sensing technologies and advanced intelligent algorithms and constructing modern data acquisition systems and structural health monitoring techniques. As a result, this research domain has been receiving a significant amount of attention from researchers in recent years. Furthermore, the research findings have been successfully applied in a wide range of fields such as aerospace, manufacturing, transportation and processes.

Endocrine and neuroendocrine tumors originate from endocrine cells but are heterogeneous in terms of clinical presentation, disease outcome, and treatments available.This Special Issue addresses specific aspects of pre-clinical, clinical, and translational research and clinical management of these diseases with the aim of providing novel insights, addressing current unmet needs, and discussing future treatment perspectives.