Mdpi ag dez 2017 (9 risultati)

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware - Micro- and nano-scale manufacturing has been the subject of ever more research and industrial focus over the past 10 years. Traditional lithography-based technology forms the basis of micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) manufacturing, but also precision manufacturing technologies have been developed to cover micro-scale dimensions and accuracies. Furthermore, these fundamentally different technology platforms are currently combined in order to exploit the strengths of both platforms. One example is the use of lithography-based technologies to establish nanostructures that are subsequently transferred to 3D geometries via injection molding. Manufacturing processes at the micro-scale are the key-enabling technologies to bridge the gap between the nano- and the macro-worlds to increase the accuracy of micro/nano-precision production technologies, and to integrate different dimensional scales in mass-manufacturing processes. Accordingly, this Special Issue seeks to showcase research papers, short communications, and review articles that focus on novel methodological developments in micro- and nano-scale manufacturing, i.e., on novel process chains including process optimization, quality assurance approaches and metrology.…

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware - International research has confirmed that the built environment is the most promising sector for a rapid transition to sustainability. In this scenario, many examples of sustainable urban environments are showing the advantages of sustainability. Meanwhile, an increasing request for tools to assess their sustainability is recorded. The assessment of sustainability of the built environment is an essential step toward its promotion. However, large difficulties exist creating useful and measurable assessment indicators since sustainability is time- and location-dependent. Meanwhile, the need to assess both products and processes for sustainable buildings has been considered particularly important for a sector as inertial as that of the built environment. This books contains ten recently published papers in the Special Issue about 'Sustainability assessments of buildings'. The demand for this Special Issue raised from the floor, as more and more papers dealing with this topic were submitted to Sustainability in the last few months. The need to collect the recent research in this field became evident, and the respond to the call showed the high attention of the scientific community towards this topic. A selection of ten papers among those published in the special issue will guide the reader thorough the variety of approaches in sustainability assessments of buildings and their main challenges.…

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware - Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites produced by some species of filamentous fungi belonging to Fusarium, Aspergillus, Penicillium, Claviceps and Alternaria genera. The biochemical significance of mycotoxins in fungal metabolism has not always been fully clarified; however, the main concern for mycotoxins is driven by the deleterious effects they can exert on human and animal health. Structurally, the mycotoxins currently known belong to heterogeneous chemical classes, therefore the toxic effects they can induce are highly diverse (e.g., cancerogenic and immunosuppressive effects). The main route of human exposure to mycotoxins is by intake of contaminated food, either directly from contaminated agricultural products, or indirectly from residues and metabolites present in foods of animal origin. Immunochemical methods are generally used for the fast screening of mycotoxin presence; however, for confirmation purposes, analytical methods based on high-performance liquid chromatography (LC) are preferred, especially when coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS), which allows the determination of multiclass mycotoxins in a single analysis. Moreover, the technical innovations available in LC-MS/MS instrumentation are prompting its application to the monitoring of contaminants in food and feed. The aim of this paper collection, constituted by ten research articles and one review, is to provide the reader with an overview on the novelties and capabilities in LC-MS/MS-based multi-mycotoxin methods, also including the investigation of emerging and modified mycotoxins.…

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware - Microfabricated devices and systems capable of micromanipulation are well-suited for the manipulation of cells. These technologies are capable of a variety of functions, including cell trapping, cell sorting, cell culturing, and cell surgery, often at single-cell or sub-cellular resolution. These functionalities are achieved through a variety of mechanisms, including mechanical, electrical, magnetic, optical, and thermal forces. The operations that these microdevices and microsystems enable are relevant to many areas of biomedical research, including tissue engineering, cellular therapeutics, drug discovery, and diagnostics. This Special Issue will highlight recent advances in the field of cellular manipulation. Technologies capable of parallel single-cell manipulation are of special interest.…

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware - Sensitive assays are often based on molecular recognition. Often stability problems have limited the use of such assays. The introduction of molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) eliminates such limitations. With the introduction of biosensors combined with MIPs, one gets a strong combination.This volume presents how MIPs are being produced, how MIPs are integrated in different sensor concepts and finally highlights some results in certain applications.…

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware - The combination of low density, high strength, and good corrosion resistance makes intermetallics promising for structural applications, especially at high temperatures and under severe environments. These materials have also potential for functional applications since some intermetallic phases have unique properties, such as shape memory or thermo electric effect. As a result of the increasing demand for novel/advanced materials with improved properties, recent years have been marked by the return of intermetallics. In this book, 17 papers have been published covering important aspects related to intermetallics, in particular transition metal aluminides. Other materials, such as silicides, NiTi shape memory alloys and Ti-6Al-4V, were also investigated. Composites involving intermetallics were the subject of two papers, while two papers were dedicated to metallic glasses. Processing and joining of intermetallics, their mechanical properties and oxidation/corrosion behaviour, phase transformations involving intermetallics, modelling and numerical simulation have been focused on these papers. The simulation and experimental works carried out allowed understanding the relation between microstructure and properties of the intermetallics studied, aiming at their use as structural materials at high and ultra-high temperatures, as well as in aerospace/aeronautic, automobile, electronic, tribological, and biomedical applications. Whatever the application, joining of intermetallics to other materials is of paramount importance as is reflected in this book that contains several papers dedicated to this topic.…

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware - Fluid intake has barely been assessed, and hydration status has only rarely been measured in epidemiological studies. This hampers attempts to assess the adequacy of water intake at a population level. However, although guidelines have been established to determine how much water humans require to avoid dehydration and to optimize physical and psychological function, limited data are available on the total water and beverages intake. Therefore, the percentage of population with inadequate water intake is unknown. There is a clear need for studies in different settings around the world that quantify total water and beverage intake and explore associations between types of beverages consumed and energy intake.…

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware - Minerals are very significant components of coal from both academic and practical perspectives. Minerals may react when the coal is burned, either forming an ash residue, or, in many cases, releasing volatile components, or being needed to be removed as slag from the blast furnace during metallurgical processing. Minerals in coal can also be a source of unwanted abrasion, stickiness, corrosion, or pollution associated with coal handling and use. Minerals in coal, in some cases, are major carriers of valuable metals, such as Ga, Al, and rare earth elements, and these coals with highly-evaluated valuable metals have the potential to be raw sources for industry use. From the genetic point of view, the minerals in coal are products of the processes associated with peat accumulation and rank advance, as well as other aspects of epigenetic processes, and, thus, the minerals in coal can provide information on the depositional conditions and geologic history of individual coal beds, coal-bearing sequences, and regional tectonic evolution. This Special Issue, 'Minerals in Coal', focuses on providing an up-to-date series of papers, covering research and technological developments in the nature, origin, and significance of the minerals in coal, and productions derived from combustion and gasification.…

Taschenbuch. Condizione: Neu. Neuware - This book edited by Drs. Yang Liu from Emory University, Jun Wang from the University of Iowa, and Omar Torres from NASA Goddard Space Flight Center recompiles the results of recently documented research work on Atmospheric Pollution published as a special issue of the MDPI Remote Sensing Journal. It includes twenty peer-reviewed scientific articles on Remote Sensing of Atmospheric Pollution by leading experts from research institutions and universities around the world. The quality and scientific relevance of the published material was carefully monitored by the guest editor team. Both modeling and observational aspects of particulate matter and trace gas pollutants are treated in great detail by the contributing experts. Many of the published articles explore the use of satellite observations by sensors such as MODIS, VIIRS, and OMI as a valuable research tool. Authors use these observations in combination with models and ground-based observations to enhance the resources available to improve our understanding of the physical and chemical processes driving the observed pollution levels near the ground and in the free troposphere that ultimately determine the quality of the air we all breathe. This is an important reference book for scientists, professors and students both graduate and undergraduate interested in up-to-date survey of remote sensing applications to Atmospheric Pollution.…