Open Access Books

Plant-based diets contain a plethora of metabolites that may impact on health and disease prevention. Most are focused on the potential bioactivity and nutritional relevance of several classes of phytochemicals, such as polyphenols, flavonoids, carotenoids, phyto-oestrogens, and frucrooligo-saccharides. These compounds are found in fruit, vegetables, and herbs. Daily intakes of some of these compounds may exceed 100 mg. Moreover, intestinal bacterial activity may transform complex compounds such as anthocyanins, procyanidins, and isoflavones into simple phenolic metabolites. The colon is thus a rich source of potentially active phenolic acids that may impact both locally and systemically on gut health. Further, nondigestible fiber (prebiotics) are dietary substrates that selectively promote proliferation and/or activity of health-promoting bacterial populations in the colon. Prebiotics, such as inulin, raffinose, and stachyose, have a proven ability to promote the abundance of intestinal bacterial populations, which may provide additional health benefits to the host. Further, various pulse seed soluble (fiber) extracts are responsible for improving gastrointestinal motility, intestinal functionality and morphology, and mineral absorption. Studies indicated that the consumption of seed origin soluble extracts can upregulate the expression of BBM proteins that contribute for digestion and absorption of nutrients.

This volume is a reprint of the Honorary Special Issue dedicated to the 60th birthday of Professor Dr. Kalyanmoy Deb, published in the journal Mathematical and Computational Applications (MCA). Kalyanmoy Deb has been a pioneer and highly impactful and influential proponent of Evolutionary Multi-objective Optimization (EMO) since 1994. He is currently a Koenig Endowed Chair Professor and University Distinguished Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Michigan State University, USA, and holds additional appointments in Mechanical Engineering and in Computer Science and Engineering. Professor Deb’s research interests are in evolutionary optimization and its application in multi-objective optimization, modeling, machine learning, and in multi-objective decision making. He has been a visiting professor at various universities across the world, including IITs in India, Aalto University in Finland, the University of Skovde in Sweden, and Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. He was awarded the IEEE Evolutionary Computation Pioneer Award, the Infosys Prize, the TWAS Prize in Engineering Sciences, the CajAstur Mamdani Prize, the Distinguished Alumni Award from IIT Kharagpur, the Edgeworth Pareto Award, the Bhatnagar Prize in Engineering Sciences, and the Bessel Research Award from Germany. He is a fellow of IEEE, ASME, and three Indian science and engineering academies.

The Functional Theory of Political Campaign Discourse has been developed to understand key elements of election messages. This theory has been tested in a variety of messages: by candidates and other sources, in messages from different levels of office, in the United States and other countries, and in news coverage of election messages. This essay discusses the assumptions of this theory, advantages of this approach, and predictions made in the theory.

This is an open access title available under the terms of a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 License. It is free to read, download and share via Elgaronline, thanks to generous funding support from the Dwight W. Andrus, Jr. / BORSF Endowed Chair in Finance at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, and the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF), Grant CRSK-1_220996. This informative book explores how governance systems evolve to meet diverse organizational contexts and emerging challenges. Providing a range of perspectives from different fields including finance, management, entrepreneurship and law, global experts present new structures and directions for corporate governance research.

This book provides a novel understanding of the relationship between politics and policy for those familiar with climate change mitigation policies, and an introduction to readers new to the field. It will be valuable for graduate students, researchers, and policymakers interested in the politics and policy of climate change.

The improvement of fabrication resolutions is an eternal challenge for miniaturizing and enhancing the integration degrees of devices. Laser processing is one of the most widely used techniques in manufacturing due to its high flexibility, high speed, and environmental friendliness. The fabrication resolution of laser processing is, however, limited by the diffraction limit. Recently, much effort has been made to overcome the diffraction limit in nano fabrication. Specifically, combinations of multiphoton absorption by ultrafast lasers and the threshold effect associated with a Gaussian beam profile provide fabrication resolutions far beyond the diffraction limit. The use of the optical near-field achieves nano ablation with feature sizes below 100 nm. Multiple pulse irradiation from the linearly polarized ultrafast laser produces periodic nanostructures with a spatial period much smaller than the wavelength. Unlimited diffraction resolutions can also be achieved with shaped laser beams. In the meanwhile, lasers are also widely used for the synthesis of nano materials including fullerenes and nano particles. In view of the rapid advancement of this field in recent years, this Special Issue aims to introduce the state-of-the-art in nano fabrication and nano lithography, based on laser technologies, by leading groups in the field.

This book presents a major leap forward in the understanding of colour by showing how richer descriptions of colour samples can be operationalized in agent-based models. Four different language strategies are explored: the basic colour strategy, the graded membership strategy, the category combination strategy and the basic modification strategy. These strategies are firmly rooted in empirical observations in natural languages, with a focus on compositionality at both the syntactic and semantic level. Through a series of in-depth experiments, this book discerns the impact of the environment, language and embodiment on the formation of basic colour systems. Finally, the experiments demonstrate how language users can invent their own language strategies of increasing complexity by combining primitive cognitive operators, and how these strategies can be aligned between language users through linguistic interactions.

Mitochondria are critical bioenergetic and biosynthetic machines that are essential for normal cell function. Traditionally, mitochondria have been considered the powerhouse of the cell, as they supply most of the cellular energy through oxidative phosphorylation. In addition, they supply the building blocks needed for the synthesis of cellular biomass. More recently, mitochondria have been recognized as signaling hubs that receive and transmit signals throughout the cell, thereby affecting cell functionality and fate. The signals generated by mitochondria include changes in metabolites, the NAD+/NADH ratio, ATP/ADP ratio, Ca2+, and reactive oxygen species (ROS), but our understanding of their nature, dynamics, targets, and roles in different physiopathological contexts is still under development. Mitochondrial dysfunction, which may originate from primary defects within the organelles or from stress conditions in the microenvironment, is a hallmark of many common diseases, including ischaemia–reperfusion injury, cancer, metabolic disease, and neurodegenerative disorders, and has become a major research focus in medicine. Understanding the biology of mitochondrial signaling and the role of mitochondrial dysfunction in the pathogenesis of many metabolic, degenerative, cardiovascular, and neoplastic diseases is crucial for the development of strategies aimed at therapeutically restoring mitochondrial functionality. This Special Issue presents current knowledge in the field of mitochondrial signaling in health and disease, and recent advances in mitochondrial pharmacology.

It is impossible to imagine the modern world without sensors, or without real-time information about almost everything—from local temperature to material composition and health parameters. We sense, measure, and process data and act accordingly all the time. In fact, real-time monitoring and information is key to a successful business, an assistant in life-saving decisions that healthcare professionals make, and a tool in research that could revolutionize the future. To ensure that sensors address the rapidly developing needs of various areas of our lives and activities, scientists, researchers, manufacturers, and end-users have established an efficient dialogue so that the newest technological achievements in all aspects of real-time sensing can be implemented for the benefit of the wider community. This book documents some of the results of such a dialogue and reports on advances in sensors and sensor systems for existing and emerging real-time monitoring applications.

Qualitative control and analysis of food products is a requirement for food industries, both in terms of quality assurance and food safety management systems. Analysis of foods is continuously requiring the development of more robust, efficient, sensitive, and cost-effective analytical methodologies to guarantee the safety, quality, authenticity, and traceability of foods in compliance with legislation and consumers’ demands.Different analyses include microbiological and chemical analyses, from simple to complex, from old to modern technologies. Hence, fundamental and/or state-of-the-art methods of the development, optimization, and practical implementation in routine laboratories, and validation of these methods for the monitoring of food safety and quality, are employed. Methodologies for food microbial contaminants, food chemistry and toxicology, food quality, food authenticity, and food traceability have been presented and discussed in this Special Issue.

Theocratic movements are on the rise. But what does it actually mean for God to rule? This Element offers one answer by recovering the theocratic project of medieval Judaism's most important thinker, Moses Maimonides. This title is also available as open access on Cambridge Core.

This new go-to reference book for global melodrama assembles contributions by experts from a wide range of disciplines, including cultural studies, film and media studies, gender and queer studies, political science, and postcolonial studies. The melodramas covered in this volume range from early 20th century silent movies to contemporary films, from independent ›arthouse‹ productions to Hollywood blockbusters. The comprehensive overview of global melodramatic film in the Lexicon constitutes a valuable resource for scholars and practitioners of film, teachers, film critics, and anyone who is interested in the past and present of melodramatic film on a global scale. The Lexicon of Global Melodrama includes essays on All That Heaven Allows, Bombay, Casablanca, Die Büchse der Pandora, In the Mood for Love, Nosotros los Pobres, Terra Sonâmbula, and Tokyo Story.

It is a privilege to present this manuscript that delves into a fundamental topic, such in the current business landscape: the empowerment of women in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), with a particular emphasis on artisanal sector in Ecuador, Colombia, Mexico and Peru.****In a global context, in which gender equality and inclusion are increasingly recognized as catalysts of economic and social progress. This academic work emerges as a notable contribution to understanding and advocate for the active participation of women in the business field.****Through meticulous examination, the authors of this work, who are specialists lists in the fields of management and finance, analyze the intricate dynamics associated with business administration led by women in SMEs.****Each chapter, which ranges from management strategies to considerations financial and regulatory considerations, offers a deep and insightful view look at the obstacles and prospects women face entrepreneurs in the craft industry.****The manuscript is organized into three sections that address various facets of the topic: management approaches, financial administration and strategies educational regulations of internal control. These sections, supported by rigorous research and pioneering methodologies provide a foundation solid to understand the complexity of this multifaceted topic.****In addition to its academic importance, this manuscript has the capacity to exert a notable influence on business protocols and measures governments designed to foster gender parity and growth comprehensive economic development.****PhD. Mónica Lorena Sánchez Limón****Doctor in Administrative Sciences from UNAM.****Full Professor and Researcher at the University****Autonomous of Tamaulipas****Vice President of Committees of the National Academy****of Administrative Sciences (ACACIA)

Diversität ist ein Potenzial, das Führungskräfte für ihre Nachwuchsgewinnung und -bildung erkennen und professionell ausschöpfen wollen. Mit der Zielsetzung einer bundesweiten Qualitätsoffensive Diversität, mit der auch der Selbstverpflichtung auf die im Jahre 2006 veröffentlichte Charta der Vielfalt unter der Schirmherrschaft der Bundeskanzlerin Rechnung getragen werden soll, werden im vorliegenden Band Führungskräfte aus den verschiedensten Berufsfeldern zu Interventionsforschenden. Diese legen als Praktiker:innen, die über vielfältige Innovations- und Gestaltungserfahrungen in organisationalen Veränderungsprozessen verfügen, quantitative und qualitative Bestandsaufnahmen und Maßnahmen zu Diversität und Personalentwicklung auf wissenschaftlicher Grundlage vor. Diese sollen Anregungen zu Entwicklungsprozessen einer "lernenden Organisation" im Spiegel von Diversität geben und zur institutionellen Selbstreflexion wie Umsetzung in Modell- und Transferprojekten ermutigen. Folgende Berufsbereiche sind dabei vertreten: Politik und Rechtsordnung, Digitalisierung, Bundesagentur für Arbeit (als Beispiel für die Bundesverwaltung), Bundeswehr, Polizei, Hochschulen, Schulen, Ingenieurwesen, Medizin, Pflege, Wirtschaft, Medien, Katholische Kirche, Evangelische Kirche, Islam. Die exemplarischen Berufsfeldanalysen zeigen zum einen die berufskulturelle Prägung von Führungskonzept und Diversität auf. Zum anderen arbeiten sie nach einer großenteils einheitlichen Gliederung ein gemeinsames Qualitätsverständnis für Diversität heraus, das die Grundlage für eine weitere berufsfeldübergreifende und interprofessionelle Zusammenarbeit sowie mögliche anerkannte Auditierungs- und Akkreditierungsverfahren bilden kann. Die mögliche Institutionalisierung eines wirksamen und nachhaltigen Diversitätslernens wird am Beispiel innovativer Ansätze und Fallbeispiele zum Haltungslernen, Widerstandslernen, lebenslangen Lernen und sozialen Lernen vor Augen geführt. Der Band richtet sich an Gestalter:innen zu Diversität in Deutschland allgemein, insbesondere zu den vorgestellten Berufsfeldern, adressiert aber auch weitere Berufsfelder und lädt zur Mitwirkung an der Qualitätsoffensive Diversität ein. Diese richtet sich an alle Führungskräfte und Einrichtungen, die ihre Diversitätspotenziale in der Personal- und Organisationsentwicklung nach dem vorgelegten Muster (und darüber hinaus) analysieren und innovativ ausschöpfen sowie in diesem gemeinsamen Anliegen diversitätspolitisch zusammenwirken möchten.

Psychiatric imaging needs to move away from simple investigations of the neurobiology underling the early phases of psychiatric diseases to translate imaging findings in the clinical field targeting clinical outcomes including transition, remission and response to preventative interventions. This research topic aims to bring psychiatric neuroimaging studies towards translational impacts in clinical practice, suggesting that brain abnormalities may be of potential use for detecting clinical outcomes as treatment response. First-generation psychiatric neuroimaging focused on simple structural brain alterations associated with the neurobiology of the illness. These early studies adopted imaging methods mainly including computerized tomography (CT) to investigate brain size. Second-generation psychiatric neuroimaging studies benefited from more sophisticated techniques which included structural methods (sMRI) coupled with whole-brain automated methods (voxel based morphometry, VBM), white-matter methods (diffusion tensor imaging, DTI and tractography), functional methods (functional magnetic resonance imaging, fMRI) and advanced neurochemical imaging (PET techniques addressing receptor bindings and pre/post synaptic functions, magnetic resonance spectroscopy, MRS) and sophisticated meta-analytical imaging methods. However, no consistent or reliable anatomical or functional brain alterations have been univocally associated with any psychiatric disorder and no clinical applications have been developed in psychiatric neuroimaging. There is thus urgent need of psychiatric imaging to move towards third-generation paradigms. In this research topic, these novel neuroimaging studies here requested to move away from simple investigations of the neurobiology to translate imaging findings in the clinical field targeting longitudinal outcomes including transition, remission and response to preventative interventions. With respect to methods, the most recent neuroimaging approaches (e.g. structural and functional MRI, EEG, DTI, spectroscopy, PET) are welcome. Third generation psychiatric imaging studies including multimodal approaches, multi-center analyses, mega-analyses, effective connectivity, dynamic causal modelling, support vector machines, structural equation modelling, or graph theory analysis are highly appreciated. Furthermore, these third-generation imaging studies may benefit from the incorporation of new sources of neurobiological information such as whole genome sequencing, proteomic, lipidomic and expression profiles and cellular models derived from recent induced pluripotent stem cells research. We collect Original Research, Reviews, Mini-Reviews, Book Review, Clinical Case Study, Clinical Trial, Editorial, General Commentary, Hypothesis & Theory, Methods, Mini Opinion, Perspective, and Technology Report from international researcher and clinicians in this field. The purpose of this research topic is intended to provide the field with current third-generation neuroimaging approaches in translational psychiatry that is hoped to improve and create therapeutic options for psychiatric diseases.