Open Access Books

This eBook is a collection of articles from a Frontiers Research Topic. Frontiers Research Topics are very popular trademarks of the Frontiers Journals Series: they are collections of at least ten articles, all centered on a particular subject. With their unique mix of varied contributions from Original Research to Review Articles, Frontiers Research Topics unify the most influential researchers, the latest key findings and historical advances in a hot research area! Find out more on how to host your own Frontiers Research Topic or contribute to one as an author by contacting the Frontiers Editorial Office: frontiersin.org/about/contact

This open access book presents an overview on seep systems in South China Sea. It includes numerous illustrations and photographs of the seeps that never seen before. It also introduces multidisciplinary research results to stimulate further research interest.

Due to its didactic and informative approach, this volume is suitable for those who engage with the topic of risk assessment in food safety for the first time. In the volume, the authors discuss the knowledge and skills that are necessary for effective risk assessment and risk communication and what foundational training courses and economic support one can pursue to gain them. The chapters are written by highly experienced experts. Together, they provide a comprehensive overview of the topic, but they can also be read independently, and each chapter is accompanied by an updated bibliography. The volume is an excellent starting point for specialized insights. It offers an easy general understanding of the topic and of the actions that are being taken by Italy and the European Union to face in a coordinated and effective way the global health challenges of the next years.

This reprint explores the innovative field of surface coatings for functional materials, essential in energy storage systems, electronic devices, and medical implants. These materials often face challenges such as poor electrical conductivity and limited biocompatibility. Surface coating modifications have emerged as effective strategies to enhance their properties and meet modern technological demands. The contributors of this reprint share insights on various coating technologies, including metal oxides, ceramics, and conductive polymers, demonstrating their ability to improve the performance of critical components. For example, advanced coatings can enhance cycle stability in lithium-ion batteries and improve biocompatibility in medical implants. This reprint focuses on the design, fabrication, and optimization of surface coatings, examining their roles in increasing mechanical robustness and conductivity. Additionally, it addresses emerging trends and future directions in coating technology, providing valuable guidance for developing next-generation coatings across many different applications.

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Medical biostatistics is the language that evidence speaks in the field of medicine. It is the tool that allows us to understand, interpret and apply the data that emerge from the complex network of information that characterizes health research. This book is an indispensable guide for those seeking to navigate this vast ocean of data with skill and understanding.****In a world where clinical decision-making and health policy formulation increasingly depend on scientific evidence, biostatistics stands as the foundation on which medical knowledge is built. This book not only provides the tools necessary to understand the fundamental principles of biostatistics, but also explores how these tools can be practically applied in medical research.****Throughout these pages, the reader will be guided from the most basic concepts to the most advanced methods, always with a clear focus on clinical relevance. Topics ranging from data collection and description to the design and analysis of epidemiological studies and clinical trials will be addressed. Case studies and real-life examples will be highlighted to illustrate how biostatistics influences medical decision making and improving patient care.**** ****This book is the result of the collaboration of experts in biostatistics and health professionals, united by the conviction that statistical knowledge is essential for evidence-based medical practice. We hope that this journey through medical biostatistics will be as educational as it is exciting, and that in the end, readers will feel empowered to explore, understand, and contribute to the vast field of medical research.****Dr. Wilber Adolfo Gómez Vargas, PhD. ****Universidad de Antioquia (Colombia)

In Hitchcock’s Appetites, Casey McKittrick offers the first book-length study of the relationship between Hitchcock’s body size and his cinema. Whereas most critics and biographers of the great director are content to consign his large figure and larger appetite to colorful anecdotes of his private life, McKittrick argues that our understanding of Hitchcock’s films, his creative process, and his artistic mind are incomplete without considering his lived experience as a fat man. Using archival research of his publicity, script collaboration, and personal communications with his producers, in tandem with close textual readings of his films, feminist critique, and theories of embodiment, Hitchcock’s Appetites produces a new and compelling profile of Hitchcock's creative life, and a fuller, more nuanced account of his auteurism.

The Special Issue “Synthesis and Modification of Nanostructured Thin Films” highlights the recent progress in thin film synthesis/modification and characterization. New methods are reviewed for the synthesis and/or modification of thin films based on laser, magnetron, chemical, and other techniques. The obtained thin nanostructures are characterized by complex and complementary techniques. We think that most of proposed methods can be directly applied in production, but some others still need further elaboration for long-term prospective applications in lasers, optics, materials, electronics, informatics, telecommunications, biology, medicine, and probably many other domains. The Guest Editor and the MDPI staff are therefore pleased to offer this Special Issue to interested readers, including graduate and PhD students as well as postdoctoral researchers, but also to the entire community interested in the field of nanomaterials. We share the conviction that this can serve as a useful tool for updating the literature, but also to aid in the conception of new production and/or research programs. There is plenty of room for further dedicated R&D advances based on new instruments and materials under development.

This open access book is a compilation of advances in sweetpotato genomics, which have been used to improve our understanding of the evolution of sweetpotato, increase our knowledge of crop growth and development, and provided critical information required for genomic-assisted breeding in sweetpotato. Sweetpotato is a critical food staple for millions of people in the developing world that has long been considered an under-resourced, orphan crop. However, this perception is changing, and significantly, more resources have been devoted to the improvement of sweetpotato in both the private and public sectors around the world during the last decade. Its twelve chapters review the changing food security and commercial food product landscape of sweetpotato in the developed and developing world, global wild and cultivated genome sequencing efforts in sweetpotato, the evolution of molecular markers and the development of novel polyploid linkage mapping, quantitative trait loci and genomic selection strategies required for gene discovery in this complex crop, and the use of these new tool in sweetpotato crop improvement programs around the globe. This book is useful to students, teachers, and scientists in universities, research institutes, and private companies.

With the emerging newer trends in sexuality and clashes with the traditional practice of human sexuality, there is a need for introspection and a framework of ethical principles that may guide human sexuality and its practice. Human sexuality is more than a biological phenomenon. Open discussions about sexual identity and sexual practices will help people better understand themselves, others, and the world around them. This book gives a panoramic view of certain aspects of human sexuality in health and disease.

A major mining region, Roman Hispania was the main exporter of lead to the Mediterranean between the 2nd century BC and the 1st century AD. The many ingots found, in particular, in underwater wrecks, bear a rich epigraphy that covers both the production and marketing of the metal. For the first time, this documentation has been brought together in one book, with extensive commentary, combining literary, epigraphic, archaeological and archaeometric sources.

Aus der Gerechtigkeitslehre des Aristoteles hat sich in der rechtsphilosophischen Tradition die Unterscheidung zwischen ausgleichender und austeilender Gerechtigkeit entwickelt. Die ausgleichende Gerechtigkeit (justitia commutativa) gilt als die Gerechtigkeit des Privatrechts, die austeilende Gerechtigkeit (justitia distributiva) als die Gerechtigkeit des öffentlichen Rechts. Die Notwendigkeit methodischer Theoriebildung für die Erforschung subjektiver Gerechtigkeitsvorstellungen durch die Sozialpsychologie hat zu einer Systematisierung möglicher Gerechtigkeitsvorstellungen geführt, wie sie bisher in der Rechtsphilosophie kaum erreicht war. Sie zeigt, daß in dem Begriffspaar „austeilende“ und „ausgleichende“ Gerechtigkeit zwei unterschiedliche Dimensionen angesprochen sind, die es zu trennen gilt, nämlich einerseits sachliche Verteilungsprinzipien und andererseits das Verfahren und die Umstände ihrer Anwendung. Für dieses Mißverständnis kann sich die Rechtsphilosophie nicht auf Aristoteles berufen. Vielmehr erweist sich, daß Aristoteles die Grundprinzipien der modernen Equity-Theorie intuitiv vorweggenommen hat.

"Available Open Access under CC-BY-NC licence The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), also known as Children of the 90s, is a world-leading birth cohort study that uniquely enrolled participants in utero and obtained genetic material from a geographic population. It instigated the innovative but controversial ALSPAC Ethics and Law Committee. This book describes in detail the early work of this Committee, from establishing the core ethical principles necessary to protect participants, to the evolution of policies concerning confidentiality and anonymity, consent, non-intervention and disclosure of individual results, data access and security. Quotes from interviews with early members of the Committee reflect not only on its pioneering work but also on the unusual style and inspirational leadership of the first Chair, Professor Michael Furmston. This will be of interest to those involved in other cohort studies in understanding the evolution of ethical policies as ALSPAC developed." The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), also known as Children of the 90s, is a world-leading birth cohort study that uniquely enrolled participants in utero and obtained genetic material from a geographic population. It instigated the innovative but controversial ALSPAC Ethics and Law Committee. This book describes in detail the early work of this Committee, from establishing the core ethical principles necessary to protect participants, to the evolution of policies concerning confidentiality and anonymity, consent, non-intervention and disclosure of individual results, data access and security. Quotes from interviews with early members of the Committee reflect not only on its pioneering work but also on the unusual style and inspirational leadership of the first Chair, Professor Michael Furmston. This will be of interest to those involved in other cohort studies in understanding the evolution of ethical policies as ALSPAC developed."

History helps us understand who we are and what we should become. This book demonstrates that primitivism is central to American religion. Primitivism is the dream of restoring religion to a purer order, as found in former times.