Books published by Mdpi AG

Canada continues to have a rich history of ground-breaking research in drug delivery within academic institutions, pharmaceutical industry and the biotechnology community. Over the past 30 years, numerous Canadian-based biotechnology companies have been formed from the inventions conceived and developed within academic institutions that have led to the development of important drug delivery products that have enhanced the landscape of drug therapy in the treatment of cancer to infectious diseases. This Special Issue serves to highlight and capture the contemporary progress of drug delivery within the prevailing Canadian context. We invite articles on all aspects of drug delivery sciences from pre-clinical formulation development to human clinical trials that bring to light the world-class research currently undertaken in Canada for this Special Issue.

Mobile Mapping technologies have seen a rapid growth of research activity and interest in the last years, due to the increased demand of accurate, dense and geo-referenced 3D data. Their main characteristic is the ability of acquiring 3D information of large areas dynamically. This versatility has expanded their application fields from the civil engineering to a broader range (industry, emergency response, cultural heritage...), which is constantly widening. This increased number of needs, some of them specially challenging, is pushing the Scientific Community, as well as companies, towards the development of innovative solutions, ranging from new hardware / open source software approaches and integration with other devices, up to the adoption of artificial intelligence methods for the automatic extraction of salient features and quality assessment for performance verificationThe aim of the present book is to cover the most relevant topics and trends in Mobile Mapping Technology, and also to introduce the new tendencies of this new paradigm of geospatial science.

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) have already become an affordable and cost-efficient tool to quickly map a targeted area for many emerging applications in the arena of ecological monitoring and biodiversity conservation. Managers, owners, companies, and scientists are using professional drones equipped with high-resolution visible, multispectral, or thermal cameras to assess the state of ecosystems, the effect of disturbances, or the dynamics and changes within biological communities inter alia. We are now at a tipping point on the use of drones for these type of applications over natural areas. UAV missions are increasing but most of them are testing applicability. It is time now to move to frequent revisiting missions, aiding in the retrieval of important biophysical parameters in ecosystems or mapping species distributions. This Special Issue shows UAV applications contributing to a better understanding of biodiversity and ecosystem status, threats, changes, and trends. It documents the enhancement of knowledge in ecological integrity parameters mapping, long-term ecological monitoring based on drones, mapping of alien species spread and distribution, upscaling ecological variables from drone to satellite images: methods and approaches, rapid risk and disturbance assessment using drones, mapping albedo with UAVs, wildlife tracking, bird colony and chimpanzee nest mapping, habitat mapping and monitoring, and a review on drones for conservation in protected areas.

 The focus of this Special Issue is aimed at enhancing the discussion of Engineering Education, particularly related to technological and professional learning. In the 21st century, students face a challenging demand: they are expected to have the best scientific expertise, but also highly developed social skills and qualities like teamwork, creativity, communication, or leadership. Even though students and teachers are becoming more aware of this necessity, there is still a gap between academic life and the professional world.In this Special Edition Book, the reader can find works tackling interesting topics such as educational resources addressing students’ development of competencies, the importance of final year projects linked to professional environments, and multicultural or interdisciplinary challenges.

The importance of viticulture and the winemaking socio-economic sector is acknowledged worldwide. The most renowned winemaking regions show very specific environmental characteristics, where climate usually plays a central role. Considering the strong influence of weather and climatic factors on grapevine yields and berry quality attributes, climate change may indeed significantly impact this crop. Recent trends already point to a pronounced increase in growing season mean temperatures, as well as changes in precipitation regimes, which have been influencing wine typicity across some of the most renowned winemaking regions worldwide. Moreover, several climate scenarios give evidence of enhanced stress conditions for grapevine growth until the end of the century. Although grapevines have high resilience, the clear evidence for significant climate change in the upcoming decades urges adaptation and mitigation measures to be taken by sector stakeholders. To provide hints on the abovementioned issues, we have edited a Special Issue entitled “Viticulture and Winemaking under Climate Change”. Contributions from different fields were considered, including crop and climate modeling, and potential adaptation measures against these threats. The current Special Issue allows for the expansion of scientific knowledge in these particular fields of research, as well as providing a path for future research.

Mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) have attracted a large amount of interest in research laboratories worldwide in recent decades, motivated by the gap between a growing interest in developing novel mixed matrix membranes by various research groups and the lack of large-scale implementation. This Special Issue contains six publications dealing with the current opportunities and challenges of mixed matrix membranes development and applications to solve environmental and health challenges of the society of 21st century.

This book considers how adults attempt to socialise young children into the adults it aspires to produce, from a number of diverse perspectives. The evolution of storytelling and its impact upon child development is initially explored, followed by the consideration of how social class, ethnicity, culture, and colonialism impact upon the ways that societies ‘school’ children about what to expect from adulthood. Different perspectives of early years education and growing up within a British/British colonial perspective are discussed and analysed. There is a focus throughout upon the way that children are constructed by the society in question, particularly those who are considered to be of lower status in terms of being poor, orphaned, or from ethnic groups against which the dominant culture discriminates. Topics covered by the chapters include topics covered by this Special Issue: current and historical constructions of childhood; the development of linguistic and ‘storying’ skills in childhood; childhood play and recreation; childhood and ‘folk’ narratives; philosophies of childhood; childhood and industrialisation; childhood and post-industrialisation; childhood education; childhood health; and cultures of childcare.

Natural products have been a source of inspiration for chemists and chemical biologists for many years, and have a special relevance in the chemical space. In recent years, several novel synthetic strategies have appeared, such as diversity-oriented synthesis (DOS), biological-oriented synthesis (BiOS), and function-oriented synthesis (FOS), for accessing complex and functionally diverse molecules. In this manner, the synthesis of natural products has evolved towards simpler and ecological methods using biotransformation, combinatorial chemistry, or organocatalysts. In this issue, Prof. Chojnacka shows demonstrates the use of immobilized lipases as catalysts to aid in the synthesis of phosphatidylcholine enriched with myristic acid. Profs. Vila and Pedro used catalysts derived from (S)-mandelic acid to achieve the catalytic enantioselective addition of dimethylzinc to isatins. Prof. Diez shows the possibility of the obtention of 7,8-carvone epoxides in a diastereoselective manner using proline, quinidine, and diphenylprolinol as organocatalysts. A cheap, simple, clean, and scalable method involves the use of deep eutectic mixtures as reaction media, and Profs. Alonso and Guillena describe the use of this methodology for the enantioselective, organocatalyzed -amination of 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds. Biotransformations have been one of the methodologies for more efficient synthesis of natural products. Prof. Wu transforms ergostane triterpenoid antcin K using Psychrobacillus sp. Ak 187. Finally, Prof. Kovayashi reviews the total synthesis and biological evaluation of phaeosphaerides. The reader, through this issue, could gain an idea of the new directions that the synthesis of natural products using catalysts will have in the years to come.

This Special Issue looks forward as well as backward to best analyze the forest conservation challenges of the Caribbean. This is made possible by 75 years of research and applications by the United States Department of Agriculture, International Institute of Tropical Forestry (the Institute) of Puerto Rico. It transforms Holocene-based scientific paradigms of the tropics into Anthropocene applications and outlooks of wilderness, managed forests, and urban environments. This volume showcases how the focus of the Institute’s programs is evolving to support sustainable tropical forest conservation despite uncertain conditions. The manuscripts showcased here highlight the importance of shared stewardship and a long-term, hands-on approach to conservation, research programs, and novel organizations intended to meet contemporary conservation challenges. Policies relevant to the Anthropocene, as well as the use of experiments to anticipate future responses of tropical forests to global warming, are reexamined in these pages. Urban topics include how cities can co-produce new knowledge to spark sustainable and resilient transformations. Long-term results and research applications of topics such as soil biota, migratory birds, tropical vegetation, substrate chemistry, and the tropical carbon cycle are also described in the volume. Moreover, the question of how to best use land on a tropical island is addressed. This volume is intended to be of interest to all actors involved in long-term sustainable forest management and research in light of the historical lessons and future directions that may come out of a better understanding of tropical cities and forests in the Anthropocene epoch.

Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) is an emerging zoonotic coronavirus. First identified in 2012, MERS-CoV has caused over 2460 infections and a fatality rate of about 35% in humans. Similar to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV), MERS-CoV likely originated from bats; however, different from SARS-CoV, which potentially utilized palm civets as its intermediate hosts, MERS-CoV likely transmits to humans through dromedary camels. Animal models, such as humanized mice and nonhuman primates, have been developed for studying MERS-CoV infection. Currently, there are no vaccines and therapeutics approved for the prevention and treatment of MERS-CoV infection, although a number of them have been developed preclinically or tested clinically. This book covers one editorial and 16 articles (including seven review articles and nine original research papers) written by researchers working in the field of MERS-CoV. It describes the following three main aspects: (1) MERS-CoV epidemiology, transmission, and pathogenesis; (2) current progress on MERS-CoV animal models, vaccines, and therapeutics; and (3) challenges and future prospects for MERS-CoV research. Overall, this book will help researchers in the MERS-CoV field to further advance their work on the virus. It also has important implications for other coronaviruses as well as viruses outside the coronavirus family with pandemic potentials.

This Special Issue on “Blood-Derived Products for Tissue Repair and Regeneration” reveals the evolution and diversity of platelet rich plasma (PRP) technologies, which includes experimental research on novel formulations, the creation of combination therapies, and the exploration of potential modifiers of PRPs, as well as efficacy of PRP therapies in clinical veterinary and human applications. Scientist and clinicians are now starting to develop different treatments based on their reinterpretation of the traditional roles of platelets and plasma, and the current Issue has provided a forum for sharing research and ways of understanding the associated medicinal benefits from different points of view. The research interest in this area has covered different medical disciplines, such as ophthalmology, dentistry, orthopedics, and sports medicine.

Rivers are an excellent witness of the dynamics affecting Earth’s surface due to their sedimentary products and morphological expression, which may be considered as fluvial archives. Until now, the focus has been on evaluating the general impact of individual external factors. However, the importance of the specific environmental characteristics of these factors has become increasingly recognized, as highlighted in recent case studies. For example, the effects of regional climate, differentiated topography and vegetation, and frozen ground appear to play an essential role in the evolution of the fluvial system. Integration of such environmental conditions in the processes that were active within the complex fluvial system will open new perspectives in our progressive understanding of the evolution of landscape form, ecology, sediment fluxes, and hydrology of the system within the framework of the external drivers such as tectonics, general climate, and human activity. This is an appealing challenge that we wish to address in the present Special Issue under the aegis of the Fluvial Archives Group (FLAG).

Dual specificity phosphatases (DUSPs) constitute a heterogeneous group of protein tyrosine phosphatases with the ability to dephosphorylate Ser/Thr and Tyr residues from proteins, as well as from other non-proteinaceous substrates including signaling lipids. DUSPs include, among others, MAP kinase (MAPK) phosphatases (MKPs) and small-size atypical DUSPs. MKPs are enzymes specialized in regulating the activity and subcellular location of MAPKs, whereas the function of small-size atypical DUSPs seems to be more diverse. DUSPs have emerged as key players in the regulation of cell growth, differentiation, stress response, and apoptosis. DUSPs regulate essential physiological processes, including immunity, neurobiology and metabolic homeostasis, and have been implicated in tumorigenesis, pathological inflammation and metabolic disorders. Accordingly, alterations in the expression or function of MKPs and small-size atypical DUSPs have consequences essential to human disease, making these enzymes potential biological markers and therapeutic targets. This Special Issue covers recent advances in the molecular mechanisms and biological functions of MKPs and small-size atypical DUSPs, and their relevance in human disease.

Acquiring knowledge is a life-long process; we constantly need to keep abreast of developments and progress in science and other disciplines. Embracing a scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) means practicing constant self-reflection, involving evaluation of the academic career and the ways in which strategies are designed to examine, interpret, and share learning about teaching. This practice not only yields benefits to the lecturer but also enriches the scholarly community in the discipline. In general, SoTL is regarded as a vibrant practice of ongoing self-criticism and sharing, which results in accumulated teaching experiences for teachers, students, and the teaching community at large.This book is a contribution from authors sharing their experiences, how their teaching portfolios reflect their personal development as teachers, and how their teaching experiences are embedded in the scholarship of teaching and learning.

The combination of distinct materials is a key issue in modern industry, whereas the driving concept is to design parts with the right material in the right place. In this framework, a great deal of attention is directed towards dissimilar welding and joining technologies. In the automotive sector, for instance, the concept of “tailored blanks”, introduced in the last decade, has further highlighted the necessity to weld dissimilar materials. As far as the aeronautic field is concerned, most structures are built combining very different materials and alloys, in order to match lightweight and structural performance requirements. In this framework, the application of fusion welding techniques, namely, tungsten inert gas or laser welding, is quite challenging due to the difference in physical properties, in particular the melting point, between adjoining materials. On the other hand, solid-state welding methods, such as the friction stir welding as well as linear friction welding processes, have already proved to be capable of manufacturing sound Al-Cu, Al-Ti, Al-SS, and Al-Mg joints, to cite but a few. Recently, promising results have also been obtained using hybrid methods. Considering the novelty of the topic, many relevant issues are still open, and many research groups are continuously publishing valuable results. The aim of this book is to finalize the latest contributions on this topic.

The practical importance of economic valuation information can hardly be overstated. Coastal and marine resource policy planning and management benefit from complete information on the impact of policy decisions.  In addition, proper accounting of the impacts of these policy decisions is necessary for benefit-cost analyses and measurements of economic growth over time. This special issue focuses on economic valuation of coastal and marine ecosystem services. Economic valuation provides methods and techniques to determine how changes in coastal and marine ecosystem services can be translated into benefits and costs to society. Economic values play an important role in everyday life and provide useful information about human welfare and happiness. Valuation provides a consistent framework to understand human-nature interactions across a broad range of coastal and marine resources, and to evaluate the costs and benefits of these interactions. The focus on ecosystem services provides new research on this perspective of human-nature interactions that has profoundly changed the academic dialogue on natural systems, but has had limited impact on public dialogue and the policy process.

A screenshot of some the most rapidly evolving fields in Neonatology and Pediatrics with articles reviewing some metabolic dysregulations as well as non-oncologic diseases that may occur in infancy, childhood, youth. The illustrative material with original photographs and drawings highlighting some pathogenetic concepts are keystones of this book.

This book comprises ten articles covering different aspects of power quality issues in microgrids and distributed generation (DG) systems, including 1) Detection and estimation of power quality; 2) Modeling; 3) Harmonic control for DG systems and microgrids; 4) Stability improvements for microgrids. Different power quality phenomena and solution were studied in the included papers, such as harmonics, resonance, frequency deviation, voltage sag, and fluctuation. From a network point of view, some papers studied the harmonic and stability issues in standalone microgrids which are more likely to cause power quality problems. Other papers discussed the power quality problems in microgrids which are weakly interconnected with the main distribution grid. In view of the published papers, there is a trend that increasingly advanced modeling, analysis, and control schemes were applied in the studies. Moreover, the latest works focus not only on single-unit problems but also multiple units or network issues. Although some of the hot topics are not included, this book covers multiple aspects of the current power quality research frontier, and represents a particularly useful reference book for frontier researchers in this field.

Solving nonlinear equations in Banach spaces (real or complex nonlinear equations, nonlinear systems, and nonlinear matrix equations, among others), is a non-trivial task that involves many areas of science and technology. Usually the solution is not directly affordable and require an approach using iterative algorithms.This Special Issue focuses mainly on the design, analysis of convergence, and stability of new schemes for solving nonlinear problems and their application to practical problems. Included papers study the following topics: Methods for finding simple or multiple roots either with or without derivatives, iterative methods for approximating different generalized inverses, real or complex dynamics associated to the rational functions resulting from the application of an iterative method on a polynomial. Additionally, the analysis of the convergence has been carried out by means of different sufficient conditions assuring the local, semilocal, or global convergence.This Special issue has allowed us to present the latest research results in the area of iterative processes for solving nonlinear equations as well as systems and matrix equations. In addition to the theoretical papers, several manuscripts on signal processing, nonlinear integral equations, or partial differential equations, reveal the connection between iterative methods and other branches of science and engineering.

The aim of this special issue is to publish original research papers that cover recent advances in the theory and application of stochastic processes. There is especial focus on applications of stochastic processes as models of dynamic phenomena in various research areas, such as queuing theory, physics, biology, economics, medicine, reliability theory, and financial mathematics. Potential topics include, but are not limited to: Markov chains and processes; large deviations and limit theorems; random motions; stochastic biological model; reliability, availability, maintenance, inspection; queueing models; queueing network models; computational methods for stochastic models; applications to risk theory, insurance and mathematical finance.

Computational intelligence is a general term for a class of algorithms designed by nature's wisdom and human intelligence. Computer scientists have proposed many computational intelligence algorithms with heuristic features. These algorithms either mimic the evolutionary processes of the biological world, mimic the physiological structure and bodily functions of the organism,  imitate the behavior of the animal's group, mimic the characteristics of human thought, language, and memory processes, or mimic the physical phenomena of nature, hoping to simulate the wisdom of nature and humanity enables an optimal solution to the problem and solves an acceptable solution in an acceptable time. Computational intelligent algorithms have received extensive attention at home and abroad, and have become an important research direction of artificial intelligence and computer science. This book will introduce the application of intelligent optimization algorithms in detail from the aspects of computational intelligence, job shop scheduling problems, multi-objective optimization problems, and machine learning

This book is a collection of studies focused on the exploitation of enzyme stereoselectivity for the synthesis of relevant chemicals, such as innovative materials, chiral building blocks, natural products, and flavor and fragrance compounds. Different catalytic approaches are reported. The first study describes a resolution-based process for the stereoselective synthesis of the enantiomeric forms of the flavor compound linaloyl oxide, whereas other enantiomeric enriched aroma compounds were obtained through a novel microbial approach based on solid-state fermentation. Two relevant works exploit the potential of the biocatalyzed reduction reactions. The first of these contributions describes the enantioselective synthesis of β-nitroalcohols by enzyme-mediated reduction of α-nitroketones, whereas a second contribution reports the preparation of chiral 1,4-diaryl-1,4-diols through ADH-catalyzed bioreduction of the corresponding diketones. Concerning enantioenriched alcohol derivatives, natural hydroxy fatty acids are prepared by means of the biocatalytic hydration reaction of natural fatty acids using the probiotic bacterium Lactobacillus rhamnosus as a whole-cell biocatalyst. Further studies describe the use of modified pullulan polysaccharide for lipase immobilization and the recent advances in synthetic applications of ω-transaminases for the production of chiral amines.

The massive increase in energy demand and the related rapid development of unconventional reservoirs has opened up exciting new energy supply opportunities along with new, seemingly intractable engineering and research challenges. The energy industry has primarily depended on a heuristic approach—rather than a systematic approach—to optimize and tackle the various challenges when developing new and improving the performance of existing unconventional reservoirs. Industry needs accurate estimations of well production performance and of the cumulative estimated ultimate reserves, accounting for uncertainty. This Special Issue presents 10 original and high-quality research articles related to the modeling of unconventional reservoirs, which showcase advanced methods for fractured reservoir simulation, and improved production forecasting techniques.

This book is dedicated to highlighting some relevant advances in the field of thin films and coatings based on two-dimensional crystals and layered nanomaterials. Due to their layered structure, graphene and a variety of new 2D inorganic nanosystems, called “graphene analogues”, have all attracted tremendous interest due to their unprecedented properties/superior performance, and may find applications in many fields from electronics to biotechnology. These two-dimensional systems are ultrathin and, hence, tend to be flexible, also presenting distinctive and nearly intrinsic characteristics, including electronic, magnetic, optical, thermal conductivity, and superconducting properties. Furthermore, the combination of different structures and synergetic effects may open new and unprecedented perspectives, making these ideal advanced materials for multifunctional assembled systems. As far as the field of coatings is concerned, new layered nanostructures may offer unique and multifunctional properties, including gas barrier, lubricant, conductive, magnetic, photoactive, self-cleaning, and/or antimicrobial surfaces. This book contains new findings on the synthesis and perspectives of multifunctional films that are at the forefront of the science and coating technologies.

By the late 1940s, and since then, the continuous development of dislocation theories have provided the basis for correlating the macroscopic time-dependent deformation of metals and alloys—known as creep—to the time-dependent processes taking place within the metals and alloys. High-temperature deformation and stress relaxation effects have also been explained and modeled on similar bases.The knowledge of high-temperature deformation as well as its modeling in conventional or unconventional situations is becoming clearer year by year, with new contemporary and better performing high-temperature materials being constantly produced and investigated.This book includes recent contributions covering relevant topics and materials in the field in an innovative way. In the first section, contributions are related to the general description of creep deformation, damage, and ductility, while in the second section, innovative testing techniques of creep deformation are presented. The third section deals with creep in the presence of complex loading/temperature changes and environmental effects, while the last section focuses on material microstructure–creep correlations for specific material classes.The quality and potential of specific materials and microstructures, testing conditions, and modeling as addressed by specific contributions will surely inspire scientists and technicians in their own innovative approaches and studies on creep and high-temperature deformation.

In this special issue of Diagnostics, expert contributors have produced up-to-date research studies and reviews on various topics related to the diagnosis of dementia and cognitive impairment. The methods of the assessments discussed extend from simple neurological signs, which may be elicited in the clinical encounter, through cognitive screening instruments, to sophisticated analyses of neuroimaging and cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers of disease. It is hoped that these various methods may facilitate earlier diagnosis of dementia and its subtypes, and provide differential diagnosis of depression and functional cognitive disorders, as a prelude to meaningful interventions.

The purpose of this Special Issue is to provide a thorough and up-to-date presentation of research investigating the impact of coffee and/or caffeine intake on various health outcomes.We welcome the submission of original research articles and/or systematic Reviews/meta-analyses focusing on several aspects of coffee/caffeine intake in relation to human health. Areas of interest include, but are not limited to, the following topics:Human clinical trials of coffee or caffeine use in relation to disease or intermediate phenotypes.Epidemiological studies of habitual coffee or caffeine intake in relation to human health, among the general public, as well as, among special populations (i.e., children, pregnant women, diabetics, cancer patients, hypertensives, etc.)Mechanisms of action of nutrients and other bioactive components of coffee/caffeine.Studies integrating genetic or physiological markers of coffee/caffeine intake to investigations of coffee and health.

This Special Issue reports research spanning from the analysis of indirect data, modeling, and laboratory and geological data confirming the intrinsic multidisciplinarity of gas hydrate studies. The study areas are (1) Arctic, (2) Brazil, (3) Chile, and (4) the Mediterranean region. The results furnished an important tessera of the knowledge about the relationship of a gas hydrate system with other complex natural phenomena such as climate change, slope stability and earthquakes, and human activities.

This book is a collection of papers written by leaders in the field of lateralized brain function and behaviour in non-human animals. The papers cover the asymmetry of brain mechanisms and behaviour in a wide range of both vertebrate and invertebrate species. Each paper focuses on one of the following topics: the link between population-level lateralization and social behaviour; the processes in the avian brain that permit one brain hemisphere to take control of behaviour; lateralized attention to predators and the common pattern of lateralization in vertebrate species; visual and auditory lateralization; influences that alter the development of lateralization—specifically, the effect of temperature on the development of lateralization in sharks; and the importance of understanding lateralization when considering both the training and welfare of dogs. Collectively, these studies address questions of why different species have asymmetry of brain and behaviour, how it develops, and how this is dealt with by these different species. The papers report on the lateralization of different types of behaviour, each going beyond merely reporting the presence of asymmetry and shedding light on its function and on the mechanisms involved in its expression.