Open Access Books

The Reprint “Interventional Radiology towards Personalized Medicine” brings together a collection of articles highlighting how image-guided procedures are increasingly integrated into precision-based clinical pathways. The Reprint explores the evolving role of interventional radiology in tailoring treatments to individual patient characteristics, improving therapeutic efficacy, limiting complications, and expanding minimally invasive options across a wide range of conditions. The contributions illustrate advances in imaging-based decision making, technological innovation, patient selection, and outcome prediction, offering a comprehensive and current overview of the field. This Reprint provides clinicians, researchers, and trainees with an updated perspective on how interventional radiology contributes to personalized care and how emerging tools such as radiomics and artificial intelligence are shaping future practice.

This book examines the interface between EU primary law and national substantive and procedural legislation governing fines imposed by Member States for breaches of European law or national implementing legislation. It focuses on analyzing the general principles of EU law and the European fundamental rights enshrined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. It explains the links between EU law and national fining legislation or proceedings that trigger the duty to respect EU primary law. It covers the concepts of consistent interpretation, the primacy of EU law, and the effectiveness of European fundamental rights and general principles from the perspective of national fining proceedings and the protection of individuals. The collection discusses the following principles and fundamental rights: the principle of legal certainty, the principle of protection of legitimate expectations, the principles of equal treatment and non-discrimination, the principle of proportionality, the principle of ne bis in idem, the principle of good administration, and the right to an effective remedy. Each principle or fundamental right has been analyzed coherently, with the focus on the rights of individuals and the duties of national administrative authorities and courts in the course of national fining proceedings. It also explores the interdependencies between various principles and rights, as well as some specific problems in this area that have occurred in Poland, thus showing the practical importance of the research, or issues that are common to all Member States irrespective of differences in national procedures and fining provisions. The volume will be a valuable resource for researchers, academics, and policy-makers working in the areas of EU law, Administrative Law, and Comparative Law.

Gegenstand der Publikation ist das Verhältnis von Hochbegabung und sozialer Ungleichheit in der frühen Kindheit. Dabei wird der Fokus auf die pädagogische Arbeit in Kindertageseinrichtungen gelegt. Zunächst wird der Begriff der Hochbegabung als hohe intellektuelle Begabung erschlossen, anschließend im Kontext von Inklusion die Bedeutung der Kindertageseinrichtungen für die Entwicklung hoher kognitiver Begabungen herausgestellt und schließlich mehrdimensional das Verhältnis von Hochbegabung und sozialer Ungleichheit betrachtet. Aus den Erkenntnissen werden Handlungsempfehlungen abgeleitet.

Published

Healthy ageing can lead to declines in both perceptual and cognitive functions. Impaired perception, such as that resulting from hearing loss or reduced visual or tactile resolution, increases demands on ‘higher-level’ cognitive functions to cope or compensate. It is possible, for example, to use focused attention to overcome perceptual limitations. Unfortunately, cognitive functions also decline in old age. This can mean that perceptual impairments are exacerbated by cognitive decline, and vice versa, but also means that interventions aimed at one type of decline can lead to improvements in the other. Just as improved cognition can ameliorate perceptual deficits, improving the stimulus can help offset cognitive deficits. For example, making directions and routes easy to follow can help compensate for declines in navigation abilities. In this Topic, we bring together papers from both auditory and visual researchers that address the interaction between perception and cognition in the ageing brain. Many of the studies demonstrate that a broadening of representations or increased reliance on gist underlie perceptual and cognitive age-related declines. There is also clear evidence that impaired perception is associated with poor cognition although, encouragingly, it can also be seen that good perception is associated with better cognition. Compensatory cognitive strategies were less successful in improving perception than might be expected. We also present papers which highlight important methodological considerations that are required when studying the older brain.

Waterborne: Vietnamese Australians and Sydney's Georges River parks and green spaces, has been created by talking with the Vietnamese Australians who live around the Georges River and who often visit its parklands. Here they explain their memories of their early homelands, which are given context with information about the histories of rivers and parks in Vietnam. The Vietnamese Australians highlighted talk about their hopes for parks in Australia and their actual experiences in the parks and rivers around their new homes near the Georges River.

The field of biological and molecular tissue repair, regeneration, and wound healing techniques and treatment strategies is a promising and continually developing area of advanced healthcare activities. There is an unmet need to treat complex pathological tissue conditions, like chronic wounds and traumatized and degenerative tissue structures, in a multidisciplinary fashion at the point of care. Clinical practitioners encounter both young and elderly patients with these complex and diverse pathologies daily, with a significant negative impact on their quality of life. Many research papers and book chapters have been produced to address and describe a variety of treatment modalities to repair, or regenerate, damaged or lost tissue structures. However, biological and molecular approaches to restore tissue function use patients’ own cells (e.g., platelet-rich plasma, mesenchymal stem cells, matrix preparations) in conjunction with medical device technologies (such as lasers and hydrogen technologies) through interventional and nonsurgical procedures are less frequently cited. It is important to note that these modern treatment methods differ significantly from traditional methods of health care, as they employ a wide range of medicinal options and surgical procedures. This book provides a comprehensive and up-to-date overview of the latest advances in the field of biological and molecular tissue repair, regeneration, and wound healing to help patients be treated effectively and safely in a timely and effective manner.

The book presents a collection of 10 articles published in a Special Issue entitled "Oral Inflammations and Systemic Diseases" in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067) in the section "Molecular Pathology, Diagnostics, and Therapeutics". The oral inflammations that are covered in this issue consist of dental caries, periodontitis, and gingivitis, with a preponderance of periodontitis. Periodontitis is clearly a bacterial disease; however, it is not an infectious disease in the classical sense because it results from complex interactions between the commensal microbiota, host susceptibility and environmental factors such as diet and smoking. The human mouth contains one of the most diverse microbiomes in the human body, comprising viruses, fungi, protozoa, archaea and bacteria. The peer-reviewed articles of the book consist of original and review papers focused on the question of how exposure of the mouth to specific oral microbiota impacts systemic diseases, such as neuroinflammation, atherosclerosis, diabetes, and arthritis.

The article presents the history of the estate of Stefan Koryciński, Crown Chancellor (1653–1658). It was established that after the division of the estate of his father. Koryciński inherited seven villages, then he increased the land, mainly after taking over the estate from his brother Mikołaj Ferdinand (1651). At the end of his life, his private property consisted of fourteen villages located in four provinces and two tenement houses in Krakow. It was emphasized that comparing to other figures of the 17th century political elite, it was a modest fortune, and the chancellor obtained the main part of his income from royal estates. After the chancellor’s death, his property was inherited by two sons: Piotr Mikołaj and Mikołaj Andrzej.

Wer gilt heute als »studierfähig«? Und wer bestimmt darüber? Auf welche Art und Weise formen strukturell-institutionelle Bedingungen und gesellschaftliche Vorstellungen die Möglichkeiten, ein Studium an einer Universität aufzugreifen – und es auch abzuschließen? Und wie hat sich das im Laufe der Zeit verändert? Magdalena Fellner untersucht in ihrer historisch-vergleichenden Studie, welchen Machenschaften die Bedeutungen und Zuschreibungen des Begriffs der Studierfähigkeit von den Anfängen der Hochschulgeschichte bis heute unterliegen. Erfüllen die potenziellen Studierenden nicht die Anforderungen der herrschenden Machtelite einer Zeit, führt dies zum Ausschluss sozialer Gruppen und damit zur Aufrechterhaltung einer hierarchischen Klassengesellschaft. Deutlich wird, dass der klassische Begriff der Studierfähigkeit Probleme birgt, die soziale Ungleichheiten verstärken, anstatt ihnen entgegenzuwirken. Auf Grundlage der theoretischen und empirischen Analysen wird die Dynamik zwischen normativen Erwartungen und kollektiven sowie individuellen Lebenswelten veranschaulicht. Die Studie schlägt schließlich eine Rekonzeptualisierung des Begriffs der Studierfähigkeit aus einer relationalen Perspektive vor. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode

Desalination Update illustrates the growing research and development activities in the field of desalination of water. The chapters in this book also show the close link in the supply of water and supply of power. Power is needed to desalinate water, and water is needed to produce power via steam and cooling water. As the world is becoming increasingly in need of water and power, the education of generations of new workers in these technologies makes the publications of these books of rising importance. Students and specialists alike will find branching strands in this field of development worthy of dedication of careers. Never has shrinking essential resources and exploding needs confront mankind as much as water. Excellent reviews in this book provide keywords, concepts, and current knowledge and status of practice useful for teaching and continued evolution.

This Special Issue flyer provides a comprehensive overview of the latest developments in the field of micro- and nano-fabrication. It is designed to serve as a valuable resource for researchers, academics, and industry professionals who are interested in staying abreast of the most recent technological advancements and breakthroughs.

In the coming few years, agriculture must meet the twin challenge of feeding a growing global population, while simultaneously minimizing the environmental impact of cropping systems. In other words, new farming practices should be introduced in order to produce more food in a sustainable way. One of the most promising and innovative technologies to tackle these rising challenges consists in the use of plant biostimulants which include substances and/or micro-organisms, other than fertilizers and pesticides, able to promote plant growth, yield and to improve produce quality as well as resource use efficiency when applied to the crop in low quantities. Beneficial substances such as humic and fulvic acids, protein hydrolysates, seaweed and plant extracts, as well as beneficial microorganisms such as Azotobacter, Azospirillum, Rhizobium and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi have been shown to play multiple roles as biostimulants through the regulation and/or modification of the primary and secondary metabolism in plants, to enhance productivity, and to improve plant resilience to environmental perturbations. The biostimulant effects of these natural substances and microorganisms have been mainly associated to direct (stimulation of enzyme activities and hormonal activities) and also indirect (modification of natural microbial community, improvement of soil nutrient availability) effects on plant. However, the detailed molecular, cellular and physiological mechanisms underlying plant-biostimulant interactions under different environment and management strategies remain largely unknown. Therefore, there is an urgent need among the scientific community and commercial enterprises to better elucidate the causal/functional mechanism of biostimulants. The elucidation of the agricultural function and action mechanisms of plant biostimulants will permit to develop a second generation of biostimulants where synergies and complementary mechanism can be functionally designed. This Research Topic welcome Original Research, Technology Report, Methods, Opinion and Perspectives dissecting the agricultural functions and action mechanisms of plant biostimulants under adverse environmental situations (e.g., salinity, drought, thermal stress, suboptimal pH values, heavy metals, nutrient stress) or in optimum growing conditions.

This open access book explores the organization and evolution of Finland’s Cold War cultural diplomacy (1945-1975) as the basis for a reflection on the country’s foreign relations, the link between culture and politics, small states’ autonomy during the Cold War, and the porosity of the East-West divide. The book offers a historical survey of the development of Finland’s cultural diplomacy as part of the Finnish state’s foreign activities. In its empirical parts, it focuses on archives drawn from the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Education in order to explain Finland’s cultural diplomacy as the result of the country’s foreign policy orientations, interactions between domestic and foreign policy, and the expansion of state activities in the artistic, educational, and cultural sectors. Various reflections and reports on foreign cultural relations highlight the role of identity concerns, cultural relations, geopolitics and economic imperatives in the development of a specifically Finnish cultural diplomacy. Furthermore, the book focuses on specific aspects and events, considering for instance the organization and evolutions of Finland’s cultural relations with the USSR, the role of cultural treaties, academic exchanges and scientific cooperation, “cultural exports” and the marketization of culture, overlaps between cultural relations and high politics.