Böcker utgivna av Mdpi AG

Machine learning and deep learning have made tremendous progress over the last decade and have become the de facto standard across a wide range of image, video, text, and sound processing domains, from object recognition to image generation. Recently, deep learning and deep reinforcement learning have begun to develop end-to-end training to solve more complex operation research and combinatorial optimization problems, such as covering problems, vehicle routing problems, traveling salesman problems, scheduling problems, and other complex problems requiring general simulations. These methods also sometimes include classic search and optimization algorithms for machine learning, such as Monte Carlo Tree Search in AlphaGO. The present reprint contains all of the articles accepted and published in the Special Issue of Mathematics entitled "Advances in Machine Learning and Mathematical Modeling for Optimization Problems". The articles presented in this Special Issue provide insights into related fields, including models, performance evaluation and improvements, and application developments. We hope that readers will benefit from the insights of these papers and contribute to these rapidly growing areas. We also hope that this Special Issue will shed light on major developments in the area of machine learning and mathematical modeling for optimization problems and that it will attract the attention of the scientific community to pursue further investigations, leading to the rapid implementation of these techniques.

As base metals, zinc and lead are widely developed in various types of deposits. Zinc and lead also form various types of independent deposits and are associated with a variety of critical metals. Zn-Pb deposits occupy an important position in the world, including volcanic-hosted massive sulphide (VHMS/VMS), magmatic-hydrothermal-associated skarn and/or epithermal types, sediment-hosted types (e.g., clastic-hosted sedimentary exhalative, SEDEX; carbonate-hosted Mississippi Valley type, MVT; sandstone-hosted type, SST; and shale-hosted type), and hydrothermal vein types. This Special Issue reprint aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of Zn-Pb deposits and associated critical metals, and promote global prospecting.

This reprint focuses on the position of sustainability in engineering and points to the multidimensionality of the issue. Architecture, civil and engineering issues are main themes of discussion, with special attention to research and design. Attention is focused on four thematic groups: energy (including energy harvesting), economy (including building circularity), pro-health activities, and design.

The aim of this Special Issue is to present the latest advances in new horticultural propagation and breeding methods. The Special Issue "The State-of-the-Art Propagation and Breeding Techniques for Horticulture Crops" brings together some of the latest research results of new techniques in this field. It presents twelve original papers, which deal with a wide range of research activities.

Digital and spatial studies of religions have developed rapidly as prominent research fields over the last two decades. This "spatial turn" has rippled through humanities and social sciences disciplines, and digital and spatial perspectives now occupy a central position in religious studies. However, various research efforts have led to disparate approaches to the digital and spatial study of religions without providing integrated and synergized connections between the digitalization and visualization of religious studies.This reprint aims to support and promote both digital and spatial studies of religions through interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary perspectives, including those of all historical periods, regions, and religions. Collectively, this reprint demonstrates that digital and spatial studies are unique and constructive ways of discovering, developing, and delivering religious studies that remain undiscovered or unaddressed through conventional research methodology. In an effort to supplement the current digital humanities in general, and the spatial study of religions in particular, the reprint presents theoretical or applied research papers on Chinese religious sites and mapping that are theory-driven, innovative, and data-based.

In this reprint, several original pieces of research and reviews are collected on the topic of "Polymorphism in Crystals," including the crystal structure determinations, the phase transformation studies, the thermodynamic and dissolution properties studies, the regulation of polymorph by additives and templates, the intensifications of the crystallization process, etc. This reprint aims to present and disseminate recent advancements in the design and use of polymorphism in crystals with desired qualities using crystal engineering. This reprint aims to enhance our understanding of polymorphism in crystals and their remarkably potential applications in pharmaceuticals, fine chemicals, and photoelectric industries.

This reprint relating the Insurtech, Proptech, and Fintech environments tries to provide a wide range of perspectives about these sectors, focusing on fields such as financial technology, banking, insurance, real estate, digital implementation, and quantitative analysis, among others.It is beyond any doubt that this sector is probably one of the most relevant and disrupting new markets in recent years, with a great potential to generate collaborations with financial institutions and the insurance world, which jointly grow towards a more innovative business model.The lines between financial services and technology have blurred to the point that the previously distinct sectors are colliding. In effect, digital-only banks are offering redesigned client propositions and cost profiles, and consumers are ready for the digital shake-up.The Special Issue "Insurtech, Proptech, and Fintech Environment: Sustainability, Global Trends and Opportunities" has included original contributions demonstrating significant advancements, innovations, relevance, and potential growth in this sector in the forthcoming years. We have also focused on the main forms of interaction between banks and FinTech companies.

The theme is related to "Large Parks on Post-industrial Sites in Contemporary Urban Landscape Conceptions", which is expounded in the fields of landscape architecture, landscape ecology and urban planning. A worldwide perspective is created so as to conduct cross-cultural research on the theories and practices of large-scale urban parks in North America, Germany and China. Through the scientific approach of 'critical rationalism', three design paradigms of large parks in different conceptions of contemporary urban landscapes are formulated based on quantitative and qualitative analysis, which are classified as the organic parks of North American 'landscape urbanism', the structural parks of German 'landscape structuralism' and the large parks of Chinese 'urban inventory renewal'. By means of critical thinking in diverse cultural interpretations, the research aims to reveal remarkable similarities and differences between the cultures in the Western world according to their understanding of landscapes (coherent vs. creative), landscape and ecology (representation vs. metaphor), and landscape and life (diversity vs. unpredictability). Through theoretical analysis and case studies, it demonstrates that the international park paradigms characterised by complexity, diversity, sustainability, appropriation and identity can influence various socio-cultural, ecological, and aesthetic developments. Finally, the analytical results of the two park paradigms in Western countries are adopted in the examination of landscape architectural park models and urbanistic theoretical frameworks in China. This monograph is written primarily for scholars, professionals and students in the fields of landscape architecture, urban planning and architecture. The book, involving in-depth analysis about urban parks, green open spaces, green infrastructure and post-industrial landscapes, will have international appeal. It will appeal to readers at different levels. Above all, it may be of interest to professionals who are concerned with the topics urban parks and post-industrial landscapes, as well as Chinese scholars and experts, particularly those looking at China's urban renewal and the ongoing transformation of post-industrial sites at different scales. This book will have strong implications for relevant urban landscape practices in China. Furthermore, it will be supported by the author's colleagues from various countries such as Germany, Italy, USA, Canada, Brazil and China. Moreover, students to whom the author teaches courses of Landscape Architecture History and Theory and Landscape Planning and Design at BUCEA, as well as the international students at Collaborative Classes organized by BUCEA, TUM, and POLIMI (Politecnico di Milano, Italy), are encouraged to read this book.

This Special Issue aimed to compile original and cutting-edge research works in the fields of plasma process, polymerization, synthesis, characterization, treatment, modification, manufacturing, and applications of functional plasma-processed polymers.

The presence of pollutants (i.e., emerging contaminants, radionuclides, potential toxic metals, dyes, etc.) in water has a negative impact on the environment and presents a potential health risk for inhabitants. Among the existing technologies (i.e., advanced oxidation process, membrane filtration, biodegradation, etc.) that are used to remove them from water, adsorption has garnered significant interest due to its low cost and fast removal. The development of advanced materials and their application for water treatments have recently caught the attention of researchers.This reprint aimed to establish updated information on adsorption technology for water and wastewater treatments. The submissions selected for this SI focus on (1) applying reality technology for water and wastewater treatments and (2) exploring detailed adsorption mechanisms using current data (i.e., comparing changes in the properties of adsorbents before and after adsorption using appropriate techniques).

The "Advance in Molecularly Imprinted Polymers" Special Issue establishes a connection between original research papers and reviews that showcase recent progress in the formulation, creation, and wide-ranging utilization of molecularly imprinted polymers. The content within this Special Issue encompasses a range of subjects pertaining to the chemistry of MIPs, encompassing aspects such as molecular modeling, the utilization of novel monomers and innovative synthesis methods for crafting MIPs, the synthesis and application of ion-imprinted materials, the selective extraction of organic compounds, the preparation of sensors, and the implementation of MIPs in the field of medicine. The compilation of scientific papers presented in this collection demonstrates the diverse landscape of research within MIPs chemistry, ultimately leading to the enhancement of desired traits and the exploration of fresh potential applications for these materials.

This collection of essays addresses a range of topics probing the interface between religious practice and the COVID-19 pandemic. Significant attention is given to religious and cultural debates over health care policy as well as vaccination policy development in the United States, but contributions from Africa, Asia, South America, and Europe are included as well. In addition to the North American perspectives (with an emphasis on the white evangelical Christian encounter with public health regulation), the volume highlights voices from Islamic Nigeria and southern Africa, traditional Confucian culture, Greek Orthodoxy, Catholic social teaching, as well as the insights of Häha yoga from the Hindu tradition.

Since the first release of a horticultural crop (grapevine) genome in 2007, hundreds of genome sequences from horticultural plants have been made available to the public. These sequences have facilitated the decoding of genes responsible for the horticultural traits of horticultural crops, including fruit crops, vegetable crops, ornamental crops, beverage crops, and medicinal crops, to an unprecedented degree. In order to promote the findings in this area, Horticulturae is launching a Special Issue entitled "Genomic Analyses and New Breeding Technologies for the Enhancement of Horticultural Plants". The focus of this Special Issue will be analysing the genes responsible for horticultural traits and investigating the use of breeding technologies for horticultural crops.

Crystallization is an important industrial process, a purification technique, a separation process and a branch of particle technology. It also encompasses the key areas of chemical and process engineering. industrial crystallization products include bulk chemicals such as sodium chloride and sucrose; fertilizer chemicals such as potassium chloride and urea; valuable products such as pharmaceuticals, platinum group metal salts, high grade materials for battery production and organic fine chemicals; engineered nanoparticles and crystals for the electronics industry as well as biotechnology products such as protein crystals. Industrial crystallization also encompasses the use of crystallization in water and effluent treatment. The overall theme of this Special Issue is how industrial crystallization is informed by the theoretical concepts of crystallization, and how practical understanding in the field is enhanced through applied research. The Special Issue is dedicated to Professor Gerda van Rosmalen who was a pioneer in this field. She developed the field of industrial crystallization research through her original approach and was regarded globally as a pre-eminent figure in the field. Additionally, this Special Issue provides a basis for the in-depth and comprehensive manuscripts of several oral poster contributions of ISIC 2021-held as an online event from August 30 to September 2, 2021.

This Special Issue contains 25 articles about mental health considering various cross-cultural perspectives. The findings and insights obtained from these articles will help researchers, practitioners, educators, students, and the general public to better understand mental health from different perspectives. We hope that such insights will help build a more compassionate world, instead of a stigmatised one.

Perennial woody plants usually face multifactorial adverse conditions during their long lifespan, which impairs their growth and productivity. To cope with these adverse conditions, trees deploy morphyological, physiological and molecular responses to adapt to the environmental constraints. By using high-throughput sequencing and bioinformatic approaches, many hub genes that are involved in stress response were identified. In recent years, with the advantages of transgenic technology in woody plants, many candidate genes participating in stress responses were functionally characterized and showed great potential for tree improvement under different stresses. On the other hand, cultivation strategies (including beneficial microorganism investigation, beneficial microorganism inoculation, mixed forest and so on) also play crucial roles in tree improvement under abiotic and biotic stress.

Musculoskeletal (MSK) disorders are among the top five contributors to disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) worldwide. These disorders include a wide range of conditions, spanning from fractures, sports injuries, rheumatoid arthritis, and musculoskeletal pain syndromes to those mostly affecting older age groups like osteoarthritis and osteoporosis. MSK conditions often present diagnostic challenges due to overlapping symptoms, complex anatomical aspects, and the variety of potential causes. Imaging plays a pivotal role in diagnosing and guiding treatment for these disorders. In the past decade, the MSK radiology field has witnessed significant progress driven by breakthroughs in artificial intelligence (AI), the development of high-resolution equipment and novel imaging sequences, and the adoption of innovative multidisciplinary approaches. This Special Issue on skeletal radiology brings together a diverse collection of articles that showcase the latest advancements in this field. From evaluating flatfoot to exploring emerging targets for osteoarthritis treatment, the included studies provide valuable insights into diagnostic accuracy and the expanding applications of skeletal radiology techniques. This editorial aims to highlight the significance of these articles and their contributions to the field of skeletal radiology.

Nowadays, computational and mathematical methods provide effective tools for handling vast quantities of data and information in the fields of big data analytics, knowledge discovery and decision-making for solving complex problems in the world. The present reprint contains all of the articles accepted and published in the first edition of the Special Issue titled "Computational and Mathematical Methods in Information Science and Engineering". The objective of this Special Issue is to provide a channel through which members of the scientific community can exchange insights regarding recent advances in the theory and application of computational and mathematical methods in information science and engineering, with the long-term goal being to solve data-handling problems in practice. We hope that the papers published in this Special Issue will be considered impactful by the international scientific community and motivate further research into computational and mathematical methods that can solve complex problems in various fields and applications.

The most important class of polymers is block copolymers (BCPs) since they can be prepared through different methods and exhibit various properties combined with chemically different segments. The importance of block copolymers can be supported by the multitude of related manuscripts published daily, their use in practical applications in almost all areas, and novel discoveries based on BCPs in many aspects of life. This Special Issue focuses on various matters from different areas of block copolymer research, showing advances and applications in self-assembly, crystallization, synthesis, chemical modification, 3D printing, membranes, energy materials, nanotechnology, hybrid materials, micelles, order-disorder transition, and biomaterials.

In the last decade, design and material innovations for manufacturing composites have reached new heights. Thermoplastic polymers and their composites have become the most in-demand materials in recent times as they provide numerous advantages over thermoset composites. Thermoplastic polymers have a high damage tolerance, high impact resistance, recyclability, formability, weldability, repairability, and cost-effectiveness compared with thermoset composites. Thermoplastic polymers and composites are widely used in automotive, aerospace, electrical and electronics, industrial, and medical applications. Thermoplastic composites are estimated to grow from USD 28.0 billion in 2019 to USD 36.0 billion by 2024. High-performance thermoplastic materials are used in conjunction with a multitude of manufacturing processes like injection moulding, thermoforming, prepreg, liquid injection processes, automated tape placement, filament winding, pultrusion, additive manufacturing, and other processes. The material limits, design, and assembly requirements, as well as the processing constraints, are significantly important for the realisation of novel product development using a manufacturing process by simultaneously optimising reliability, safety, and other performance-related issues. The current thermoplastic material systems and manufacturing techniques still have plenty of room for optimisation and advancement. This reprint presents the latest scientific and technical advances in thermoplastic materials and their composites, processing, characterisation, product development, and manufacturing process parameter optimisations.

This edited volume, "Research on Corporate Sustainability", contains reports written by experts in their areas of specialization. The volume begins by introducing a report on the interim system theory of corporate sustainability, which fills in the gap in the predominantly empirical field of corporate sustainability, and is followed by three reports on organizational resilience that are widely regarded as sustainability outcomes. Another set of reports is concerned with sustainable tourism and community development, as sustainable community development can often be sustained by the people who live there. Finally, the edited volume concludes with two reports on sustainable supply chain management and climate finance, which are seen as critical aspects of sustainable development.

Microstructure design is key in targeting the desired material's properties. Contributions related to microstructure design and characterization are collected in this Topic, together with their relation to the mechanical, fatigue, wear and corrosion resistance of different kinds of metals and alloys. The goal of this Topic is to present contributions related to the relationship between the microstructure and properties of metals and alloys for different applications, including aeronautical and aerospace applications. Different process routes are considered (thermo-mechanical routes and additive manufacturing) in this Topic. Contributions related to welding are also included.

Among terrestrial ecosystems, forests play a dominant role in maintaining biodiversity and providing ecosystem functioning, such as nutrient cycling, carbon sequestration, and ecosystem stability. Over the past several decades, however, global forests are facing unprecedented pressure from climate change and anthropogenic disturbances, resulting in a high rate of biodiversity loss due to deforestation, fragmentation, and degradation. Determining how to maintain biodiversity is extremely urgent if we want to achieve the aims of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The complex structure, species interaction, heterogenic environment, and regional species pool all affect the spatial and temporal patterns of forest species, but it is still unclear how these effects maintain long-term forest biodiversity as forests undergo rapid variations in habitat features under global change. This reprint includes sixteen published articles related to the dynamics of forest spatial structure, community assembly, forest recovery patterns after disturbance, spatial distribution of species diversity, effects of abiotic and biotic variables on understory species diversity, and above- and below-ground biotic interactions. These studies cover different forest types across varied spatial and temporal scales, as well as different biological groups (plants, birds and microbes). We acknowledge all authors who contributed to this reprint "Maintenance of Forest Biodiversity" of Forests. We hope this reprint can improve our understanding of the underlying mechanisms of forest biodiversity maintenance.

The aim of this reprint is to report on new scenarios, technologies, and applications related to the concept of the Internet of Everything and discuss challenges and risks.We introduced a wide range of topics related to emerging technologies. This reprint includes research on vendor-managed inventory mechanisms based on the SCADA of the Internet of Things, in-memory computing architecture for a convolutional neural network, face prediction system for missing children in a smart city safety network, anomaly electricity usage behavior in residence using an autoencoder, cloud-edge-smart IoT architecture for speeding up the deployment of neural network models, generative adversarial network and diverse feature extraction methods to enhance the classification accuracy of the tool-wear status, classifying conditions of speckles and wrinkles on the human face using a deep learning approach, repetition with learning approaches in massive machine-type communications, GDPR personal privacy security mechanism for smart home systems, and the development of an autonomous vehicle training and verification system. These articles demonstrate the rapid advances being made in the field of electronics and highlight the potential for these technologies to impact our daily lives.

Current advances in the knowledge of nonlinear dynamical networks, systems and processes, as well as their unified repercussions, allow us to include some typical complex natural phenomena, from the nanoscale to an extra-galactic scale, in an unitarian comprehensive manner. In other words, the physical, biological and financial data, as well as technological ones (mechanical or electronic devices), of complex systems available today can be managed by the same unique conceptual approach, both analytically and through a computer simulation, using effective nonlinear dynamics procedures. This volume collected some important advances in the fields of fractal curves, fractal analysis and fractional calculus, as well as new solutions of fractal differential equations. The works edited in the present technical publication are those that appeared in the Fractal and Fractional journal, in a Special Issue of the same name.

With the development of computer technology and communication technology, various industries have collected a large amount of data in different forms, so-called big data. How to obtain valuable knowledge from these data is a very challenging task. Machine learning is such a direct and effective method for big data analytics. In recent years, a variety of advanced machine learning technologies have emerged, and they continue to play important roles in the era of big data.Considering advanced machine learning and big data together, we have selected a series of relevant works in this Special Issue to showcase the latest research advancements in this field. Specifically, a total of thirty-three articles are included in this Special Issue, which can be roughly categorized into six groups: time series analysis, evolutionary computation, pattern recognition, computer vision, image encryption, and others.

This reprint focuses on the current progress in sports medicine, with a specific interest in surgery, exercise therapy, and multi-disciplinary research.With the advancement of society, more attention is paid to the quality of life, which emphasizes the importance of sports and exercise. Correspondingly, there is a great need for sports medicine. This issue collected novel findings on sports medicine in surgery, conservative therapy, and the application of exercise training in other disorders

This reprint is the result of a Special Issue, which took place in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (IJERPH) during 2022-2023. The general topic of the reprint discusses the different uses, protection and promotion of food, always from a broad perspective, through 15 innovative research papers, from both qualitative and quantitative methodological approaches.

This Special Issue deals with the field of intelligent soft sensors that enable the online estimation of nonmeasurable process variables. Soft sensors or virtual sensors are common names for software algorithms in which multiple measurements are processed together. Typically, soft sensors are based on control theory and are also referred to as state observers. There may be dozens or even hundreds of measurements from hard sensors (big data). The interaction of signals can be used to compute new quantities that cannot be measured directly online or are difficult and expensive to measure. Soft sensors are particularly useful in data fusion, combining measurements of different characteristics and dynamics. They can be used for fault diagnosis (self-analysis, self-calibration, and self-maintenance) as well as for control applications. Well-known software algorithms that can be seen as soft sensors include, for example, Kalman filters. More recent implementations of soft sensors use neural networks, fuzzy logic, models based on evolving clustering, partial least squares, etc. In the digitized factories of the future, intelligent sensors represent one of the core building blocks for automating and optimizing production, as they make production more efficient in every respect.

The chemistry of natural products is rich in diversity, which can be noted from several perspectives. Plants, fungi, and marine organisms represent sources of small molecules characterized by unique complexity related to their varied scaffolds, functional groups, and stereochemistry. At the same time, extraction, de novo synthesis, derivatization, and semi-synthetic approaches represent challenging tasks for organic chemists. In parallel, analytical profiling of the content of organic compounds and microelements in natural matrices pushes experimental techniques to the edge of their potential due to the complex tasks involved in sample preparation and data elaboration. Additionally, flavonoids, alkaloids, and terpenes, as well as their semisynthetic derivatives, attract the interest of medicinal chemists due to their beneficial biological effects, which include antioxidant, antiproliferative, antibacterial, and anti-inflammatory activities. This Special Issue aimed to collect original contributions to describe the extraction, structural elucidation, and synthesis of natural, semisynthetic, and nature-inspired synthetic molecules. Moreover, articles that discuss the analysis of the content and bioactivity of natural compounds in complex matrices, as well as review articles that focus on the chemistry of natural products, were considered in combination with research articles that describe significant results in terms of their innovative synthetic and extractive, as well as advanced analytical, techniques (chromatography, 1D and 2D NMR, mass spectrometry, IR and UV spectroscopy, etc.).