Search

Summary: Disasters such as earthquakes, cyclones, floods, heat waves, nuclear accidents, and large-scale pollution incidents take lives and incur major health problems. The majority of large-scale disasters affect the most vulnerable populations, which often comprise extreme ages, remote living areas, and endemic poverty, as well as people with low literacy. Health emergency and disaster risk management (Health-EDRM) refers to the systematic analysis and management of health risks surrounding emergencies and disasters, and plays an important role in reducing the hazards and vulnerability along with extending preparedness, responses, and recovery measures. This concept encompasses risk analyses and interventions, such as accessible early warning systems, the timely deployment of relief workers, and the provision of suitable drugs and medical equipment to decrease the impact of disasters on people before, during, and after an event (or events). Currently, there is a major gap in the scientific literature regarding Health-EDRM to facilitate major global policies and initiatives for disaster risk reduction worldwide.

Summary: Urbanisation and climate change are pushing cities to find novel pathways leading to a sustainable future. The urban context may be viewed as a new experimentation space to accelerate the transition to a circular economy. Urban symbiosis and the circular economy are emerging concepts attracting more and more attention within the urban context. Moreover, new business models are emerging around sharing and peer-to-peer practices, which are challenging existing roles of actors in society. These developments are having an important impact on the flows of resources and the use of the city infrastructure, and each research area has taken a different perspective in the analysis of such impacts. This Special Issue aims to explore what a "circular city" could constitute and how and why cities engage in circularity. This Special Issue includes seven high-quality papers on the theories and practices of circular cities. Actors, concepts, methods, tools, the barriers to and enablers of circular cities are discussed and a solid base and inspiration for the future development of circular cities are provided.

Summary: The present reprint contains all of the articles accepted and published in the Special Issue " Advances in Artificial Intelligence and Statistical Techniques with Applications to Health and Education" from the MDPI journal Mathematics. This Special Issue aims to develop more efficient and effective approaches to healthcare and education, leveraging the increasing availability of big data and advancements in artificial intelligence. By sharing new methods, applications, and case studies, this reprint is dedicated to the development of innovative solutions that improve healthcare and education for all. The topics addressed in this Special Issue cover a wide range of areas, including data mining, machine learning, learning analytics, prediction methods, pattern recognition, decision analysis, probabilistic reasoning, fuzzy systems, student or patient modelling, adaptive systems, collaborative systems, recommendation systems, experimental design, and empirical study cases. We hope that this reprint will enable the scientific community in both medicine and education to leverage the techniques from statistics and artificial intelligence to drive significant advances in their respective fields. These approaches hold promise for improving patient outcomes and enhancing the quality of education for students around the world.

Summary: This book represents one of the most up-to-date collections of articles on clinical practice and research in the field of Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). The scholars who contributed to this book are experts in their field, carrying out cutting edge research in prestigious institutes worldwide (e.g., Harvard Medical School, University of California, MIND Institute, King's College, Karolinska Institute, and many others). The book addressed many topics, including (1) The COVID-19 pandemic; (2) Epidemiology and prevalence; (3) Screening and early behavioral markers; (4) Diagnostic and phenotypic profile; (5) Treatment and intervention; (6) Etiopathogenesis (biomarkers, biology, and genetic, epigenetic, and risk factors); (7) Comorbidity; (8) Adulthood; and (9) Broader Autism Phenotype (BAP). This book testifies to the complexity of performing research in the field of ASD. The published contributions underline areas of progress and ongoing challenges in which more certain data is expected in the coming years. It would be desirable that experts, clinicians, researchers, and trainees could have the opportunity to read this updated text describing the challenging heterogeneity of Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Summary: This Special Issue of the International Journal of Molecular Science comprises a comprehensive study on "Antimicrobial Materials with Medical Applications". The Special Issue has been inspired by the great progress made in the development of new antimicrobial materials that go beyond the resistance of microbes to modern antibiotics. It covers a selection of recent research and review articles in the field of antimicrobial materials and their medical applications. Moreover, it also provides an overview of this increasingly diverse field, presenting recent developments and the latest research, with particular emphasis on new antimicrobial surfaces, medical devices, contact lens, package materials, etc.

Summary: This Antimicrobial Prescribing and Stewardship Issue (volume 1) consist of manuscripts, including original research, review articles, case series, and opinion papers for topics related to antimicrobial (antibiotic, antifungal) stewardship, including: Disease-based/organism-based antimicrobial stewardship;Diagnostic stewardship;Influence of antimicrobial utilisation changes in antimicrobial resistance;Impact of antimicrobial stewardship on quality performance measures and patient outcomes;Novel antimicrobial stewardship education and training approaches or interventions aimed at the public and/or healthcare workers;Behavioural change approaches to antimicrobial stewardship;Collaborative practice agreements in antimicrobial stewardship;Antimicrobial stewardship in special populations (e.g., paediatrics, geriatrics, emergency medicine, hematology/oncology);Tackling AMR through antimicrobial stewardship in low- and middle-income countries;Antimicrobial stewardship for animal health;Antimicrobial stewardship in alternative settings (e.g., community practice, long-term care, and resource-limited small and rural hospitals);Antimicrobial use and stewardship in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic;Global collaborations to tackle AMR through antimicrobial stewardship.

Summary: This book brings together all 16 articles published in the Special Issue "Applied Mathematics to Mechanisms and Machines" of the MDPI Mathematics journal, in the section "Engineering Mathematics". The subject matter covered by these works is varied, but they all have mechanisms as the object of study and mathematics as the basis of the methodology used. In fact, the synthesis, design and optimization of mechanisms, robotics, automotives, maintenance 4.0, machine vibrations, control, biomechanics and medical devices are among the topics covered in this book. This volume may be of interest to all who work in the field of mechanism and machine science and we hope that it will contribute to the development of both mechanical engineering and applied mathematics.

Summary: The protection and maintenance of environmental resources for future generations require responsible interaction between humans and the environment in order to avoid wasting natural resources. According to an ancient Native American proverb, "We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children." This indigenous wisdom has the potential to play a significant role in defining environmental sustainability. Recent technological advances could sustain humankind and allow for comfortable living. However, not all of these advancements have the potential to protect the environment for future generations. Developing societies and maintaining the sustainability of the ecosystem require appropriate wisdom, technology, and management collaboration. This book is a collection of 19 important articles (15 research articles, 3 review papers, and 1 editorial) that were published in the Special Issue of the journal Sustainability entitled "Appropriate Wisdom, Technology, and Management toward Environmental Sustainability for Development" during 2021-2022.addresses the policymakers and decision-makers who are willing to develop societies that practice environmental sustainability, by collecting the most recent contributions on the appropriate wisdom, technology, and management regarding the different aspects of a community that can retain environmental sustainability.

Summary: Arts therapy is a form of psychotherapy that uses artistic media, the creative process, and artwork as its primary forms of communication. The arts therapies cover six areas of specialization: visual arts, music, dance and movement, drama, psychodrama, and bibliotherapy. Several studies and reviews have demonstrated its effectiveness for adult populations (e.g., Regev and Cohen-Yatziv, 2018), as well as for children and adolescents (e.g., Cohen-Yatziv and Regev, 2019). Academic writing and research, which have evolved extensively in recent decades, have underscored the considerable significance of arts therapies especially for children and adolescents.This Special Issue, "Arts Therapies with Children and Adolescents", is dedicated to presenting research and clinical writing in the field of the Arts Therapies with Children and Adolescents in a variety of settings, including hospitals, the education system, mental health clinics, and others. I hope that this Special Issue will serve as a repository of knowledge for arts therapists and as a fertile terrain for further research in the field. It should also pave the way for more professionals working with children and adolescents to better understand the meaning and uniqueness of the therapeutic work in arts therapies and the dedicated ways in which arts therapists use assessment tools and arts-based interventions to better understand the world of children and adolescents.

Summary: The pandemic period has caused severe socio-economic damage, but it is accompanied by environmental deterioration that can also affect economic opportunities and social equity. In the face of this double risk, future generations are ready to be resilient and make their contribution not only on the consumption side, but also through their inclusion in all companies by bringing green and circular principles with them. Policy makers can also favor this choice.

Summary: The field of healthcare is constantly evolving and advancing with new technologies and innovations. Among these, assistive technologies, robotics, and automated machines are rapidly gaining ground as powerful tools to improve the quality of care and enhance patient outcomes. From wearable devices that monitor vital signs to surgical robots that assist in complex procedures, these technologies have the potential to revolutionize the way we deliver healthcare. The development and the integration of assistive technologies, care robots, and automated machines are strategic both as single components, when paired together, and when interconnected in the health domain.This reprint explores the latest developments in assistive technologies, robotics, and automated machines in the health domain, providing a comprehensive overview of their applications and potential impact. The reprint is for the benefit of healthcare professionals, researchers, engineers, and students interested in these rapidly evolving fields.

Summary: Available research has indicated a decline in physical fitness and motor competence over the last several decades. Movement restrictions and policies that have emphasized social distancing, due to the recent COVID-19 pandemic, may have further increased the prevalence of youth with insufficient physical fitness and motor competence. As physical fitness and motor competence are critical contributors to an active and healthy lifestyle, it is important to re-emphasize their role in the general health and development of children and adolescents and, accordingly, future public health. Particularly with the re-opening of schools, sports clubs and public parks, the promotion of activities that enhance physical fitness and motor competence in children and adolescents is warranted. This reprint highlights the importance of physical fitness and motor competence for the health and well-being of children and adolescents, by providing an interdisciplinary platform for research addressing this topic.

Summary: The reprint provides a comprehensive review of various topics related to sustainable building design and operation, with a particular focus on energy efficiency and environmental impact. It covers a wide range of topics, including visual comfort assessment, decision-making processes of residents, low-cost devices for CO2 monitoring, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on residential energy use. The reprint also includes discussions on solar energy in urban planning, cost-optimal measures for energy renovation, and passive solar solutions for buildings. It provides insights into the use of different materials and strategies for improving the energy efficiency of building envelopes, including the integration of phase change materials and the use of reflective coatings on building roofs. Several case studies are presented in the book, which explores the implementation of sustainable design strategies in different building types and climates. The authors also discuss the use of advanced modeling techniques to simulate the performance of different building systems, including vertical greenery systems and the solar cadaster.

Summary: Biosensor technologies have received a great amount of interest in recent decades, and this has especially been the case in recent years due to the health alert caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The sensor platform market has grown in recent decades, and the COVID-19 outbreak has led to an increase in the demand for home diagnostics and point-of-care systems. With the evolution of biosensor technology towards portable platforms with a lower cost on-site analysis and a rapid selective and sensitive response, a larger market has opened up for this technology. The evolution of biosensor systems has the opportunity to change classic analysis towards real-time and in situ detection systems, with platforms such as point-of-care and wearables as well as implantable sensors to decentralize chemical and biological analysis, thus reducing industrial and medical costs. This book is dedicated to all the research related to biosensor technologies. Reviews, perspective articles, and research articles in different biosensing areas such as wearable sensors, point-of-care platforms, and pathogen detection for biomedical applications as well as environmental monitoring will introduce the reader to these relevant topics. This book is aimed at scientists and professionals working in the field of biosensors and also provides essential knowledge for students who want to enter the field.

Summary: The business model concept has gained a prominent position both in academia and among practitioners during the past 30+ years. The aim of this Special Issue of Systems is to contribute to a stronger theoretical basis for the business model concept. This includes a focus on the systemic character of business models and the systems approaches that this entails. Another important aspect is to allocate more attention to innovations of business models. The business models that emerged with e-commerce and e-business as such were in themselves innovations. However, innovations of business models have received too little attention. Most of the business models analyzed and discussed in the business model literature have been rather static instead of dynamic. This is the reason why this Special Issue of Systems, entitled 'Business Model-the Perspective of Systems Thinking and Innovation', has been developed.

Summary: Personalized medicine is playing an important role in cancer prevention. To date, it is clear that many cancers are molecularly distinct subtypes, and different therapeutic approaches would be required for each. This Special Issue brings together original research and review articles on molecular oncology with attention to the early detection and prevention of cancer. It highlights new findings, methods, and technical advances in molecular cancer research. The main feature of this reprint was to provide an open-source sharing of significant works in the field of molecular oncology that can increase our understanding of cancer development. Topics include:Molecular methods to personalize cancer screening and detection;Molecular target therapies to prevent cancer development and metastases;Identification and new aspects of cellular signaling molecules and pathways for target discovery, drug design and personalized and gender medicine;Drug repurposing for cancer prevention;Molecular modeling studies.

Summary: The measurement of economic entities' financial strength is one of the significant challenges of modern economic and financial research. With increased financial globalization, faster economic changes, and a new dimension of increased financial risk in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic crisis due to its biological nature and broad scope, affecting the whole world simultaneously, the issue of forecasting financial energy is gaining much more importance currently. This Special Issue entitled "Challenge and Research Trends of Forecasting Financial Energy" is devoted to the broad research area of forecasting financial energy of economic units such as enterprises, households, local governments, etc. Conceptualizing the term of financial energy, we aim to capture a wide spectrum of predicting and evaluating the financial standing, including various aspects of corporate finance, personal finance, and public finance.

Summary: The prevalence of overweight and obesity has significantly increased over the past few decades and is linked to metabolic diseases across the lifespan. Its etiology has been attributed to a large number of sociodemographic, behavioral (e.g. unhealthy nutrition, low levels of physical activity), perinatal, and clinical risk factors, which are active already from childhood and adolescence. Still, their exact role, interplay, and mechanisms implicated in this process remain unclear. The trends of childhood obesity call for actions regarding the prevention and management of this disease early in life. The Special Issue "Childhood Obesity: Nutrition and Lifestyle Determinants, Prevention and Management" aims to host original articles, systematic reviews or meta- analyses that will advance the current knowledge on the role of health behaviors, especially of nutrition, on the development of overweight or obesity in childhood and adolescence, provide valuable information about the nutritional habits of overweight/obese children and adolescents, and describe novel approaches via lifestyle modification for the prevention or management of obesity in youth.

Summary: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) chronic infection can determine liver fibrosis, cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma, as well as several extra-hepatic manifestations (i.e., mixed cryoglobulinemia, metabolic syndrome, kidney disease, etc.). HCV infection is asymptomatic until severe stages of disease, thus screening policy in the general population and in specific risk categories is necessary to allow for timely intervention. Despite a high sustained virological response by direct-acting antiviral drugs, a limited percentage of treated subject failed therapy according to resistance associated substitution carried on viral isolates and comorbidities in infected patients. Therefore, tailored therapy is required to cure HCV infection. Failure to comply with these conditions may impair success of HCV eradication expected by 2030. This Special Issue aims to discuss eradication perspectives related to therapy efficacy in patients with chronic diseases, developments in diagnostic procedures and improvements in screening policy.

Summary: The clinical spectrum of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is highly heterogeneous, ranging from mild disease, which can be limited to skin and joint involvement, to life-threatening conditions with renal impairment, severe cytopenias, central nervous system disease, and thromboembolic events. Apart from the host genetics, several environmental factors, such as sunlight, infections, drugs, and probably hormonal factors, can trigger the onset of symptoms related to SLE. Despite significant advances in our understanding of the pathophysiology and optimization of medical care, patients with SLE still have significant rates of premature mortality and many patients experience severe disease with increased risk of sustaining organ damage and having a reduced health-related quality of life. The development of effective drugs that can induce remission or low disease activity, the unanimous use of definitions of remission and low or high disease activity, flare, and response to therapy, the identification of non-invasive biomarkers of disease activity and long-term outcomes, and the implementation of SLE patients' perspectives as an integral part of the clinical assessment constitute only a few of the many unmet needs in the field of SLE.

Summary: This book is a collection of original research articles in the field of computer-aided drug design. It reports the use of current and validated computational approaches applied to drug discovery as well as the development of new computational tools to identify new and more potent drugs.

Summary: This is a reprint of the MDPI IJERPH Special Issue entitled "COVID-19 and Environment: Impacts of a Global Pandemic". The reprint consists of 17 papers with different topics related to the COVID-19 pandemic and environmental impacts using data from different countries all over the globe.

Summary: It is a great pleasure to provide you this Special Issue of Nutrients related to the 5th International Conference "Vitamin D-Minimum, Maximum, Optimum", under the auspices of the European Vitamin D Association (EVIDAS). The conference and the forthcoming papers serve as an international forum for the presentation and discussion of current basic and clinical research in the field of vitamin D. Organizing this subsequent Special Issue was truly challenging, given that vitamin D has recently been shown by prestigious medical journals to be an epiphenomenon that coincides with diseases, and that the correction of vitamin D deficits has limited clinical meaning. On the other hand, it was recognized that vitamin D deficiency is a global health problem with potential negative consequences on health, welfare, and morbidity during growth and adulthood, therefore influencing healthcare services worldwide. Thus, due to mutually exclusive conclusions, it was essential to discuss and share scientific reports and evidence demonstrating both the benefits and lack thereof in relation to human health. Prof. Dr. Pawel Pludowski Guest Editor

Summary: This compendium describes the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on all aspects of people lives. Data presented in this collection will be useful to understand the disruption in healthcare, learning, and socio-economic aspects amidst the pandemic. The sooner we begin to understand the impact, the better placed we will be to address the unmet needs of vulnerable population groups.

Summary: On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic and the disease now affects nearly every country and region. Caused by SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 presents significant challenges to health systems and public health in both hemispheres as well as to the economies of each country. The morbidity and mortality due to infections caused by SARS-CoV-2 have been significant despite the short duration since its discovery and initially overwhelmed many hospitals and clinics. It influences everyone, and countermeasures have been dramatic in their impact on employment, social systems, and mental health. This Special Issue provides an avenue for authors from various disciplines to provide feedback on our responses and preparedness to COVID-19 globally as well as to disseminate critical information about the SARS-CoV-2 virus and the associated COVID-19 pandemic. It consists of 22 peer-reviewed papers that cover worldwide perspectives encompasses the following: Original articles about COVID-19 (including epidemiology, modelling, clinical data, treatment, prevention, countermeasures, impacts on tropical regions, response, and preparedness);Original articles about SARS-CoV-2 (microbiology, virology, transmission, pathology, and vaccinology);Perspectives about COVID-19 and SARS-CoV-2 (comparisons with past coronavirus outbreaks, impactful local initiatives, novel responses, and commentaries);Reviews on COVID-19 (based on systematic and narrative reviews);and Innovations (vaccine development, drug trials, and original countermeasures).

Summary: The interrelationship between economic growth, efficient use of natural resources, and sustainability has been of great interest to economists, researchers and policy makers. Knowledge of actual causality direction between sustainability, efficiency and growth has important implications for modeling environmental economic policies. Various serious environmental problems demand urgent attention and planning of adequate policies towards sustainability. Development of new economic and environmental policies and use of new econometric, operational research and mathematical and statistical techniques offers scope for further research. Studies were invited to address economic growth and environment: environmental problems; Air/water pollution; Health impact of pollution; Waste management; Natural resources management; Population economics; Environmental policy tools; Renewable energy sources; Business and sustainable development; Sustainable transport; Sustainable tourism; Urban and regional development.

Summary: Cybercrime is increasingly exposing the health domain to growing risk. The push towards a strong connection of citizens to health services, through digitalization, has undisputed advantages. Digital health allows remote care, the use of medical devices with a high mechatronic and IT content with strong automation, and a large interconnection of hospital networks with an increasingly effective exchange of data. However, all this requires a great cybersecurity commitment-a commitment that must start with scholars in research and then reach the stakeholders. New devices and technological solutions are increasingly breaking into healthcare, and are able to change the processes of interaction in the health domain. This requires cybersecurity to become a vital part of patient safety through changes in human behaviour, technology, and processes, as part of a complete solution. All professionals involved in cybersecurity in the health domain were invited to contribute with their experiences. This book contains contributions from various experts and different fields. Aspects of cybersecurity in healthcare relating to technological advance and emerging risks were addressed. The new boundaries of this field and the impact of COVID-19 on some sectors, such as mhealth, have also been addressed. We dedicate the book to all those with different roles involved in cybersecurity in the health domain.

Summary: Data science is an interdisciplinary field that applies numerous techniques, such as machine learning, neural networks, and deep learning, to create value based on extracting knowledge and insights from available data. Advances in data science have a significant impact on healthcare. While advances in the sharing of medical information result in better and earlier diagnoses as well as more patient-tailored treatments, information management is also affected by trends such as increased patient centricity (with shared decision making), self-care (e.g., using wearables), and integrated care delivery. The delivery of health services is being revolutionized through the sharing and integration of health data across organizational boundaries. Via data science, researchers can deliver new approaches to merge, analyze, and process complex data and gain more actionable insights, understanding, and knowledge at the individual and population levels. This Special Issue focuses on how data science is used in healthcare (e.g., through predictive modeling) and on related topics, such as data sharing and data management.

Summary: The dental curriculum is like a living organism-it has developed through time, manifesting regional, cultural, and scientific heritage, and reflecting modern trends. The undergraduate dental curriculum is periodically rebuilt to ensure the harmonization of higher education systems between countries, especially in Europe. Structure, content, learning, and assessment in undergraduate and postgraduate dental education and auxiliary dental personnel training are shaped based on professional consensus. Constant updates on recent technological innovations and evidence-based best practice are necessary.In modern times, ethical issues are raised more than ever. Can we teach our students how to be dedicated health professionals and manage a successful practice at the same time? Does the commercialization of our profession also affect the dental curriculum today?The COVID-19 pandemic has imposed new challenges, moving us from lecture rooms and clinics to an online environment.This Special Issue is dedicated to developing the understanding of dental education.

Summary: As Editor-in-Chief of the journal Diabetology, I am pleased to announce the Special Issue "Diabetology: Feature Papers 2021" is now published in book format. Diabetology (ISSN 2673-4540) is an international, peer-reviewed scientific open access journal that provides an advanced forum for studies related to epidemiology, etiology, pathophysiology, pathogenesis, management, complications, and prevention of diabetes, including the molecular, biochemical, and physiological aspects of diabetes. In this Special Issue, "Feature Papers", we aim to publish outstanding contributions in the main fields covered by the journal, which will make a great contribution to the community. This book covers the whole spectrum of diabetology from risk screening, risk markers, pathways of disease in type 1 diabetes and insulin treatment, and management of the disease and comorbidities.

Summary: As Editor-in-Chief of the journal Diabetology, I am pleased to announce that the Special Issue "Diabetology: Feature Papers 2022" has now been published as a reprint. Diabetology (ISSN 2673-4540) is an international, peer-reviewed scientific open access journal that provides an advanced forum for studies related to the epidemiology, etiology, pathophysiology, pathogenesis, management, complications, and prevention of diabetes, including the molecular, biochemical, and physiological aspects of diabetes. In this Special Issue, "Feature Papers", we aimed to publish outstanding contributions in the main fields covered by the journal, which will make a great contribution to the community. This reprint covers the whole spectrum of diabetology from risk screening, risk markers, pathways of disease in type 1 diabetes and insulin treatment, and management of the disease and comorbidities.

Summary: This Special Issue welcomes research papers on new approaches that have been applied or are under development to improve preparedness and emergency response. We especially encourage the submission of inter-disciplinary and crosscutting research. We also encourage the submission of manuscripts that focus on various types of disasters, disaster and emergency research, and on policy or management solutions at multiple scales.

Summary: Economic crises, such as the economic crisis of 2008, are related to several issues, including decreases in disposable income and increases in unemployment. At the individual level, decreasing disposable income, unemployment, and loss of insurance coverage have detrimental effects on the ability to seek affordable, quality, and accessible healthcare. At the population level, they have adverse effects on physical and psychological health and on overall well-being. From a healthcare services perspective, economic crises challenge the ability to provide quality, affordable healthcare services that meet the needs and expectations of the population. In the same vein, the economic consequences of the COVID-19 crisis include decreases in income, increases in unemployment, financial uncertainty, declines in living conditions, and pressures exerted on healthcare systems. On the other hand, several non-COVID-19 health-related effects are tied to the pandemic. In this sense, this book attempts to highlight the influences of economic crises on individuals, the world economy, and healthcare. Although the range of challenges attributed to economic crises is quite broad, the collection of articles in this book investigates topics that focus on the global economic crisis of 2008 as well as the one induced by the COVID-19 pandemic. In an environment of negative economic development, these kinds of issues should be highlighted, and potential solutions should be investigated.

Summary: This reprint, as a continuation of a previous Special Issue entitled "Efficiency and Optimization of Buildings Energy Consumption", gives an up-to-date overview of new technologies based on Machine Learning (ML) and Internet of Things (IoT) procedures to improve the mathematical approach of algorithms that allow control systems to be improved with the aim of reducing housing sector energy consumption.

Summary: This book provides a review of the management of chronic diseases (evaluation and treatment) through eHealth. Studies that examine how eHealth can help to prevent, evaluate, or treat chronic diseases and their outcomes are included.

Summary: The successful management of emergencies and public health crises depends on adequate measures being implemented at all levels of the emergency chain of action, from policy makers to the general population. It starts with appropriate risk assessment, prevention, and mitigation and continues to prehospital and hospital care, recovery, and evaluation. All levels of action require well-thought out emergency management plans and routines based on established command and control, identified safety issues, functional communication, well-documented triage and treatment policies, and available logistics. All these characteristics are capabilities that should be developed and trained, particularly when diverse agencies are involved. In addition to institutional responses, a robust, community-based disaster response system can effectively mitigate and respond to all emergencies. A well-balanced response is largely dependent on local resources and regional responding agencies that all too often train and operate within "silos", with an absence of interagency cooperation. The importance of this book issue is its commitment to all parts of emergency and public health crisis management from a multiagency perspective. It aims to discuss lessons learned and emerging risks, introduce new ideas about flexible surge capacity, and show the way it can practice multiagency collaboration.

Summary: This book compiles the cutting-edge research published in the Special Issue "Emerging Issues in Occupational Health Psychology" (International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health). The articles included in this book use strong and innovative theoretical approaches to provide evidence regarding the importance of working characteristics and resources to promote healthier and more sustainable environments in which employees can be happy and productive.

Summary: Energy and its economic implications have been in the spotlight of policymakers, academics, traders, speculators and the industry for decades now. It has been an active research topic for more than 150 years. From the 19th century, the problem of creating, processing, storing and transporting energy was well defined. The issues of efficiently producing, pricing, distributing, and forecasting the demand, supply and prices of energy-related products and services are central to most modern economies irrespective of their level of development. These issues are apparent in times of relative tranquility in the respective markets but become central for all stakeholders in times of turbulence. This volume focuses on emerging methodologies of analysis, description, modelling, and forecasting in the topical area of Energy Economics. Includes emerging and innovative methodological approaches from the areas of machine learning, artificial intelligence, econometrics, and statistics aimed to model, describe or forecast the energy markets at all levels. Additionally, the volume also presents a bibliographical review, summarizes and compares results of different studies in the energy-sustainable economic growth and development nexus. The practical importance of the results to all energy market stakeholders in terms of regulating, pricing, and distributing energy is evident. Theoretical robustness, methodological innovation, and possible direct applicability of the conclusions were the basic requirements for research work to be included in this publication.

Summary: The Paris Agreement establishes a process to combine Nationally Determined Contributions with the long-term goal of limiting global warming to well below 2 °C or even to 1.5 °C. Responding to this challenge, EU and non-EU countries are preparing national and regional low-emission strategies outlining clean energy-transition pathways. The aim of this book is to provide rigorous quantitative assessment of the challenges, impacts and opportunities induced by ambitious low-emission pathways. It aims to explore how deep emission reductions can be achieved in all energy supply and demand sectors, exploring the interplay between mitigation options, including energy efficiency, renewable energy uptake and electrification, for decarbonising inflexible end-uses such as mobility and heating. The high expansion of renewable energy poses high technical and economic challenges regarding system configuration and market organisation, requiring the development of new options such as batteries, prosumers, grid expansion, chemical storage through power-to-X and new tariff setting methods. The uptake of disruptive mitigation options (hydrogen, CCUS, clean e-fuels) as well as carbon dioxide removal (BECCS, direct air capture, etc.) may also be required in the case of net-zero emission targets, but raises market, regulatory and financial challenges. This book assesses low-emission strategies at the national and global level and their implications for energy-system development, technology uptake, energy-system costs and the socioeconomic and industrial impacts of low-emission transitions.

Summary: Entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship have become a vehicle that offers solutions for social, environmental, and economic problems. Even though the level of entrepreneurial activity and its diversity have been motivated through public policies, social support has also played an important role in encouraging people to think of entrepreneurship as a desirable career choice. This book brings together analyses of those elements required for entrepreneurial and intrapreneurial intention and action, which ultimately become important leverages of development. Chapters highlight the importance of rural, urban, university, organizational, and family environments for a bunch of intentions and behaviors such as green, sport, social, corporate, innovative, traditional, and gender entrepreneurship. This entrepreneurial diversity is translated into higher development through the empowerment of women, environmental consciousness, and efficient production. Policymakers, scholars, and practitioners can find different examples and cases useful for decision-making, learning, and practice in this book.

Summary: The topic of the reprint is very important nowadays, because ever-evolving machine learning techniques make it possible to obtain better real-world data. Therefore, this reprint contains information related to real data in fields such as automatic sign language translation, bike-sharing travel characteristics, stock index, sports data, fake news data, and more. However, it should be noted that the reprint also contains a lot of information on new developments in machine learning, new algorithms, algorithm modifications, and a new measure of classification quality assessment that also takes into account the preferences of the decision maker.

Summary: This book presents selected entropy-based applications in economics, finance and management research. The high-quality studies included in this book propose and discuss new tools and concepts derived from information theory to investigate various aspects of entropy with an assortment of applications. A wide variety of tools based on entropy confirms that entropy is potentially one of the most intricate scientific concepts. Such tools as Shannon entropy, transfer entropy, sample entropy, structural entropy, maximum entropy, fuzzy classification methods, chaos tools, etc., are utilized, and many topics in the fields of economics, finance and management are investigated. Among others, these topics comprise: market clustering, market microstructure, cryptocurrency market, market efficiency and regularity, risk spillovers, credit cycles, financial networks, income inequality, market relationships, causal inference in time series, group decision making, etc.

Summary: The spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has evolved as a global pandemic and the disease has affected nearly every country and region. This pandemic has posed further threats to people due to the emergence of the number of novel SARS-CoV-2 strains with unknown original hosts. Since the start of the pandemic, COVID-19 has overwhelmed health systems worldwide, from crippling health resources to causing paradigms shifts in health care delivery. The various strategies taken to control viral transmission including testing process, quarantine and isolation have had dire psychological and financial implications on individuals and institutions. Furthermore, many countries have implemented lockdowns and other restrictions to curb the virus's spread resulted in disrupted formal education, unplanned fiscal costs on emergency reliefs, and decreased productivity. This Special Issue provides an avenue for authors from various disciplines to better understand the risk factors associated with the spread and severity of COVID-19 infections. It also provides information about the influence of COVID-19 and its countermeasures on local economies, the environment, and mental health. This Special Issue contains 11 research articles and one review.

Summary: This is a reprint of articles from the Special Issue published online in the open access journal Journal of Functional Morphology and Kinesiology (ISSN 2411-5142) available at https://www.mdpi.com/journal/jfmk/special_issues/Exercise_Evaluation

Summary: This reprint is devoted to understanding the unique and combined effects of family risk and protective factors on child development across multiple dimensions of functioning (e.g., physical, mental, emotional, behavioral, social, and cognitive).

Summary: The "Age-Friendly Cities & Communities: States of the Art and Future Perspectives" publication presents contemporary, innovative, and insightful narratives, debates, and frameworks based on an international collection of papers from scholars spanning the fields of gerontology, social sciences, architecture, computer science, and gerontechnology. This extensive collection of papers aims to move the narrative and debates forward in this interdisciplinary field of age-friendly cities and communities.

Summary: After almost two decades of continuous development in bio, circular, and green economy, the time is ripe for the assessment of the major achievements and challenges that private and public enterprises face today to further enhance these global sustainability concepts. Due to the central role of political incentives for the development and implementation of environmentally friendly and sustainable practices, the present book project focuses on the nexus between public policies, institutions, quality of public sector management, and patterns of interaction between government and private businesses in backing bio, green, and circular economy practices and eco-innovation. In addition, the project also accommodates surveys that elaborate on the differences between the implementation of new organizational forms and scientific innovations in technologically advanced and developing settings.

Summary: This collection that is based on the Special Issue contains 37 high-quality, rigorously peer-reviewed, cutting-edge pieces of original research applying a multi-disciplinary academic approach to study how to improve environment quality and healthy living in contemporary and future urban environments. This multidisciplinary collection helps to disseminate and communicate scientific knowledge and impactful discoveries of how to make healthy cities available to researchers, academics, and the general public globally.

Summary: In this Special Issue, we aim to represent the vibrant state of protein structure studies at the end of 2021. Recent decades have brought significant changes to the protein structure research field. Thanks to the genome projects and advances in structure determination methods, the number of solved protein structures has increased significantly. Protein structure research is experiencing a new renaissance, and in 2020 the number of deposited structures in the PDB database reached a new record. An assortment of many new frontiers are presented in this collection. A single Special Issue cannot give a comprehensive overview of a large field such as proteins science, but we aim to give a broad overview of current research.