Books published by Mdpi AG

The Special Issue of Energies on the subject area of "Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) for Electric Vehicles (EV)", covers new work on EV and associated topics like charging process, smart grids, emerging ITS for EV and applications for electromoV market penetration with an increase of 60% per year, associated challenges of the charging process and system and changes in the energy market and grid. EV is associated with sustainability and the EU has committed to reducing CO2 emissions by 37.5 percent by 2030. The charging process and open energy market with renewable energy create interesting research problems where IoT and intelligent systems play an essential role in the flexibility of the EV charging process and the EV operation.bility. Considering EV market penetration with an increase of 60% per year, associated challenges of charging process and system and the change on the Energy market and Grid. EV is associated with sustainability with the commit of EU in, aiming to reduce CO2 emissions by 37.5 percent from 2021 to 2030. Charging process and open energy market with renewable energy creates interesting research problems where IoT and Intelligent System plays an essential role in the flexibility of the EV charging process and the EV operation.

Mitochondria are critical bioenergetic and biosynthetic machines that are essential for normal cell function. Traditionally, mitochondria have been considered the powerhouse of the cell, as they supply most of the cellular energy through oxidative phosphorylation. In addition, they supply the building blocks needed for the synthesis of cellular biomass. More recently, mitochondria have been recognized as signaling hubs that receive and transmit signals throughout the cell, thereby affecting cell functionality and fate. The signals generated by mitochondria include changes in metabolites, the NAD+/NADH ratio, ATP/ADP ratio, Ca2+, and reactive oxygen species (ROS), but our understanding of their nature, dynamics, targets, and roles in different physiopathological contexts is still under development. Mitochondrial dysfunction, which may originate from primary defects within the organelles or from stress conditions in the microenvironment, is a hallmark of many common diseases, including ischaemia-reperfusion injury, cancer, metabolic disease, and neurodegenerative disorders, and has become a major research focus in medicine. Understanding the biology of mitochondrial signaling and the role of mitochondrial dysfunction in the pathogenesis of many metabolic, degenerative, cardiovascular, and neoplastic diseases is crucial for the development of strategies aimed at therapeutically restoring mitochondrial functionality. This Special Issue presents current knowledge in the field of mitochondrial signaling in health and disease, and recent advances in mitochondrial pharmacology.

This book is dedicated to the use of nanomaterials for the modification of asphalt binders, and to investigate whether or not the use of nanomaterials for asphalt mixtures fabrication achieves more effective asphalt pavement layers. A total of 10 contributions are included. Four are related to "Binder''s modification" and five to "Asphalt mixtures'' modification". The remaining contribution is a review of the effects of the modifications on nanomaterials, particularly nanosilica, nanoclays and nanoiron, on the performance of asphalt mixtures. The published group of papers fosters awareness about the use of nanomaterials to modify asphalt mixtures to obtain more performant and durable flexible road pavements.

Metal-based composites represent a unique way of tailoring the properties of metals, through the selection of type, size, and amount of reinforcement. In this way, the properties of metallic matrices can be adjusted depending on end applications. In view of the dynamic capabilities they can exhibit, this Special Issue will cover all aspects of metal matrix composites: synthesis (including solid, liquid, two-phase and 3D printing); secondary processing; properties (tensile, compressive, fatigue, impact, creep, tribological, etc.); corrosion behavior; and joining techniques. The main objective is to share the latest results on metal matrix composites with the research community worldwide.

Introduction and Scope-During the last few decades, an enormous effort has been made to understand corrosion phenomena and their mechanisms, and to elucidate the causes that dramatically influence the service lifetime of metal materials. The performance of metal materials in aggressive environments is critical for a sustainable society. The failure of the material in service impacts the economy, the environment, health, and society. In this regard, corrosion-based economic losses due to maintenance, repair, and the replacement of existing structures and infrastructure account for up to 4% of gross domestic product (GDP) in well developed countries. One of the biggest issues in corrosion engineering is estimating service lifetime. Corrosion prediction has become very difficult, as there is no direct correlation with service lifetime and experimental lab results, usually as a result of discrepancies between accelerated testing and real corrosion processes. It is of major interest to forecast the impact of corrosion-based losses on society and the global economy, since existing structures and infrastructure are becoming old, and crucial decisions now need to be made to replace them. On the other hand, environmental protocols seek to reduce greenhouse effects. Therefore, low emission policies, in force, establish regulations for the next generation of materials and technologies. Advanced technologies and emergent materials will enable us to get through the next century. Great advances are currently in progress for the development of corrosion-resistant metal materials for different sectors, such as energy, transport, construction, and health. This Special Issue on the corrosion and protection of metals is focused on current trends in corrosion science, engineering, and technology, ranging from fundamental to applied research, thus covering subjects related to corrosion mechanisms and modelling, protection and inhibition processes, and mitigation strategies.

The aggregates used in construction are the natural resource consumed the most in the world after air and water. Due to overexploitation, all environmental laws reward the use of recycled materials to guarantee the reduction of consumption of natural aggregates. The use of reclaimed aggregates, reused aggregates, and recycled aggregates increases sustainability in construction activities. Today, they are strategic materials in the manufacturing of green concrete and mortars and as road construction eco-efficient materials. In addition, the use of recycled aggregates from industrial or mining byproducts presents great potential in construction activities as recycled aggregates and/or supplementary cementitious materials. This Special Issue is open to new experiences in construction materials and/or works made with recycled aggregates.

The introduction of metal AM processes in such industrial sectors as the aerospace, automotive, defense, jewelry, medical and tool-making fields, has led to a significant reduction in waste material and in the lead times of the components, innovative designs with higher strength, lower weight, and fewer potential failure points from joining features. This Special Issue on "Additive Manufacturing (AM) of Metallic Alloys" contains a mixture of review articles and original contributions on some problems that limit the wider uptake and exploitation of metals in AM.

Nitro chemistry plays an important role in organic synthesis to construct new frameworks. This is due to the diverse properties of the nitro group. The strong electron-withdrawing ability of the nitro group reduces the electron density of the scaffold, facilitating reactions with nucleophiles or electron transfer. In addition, the -hydrogen of the nitro group is highly acidic, giving a stable anion, which facilitates reactions with both electrophilic and nucleophilic reagents. In addition, the nitro group also serves as a good leaving group, which facilitates transformation to a wide variety of functional groups. Despite the substantial contributions of many researchers, nitro chemistry is still an exciting and challenging research area. This book brings together recent original research and review articles contributed by an international team of leading experts and pioneers in organic synthesis using nitro groups. It is sure to provide useful information and promising insights for researchers.

There has been much speculation about a possible antibiotic Armageddon; this would be the result of having untreatable post-operative infections, and similarly untreatable complications after chemotherapy. The now famous "O''Neill Report" (https://amr-review.org/) suggests that more people could die from resistant bacterial infections by 2050 than from cancer. We are still learning about all the subtle drivers of antibiotic resistance, and realizing that we need a single "whole of health" co-ordinated policy. We ingest what we sometimes feed to animals. There do not seem to be any new classes of antibiotics on our horizon. Perhaps something that has been around "forever" will come to our rescue-bacteriophages! Nevertheless, we have to do things differently, use antibiotics appropriately, for the correct indication, for the correct duration and with the correct dose, and with that, practice good antibiotic stewardship. Whilst by no means comprehensive, this book does cover some of the many topics of antibiotic stewardship. It also addresses some of the older antibiotics, some new combinations, and even some new agents. Last, and by no means least, there are two excellent articles on bacteriophages.

Neurocomparative music and language research has seen major advances over the past two decades. The goal of this Special Issue on "Advances in the Neurocognition of Music and Language" was to showcase the multiple neural analogies between musical and linguistic information processing, their entwined organization in human perception and cognition, and to infer the applicability of the combined knowledge in pedagogy and therapy. Here, we summarize the main insights provided by the contributions and integrate them into current frameworks of rhythm processing, neuronal entrainment, predictive coding, and cognitive control.

The Mediterranean basin is the main area both for the cultivation of durum wheat and for the consumption of derived food products such as pasta, couscous, and bulgur. The ongoing climate changes and new consumer preferences make the selection of genetic materials suitable for the present scenarios particularly difficult. This Special Issue Book covers several aspects of the genetic improvement of durum wheat, collected in seven chapters including two review papers focused on milestones in durum wheat breeding programs across the countries of the Mediterranean basin and sub-Saharan Africa. Water deficit and heat stress occurring during the reproductive stage of wheat have a detrimental effect on yield and grain quality of durum wheat. The papers included in this Special Issue propose selection strategies for traits associated with yield and grain quality (e.g., root architecture, carbon isotope composition of grain, and gluten quality) under natural or artificial environmental conditions of drought, heat, and nutrient stress. This Special Issue presents new breeding opportunities for selecting modern varieties adapted to climate change and expanding durum wheat production.

This special issue brings together cutting edge research and insightful commentary on the currentl state of the Cancer Nanomedicine field.

This Special Issue "Consumer Preferences and Acceptance of Meat Products" demonstrates that the value of different palatability traits has evolved over time. Moreover, consumer acceptance and preference are not solely determined by the inputs of the meat itself, but can also be influenced by various demographic factors. In addition, consumers'' views of meat products vary regionally and by species.

Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory disease leading to joint inflammation and destruction. Treatment of RA includes the use of conventional (cs), biologic (b) disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs), and oral or intraarticular (IA) glucocorticoids (GCs). All different classes of drugs have shown to halt disease progression in clinical studies. In real life, a physician has more options than just adding or switching to a new ts/bDMARD if any kind of DMARDs has failed. They can modify or optimize the therapy with concomitant csDMARDs, and oral or IA-GC can be added to the treatment regimen. The EULAR states that therapeutic adjustment including the "optimization of csDMARDs dose or route of administration or intra-articular injections of GCs" is recommended. Thus, a new therapeutic agent can be embedded in a whole strategy with parallel optimization of the csDMARD and GC treatment. The idea of treating to target (T2T) for the treatment of RA patients has been around since the late 1990s. Many clinical studies (Ticora, BsSt, Camera) have demonstrated the superiority of a T2T approach. When I talk to physicians, I understand that most of them only rarely inject joints with GC. Therefore, I would like to create an issue on the T2T approach in reality including primary data, reviews, and real-life data demonstrating the general opinion and execution of T2T in treating RA.

This book summarizes the importance of peptide-membrane interactions, mostly aiming at developing new therapeutic approaches. The experimental and computational methodologies used to investigate such interactions reveal the evolution of existing biophysical methodologies, shedding some light on potential applications of peptides, as well as on the improvement of their design. Understanding the determinants for peptide-membrane interactions may also improve the knowledge of membrane functions such as the membrane transport, fusion, and signaling processes, contributing to the development of new agents for highly relevant applications ranging from disease treatment to food technology.

This book presents contributions from scientists who are directly involved in the potential of marine enzymes as useful tools in biocatalysis; the results of enzymatic bioprospecting in gross marine environments are acknowledged, including two review articles on general enzymatic processes and microalgal enzymes. In addition, studies on structural characterizations, biological functions and aspects related to the complexity of marine enzyme-based bioprocesses are discussed. Prominent conclusions by many scientists in the field of marine biotechnology emphasize that, due to marine biological diversity and the specificity of biological marine metabolisms, the study of biocatalysts on a global scale from this environment is just starting, and possesses huge potential for the development of applications with industrial benefits.

Plants are continuously exposed to different environmental stress conditions that have a huge impact on agriculture worldwide, consequently leading to massive economic losses. These adverse conditions alter the metabolism of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (ROS and RNS). High concentrations of these reactive species-that exceed the capacity of antioxidant defense enzymes-disturb redox homeostasis, which can trigger damage to such macromolecules as membrane lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids, ultimately resulting in nitro-oxidative stress and plant cell death. Significant progress has been made to understand how plants persist in these stressful environments which could be vital to improving plant crop yield. This Special Issue "Oxidative Stress in Plants" includes both original research articles and detailed reviews that aim to better understand the nitro-oxidative stress networks in higher plants, and the addressed topics provide updated and new knowledge about ROS and RNS metabolism in plant responses to abiotic stress as well as the modulation of antioxidant systems in the control of ROS production and accumulation.

Cancer is the second leading cause of death worldwide, and was accountable for an estimated 9.6 million deaths in 2018. Nowadays, about 1 in 6 deaths in the world is due to cancer. Another major global public health issue is HIV. Over 70 million people have been infected with the HIV virus and about 35 million people have died of HIV-related illness, since the start of the epidemic. We have been fighting against these two serious diseases by finding successful treatments. The discovery of effective drugs is important for fighting cancer and HIV. Natural products, which are secondary metabolites produced by various living organisms, have been playing a principal role in drug discovery and developments, because of their structural and biological diversity. Many clinically used drugs have come from natural products; for example, more than 60% of anticancer drugs currently in clinical use are derived from natural sources. This Special Issue aims to collect original research and review articles focusing on notable and recent contributions to the discovery and development of novel anticancer and anti-HIV drug candidates from natural sources. Up-to-date knowledge from various research fields is welcome. This could be of great interest for scientists working in different research areas, such as natural product chemistry, including isolation and structural elucidation; phytochemistry; medicinal chemistry, including chemically modified natural compounds with improved biological activity; pharmacology; molecular biology; mechanisms of action study using natural products or related compounds; pharmacognosy, etc. Biological studies of natural extracts without an appropriate chemical characterization may not be considered.