Books published by Mdpi AG

The number of males diagnosed with prostate cancer (PCa) is increasing all over the world. Most patients with early-stage PCa can be treated with appropriate therapy, such as radical prostatectomy or irradiation. On the other hand, androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) is the standard systemic therapy given to patients with advanced PCa. ADT induces temporary remission, but the majority of patients (approximately 60%) eventually progress to castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC), which is associated with a high mortality rate. Generally, well-differentiated PCa cells are androgen dependent, i.e., androgen receptor (AR) signalling regulates cell cycle and differentiation. The loss of AR signalling after ADT triggers androgen-independent outgrowth, generating poorly differentiated, uncontrollable PCa cells. Once PCa cells lose their sensitivity to ADT, effective therapies are limited. In the last few years, however, several new options for the treatment of CRPC have been approved, e.g., the CYP17 inhibitor, the AR antagonist, and the taxane. Despite this progress in the development of new drugs, there is a high medical need for optimizing the sequence and combination of approved drugs. Thus, the identification of predictive biomarkers may help in the context of personalized medicine to guide treatment decisions, improve clinical outcomes, and prevent unnecessary side effects. In this Special Issue Book, we focused on the cytobiology of human PCa cells and its clinical applications to develop a major step towards personalized medicine matched to the individual needs of patients with early-stage and advanced PCa and CRPC. We hope that this Special Issue Book attracts the attention of readers with expertise and interest in the cytobiology of PCa cells.

REDD+ represents countries'' efforts to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, and foster conservation, the sustainable management of forests, and the enhancement of forest carbon stocks. The basic idea is that more carbon can be sequestrated and stocked in tropical forests by improving their conservation, management, and sustainable use, thus contributing to mitigating climate change. The developing countries and relevant stakeholders concerned will be financially compensated for these endeavors, either through public funds or private carbon markets. Given this context, this book will address the need to assess the political and socio-economic dimensions of the performance of REDD+, which is relevant to policy-makers, practitioners, and scholars. This implies taking into account the various levels (from global to local) and dimensions (e.g., results-based payments, MRV, co-benefits, and community engagement), as well as divergent (disciplinary) connotations, of performance. We, therefore, pose the following question: What does performance mean? In answering this question, we provide examples of assessments of performance. We present 9 cases of how REDD has performed on local, national and international scales, and reflect on the representativeness of these examples and their limitations when looking at the current range of REDD initiatives, along with what is missing in terms of evaluating the performance of REDD+. We conclude by establishing why performance assessment remains so relevant today.

Carbon-based nanomaterials such as carbon nanotubes, graphene and its derivatives, nanodiamond, fullerenes, and other nano-sized carbon allotropes have recently attracted a lot of attention among the scientific community due to their enormous potential for a wide number of applications arising from their large specific surface area, high electrical and thermal conductivity, and good mechanical properties.  The combination of carbon nanomaterials with polymers leads to new nanocomposites with improved structural and functional properties due to synergistic effects. In particular, the properties of carbon-based polymer nanocomposites can be easily tuned by carefully controlling the carbon nanomaterial synthesis route and additionally the versatile synergistic interactions amongst the nanomaterials and polymers. This book provides selected examples of the most recent advances regarding carbon nanomaterial-reinforced polymeric composites. It includes the most representative types of polymeric matrices and covers aspects of new processing techniques, novel surface modifications of carbon nanomaterials and their applications in diverse fields, in particular in electronics and energy storage.

The multiverse is a concept that acknowledges the existence of a multiplicity of worlds or universes. The designs of these universes do not have to be the same as our universe, but we have no clear view of what the "other" designs might be. It is suspected that they can obey different laws of physics and different constants of physics, which further implies different chemistry, biology, and life. Some say that the universes within the multiverse allow for different mathematics or even for different metamathematical logic.This book discusses most of the above aspects of the multiverse concept starting with the philosophy, through all the mathematical and physical subtleties, finally exploring the origin of life and consciousness. This book provides a satisfying intellectual exploration of front-edge advances in contemporary cosmology.

Recent research in the fields related to the quantum information theory (QIT) is becoming some of the most intriguing and promising investigations in contemporary physics. Many novel QIT concepts are discussed in the literature, and the broad range of new models of quantum optics and solid-state physics have been recently considered in the context of QIT. Theideas of symmetry are widely discussed in all physical sciences, becoming keystones of various concepts and considerations, leading to novel discoveries in physics. Thus, this Special Issue is devoted to the broad range of QIT topics that are related to the ideas of symmetry. It covers a broad range of ideas that can develop upon the basic research and applications in the field of quantum information, and in general, quantum theory.

Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) have had a profound impact on a wide range of applications. The degree of miniaturization made possible by MEMS technology has significantly improved the functionalities of many systems, and the performance of MEMS has steadily improved as its uses augment. Notably, MEMS sensors have been prevalent in motion sensing applications for decades, and the sensing mechanisms leveraged by MEMS have been continuously extended to applications spanning the detection of gases, magnetic fields, electromagnetic radiation, and more. In parallel, MEMS resonators have become an emerging field of MEMS and affected subfields such as electronic timing and filtering, and energy harvesting. They have, in addition, enabled a wide range of resonant sensors. For many years now, MEMS have been the basis of various industrial successes, often building on novel academic research. Accordingly, this Special Issue explores many research innovations in MEMS sensors and resonators, from biomedical applications to energy harvesting, gas sensing, resonant sensing, and timing.

The use of the energy and its resources have changed dramatically in last few decades. The increasing use of technology and electrification increases the demand for energy, with impacts natural energy resources. At present, industries are trying to reduce the direct use of traditional energy by utilizing renewable energy as an alternative energy resource. Recent studies have attempted to optimize consumed energies for entire systems by using alternative energies. These alternatives are different kinds of renewable energies which provide numerous new possibilities to survive without using non-renewable energies. The production industry is moving toward smart production using the technology of the fourth industrial revolution. In this book, energy consumption for production and supply chain management are explained through presentation of some the latest major research advances. These studies collectively contribute new ideas and strategies in enriching the literature.

The most important environmental challenge today's society is facing is to reduce the effects of CO2 emissions and global warming. Such an ambitious challenge can only be achieved through a holistic approach, capable of tackling the problem from a multidisciplinary point of view. One of the core technologies called to play a critical role in this approach is the use of energy storage systems. These systems enable, among other things, the balancing of the stochastic behavior of Renewable Sources and Distributed Generation in modern Energy Systems; the efficient supply of industrial and consumer loads; the development of efficient and clean transport; and the development of Nearly-Zero Energy Buildings (nZEB) and intelligent cities. Hybrid Energy Storage Systems (HESS) consist of two (or more) storage devices with complementary key characteristics, that are able to behave jointly with better performance than any of the technologies considered individually. Recent developments in storage device technologies, interface systems, control and monitoring techniques, or visualization and information technologies have driven the implementation of HESS in many industrial, commercial and domestic applications. This Special Issue focuses on the analysis, design and implementation of hybrid energy storage systems across a broad spectrum, encompassing different storage technologies (including electrochemical, capacitive, mechanical or mechanical storage devices), engineering branches (power electronics and control strategies; energy engineering; energy engineering; chemistry; modelling, simulation and emulation techniques; data analysis and algorithms; social and economic analysis; intelligent and Internet-of-Things (IoT) systems; and so on.), applications (energy systems, renewable energy generation, industrial applications, transportation, Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS) and critical load supply, etc.) and evaluation and performance (size and weight benefits, efficiency and power loss, economic analysis, environmental costs, etc.).

The need for energy is increasing and but the production from conventional reservoirs is declining quickly. This requires an economically and technically feasible source of energy for the coming years. Among some alternative future energy solutions, the most reasonable source is from unconventional reservoirs. As the name “unconventional” implies, different and challenging approaches are required to characterize and develop these resources. This Special Issue covers some of the technical challenges for developing unconventional energy sources from shale gas/oil, tight gas sand, and coalbed methane.

Coastal areas are remarkable regions with high spatiotemporal variability. A large population is affected by their physical and biological processes-resulting from effects on tourism to biodiversity and productivity. Coastal ecosystems perform several critical ecosystem services and functions, such as water oxygenation and nutrients provision, seafloor and beach stabilization (as sediment is controlled and trapped within the rhizomes of the seagrass meadows), carbon burial, as areas for nursery, and as refuge for several commercial and endemic species. Knowledge of the spatial distribution of marine habitats is prerequisite information for the conservation and sustainable use of marine resources. Remote sensing from UAVs to spaceborne sensors is offering a unique opportunity to measure, analyze, quantify, map, and explore the processes on the coastal areas at high temporal frequencies. This Special Issue on "Application of Remote Sensing in Coastal Areas" is specifically addresses those successful applications-from local to regional scale-in coastal environments related to ecosystem productivity, biodiversity, sea level rise.

This book is about supramolecular gold chemistry. This book provides a unique international forum aimed at covering a broad description of results involving the supramolecular chemistry of gold with a special focus on the gold-sulfur interface leading to hybrid materials ranging from gold-thiolate complexes to thiolate-protected gold nanoclusters and gold-thiolate supramolecular assemblies or nanoparticles. The role of thiolates on the structure and optical features of gold nanohybrid systems (ranging from plasmonic gold nanoparticles and fluorescent gold nanoclusters to self-assembled Au-containing thiolated coordination polymers) is highlighted in the 12 papers presented in this book.

The sensation of flavor reflects the complex integration of aroma, taste, texture, and chemesthetic (oral and nasal irritation cues) from a food or food component. Flavor is a major determinant of food palatability-the extent to which a food is accepted or rejected-and can profoundly influence diet selection, nutrition, and health. Despite recent progress, gaps in knowledge still remain regarding how taste and flavor cues are detected at the periphery, conveyed by the brainstem to higher cortical levels, and then interpreted as a conscious sensation. Taste signals are also projected to central feeding centers where they can regulate hunger and fullness. Individual differences in sensory perceptions are also well known and can arise from genetic variation, environmental causes, or a variety of metabolic diseases, such as obesity, metabolic syndrome, and cancer. Genetic taste/smell variation could predispose individuals to these same diseases. Recent findings have opened new avenues of inquiry, suggesting that fatty acids and carbohydrates may provide nutrient-specific signals informing the gut and brain of the nature of the ingested nutrients. This Special Issue, Taste, Nutrition, and Health, presents original research communications and comprehensive reviews on topics of broad interest to researchers and educators in sensory science, nutrition, physiology, public health, and health care.

In October 2018, Samford University hosted Teaching Dante, a conference designed to help non-specialists teach the work of the Florentine poet more effectively in undergraduate core and general education courses. This volume of essays on the Divine Comedy includes a keynote address by Albert Russell Ascoli (UC-Berkeley), as well as a selection of top papers from the conference

This book is a collection of papers published in the Special Issue of Pharmaceutics, entitled "Pharmaceutical Particulates and Membranes for Delivery of Drugs and Bioactive Molecules". A drug release profile is a consequential factor for nanoparticle application, directly related to drug stability and therapeutic results, as well as formulation development. Pharmaceutical particulates of different sizes and shapes (e.g., liposomes, oil-in-water emulsions, polymeric nano- and microspheres, metallic nanoparticles (NPs) such as gold, silver and iron oxide crystals, and core-shell hybrid NPs) offer many diagnostic and therapeutic applications. Membranes are also extensively utilized in many applications. They are especially beneficial to the distribution of macromolecular drugs and biopharmaceutical drugs (peptides, proteins, antibodies, oligonucleotides, plasmids, and viruses) with physicochemical and pharmacokinetic vulnerability. The delivery of drugs and bioactive molecules using particulates and membranes has gained a great deal of attention for various applications, such as the treatment of secondary infections, cancer treatment, skin regeneration, orthopaedic applications, and antimicrobial drug delivery. In addition, several production techniques have been utilized for the fabrication of particulates and membranes in the last decade, which include lyophilisation, micro-emulsion, nano-spray dryer, nano-electrospinning, slip casting and 3D printers. Therefore, pharmaceutical particulates and membranes possess excellent prospects to deliver drugs and bioactive molecules with the potential to improve new delivery strategies like sustained and controlled release. This book deals with the following topics: (1) particulate preparation techniques (nano- to micron-scale particulates), (2) membranes fabrication techniques (e.g., nano-electro spinner, slip casting, and 3D printers), (3) in vitro and in vivo studies of pharmaceutical particulates or membranes, and (4) modelling and optimization of drug release from pharmaceutical particulates or membranes

This book illustrates the exciting possibilities being opened up by X-ray computed tomography (CT) to follow the behavior of materials under conditions as close as possible to those encountered during their manufacture or in operation.The scientific chapters selected for this book describe results obtained using synchrotron or laboratory devices during in situ or ex situ experiments. They characterize microstructures across length scales ranging from tens of nanometers to a few tens of micrometers.In this collection, X-ray CT shines a light on the mechanical properties of engineering materials, such as aluminum or magnesium alloys, stainless steel, aluminum, polymer composites, or ceramic foam. In these experiments, X-ray CT is able to image and quantify the damage occurring during tensile, compression, indentation, or fatigue tests.Of course, X-ray CT can illuminate the structure and behavior of natural materials too. Here it is applied to bone or natural snow to study their mechanical behavior, as well as materials from the agri-food sector. Its versatility is exemplified by analyses of topics as diverse as the removal of olive oil from kitchen sponges by squeezing and rinsing, to the effect of temperature changes on the structure of ice cream.Some chapters focus on changes occurring over time, at different temperatures, humidity levels, pressure, as in the case of heat treatments of aluminum alloy, concrete ageing, or ceramic foaming processes.In response to the challenges of climate change, research activities on batteries have intensified. The non-destructive and three-dimensional nature of X-ray CT have made it a very valuable tool for monitoring their evolution during charge and discharge cycles, as illustrated by some of the contributions.Issues relating to the technical development of CT are also covered, for example, helical CT, diffraction contrast tomography, or the use of contrast agents. The effects induced by the exposure of materials to X-ray radiation are also discussed.Finally, aspects relating to post-processing (e.g., procedures to improve the reconstruction of samples that move during in situ tests) and data analysis (e.g., the application of digital volume correlation (DVC) the 3D analogue of digital image correlation (DIC), and the comparison between in situ experiments and finite element simulations) are covered. Taken together these studies show the art of what is possible, the ways to further enhance the existing methods, and the possibilities for the future in relation to the In situ X-ray Tomographic Study of Materials.

In recent years, peptides have received increased interest from the pharmaceutical industry. The high potency, specificity, and safety profile are the main strengths of bioactive peptides as new and promising therapies that may fill the gap between small molecules and protein drugs. These positive attributes have renewed interest in the discovery, optimization, and development of peptides as pharmacological therapy. Among bioactive peptides, those released from food sources have acquired importance as nutraceutical and active components in functional foods because they possess regulatory functions that can lead to health benefits. This Special Issue covers a selection of recent research papers and reviews in the field of bioactive peptides. It covers all aspects of peptide research in relation to health promotion. In particular, it emphasizes current knowledge and research trends concerning bioactive peptides, including identification and quantification of peptides from new sources, methods for their production and purification, structure-function relationships, mechanisms of action, in vitro and in vivo assays for the evaluation of their bioactivity, physiological evidence to support health benefits, and peptide stability and bioavailability. Papers regarding the development of new drugs, functional foods, or nutraceuticals based on bioactive peptides were also considered.

This book is a comprehensive set of articles reflecting on the application of symbolic and/or numerical computation in a range of scientific areas within the fields of engineering and science. These articles constitute extended versions of communications presented at the 4th International Conference on Numerical and Symbolic Computation-SYMCOMP 2019-that took place in Porto, Portugal, from 11 to 12 April 2019 The different chapters present diverse perspectives on the existing effective connections between mathematical methods and procedures and other knowledge areas. The intrinsic multidisciplinary character is visible throughout the whole book as a result of the applicability of the scope and the applications considered. The reader will find this book to be a useful resource for identifying problems of interest in different engineering and science areas, and in the development of mathematical models and procedures used in the context of prediction or verification computational tools as well as in the aided-learning/teaching context. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in the recent developments and applications of symbolic and numerical computation for a number of multidisciplinary engineering and science problems.

Nowadays, one of the main objectives of the fruit and vegetable industry is to develop innovative novel products with high quality, safety, and optimal nutritional characteristics in order to respond, with efficiency, to increasing consumer expectations. Various unconventional technologies (e.g., pulsed electric field, pulsed light, ultrasound, high pressure, and microwave drying) have emerged and enable the processing of fruits and vegetables in a way that increases their stability while preserving their thermolabile nutrients, flavour, texture, and overall quality. Some of these technologies can also be used for waste and byproduct valorisation. The application of fast noninvasive methods for process control is of great importance for the fruit and vegetable industry. The following Special Issue “Safety, Quality, and Processing of Fruits and Vegetables” consists of 11 papers which represent a high-value contribution to the existing knowledge on safety aspects, quality evaluation, and emerging processing technologies for fruits and vegetables.

Adequate quality of life and well-being of modern societies is only achievable with sustainable manufacturing processes that efficiently use raw materials, eliminate waste, and avoid the use of hazardous materials. All this is hardly conceivable without catalysis. In a world concerned with the exploitation of natural resources, catalysis can offer direct synthesis routes that maximize resource efficiency. The Iberoamerican society is far too significant and far too involved in global development, owing to its natural richness of resources, not to have an essential role in current developments and future directions. Catalysis, in the Iberoamerican academic and industrial communities, is recognized as a relevant scientific discipline that supports several strategic industrial sectors through the manufacturing of products and materials, and the operationalization of processes to produce energy and other utilities. As a reflection of this, once every two years the Iberoamerican Congress on Catalysis takes place to share and discuss the state-of-the-art of this discipline with the Federation of Iberoamerican Catalysis Societies. This book collected sixteen outstanding contributions, stemming from this exceptional event-one which will undoubtedly mark a turning point and could be a source of inspiration to all those involved in catalysis, particularly the young generation of competent researchers taking their first steps in this incredibly complex and beautiful discipline.

During the last few years, industrial fermentation technologies have advanced in order to improve the quality of the final product. Some examples of those modern technologies are the biotechnology developments of microbial materials, such as Saccharomyces and non-Saccharomyces yeasts or lactic bacteria from different genera. Other technologies are related to the use of additives and adjuvants, such as nutrients, enzymes, fining agents, or preservatives and their management, which directly influence the quality and reduce the risks in final fermentation products. Other technologies are based on the management of thermal treatments, filtrations, pressure applications, ultrasounds, UV, and so on, which have also led to improvements in fermentation quality in recent years. The aim of the issue is to study new technologies able to improve the quality parameters of fermentation products, such as aroma, color, turbidity, acidity, or any other parameters related to improving sensory perception by the consumers. Food safety parameters are also included.

Nowadays, one of the main objectives of the fruit and vegetable industry is to develop innovative novel products with high quality, safety, and optimal nutritional characteristics in order to respond, with efficiency, to increasing consumer expectations. Various unconventional technologies (e.g., pulsed electric field, pulsed light, ultrasound, high pressure, and microwave drying) have emerged and enable the processing of fruits and vegetables in a way that increases their stability while preserving their thermolabile nutrients, flavour, texture, and overall quality. Some of these technologies can also be used for waste and byproduct valorisation. The application of fast noninvasive methods for process control is of great importance for the fruit and vegetable industry. The following Special Issue "Safety, Quality, and Processing of Fruits and Vegetables" consists of 11 papers which represent a high-value contribution to the existing knowledge on safety aspects, quality evaluation, and emerging processing technologies for fruits and vegetables.

Artificial intelligence is deeply involved in our daily lives via reinforcing the digital transformation of modern economies and infrastructure. It relies on powerful computing clusters, which face bottlenecks of power consumption for both data transmission and intensive computing. Meanwhile, optics (especially optical communications, which underpin today''s telecommunications) is penetrating short-reach connections down to the chip level, thus meeting with AI technology and creating numerous opportunities. This book is about the marriage of optics and AI and how each part can benefit from the other. Optics facilitates on-chip neural networks based on fast optical computing and energy-efficient interconnects and communications. On the other hand, AI enables efficient tools to address the challenges of today''s optical communication networks, which behave in an increasingly complex manner. The book collects contributions from pioneering researchers from both academy and industry to discuss the challenges and solutions in each of the respective fields.

Geographic information systems (GISs) have played a vital role in Earth sciences by providing a powerful means of observing the world and various tools for solving complex problems. The scientific community has used GISs to reveal fascinating details about the Earth and other planets. This book on recent advances in GIS for Earth sciences includes 12 publications from esteemed research groups worldwide. The research and review papers in this book belong to the following broad categories: Earth science informatics (geoinformatics), mining, hydrology, natural hazards, and society.

This Special Issue is related to studies of the hydrogen production from formic acid decomposition. It is based on five research papers and two reviews. The reviews discuss the liquid phase formic acid decomposition over bimetallic (PdAg), molecular (Ru, Ir, Fe, Co), and heterogenized molecular catalysts. The gas-phase reaction is studied over highly dispersed Pd, Pt, Au, Cu, and Ni supported catalysts. It is shown that the nature of the catalyst''s support plays an important role for the reaction. Thus, N-doping of the carbon support provides a significant promotional effect. One of the reasons for the high activity of the N-doped catalysts is the formation of single-atom active sites stabilized by pyridinic N species present in the support. It is demonstrated that carbon materials can be N-doped in different ways. It can be performed either directly from N-containing compounds during the carbon synthesis or by a post-synthetic deposition of N-containing compounds on the carbon support with known properties. The Issue could be useful for specialists in catalysis and nanomaterials as well as for graduate students studying chemistry and chemical engineering. The reported results can be applied for development of catalysts for the hydrogen production from different liquid organic hydrogen carriers.

The rising trend in the global energy demand poses new challenges to humankind. The energy and mechanical engineering sectors are called to develop new and more environmentally friendly solutions to harvest residual energy from primary production processes. The Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) is an emerging energy system for power production and waste heat recovery. In the near future, this technology can play an increasing role within the energy generation sectors and can help achieve the carbon footprint reduction targets of many industrial processes and human activities. This Special Issue focuses on selected research and application cases of ORC-based waste heat recovery solutions. Topics included in this publication cover the following aspects: performance modeling and optimization of ORC systems based on pure and zeotropic mixture working fluids; applications of waste heat recovery via ORC to gas turbines and reciprocating engines; optimal sizing and operation of ORC under combined heat and power and district heating application; the potential of ORC on board ships and related issues; life cycle analysis for biomass application; ORC integration with supercritical CO2 cycle; and the proper design of the main ORC components, including fluid dynamics issues. The current state of the art is considered and some cutting-edge ORC technology research activities are examined in this book.

Writing or managing a scientific book, as it is known today, depends on a series of major activities, such as regrouping researchers, reviewing chapters, informing and exchanging with contributors, and at the very least, motivating them to achieve the objective of publication. The idea of this book arose from many years of work in biomechanics, health disease, and rehabilitation. Through exchanges with authors from several countries, we learned much from each other, and we decided with the publisher to transfer this knowledge to readers interested in the current understanding of the impact of biomechanics in the analysis of movement and its optimization. The main objective is to provide some interesting articles that show the scope of biomechanical analysis and technologies in human behavior tasks. Engineers, researchers, and students from biomedical engineering and health sciences, as well as industrial professionals, can benefit from this compendium of knowledge about biomechanics applied to the human body.

This book provides recent studies focused on chemical biology and biocatalysis applied to organic synthesis. The articles range from topics such as fungal metabolism and fungi-mediated biotransformations to the exploitation of specific enzymes in biocatalyzed reactions, also including works on the characterization of enzymes and the study of their catalytic activity. Overall, ten studies are presented that provide the reader with relevant, fresh insights on the use of enzymes and on the importance of biocatalysis.

This Special Issue deals with improvements in the energy efficiency of electric devices, machines, and drives, which are achieved through improvements in the design, modelling, control, and operation of the system. Properly sized and placed coils of a welding transformer can reduce the required iron core size and improve the efficiency of the welding system operation. New structures of the single-phase field excited flux switching machine improve its performance in terms of torque, while having higher back-EMF and unbalanced electromagnetic forces. A properly designed rotor notch reduces the torque ripple and cogging torque of interior permanent magnet motors for the drive platform of electric vehicles, resulting in lower vibrations and noise. In the field of modelling, the torque estimation of a Halbach array surface permanent magnet motor with a non-overlapping winding layout was improved by introducing an analytical two-dimensional subdomain model. A general method for determining the magnetically nonlinear two-axis dynamic models of rotary and linear synchronous reluctance machines and synchronous permanent magnet machines is introduced that considers the effects of slotting, mutual interaction between the slots and permanent magnets, saturation, cross saturation, and end effects. Advanced modern control solutions, such as neural network-based model reference adaptive control, fuzzy control, senseless control, torque/speed tracking control derived from the 3D non-holonomic integrator, including drift terms, maximum torque per ampere, and maximum efficiency characteristics, are applied to improve drive performance and overall system operation.

In recent years, many technologies for gait and posture assessments have emerged. Wearable sensors, active and passive in-house monitors, and many combinations thereof all promise to provide accurate measures of physical activity, gait, and posture parameters. Motivated by market projections for wearable technologies and driven by recent technological innovations in wearable sensors (MEMs, electronic textiles, wireless communications, etc.), wearable health/performance research is growing rapidly and has the potential to transform future healthcare from disease treatment to disease prevention. The objective of this Special Issue is to address and disseminate the latest gait, posture, and activity monitoring systems as well as various mathematical models/methods that characterize mobility functions. This Special Issue focuses on wearable monitoring systems and physical sensors, and its mathematical models can be utilized in varied environments under varied conditions to monitor health and performance

This book provides a collection of comprehensive research articles on data analytics and applications of wearable devices in healthcare. This Special Issue presents 28 research studies from 137 authors representing 37 institutions from 19 countries. To facilitate the understanding of the research articles, we have organized the book to show various aspects covered in this field, such as eHealth, technology-integrated research, prediction models, rehabilitation studies, prototype systems, community health studies, ergonomics design systems, technology acceptance model evaluation studies, telemonitoring systems, warning systems, application of sensors in sports studies, clinical systems, feasibility studies, geographical location based systems, tracking systems, observational studies, risk assessment studies, human activity recognition systems, impact measurement systems, and a systematic review. We would like to take this opportunity to invite high quality research articles for our next Special Issue entitled "Digital Health and Smart Sensors for Better Management of Cancer and Chronic Diseases" as a part of Sensors journal.