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Summary: This Special Issue of the journal Axioms collects submissions in which the authors report their perceptions and results in the field of mathematical physics and/or physical mathematics without any preconditions of the specific research topic. The papers are intended to provide the reader with a broad window into the status of the research field showing our understanding of how a known concept changes our thinking in that area of science. The papers in the Special Issue highlight the current two issues in physics and mathematics under hot debate: fractional calculus and entropy.

Summary: To celebrate its 10th anniversary, the prestigious journal Cells launched a series of Special Issues in 2021. The Special Issue entitled "10th Anniversary of Cells-Advances in Cell Cycle" was launched together with other sister Special Issues under the umbrella "10th Anniversary of Cells." The cell cycle is a series of events that drives cells to divide and produce two new daughter cells. The typical cell cycle in eukaryotes is composed of the following phases: G1, S, G2, and M phases. Cell cycle progression is mediated by cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) and their regulatory cyclin subunits. CDKs, such as CDK4/6, CDK2, and CDK1 (also known as CDC2), are serine/threonine kinases with a wide variety of substrates. CDKs are activated mainly by binding to their cyclin partners, whose expressions rise and fall throughout the cell cycle to mediate the temporal activation of each CDKs. Various cell cycle checkpoints exist to ensure that critical processes are engaged prior to progression to the next phase. These cell cycle checkpoints are the G1 (restriction) checkpoint, the G2/M DNA damage checkpoint, and the spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC).This Special Issue attracted the attention of many scientists in the cell cycle field and consists of 10 high quality papers, including four research articles and six scientific reviews: a great success. The four research articles focus on various important topics of the cell cycle using a broad range of model organisms, including yeast, sea urchins, green algae, and human cancer cell lines.

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: Fuel cells are expected to play a relevant role in the transition towards a sustainable-energy-driven world. Although this type of electrochemical system was discovered a long time ago, only in recent years has global energy awareness, together with newly developed materials and available technologies, made such key advances in relation to fuel cell potential and its deployment. It is now unquestionable that fuel cells are recognized, alongside their possibility to work in the reverse mode, as the hub of the new energy deal. Now the questions are, why are they not yet ready to be used, despite the strong economic support given from the society? What prevents them from being entered into the hydrogen energy scenario in which renewable sources will provide energy when it is not readily available? How much are researchers involved in this urgent step towards change? This book gives a clear answer, engaging with some of the open issues that explain the delay of fuel cell deployment and, at the same time, it opens a window that shows how wide and attractive the opportunities offered by this technology are. Papers collected here are not only specialist-oriented but also offer a clear landscape to curious readers and show how challenging the road to the future is.

Summary: The book "Advanced Materials for Electrochemical Energy Conversion and Storage Devices" reports new, improved electrocatalytic materials for batteries, capacitors, and fuel cells. These advances are expected to significantly impact the performance of electrochemical energy conversion and storage devices and, consequently, their commercialisation. This book is intended to be a valuable tool for those from industry and academia interested in knowing more about the field.

Summary: This reprint is the printed edition of the Special Issue published in Materials. The reprint provides an overview on current international research activities in the field of advanced pulse laser machining technology. It covers fundamental and applied aspects and collects contributions of renowned scientists from academics and industries working in the fields of laser processing, materials science, physics, chemistry, and engineering in order to foster the current knowledge and present new ideas for future applications and new technologies.

Summary: The use of biomass and organic waste material as a primary resource for the production of fuels, chemicals, and electric power is of growing significance in light of the environmental issues associated with the use of fossil fuels. For this reason, it is vital that new and more efficient technologies for the conversion of biomass are investigated and developed. Today, various advanced methods can be used for the conversion of biomass. These methods are broadly classified into thermochemical conversion, biochemical conversion, and electrochemical conversion. This book collects papers that consider various aspects of sustainability in the conversion of biomass into valuable products, covering all the technical stages from biomass production to residue management. In particular, it focuses on experimental and simulation studies aiming to investigate new processes and technologies on the industrial, pilot, and bench scales.

Summary: Although methods to assess or self-monitor intake may be considered similar, the intended function of each is quite distinct. For the assessment of dietary intake, methods aim to measure food and nutrient intake and/or to derive dietary patterns for determining diet-disease relationships, population surveillance or the effectiveness of interventions. In comparison, dietary self-monitoring primarily aims to create awareness of and reinforce individual eating behaviours, in addition to tracking foods consumed. Advancements in the capabilities of technologies, such as smartphones and wearable devices, have enhanced the collection, analysis and interpretation of dietary intake data in both contexts. This Special Issue invites submissions on the use of novel technology-based approaches for the assessment of food and/or nutrient intake and for self-monitoring eating behaviours. Submissions may document any part of the development and evaluation of the technology-based approaches. Examples may include: web adaption of existing dietary assessment or self-monitoring tools (e.g., food frequency questionnaires, screeners) image-based or image-assisted methods mobile/smartphone applications for capturing intake for assessment or self-monitoring wearable cameras to record dietary intake or eating behaviours body sensors to measure eating behaviours and/or dietary intake use of technology-based methods to complement aspects of traditional dietary assessment or self-monitoring, such as portion size estimation.

Summary: Ion-sensitive membrane-based sensors and ionic processes in bio-membranes are the focus of this book. The chapters are carefully chosen to characterize essential research trends, applications, and perspectives. They include solid contact ion-selective and reference electrodes and their electroanalytical behavior in zero and nonzero-current modes, planar and miniaturized multielectrode platforms, ion monitoring in extreme sports, and transmembrane transport through living endothelial cells to find the volume. This book is crowned by the consideration of a yet unexplored ion status in a mitochondrial matrix

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: In recent research on natural processes, mathematical modeling has become a very useful tool. It is often the case that, in fields such as economics and biology, a temporal lag between cause and effect must often be taken into consideration. In modeling, a natural and practical implementation of this phenomenon is through the use of distributed delays. This is because they illustrate the situation where temporal lags arise in certain ranges of values for certain related probability distributions, taking into account the variables' entire history of behavior. Another mathematical tool that allows for the memory and inherited properties of systems to be encompassed in a model is the replacement of integer-order derivatives with fractional derivatives. To address realistic conditions, stochastic perturbation framed by a stochastic differential delay system can be used to explain the ambiguity about the context in which the system operates. The present book comprises all the 16 articles accepted and published in the Special Issue "Advances in Differential Dynamical Systems with Applications to Economics and Biology" of the MDPI journal Mathematics, with focuses on the dynamical analysis of mathematical models, arising from economy and biology, and innovative developments in mathematical techniques for their applications. We expect that the international scientific community will find this collection of research papers influential and that they will spur additional investigations on diverse applications with respect to dynamical systems in all scientific areas.

Summary: The present reprint contains twelve papers published in the Special Issue "Advances in Discrete Applied Mathematics and Graph Theory, 2021" of the MDPI Mathematics journal, which cover a wide range of topics connected to the theory and applications of Graph Theory and Discrete Applied Mathematics. The focus of the majority of papers is on recent advances in graph theory and applications in chemical graph theory. In particular, the topics studied include bipartite and multipartite Ramsey numbers, graph coloring and chromatic numbers, several varieties of domination (Double Roman, Quasi-Total Roman, Total 3-Roman) and two graph indices of interest in chemical graph theory (Sombor index, generalized ABC index), as well as hyperspaces of graphs and local inclusive distance vertex irregular graphs.

Summary: This Special Issue celebrates the opening of a new section of the journal Foundation: Physical Sciences. Theoretical and experimental studies related to various areas of fundamental physics are presented in this Special Issue. The published papers are related to the following topics: dark matter, electron impact excitation, second flavor of hydrogen atoms, quantum antenna, molecular hydrogen, molecular hydrogen ion, wave pulses, Brans-Dicke theory, hydrogen Rydberg atom, high-frequency laser field, relativistic mean field formalism, nonlocal continuum field theories, parallel universe, charge exchange, van der Waals broadening, greenhouse effect, strange and unipolar electromagnetic pulses, quasicrystals, Wilhelm-Weber's electromagnetic force law, axions, photoluminescence, neutron stars, gravitational waves, diatomic molecular spectroscopy, information geometric measures of complexity. Among 21 papers published in this Special Issue, there are 5 reviews and 16 original research papers.

Summary: The development of science has led to the emergence of many new modern materials, which also require more advanced tools for their characterization and analysis. NMR and MRI are certainly among such tools, also due to their continuous development, which has made them more powerful, versatile, and sensitive. With these advances, these two techniques have been able to address many open problems associated with the emergence of new materials.This reprint comprises a collection of advanced NMR and MRI techniques and methods, together with a demonstration of their application to the target materials for which they were designed and optimized. These are presented in 25 original, peer-reviewed articles for the Special Issue in the MDPI journal Molecules. The topics covered include MR methods in pharmaceutical research, NMR in cement research, MR methods in wood research, diffusion in materials, characterization of materials by NMR relaxometry, NMR spectroscopy of materials, and MRI of materials.

Summary: The application of genomic, transcriptomic, and proteomic analyses brings new dimensions to our understanding of the biology of phototrophic bacteria. Comparing gene sequences of photosynthetic reaction center proteins and a key enzyme of bacteriochlorophyll biosynthesis from more than 150 genomes demonstrates the ancient roots of phototrophic bacteria. The presence and phylogeny of biosynthetic pathways of the compatible solutes ectoine and glycine betaine define groups of marine and halophilic phototrophic bacteria. The wide range of ecological niches conquered during evolution is demonstrated by the adaptation of cyanobacterial genera Scytonema, Tolypothrix, and Nostoc to different temperature ranges and the adaptation of Heliorestis species to alkaline habitats. Differences between phototrophic purple bacteria from marine and freshwater habitats are reflected in the preference for sulfidic and non-sulfidic niches. Also, a high proportion of siderophore producers was found among isolates from freshwater sources opposed to those from salty habitats . The primary colonization of carbonate rocks by a group of novel endolithic cyanobacteria and the following successions were studied over 9 months. The genomic characterization of the aerobic Dinoroseobacter strain AAP5, the strictly anaerobic and syntrophic Prosthecochloris ethylica, and the strictly anaerobic Heliorestis convoluta is reported. Significant differences in relation to oxygen are reflected in oxygen production by some species, oxygen tolerance over a wide range of concentrations, and the use of oxygen for energy generation or a strictly anaerobic lifestyle. Relations to oxygen are highlighted in papers on photooxidative stress, regulation of iron-sulfur cluster formation, and interactions of redox regulators. In situ metatranscriptomic and proteomic studies demonstrate the high metabolic flexibility of Chloroflexus aggregans in a hot spring microbial mat and show its adaptation to the changing conditions over day and night periods by a well-coordinated regulation of key metabolic processes for both phototrophic and chemotrophic growth.

Summary: Biomass has received significant attention as a sustainable feedstock that can replace diminishing fossil fuels in the production of value-added chemicals and energy. Many new catalytic technologies have been developed for the conversion of biomass feedstocks into valuable biofuels and bioproducts. However, many of these still suffer from several disadvantages, such as weak catalytic performance, harsh reaction conditions, a high processing cost, and questionable sustainability, which limit their further applicability/development in the immediate future. In this context, the esterification of carboxylic acids represents a very valuable solution to these problems, requiring mild reaction conditions and being advantageously integrable with many existing processes of biomass conversion. An emblematic example is the acid-catalyzed hydrothermal route for levulinic acid production, already upgraded to that of higher value alkyl levulinates, obtained by esterification or directly by biomass alcoholysis. Many other chemical processes benefit from esterification, such as the synthesis of biodiesel, which includes monoalkyl esters of long-chain fatty acids prepared from renewable vegetable oils and animal fats, or that of cellulose esters, mainly acetates, for textile uses. Even pyrolysis bio-oil should be stabilized by esterification to neutralize the acidity of carboxylic acids and moderate the reactivity of other typical biomass-derived compounds, such as sugars, furans, aldehydes, and phenolics. This Special Issue reports on the recent main advances in the homogeneous/heterogeneous catalytic conversion of model/real biomass components into ester derivatives that are extremely attractive for both the academic and industrial fields. Dr. Domenico Licursi Guest Editor

Summary: This reprint, which was edited by Prof. Dr. Nazar R. Ikhsanov, Prof. Dr. Galina L. Klimchitskaya, and Prof. Dr. Vladimir M. Mostepanenko, contains research and review articles published in a Special Issue of the journal Universe in memory of outstanding astrophysicist Prof. Dr. Yuri N. Gnedin, who organized and led the Department of Astrophysics at the famous Pulkovo Observatory of the Russian Academy of Sciences for several decades. In these articles, the reader will find new and intriguing ideas in several topical problems of astrophysics as well as comprehensive and readily accessible sketches of a few recently performed investigations.

Summary: Energy storage currently plays an important role in the electricity systems. Innovative energy storage solutions will play an important role in ensuring the integration of renewable energy sources into the electrical grids in the European Union. Pumped storage hydropower systems are the most mature technology of energy storage and account for over 90% of installed energy storage capacity wordwide. However, PSH technology is constrained by topography and land availability in flat areas. In addition, PSH plants are controversial due to their impacts on landscape, land use and the environment. Conversely, underground energy storage systems may be an interesting alternative to increase the energy storage capacity with low envoronmental impacts.To help address and resolve these types of questions, this book is comprised of eleven chapters that explore new ways of energy stororage reducing the environmental impacts caused by the installation of conventional energy storage systems, as well as to increase the energy storage capacity and promote the use of disused underground space, such as abandoned mines and quiarries.The chapters included in this book cover a wide spectrum of issues related to underground energy storage systems. Advances in underground pumped storage hydropower, compressed air energy storage and hydrogen energy storage systems are presented. Finally, we would like to thank both the MDPI publishing and editorial staff for their excellent work and support, as well as the authors who collaborated with your interesting research works.

Summary: The subject of this reprint covers the latest research in the field of wind energy methods and technologies. The results of work on modeling and optimization of wind turbines, their location, methods of monitoring and diagnostics, and development prospects were presented. Contemporary problems, dangers and risks in the field of wind engineering were also pointed out.

Summary: This book deals with sustainable agriculture at a time of climate change. It seeks to identify a number of solutions to deal with the agricultural stresses caused by climate change. These range from the identification and cultivation of appropriate crop varieties and the adoption of climate adaptive agricultural practices. Significant sustainable agricultural innovation is required to deal with these challenges. Intellectual property rights (IPRs) may be of crucial importance for modern agriculture. They serve to make R&D in agriculture attractive, by encouraging investment in new technologies and generating tradeable assets. A number of the chapters of this book refer to the principal IPRs relevant to agricultural innovation, namely: (i) patents, which protect inventions; (ii) plant variety rights, which protect the breeding of new and distinct plant varieties; and (iii) trademarks and geographical indications, which facilitate the marketing of products by providing protection for the symbols of their manufacturing or geographic origin. The United Nations Climate Change Panel has urged the consideration of the agricultural practices of traditional communities and some of these practices particularly involving rice, banana, and brassica cultivation are explored in the book. This book is essential reading for officials of governments and international organizations concerned with sustainability, as well as scholars and students concerned with these subjects

Summary: This Special Issue provides a collection of recent research and reviews that investigate many areas of welfare assessment, such as novel approaches and technologies used to evaluate the welfare of farmed, captive, or wild animals. Research in this Special Issue includes welfare assessment related to pilot whales, finishing pigs, commercial turkey flocks, and dairy goats; the use of sensors or wearable technologies, such as heart rate monitors to assess sleep in dairy cows, ear tag sensors, and machine learning to assess commercial pig behaviour; non-invasive measures, such as video monitoring of behaviour, computer vision to analyse video footage of red foxes, remote camera traps of free-roaming wild horses, infrared thermography of effort and sport recovery in sport horses; telomere length and regulatory genes as novel biomarkers of stress in broiler chickens; the effect of environment on growth physiology and behaviour of laboratory rare minnows and housing system on anxiety, stress, fear, and immune function of laying hens; and discussions of natural behaviour in farm animal welfare and maintaining health, welfare, and productivity of commercial pig herds.

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 reprint presents the published papers of a Special Issue titled Antioxidant Activity of Essential Oils, of the journal Antioxidants, MDPI. Obviously, essential oils are a point of huge interest, due to them being rich in bioactive substances (with their recognised antioxidant, immunomodulatory, antibacterial, antiviral, etc., effects) and are also used extensively in the beauty/cosmetic industry, food products, etc. Considering the global trend of "return to nature", both in eating habits/nutrition, and in the adjuvant therapies (implying essential oils) addressed in the case of numerous diseases, and taking into account the interest of the authors who submitted their papers, the current topic can be considered to be of great interest and with increased and promising potential for future research.

Summary: During the last decade, software developments in Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) provoked a notable increase of applications to the study of solid matter. The mineral liberation analysis (MLA) of processed metal ores was an important drive for innovations that led to QEMSCAN, MLA and other software platforms. These combine the assessment of the backscattered electron (BSE) image to the directed steering of the electron beam for energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) to automated mineralogy. However, despite a wide distribution of SEM instruments in material research and industry, the potential of SEM automated mineralogy is still under-utilised. The characterisation of primary ores, and the optimisation of comminution, flotation, mineral concentration and metallurgical processes in the mining industry by generating quantified data, is still the major application field of SEM automated mineralogy. However, there is interesting potential beyond these classical fields of geometallurgy and metal ore fingerprinting. Slags, pottery and artefacts can be studied in an archeological context for the recognition of provenance and trade pathways; soil, and solid particles of all kinds, are objects in forensic science. SEM automated mineralogy allows new insight in the fields of process chemistry and recycling technology.

Summary: The present reprint contains the 11 papers that were accepted and published in the Special Issue "Applied and Computational Mathematics for Digital Environments" of the MDPI Mathematics journal. The topics of interest include, among others, scientific research, applied tasks, and problems in the following areas: The construction of mathematical and information models of intelligent computer systems for monitoring and controlling the parameters of digital environments; The development of intelligent optimization algorithms that search for optimal parameter values of mathematical and information models in digital environments; Software and mathematical technologies in the implementation of intelligent monitoring and computer control of the parameters of digital environments; The development and application of mathematical and information models, machine learning methods, and artificial intelligence for the analysis and processing of big data in digital environments. I hope that this reprint will be useful to those who are interested in the real-world applications of applied and computational mathematics for digital environments in terms of solving actual, practical problems in all spheres of human life and activity.

Summary: This Special Issue had, as its main objective, the compilation of biomechanical studies on sports performance and its relationship with musculoskeletal injuries. It is a collection of research on eight different sports (soccer, volleyball, swimming, cycling, skiing, golf, athletics, and hockey) considering injuries in general and specific injuries such as hamstring muscle injury, anterior cruciate ligament of the knee, and pain of the pubic symphysis. Additionally, it is noteworthy that most of the studies considered both men and women. Classical biomechanical tools have been used, such as 2D and 3D motion analysis, force platforms, and electromyography.

Summary: As faster and more efficient numerical algorithms become available, the understanding of the physics and the mathematical foundation behind these new methods will play an increasingly important role. This Special Issue provides a platform for researchers from both academia and industry to present their novel computational methods that have engineering and physics applications.

Summary: Extremely popular for statistical inference, Bayesian methods are also becoming popular in machine learning and artificial intelligence problems. Bayesian estimators are often implemented by Monte Carlo methods, such as the Metropolis-Hastings algorithm of the Gibbs sampler. These algorithms target the exact posterior distribution. However, many of the modern models in statistics are simply too complex to use such methodologies. In machine learning, the volume of the data used in practice makes Monte Carlo methods too slow to be useful. On the other hand, these applications often do not require an exact knowledge of the posterior. This has motivated the development of a new generation of algorithms that are fast enough to handle huge datasets but that often target an approximation of the posterior. This book gathers 18 research papers written by Approximate Bayesian Inference specialists and provides an overview of the recent advances in these algorithms. This includes optimization-based methods (such as variational approximations) and simulation-based methods (such as ABC or Monte Carlo algorithms). The theoretical aspects of Approximate Bayesian Inference are covered, specifically the PAC-Bayes bounds and regret analysis. Applications for challenging computational problems in astrophysics, finance, medical data analysis, and computer vision area also presented.

Summary: This reprint is a compilation of more than 20 scientific publications, both original research papers and review papers, assembled for the Special Issue of Molecules journal, Aquaphotomics; this Special Issue explores water molecular systems in nature, and is the first of its kind organized on this topic. Now available in a reprint, this publication presents cutting-edge research work performed in the area of a young, but rapidly evolving scientific discipline, Aquaphotomics. The reprint includes topics that range from basic water science, material hydration, the water-material interaction and biocompatibility, novel scientific theories about the role of water in cell biology, the possibilities of using Aquaphotomics for monitoring food quality, estimating shelf-life, diagnosing stress in plants, determining diseases in animals and the outcomes of therapies in medicine. The reprint also provides the reader with an opportunity to improve their knowledge in the areas of spectral preprocessing, multivariate analysis and chemometrics, with focus on Aquaphotomics approach. For any reader already working in the field of Aquaphotomics, this will be a highly advantageous publication, in order to ascertain the latest research trends and discoveries; for novices, it offers a window into an exciting new world that is brimming with possibilities.

Summary: Wild animals under human care as well as domesticated farm production animals are often exposed to environmental changes (e.g., capture and transportation). Short-term or acute changes in physiological indices (e.g., heart rate, respiration, body temperatures, immune cells, and stress hormonal biomarkers) provide crucial information regarding the responses of animals to novel environments, and they could provide crucial determining factors for the long-term health and welfare of animals. This Special Issue includes experimental research papers that demonstrate the applications of physiological indices and welfare assessment methods (e.g., morphological and morphometric data, behavioural assessments, thermal profiles, and physiological markers) in any wildlife or production animal (e.g., rescued and rehabilitating animals, pets, competition animals, farm animals, and zoo animals), in response to environmental and management related factors. The goal is to provide examples of new research and techniques that can be used to monitor short- and long-term environmental adaptation of animals under human care.

Summary: The book "Assessment of Renewable Energy Resources with Remote Sensing" focuses on disseminating scientific knowledge and technological developments for the assessment and forecasting of renewable energy resources using remote sensing techniques. The eleven papers inside the book provide an overview of remote sensing applications on hydro, solar, wind and geothermal energy resources and their major goal is to provide state of art knowledge to contribute with the renewable energy resource deployment, especially in regions where energy demand is rapidly expanding. Renewable energy resources have an intrinsic relationship with local environmental features and the regional climate. Even small and fast environment and/or climate changes can cause significant variability in power generation at different time and space scales. Methodologies based on remote sensing are the primary source of information for the development of numerical models that aim to support the planning and operation of an electric system with a substantial contribution of intermittent energy sources. In addition, reliable data and knowledge on renewable energy resource assessment are fundamental to ensure sustainable expansion considering environmental, financial and energetic security.

Summary: Atomic layer deposition (ALD) is a thin film deposition process renowned for its ability to produce layers with unrivaled control of thickness and composition, conformability to extreme three-dimensional structures, and versatility in the materials it can produce. These range from multi-component compounds to elemental metals and structures with compositions that can be adjusted over the thickness of the film. It has expanded from a small-scale batch process to large scale production, also including continuous processing - known as spatial ALD. It has matured into an industrial technology essential for many areas of materials science and engineering from microelectronics to corrosion protection. Its attributes make it a key technology in studying new materials and structures over an enormous range of applications. This Special Issue contains six research articles and one review article that illustrate the breadth of these applications from energy storage in batteries or supercapacitors to catalysis via x-ray, UV, and visible optics.

Summary: This reprint brings together many scientific contributions on current actinide research, both theoretical and experimental. Special attention is given to the theoretical modeling of the atomic spectra of actinides, the experimental study of their atomic and nuclear structure, and new developments in the production and spectroscopy of their elusive and rather exotic radionuclides.

Summary: Currently, the transition from using the combustion engine to electrified vehicles is a matter of time and drives the demand for compact, high-energy-density rechargeable lithium ion batteries as well as for large stationary batteries to buffer solar and wind energy. The future challenges, e.g., the decarbonization of the CO2-intensive transportation sector, will push the need for such batteries even more. The cost of lithium ion batteries has become competitive in the last few years, and lithium ion batteries are expected to dominate the battery market in the next decade. However, despite remarkable progress, there is still a strong need for improvements in the performance of lithium ion batteries. Further improvements are not only expected in the field of electrochemistry but can also be readily achieved by improved manufacturing methods, diagnostic algorithms, lifetime prediction methods, the implementation of artificial intelligence, and digital twins. Therefore, this Special Issue addresses the progress in battery and energy storage development by covering areas that have been less focused on, such as digitalization, advanced cell production, modeling, and prediction aspects in concordance with progress in new materials and pack design solutions.

Summary: Bayesian predictive inference is at the core of the mathematical theory of inductive reasoning. Nowadays, this field has become very attractive especially for its connections with algorithmic probability, machine learning and artificial intelligence. The complexity of both problems and algorithm represents a constant source of research of asymptotic techniques, which are necessary to handle vast datasets. The present book contains the 11 papers accepted and published in the Special Issue "Bayesian Predictive Inference and Related Asymptotics-Festschrift for Eugenio Regazzini's 75th Birthday" of the MDPI Mathematics journal. The topics of the paper focus, among others, on Bayesian nonparametrics, species sampling models, partial exchangeability and optimal stopping. Finally, as the title suggests, the Special Issue aims to celebrate the 75th birthday of Prof. Eugenio Regazzini, who has provided so many important contributions to the field of Bayesian inference.

Summary: This Special Issue, as a continuation of the previous Special Issue, "Bioactive Molecules from Extreme Environments" (https://www.mdpi.com/journal/marinedrugs/special_issues/Extreme_Environments accessed on 4 November 2021), includes 10 research articles and 2 reviews, providing a wide overview of the chemical biodiversity offered by different marine organisms inhabiting extreme environments to be used for biotechnological and pharmaceutical applications. The six articles in this Special Issue are focused on the polar regions, which represent an untapped source of marine natural products and are still largely unexplored compared to more accessible sites. Many of these articles refer to Antarctica, which is the coldest and most inaccessible continent on the Earth, where extreme temperatures, light and ice have selected biological communities with a unique suite of bioactive metabolites. The marine organisms of Arctic and Antarctic environments are a reservoir of natural compounds, exhibiting huge structural diversity and significant bioactivities that could be used in human applications.

Summary: Medicinal plants and natural products have played a central role in therapeutics, being considered the origin of Pharmacy and Pharmacology. Plants are still a source in nature to obtain and isolate molecules with pharmacological applications (drug discovery), but can also be used as herbal medicinal products in traditional or complementary medicine.In addition, the WHO has launched a Traditional Medicine Strategy (2014-2023), including herbal medicines as medicinal therapies, with the aim to ensure the quality, safety, proper use, and effectiveness of traditional medicines, among other objectives.This is a reprint of articles from the Special Issue on "Bioactivity of Medicinal Plants and Extracts" published online in the open access journal Biology. This reprint includes a collection of original research and review articles on new advances in the development and application of bioactive compounds and extracts from plant matrices.

Summary: At present, the increasing demand for novel biotechnological products is supported through the continuous development of biocatalytic applications. As a consequence, the progress of research regarding enzymatic catalysis in aqueous, non-aqueous, organic (polar or non-polar), and/or non-solvent media is decisive. Experimental design methods, which also may comprise in silico studies, the design of specific reactors and conditions, the reactions of significant chemical and/or biochemical processes that are relevant to industrial production, enzyme kinetic methods, the investigation of enzymatic mechanisms and the use of immobilized enzymes and/or microbial cells on various inert matrices, are all useful. A plethora of enzymes of several classes, which may potentially be used as biocatalysts in biotechnological applications, are available. Among these enzymes, the more common are oxidoreductases (laccase, catalase, glucose oxidase, etc.), hydrolases (amylases, lipases, proteases, amidases, cellulases, esterases, etc.), isomerases (epimerases, topoisomerases, mutases, etc.), and others. By means of the aforementioned biocatalysts and the utilization of specific biotechnological methods, important, cost-effective, sustainable, and environmentally friendly processes have been applied for the synthesis and/or the conversion of a huge number of market-required products.

Summary: Biocultural restoration is a process by which the various connections between humanity and nature, as well as between People and Place are revived to restore the health and function of social-ecological systems. This collection explores the subject of biocultural restoration and does so within the context of Hawaiʻi, the most remote archipelago on the planet. The Hawaiian Renaissance, which started in the 1970s, has led to a revival of Hawaiian language, practices, philosophy, spirituality, knowledge systems, and systems of resource management. Many of the leading Indigenous and local scholars of Hawaiʻi who were born into the time of the Hawaiian Renaissance contributed to this collection. More than a third of the authors are of Indigenous Hawaiian ancestry; each paper had at least one Indigenous Hawaiian author, and several papers had a Hawaiian lead author, making this the largest collection to date of scientific publications authored by Indigenous Hawaiians (Kānaka ʻŌiwi). In addition, the majority of authors are women, and two of the papers had 100 percent authorship by women. This collection represents a new emphasis in applied participatory research that involves academics, government agencies, communities and both private and non-profit sectors.

Summary: Dear Colleagues,All types of biomass, and their waste, comprised one the pillars of the preindustrial,pre-fossil fuel, agriculture-based economies of the past. Traditionalpractices of biomass waste management were applied, but not necessarily in asophisticated and efficient way, and included everything from agricultural activitiesto food production, animal feed, natural fiber separation, and processingof forest wood. The modern bioeconomy sector, however, includes new circulareconomy energy and materials streams of added-value products, such asgaseous, liquid and solid biofuels and bioenergy generation routes, and biocharproduction, along with all the previously mentioned traditional products emergingfrom the bioeconomy.This Special Issue includes some of the latest bioenergy and biochar advancementsand their incorporation into a bioeconomy in transition. It focuses onnature, properties, upgrading, and bioenergy generation processes from all typesof biomass waste and biochars originating from biomass waste. The multidisciplinarityof bioenergy and biochar research is evident throughout the SpecialIssue, highlighting the highly variable and tunable processes involved inbiomass handling, pre-processing, converting to biochar, and recovering energy.Dr. Dimitrios KalderisGuest EditorDr. Vasiliki Skoulouco-Guest Editor

Summary: The concept of mechanism in biology has three distinct meanings. It may refer to a philosophical thesis about the nature of life and biology, to the internal workings of a machine-like structure, or to the causal explanation of a particular phenomenon. In this Special Issue, we try to discuss these possible biological mechanisms that underlie the beneficial effects of physical fitness and sports performance, as well their importance and role/influences on physical health.Despite the significant body of knowledge regarding the physiological and physical effects of different training methods (based on dimensions of load), some of the biological causes for those changes are still unknown. Additionally, few studies have focused on the natural biological variability in humans and how specific properties of humans may justify different effects for the same training intervention. Thus, more original research is needed to provide plausible biological mechanisms that may explain the physiological and physical effects of exercise and training in humans.In this Special Issue, we gather the contributions that describe and list the links between physical fitness, sports performance, and human biology.

Summary: Movement and locomotion have always been key activities for all animals, being related to the most crucial life functions: retrieving food, facing environmental issues and mating. Humans developed complex upper arms movements and bipedal gaits in order to move and locomote. To enhance their performance, they started inventing smart passive mechanical tools. This need arose from intrinsic limitations of their muscle-joint-bone systems and metabolic power availability. Newly invented devices were mainly introduced in order to cope with such constraints. The aim of this Special Issue is to advance knowledge regarding symmetry, biomechanics and energetics of passively assisted human movement and locomotion.

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: Research on human body composition has gained relevance given the recognized health impact of several body components. Many contemporary scientists have contributed to the field of body composition research as it exists today, even though interest in the topic extends back several thousand years. Quantifying human body composition in sports practice plays an important role in monitoring athletes' health status, performances, and training regimens. Such analysis can be performed in different contexts and with different approaches-e.g., in cross-sectional studies that aim to characterize sporting group samples and in longitudinal research finalized to define short-term or long-term changes and implications for physical health and performance. Body composition is also fundamental for a correct interpretation of body mass and weight status to plan specific interventions. This book adds new information on the effect of body composition on physical health and sport performance, current body composition measurement techniques and strategies for improving physical health through sports practice.

Summary: The book "Building Energy Audits-Diagnosis and Retrofitting" is a collection of twelve papers that focus on the built environment in order to systematically collect and analyze relevant data for the energy use profile of buildings and extended for the sustainability assessment of the built environment. The contributions address historic buildings, baselines for non-residential buildings from energy performance audits, and from in-situ measurements, monitoring, and analysis of data, and verification of energy saving and model calibration for various building types. The works report on how to diagnose existing problems and identify priorities, assess, and quantify the opportunities and measures that improve the overall building performance and the environmental quality and well-being of occupants in non-residential buildings and houses. Several case studies and lessons learned from the field are presented to help the readers identify, quantify, and prioritize effective energy conservation and efficiency measures. Finally, a new urban sustainability audit and rating method of the built environment addresses the complexities of the various issues involved, providing practical tools that can be adapted to match local priorities in order to diagnose and evaluate the current state and future scenarios towards meeting specific sustainable development goals and local priorities.

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: We are delighted to present this Special Issue to celebrate a remarkable milestone in the journey of Applied Dentistry. With great pleasure, we announce the publication of the journal's 20,000th paper. This remarkable achievement reflects the unwavering commitment and dedication of our esteemed authors, reviewers, and readers who have contributed to the advancement of dental research.Over the years, Applied Dentistry has emerged as a beacon of knowledge, serving as a platform for the dissemination of cutting-edge research and innovative ideas in various domains of dental science. Our journal encompasses a wide range of disciplines, covering everything from dental materials and biomaterials to preventive and therapeutic strategies, from clinical applications to regenerative dentistry.We envision this milestone as a stepping stone toward even greater accomplishments. Through the collaboration and collective efforts of researchers worldwide, we strive to push the boundaries of dental science, explore new frontiers, and improve oral health outcomes for individuals across the globe.In conclusion, we extend our warmest congratulations to all those who have contributed to the publication of the Special Issue celebrating Applied Dentistry's 20,000th paper milestone.

Summary: Cellulose empowers measurement science and technology with a simple, low-cost, and highly transformative analytical platform. This book helps the reader to understand and build an overview of the state of the art in cellulose-based (bio)sensing, particularly in terms of the design, fabrication, and advantageous analytical performance. In addition, wearable, clinical, and environmental applications of cellulose-based (bio)sensors are reported, where novel (nano)materials, architectures, signal enhancement strategies, as well as real-time connectivity and portability play a critical role.

Summary: Renewable energy deployment as an alternative to traditional energy sources is the cornerstone of the emission-reduction energy policies that aim to facilitate the transition to a low-carbon economy. This transition poses risks and opportunities for companies with business models that rely directly or indirectly on renewables, which will be reflected in the revaluation of assets and in the reallocation of private and public financial investments from carbon-intensive to low-carbon energies. In a series of selected articles, this book addresses current challenges and opportunities for renewable energies from technological, economic and financial perspectives.

Summary: Composites have increasingly been used in various structural components in the aerospace, marine, automotive, and wind energy sectors. The material characterization of composites is a vital part of the product development and production process. Physical, mechanical, and chemical characterization helps developers to further their understanding of products and materials, thus ensuring quality control. Achieving an in-depth understanding and consequent improvement of the general performance of these materials, however, still requires complex material modeling and simulation tools, which are often multiscale and encompass multiphysics. This Special Issue aims to solicit papers concerning promising, recent developments in composite modeling, simulation, and characterization, in both design and manufacturing areas, including experimental as well as industrial-scale case studies. All submitted manuscripts will undergo a rigorous review process and will only be considered for publication if they meet journal standards. Selected top articles may have their processing charges waived at the recommendation of reviewers and the Guest Editor.