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Summary: Stenotrophomonas maltophilia is a Gram-negative bacterium found in water, plant rhizospheres, animals, and foods. It is associated with a variety of infections in humans, involving respiratory tract (most common), soft tissue and bone, blood, eye, heart, and brain. This opportunistic pathogen is of serious concern to the immunocompromised patient population, and it is also being isolated with increasing frequency from the respiratory tract of individuals with cystic fibrosis. The observed increase worldwide in antibiotic resistance and the ability of this organism to make biofilms on epithelial cells and medical devices make it difficult for health-care personnel to treat infections caused by this pathogen. Recently, several genomes of S. maltophilia have been sequenced, revealing high genetic diversity among isolates. This pathogen uses a variety of molecular mechanisms to acquire and demonstrate resistance to an impressive array of antimicrobial drugs. Research has also focused on the pathogenesis of S. maltophilia in animal models and the resulting host immune response. S. maltophilia is recognized as an important organism in the plant microbiome. This environmental bacterium uses a diffusible signal mechanism for controlling its colonization and interaction with other bacteria and plants. S. maltophilia has also gained considerable research interest for its biotechnological applications, with recent studies on enzyme production, anti-biofilm strategies, biodegradation, and bioremediation. This e-book focuses on the latest developments in the areas of physiology, genomics, infection and immunity, host-pathogen interaction, pathogenesis, antimicrobial resistance and therapy, molecular epidemiology, applied and environmental microbiology, bioremediation and biotechnology.

Summary: Population aging and the associated burden of chronic diseases are one of the main challenges in public health worldwide. This Research Topic on "Active Aging and Disease Management" provides a comprehensive overview of population aging through fourteen comprehensive papers. Chapter 1 discusses an overview of health systems in active and healthy aging, while Chapter 2 focuses on the role of lifestyles, exercise and new technologies. Chapter 3 debates psychological and cognitive issues in aging and finally in Chapter 4, an older people self assessment is proposed and the role of communities and supporters are highlighted. We think that real social and health care integration at community level could be the key point to deliver effective health promotion and preventive intervention. Enjoy the reading!

Summary: Since the discovery of the luminescent properties of porous Si by L. Canham in 1990, the anodization process has attracted enormous interest for the fabrication of porous semiconductors. To date, this technique has been widely used to design new materials with advanced physico-chemical properties for many applications in optics, microelectronics, energy, biology and medicine.

Summary: People are progressively ageing all over the world, and it is estimated that the number of persons aged 60 or over will more than triple by 2100. This emerging population will experience an inevitable rise in dementia, mental health problems and chronic diseases. According to GBD (2010), neuropsychiatric disorders among older adults account for 6.6% of the total disability (DALYs) for this age group, with 15% suffering from a mental disorder. Multiple social, psychological and biological factors are determinant of mental health, as well as life stressors. Among these, the lack of independence, limited mobility, chronic diseases, pain, frailty or other mental and physical problems require long-term care. Beyond this, the elderly are more prone to experience events such as bereavement, a drop in socio-economic status, disability, which leads to isolation, loss of independence, loneliness and psychological distress. Mental health problems and needs assessment by health-care professionals and older people themselves are under-recognised, and the stigma surrounding mental illness makes people reluctant to seek help. The early investigation and diagnosis of these situations are crucial, as well as prior management with an important combination of pharmacological and psychosocial interventions, in conjunction with caregivers' and families' support. The present book aims to contribute to the development of knowledge in Aging and Mental Health, taking different approaches from authors, coming from diverse scientific fields, with the final goal being the improvement of quality of life and healthy aging for this growing population.

Summary: This eBook is a collection of articles from a Frontiers Research Topic. Frontiers Research Topics are very popular trademarks of the Frontiers Journals Series: they are collections of at least ten articles, all centered on a particular subject. With their unique mix of varied contributions from Original Research to Review Articles, Frontiers Research Topics unify the most influential researchers, the latest key findings and historical advances in a hot research area! Find out more on how to host your own Frontiers Research Topic or contribute to one as an author by contacting the Frontiers Editorial Office: frontiersin.org/about/contact

Summary: Foreword by Richard J. Stevenson, Macquarie University (Australia): It was long thought that the human nose might be able to discriminate somewhere in the order of 10,000 different odourants. The recent finding that the human nose can discriminate something like a trillion different smells serves as yet another reminder that we have again underestimated the capacity of our sense of smell (Bushdid, Magnasco, Vosshall & Keller, 2014). This volume serves as a further corrective for anyone who should hold the view that olfaction is unimportant in human affairs. The papers presented in this ebook, carefully collated and overseen by Aldo Zucco, Benoist Schaal, Mats Olsson and Ilona Croy, showcase a large number of quite different reasons for studying the applied side of olfaction, and indeed human olfaction in general. The 23 contributions presented here cover a broad range of topics, which illustrate contemporary interests in our field. Although with a strong applied focus, a noteworthy feature of this ebook is the richness of the theoretical perspectives that are developed. These range from considerations of olfactory perception, memory, expertise, and priming right the way through to receptor genetics. These contributions, from many leading experts in the field, will surely shape much of the applied work linking olfaction to disease, which is a further focus of this ebook. In respect to health and disease, the chapters on aging, pregnancy, depression, alcohol dependency and environmental odours, present overviews and rich new data on many contemporary problems, to which the study of olfaction is now contributing. A particularly notable aspect of olfactory experience is the affective impact that odours can have on people and their lives. The ebook covers some particularly intriguing aspects of work in this area, with empirical studies investigating dissociations between wanting and liking, stress reduction in the elderly, mother-infant bonding, and the emotions that different odourants can evoke. This affective line of work is nicely complemented by empirical studies on expertise, the effect of odours on visual attention, and the relationship between particular personality traits and interest in olfaction. The gradual appropriation of methods from cognitive neuroscience into olfaction is also nicely represented in this ebook, with at least three of the chapters reporting data using neuroimaging, including a particular intriguing study looking at recognition of odours in mixtures. Finally, the close links between olfactory perception and sensory evaluation are also reflected in a chapter on wine. I hope that readers of this e-book will be struck, as I have been in reading its various chapters, how much olfaction affects our lives, and how the study of this sense can enrich it.

Summary: There is extensive evidence from animal models that gonadal steroids, produced in fetal and neonatal life, act on the developing organism to produce sex differences far beyond the reproductive system. That early gonadal steroid exposure also plays an important role in human development is supported by studies of individuals with disorders of sex determination and differentiation. It is much less clear whether normal variation in gonadal steroid exposure predicts sexually dimorphic health outcomes or within-sex variation. This is largely due to challenges related to the assessment of gonadal steroid exposure in the developing fetus and neonate. Regarding the prenatal period, serial measurements of serum hormone levels in the fetus, for use in studies of later development, are not possible for ethical reasons. Researchers have measured hormones in maternal blood, umbilical cord blood, and amniotic fluid; used putative anthropometric indices such as the relative lengths of the 2nd and 4th digits (2D:4D); evaluated common variants in genes related to hormone production, transport, and metabolism; and examined development in opposite sex twins and the offspring of mothers with hyperandrogeny. Each of these approaches has particular strengths and notable weaknesses. Regarding the neonatal period, serial measurements in serum are often impractical for studies of typical development. Salivary hormone assays, frequently used in studies of older children and adults, have not been extensively investigated in neonates. The most appropriate timing for testing is also open to debate. Early work suggested that testosterone levels in males begin to rise after the first postnatal week, peak around the 3rd to 4th months of life, and then drop back to very low levels by 1 year. However a more recent study of 138 infants did not demonstrate this pattern. Testosterone was highest on the day of birth and gradually dropped over the first 6 months. Even less is known about patterns of early estrogen exposure, though highly sensitive bioassays indicated that sex differences are present in early childhood. In addition, the design and interpretation of studies may be impacted by widespread acceptance of conceptual frameworks that are not well-supported empirically. For example, many researchers presume that the free hormone hypothesis, which states that unbound hormone is more readily diffusible into tissues and thus a better measure of actual exposure, is true. However this hypothesis has been challenged on multiple grounds. A second example: it is generally accepted that masculinization of the human brain is primarily mediated by the androgen receptor (in contrast to rodents where the estrogen receptor plays a major role), in part because chromosomal males with complete androgen insensitivity generally espouse a female gender identity. However this is not always the case, and other sexually dimorphic outcomes have not been carefully assessed in CAIS. The aim of this research topic is to gather together experimental and review papers which address the diverse challenges in assessing prenatal and neonatal gonadal steroid exposure for studies of human development with the expectation that this will allow more critical appraisal of existing studies, identify critical research gaps, and improve the design of future studies.

Summary: This eBook is a collection of articles from a Frontiers Research Topic. Frontiers Research Topics are very popular trademarks of the Frontiers Journals Series: they are collections of at least ten articles, all centered on a particular subject. With their unique mix of varied contributions from Original Research to Review Articles, Frontiers Research Topics unify the most influential researchers, the latest key findings and historical advances in a hot research area! Find out more on how to host your own Frontiers Research Topic or contribute to one as an author by contacting the Frontiers Editorial Office: frontiersin.org/about/contact

Summary: Alzheimer disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by significant cognitive deficits, behavioral changes, sleep disorders and loss of functional autonomy. AD represents the main cause of dementia and has become a major public health issue. In addition, the number of patients suffering from AD is growing rapidly as the population ages worldwide. Memory impairment is usually the earliest clinical and core symptom of this disease. The diagnosis at a late clinical stage is relatively easy. However, a delay in the diagnosis is damageable for the handling of patients in terms of optimal medical and social care. The actual interest of the scientific head-ways is to optimize the diagnosis in prodromal stage of the disease and to propose personalized therapeutic solutions to individual patients. New revised AD diagnostic criteria include early alteration of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers: decrease of amyloïd peptides (Aß42), and increase in tau and phosphorylated-tau (p-tau) protein concentration. This recognition of CSF biological biomarkers for the diagnosis of AD is a major step towards the "molecular" diagnosis and follow-up of the disease. Many issues are however still subject of debate. This e-book provides a comprehensive overview of the state of the art of fluid biomarkers for AD, e.g. which novel biomarkers should be implemented in clinical practice for diagnosis or for monitoring treatment or side effects, which ones are new for AD or related dementias or what is the potential of peripheral blood markers. Moreover, the e-Book provides practical guidelines how to optimally and efficiently develop and validate novel biomarker assays, and to document and control pre-analytical variation.

Summary: This eBook is a collection of articles from a Frontiers Research Topic. Frontiers Research Topics are very popular trademarks of the Frontiers Journals Series: they are collections of at least ten articles, all centered on a particular subject. With their unique mix of varied contributions from Original Research to Review Articles, Frontiers Research Topics unify the most influential researchers, the latest key findings and historical advances in a hot research area! Find out more on how to host your own Frontiers Research Topic or contribute to one as an author by contacting the Frontiers Editorial Office: frontiersin.org/about/contact

Summary: Brain-immune interactions are essential to maintain health and their dysfunction contributes to diverse human diseases. Recent data show that haematopoietic processes and immune organs are under central autonomic control. Deficient regulation of inflammatory events contributes to brain diseases, whereas acute or chronic brain injury is linked with the development of systemic inflammatory conditions or immunosuppression. At present, common disorders with high socio-economic burden such as cancer, cardiovascular-, neuroinflammatory- and neurodegenerative diseases, asthma, allergies, autism, psychiatric conditions and sepsis are believed to be influenced, at least in part, by the dysfunction of brain-immune communication. Since the median age of the world's population is increasing rapidly, it is expected that the burden of common non-communicable diseases will further increase, which represents a huge challenge to the health care systems worldwide. Thus, there is an increasing demand to understand and treat complex diseases, many of which are age-related, and this is not possible unless the fine-tuned communication between large systems -such as the nervous and the immune system- is comprehensively understood. Although it is impossible to cover all areas of relevant research in this field, papers in this eBook give some insight to a few important aspects of brain-immune interactions and their contribution to disease. We hope that this collection could stimulate further relevant research and facilitate discussions to support the understanding of the highly complex interactions between the immune system and the brain in health and disease.

Summary: Infant brain damage is a serious condition that affects millions of babies each year. The period from late gestation to the first year of life is the most critical one for the development of central and autonomous nervous systems. Medical conditions such as preterm birth may compromise brain function and the end result usually is that the baby may experience long-term neurological problems related to a wide range of psychological, physical and functional complications, with consequent life-long burdens for the individuals and their families, and a high socio-economic impact for the health care system and the whole of society. During the last years, several techniques have been employed to monitor the brain functional development in utero and after birth. As well, various analytical methods have been used to understand the functional maturation of the brain and the autonomous nervous system. However, in spite of the rapid improvement of diagnostic methods and procedures, there is still a widely recognized, severe shortage of clinically viable means for the high quality monitoring of the brain function in early life with a direct relevance to acute neurological illness and future neurocognitive outcomes. The studies collected in this e-book document the most recent advancements in monitoring systems, analytical methods and clinical diagnostic procedures that contribute to increase our knowledge of the functional development of the human brain and autonomous nervous system during pregnancy and after birth, with the ultimate goal of reducing fetal impairment and improving healthcare in the neonatal and infant period.

Summary: Alcohol is the sixth leading risk factor for disability and premature death all over the world, and one of the leading causes of premature mortality in western societies; it is a leading risk factor for death in young and middle-age males. Heavy drinking accounts for about two thirds of the burden of disease attributable to alcohol. In the early 1980s, screening and brief interventions (SBI) in primary health care settings were proposed as effective strategies to identify risky drinkers and to help them reduce their drinking. Since then, a growing body of evidence, including several meta-analysis and Cochrane reviews, has shown the efficacy and effectiveness of SBI in primary health settings. However, demonstrating the effectiveness of SBI has not been insufficient to facilitate its general implementation in the routines of primary health care physicians, and in fact the dissemination of SBI has proven to be a difficult business. Qualitative and quantitative research has identified most of the facilitators and barriers for its implementation, and publicly funded research has been earmarked to address the dissemination problems worldwide. Some examples are the World Health Organization Phase III and Phase IV studies on the identification and management of alcohol-related problems in primary care, EU funded projects (PHEPA, AMPHORA, ODHIN, BISTAIRS), the UK SIPS trials and the SBIRT developments sponsored by the Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) in the USA. The efficacy and effectiveness of SBI in primary health is now well established, but there are still some questions that remain unsolved: which practitioners should deliver them; what length should they be; is there a need for booster sessions; is there added value of a motivational approach? These questions, together with other relevant aspects of SBI, need ongoing research. In recent years, SBIs have been tested in settings other than primary health care, including hospitals, accident and emergency rooms, criminal justice, colleges and universities, social services and pharmacies. In some of those areas, the evidence is scarce (for example, pharmacies) while in others it is very promising (for example, students and hospitals). New technologies have also offered the possibility of online tools, and, in the last few years, different digital-based applications have been tested successfully as new ways to deliver effective SBIs to larger amounts of people. Brief interventions have also spread to drugs other than alcohol. This book aims to be an update of the state-of-the art of brief advice. It is a compilation of articles published by some of the most relevant researchers in the field in Frontiers in Psychiatry between 2014 and 2016.

Summary: Cancer care delivery refers to the multiple layers of the health care system that interact to affect outcomes for patients with cancer and the quality of that care. The factors included in the care delivery system that potentially alter outcomes include social dynamics, financing systems, organizational structures and processes, health technologies, provider and individual behaviors. Because women's health care has its own unique challenges, the intersection between cancer care delivery and women's health is to be examined in this Frontiers in Oncology issue. The unique opportunities and challenges of improving the health care system for women with breast and gynecologic cancers are to be explored in depth. We will visit many topics of cancer care delivery with the unique perspective geared towards the care of women's malignancies.

Summary: After several decades of development, the socialist market economy of China is now the world's second largest economy by nominal GDP. China is also the largest economy by purchasing power parity according to the International Monetary Fund. In tandem with the development of the Chinese economy, China's cancer burden is rising rapidly due to an ageing population and the adoption of unhealthy lifestyle behaviours. According to the data from the National Central Cancer Registry (NCCR) of China, the incidence and mortality of cancer have been increasing rapidly in China. In recent years, cancer has been the leading cause of death among city residents and the second cause of death among rural residents, which has become a stark public health issue in China. According to the NCCR, an estimated 4.29 million new incident cases (12 thousand per day) and 2.81 million death cases (7.5 thousand per day) would occur in 2015 in China. This corresponds to the age-standardized incidence rate (ASIR) of 201.1 per 100,000 and age-standardized mortality rate (ASMR) of 126.9 per 100,000, respectively. Due to the geographical and ethnical disparities in living habits and healthcare level, the cancer spectrum differs between different regions and ethnical groups in China. According to the estimation from IARC, the incidence of nasopharyngeal carcinoma and liver cancer is the world's highest in specific regions of China. The incidence of some cancer types in Chinese urban areas, such as colorectal, prostate, kidney and bladder cancers, is similar to that in developed countries or regions where the incidence of cancer is highly associated with obesity and westernised lifestyles. Nevertheless, the incidence of some common cancer types in rural areas, including oesophageal, stomach, liver and cervical cancers, shares similarity with less developed countries or regions in the world where cancers are associated with chronic infectious agents due to poverty. In addition, the mortality rate is higher in rural areas, which suggests a poorer cancer prognosis due to late diagnosis and/or unsatisfying clinical treatment. The distinct cancer patterns of different regions and/or ethnic groups indicate a need for precise cancer prevention and control plans tailored for different geographical regions and/or ethnic groups. The overarching goal of the proposed Frontiers in Oncology Research Topic is to present current perspectives on cancer epidemiology in Chinese characteristics and provide current knowledge of cancer burden as well as cancer mortality to academic investigators, clinicians and stakeholders from the translational, clinical and public health communities.

Summary: This eBook is a collection of articles from a Frontiers Research Topic. Frontiers Research Topics are very popular trademarks of the Frontiers Journals Series: they are collections of at least ten articles, all centered on a particular subject. With their unique mix of varied contributions from Original Research to Review Articles, Frontiers Research Topics unify the most influential researchers, the latest key findings and historical advances in a hot research area! Find out more on how to host your own Frontiers Research Topic or contribute to one as an author by contacting the Frontiers Editorial Office: frontiersin.org/about/contact

Summary: Systems Biomedicine is a field in perpetual development. By definition a translational discipline, it emphasizes the role of quantitative systems approaches in biomedicine and aims to offer solutions to many emerging problems characterized by levels and types of complexity and uncertainty unmet before. Many factors, including technological and societal ones, need to be considered. In particular, new technologies are providing researchers with the data deluge whose management and exploitation requires a reinvention of cross-disciplinary team efforts. The advent of "omics" and high-content imaging are examples of advances de facto establishing the necessity of systems approaches. Hypothesis-driven models and in silico validation tools in support to all the varieties of experimental applications call for a profound revision. The focus on phases like mining and assimilating the data has substantially increased so to allow for interpretable knowledge to be inferred. Notably, to be able to tackle the newly generated data dimensionality, heterogeneity and complexity, model-free and data-driven intensive applications are increasingly shaping the computational pipelines and architectures that quant specialists set aside of the high-throughput genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics platforms. As for the societal aspects, in many advanced societies health care needs now more than in the past to address the problem of managing ageing populations and their complex morbidity patterns. In parallel, there is a growing research interest on the impact that cross-disciplinary clinical, epidemiological and quantitative modelling studies can have in relation to outcomes potentially affecting the quality of life of many people. Complex systems, including those characterizing biomedicine, are assessed in both their functionality and stability, and also relatively to the capacity of generating information from diversity, variation, and complexity. Due to the combined interactions and effects, such systems embed prediction power available for instance in both target identification or marker discovery, or more generally for conducting inference about patients' pathological states, i.e. normal versus disease, diagnostic or prognostic analysis, and preventive assessment (e.g., risk evaluation). The ultimate goal, personalized medicine, will be achieved based on the confluence of the system's predictive power to patient-specific profiling.

Summary: Recent years have seen important developments in the computer and game industry, including the emergence of the concept of serious games. It is hypothesized that tools such as games, virtual reality, or applications for smartphones may foster learning, enhance motivation, promote behavioral change, support psychotherapy, favor empowerment, and improve some cognitive functions. Computers and games may create supports for training or help people with cognitive, emotional, or behavioral change. Games take various formats, from board games to informatics to games with interactive rules of play. Similarly, computer tools may vary widely in format, from self-help or assisted computerized training to virtual reality or applications for smartphones. Some tools that may be helpful for mental health were specifically designed for that goal, whereas others were not. Gamification of computer-related products and games with a numeric format tend to reduce the gap between games and computers tools and increase the conceptual synergy in such fields. Games and computer design share an opportunity for creativity and innovation to help create, specifically design, and assess preventive or therapeutic tools. Computers and games share a design conception that allows innovative approaches to overcome barriers of the real world by creating their own rules. Yet, despite the potential interest in such tools to improve treatment of mental disorders and to help prevent them, the field remains understudied and information is under-disseminated in clinical practice. Some studies have shown, however, that there is potential interest and acceptability of tools that support various vehicles, rationales, objectives, and formats. These tools include traditional games (e.g., chess games), popular electronic games, board games, computer-based interventions specifically designed for psychotherapy or cognitive training, virtual reality, apps for smartphones, and so forth. Computers and games may offer a true opportunity to develop, assess, and disseminate new prevention and treatment tools for mental health and well-being. Currently, there is a strong need for state-of-the-art information to answer questions such as the following: Why develop such tools for mental health and well-being? What are the potential additions to traditional treatments? What are the best strategies or formats to improve the possible impact of these tools? Are such tools useful as a first treatment step? What is the potential of a hybrid model of care that combines traditional approaches with games and/or computers as tools? What games and applications have already been designed and studied? What is the evidence from previous studies? How can such tools be successfully designed for mental health and well-being? What is rewarding or attractive for patients in using such treatments? What are the worldwide developments in the field? Are some protocols under development? What are the barriers and challenges related to such developments? How can these tools be assessed, and how can the way that they work, and for whom, be measured? Are the potential benefits of such products specific, or can these additions be attributed to nonspecific factors? What are the users' views on such tools? What are the possible links between such tools and social networks? Is there a gap between evidence-based results and market development? Are there any quality challenges? What future developments and studies are needed in the field?

Summary: Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) methods are increasingly widely used to bridge the gaps between the evidence base for best clinical practice, what actually happens in practice, and the achievement of better population health outcomes. Among a range of quality improvement strategies, CQI methods are characterised by iterative and ongoing use of specific processes to identify quality problems, develop solutions, and implement and evaluate changes. The application of CQI processes in health is evolving and evidence of their success continues to emerge. There is, however, a need to enhance understanding of how best to implement, scale-up and evaluate CQI programs for the purpose of improving quality of care and population health outcomes in different contexts. This research topic aims to attract articles that add to knowledge of useful approaches to tailoring CQI methods for different contexts or purposes, and for implementation, scale-up and evaluation of CQI interventions/programs.

Summary: This eBook is a collection of articles from a Frontiers Research Topic. Frontiers Research Topics are very popular trademarks of the Frontiers Journals Series: they are collections of at least ten articles, all centered on a particular subject. With their unique mix of varied contributions from Original Research to Review Articles, Frontiers Research Topics unify the most influential researchers, the latest key findings and historical advances in a hot research area! Find out more on how to host your own Frontiers Research Topic or contribute to one as an author by contacting the Frontiers Editorial Office: frontiersin.org/about/contact

Summary: Music is a complex, dynamic stimulus with an un-paralleled ability to stimulate a global network of neural activity involved in attention, emotion, memory, communication, motor co-ordination and cognition. As such, it provides neuroscience with a highly effective tool to develop our understanding of brain function, connectivity and plasticity. Increasingly sophisticated neuroimaging technologies have enabled the expanding field of music neuroscience to reveal how musical experience, perception and cognition may support neuroplasticity, with important implications for the rehabilitation and assessment of those with acquired brain injuries and neurodegenerative conditions. Other studies have indicated the potential for music to support arousal, attention and emotional regulation, suggesting therapeutic applications for conditions including ADHD, PTSD, autism, learning disorders and mood disorders. In common with neuroscience, the music therapy profession has advanced significantly in the past 20 years. Various interventions designed to address functional deficits and health care needs have been developed, alongside standardised behavioural assessments. Historically, music therapy has drawn its evidence base from a number of contrasting theoretical frameworks. Clinicians are now turning to neuroscience, which offers a unifying knowledge base and frame of reference to understand and measure therapeutic interventions from a biomedical perspective. Conversely, neuroscience is becoming more enriched by learning about the neural effects of 'real world' clinical applications in music therapy. While neuroscientific imaging methods may provide biomarking evidence for the efficacy of music therapy interventions it also offers important tools to describe time-locked interactive therapy processes and feeds into the emerging field of social neuroscience. Music therapy is bound to the process of creating and experiencing music together in improvisation, listening and reflection. Thus the situated cognition and experience of music developing over time and in differing contexts is of interest in time series data. We encouraged researchers to submit papers illustrating the mutual benefits of dialogue between music therapy and other disciplines important to this field, particularly neuroscience, neurophysiology, and neuropsychology. The current eBook consists of the peer reviewed responses to our call for papers.

Summary: The imperative to increase healthcare access, efficiency and effectiveness is nearly impossible to meet without reliance on technology. Telemedicine tools now include video, e-mail, text messaging, apps, and other mobile health modalities, deployed synchronously, asynchronously and in hybrid combinations to offer assessment, consultation, direct treatment, and integrated care. Within telemedicine, mental health is particularly well suited to technology platforms due to several inherent factors: provider shortages that are often more acute than in other specialties; the relatively reduced need for laboratory tests, imaging studies and physical examinations; the stigma still attached to mental illness; and diagnosis-specific obstacles that can complicate in person visits (e.g., pronounced fear in social anxiety disorder). The need to increase access, efficiency and effectiveness, combined with the relative ease of translating mental health interventions to technology-mediated delivery, have led researchers to explore various platforms, including: computerized cognitive behavioral therapy; online psychotherapy and online psychopharmacology; mobile therapy; virtual/augmented reality exposure therapy; serious games; and artificial intelligence. Yet, despite often positive efficacy data and an ever more technology-reliant lifestyle, the reach of telemental health remains relatively limited in comparison with its potential. We aim to capture the current status of digital and telecommunications technologies in mental health and the field's future trends and directions. Recently published data-as well as newly introduced platforms-have put both the promise and challenges of telemental health in sharp focus, making this an opportune time to compile a collection of high-quality, evidence-based and diverse articles that touch on various aspects of this technology revolution. This Research Topic collects articles that examine digital mental health interventions across different platforms and modes of delivery. The scope is broad to reflect the richness of the field and the many questions it raises: standalone vs. supported models; comparisons with "traditional" modalities; psychotherapeutic vs. psychopharmacological interventions; efficacy; patient attrition; cost-effectiveness; ethical issues; and insurer and malpractice coverage.

Summary: The rapidly growing field of behavioral ethics shows that dishonest acts are highly prevalent in all walks of life, from corruption among politicians through flagrant cases of doping in sports, to everyday slips and misdemeanors of ordinary people who nevertheless perceive themselves as highly moral. When considered cumulatively, these seemingly innocuous and ordinary unethical behaviors cause considerable societal damage and add up to billions of dollars annually. Research in behavioral ethics has made tremendous advances in characterizing many contextual and social factors that promote or hinder dishonesty. These findings have prompted the development of interventions to curb dishonesty and to help individuals become more committed to ethical standards. The current e-book includes studies that test and advance current theory and deepen our understanding of the cognitive and physiological processes underlying dishonest behavior, discuss possible implications of findings in behavioral ethics research for real life situations, document dishonest behavior in the field and/or directly examines interventions to reduce it.

Summary: Good quality management of the health system demands a critical mass of health professionals with sound technical knowledge. The education that produces a workforce of appropriate size and skills is often a challenge in the delivery of quality health services. Incidentally, health professionals' education has not kept pace with the new emerging challenges. Recent globalization of health has further led to international migration of health professionals, thereby leading to cross-border recognition of health workers with an appropriate skill-mix, knowledge, and competence. The Lancet Commission Report of 2010 highlighted the need to develop a common strategy at a global level for postgraduate medical, nursing, and public health education that reaches beyond the confines of national borders and the silos of individual professions. This vision would require a series of instructional and institutional reforms, which should be guided by two proposed outcomes: transformative learning and interdependence in education. The purpose of this Research Topic is to increase the shared understanding of the current status of the education of the health workforce around the globe, particularly those working in the public health sector. With this foundation, further research and evaluation studies can then be done with a perspective that addresses global workforce issues impacting access, prevention, and care.

Summary: US-Mexico border region area has unique social, demographic and policy forces at work that shape the health of its residents as well as serves as a microcosm of migration health challenges facing an increasingly mobile and globalized world. This region reflects the largest migratory flow between any two nations in the world. Data from the Pew Research Center shows over the last 25 years there has never been lower than 140,000 annual immigrants from Mexico to the United States (with peaks over 700,000). This migratory route is extremely hazardous due to natural (e.g., arid and hot desert regions) and human made barriers as well as border enforcement practices tied to socio-political and geopolitical pressures. Also, reflecting the national interdependency of public health and human services needs, during the most recent five year period surveyed the migratory flow between the US and Mexico has equaled that of the flow of Mexico to the US--both around 1.4 million persons. Of particular public health concern, within the US-Mexico region of both nations there is among the highest disparities in income, education, infrastructure and access to health care--factors within the World Health Organization's conceptualization of the Social Determinants of Health, and among the highest rates of chronic disease. For instance obesity and diabetes rates in this region are among the highest of those monitored in the world, with adult population estimates of the former over 40% and estimates in some population sub-groups for the latter over 20%. The publications reflected in this Research Topic, all reviewed from experts in the field, addressed many of the public health issues in the US Mexico Border Health Commission's Healthy Border 2020 objectives. Those objectives-- broad public health goals used to guide a diverse range of government, research and community-based stakeholders--include Non Communicable Diseases (including adult and childhood obesity-related ones; cancer), Infectious Diseases (e.g., tuberculosis; HIV; emerging diseases--particularly mosquito borne illnesses), Maternal and Child Health, Mental Health Disorders, and Motor Vehicle Accidents. Other relevant public health issues affecting this region, for example environmental health, binational health services coordination (e.g., immunization), the impact of migration throughout the Americas and globally in this region, health issues related to the physical climate, access to quality health care, discrimination/mistreatment and well-being, acculturative/immigration stress, violence, substance use/abuse, oral health, respiratory disease, and well-being from a social determinants of health framework, are critical areas addressed in these publications or for future research. Each of these Research Topic publications presented applied solutions (e.g., new programs, technology or infrastructure) and/or public health policy recommendations relevant to each public health challenge addressed.

Summary: Falls and fall-related injuries among older adults have emerged as serious global health concerns, which place a burden on individuals, their families, and greater society. As fall incidence rates increase alongside our globally aging population, fall-related mortality, hospitalizations, and costs are reaching never seen before heights. Because falls occur in clinical and community settings, additional efforts are needed to understand the intrinsic and extrinsic factors that cause falls among older adults; effective strategies to reduce fall-related risk; and the role of various professionals in interventions and efforts to prevent falls (e.g., nurses, physicians, physical therapists, occupational therapists, health educators, social workers, economists, policy makers). As such, this Research Topic sought articles that described interventions at the clinical, community, and/or policy level to prevent falls and related risk factors. Preference was given to articles related to multi-factorial, evidence-based interventions in clinical (e.g., hospitals, long-term care facilities, skilled nursing facilities, residential facilities) and community (e.g., senior centers, recreation facilities, faith-based organizations) settings. However, articles related to public health indicators and social determinants related to falls were also included based on their direct implications for evidence-based interventions and best practices.

Summary: Evolution of the horse has been an often-cited primary example of evolution, as well as one of the classic and important stories in paleontology for over a century and a half, due to their rich fossil record across 5 continents: North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Africa. The recent horse has served a profound role in human ancestry, including agriculture, commerce, sport, transport, warfare, and in prehistory, for the subsistence of humans. Many studies have examined the evolution of the Equidae and chronicled the striking changes in skulls, dentition, limbs, and body size which have long been perceived to be a response to environmental shifts through time. Most comprehensive studies heretofore have: (1) focused on the "Great Transformation"- changes that occurred in the early Miocene, (2) involved tracking long-term diversity or paleoecological trends on a single continent or within a geographical locality, or (3) concentrated on the 3-toed hipparions. The Plio-Pleistocene evolutionary stage of horse evolution is punctuated by the great climatic fluctuations of the Quaternary beginning 2.6 Ma which influenced Equus evolution, biogeographic dispersion and adaptation on a nearly global scale. The evolutionary biology of Equus evolution across its entire range remains relatively poorly understood and often highly controversial. Some of this lack of understanding is due to assumptions that have arisen because of the relatively derived craniodental and postcranial anatomy of Equus and its close relatives which has seemed to imply that that these forms occupied relatively homogenous and narrow dietary and locomotor niches - notions that have not been adequately addressed and rigorously tested. Other challenges have revolved around teasing apart environmentally-driven adaptation versus phylogenetically defined morphological change. Geochronologic age control of localities, geographic provinces and continents has improved, but in no way is absolute and can be reexamined in our proposed volume. Temporal resolution for paleodietary, paleohabitat and paleoecological interpretations are also challenging for understanding the evolution of Equus. Our proposed volume attempts to assemble a group of experts who will address multiple dimensions of Equus' evolution in time and space.

Summary: This eBook is a collection of articles from a Frontiers Research Topic. Frontiers Research Topics are very popular trademarks of the Frontiers Journals Series: they are collections of at least ten articles, all centered on a particular subject. With their unique mix of varied contributions from Original Research to Review Articles, Frontiers Research Topics unify the most influential researchers, the latest key findings and historical advances in a hot research area! Find out more on how to host your own Frontiers Research Topic or contribute to one as an author by contacting the Frontiers Editorial Office: frontiersin.org/about/contact

Summary: Lignocellulose is the only renewable carbon source that can help replace oil-based chemicals and materials, in the process fighting global warming. However, because of its chemical and structural complexity, lignocellulose transformation into advanced products requires a better understanding of its composition and of its architecture at different scales, as well as a combination of physical, biological, and chemical processes, in order to render this transformation efficient and economically competitive. Tremendous efforts continue to be made toward the production of ethanol as a biofuel from various lignocellulosic feedstocks. Furthermore, recent successes have been achieved in extracting fibers to prepare composite materials that can compete with plastic fabrics. Importantly, lignocellulose chemistry can bring to the market original and complex chemicals that can lead to new applications, in particular when exploiting aromatic molecules or oligosaccharides from lignocellulose to produce solvents, surfactants, plasticizers, functional additives for food/feed/cosmetics, drugs, monomers, and polymers. In addition to this broad range of molecular products, fibers and particles fractionated from the lignocellulosic biomass are increasingly used to elaborate bio-based composite materials.

Summary: In a context where the role of biofuels will continue to grow, it is necessary to take into account the current state of their various manufacturing processes and to anticipate the expansion of the market. Thus, current biodiesel production processes generate a significant amount of glycerol as a by-product (about 100 kg per ton of processed vegetable oil). An explosion of the biodiesel market must integrate the valorization of glycerol whose current market of distribution (cosmetics, drugs, polymers, etc.) is not guaranteed such an expansion. This valuation will contribute effectively to the profitability and sustainability of the processes from which it derives. Glycerol physicochemical and toxicological properties give it the potential to be used as solvent, biolubricant, dispersant, and surfactant, among others. It is also widely used in the food industry as a preservative and sweetener. Beyond these applications, glycerol can also be used as a raw material for a wide range of chemicals. Glycerol is a highly functionalized molecule with specific physico-chemical properties, which can be used in different reactions as a reactant or a building block. For example, glycerol can be used as a starting material for antibiotic production, biosurfactants, organic acid production (lactic, propionic, succinic, citric acid, glyoxylic acid, glyoxalic acid, amino acids, etc.), alcohols (propanediols), glycerol esters, acrolein production, etc. These products can be obtained either through chemical reactions such as acetalization, dehydration, glycerolysis, esterification, etherification, aqueous phase reforming, oxidation, carboxylation, electrochemical routes, or through enzymatic reactions. However, it must be kept in mind that the development of industrial processes relies on the use of crude glycerol from biodiesel production. For that purpose, robust processes involving impurities-insensitive catalysts or pre-purification have to be developed. Finally, the separation of the chemical products obtained after glycerol conversion is also a key step toward the development of viable glycerol-based processes.

Summary: This eBook is a collection of articles from a Frontiers Research Topic. Frontiers Research Topics are very popular trademarks of the Frontiers Journals Series: they are collections of at least ten articles, all centered on a particular subject. With their unique mix of varied contributions from Original Research to Review Articles, Frontiers Research Topics unify the most influential researchers, the latest key findings and historical advances in a hot research area! Find out more on how to host your own Frontiers Research Topic or contribute to one as an author by contacting the Frontiers Editorial Office: frontiersin.org/about/contact

Summary: This eBook is a collection of articles from a Frontiers Research Topic. Frontiers Research Topics are very popular trademarks of the Frontiers Journals Series: they are collections of at least ten articles, all centered on a particular subject. With their unique mix of varied contributions from Original Research to Review Articles, Frontiers Research Topics unify the most influential researchers, the latest key findings and historical advances in a hot research area! Find out more on how to host your own Frontiers Research Topic or contribute to one as an author by contacting the Frontiers Editorial Office: frontiersin.org/about/contact

Summary: This research topic aims to integrate scattered findings on sex differences in neuroscience into a broader theory of how the human brain is shaped by sex and sex hormones in order to cause the great variety of sex differences that are commonly observed. It can be assumed that these differences didn't occur arbitrarily, but that they rather determined and still determine evolutionary success of individuals and were shaped by the processes of natural and in particular sexual selection. Therefore, sex differences are not negligible and sex difference research cannot be discriminating against one sex or the other. In fact a better understanding of the underlying causes of sex differences has great advantages for both men and women and society as a whole, not only in terms of health care, but in every aspect of life. Gender equality can only work out if it is equally well understood for men and women what their individual resources and needs are. Therefore, it is of great importance to pave the way for identifying the underlying principles of structural and functional brain organization that cause men and women to act, think and feel differently. To this end it is of particular interest to identify possible similarities and interrelations between sex differences that did so far stand separately, in order to investigate whether they share a common source. To understand, where a specific sex difference comes from and whether or not it is caused by the same principle as other sex differences, it is necessary to explicitly link sex differences in behavior to their neuronal correlates and vice versa link sex differences in brain structure and function to their behavioral outcomes. In particular a new understanding of male and female brain functioning may arise from findings on how sex hormones interact with various neurotransmitter systems. In the past few years several findings demonstrated that women's behavior is influenced by the sex hormone fluctuations they experience naturally during their menstrual cycle to the extent that sex differences may only be detectable in one cycle phase but not another. The study of menstrual cycle dependent effects gives important hints about which sex differences are activational and which are organizational. Additionally it only recently came to attention, that hormonal contraception may alter a women's mood, cognition and behavior as a consequence of changes in brain structure and function. The underlying mechanisms are so poorly understood that it is even hard to predict, whether hormonal contraception will mask or amplify sex differences in a given task. Since the oral hormonal contraceptive pill is meanwhile used by 100 million women worldwide and even by teenagers whose brains are not yet fully developed, the question of how the synthetic steroids contained in hormonal contraceptives act on the brain is to be studied hand in hand with naturally occurring sex differences. This topic summarizes the current state of the art in sex difference research and gives new perspectives in terms of hypothesis generation an methodology. Both are necessary to gain a complete picture of what it is that makes a brain male or female and move towards a neuroscience of sex differences.

Summary: This eBook is a collection of articles from a Frontiers Research Topic. Frontiers Research Topics are very popular trademarks of the Frontiers Journals Series: they are collections of at least ten articles, all centered on a particular subject. With their unique mix of varied contributions from Original Research to Review Articles, Frontiers Research Topics unify the most influential researchers, the latest key findings and historical advances in a hot research area! Find out more on how to host your own Frontiers Research Topic or contribute to one as an author by contacting the Frontiers Editorial Office: frontiersin.org/about/contact

Summary: During the recent few decades, global economic growth has been driven largely by developing world economies. The ones with the most intensive pace of development were marked as "emerging" markets led by so called BRICS and N-11 countries. Such changes inevitably reflected the global health arena. A number of issues previously limited to established high-income economies became popularly discussed topics on the agendas of public health policy makers across these regions. Major challenges remain population aging, rising incidence of prosperity diseases, lack of universal insurance coverage and particularly provision of just and equitable access to medical care among the poor both in urban and rural communities. A significant part of the difficulties faced by these societies are attributed to inefficient resource allocation strategies in health care and unsatisfactory funding strategies. This Research Topic was created in order to address the core challenges of medical care financing and its affordability across the emerging global markets. Contributions of both undergoing or finished original research as well as review style papers are welcomed. All submitted manuscripts should deal with issues relevant to health care economics and policy in recognized global emerging markets. Outside the aforementioned key markets (BRICS- Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa; Next 11- Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, South Korea, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, Turkey and Vietnam) submissions referring to any of the dynamically developing Asian, Latin America, Eastern Europe or MENA countries are encouraged. In addition to a variety of health-economic evaluations and health policy analysis, methodological and resource use studies are within the Topic scope. Health policy considerations should be primarily focused on financing mechanisms and affordability of health care although other surrounding issues such as health insurance, reimbursement and cost-containment strategies will be considered.

Summary: The state of Qatar is preparing to stage the 17th International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Championships later this year (September 27 to October 6, 2019). While the Qatari capital Doha has an extensive history as a host of international athletics events (from the first ever IAAF Grand Prix in 1997 to the 2010 IAAF World Indoor and the Championships Doha Diamond League over the last decade), the IAAF World Championships will have be bigger in terms of global reach and impact. Doha will be welcoming 205 countries and 3,500 athletes with approximately 10,000 international guests, 30,000 spectators from outside Qatar and more than 2,000 media personnel. These 2019 IAAF World Championships are a fantastic opportunity for the scientific community to provide up-to-date knowledge and propose solutions to solve real-world problems for elite competitors. In particular, athletes are likely to encounter challenging hot temperatures and potentially high humidity levels that may eventually impair performance during middle and long distance events and increase the risk of exertional heat. The IAAF is providing information leaflets explaining various protective or countermeasures to mitigate these risks. Additionally, Doha is working with the IAAF to research innovative new solutions for competition timing, scoring, measurement and television production, using the latest technology. Doha also is determined to further accelerate the growth of women's athletics and Paralympics champions across the region. This may in turn drive the development of new knowledge, using an integrative sports science approach to improve performance of special athletic populations.

Summary: Kidney disease is a complex health problem, often coinciding with cardiovascular pathology (e.g. hypertension) and metabolic disturbances (e.g. obesity and diabetes). It is also a disturbingly fast growing global public health problem, e.g. chronic kidney disease affects an estimated ~9-16% of the population. Besides the public health issues this results in a large economic burden as kidney diseases contributes disproportionally to about a quarter of total health care costs. Experimental and clinical data solidly support the view that kidney tissue hypoxia plays a critical and intricate role during the genesis and progression of both chronic and acute kidney diseases. This research field is currently at the very beginning of integrating pre-clinical with clinical research in which hypoxia related mechanism are quantified by non-invasive imaging. In combination with the fact that some key questions remain unanswered, this offers exciting new research perspectives that are waiting to be explored. With this Research Topic we aim to discuss and find answers to the following research question: 1) What are the temporal relationships between hypoxia and kidney disease? 2) Can we demonstration causation between hypoxia and kidney disease? 3) Can renal hypoxia be considered as a treatment target in kidney disease? 4) Can hypoxia (e.g. in the urine) be considered a biomarker of kidney disease? 5) Does hypoxia ramp-up sympathetic activity? 6) Does hypoxia trigger inflammation? 7) Is hypoxia caused by changes in sodium reabsorption and/or mitochondrial function? 8) Which molecular mechanisms are involved in hypoxia in kidney disease? 9) Which gene expressions change due to hypoxia in kidney disease? 10) Can we generate new and translational insights using non-invasive imaging technologies? Our overall aim is identify the mediators/controllers of hypoxia in kidney disease. If we understand more about the sequence of events leading to hypoxia, its regulation and consequences in renal disease, we might be able to have a major impact in clinical practice. I.e. more accurate and earlier diagnosis, novel treatment targets, and novel therapies.

Summary: A critical problem in resource-scarce countries across the globe is the shortage of appropriately trained health care providers. According to the World Health Organization, the current global health workforce shortage of 7.2 million providers is estimated to increase to 12.9 million by 2035. This disproportionately affects resource-scarce countries, denying basic health care to millions and limiting access to life-saving treatments. Due to limited resources in these countries, not enough health professionals receive training, few have the opportunity for continuing education, and the ability to develop or implement educational programs and curricula is constrained. Additionally, many existing providers choose to emigrate in pursuit of professional advancement opportunities, contributing to the overall shortage of qualified health care providers in these environments. Efforts to strengthen health workforce capacity not only increases access, safety and availability of care, but is critical to building resilient health systems capable of caring for the world's neediest populations. This requires not only cultivating new health care providers, but also providing ongoing professional development to retain and support current providers, advancing the level of practice in accordance with current clinical science, cultivating educators, and enhancing training curricula. It is critical also to contribute to the limited body of research documenting the effectiveness and impact of various models of collaborative education and partnership to improve health worker training and retention. This Research Topic examines strategies for building health workforce capacity through the prism of educational partnerships, offering significant examples of effective models of international collaborative education as well as insight and guidance on the structure and operation of successful global partnerships. Collectively, the 31 articles accepted and included in this eBook represent a diversity of health professions and geographies across academic, non-governmental organizations and other global partnership forms. The published manuscripts highlight various elements of partnerships with several consistent themes emerging: capacity building, local empowerment, mutual trust and respect, long-term commitment, equity, collaboration, and the importance of integrating theory and practice, for a balance of academic and clinical development. The manuscripts provide examples of partnership and educational programs that are in the formative, early stages of implementation and others which have been sustained long term, some for decades. The following eBook is divided into two parts, with each part broken down into sections. Part I of the eBook includes 18 manuscripts that showcase long-term educational programs that strongly exemplify multiple, foundational aspects of international partnerships in education including mutual collaboration and project management, empowerment of host partners to lead and sustain programs, and capacity building. While individual manuscripts included in Part I look broadly at multiple aspects of successful, international partnerships in education, Part II manuscripts focus intently on one-two elements. Part II includes 13 articles that highlight partnership through short- rather than long-term educational initiatives as well as program development and broad academic partnerships. This Research Topic was sponsored by Health Volunteers Overseas - a United States based non-profit that collaborates with over eighty international universities and health institutions to send volunteer health professionals to low-resource countries to provide continuing education, train the trainer courses, professional support, and consultation on academic program and curricula development.

Summary: Elite sport typically provides obvious rewards in terms of recognition, finance and acclaim for athletic performance. Increasingly, we are becoming aware of the risks that elite athletes, their entourage, including families, sport-science support team and coaches are exposed to. Twelve original articles, seven commentaries and a corrigendum, are structured in a five chapter format. Chapter 1, comprising the Editorial is titled "An Overview of Mental Health in Elite Sport: Changing the Play Book" to reflect the advocacy role of this article. Chapter 2 ("Finding the Sweet Spot") amplifies the voice of key stakeholders across three qualitative studies with three additional commentaries. Quantitative evidence is presented in Chapter 3 which has the sub-title the "State of Play." Chapter 4, entitled the "Field of Play" includes three original publications which present contrasting conceptual approaches to guide researchers in hypothesis generation, formulation and implementation science. Finally, in Chapter 5, "Seeing the Ball Early" prospective perspectives are provided in three publications reinforced by two commentaries. The future thinking ideas includes the use of virtual reality training, a broadening of the concept of mental health literacy, tackling stigma and focusing on the potential positive effect of the natural environment on well-being and recovery.To date the research topic has generated widespread in the field. For example, several articles have generated an Altmetric score above 40 with one publication meriting an Altmetric score of 102. We envisage that the impact of this e-book will not simply be measured in citations, views, downloads nor social media impact, but in the discourse that emerges from this collection of contributions from a combined total of 53 authors from across three continents. It is our hope that this e-book, providing a snapshot of global challenges for elite athletes mental health and well-being, becomes a touchstone for researchers and practitioners in the field.

Summary: There is now strong evidence demonstrating that the brain simulates action and other functions. Such action simulation can be evoked through conscious mental rehearsal of movement or imagery, but also through passive action observation watching movements in others. Furthermore, there is evidence to suggest that mental rehearsal of movement, or mental practice, can produce improvements normally attributed to practising actual movements. It is currently assumed that such improvements are due to neural activation associated with action simulation. However the neuroscience of mental practice efficacy is still poorly understood. The aim of this research topic is to clarify the underlying mechanisms of mental practice, bringing evidence from cognitive neuroscience, experimental neuropsychology, sport and movement science, and clinical neurology. It also attempts to address confusion regarding the concepts of imagery and observation, which has hampered the progression of mental practice research both scientifically and applied. As well as reviews, theoretical, and position articles, this research topic includes original neuroimaging, experimental, and patient research addressing, among others, the following issues. Neuroimaging studies provide strong evidence for action simulation, but the link to behavioural change and functional outcome is weak. What is the evidence that mental practice efficacy is driven by neuroplasticity processes evoked by action simulation? This research topic includes contributions on neural correlates and behaviour with regards to imagery and action observation. Much of the mental practice efficacy evidence comes from longstanding research within sport science. However, what does mental practice entail in these contexts, and to what extent is it compatible with the cognitive neuroscience perspective of action simulation? This research topic will include contributions that consider both evidence and concepts with regards to imagery and action observation, in an attempt to build an interdisciplinary consensus on the nature and application of mental practice. Mental practice is perceived as a promising motor rehabilitation technique, but critically there is lack of clarity or consensus on what mental practice treatment should entail. It is also not clear what are the most appropriate outcomes to measure imagery ability and cognitive or behavioural change following mental practice. A further important issue that needs consideration as part of this research topic is dosage, as it is currently unclear how much mental practice is appropriate and whether this depends on patient variables such as age, cognitive functioning, motor function, or pathophysiology.

Summary: Evaluations of intervention programs seek to present high-quality design, measures and data to assess their merit and worth. While evaluations differ in their purpose, theoretical framework and methodology, their collective aim is to obtain relevant and meaningful information to inform practice, research, and policy. As such, evaluation findings serve to build a body of knowledge on effective approaches to promote designated psychological outcomes, critical to an individual's overall health and well-being. However, as examined in this e-book, methodological weaknesses directly limit the potential of evaluations of intervention programs. As discussed by Chacón-Moscoso and Sanduvete-Chaves, methodological weaknesses can be attributed to how to define and measure methodological quality and the contextual dependency of instruments designed to measure this quality. In response, this e-book provides a collection of studies on methodological approaches to promote the quality of psychological interventions. Specifically, 10 original works published in the Research Topic Methodological Quality of Interventions in Psychology are included. The papers are organized into two chapters. Concretely, Chapter 1 includes studies pertaining to methodological approaches to enhance the quality of psychological intervention, being context independent solutions. Furthermore, Chapter 2 presents original work in different areas (health, education, sport and social welfare) where methodological quality has been better assessed. Collectively, the papers in this e-book serve to expand the awareness of practitioners and researchers interested in psychological interventions of the critical role of methodological quality in this work. This research was funded by the projects 1150096 (Chilean National Fund of Scientific and Technological Development, FONDECYT); and PSI2015-71947-REDT (Spain's Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness).

Summary: What is expertise? A modest answer implies good competence possessed by individuals with acknowledged skill. Although this interpretation implies adequate competence, a more precise definition signifies exclusive competence that experts are able to exhibit consistently. Such expertise falls within two categories: normatively exclusive expertise lies at the upper extreme of distributions for skills practiced by many people: another form refers to exclusive skills practiced by few people. Although both these forms typically show peak performance levels in early to mid-adulthood, objective comparisons outside this range often make use of age-graded categories. For example, competitions for junior and master athletes enable comparison of athletic prowess within categories pertaining to youth and later life, respectively. This Research Topic focuses on understanding human potential across the lifespan. Indicators of human potential include superior performances, relative to those by age peers, during given historical epochs. Examples used in previous research include record or top ranked performances in athletics and swimming, top ratings by chess players, high levels on objective measures of occupational or recreational performance, and superior laboratory performance after sustained periods of focussed deliberate practice. General modeling of such data indicates a necessity for sustained and focussed deliberate practice for the acquisition and maintenance of expertise. Focussed deliberate practice at the acquisition stage contributes to cognitive or physiological gains that enable transitions across a sequence of states relevant to expertise. Continuation of such practice contributes to the maintenance of expertise and, together with compensation and adaptation, helps to lessen performance loss beyond the period of peak performance. More specific models include those that emphasize the physiological underpinnings of expertise in different activities, cognitive techniques used to enhance performance, tactics within competitive activities, strategies pertaining to repeated performances, supportive influences on the development and retention of expertise, and statistical modeling of age trends. From a life span perspective, such modeling should take account of three temporal trends that, by consensus, provide the methodological foundations for lifespan research. These trends are historical transition (e.g., in participation rates and types of training in sport), cohort differences (i.e., cross-sectional trend) and age changes (i.e., longitudinal trend). Issues in modeling that require attention include (but are by no means limited to) the following: a) discussion about appropriate data analytic procedures to distinguish developmental and aging effects from those associated with cohort differences and historical era; for example, the extent to which developmental effects can be modelled for use in identifying talent in sport; b) investigation of the generalizability of findings from top performers: for example, the extent to which their age trends generalize to those of lesser ability; c) examination of issues related to attrition from databases of top performances: for example, attrition from such databases as age-class records and annual 'Top N' performance rankings arise from deletion of entries replaced by superior subsequent performances, in addition to reasons associated with morbidity, mortality, and loss of interest.

Summary: Society is currently confronted with the continuing environmental problems of global warming and ocean acidification related to increasing CO2 emission from anthropogenic sources. These environmental issues are also connected to the inevitable energy supply shortage due to the eventual depletion of fossil fuel sources. As a solution, the technology of recycling CO2 into useful organic materials continues to attract attention. This methodology can be categorized into two main parts: CO2 fixation and CO2 reduction. For both reactions, molecular catalysts based on transition metal coordination complexes and organometallic compounds have been developed and examined. Molecular catalysts can be characterized and iteratively improved at the molecular level through spectroscopic experiments and the isolation of intermediate species, which is particularly advantageous in comparison to heterogeneous catalysts. The fixation of CO2 into organic compounds to form a carbon-carbon bond by using organometallic catalysts is a direct methodology for CO2 utilization and represents the potential reversible storage of electrochemical energy in chemical bonds. The resultant carboxylic acid-containing compounds formed as the initial products can be subsequently converted into other organic materials, even products with new chiral centers. The reduction of CO2 by two electrons (often with a proton donor as a co-substrate) yields carbon monoxide (CO) and formic acid (HCOOH), which can be further converted to useful chemicals. Reduction reactions involving more than two electrons and two protons can produce formaldehyde (HCHO), methanol (CH3OH), and methane (CH4), which are also desirable as chemicals and fuels. For molecular electrocatalysts, more negative potentials than the equilibrium ones for CO2 reduction are generally required; the difficulty is that the equilibrium potentials for CO2 reduction are generally negative of the equilibrium potential for proton reduction to produce H2, representing a competing thermodynamically favored process. A complementary approach to an electrochemical one is to mediate CO2 reduction with photo-induced electron transfer reactions. Photo- and electrocatalytic CO2 reduction can be used to achieve artificial photosynthesis, or the production of commodity chemicals and fuels with renewable energy inputs originating from solar sources. This Research Topic covers the molecular catalysts based on coordination and organometallic compounds for CO2 fixation/reduction. It includes chemical, electrochemical, and photochemical reactions. It also covers systematic studies of reaction mechanisms and the spectroscopic characterization of catalytic intermediates. Molecular catalysts for CO2 fixation/reduction used as co-catalysts with heterogeneous catalytic systems are also included. Non-precious and abundant transition metal catalysts for CO2 fixation/reduction are important for future industrial applications as core components of the next generation of energy technologies.

Summary: Pediatric resuscitation medicine has witnessed significant advances with improved understanding of the pathophysiology of cardiac arrest and resuscitation. Multiple mechanisms of neurological injury have been identified, outlining potential avenues for neuroprotection following cardiac arrest. Resuscitation science exists at multiple levels of analysis, from biomechanics of chest compressions to implementation of best training procedures in real time, from epidemiology of cardiac arrest survival to molecular mechanisms of cellular injury due to ischemia and reperfusion. What next steps in research and in clinical practice will ensure the best possible neurologic outcome among children who survive cardiac arrest? How can we leverage novel technologies in neuroimaging, nanomaterials, drug delivery, biomarker-based risk stratification and next generation sequencing, among others, to resuscitate and to protect the Central Nervous System (CNS)? How can we improve clinical trial design and data analyses to maintain a robust clinical research infrastructure and to ensure validity and applicability? These are just some of the questions will addressed in this Research Topic. Using evidence-based algorithms and public health approaches to disseminate them, the last decade has seen a paradigm shift in pediatric resuscitation with significantly improved survival from pediatric cardiac arrests. However, neurologic outcome in survivors remains far from optimal. High quality CPR is increasingly recognized as a key factor for improving neurologic outcomes. Advanced technologies allow monitoring the quality of CPR and just-in-time feedback to improve the quality of CPR. Further research is needed to evaluate impact of these technologies on neurologic outcome. The recent American Heart Association CPR guidelines emphasis on Circulation-Airway-Breathing (CAB) approach to CPR needs a careful evaluation in children, in whom timely airway and breathing support are as important as circulation. The growing controversy regarding use of epinephrine, and alternative routes of administration of epinephrine during CPR, warrants further evaluation in the setting of pediatric CPR. Improved outcome of hemodynamic goal-directed CPR over standard CPR in animal models of cardiac arrest has initiated interest in physiology-based CPR, especially in the in-hospital cardiac arrest. Basic and applied-science research have become relevant for specific subpopulations of pediatric cardiac arrest victims and circumstances (e.g., ventricular fibrillation, neonates, congenital heart disease, extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation). Just-in-time and just-in-place simulation training, which have evolved as training strategies to improve quality of CPR, are being evaluated for outcomes. The concept of just-in-time and just-in-place coaching of CPR providers on high quality CPR is a novel concept which has emerged recently and remains unstudied. Whilst there have been significant advances in newborn stabilization over the last decade many questions remain unanswered. These include the role of delayed cord clamping in preterm infants and term newborns requiring resuscitation, the role of sustained inflations as a method of respiratory support and the role of epinephrine and volume administration in neonatal resuscitation. Novel methods of assessment including the use of end tidal CO2 monitoring, respiratory function monitoring and near infrared spectroscopy warrant further evaluation. The use of transitioning animal models that accurately replicate the newborn circulation with patent fetal shunts are emerging but more assessments in these are required to better establish CPR strategies in newborn infants. Newborn resuscitation training programs have resulted in a reduction in neonatal mortality in the developing world, but key questions remain around the frequency of training, team training methods and the role of simulation training. Post resuscitation interventions, in particular therapeutic hypothermia, has resulted in significant improvements in long-term outcome and there is now a growing interest in adjunct therapies, such as use of melatonin, erythropoietin, or other neuroprotective molecules to improve therapeutic benefits of cooling. Therapeutic hypothermia did not provide any higher benefit than normothermia in children following out of hospital cardiac arrest, although three is considerable debate in the community whether 14% probability of observing a similar outcome if the study were repeated a 100 times applies to an individual child in the PICU. Exciting research is occurring in unraveling connection between inflammation, immune dysregulation and neuroinjury. This will further support research on the use of anti-inflammatory agents and immunomodulators for neuroprotection after cardiac arrest and birth asphyxia.

Summary: When we think about expertise, we usually consider people who master tasks at a level not reachable by most other people. Although we rarely realise it, however, most humans are experts in many aspects of everyday life. This expertise enables us to find our way through a complex environment that is our life. For instance, we can instantly recognise multiple objects and relations between them to form a meaningful unit, such as an office. Thus, research on expertise is not only important to investigate the cognitive and neural processes within an "elite" group, but it is also a powerful tool to understand how everyone can acquire complex skills. The goal of this Research Topic is to shed further light on the common and distinct neural mechanisms that implement various kinds of expertise. We broadly define expertise as skill in any perceptual, cognitive, social or motor domain, with the common core being optimised information processing due to knowledge acquired from repeated experiences. Thus, we are interested in the full range of mental processes modulated or modified by expertise, from "simple" object or pattern recognition to complex decision making or problem solving in a particular domain. These domains can range from everyday or occupational expertise to sports and rather artificial domains such as board games. In all cases, the aim should be to elucidate how the brain implements these sometimes incredible feats. We are particularly interested in connecting cognitive theories about expertise and expertise-related performance differences with models and data on the neural implementation of expertise. We welcome original research contributions using the full range of behavioural neuroscience methods, as well as theoretical, methodological or historical reviews, and opinion papers focusing on any of the above-mentioned aspects.

Summary: Neuromuscular performance can be regarded as the ability of the neuromuscular system to functionally control and drive movements by an appropriate integration, coordination and use of sensory feedback, reflex activity, central motor drive, muscle recruitment pattern, muscular excitation-contraction coupling and energy availability. This ability, for instance, enables the human organism to maintain stability and posture within the gravitational field in static and dynamic situations, to generate an appropriate amount of force necessary to solve a given motor task successfully or to co-ordinate limb movements in order to protect body structures and to avoid tissue damage. It is widely accepted within the scientific community that a well-developed capacity of the neuromuscular system is highly relevant for fitness and health during the whole lifespan. In early years, the appropriate development of the neuromuscular capacity supports the acquisition of basic movement and motor skills and, thus, contributes to sports competency. In this regard, a high neuromuscular performance may lead children and adolescents into an active and sportive lifestyle. Furthermore, the capacity of the neuromuscular system is fundamental to achieve peak sports performance in late adolescence and young adulthood. In this regard, there is also convincing evidence that injury risk can be reduced by appropriate exercise interventions targeting particularly the neuromuscular system. During later stages of life, a well-trained neuromuscular capacity enables people to stay active and healthy as well as maintaining the ability to fulfil the job requirements. In elderly people, neuromuscular fitness may minimize the risk of falling. During the later stages of life, the capacity of the neuromuscular system remains relevant to deal with the demands of daily life and, thus, to stay mobile and independent as long as possible. Although the relevance of neuromuscular performance is widely recognized, there is a large diversity in assessment methods and potentially efficacious exercise interventions. Whereas the aerobic capacity or muscular strength are very similarly assessed from childhood to older age, for instance, by conducting a VO2 max or one-repetition maximum test, respectively, there is no such uniform assessment method for neuromuscular performance measures. The diversity of assessment methods is at least partly reflected by a large heterogeneity of intervention approaches. This phenomenon might be attributed to an anticipated task-specificity of neuromuscular co-ordination and adaptations. A valid comparison of neuromuscular performance during different stages of the lifespan is therefore difficult.

Summary: Both the acquisition of new and the modification of previously acquired motor skills are necessary to achieve optimal levels of motor performance in everyday functioning as well as to attain expert performance levels that are evident in sports and arts. A multitude of factors have been shown to influence the various stages of the learning process, from the acquisition (i.e., motor memory encoding) to the consolidation and subsequent retention of a skill. These factors, or modulators, can affect learning through online processes taking place during practice of a new motor skill or through offline processes occurring in the absence of task performance (i.e., after training sessions). Although much of the recent research from various disciplines has placed an increased emphasis on identifying factors that can influence the motor learning process, we lack an integrated understanding of online and offline determinants of motor skill behaviours. Potential motor learning modulators include, but are certainly not limited to, stress, anxiety, attention, executive functioning, social interaction, stimulus-response mapping, training schedule/regimen, learning environment, vigilance/consciousness states including sleep, wakefulness or meditation, brain stimulation, interference as well as resting state brain connectivity. Pathological and non-pathological (i.e., development or aging) changes in the brain can also be conceptualized as potential modulators. The aim of this Research Topic is to bridge research from the cognitive, sensory, motor and psychological domains using various behavioural paradigms and neuroimaging techniques in order to provide a comprehensive view of the online and offline modulators of motor learning, and how they interact to influence motor performance. Critically, the overarching goal is to gain a better understanding of how motor behaviour can be optimized. We believe that merging research from diverse neuroscientific communities would contribute to fulfilling this goal and potentially highlight possible shared neurophysiological mechanisms influencing motor learning.

Summary: At present citizens are more aware of their health and care rights and more literate about their disease. Furthermore the continuous development of technological and bio-medical solutions are alimenting the expectation for longer and better life expectancy, even despite the diagnosis. Patients require to be higher involved in the decision making about their care and are willing to deeply entangle all the possible treatment options, their advantages, and their risks. In other terms, citizens today want to be treated not only as "client" but mainly as partners of the medical action and as co-authors of the success of their healthcare pathway. Due to this socio-psychological change in patients' attitude, healthcare systems today are claimed to a deep revision of their practices and organizational models in order to become better responsive to patients' expectation and more sustainable and effective in the management of their services. Patient participation and engagement in healthcare management, indeed, is today acknowledged by policy makers and healthcare experts as a valuable option to orient changes and actions of the healthcare systems. Several empirical studies have demonstrated the positive outcomes of a participatory care approach at the clinical, psychosocial, and economic levels. Patient Engagement, thus, appears today not only an ethical but also a pragmatic imperative for the innovation and the improvement of healthcare system. Moving from these premises, this e-book collects first research experiences, conceptual contribution and review of good practices in the area of Patient Engagement promotion. The e-book also discusses the relevance and the theoretical linkages between the concept of Patient Engagement and that one of Patient Centered Medicine.

Summary: This eBook is a collection of articles from a Frontiers Research Topic. Frontiers Research Topics are very popular trademarks of the Frontiers Journals Series: they are collections of at least ten articles, all centered on a particular subject. With their unique mix of varied contributions from Original Research to Review Articles, Frontiers Research Topics unify the most influential researchers, the latest key findings and historical advances in a hot research area! Find out more on how to host your own Frontiers Research Topic or contribute to one as an author by contacting the Frontiers Editorial Office: frontiersin.org/about/contact

Summary: This eBook is a collection of articles from a Frontiers Research Topic. Frontiers Research Topics are very popular trademarks of the Frontiers Journals Series: they are collections of at least ten articles, all centered on a particular subject. With their unique mix of varied contributions from Original Research to Review Articles, Frontiers Research Topics unify the most influential researchers, the latest key findings and historical advances in a hot research area! Find out more on how to host your own Frontiers Research Topic or contribute to one as an author by contacting the Frontiers Editorial Office: frontiersin.org/about/contact