Books published by Mdpi AG

Discontinuous fiber-reinforced polymers have gained importance in the transportation industries due to their outstanding material properties, lower manufacturing costs and superior lightweight characteristics. One of the most attractive attributes of discontinuous fiber reinforced composites is the ease with which they can be manufactured in large numbers, using injection and compression molding processes.Typical processes involving discontinuous fiber reinforced thermoplastic composite materials include injection and compression molding processes as well as extrusion. Furthermore, the automotive and appliance industries also use thermosets reinforced with chopped fibers in the form of sheet molding compound and bulk molding compound, for compression and injection-compression molding processes, respectively.A big disadvantage of discontinuous fiber composites is that the configuration of the reinforcing fibers is significantly changed throughout production process, reflected in the form of fiber attrition, excessive fiber orientation, fiber jamming and fiber matrix separation. This process-induced variation of the microstructural fiber properties within the molded part introduces heterogeneity and anisotropies to the mechanical properties, which can limit the potential of discontinuous fiber reinforced composites for lightweight applications.The main aim of this Special Issue is to collect various investigations focused on the processing of discontinuous fiber reinforced composites and the effect processing has on fiber orientation, fiber length and fiber density distributions throughout the final part. Papers presenting investigations on the effect fiber configurations have on the mechanical properties of the final composite products and materials are welcome in the Special Issue. Researchers who are modeling and simulating processes involving discontinuous fiber composites as well as those performing experimental studies involving these composites are welcomed to submit papers. Authors are encouraged to present new models, constitutive laws and measuring and monitoring techniques to provide a complete framework on these groundbreaking materials and facilitate their use in different engineering applications.

ca. 200 words; this text will present the book in all promotional forms (e.g. flyers). Please describe the book in straightforward and consumer-friendly terms. Our lives are being transformed by the interplay between mobile networks, wireless communications, and artificial intelligence. This transformation is an outcome of the emerging Internet of Things (IoT) concept and advancements in computer architecture that translate into high computing power, high-performance processing, and huge memory capacities. In addition to the IoT, cyber-physical systems aim for the seamless integration of physical systems with computing and communication resources. Furthermore, in urban areas, the integration of “software-defined sensor networks” and “sensing as a service” concepts with legacy WSN-based systems is leading to the transformation of conventional city services towards smart cities. Smart energy, smart driving, smart homes, smart living, smart governance, and smart health are just a few services that smart cities can offer. This book focuses on novel solutions for wireless sensor and actuator networks in smart cities. This Special Issue invites academic and industry researchers in computer science and engineering, electrical engineering, and communication engineering, as well as ICT industry engineers and practitioners, to contribute original articles in all aspects of wireless sensor networks and actuator systems for smart cities.

ca. 200 words; this text will present the book in all promotional forms (e.g. flyers). Please describe the book in straightforward and consumer-friendly terms.[Mathematical optimization is the selection of the best element in a set with respect to a given criterion. Optimization has become one of the most-used tools in modern control theory for computing the control law, adjusting the controller parameters (tuning), model fitting, and finding suitable conditions in order to fulfill a given closed-loop property, among others. In the simplest case, optimization consists of maximizing or minimizing a function by systematically choosing input values from a valid input set and computing the function value. Nevertheless, real-world control systems need to comply with several conditions and constraints that have to be taken into account in the problem formulation—these represent challenges in the application of the optimization algorithms. The aim of this Special Issue is to offer the state-of-the-art of the most advanced optimization techniques (online and offline) and their applications in control engineering.]

The engineering and utilization of biocomposites is a research field of major scientific and industrial interest worldwide. The biocomposite area is extensive and spans from structured and solid biocomposites (e.g., reinforced bioabsorbable polymers), films (e.g., antimicrobial barriers), to soft biocomposites (e.g., use of alginates, collagen and nanocellulose as components in bioinks for 3D bioprinting). Key aspects in this respect are the appropriate engineering and production of biomaterials, nanofibres, bioplastics, their functionalization enabling intelligent and active materials, processes for effective manufacturing of biocomposites and the corresponding characterization for understanding their properties.The current Special Issue emphasizes the bio-technological engineering of novel biomaterials and biocomposites, considering also important safety aspects in the production and use of bio- and nanomaterials.

This book includes updated information about microRNA regulation, for example, in the fields of circular RNAs, multiomics analysis, biomarkers and oncogenes. The variety of topics included in this book reaffirms the extent to which microRNA regulation affects biological processes. Although microRNAs are not translated to proteins, their importance for biological processes is not less than proteins. An understanding of their roles in various biological processes is critical to understanding gene function in these biological processes. Although non-coding RNAs other than microRNAs have recently come under investigation, microRNA still remains the front runner as the subject of genetic and biological studies. In reading the collection of papers, readers can grasp the most updated information regarding microRNA regulation, which will continue to be an important topic in genetics and biology.