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This special issue entitled “Soft and hard tissue regeneration” will cover both periodontal and implant therapies. Regenerative periodontal treatment goal is to restore functional periodontal support offering a valuable treatment alternative even for teeth with large periodontal destruction, which may be successfully treated and maintained in health for long periods. In most cases where teeth are extracted for periodontal reasons, implant therapy will demand large bone augmentation procedures. Lack of sufficient bone volume may prevent placement of dental implants. In extreme cases, large bone reconstruction is indispensable before implant placement can be performed. Although, most bone grafts are only able to fill and maintain a space, where bone regeneration can occur (“osseoconductive”), the ideal bone graft will also promote osseous regeneration (“osseoinductive”). Several bone augmentation procedures have been described, each, presenting advantages and shortcomings. Success of bone augmentation procedures depends on the presence of bone forming cells, primary wound closure over the augmented area, space creation and maintenance where bone can grow and proper angiogenesis of the grafted area. Factors that influence the choice of the surgical technique are the estimated duration of surgical procedure, its complexity, cost, total estimated length of procedure until the final rehabilitations may be installed and the surgeons’ experience. This special issue will have a definite clinical orientation, and be entirely dedicated to soft and hard tissue regenerative treatment alternatives, both in periodontal and implant therapy, discussing their rationale, indications and clinical procedures. Internationally renowned leading researchers and clinicians will contribute with articles in their field of expertize.
This book looks at the ways that energy, food, and water help to create connections between sustainability and security. The concept of security is in our current societies increasingly connected with sustainability, which seeks to ensure that we as humans are able to live and prosper on this planet now and in the future. The concepts of energy security, food security, and water security—used separately or together—manifest the burgeoning linkages between security and sustainability. This book brings together ten scientific articles that look at different aspects of security, sustainability, and resilience with an emphasis on energy, food, and/or water in the context of Finland and Europe. Together, the articles portray a rich picture on the diverse linkages between both energy, food, and water, and between security and sustainability. In sum, the articles and related preface conclude that ensuring sustainable security—or secure sustainability—requires systemic, structured processes that link the policies and actors in these two important but still distant fields.
The role of biochar in improving soil fertility is increasingly being recognized and is leading to recommendations of biochar amendment of degraded soils. In addition, biochars offer a sustainable tool for managing organic wastes and to produce added-value products. The benefits of biochar use in agriculture and forestry can span enhanced plant productivity, an increase in soil C stocks, and a reduction of nutrient losses from soil and non-CO2 greenhouse gas emissions. Nevertheless, biochar composition and properties and, therefore, its performance as a soil amendment are highly dependent on the feedstock and pyrolysis conditions. In addition, due to its characteristics, such as high porosity, water retention, and adsorption capacity, there are other applications for biochar that still need to be properly tested. Thus, the 16 original articles contained in this book, which were selected and evaluated for this Special Issue, provide a comprehensive overview of the biological, chemicophysical, biochemical, and environmental aspects of the application of biochar as soil amendment. Specifically, they address the applicability of biochar for nursery growth, its effects on the productivity of various food crops under contrasting conditions, biochar capacity for pesticide retention, assessment of greenhouse gas emissions, and soil carbon dynamics. I would like to thank the contributors, reviewers, and the support of the Agronomy editorial staff, whose professionalism and dedication have made this issue possible.
Gems have been used in the manufacture of jewellery and as ornaments since antiquity. Considering gems, recent statistics have shown that about 15 billion Euros are annually at stake. Nowadays, gemmology, i.e., the study of gem materials, is one of the most expanding fields in the earth sciences, positioned between academia and industry. As an applied science, in gemmology, the instruments used should be non- or microdestructive, and their cost should be reasonable both in terms of equipment and time consumption. Gemmology can also be used contribute to the development of pure science and in some cases, destructive techniques may have to be used. Taking into account the fact that gems are albeit rarely available for scientific research, this compilation of 20 articles by around 100 researchers from over 30 different institutions situated in 20 countries from around the globe, presented in the Special Issue entitled “Mineralogy and Geochemistry of Gems”, offers very good examples on the application of various methods for their study which will hopefully contribute to our better understanding of gem formation in general and will enhance scientific debates attracting more scientists from various disciplines to get involved in this field.
The scientific advances in life sciences and engineering are constantly challenging, expanding, and redefining concepts related to the biocompatibility and safety of medical devices. New biomaterials, new products, and new testing regimes are being introduced to scientific research practices. In order to provide clinically predictive results and to ensure a high benefit–risk ratio for patients, we need to optimize material and implant characteristics, and to adapt performance and safety evaluation practices for these innovative medical devices. Various characteristics related to materials and implant development such as raw materials composition, implant surface morphology, design, geometry, porosity, and mechanical properties need to be thoroughly characterized before evaluating the biological performance of implants. Furthermore, with the increase of regulatory demands, biological evaluation needs to ensure appropriate models and methods for each implant development stage. This book is a result of the Special Issue of Materials on "Biomaterials and Implant Biocompatibility”, which focused on the recent progress in development, material testing, and the biocompatibility and bioactivity evaluation of various materials including, but not limited to, bioceramics, biopolymers, biometals, composite materials, biomimetic materials, hybrid biomaterials, and drug/device combinations for implants and prostheses with medical applications spanning from soft to hard tissue regeneration. The book covers aspects ranging from investigations into material characterization to in vitro and in vivo testing for the assessment of biological performance of advanced, novel biomaterials and implants.
Modern power systems are affected by many sources of uncertainty, driven by the spread of renewable generation, by the development of liberalized energy market systems and by the intrinsic random behavior of the final energy customers. Forecasting is, therefore, a crucial task in planning and managing modern power systems at any level: from transmission to distribution networks, and in also the new context of smart grids. Recent trends suggest the suitability of ensemble approaches in order to increase the versatility and robustness of forecasting systems. Stacking, boosting, and bagging techniques have recently started to attract the interest of power system practitioners. This book addresses the development of new, advanced, ensemble forecasting methods applied to power systems, collecting recent contributions to the development of accurate forecasts of energy-related variables by some of the most qualified experts in energy forecasting. Typical areas of research (renewable energy forecasting, load forecasting, energy price forecasting) are investigated, with relevant applications to the use of forecasts in energy management systems.
This Special Issue presents the latest advances in the field of Textile-Reinforced Cement Composites, including Textile-Reinforced Concrete (TRC), Textile-Reinforced Mortar (TRM), Fabric-Reinforced Cementitious Matrix (FRCM), etc. These composite materials distinguish themselves from other fibre-reinforced concrete materials by their strain-hardening behaviour under tensile loading. This Special Issue is composed of 14 papers covering new insights in structural and material engineering. The papers include investigations on the level of the fibre reinforcement system as well as on the level of the composites, investigating their impact and fatigue behaviour, durability and fire behaviour. Both the strengthening of existing structures and the development of new structural systems such as lightweight sandwich systems are presented, and analysis and design methods are discussed. This Special Issue demonstrates the broadness and intensity of the ongoing advancements in the field of Textile-Reinforced Cement composites and the importance of several future research directions.
This Special Issue Book entitled "Lamiaceae Species: Biology, Ecology and Practical Uses" contributes to the knowledge of selected Lamiaceae species from several perspectives, such as diversity and phytogeography, taxonomy, ethnobotany, and quantitative and qualitative composition, as well as the biological activity of secondary metabolites.
Repetitive DNA is ubiquitous in eukaryotic genomes, and, in many species, comprises the bulk of the genome. Repeats include transposable elements that can self-mobilize and disperse around the genome, and tandemly-repeated satellite DNAs that increase in copy number due to replication slippage and unequal crossing over. Despite their abundance, repetitive DNA is often ignored in genomic studies due to technical challenges in their identification, assembly, and quantification. New technologies and methods are now providing the unprecedented power to analyze repetitive DNAs across diverse taxa. Repetitive DNA is of particular interest because it can represent distinct modes of genome evolution. Some repetitive DNA forms essential genome structures, such as telomeres and centromeres, which are required for proper chromosome maintenance and segregation, whereas others form piRNA clusters that regulate transposable elements; thus, these elements are expected to evolve under purifying selection. In contrast, other repeats evolve selfishly and produce genetic conflicts with their host species that drive adaptive evolution of host defense systems. However, the majority of repeats likely accumulate in eukaryotes in the absence of selection due to mechanisms of transposition and unequal crossing over. Even these neutral repeats may indirectly influence genome evolution as they reach high abundance. In this Special Issue, the contributing authors explore these questions from a range of perspectives.
Trace gas sensing technologies are widely used in many applications, such as environmental monitoring, life science, medical diagnostics, and planetary exploration. On the one hand, laser sources have developed greatly due to the rapid development of laser media and laser techniques in recent years. Some novel lasers such as solid-state, diode, and quantum cascade lasers have experienced significant progress. At present, laser wavelengths can cover the range from ultraviolet to terahertz, which could promote the development of laser gas sensing technologies significantly. On the other hand, some new gas sensing methods have appeared, such as photothermal spectroscopy and photoacoustic spectroscopy. Laser spectroscopy-based gas sensing techniques have the advantages of high sensitivity, non-invasiveness, and allowing in situ, real-time observation. Due to the rapid and recent developments in laser source as well as the great merits of laser spectroscopy-based gas sensing techniques, this book aims to provide an updated overview of the state-of-the-art laser gas sensing technologies.
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