We are launching the open access journal Children, a scholarly forum with pediatrics as the main focus. The journal title came to the minds of Dr. Brietta Pike and I in 2011, when both of us were lucky enough to have a new baby in our respective families. [...] Full article

The Journal of Risk and Financial Management (JRFM) is published in full open access by MDPI as of 1 October 2013, when MDPI took over the ownership of the journal. So far, this journal has been published elsewhere in yearly volumes (one issue per yearly volume) since 2008, with a total of 25 papers released up to this moment [1]. Starting from 1 January 2014, the journal will be published in quarterly issues. [...] Full article

It has recently been brought to our attention by members of the scientific community that a paper published in Climate (ISSN 2225-1154, http://www.mdpi.com/journal/climate) has raised some controversy regarding its originality, overall quality, and the scientific validity of the data presented. Moreover, two members have resigned from the Editorial Board, stating they are not willing to be associated with a journal where such articles are published. The paper they referred to was “Akasofu, S.-I. On the Present Halting of Global Warming. Climate 2013, 1, 4–11”, published in the first issue of Climate in May 2013 [1], available online at: http://www.mdpi.com/2225-1154/1/1/4. [...] Full article

We have been made aware of the fact that a large proportion of the Introduction section and corresponding references of the title paper [1] had been copied verbatim from an earlier paper by Hamdy and Gamal-Eldeen [2], and further, during our investigation it has also come to light that most of the text in question had been lifted unchanged from an even earlier review paper by a different group [3]. The authors have been contacted, these facts confirmed, and Dr. Amira M. Gamal-Eldeen has been identified as the person responsible for contributing that part of the paper. [...] Full article

The following paragraphs are reproduced from the website of the publisher [1]. Water is becoming one of the world’s most crucial concerns. A third of the world’s population has severe water shortage, while three quarters of the global population lives in deltas which run the risk of severe flooding. In addition, many more face problems of poor water quality. Full article

The following paragraphs are reproduced from the website of the publisher [1]. Professor Pollack takes us on a fantastic voyage through water, showing us a hidden universe teeming with physical activity that provides answers so simple that any curious person can understand. In conversational prose, Pollack lays a simple foundation for understanding how changes in water’s structure underlie most energetic transitions of form and motion on earth. Full article

In recent years, air pollution has become a major worldwide concern. Air pollutants can affect metabolic activity, impede healthy development, and exhibit carcinogenic and toxic properties in humans. Over the past two decades, the use of microbes to remove pollutants from contaminated air streams has become a widely accepted and efficient alternative to the classical physical and chemical treatment technologies. Air Pollution Prevention and Control: Bioreactors and Bioenergy focusses on these biotechnological alternatives looking at both the optimization of bioreactors and the development of cleaner biofuels. Full article

The following paragraphs are reproduced from the website of the publisher [1]. Taking a unique approach to business ethics unlike the typical focus on conceptual/legal frameworks, this book features 25 case studies that cover a full range of business practices, controls, and ethics issues. The new edition is fully updated with new case studies from the recent financial crisis, comparing it with Enron's crossing of various ethical lines. Interpretive essays explore financial control systems and lessons learned from specific case studies and circumstances. Readers will find a practical toolkit they can use to identify ethics issues and tackle problems effectively within corporations. Full article

The following paragraphs are reproduced from the publisher’s website [1]. There is a great deal of consumer interest in natural bioactive substances due to their health benefits. Offering the potential to provide valuable nutraceuticals and functional food ingredients, marine-derived compounds are an abundant source of nutritionally and pharmacologically active agents, with both chemical diversity and complexity. Functional ingredients derived from marine algae, invertebrates, vertebrates, and microorganisms can help fill the need for novel bioactives to treat chronic conditions such as cancer, microbial infections, and inflammatory processes. Full article

The following paragraphs are reproduced from the website of the publisher [1]. At the dawn of the information age, a proper understanding of information and how it relates to matter and energy is of utmost importance for the survival of civilisation. Yet, attempts to reconcile information concepts underlying science and technology with those en vogue in social science, humanities, and arts are rather rare. This book offers a new approach, departing from fragmented information concepts. Full article

We must develop a serious approach to the fact that emotions, thoughts, assessments, and decisions originate in the mind, and as such are firmly based in human beings. We sense, experience, and act on the basis of internal processes, but which criteria constitute the basis of these processes and how does the internal “control system”, which we all have, function? Moreover, we need to take a closer look at the ways in which the organic and sustainable mechanisms of our living organisms are optimized and explicated. Otto Scharmer calls this process going from ego-system-awareness to eco-system-awareness. These are some of the questions which are at the heart of this book. Full article

In Culture and Dignity: Dialogues between the Middle East and the West, renowned cultural anthropologist, Laura Nader, examines the historical and ethnographic roots of the complex relationship between the East and the West, revealing how cultural differences can lead to violence or a more peaceful co-existence. Full article

Polymers selected for this edition of the Handbook of Polymers include all major polymeric materials used by the plastics and other branches of the chemical industry as well as specialty polymers used in the electronics, pharmaceutical, medical, and space fields. Extensive information is included on biopolymers. Full article

The 11th Edition of Human Resource Management helps students understand and remember concepts through a straightforward and conversational writing style and a wealth of examples to clarify ideas and build interest. The authors provide a strong foundation of essential elements of Human Resource Management (HRM) as well as a clear understanding of how Human Resource Management links with business strategy. Through practical applications, the authors illustrate the importance of employees on every level of the organization, helping students understand HRM elements such as recruitment, training, motivation, retention, safety, the legal environment, and how they support successful business strategies. Full article

The publication Corporate Fraud and Internal Control contains essential guidance for companies to examine and improve their fraud programs: Corporate governance legislation has become increasingly concerned with the ongoing resilience of organizations and, particularly, with their ability to resist corporate fraud from the lowest levels to the upper echelons of executive management. It has become unacceptable for those responsible for corporate governance to claim, "I didn't know". Corporate Fraud and Internal Control focuses on the appropriateness of the design of the system of internal controls in fraud risk mitigation, as well as the mechanisms to ensure effective implementation and monitoring on an ongoing basis. Full article

Atlas of Material Damage has 464 microscopic pictures, schematic diagrams, and a few graphs, which show how materials fail, how they are produced to not fail, and how they are designed to perform particular functions to make outstanding products. Findings presented by each illustration are fully explained in the text and labeled. Full article

This is the first dictionary compiled specifically for rock art research. It follows the publication of an English rock art glossary in the journal Rock Art Research in November 2000. To be adopted by the International Federation of Rock Art Organisations (IFRAO), it has been translated by some of the world’s foremost scholars in the field into Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Greek, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish and Russian. In a discipline that has hitherto been without an agreed terminology, even communication within a single language has been difficult. The proliferation of idiosyncratic terminologies of often academically isolated researchers, many of which have been used by only one scholar, has not only retarded progress and the transference of knowledge, it has led to countless misunderstandings and even personal feuds. The purpose of this dictionary is to create a single terminological standard as well as a cross-lingual uniformity of usage. It focuses particularly on scientific aspects, technical applications and epistemological rigour. It does not set out to create a terminological straitjacket for the discipline, but a common standard of reference, particularly in areas that have in the past been susceptible to greatly differing interpretations. This dictionary comprises sections in ten languages, each listing the same terms alphabetically. It also contains a table interlinking all of these languages, listing all terms explained. This translation table is organised alphabetically according to the English terms. The volume is indispensable for scientific translators, rock art scholars, archaeologists and others concerned with aspects of pre-Historic rock art, and is also intended for the guidance of students and authors working in this field. Full article

This practical resource provides a current and comprehensive treatment of GPS/GNSS antennas, taking into account modernized systems and new and developing applications. The book presents a number of key applications, describing corresponding receiver architectures and antenna details. You find important discussions on antenna characteristics, including theory of operation, gain, bandwidth, polarization, phase center, mutual coupling effects, and integration with active components. Full article

Occupy Education is motivated by the sustainability crisis and energized by the drive for social justice that inspired the Occupy movement. Situated within the struggle for sustainability taking place amid looming resource shortages, climate change, economic instability, and ecological breakdown, the book is a timely contribution to community education and action. It opens a whole realm of integrated theory to educators and sustainability activists-and demonstrates how that theory can be moved into practice. Occupy Education is an excellent text for courses in sustainability studies, social philosophy, globalization, social justice, food system praxis, sustainability education, political economy, and environmental studies. Full article

Poised between soil and sky, forest canopies represent a critical point of exchange between the atmosphere and the earth, yet until recently, they remained a largely unexplored frontier. For a long time, problems with access and the lack of tools and methods suitable for monitoring these complex bioscopes made canopy analysis extremely difficult. Fortunately, canopy research has advanced dramatically in recent decades. Methods in Forest Canopy Research is a comprehensive overview of these developments for explorers of this astonishing environment. The authors describe methods for reaching the canopy and the best ways to measure how the canopy, atmosphere, and forest floor interact. They address how to replicate experiments in challenging environments and lay the groundwork for creating standardized measurements in the canopy — essential tools for understanding our changing world. Full article

As a usability specialist or interaction designer working with the government, or as a government or contractor professional involved in specifying, procuring, or managing system development, you need this book. Editors Elizabeth Buie and Dianne Murray have brought together over 30 experts to outline practical advice to both usability specialists and government technology professionals and managers. Full article

Loop control is an essential area of electronics engineering that today’s professionals need to master. Rather than delving into extensive theory, this practical book focuses on what you really need to know for compensating or stabilizing a given control system. You can turn instantly to practical sections with numerous design examples and ready-made formulas to help you with your projects in the field. You also find coverage of the underpinnings and principles of control loops so you can gain a more complete understanding of the material. This authoritative volume explains how to conduct analysis of control systems and provides extensive details on practical compensators. It helps you measure your system, showing how to verify if a prototype is stable and features enough design margin. Moreover, you learn how to secure high-volume production by bench-verified safety margins. Full article

This comprehensive book serves as a one-stop resource for practical EW antenna system know-how. Supported with over 700 illustrations and nearly 1,700 equations, this authoritative reference offers you detailed explanations of all the important foundations and aspects of this technology. Moreover, you get an in-depth treatment of a wide range of antenna system applications. Full article

Describing the mathematical development underlying current and classical methods of geolocating electronic systems that are emitting, this newly revised and greatly expanded edition of a classic Artech House book offers practical guidance in electronic warfare target location. The Second Edition features a wealth of additional material including new chapters on time delay estimation, direction finding techniques, and the MUSIC algorithm. This practical resource provides you with critical design information on geolocation algorithms, and establishes the fundamentals of existing algorithms as a launch point for further algorithm development. You gain an in-depth understanding of key target location methods that you can effectively apply to your work in the field. You discover triangulation algorithms that offer a highly efficient way to geolocate targets when the real estate on the sensor systems is adequate to support an antenna array. The book also presents quadratic geolocation techniques that can be implemented with extremely modest antennas — frequently a single dipole or monopole. Moreover, this authoritative volume details methods for geolocating the source of high frequency signals with a single sensor site. Full article

Master the latest electronic warfare (EW) techniques and technologies related to on-board military platforms with this authoritative resource. You gain expert design guidance on technologies and equipment used to detect and identify emitter threats, giving you an advantage in the never-ending chess game between sensor guided weapons and EW systems. This unique book offers you deeper insight into EW systems principles of operation and their mathematical descriptions, arming you with better knowledge for your specific design applications. Full article

Microwave and millimeter-wave remote sensing techniques are fast becoming a necessity in many aspects of security as detection and classification of objects or intruders becomes more difficult. This groundbreaking resource offers you expert guidance in this burgeoning area. It provides you with a thorough treatment of the principles of microwave and millimeter-wave remote sensing for security applications, as well as practical coverage of the design of radiometer, radar, and imaging systems. You learn how to design active and passive sensors for intruder detection, concealed object detection, and human activity classification. This detailed book presents the fundamental concepts practitioners need to understand, including electromagnetic wave propagation in free space and in media, antenna theory, and the principles of receiver design. You find in-depth discussions on the interactions of electromagnetic waves with human tissues, the atmosphere and various building and clothing materials. This timely volume explores recently developed detection techniques, such as micro-Doppler radar signatures and correlation radiometry. The book is supported with over 200 illustrations and 1,135 equations. Full article

A leading text for undergraduate- and graduate-level courses, this book introduces widely used forms of remote sensing imagery and their applications in plant sciences, hydrology, earth sciences, and land use analysis. The text provides comprehensive coverage of principal topics and serves as a framework for organizing the vast amount of remote sensing information available on the Web. Featuring case studies and review questions, the book’s 4 sections and 21 chapters are carefully designed as independent units that instructors can select from as needed for their courses. Illustrations include 29 color plates and over 400 black-and-white figures. Full article

It has been brought to our attention by a member of our Editorial Board that substantial portions of this review article have been copied verbatim from earlier publications without credit. After comparing the present paper and the other sources we have determined that indeed this manuscript clearly violates our policy on originality of all material submitted for publication and the generally accepted ethics of scientific publication. Consequently, the Editorial Team and Publisher have determined that it should be retracted. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. Full article

We are pleased to report the increase of the impact factors of MDPI journals during 2007 and 2008. In 2005 and part of 2006, the use of a two tier publication system, whereby we offered full Open Access publication to those authors willing to contribute financially to support this option, while providing the alternative choice of free publication without Open Access for those authors who preferred not to pay, resulted in the obviously decreased impact factors seen in 2006 [...] Full article

By using broken lines to represent coordination interactions in organometallic and other coordinated compounds, we can draw structures satisfying the valencies of the atoms present. These broken lines should be used to replace many false single covalent bonds now used to depict organometallic and coordinated compounds. Chemical drawing software should not recognize such broken lines as single covalent bonds and they should be ignored. An example of confusing and erroneous structural representation of organometallics and coordination compounds is discussed. Full article