This Special Issue comprises 15 papers broadly outlining current trends in nucleic acid biophysics. It contains original research papers and reviews on structure, stability, and interactions of canonical and non-canonical nucleic acids. The authors describe the use of established, time-honored experimental and computational techniques as well as their more recently developed counterparts. Molecular insights that can be gained from the papers collected in this issue range from the fundamental to the applied with emphasis on biological functions and biomedical prospects of nucleic acids. The collection is not meant to be exhaustive, but to highlight recent advances from select laboratories worldwide. Nevertheless, it represents a useful guide for scientists who wish to familiarize themselves with biophysical topics in nucleic acid research. This Special Issue will be useful both for researchers who study fundamental aspects of nucleic acid structure, stability, and dynamics, as well as for those that are mainly interested in practical biological and biomedical applications of nucleic acids.

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Human lactation has evolved to produce a milk composition that is uniquely-designed for the human infant. Not only does human milk optimize infant growth and development, it also provides protection from infection and disease. More recently, the importance of human milk and breastfeeding in the programming of infant health has risen to the fore. Anchoring of infant feeding in the developmental origins of health and disease has led to a resurgence of research focused in this area. Milk composition is highly variable both between and within mothers. Indeed the distinct maternal human milk signature, including its own microbiome, is influenced by environmental factors, such as diet, health, body composition and geographic residence. An understanding of these changes will lead to unravelling the adaptation of milk to the environment and its impact on the infant. In terms of the promotion of breastfeeding, health economics and epidemiology is instrumental in shaping public health policy and identifying barriers to breastfeeding. Further, basic research is imperative in order to design evidence-based interventions to improve both breastfeeding duration and women’s breastfeeding experience.

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Homogeneous catalysis owes its success, in large part, to the development of a wide range of ligands with well-defined electronic and steric properties, which have thus made it possible to adjust the behavior of many organometallic complexes. However, ligands used in catalysis have long been centered on elements of group 15, and it is only more recently that carbon ligands have proved to be valuable alternatives with the emergence of cyclic diaminocarbenes (NHC).This Special Issue aims to provide a contemporary overview of the advances in carbon ligand chemistry from fundamental aspects to applications.

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The acceptance and preference of the sensory properties of foods are among the most important criteria determining food choice. Sensory perception and our response to food products, and finally food choice itself, are affected by a myriad of intrinsic and extrinsic factors. The pressing question is, how do these factors specifically affect our acceptance and preference for foods, both in and of themselves, and in combination in various contexts, both fundamental and applied? In addition, which factors overall play the largest role in how we perceive and behave towards food in daily life? Finally, how can these factors be utilized to affect our preferences and final acceptance of real food and food products from industrial production and beyond for healthier eating? A closer look at trends in research showcasing the influence that these factors and our senses have on our perception and affective response to food products and our food choices is timely. Thus, in this Special Issue collection “Consumer Preferences and Acceptance of Food Products”, we bring together articles which encompass the wide scope of multidisciplinary research in the space related to the determination of key factors involved linked to fundamental interactions, cross-modal effects in different contexts and eating scenarios, as well as studies that utilize unique study design approaches and methodologies.

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Chemical engineering and technology are the basis of mineral processing and extractive metallurgy. In the long history of human civilization, with the development of science and technology, chemical engineering, mineral processing, metallurgical engineering, and other process technologies have coexisted and mutually benefited each other. More than 100 years ago, chemical engineers summarized the common laws in the process industry and built up the basic theory of unit operations. It is undoubtedly of great significance to study the chemical engineering principles in mineral processing and extractive metallurgy to profoundly understand the essence of mineral separation and extraction, optimizing the technological flow of mineral processing and improving the utilization level of mineral resources. The purpose of this book is to discuss chemical engineering principles in mineral processing and extractive metallurgy to improve the utilization of mineral resources. Experts, technicians, and students in the fields of chemical engineering, metallurgy, and mineral processing are welcome to read this book.

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A collection of essential research articles and scientific reviews covering some of the most pertinent and topical areas of study that currently constitute Inorganic Chemistry in the early 21st century.

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This reprint describes how lifestyle changes can impact the incidence and progression of chronic non-communicable diseases. In this context, regular physical activity and heathy nutritional habits are very important. Moreover, natural bioactive compounds could represent a new adjuvant therapy in the clinical management of these pathological conditions.

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The quality of drinking water is paramount for public health. Despite important improvements in the last decades, access to safe drinking water is not universal. The World Health Organization estimates that almost 10% of the population in the world do not have access to improved drinking water sources. Among other diseases, waterborne infections cause diarrhea, which kills nearly one million people every year, mostly children under 5 years of age. On the other hand, chemical pollution is a concern in high-income countries and an increasing problem in low- and middle-income countries. Exposure to chemicals in drinking water may lead to a range of chronic non-communicable diseases (e.g., cancer, cardiovascular disease), adverse reproductive outcomes, and effects on children’s health (e.g., neurodevelopment), among other health effects. Although drinking water quality is regulated and monitored in many countries, increasing knowledge leads to the need for reviewing standards and guidelines on a nearly permanent basis, both for regulated and newly identified contaminants. Drinking water standards are mostly based on animal toxicity data, and more robust epidemiologic studies with accurate exposure assessment are needed. The current risk assessment paradigm dealing mostly with one-by-one chemicals dismisses the potential synergisms or interactions from exposures to mixtures of contaminants, particularly at the low-exposure range. Thus, evidence is needed on exposure and health effects of mixtures of contaminants in drinking water. Finally, water stress and water quality problems are expected to increase in the coming years due to climate change and increasing water demand by population growth, and new evidence is needed to design appropriate adaptation policies.This Special Issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (IJERPH) focuses on the current state of knowledge on the links between drinking water quality and human health.

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The papers in this SI present valuable results in the topics of soils, sediments, and water contamination according to the consideration of ecological and health risk. They also point out open questions and possible avenues for future research. Biochar application can benefit both soil conservation and contamination, but further research should be conducted to investigate whether these positive effects can be extended to the field scale. Similar to biochar, scale-up design will be helpful for thin-layer capping in in situ sediments using mixed active amendments. Both physiochemical analysis and bioassays mutually supported the evaluation results of river water quality. However, we need better approaches and policies for management to prevent further contamination from the discharge of untreated industrial and domestic waste into this aquatic ecosystem. The use of microorganisms to eliminate antibiotics is a promising strategy, but future work should verify the biodegradation ability of antibiotic-degrading bacteria in wastewater treatment plants.

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Iodine, a key component of thyroid hormones, is considered an essential micronutrient for proper health at all life stages. Indeed, an inadequate dietary intake of iodine is responsible for several functional and developmental abnormalities. The most serious consequences of iodine deficiency include hypothyroidism, early abortion, low birth weight, preterm delivery, neurocognitive impairment, and mental retardation. On the other hand, the consequences of mild-to-moderate iodine deficiency, such as goiter, are less well understood but represent an important priority for research and public health practice. Over the last several decades, many countries across the globe have introduced mandatory salt iodization programs, which have dramatically reduced the number of iodine-deficient countries. However, despite substantial progress worldwide, mild-to-moderate deficiency is still prevalent even in many developed countries. Thus, the ongoing monitoring of the population iodine status remains crucially important, and attention may need to be paid to vulnerable life stage groups.

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This Special Issue presents an extract from the reality of smart agriculture, where the combination of modern technologies, innovative solutions, and sustainable approaches to food production classifies this part of science as highly interdisciplinary, multifaceted, and technologically advanced. The need to increase productivity, optimize natural resources, and minimize environmental impact requires new approaches. In this context, smart agriculture is emerging as a solution that combines technology, data, and science to achieve sustainable, efficient, and innovative food production. This Special Issue introduces the field of smart farming, which encompasses a range of advanced technologies. The use of these tools allows for the monitoring and optimization of crop conditions, precise fertilization, the minimization of water and energy usage, and the improvement of crop quality and quantity. In addition, plant monitoring systems are described, which, by means of sensors and data analysis, provide farmers with valuable information about plant health, soil moisture, temperature, and other factors affecting crop growth. A significant part of this monograph deals with the automation of agricultural processes, where robots and machines undertake tasks with high precision and accuracy, contributing to the farmer’s efficiency. This Special Issue aims not only to provide an understanding of smart agriculture but to also inspire the reader to think about the future of agriculture and the ways in which modern food production methods can be improved.

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Terrestrial plants are sessile organisms that, differently from animals, can not move in searching of the nutrients and water they need. Instead, they have to change continuously their physiology and morphology to adapt to the environmental changes. When plants suffer from a nutrient deficiency, they develop physiological and morphological responses (mainly in their roots) aimed to facilitate the acquisition and mobilization of such a nutrient. Physiological responses include some ones like acidification of the rizhosphere and release of chelating agents into the medium; and morphological responses include others, like changes in root architecture and development of root hairs. The regulation of these responses is not totally known but in the last years different plant hormones and signaling substances, such as auxin, ethylene, cytokinins and nitric oxide, have been involved in their control. Besides hormones, oxidative stress has also been related with most of the nutrient deficiencies. The relationship of ethylene with the regulation of responses to nutrient deficiencies came from the nineties, when some works presented data suggesting its involvement in the regulation of responses to Fe and P deficiency. In the last years, the role of ethylene has been extended to many other nutrient deficiencies, such as K deficiency, Mg deficiency, S deficiency, N deficiency, and others. In most of the cases, it has been found that ethylene production, as well as the expression of ethylene synthesis genes, increases under these nutrient deficiencies. Furthermore, it has also been found that ethylene controls the expression of genes related to responses to different deficiencies. The involvement of ethylene in so many deficiencies suggests that it should act in conjunction with other signals that would confer nutrient-specificity to the distinct nutrient responses. These other signals could be plant hormones (auxin, cytokinins, etc) as well as other substances (nitric oxide, microRNAs, peptides, glutathione, etc), either originated in the roots or coming from the shoots through the phloem. The role of ethylene in the mineral nutrition of plants is even more complex that the one related to its role in the responses to nutrient deficiencies. Ethylene has also been implicated in the N2 fixation of legume plants; in salt tolerance responses; and in responses to heavy metals, such as Cd toxicity. All these processes are related to ion uptake and, consequently, are related to plant mineral nutrition. We consider a good opportunity to review all this information in a coordinated way. This Research Topic will provide an overview about the role of the plant hormone ethylene on the regulation of physiological and morphological responses to different nutrient deficiencies. In addition, it will cover other aspects of ethylene related to plant nutrition such as its role on salinity, N2 fixation and tolerance to heavy metals.

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Malnutrition is becoming a more prominent health problem, with an increasing number of elderly CKD patients being put on dialysis. In addition, the presence of inflammation, sarcopenia/frailty, diabetes, and CVD is a definite and independent risk factor associated with higher mortality in this population. Although the restriction of protein intake has been recommended to protect eGFR decline, hyperphosphatemia, and hyperkalemia in CKD patients, it might accelerate the loss of skeletal muscle and adipose mass, leading to a poor prognosis. Therefore, flexible responses are considered regarding whether protein restriction should be continued or loosened in pre-dialysis CKD patients. In undernourished elderly patients undergoing hemodialysis, sufficient calorie/protein intake is necessary to counteract the development of sarcopenia/frailty. It is expected that the application of new drugs including phosphate binders and potassium chelators may achieve both a high enough intake and balanced levels of phosphate and potassium. Furthermore, the improvement of deficient micronutrients and poor appetite is also necessary. Comprehensive care is essential for the wellbeing of elderly patients undergoing hemodialysis. The topicof this Special Issue is “Extension of Healthy Life Span of Dialysis Patients in the Era of a 100-Year Life”.

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This book is a printed edition of the Special Issue Fertilizer Application on Crop Yield that was published in Agronomy

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Herbaceous field crops include several hundred plant species worldly widespread for different end-uses, from food to no-food applications. Among them are included cereals, grain legumes, sugar beet, potato, cotton, tobacco, sunflower, safflower, rape, flax, soybean, alfalfa, clover spp. and other fodder crops, but only 15–20 species play a relevant role for the worldly global economy. Nowadays, to meet the food demand of the ever-increasing world population in a scenario of decreased arable lands, the development of holistic agricultural management approaches to boost contemporaneously yield and quality of herbaceous field crops is essential. Accordingly, this book represents an up-to-date collection of the current understanding of the impact of several agricultural management factors (i.e., genetic selection, planting density and arrangement, fertilization, irrigation, weed control and harvest time) on the yield and qualitative performances of 11 field crops (wheat, cardoon, potato, clary sage, basil, sugarcane, canola, cotton, tomato, lettuce and hemp). On the whole, the topics covered in this book will ensure students and academic readers, such as plant physiologists, environmental scientists, biotechnologists, botanists, soil chemists and agronomists, to get the information about the recent research advances on the eco-sustainable management cultivation of herbaceous field crops, with a particular focus on varietal development, soil nutrient and water management, weed control, etc.

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Environmental conditions and nutritional stress may greatly affect crop performance. Abiotic stresses such as temperature (cold, heat), water (drought, flooding), irradiance, salinity, nutrients, and heavy metals can strongly affect plant growth dynamics and the yield and quality of horticultural products. Such effects have become of greater importance during the course of global climate change. Different strategies and techniques can be used to detect, investigate, and mitigate the effects of environmental and nutritional stress. Horticultural crop management is moving towards digitized, precision management through wireless remote-control solutions, but data analysis, although a traditional approach, remains the basis of stress detection and crop management. This Special Issue summarizes the recent progress in agronomic management strategies to detect and reduce environmental and nutritional stress effects on the yield and quality of horticultural crops.

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Human milk is uniquely tailored to meet infants’ specific nutritional requirements. However, it is more than just “milk”. This dynamic and bioactive fluid allows mother–infant signalling over lactation, guiding the infant in the developmental and physiological processes. It exerts protection and life-long biological effects, playing a crucial role in promoting healthy growth and optimal cognitive development. The latest scientific advances have provided insight into different components of human milk and their dynamic changes over time. However, the complexity of human milk composition and the synergistic mechanisms responsible for its beneficial health effects have not yet been unravelled. Filling this knowledge gap will shed light on the biology of the developing infant and will contribute to the optimization of infant feeding, particularly that of the most vulnerable infants. Greater understanding of human milk will also help in elucidating the best strategies for its storage and handling. The increasing knowledge on human milk’s bioactive compounds together with the rapidly-advancing technological achievements will greatly enhance their use as prophylactic or therapeutic agents. The current Special Issue aims to welcome original works and literature reviews further exploring the complexity of human milk composition, the mechanisms underlying the beneficial effects associated with breastfeeding, and the factors and determinants involved in lactation, including its promotion and support.

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The production of industrial and bioenergy crops has been the subject of scientific research for many years; however, the implementation of previously proposed solutions for commercial production is still at an early stage. It should be emphasized that when developing the production of industrial and bioenergy crops on agricultural lands, it is important to avoid land-use competition with the production of food and feed. It is well justified, for initiating the sustainable production of industrial and bioenergy crops, to promote efficient species for growing on marginal lands, which are unsuitable or less suitable for food or feed production. Another important point is that industrial and bioenergy crops should include nonfood and nonfeed crops and generate agricultural products categorized as commodities and/or raw materials for industrial goods and bioenergy. These industrial and bioenergy crops can become an important source of biomass. Of course, the concept of their cultivation for nonfood (and/or nonfeed) uses is not new but, despite considerable investment in research and development, little progress has been made with regard to the introduction of such crops and their products into the market. Therefore, the papers focus on innovations and perspectives regarding sustainable industrial and bioenergy crops production, logistic chains, biomass quality, utilization and cascade biomass use for bioeconomy, socio-economic and energy analyses, etc.

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Since the turn of the last century when the field of catalysis was born, iron and cobalt have been key players in numerous catalysis processes. These metals, due to their ability to activate CO and CH, haev a major economic impact worldwide. Several industrial processes and synthetic routes use these metals: biomass-to-liquids (BTL), coal-to-liquids (CTL), natural gas-to-liquids (GTL), water-gas-shift, alcohol synthesis, alcohol steam reforming, polymerization processes, cross-coupling reactions, and photocatalyst activated reactions. A vast number of materials are produced from these processes, including oil, lubricants, waxes, diesel and jet fuels, hydrogen (e.g., fuel cell applications), gasoline, rubbers, plastics, alcohols, pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, feed-stock chemicals, and other alternative materials. However, given the true complexities of the variables involved in these processes, many key mechanistic issues are still not fully defined or understood. This Special Issue of Catalysis will be a collaborative effort to combine current catalysis research on these metals from experimental and theoretical perspectives on both heterogeneous and homogeneous catalysts. We welcome contributions from the catalysis community on catalyst characterization, kinetics, reaction mechanism, reactor development, theoretical modeling, and surface science.

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In recent years, the interest in magnesium and in microelements in older people has exponentially increased. The deficiency of either magnesium and microelements, in fact, is associated with several negative outcomes in older people. Therefore, in this book, we decided to report the most novel and important research findings regarding these important topics. In particular, authoritative authors in the field of nutritional research in older people reported their experience in magnesium research, including articles on metabolic and cardiovascular aspects of magnesium deficiency. Moreover, we speculated the importance of magnesium in infectious diseases, including COVID-19. In this book, we also report some important findings regarding other microelements, such as iron and sodium or potassium, extremely important in older people.

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The sense of hearing is vulnerable to environmental challenges, such as exposure to noise. More than 1.5 billion people experience some decline in hearing ability during their lifetime, of whom at least 430 million will be affected by disabling hearing loss. If not identified and addressed in a timely way, hearing loss can severely reduce the quality of life at various stages. Some causes of hearing loss can be prevented, for example from occupational or leisure noise. The World Health Organization estimates that more than 1 billion young people put themselves at risk of permanent hearing loss by listening to loud music over long periods of time. Mitigating such risks through public health action is essential to reduce the impact of hearing loss in the community. The etiology of sensorineural hearing loss is complex and multifactorial, arising from congenital and acquired causes. This book highlights the diverse range of approaches to sensorineural hearing loss, from designing new animal models of age-related hearing loss, to the use of microRNAs as biomarkers of cochlear injury and drug repurposing for the therapy of age-related and noise-induced hearing loss. Further investigation into the underlying molecular mechanisms of sensorineural hearing loss and the integration of the novel drug, cell, and gene therapy strategies into controlled clinical studies will permit significant advances in a field where there are currently many unmet needs.

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The long-term productivity of forest ecosystems depends on the cycling of nutrients. The effect of carbon dioxide fertilization on forest productivity may ultimately be limited by the rate of nutrient cycling. Contemporary and future disturbances such as climatic warming, N-deposition, deforestation, short rotation sylviculture, fire (both wild and controlled), and the invasion of exotic species all place strains on the integrity of ecosystem nutrient cycling. Global differences in climate, soils, and species make it difficult to extrapolate even a single important study worldwide. Despite advances in the understanding of nutrient cycling and carbon production in forests, many questions remain. The chapters in this volume reflect many contemporary research priorities. The thirteen studies in this volume are arranged in the following subject groups: • N and P resorption from foliage worldwide, along chronosequences and along elevation gradients; • Litter production and decomposition; • N and P stoichiometry as affected by N deposition, geographic gradients, species changes, and ecosystem restoration; • Effects of N and P addition on understory biomass, litter, and soil; • Effects of burning on soil nutrients; • Effects of N addition on soil fauna.

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Hypertension is a major health problem worldwide, increasing cardiovascular (CV) risk and mortality. Together with pharmacological treatments, non-pharmacological approaches, such as nutrient intake modifications, play an important role in optimizing treatment. A link has been demonstrated between hypertension and body weight as well as dietary habits. The aim of this Special Issue is to improve the understanding of the relationships between some nutrients and hypertension, and of the effects of different dietary approaches on hypertension regulation from different points of view.

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