Additive manufacturing (AM), as an advanced manufacturing technology, has overturned the traditional concept of subtractive manufacturing. It has revolutionized advanced integrated structural design, high-performance material preparation, and the manufacturing of complex components. AM technology is changing the way products are developed, produced, and commercialized, leading to disruptive changes in the economy and society. AM technology has received extensive attention and research from the research community since its inception, and it is leading manufacturing technology and continues to be used with great effectiveness in the aerospace industry, automotive industry, medical plant applications, and many other fields. However, the development of additive manufacturing still faces demanding technical challenges; for example, due to insufficient process planning and inadequate process control, many defects are often observed in the products of AM processes, reducing production efficiency and deteriorating product quality. To promote AM technology toward high efficiency, high precision, high performance, and low cost in a green and intelligent direction, many advanced design and manufacturing technologies are in urgent need of further breakthroughs, such as numerical and analytical models for structural design, experimental methods, performance prediction, and process optimization.

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Additive manufacturing, also known as 3D printing, utilizes a layer-by-layer deposition process, offering numerous advantages over traditional manufacturing methods such as enhanced geometric versatility, reduced material wastage, and expedited production cycles. This reprint explores the significant advancements in the additive manufacturing of alloys and composites, focusing on materials like stainless steels, superalloys, CoCrMo alloys, and metal matrix composites. The unique microstructures and exceptional material properties achieved through rapid cooling rates and thermal gradients are examined in detail. This reprint includes ten pivotal contributions, providing insights into optimizing processing parameters, understanding microstructural evolution, and enhancing material properties for diverse applications in aerospace, automotive, electronics, medical, military, and architecture sectors. This collection not only presents the latest developments in high-performance additive manufacturing materials but also paves the way for future innovations in the field.

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Additive manufacturing (AM) is one of the manufacturing processes that warrants the attention of industrialists, researchers and scientists, because of its ability to produce materials with a complex shape without theoretical restrictions and with added functionalities. There are several advantages to employing additive manufacturing as the primary additive manufacturing process. However, there exist several challenges that need to be addressed systematically. A couple such issues are alloy design and process development. Traditionally alloys designed for conventional cast/powder metallurgical processes were fabricated using advanced AM processes. This is the wrong approach considering that the alloys should be coined based on the process characteristics and meta-stable nature of the process. Hence, we must focus on alloy design and development for AM that suits the AM processes. The AM processes, however, improve almost every day, either in terms of processing capabilities or processing conditions. Hence, the processing part warrants a section that is devoted to these advancements and innovations. Accordingly, the present Special Issue (book) focuses on two aspects of alloy development and process innovations. Here, 45 articles are presented covering different AM processes including selective laser melting, electron beam melting, laser cladding, direct metal laser sintering, ultrasonic consolidation, wire arc additive manufacturing, and hybrid manufacturing. I believe that this Special Issue bears is vital to the field of AM and will be a valuable addition.

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The Special Issue of Crystals entitled “Advanced Crystalline Materials, Mechanical Properties and Innovative Production Systems” has been completed. A total of 17 articles were published. Materials with a crystalline structure are among the most frequently used construction materials. Thanks to this crystalline structure, they are characterized by several beneficial mechanical and exploitation properties. In recent years, many discoveries and advances have been made in materials engineering, which materials scientists are using to create countless materials using prediction and modeling systems, modern technologies, and manufacturing techniques that enable the ability to obtain advanced materials. These materials include high-quality materials, composites, and nanomaterials. For many of the emerging material solutions today, the main focus has been the mechanical properties of the materials. These properties are shaped by the appropriate microstructure composition and obtaining phases with appropriate properties using modern manufacturing techniques and advanced research methods. As a result, crystalline materials are used on a large scale in land and water construction, automotive, aviation, and space engineering, as well as in the power industry. We hope that readers will find interesting articles in this Special Issue Reprint of Crystals.

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Powder metallurgy is a group of advanced processes used for the synthesis, processing, and shaping of various kinds of materials. Initially inspired by ceramics processing, the methodology comprising the production of a powder and its transformation to a compact solid product has attracted attention since the end of World War II. At present, many technologies are availabe for powder production (e.g., gas atomization of the melt, chemical reduction, milling, and mechanical alloying) and its consolidation (e.g., pressing and sintering, hot isostatic pressing, and spark plasma sintering). The most promising methods can achieve an ultra-fine or nano-grained powder structure, and preserve it during consolidation. Among these methods, mechanical alloying and spark plasma sintering play a key role. This book places special focus on advances in mechanical alloying, spark plasma sintering, and self-propagating high-temperature synthesis methods, as well as on the role of these processes in the development of new materials.

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Nowadays, there is great pressure on energy conservation and emission reduction. In order to achieve these goals, weight reduction in manufacturing fields, such as the vehicle, marine, and aerospace industries, and microelectromechanical systems is the major trend. Although some structures and parts that require special properties and service conditions must use ferrous materials such as steels due to their superior thermal and wear resistance, there is a desperate need to replace these alloys with non-ferrous materials such as Al alloys, Mg alloys, Ti-based alloys, Cu alloys, and others in order to decrease the operational and maintenance costs. Recently, many new material processing techniques, i.e., irradiation, cryogenic rolling, wet chemical method, induction sintering, liquid/solid casting, heat treatment, electromagnetic hot forming, and five-axis flank milling, have been developed to enhance the performance of non-ferrous materials. Excellent work hardening, fracture toughness, mechanical properties, magnetic properties, and wear resistance could be realized depending on the appropriate application of these new technologies. This Special Issue covers these topics and focuses on the process–structure–properties relationships of high-performance non-ferrous materials.

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Additive manufacturing (AM) is one of the manufacturing processes that warrants the attention of industrialists, researchers and scientists, because of its ability to produce materials with a complex shape without theoretical restrictions and with added functionalities. There are several advantages to employing additive manufacturing as the primary additive manufacturing process. However, there exist several challenges that need to be addressed systematically. A couple such issues are alloy design and process development. Traditionally alloys designed for conventional cast/powder metallurgical processes were fabricated using advanced AM processes. This is the wrong approach considering that the alloys should be coined based on the process characteristics and meta-stable nature of the process. Hence, we must focus on alloy design and development for AM that suits the AM processes. The AM processes, however, improve almost every day, either in terms of processing capabilities or processing conditions. Hence, the processing part warrants a section that is devoted to these advancements and innovations. Accordingly, the present Special Issue (book) focuses on two aspects of alloy development and process innovations. Here, 45 articles are presented covering different AM processes including selective laser melting, electron beam melting, laser cladding, direct metal laser sintering, ultrasonic consolidation, wire arc additive manufacturing, and hybrid manufacturing. I believe that this Special Issue bears is vital to the field of AM and will be a valuable addition.

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The major issue of energy saving and conservation of the environment in the world is being emphasized to us to concentrate on lightweight materials in which aluminium alloys are contributing more in applications in the twenty-first century. Aluminium and its related materials possess lighter weight, considerable strength, more corrosion resistance and ductility. Especially from the past one decade, the use of aluminium alloys is increasing in construction field, transportation industries, packaging purposes, automotive, defence, aircraft and electrical sectors. Around 85% is being used in the form of wrought products, which replace the use of cast iron. Further, the major features of aluminium alloy are recyclability and its abundant availability in the world. In general, aluminium and its related materials are being processed via casting, drawing, forging, rolling, extrusion, welding, powder metallurgy process, etc. To improve the physical and mechanical properties, scientists are doing more research and adding some second-phase particles in to it called composites in addition to heat treatment. Therefore, to explore more in this field, the present book has been aimed and focused to bridge all scientists who are working in this field. The main objective of the present book is to focus on aluminium, its alloys and its composites, which include, but are not limited to, the various processing routes and characterization techniques in both macro- and nano-levels.

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Antioxidants are a point of focus for different research fields due to their potential oxidative stress prevention and multiple biological properties, potentiating several industrial applications. This reprint provides new insights into the antioxidant properties of foods and natural products, important structural features and the mechanisms of action of antioxidants and pro-oxidants, as well as antioxidants and pro-oxidants' potential health-promoting effects.

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This Special Issue comprises articles related to the effects of genotype and processing conditions on the phenolic compound profile and antioxidant activity of cocoa-derived products, isolation and characterization of antioxidant compounds such as polyphenols and melanoidins from cocoa beans, and assessment of the antioxidant, antioxidative stress and anti-inflammatory effects of cocoa beans and cocoa-derived products. The results of these studies show that it is possible to maintain or increase the biological activity of cocoa beans and their derived products (cocoa powder and chocolate) by choosing appropriate processing conditions and cocoa genotype and origin. The papers published in this Special Issue confirm that cocoa beans and cocoa by-products can be considered as an attractive source material for manufacturing of functional foods and nutraceuticals. This is because they contain many bioactive compounds, mainly polyphenols, including flavonoids (proanthocyaninidins, monomeric flavan-3-ols, and anthocyanins) and phenolic acids, as well as melanoidins. Finally, the in vitro and in vivo studies demonstrate the importance of cocoa antioxidants for the prevention of oxidative stress and inflammation.

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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.

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With daily signals, Nature is communicating us that its unconscious wicked exploitation is no more sustainable. Our socio-economic system focuses on production increasing without considering the consequences. We are intoxicating ourselves on a daily bases just to allow the system to perpetuate itself. The time to switch into more natural solutions is come and the scientific community is ready to offer more natural product with comparable performance then the market products we are used to deal with. This book collects a broad set of scientific examples in which research groups from all over the world, aim to replace fossil fuel-based solutions with biomass derived materials. In here, some of the most innovative developments in the field of bio-materials are reported considering topics which goes from biomass valorization to the synthesis of high preforming bio-based materials.

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Dear colleagues, This Special Issue aims to publish new and innovative research that could demonstrate the therapeutic potential of natural health products, through relevant in vitro and/or in vivo biological activities, to prevent or alleviate degenerative diseases. The interaction of natural health products with human microbiota represents an essential aspect, because it could modulate the microbial pattern and alleviate more of a chronic disease’s effects in the case of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular dysfunctions, neurodegenerative diseases, and inflammatory colon pathologies. Additionally, you are invited to send research based on the effect of different extracts or functional foods used in degenerative pathologies and interactions with human microbiota. We aim to identify new data on in vitro/in vivo research that could demonstrate the bioavailability of natural compounds and the relationship with antioxidant/antimicrobial capacity. Modulated microbiota aspects are expected to be published based on the interaction with natural compounds, natural sweeteners, or other molecules that influence the colon health status.

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Moving towards a sustainable and green economy requires the use of renewable resources for the production of fuels, chemicals, and materials. In such a scenario, the use of lignocellulosic biomass and waste streams plays an important role, as it consists of abundant renewable resources. The complex nature of lignocellulosic biomass dictates the use of a pretreatment process prior to any further processing. Traditional methods of biomass pretreatment fail to recover cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin in clean streams. It has been recognized that the efficient use of all the main fractions of lignocellulosic biomass (cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin) is an important step towards a financially sustainable biomass biorefinery. In this context, switching from biomass pretreatment to biomass fractionation can offer a sustainable solution to recover relatively clean streams of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. This Special issue aims at exploring the most advanced solutions in biomass and waste pretreatment and fractionation techniques, together with novel (thermo)chemical and biochemical processes for the conversion of fractionated cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin to bioenergy, bio-based chemicals, and biomaterials, including the application of such products (i.e., use of biochar for filtration and metallurgical processes), as well as recent developments in kinetic, thermodynamic, and numeric modeling of conversion processes. The scope of this Special Issue will also cover progress in advanced measuring methods and techniques used in the characterization of biomass, waste, and products.

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This Special Issue features research and review articles on the characterization of metallic materials during various processes such as solidification, forming, and heat treatment. This issue focuses on all characterization methods, including all forms of microscopy (transmission electron microscope, scanning electron microscope, etc.) and analytical techniques applied to the materials' microstructure, interface, surface, etc. Studies focusing on analysis using computational science are also welcome. Recent studies dealing with the behavior of materials during various phenomena (solidification, phase transformation, oxidation, diffusion, deformation, and so on) that can occur in processes such as casting, plastic working, and heat treatment are suitable for publication in this issue. This Special Issue will provide material scientists with up-to-date information explaining the behavior of many types of metallic materials using novel approaches. This issue covers all kinds of metallic materials.

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Welding remains one of the most studied manufacturing processes worldwide. It has always assumed a vital importance in terms of research, and the market demand for increasingly complex solutions has kept the search for new solutions around welding more and more alive. This book describes, in 14 chapters, recent investigations around various welding processes, showing new developments in important areas, such as biomedicine or the automotive industry. Following the current trend, several developments around the friction stir welding process are also described. However, other processes are also studied, and new interesting developments are presented. Problems normally felt in welding, such as the installation of internal stresses or the generation of defects are also studied, and very interesting solutions are provided. Thus, this book is of particular importance for a very wide audience, ranging from the technician who is curious to want to know more and more, to the professor who seeks the latest developments in the matter to prepare his classes.

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The development of high-strength steels can be accelerated using numerical methods. In particular, the phase-field method has emerged as a powerful tool to describe the microstructure evolution on the mesoscopic length scale. In the present work, multiphase-field models are presented to numerically display the morphological evolution during the heat treatment of steel.

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Studies on the corrosion and degradation of materials play a decisive role in the novel design and development of corrosion-resistant materials, the selection of materials used in harsh environments in designed lifespans, the invention of corrosion control methods and procedures (e.g., coatings, inhibitors), and the safety assessment and prediction of materials (i.e., modelling). These studies cover a wide range of research fields, including the calculation of thermodynamics, the characterization of microstructures, the investigation of mechanical and corrosion properties, the creation of corrosion coatings or inhibitors, and the establishment of corrosion modelling. This Special Issue is devoted to these types of studies, which facilitate the understanding of the corrosion fundamentals of materials in service, the development of corrosion coatings or methods, improving their durability, and eventually decreasing corrosion loss.

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Dear Colleagues,Many structural metal materials work under the coupling condition of the load and corrosion environment. Therefore, it is very necessary to study the corrosion and mechanical behavior of metal structural materials. The corrosion behaviors of metals under the coupling condition of the mechanics and corrosion environment mainly include stress corrosion cracking, hydrogen-induced cracking, corrosion fatigue, erosion corrosion, wear corrosion, etc. From the macroscopic or microscopic point of view, these corrosion damages all involve the fracture process, and fractures are caused by environmental factors, also known as environmental fractures. Thus, this Special Issue, ”Corrosion and Mechanical Behavior of Metal Materials”, will focus on the environmental fracture behavior of metal materials, including but not limited to experimental, computational, or theoretical studies on environmental corrosion fracture of high-strength metal materials.

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This book contains thirty articles on various topics related to the corrosion and protection of metallic materials. This topic is of strong actuality both due to the aging of plants and infrastructures that require checks and maintenance, and to the use of traditional materials in increasingly aggressive environments, added to the need of changing the current anti-corrosion systems with less environmental impact methods. Finally, the new development of innovative materials, such as additive manufacturing or high-entropy alloys, needs the characterization of their corrosion behavior. In this issue, there are works on new alloys obtained for additive manufacturing or high entropy, on the study of corrosion and stress corrosion cracking and hydrogen embrittlement mechanisms, through electrochemical and microscopical techniques, studies on low environmental impact inhibitors and biocides, as well as ceramic and metal protective coatings. Finally, there are works on the study of the residual mechanical resistance of corroded infrastructures and on monitoring and non-destructive control. In this way, the book therefore offers a somewhat varied panorama of research trends in the field.

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The reprint has collected the latest scientific achievements in the microstructure-related deformation and fracture behavior of various metallic materials (e.g., steels, superalloys, and titanium alloys) under monotonical or cyclic loads. According to the research findings arising from this collection of works, the initial microstructure and microstructural evolution have a significant effect on deformation and fracture mechanisms and, thus, mechanical properties. To understand these influences, microstructure characterization, mechanical property testing, and numerical simulation are discussed in this reprint. These results are beneficial for promoting the potential applications of these materials and for the future development of novel high-performance metallic materials.

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The continuous evolution of preventive and therapeutic strategies aims to enhance oral health outcomes. Novel approaches are being developed to prevent and treat prevalent oral diseases like dental caries, periodontitis, and oral cancer. Researchers are also exploring the potential of biomaterials in regenerative dentistry, such as promoting bone growth and repairing damaged oral tissues.The ongoing research and development in dental materials and biomaterials holds great promise for improving oral health outcomes. However, it is imperative to maintain a sustained focus on research to fully leverage their potential and effectively address the existing gaps in dental care.In the special issue titled "Dental Biomaterials: From Fundamental Principles to Clinical Applications," significant findings have emerged from a variety of sources, including in vitro experiments and clinical trials. These insights have deepened our understanding of oral disease biology, resulting in the development of innovative treatment approaches like targeted drug delivery systems and gene therapy. Clinical trials have also provided evidence on the effectiveness and safety of these new treatment options.Overall, these advancements in technology and treatment offer hope for enhanced management of oral diseases. Nevertheless, it is crucial to emphasize the importance of continuous research and development in order to fully unlock the potential of these innovations and achieve significant progress in improving oral health outcomes.

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The present Special Issue discusses the close relationship among the composition design, plastic processing, and microstructure characterization of all metals and alloys such as iron, steel, Ti alloys and Mg alloys. Additionally, this Special Issue also reports on the improvement of mechanical properties and the optimization of service performance. We believe that new information and innovations will be provided to researchers in Materials Science and Engineering.

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