Books published by Mdpi AG

Since the launch, in 1965, of the key notion of a fuzzy subset by Lotfi A. Zadeh, this concept has succeeded in growing interest and development. Nowadays, it is undoubtedly one of the most powerful and appealing branches of mathematics. Its range of applications is wide and multidisciplinary, starting from computer sciences and artificial intelligence, but also touching on a vast set of scientific disciplines (physics, engineering, medicine, economics, social choice, etc.).The present Special Issue is devoted to introducing new trends on this theory, from an interdisciplinary point of view, and looking for a wide coverage of topics related to fuzzy set and systems. 

This book is a printed edition of the Special Issue of Crystals: High-Pressure Studies of Crystalline Materials. It also includes additional articles published in Crystals and related to the topic of the Special Issue, which have been selected based upon their relevance and scientific quality.

This edited book presents new results in the area of algorithm development for different types of scheduling problems. In eleven chapters, algorithms for single machine problems, flow-shop and job-shop scheduling problems (including their hybrid (flexible) variants), the resource-constrained project scheduling problem,  scheduling problems in complex manufacturing systems and supply chains, and workflow scheduling problems are given. The chapters address such subjects as insertion heuristics for energy-efficient scheduling, the re-scheduling of train traffic in real time, control algorithms for short-term scheduling in manufacturing systems, bi-objective optimization of tortilla production, scheduling problems with uncertain (interval) processing times, workflow scheduling for digital signal processor (DSP) clusters, and many more.

Hydrogels are the foundation of regenerative medicine as a supportive matrix for cell immobilization and growth factor delivery. The fate of implanted cells is mediated by cell-matrix interaction at multiple scales and timed-release of growth factors to guide the differentiation and maturation of cells. Recently, there has been great interest in hydrogels with a hierarchical structure that mimics the complex interaction of cells with a microenvironment that can locally release growth factors to specific cells. Related topics in this Special Issue include hydrogels with a hierarchical structure; hybrid, degradable, and load-bearing hydrogels; hydrogels for cell encapsulation, micro-patterning, microfluidic devices, biofabrication, and high-throughput screening; and hydrogels that modulate the body’s immune response.

Optofluidics a niche research field that integrates optics with microfluidics. It started with elegant demonstrations of the passive interaction of light and liquid media such as liquid waveguides and liquid tunable lenses. Recently, the optofluidics continues the advance in liquid-based optical devices/systems. In addition, it has expanded rapidly into many other fields that involve lightwave (or photon) and liquid media. This Special Issue invites review articles (only review articles) that update the latest progress of the optofluidics in various aspects, such as new functional devices, new integrated systems, new fabrication techniques, new applications, etc. It covers, but is not limited to, topics such as micro-optics in liquid media, optofluidic sensors, integrated micro-optical systems, displays, optofluidics-on-fibers, optofluidic manipulation, energy and environmental applciations, and so on.

Image processing in agriculture and forestry represents a challenge towards the automation of tasks for better performances. Agronomists, computer and robotics engineers, and agricultural machinery industry manufacturers now have at their disposal a book containing a collection of methods, procedures, designs, and descriptions at the technological forefront, which serves as an important support and aid for the implementation and development of their own ideas. The book describes: (1) Applications (canopy on trees, aboveground biomass, phenotyping, chlorophyll, leaf area index, water and nutrient content, land cover change, soil properties, and secure autonomous navigation); (2) Imaging devices onboard robots, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and satellites operating at different spectral ranges (visible, infrared, hyper-multispectral bands, and radar), as well as guidelines for selecting machine vision systems in outdoor environments; and (3) (Specific computer vision methods (generic and convolutional neural networks, machine learning, specific segmentation approaches, vegetation indices, and three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction).

Document Image Processing allows systems like OCR, writer identification, writer recognition, check processing, historical document processing, etc., to extract useful information from document images. What we call a document image ranges from images of historical documents written on various surfaces, to synthetic images (useful for creating datasets) and videos including text. In order to succeed, many preprocessing tasks can be required: document skew detection and correction, slant removal, binarization and segmentation procedures, as well as other normalization tasks. These low-level tasks are generally followed by high-level tasks such as the recognition or spotting of textual elements (characters, words, or text lines). The intent of this Special Issue is to collect the experiences of leading scientists of the field, but also to be an assessment tool for people who are new to the world of document image processing. 

Metal matrix composites are a unique class of materials capable of circumventing the disadvantages of each category of materials they are composed of (polymers, metals, and ceramics). They can be designed using at least two categories of materials, harnessing their useful properties according to the designated end applications. In view of the compositional flexibility inherently associated with metal matrix composites, new materials with enhanced properties can be synthesized from practically all the metallic materials that are currently utilized in engineering and biomedical applications. This book, comprising 20 peer-reviewed papers, addresses the recent developments in the designing, processing, characterization, and potential applications of metal-based composites. The research articles cover composites based on light-weight materials (Al, Mg, and Ti) and other metal-based materials (Cu, Ag, and W), such as matrices and reinforcements from nano-length scales (such as ZnO, SiC, Y2O3, CNTs, Sm2O3, graphene oxide) to macro-length scales (such as tungsten fiber nets, saffil fibers etc.). The focus was placed almost equally on solid-state, liquid-state and two-phase synthesis techniques. Similarly, the elastic, mechanical, and thermal properties of the described composites are reported in detail. This compilation of papers will certainly be most useful for students, industrial professionals, and academics interested in learning and expanding their knowledge on metal-based composites.

This Special Issue focuses on recent research on the important emerging and neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) in South and South East Asia and Northern Australia. This region stretches from Afghanistan in the west to Papua New Guinea in the east, and includes the Indian subcontinent, mainland South-East Asia (Indo China), maritime South East Asia, and the tropical regions of Australia. Many of these areas are highly endemic for important NTDs and emerging infectious diseases including lymphatic filariasis, leprosy, soil-transmitted helminthiases (hookworm, Trichuris, Ascaris, and Strongyloides), food-borne trematodiases, schistosomiasis, dengue/chikungunya/zika, leptospirosis, meloidosis, scabies, trachoma, and yaws. Several of these diseases are targeted for elimination or enhanced control by the World Health Organization in the next 5 to 10 years, although some have chronic lasting sequelae needing lifelong management. Control methods used include preventive chemotherapy, enhanced screening and treatment, intensified disease management, vector control, interruption of human to animal transmission, environmental/sanitation improvements and disability prevention/mitigation.

Maternal mortality is still globally high  and  reducing it is a top priority. Teenage pregnancies have more complications and are also unwanted in many  cases. This contributes to the high maternal mortality with  both  obstetric complications and  burden of unsafe abortion.  Additionally, many teenagers live in areas  with  heavy pollution that  affects  the mother and  the unborn child.   Global public health is a very important issue that aims to prevent disease, prolong life, and promote physical, mental and  social well-being. Teenagers are the future, and  maternal death is a disaster that  should be prevented.  Hence, research should aim  to improve teenage reproductive health and  influence policy makers. There are a variety of topics in this issue, with some conclusions and ways forward as described in different papers in this book.

This Special Issue consists of selected papers from the Sustainable Asia Conference 2017, annual international conference which was held in Nanjing, China, from 23–28 June, 2017. SAC is one of the leading international conferences presenting novel and fundamental advances in Asia’s sustainable development issues. The purpose of the conference was for scientists, scholars, engineers, and students from universities and research institutes around the world to present ongoing research activities so as to promote global research networking in the area of sustainable development. This conference provides opportunities for the delegates to exchange new ideas and application experiences, face-to-face, to establish research or business relations, and to find global partners for future collaborations. The scope of this Special Issue encompassed topics related to sustainable development and management at both the macro- and micro-levels in Northeast Asian countries.

There has been significant research progress in the area of pavement materials and paving technologies in the past decade. This includes the use of warm mix asphalt technologies, rubber asphalt, bio asphalt, nanomaterial applications, new construction technologies, innovative concrete materials, as well as the application of mechanistic–empirical pavement design. With all these developments, a collection of peer-reviewed articles with the theme of advanced asphalt materials and paving technologies is necessary for industry, researchers, government agencies, and other stakeholders. This collection promotes new technology, low costs, high durability, environmental friendliness, and effective resource usage in the area of advanced asphalt materials and paving technologies.

This Special Issue will consist of selected papers from the Sustainable Asia Conference (SAC) 2014, an international conference which was held in Nanchang, China, from April 23–25, 2014. SAC 2014 is a leading conference for presenting novel and fundamental advances in Sustainable Development issues in Asia. The purpose of the conference is for scientists, scholars, engineers, and students from universities and research institutes around the world to present ongoing research activities, so as to promote global research networking in the sustainable development area. This conference provides opportunities for the delegates to exchange new ideas and application experiences face to face, to establish research or business relations, and to find global partners for future collaboration. The scope of this Special Issue encompasses topics related to sustainable development and management at both the macro- and micro-levels in Asian countries.

The dispersion of nanomaterials in liquid crystals, both of the thermotropic and the lyotropic kind, has attracted much interest over recent years. This is in part related to the success of liquid crystals in several applications, in particular flat screen displays, besides others. The dispersion of nanoparticles allows the fine-tuning of liquid crystalline properties and the addition of functionalities associated with the properties of the nanoparticles. These include the addition of ferroelectricity, magnetic properties, optic and plasmonic properties, for example through quantum dots and gold nanoparticles, but also directed conductivity, by exploiting the respective conductivity anisotropy of nanotubes. In addition, such behaviors can be achieved through transfer and templating of the self-organization of the liquid crystalline order onto dispersed anisotropic nanoparticles, allowing the formation of ordered nanostructures. Furthermore, the formation of partially ordered fluids can be induced by dispersing shape anisotropic nanoparticles in an isotropic solvent. Such lyotropic systems have recently experienced a revived interest. This genuinely multidisciplinary field of research has led to a wealth of novel systems in soft condensed matter and promises new applications in the areas of displays, optical elements, meta-materials, sensors, drug delivery, and many more. Various examples are presented in this publication.

Wildland fire is an important, pervasive, and a sometimes-destructive ecological process in many forest ecosystems across the globe. In some cases, wildland fire maintains and reinforces forest dynamics. This is common, for example, in forests with thick-barked species that are adapted to frequent, low-severity fires or in forests where species' regenerative traits (e.g., serotiny, resprouting) allow them to endure regimes of recurrent high-severity fire. However, wildland fire can also act as a catalyst that changes the successional trajectory of forest ecosystems, particularly if the factors responsible for historical fire regimes (e.g., frequency, severity, or season) have been substantially altered and exceed species' adaptive capacity. Examples of these situations include effects of extreme fire weather and drought, fuel buildup due to fire exclusion or insect-induced mortality, and interactions between these factors. Some of these situations may result in fire-induced conversions from forest to non-forest ecosystems.

One of the main aspirations of the European Union (EU) is the development of a pan-European health system with unhindered access to quality care, in all member states. The PHAR-QA “Quality Assurance in European Pharmacy Education and Training” project explored the realities surrounding this idea in the area of pharmacy. This book assembles a series of papers, already published in the journal “Pharmacy”, that describe the project: its origins, design, implementation, results, interpretation, and perspectives.

We welcome the submission of manuscripts, either describing original research, or reviewing scientific literature. Manuscripts should focus on well-defined topics, not previously reported extensively in the literature, such as (without being limited to):    functional aspects of fructose and glucose metabolism    health effects of chronic fructose and glucose consumption    molecular and mechanistic insights of hexoses-induced metabolic adaptations    sugars, sweet taste receptors and brain responses    intervention studies in humansPapers covering species comparisons of nutrition/metabolism or evolutionary perspectives, or effects of fructose and glucose in specific physiological conditions (physical activity, pregnancy, growth, etc.) or special tissues (testis, placenta) are welcome. 

We welcome the submission of manuscripts, either describing original research, or reviewing scientific literature. Manuscripts should focus on well-defined topics, not previously reported extensively in the literature, such as (without being limited to):    functional aspects of fructose and glucose metabolism    health effects of chronic fructose and glucose consumption    molecular and mechanistic insights of hexoses-induced metabolic adaptations    sugars, sweet taste receptors and brain responses    intervention studies in humansPapers covering species comparisons of nutrition/metabolism or evolutionary perspectives, or effects of fructose and glucose in specific physiological conditions (physical activity, pregnancy, growth, etc.) or special tissues (testis, placenta) are welcome. 

The book presents research papers addressing a wide range of environmental topics: water and wastewater treatment and management, soil degradation and conservation, sediment pollution control, environmental impacts of technologies, life cycle analysis (LCA), air quality and indoor environment, and advanced environmental materials. The contributions provide novel and significant scientific results and advanced applications in the field of environmental engineering and provide an integrated view of the trends in solving the problems associated with the achievement of sustainability.

This Special Issue will look at the advances made in the essential oils. Essential oils have received increasing attention as natural additives for the shelf-life extension of food products, due to the risk in using synthetic preservatives. Synthetic additives can reduce food spoilage, but the present generation is very health conscious and believes in natural products rather than synthetic ones due to their potential toxicity and other concerns. Therefore, one of the major emerging technologies is the extraction of essential oils from several plant organs and their application to foods. Essential oils are a good source of several bioactive compounds, which possess antioxidative and antimicrobial properties, so their use can be very useful to extend the food shelf-life. Although essential oils have been shown to be promising alternative to chemical preservatives, they present special limitations that must be solved before their application in food systems. Low water solubility, high volatility and strong odor are the main properties that make it difficult for food applications. Recent advances refer to new forms of application to avoid these problems are currently under study. Their application into packaging materials and coated films but also directly into the food matrix as emulsions, nanoemulsions, coated and others are some of their new applications.

Bacterial proliferation is a severe and increasing concern in everyday life, which accounts for important damage in a number of industries, from textile and marine transport to medicine and food packaging. Despite the huge efforts by academic and industry researchers, a universal solution for controlling bacterial colonization has not been established yet. In this regard, nanomaterials are more and more used to target bacteria as an alternative to antibiotics. Examples include the use of nanomaterials in antibacterial coatings for implantable devices and other materials to prevent infection and promote wound healing and in antibiotic delivery systems to treat diseases. By exploiting the excellent antibacterial properties of some materials at the nanoscale, namely ZnO, TiO2, Ag, Au, nanodiamond and graphene, effective strategies for the prevention of infections can be developed.The main focus of this book is, therefore, to present selected examples of the most recent advances in the synthesis, characterization, and applications of nanomaterials with antibacterial activity. The book is addressed to scientists and industry researchers, as well as to master and degree students in chemistry, pharmacy, bioengineering, biology and materials science. The Editor would like to thank the staff of Nanomaterials Editorial Office for the constant help and support. 

Watershed hydrology is driven by climate forcing, near ground surface characteristics, and human activities, addressing a wide spectrum of environmental and water resource problems regarding both scientific-driven questions and practical engineering issues. This book collates watershed problems and solutions from around the world covering diverse climate types. These cases show complex interactions between hydrological processes and environmental conditions and scientific methods for understanding the hydrological regime and management of human activities. This book can be used as a state-of-the-art resource for academic researchers and water resource professionals, and will also appeal to students, scholars, and general readers interested in watershed models, water management, environmental management, climate change impact assessment, or ecohydrologic interactions. 

This book collects various original contributions to the subject of higher spin gauge theory, as well as four review papers on the topic. The papers investigate the role of gauge fields with spin higher than two in the framework of classical and quantum field theories, the AdS/CFT correspondence and string theory.