Books published by Mdpi AG

Most complex respiratory conditions invoke interactions between genetic and environmental factors, such as smoking, pollution, and diet. There is increasing evidence that diet and nutrition are important factors, not only in disease prevention, but also in their contribution to the chronicity and heterogeneity of lung disorders. Nutrients exert potent effects on metabolism through a variety of regulatory mechanisms, resulting in local and systemic changes in metabolite levels. In this issue of Nutrients, we would like to bring together papers dealing with the topic of "Respiratory Diseases and Nutrition". We welcome manuscripts detailing human and animal studies focused on the roles of dietary and metabolic factors in the initiation and progression of respiratory diseases, including, but not limited to, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma. In vitro studies aimed at elucidating the potential molecular mechanisms of diet-metabolic interactions are also invited. We welcome different types of manuscript submissions, including original research articles and up-to-date reviews and commentaries.

Fungi are important components of ecosystems. Their level of diversity is very high and only lower than that of insects. This book deals with fungal diversity in the Mediterranean, a large area recognized as a biodiversity hot spot. Micro and macrofungi contribute to characterizing many environments, both terrestrial and marine, in which they are associated with particular forest stands and also contribute to providing plant and soil nutrients. They also show potential applications in the medical and pharmaceutical fields, have a recognized nutritional and commercial value and still provide many insights to scholars in terms of description of new species and actions aimed at in situ and ex situ conservation.

This book celebrates the ten-year anniversary of the Barcelona Expert Center by presenting recent contributions related to the topics on which the team has been working during these years. The Barcelona Expert Center expertise covers a wide variety of remote sensing fields, but the main focus of the research is on the Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) data processing and its ocean, land, and ice applications. This book contains 14 scientific papers addressing topics that range from the description of the new data processing algorithms that are implemented in the last version of the operational SMOS Level 1 processor, to scientific applications derived from SMOS: results on the sea surface salinity assimilation in coastal models; synergies of the sea surface salinity with temperature and chlorophyll, and their impact on the better retrieval of ocean surface currents; quality assessment of SMOS derived sea ice thickness; sea surface salinity; and soil moisture products, among others. Moreover, one of the papers verifies the potential of the future CIMR mission within the CMEMS SSS operational production after the SMOS era.

Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) interferometry (InSAR) is an important remote sensing technology used for topographic mapping and deformation monitoring, and has created a new type of radar datum that has significantly evolved during the last couple of decades. This book includes the latest InSAR studies published in the Special Issue "InSAR Signal and Data Processing" of Sensors. We hope that readers of all levels will be able to gain a better understanding of InSAR as well as the when, how, and why of applying this technology.

Microbial virulence factors encompass a wide range of molecules produced by pathogenic microorganisms, enhancing their ability to evade their host defenses and cause disease. This broad definition comprises secreted products such as toxins, enzymes, exopolysaccharides, as well as cell surface structures such as capsules, lipopolysaccharides, glyco- and lipoproteins. Intracellular changes in metabolic regulatory networks, governed by protein sensors/regulators and non-coding regulatory RNAs, are also known to contribute to virulence. Furthermore, some secreted microbial products have the ability to enter the host cell and manipulate their machinery, contributing to the success of the infection. The knowledge, at the molecular level, of the biology of microbial pathogens and their virulence factors is central in the development of novel therapeutic molecules and strategies to combat microbial infections. The present collection comprises state of the art research and review papers on virulence factors and mechanisms of a wide range of bacterial and fungal pathogens for humans, animals, and plants, thus reflecting the impact of microorganisms in health and economic human activities, and the importance of the topic.

Nowadays, more and more people realize the importance of global sustainability. Also, there has been an increasing number of quantitative studies investigating the connection between climate change and human societies in academia. Given this background, the Atmosphere Special Issue "Climate Change, Climatic Extremes, and Human Societies in the Past" aimed to highlight the major aspects of the climate-society nexus in ancient and recent human history. There are eight papers based on quantitative approaches to illustrate different forms of climate-society nexus in ancient, historical, and contemporary periods. Regarding ancient periods, the interconnection among climate, agriculture, and human societies is focused. Regarding historical periods, the non-linear and complex relationship between climate change and the positive checks (wars, famines, and epidemics) in historical China and pre-industrial Europe is revealed. Regarding contemporary periods, the papers focus on weather-related phenomena that significantly affect human societies. The complexity of those phenomena is also highlighted. The associated findings can help human societies to mitigate the adverse impacts of weather extremes better. This special issue contributes to the field of quantitative analysis of the climate-society nexus, both theoretically and methodologically, which could facilitate a more fruitful discussion about the climate-society nexus.

The Special Issue "Assessment and Nonlinear Modeling of Wave, Tidal, and Wind Energy Converters and Turbines" contributes original research to stimulate the continuing progress of the offshore renewable energy (ORE) field, with a focus on state-of-the-art numerical approaches developed for the design and analysis of ORE devices. Particularly, this collection provides new methodologies, analytical/numerical tools, and theoretical methods that deal with engineering problems in the ORE field of wave, wind, and current structures. This Special Issue covers a wide range of multidisciplinary aspects, such as the 1) study of generalized interaction wake model systems with elm variation for offshore wind farms; 2) a flower pollination method based on global maximum power point tracking strategy for point-absorbing type wave energy converters; 3) performance optimization of a Kirsten-Boeing turbine using a metamodel based on neural networks coupled with CFD; 4) proposal of a novel semi-submersible floating wind turbine platform composed of inclined columns and multi-segmented mooring lines; 5) reduction of tower fatigue through blade back twist and active pitch-to-stall control strategy for a semi-submersible floating offshore wind turbine; 6) assessment of primary energy conversion of a closed-circuit OWC wave energy converter; 7) development and validation of a wave-to-wire model for two types of OWC wave energy converters; 8) assessment of a hydrokinetic energy converter based on vortex-induced angular oscillations of a cylinder; 9) application of wave-turbulence decomposition methods on a tidal energy site assessment; 10) parametric study for an oscillating water column wave energy conversion system installed on a breakwater; 11) optimal dimensions of a semisubmersible floating platform for a 10 MW wind turbine; 12) fatigue life assessment for power cables floating in offshore wind turbines.

Food, by nature, is a biological substrate and is therefore capable of supporting the growth of microbials that are potential producers of toxic compounds. Among them mycotoxins, marine biotoxins, plant toxins, cyanogenic glycosides, and toxins occurring in poisonous mushrooms pose not only a risk to both human and animal health but also impact food security and nutrition by reducing people''s access to healthy food. This book collects some of the recent key improvements of analytical methodologies for the detection of natural toxins and their metabolites in food, and highlights the challenges yet to be resolved. Special emphasis is given to emerging or less-investigated toxins, to provide the scientific community with new tools and/or data supporting a better understanding of related food safety issues.

Beyond being the most important natural compound source, actinomycetes are the origin of up to two-thirds of all clinically used antibiotics. Currently, new antimicrobials are urgently needed, as infections caused by antibiotic-resistant pathogens are on the rise. In the identification of new antibiotics, many scientists are currently investigating biosynthetic aspects of antibiotic production in actinomycetes. Since the emergence of next-generation sequencing technologies, the field of antibiotics research has experienced a remarkable revival. These bacteria have the potential to produce more antibiotics than previously thought possible. Some antibiotics are produced in standard media, while others require the presence of a specific signaling molecule in the medium. Others, however, are only produced when the native regulation of the biosynthesis gene cluster is overruled. This book covers topics in the field of antibiotic-producing actinomycetes. The following tops are addressed: - Approaches to access novel antibiotic producers for novel natural compounds - Omics and genome mining approaches for the discovery of novel natural compounds - Analyses and genetic engineering of antibiotic biosynthesis - Regulation of the secondary metabolism in actinomycetes

The articles in this volume present a variety of theoretical and historical cases to enlarge our understanding of religious conflict and coexistence. Seven out of the ten articles discuss cases of major religions in Korea, including Shamanism, Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, and Christianity. They explore the particularity of Korean religions in seeking theological and philosophical inclusiveness, playing a positive role in society and building stable interreligious relations. The other three articles cover non-Korean themes including religious conflict of interfaith families, a biblical analysis of particularism and universalism and a new interpretation of Paul''s letter to the Romans. All of these articles are aimed at identifying major causes of religious conflict and finding some effective solutions drawn from various theoretical and practical domains.

This Special Issue showcases poets who enhance the breadth of modernist literary practices. The cohering concept is a complex relationship to both gender and modernity through original experiments with language. Leading scholars explore writers who both fit and extend orthodox modernist histories: Marianne Moore, H.D., Edna St Vincent Millay, Dorothy Parker, Katherine Mansfield, and Charlotte Mew were born around the cusp of the twentieth century and flourished during the 1920s and 1930s; Lynette Roberts, Helen Adam and Hope Mirrlees were contemporaries but publishing or recognition came later; the next generation can include Gwendolyn Brooks, Stevie Smith and Muriel Spark; Veronica Forrest-Thomson represents a third generation who published into the 1980s, while Frances Presley and M. NourbeSe Philip hinge this group with the contemporary poets Carol Watts and Natasha Trethewey, whose works continue and rejuvenate progressive stylistics. The essays offer new readings of both well-known and unfamiliar poets. They are truly groundbreaking in plundering diverse theoretical fields in ways that disturb any lingering notions of a homogenized women''s poetry. The authors supplant into literary poetic analysis notions of geometry and mathematics, maritime materialities, tourism and taxonomy, architecture, classicism, folk art, Christianity and death, whimsy and empathy.

This book is a printed edition of the Special Issue of Crystals entitled Pressure-Induced Phase Transformations. It includes selected articles on the behavior of matter under high-pressure and high-temperature conditions, describing and discussing contemporary achievements, which were selected based on their relevance and scientific quality.

Rice feeds more than half of the world population. Its small genome size and ease in transformation have made rice the model crop in plant physiology and genetics. Molecular as well as Mendelian, forward as well as reverse genetics collaborate with each other to expand rice genetics. The wild relatives of rice belonging to the genus Oryza are distributed in Asia, Africa, Latin America and Oceania. They are good sources for the study of domestication and adaptation. Rice was the first crop to have its entire genome sequenced. With the help of the reference genome of Nipponbare and the advent of the next generation sequencer, the study of the rice genome has been accelerated. The mining of DNA polymorphism has permitted map-based cloning, QTL (quantitative trait loci) analysis, and the production of many kinds of experimental lines, such as recombinant inbred lines, backcross inbred lines, and chromosomal segment substitution lines. Inter- and intraspecific hybridization among Oryza species has opened the door to various levels of reproductive barriers ranging from prezygotic to postzygotic. This Special Issue contains eleven papers on genetic studies of rice and its relatives utilizing the rich genetic resources and/or rich genome information described above.

Mitochondria are subcellular organelles evolved by the endosymbiosis of bacteria with eukaryotic cells. They are the main source of ATP in the cell and engaged in other aspects of cell metabolism and cell function, including the regulation of ion homeostasis, cell growth, redox status, and cell signaling. Due to their central role in cell life and death, mitochondria are also involved in the pathogenesis and progression of human diseases/conditions, including neurodegenerative and cardiovascular disorders, cancer, diabetes, inflammation, and aging. However, despite the increasing number of studies, precise mechanisms whereby mitochondria are involved in the regulation of basic physiological functions, as well as their role in the cell under pathophysiological conditions, remain unknown. A lack of in-depth knowledge of the regulatory mechanisms of mitochondrial metabolism and function, as well as interplay between the factors that transform the organelle from its role in pro-survival to pro-death, have hindered the development of new mitochondria-targeted pharmacological and conditional approaches for the treatment of human diseases. This book highlights the latest achievements in elucidating the role of mitochondria under physiological conditions, in various cell/animal models of human diseases, and in patients.

This Special Issue covers solution synthesis, processing, and applications of non-metallic nanomaterials. Zhang et. al. and Jiang et. al. focus on synthesis of kesterite materials, and Wu et. al. and Zhang et. al. focus on synthesis of copper chromium oxide delafossite nanomaterials. Three of these papers discuss solar cell applications using these materials. Yun and Park''s review paper explores the self-assembly of complex nanostructures. Bhalothia et al. show enhanced catalytic activity for NiOx@Pt nanostructures and Wu et. al. report high-sensitivity ammonia sensors made from SnO nanoshells. On flexible electronics, Nakamura et. al. developed Cu nitride ink for rapid photonic processing of conducting lines, Liu et. al. made Au/HfO2/Pt resistive random access memory devices, and Moreira et al. fabricated solution combustion oxide thin film transistors.

Today, herbicide-resistant weeds dominate research and development efforts in the discipline of weed science. The incidence, management challenges, and cost of multiple herbicide-resistant weed populations are continually increasing worldwide. Crop varieties with multiple herbicide-resistance traits are being rapidly adopted by growers and land managers to keep ahead of the weed resistance tsunami. This Special Issue of Plants comprises papers that describe the current status and future outlook of herbicide resistance research and development in weedy and domestic plants, with topics covering the full spectrum from resistance mechanisms to resistance management. The unifying framework for this Special issue is the challenge posed to all of the contributing authors: What are the (potential) implications for herbicide resistance management?

The book provides assessments and evaluations of emerging trends in the electricity markets, with a focus on high-renewables electricity systems. Specifically, various issues are examined, such as wind and solar energy, interconnection, smart meters, smart grids of the future (including their social implications), and peer-to-peer (P2P) electricity trading, which is closely connected to the principle of a sharing economy. The book also contemplates how the market design for a high-renewables electricity system would be different from the classical post-liberalization market design.

The Special Issue entitled "Modeling of Soil Erosion and Sediment Transport" focuses on the mathematical modeling of soil erosion caused by rainfall and runoff at a basin scale, as well as on the sediment transport in the streams of the basin. In concrete terms, the quantification of these phenomena by means of mathematical modeling and field measurements has been studied. The following mathematical models (software) were used, amongst others: AnnAGNPS, SWAT, SWAT-Twn, TUSLE, WRF-Hydro-Sed, CORINE, LCM-MUSLE, EROSION-3D, HEC-RAS, SRC, WA-ANN. The Special Issue contains 14 articles that can be classified into the following five categories: Category A: "Soil erosion and sediment transport modeling in basins"; Category B: "Inclusion of soil erosion control measures in soil erosion models"; Category C: "Soil erosion and sediment transport modeling in view of reservoir sedimentation"; Category D: "Field measurements of gully erosion"; Category E: "Stream sediment transport modeling". Most studies presented in the Special Issue were applied to different basins in Europe, America, and Asia, and are the result of the cooperation between universities and/or research centers in different countries and continents, which constitutes an optimistic fact for the international scientific communication.

According to Carl Friedrich Gauss (1777-1855), mathematics is the queen of the sciences-and number theory is the queen of mathematics. Numbers (integers, algebraic integers, transcendental numbers, p-adic numbers) and symmetries are investigated in the nine refereed papers of this MDPI issue. This book shows how symmetry pervades number theory. In particular, it highlights connections between symmetry and number theory, quantum computing and elementary particles (thanks to 3-manifolds), and other branches of mathematics (such as probability spaces) and revisits standard subjects (such as the Sieve procedure, primality tests, and Pascal''s triangle). The book should be of interest to all mathematicians, and physicists.

Monitoring oceans and coastal areas has a fundamental social impact, and this scenario is made still more challenging with the present and future issues related to climate change. In this context, radar systems have gained increasing interest, since they are remote sensing devices capable of providing information about sea waves, currents, tides, bathymetry, and wind. Moreover, radar systems can be designed to perform both large-scale and small-scale monitoring, with different spatial and temporal resolutions, and can be installed on different observation platforms (ship-based, ground-based, airborne, satellite or drones). In this regard, this book aims at engendering a virtual forum for ocean radar researchers, where state-of-the-art methodologies and applications concerning ocean monitoring by means of radar technologies are reviewed and discussed.

Population is ageing at an unprecedented speed globally. As concept, ageing is considered a continuous process starting from birth and is accompanied by various physiological changes and a number of chronic diseases that affect health and quality of life. Ageing as a continuous process is depending on life course exposures to health risks, lifestyle and nutrition, socioeconomic background, and other factors. There is considerable interest among scientists regarding the direct and indirect effect of nutrition in optimal ageing. Nutrition has a beneficial effect in a variety of chronic disease that impact the process of ageing. Given the importance of this issue, the journal Nutrients is planning a Special Issue on "Ageing and Nutrition through Lifespan" with the aim of providing a source for accurate, up-to-date scientific information on this topic. We invite you and your co-workers to consider submission of your original research findings or a review article on the topic. Manuscripts should focus on the direct impact of specific food components, dietary patterns, energy intake, macro-, micro- nutrients, alcohol intake, food insecurity as well as malnourishment and appetite to the ageing process (healthy, active, successful ageing, frailty and other similar indices) across lifespan. In a similar way, we also welcome manuscripts that focus on the indirect effect of nutrition to the ageing process throughout the pathway of chronic disease (i.e., obesity, diabetes, depression and mental diseases).

This Special Issue comprises 12 papers from authors in 10 countries with new insights on the close coupling between magma as an energy and fluid source with hydrothermal systems for the primary control of magmatic behavior. Data and interpretation are provided on the rise of magma through a hydrothermal system, the relative timing of magmatic and hydrothermal events, the temporal evolution of supercritical aqueous fluids associated with ore formation, the magmatic and meteoric contributions of water to the systems, the big picture for the highly active Krafla Caldera, Iceland, as well as the implications of results from drilling at Krafla concerning the magma-hydrothermal boundary. Some of the more provocative concepts are that magma can intrude a hydrothermal system silently, that coplanar and coeval seismic events signal "magma fracking" beneath active volcanoes, that intrusive accumulations may far outlast volcanism, that arid climate favors formation of large magma chambers, and that even relatively dry rhyolite magma can rapidly convect and so lack a crystallizing mush roof. A shared theme is that hydrothermal and magmatic reservoirs need to be treated as a single system.

This book, entitled "Mesoporous Metal Oxide Films", contains an editorial and a collection of ten research articles covering fundamental studies and applications of different metal oxide films. Mesoporous materials have been widely investigated and applied in many technological applications owing to their outstanding structural and physical properties. In this book, important developments in this fast-moving field are presented from various research groups around the world. Different preparation methods and applications of these novel and interesting materials have been reported, and it was demonstrated that mesoporosity has a direct impact on the properties and potential applications of such materials. The potential use of mesoporous metal oxide films and coatings with different morphology and structures is demonstrated in many technological applications, particularly chemical and electrochemical sensors, supercapacitors, solar cells, photoelectrodes, bioceramics, photonic switches, and anticorrosion agents.

A couple of decades have passed since the advent of electromagnetic metamaterials. Although the research on artificial microwave materials dates back to the middle of the 20th century, the most prominent development in the electromagnetics of artificial media has happened in the new millennium. In the last decade, the electromagnetics of one-, two-, and three-dimensional metamaterials acquired robust characterization and design tools. Novel fabrication techniques have been developed. Many exotic effects involving metamaterials and metasurfaces, which initially belonged in a scientist''s lab, are now well understood by practicing engineers. Therefore, it is the right time for the metamaterial concepts to become a designer''s tools of choice in the landscape of electronics, microwaves, and photonics. Answering such a demand, the book "Engineering Metamaterials" focuses on the theory and applications of electromagnetic metamaterials, metasurfaces, and metamaterial transmission lines as the building blocks of present-day and future electronic, photonic, and microwave devices.

The direct conversion of sunlight into electricity (photovoltaic or PV for short) is evolving rapidly, and is a technology becoming a mainstream clean energy production method. However, to compete with conventional energy production methods using fossil fuels, the conversion efficiency needs to be increased, and the manufacturing cost should be reduced further. Both of these require the improvement of solar energy materials, and the device architectures used for the conversion of light into electrical energy. This Special Issue presents the latest developments in some solar energy materials like Si, CdTe, CIGS, SnS and Perovskites), and the device structures suitable for next generation solar cells. In particular, the progress in graded bandgap multi-layer solar cells are presented in this Special Issue.

Iodine, a key component of thyroid hormones, is considered an essential micronutrient for proper health at all life stages. Indeed, an inadequate dietary intake of iodine is responsible for several functional and developmental abnormalities. The most serious consequences of iodine deficiency include hypothyroidism, early abortion, low birth weight, preterm delivery, neurocognitive impairment, and mental retardation. On the other hand, the consequences of mild-to-moderate iodine deficiency, such as goiter, are less well understood but represent an important priority for research and public health practice. Over the last several decades, many countries across the globe have introduced mandatory salt iodization programs, which have dramatically reduced the number of iodine-deficient countries. However, despite substantial progress worldwide, mild-to-moderate deficiency is still prevalent even in many developed countries. Thus, the ongoing monitoring of the population iodine status remains crucially important, and attention may need to be paid to vulnerable life stage groups.

Acceptance or rejection of implanted biomaterials is strongly dependent on an appropriate bio-interface between the biomaterial and its surrounding tissue. Given the fact that most bulk materials only provide mechanical stability for the implant and may not interact with tissues and fluids in vivo, surface modification and engineering of biomaterials plays a significant role towards addressing major clinical unmet challenges. Increasing data showed that altering surface properties including physiochemical, topographical, and mechanical characteristics, is a promising approach to tackle these problems. Surface engineering of biomaterials could influence the subsequent tissue and cellular events such as protein adsorption, cellular recolonization, adhesion, proliferation, migration, and the inflammatory response. Moreover, it could be based on mimicking the complex cell structure and environment or hierarchical nature of the bone. In this case, the design of nano/micrometer patterns and morphologies with control over their properties has been receiving the attention of biomaterial scientists due to the promising results for the relevant biomedical applications. This Special Issue presents original research papers that report on the current state-of-the-art in surface engineering of biomaterials, particularly implants and biomedical devices.

Significant progress has been made in nanophotonics and the use of nanostructured materials for optoelectronic devices, including light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and laser diodes, which have recently attracted considerable attention due to their unique geometry. Nanostructures in small dimensions, comprising nanowires, nanotubes, and nanoparticles, etc,. can be perfectly integrated into a variety of technological platforms, offering novel physical and chemical properties for high-performance, light-emitting devices. This Special Issue aims to present the most recent advances in the field of nanophotonics, which focuses on LEDs and laser diodes. We invite contributions of original research articles, as well as review articles that are aligned to the following topics that include, but are not limited to, thetheoretical calculation, synthesis, characterization, and application of such novel nanostructures for light-emitting devices. The application of nanostructured light-emitters in general lighting, imaging, and displays is also highly encouraged.

The increasingly stricter standards for effluent discharge and the decreasing availability of freshwater resources worldwide have made the development of advanced wastewater treatment technologies necessary. Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) are becoming an attractive alternative and a complementary treatment option to conventional methods. AOPs are used to improve the biodegradability of wastewaters containing non-biodegradable organics. Besides, AOPs may inactivate pathogenic microorganisms without adding additional chemicals to the water during disinfection, avoiding the formation of hazardous by-products. This Special Issue of Processes aims to cover recent progress and novel trends in the field of AOPs, including UV/H2O2, O3, sulphate-radical oxidation, nanotechnology in AOPs, heterogeneous photocatalysis, sonolysis, Fenton, photo-Fenton, electrochemical oxidation, and related oxidation processes. The topics to be addressed in this Special Issue of Processes may also include the application of AOPs at various scales (laboratory, pilot, or industrial scale), the degradation of emerging contaminants in water and wastewater and pollutants in the gas phase, the quantification of toxicicy in residuals, the development of novel catalytic materials and of hybrid processes, including the combination of AOPs with other technologies, process intensification, and the use of photo-electrochemical processes for energy production.

Recent advances in the fabrication techniques have enabled the production of different types of polymer sensors and actuators that can be utilized in a wide range of applications, such as soft robotics, biomedical, smart textiles and energy harvesting. Functional polymers possess dynamic physical and chemical properties, which make them suitable candidates for sensing and actuating tasks in response to external stimuli, such as radiation, temperature, chemical reaction, external force, magnetic and electric fields. This book focuses on the recent advancements in the modeling and analysis of functional polymer systems.