mdpi ag apr 2018 (17 risultati)

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware - The assembly of organic ligands and metal centres yields coordination polymers, many of which find applications in conductivity, catalysis, magnetism, gas sorption, biological sensing and luminescence. The structure and topology of coordination polymers may be manipulated by changing the reaction conditions, leading to a large variety of structurally and topologically unique products. However, controlling and predicting the final outcome of the self-assembly procedure remains one of the major challenges in the field. The final products are often strongly influenced by factors such as the behaviour of a functional group in a molecule, the influence of the crystallization conditions and the various conformations of the components within the crystal.This Special Issue aims to cover a broad range of subjects in coordination polymer chemistry, which are important to the continued growth of the field, showcase current developments and realise its full potential in applications to address major societal challenges.Therefore, we invite you to contribute a research article to this Special Issue and provide a clear snapshot of your research in this field.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware - Solid-state lasers offer unique qualities in terms of flexibility, robustness, efficiency, and wavelength diversity. For these reasons, they are nowadays irreplaceable tools in many scientific and industrial applications. The engineering of new materials, the advances in photonics technologies, and the increasing demand for speed, cleanliness, and high-precision in industrial processes contribute to propel the research in this exciting and quickly developing field. Despite the impossibility to cover all the aspects of this very diversified topic in a single publication, this Special Issue 'Solid State Lasers Materials, Technologies and Applications' offers an interesting insight into some of the latest developments in this field. Comprehensive review papers describe the state of the art of highly doped fiber lasers and amplifiers, deep-ultraviolet generation, and laser welding under vacuum with high-power lasers. Research articles present the latest results on picosecond pulse amplification, mid-infrared laser sources, parametric down-conversion modules, and coherent beam combining. Heavy-industry applications, such as laser welding and laser cladding, are also addressed.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware - Marine organisms are a well-known source of lipids with high nutritional value, such as n-3 fatty acids (e.g., 20:5 and 22:6), but also possess bioactive properties (e.g., polar lipids as glycolipids and phospholipids). Polar lipids are considered high added value bioactive molecules with health promoting effects, and with potential applications in food, feed, and pharmaceutical industries. Although some polar lipids of marine organisms are known to have functional properties (e.g., anti-inflammatory, anti-proliferative, antioxidant and antimicrobial), the potential of these molecules is yet to be fully unravelled, as the lipidome of the majority of marine organisms remains largely unknown. Different marine organisms, even when closely related in the tree of life, display specific lipidome signatures, which are representative of the remarkable chemical biodiversity present in world oceans. Lipid composition can also change due to environmental and nutritional conditions. If one considers that each marine organism contains thousands of structurally and functionally diverse lipids, it is clear that the characterization of their lipidome is a challenging task. Nonetheless, in recent years, advanced analytical approaches coupling chromatography and mass spectrometry have emerged as powerful tools in lipidomic analysis. The resolution and high throughput analysis achieved with these analytical approaches has allowed researchers to identify and quantify the lipid species present on the cells and tissues of a diversity of marine organisms, opening new perspectives in the identification of lipid signatures for their valorisation and biotechnological applications.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware - Heat exchange processes in steady flows have been studied extensively over the last two hundred years, and are now a part of undergraduate syllabi in most engineering courses. However, heat transfer processes in oscillatory flow conditions are still not very well understood. Their importance is well recognized in applications including Stirling machines, thermoacoustic engines, and refrigerators or pulsed-tube coolers in cryogenics. Additionally, the enhancement of heat transfer by using oscillatory, and, in some cases, pulsating flows is important in many areas of mechanical and chemical engineering for the intensification of heat transfer processes and possible miniaturization of heat exchangers of the future.This Special Issue was intended as a dissemination platform for researchers working in the field to have an opportunity to consolidate recent advances in this important research area. All types of research approaches were invited, including experimental, theoretical, computational fluid dynamics (CFD), and their combinations, while the approaches could be either of a fundamental or applied nature. The guest editor and the editorial team of Applied Sciences hope that the readership will find the selection of ten articles presented here a useful contribution to the emerging field of heat transfer processes in oscillatory flow conditions.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware - The problem of accurate and reliable simulation of turbulent flows is a central and intractable challenge that crosses disciplinary boundaries. As the needs for accuracy increase and the applications expand beyond flows where extensive data is available for calibration, the importance of a sound mathematical foundation that addresses the needs of practical computing increases. This Special Issue is directed at this crossroads of rigorous numerical analysis, the physics of turbulence and the practical needs of turbulent flow simulations. It seeks papers providing a broad understanding of the status of the problem considered and open problems that comprise further steps.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware - MEMS mirrors can steer, modulate and switch light, as well as control the wavefront for focusing or phase modulation. MEMS mirrors have found enormous commercial success in projectors, displays and fiberoptic communications. Micro-spectrometers based on MEMS mirrors are starting to appear in the consumer market. There are also many breakthroughs in applying MEMS mirrors for endoscopic imaging. Equally excitingly, a new wave of opportunities for MEMS mirrors is coming up, for example, micro-LiDAR for autonomous driving and robotics, optical cross connect (OXC) for cloud data centers, and optical scanners for virtual reality/augumented reality, just to name a few. Of course, there are a number of big challenges that researchers and engineers must overcome to fully utiltize MEMS mirrors' potential: modeling and control are inherently complex due to the multiphysics, multi-DOF and nonlinear nature of the microactuators for MEMS mirrors; reliability is always a huge hurdle for commercilization; and the tradeoffs among the speed, aperture, and scan range are often overwhelming. Accordingly, this Special Issue seeks to showcase research papers, short communications, and review articles that focus on: (1) novel designs, fabrication, control, and modeling of MEMS mirrors based on all kinds of actuation mechanisms; and (2) new developments of applying MEMS mirrors of any kind in consumer electronics, optical communications, industry, medicine, agriculture, space, or defense.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware - The issues facing humanity have become increasingly complex due to the fact they are embedded in a global web of ecological, economic, social, cultural and political processes that are dynamically interlinked. The capacity to conceptualise and redesign solutions, in systems and sustainability terms, will increasingly be what society and employers expect. This 'expectation' is globally one of the biggest challenges for education. This Special Issue highlights key developments in the area of systems education and how some of the many challenges are currently being addressed. The 15 articles published fall into five groups: how to design learning systems for systems thinking and sustainability education; insights from the various systems education programs available internationally; different approaches to teaching systems thinking and sustainability; how systems education can be tailored to broaden systems education beyond universities; and possible future pathways for systems education for a sustainable planet. The range and magnitude of the contributions to this book illustrate the diversity of systems education practices and programs (learning systems) in the global systems community, and the relevance of systems thinking and practice to examining issues crucial to the long-term sustainability of the planet.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware - With a wide spectrum of imaging capabilities, Earth observation offers several opportunities for the geoscience community to map and monitor natural and human-induced Earth hazards from space. The objective of this book is to collect scientific contributions on the development, validation, and implementation of satellite data, processing methods, and applications for mapping and monitoring of geohazards such as slow moving landslides, ground subsidence and uplift, and active and abandoned mining-related ground movements. The book includes research papers published in the Special Issue 'Observing Geohazards from Space' of Geosciences, which provides a number of novel case studies demonstrating how Earth observation and remote sensing data can be used to detect and delineate land instability and geological hazards in different environmental contexts and using a range of spatial resolutions and image processing methods.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware - While the study of vibration and energy dissipation is one of the oldest topics in engineering, it also encompasses some of the most exciting engineering problems of our time. From the exploration of deep sub-sea reservoirs to the stabilization of spacecraft in orbit, the problem of vibration control is ever present. To a certain extent, the technological progress of our civilization is tied to our understanding of vibration, and advances made in this field will only allow us to reach greater horizons. This book attempts to capture a glimpse of our current progress in this field by showcasing over 15 chapters of cutting-edge research performed by world leading experts in vibration control and energy dissipation. We hope the reader will be able to gain an understanding of the state-of-the-art, and if possible, be inspired by the vast scope and possibilities offered by the field of vibration control and energy dissipation.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware - Foodborne disease like salmonellosis and toxoplasmosis are amongst the most significant causes of hospitalization in the U.S. and globally. Gastrointestinal infections alter gut microbiomes and increase permeability to toxins. Various invasions by microbial, fungal, viral and parasitic agents stimulate inflammation, a defensive mechanism of the body's immune system. Other stimuli include environmental stimuli, oxidative stress, aging and the physiological process. A long-lasting, persistent and excessive inflammatory response is a significant risk factor for developing various chronic inflammatory and infectious diseases. Different nutritional and dietary life styles, whether poor or lacking essential nutritional elements, as well as excess intake, can result in inflammatory complications and loss of function. Nutritional deficiency is linked with several infectious and inflammatory diseases as a cause or consequence. For instance, protein deficiency was reported in orphanages to provoke microbial and fungal complications including Pneumocystis pneumonia. Similarly, protein deficiency is a tell-tale sign of several parasitic diseases. Studies indicate that nutrients, such as amino acids, oligosaccharides, and short-chain fatty acids exert inhibitory and anti-inflammatory functions. These investigations help to understand nutritional contributions to the prevention, treatment and taming of certain inflammatory and infectious diseases. Infectious and inflammatory complications go hand-in-hand with malnutrition. The purpose of this Special Issue is to publish related new, basic and translational findings and clinical trials in this area. Other investigations or review articles were sought to link infectious and inflammatory diseases with nutrients. In addition, novel diagnostic, preventive and therapeutic modalities were invited to aid the development of nutritional strategies for the treatment and/or prevention of inflammation and infection. Original reviews were of particular interest to advance our understanding of signaling pathways, and the molecular and biochemical mechanisms behind the effects of nutrients on inflammatory and infectious diseases.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware - Active technological development has fuelled rapid growth in the number of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) platforms being deployed around the globe. Novel UAV platforms, UAV-based sensors, robotic sensing and imaging techniques, the development of processing workflows, as well as the capacity of ultra-high temporal and spatial resolution data, provide both opportunities and challenges that will allow engineers and scientists to address novel and important scientific questions in UAV and sensor design, remote sensing and environmental monitoring. This work features papers on UAV sensor design, improvements in UAV sensor technology, obstacle detection, methods for measuring optical flow, target tracking, gimbal influence on the stability of UAV images, augmented reality tools, segmentation in digital surface models for 3D reconstruction, detection, location and grasping objects, multi-target localization, vision-based tracking in cooperative multi-UAV systems, noise suppression techniques , rectification for oblique images, two-UAV communication system, fuzzy-based hybrid control algorithms, pedestrian detection and tracking as well as a range of atmospheric, geological, , agricultural, ecological, reef, wildlife, building and construction, coastal area coverage, search and rescue (SAR), water plume temperature measurements, aeromagnetic and archaeological surveys applications.

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware - This book collects more than 20 papers, written by renowned experts and scientists from across the globe, that showcase the state-of-the-art and forefront research in archaeological remote sensing and the use of geoscientific techniques to investigate archaeological records and cultural heritage. Very high resolution satellite images from optical and radar space-borne sensors, airborne multi-spectral images, ground penetrating radar, terrestrial laser scanning, 3D modelling, Geographyc Information Systems (GIS) are among the techniques used in the archaeological studies published in this book. The reader can learn how to use these instruments and sensors, also in combination, to investigate cultural landscapes, discover new sites, reconstruct paleo-landscapes, augment the knowledge of monuments, and assess the condition of heritage at risk. Case studies scattered across Europe, Asia and America are presented: from the World UNESCO World Heritage Site of Lines and Geoglyphs of Nasca and Palpa to heritage under threat in the Middle East and North Africa, from coastal heritage in the intertidal flats of the German North Sea to Early and Neolithic settlements in Thessaly. Beginners will learn robust research methodologies and take inspiration; mature scholars will for sure derive inputs for new research and applications.

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