Announcements

Conference: IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA 2023)

Date: 29 May–2 June 2023
Place: London, UK

Machines (ISSN: 2075-1702) will be attending ICRA 2023 as an exhibitor. This meeting will take place from 29 May to 2 June 2023 in London, UK.

The largest and most prestigious event of the year in the robotics and automation calendar, the 2023 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA) will bring together the world's top academics, researchers, and industry representatives. With the conference taking place in the UK for the first time, London will provide the perfect backdrop to this world-class event.

The following MDPI journals will be represented:

• Machines;
• Sensors;
• Actuators;
• Applied Sciences;
• Electronics;
• Robotics;
• Systems;
• JSAN;
• Technologies;
• Inventions;
• Designs;
• Drones;
• JMMP;
• Telecom;
• AI;
• Automation.

If you are planning to attend this conference, please do not hesitate to start an online conversation with us. Our delegates look forward to meeting you in person and answering any questions that you may have. For more information about the conference, please visit the following website: https://www.icra2023.org/.

1. “Risk Assessment of Soil Contamination with Heavy Metals from Municipal Sewage Sludge”
by Jolanta Latosińska, Robert Kowalik and Jarosław Gawdzik
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(2), 548; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11020548
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/2/548

2. “Drilling Fluid and Cement Slurry Design for Naturally Fractured Reservoirs”
by Nediljka Gaurina-Međimurec, Borivoje Pašić, Petar Mijić and Igor Medved
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(2), 767; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11020767
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/2/767

3. “Arundo donax L. Biomass Production in a Polluted Area: Effects of Two Harvest Timings on Heavy Metals Uptake”
by Tommaso Danelli, Alessio Sepulcri, Giacomo Masetti, Federico Colombo, Stefano Sangiorgio, Elena Cassani, Simone Anelli, Fabrizio Adani and Roberto Pilu
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(3), 1147; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11031147
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/3/1147

4. “Optimization of Photogrammetric Flights with UAVs for the Metric Virtualization of Archaeological Sites. Application to Juliobriga (Cantabria, Spain)”
by Julio Manuel de Luis-Ruiz, Javier Sedano-Cibrián, Raúl Pereda-García, Rubén Pérez-Álvarez and Beatriz Malagón-Picón
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(3), 1204; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11031204
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/3/1204

5. “Earthen Jewish Architecture of Southern Morocco: Documentation of Unfired Brick Synagogues and Mellahs in the Drâa-Tafilalet Region”
by Eva Matoušková, Karel Pavelka, Tobiáš Smolík and Karel Pavelka, Jr.
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(4), 1712; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11041712
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/4/1712

6. “Characterization of a Shallow Coastal Aquifer in the Framework of a Subsurface Storage and Soil Aquifer Treatment Project Using Electrical Resistivity Tomography (Port de la Selva, Spain)”
by Alex Sendrós, Aritz Urruela, Mahjoub Himi, Carlos Alonso, Raúl Lovera, Josefina C. Tapias, Luis Rivero, Ruben Garcia-Artigas and Albert Casas
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(6), 2448; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11062448
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/6/2448

7. “Fracturing Fluids and Their Application in the Republic of Croatia”
by Nediljka Gaurina-Međimurec, Vladislav Brkić, Matko Topolovec and Petar Mijić
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(6), 2807; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11062807
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/6/2807

8. “Primary and Secondary Environmental Effects Triggered by the 30 October 2020, Mw = 7.0, Samos (Eastern Aegean Sea, Greece) Earthquake Based on Post-Event Field Surveys and InSAR Analysis”
by Spyridon Mavroulis, Ioanna Triantafyllou, Andreas Karavias, Marilia Gogou, Katerina-Navsika Katsetsiadou, Efthymios Lekkas, Gerassimos A. Papadopoulos and Issaak Parcharidis
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(7), 3281; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11073281
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/7/3281

9. “Numerical Modelling of Flow-Debris Interaction during Extreme Hydrodynamic Events with DualSPHysics-CHRONO”
by Gioele Ruffini, Riccardo Briganti, Paolo De Girolamo, Jacob Stolle, Bahman Ghiassi and Myrta Castellino
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(8), 3618; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11083618
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/8/3618

10. “Heavy Metals in Urban Street Dust: Health Risk Assessment (Lublin City, E Poland)”
by Wojciech Zgłobicki and Małgorzata Telecka
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(9), 4092; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11094092
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/9/4092

11. “Solar Potential in Saudi Arabia for Southward-Inclined Flat-Plate Surfaces”
by Ashraf Farahat, Harry D. Kambezidis, Mansour Almazroui and Emad Ramadan
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(9), 4101; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11094101
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/9/4101

12. “A Comprehensive Assessment of XGBoost Algorithm for Landslide Susceptibility Mapping in the Upper Basin of Ataturk Dam, Turkey”
by Recep Can, Sultan Kocaman and Candan Gokceoglu
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(11), 4993; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11114993
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/11/4993

13. “From Field Archaeology to Virtual Reconstruction: A Five Steps Method Using the Extended Matrix”
by Emanuel Demetrescu and Daniele Ferdani
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(11), 5206; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11115206
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/11/5206

14. “Increasing Resolution of Seismic Hazard Mapping on the Example of the North of Middle Russian Highland”
by Igor B. Movchan, Zilya I. Shaygallyamova, Alexandra A. Yakovleva and Alexander B. Movchan
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(11), 5298; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11115298
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/11/5298

15. “How Will Rwandan Land Use/Land Cover Change under High Population Pressure and Changing Climate?”
by Chaodong Li, Mingyi Yang, Zhanbin Li and Baiqun Wang
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(12), 5376; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11125376
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/12/5376

16. “Land Suitability Mapping Using Geochemical and Spatial Analysis Methods”
by Dimitrios E. Alexakis, George D. Bathrellos, Hariklia D. Skilodimou and Dimitra E. Gamvroula
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(12), 5404; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11125404
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/12/5404

17. “Virtual Geosite Communication through a WebGIS Platform: A Case Study from Santorini Island (Greece)”
by Federico Pasquaré Mariotto, Varvara Antoniou, Kyriaki Drymoni, Fabio Luca Bonali, Paraskevi Nomikou, Luca Fallati, Odysseas Karatzaferis and Othonas Vlasopoulos
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(12), 5466; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11125466
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/12/5466

18. “Integrating Convolutional Neural Network and Multiresolution Segmentation for Land Cover and Land Use Mapping Using Satellite Imagery”
by Saziye Ozge Atik and Cengizhan Ipbuker
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(12), 5551; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11125551
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/12/5551

19. “Linking Soil Erosion Modeling to Landscape Patterns and Geomorphometry: An Application in Crete, Greece”
by Imen Brini, Dimitrios D. Alexakis and Chariton Kalaitzidis
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(12), 5684; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11125684
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/12/5684

20. “Biodeterioration of Salón de Reinos, Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid, Spain”
by Valme Jurado, José Luis Gonzalez-Pimentel, Bernardo Hermosin and Cesareo Saiz-Jimenez
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(19), 8858; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11198858
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/19/8858

The Applied Sciences Editorial Office is pleased to inform you that applications are open for the Topical Advisory Panel. Should you decide to serve on the Topical Advisory Panel, you would be responsible for some of the following tasks, depending on your availability:

• Providing regular reviews of manuscripts;
• Setting up at least one Special Issue (SI) in partnership with a senior researcher within two years of your appointment and proposing a detailed strategy plan for the SI. The topic of the proposal should be within the scope of Applied Sciences (ISSN: 2076-3417) but broad enough to attract a reasonable number of submissions while also narrow enough to provide a cohesive collection of articles. The Special Issue should cover a small part of the scope of Applied Sciences;
• Providing a detailed strategy plan for the SI, including assisting in preparing Special Issue/Topic titles, aim and scope, summary, and keywords, soliciting papers and promoting the SI;
• Providing support for the Special Issues/Topics related to your expertise when the Guest Editors are not available. This includes SI promotion via social media and advice on some scientific cases;
• Promoting our journal at conferences (adding 1–2 slides into your presentation, distributing flyers, recommending the journal to your colleagues, etc.), on social media and other relevant platforms;
• Working with Editorial Board Members or the Editorial Office to promote high-quality/featured papers (for example, writing summaries or highlights for editor-selected papers).

To qualify as a Topical Advisory Panel Member, applicants must:

• Have expertise and experience in the field related to Applied Sciences;
• Have completed their Ph.D. in the last approximately 10 years;
• Have published at least 6 papers in the last 5 years as a first author or corresponding author;
• Currently hold an independent research position in academia or government institute.

Each year, members’ performance is evaluated, and outstanding members are promoted to the Editorial Board by the Editor-in-Chief. Please click on the following link to submit your application: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/applsci/topical_advisory_panel_application.

Please do not hesitate to contact the Applied Sciences Editorial Office (applsci@mdpi.com) for further details and clarification.

Applied Sciences Editorial Office

1. “Advanced Control and Fault Detection Strategies for District Heating and Cooling Systems—A Review”
by Simone Buffa, Mohammad Hossein Fouladfar, Giuseppe Franchini, Ismael Lozano Gabarre and Manuel Andrés Chicote
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(1), 455; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11010455
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/1/455

2. “Wind Turbine Prognosis Models Based on SCADA Data and Extreme Learning Machines”
by Pere Marti-Puig, Alejandro Blanco-M., Moisès Serra-Serra and Jordi Solé-Casals
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(2), 590; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11020590
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/2/590

3. “Carbon from Bagasse Activated with Water Vapor and Its Adsorption Performance for Methylene Blue”
by Fitria Rahmawati, Arikasuci Fitonna Ridassepri, Chairunnisa, Agung Tri Wijayanta, Koji Nakabayashi, Jin Miyawaki and Takahiko Miyazaki
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(2), 678; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11020678
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/2/678

4. “Review of Dew Point Evaporative Cooling Technology for Air Conditioning Applications”
by Anna Pacak and William Worek
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(3), 934; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11030934
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/3/934

5. “New Tendencies in Wind Energy Operation and Maintenance”
by Ángel M. Costa, José A. Orosa, Diego Vergara and Pablo Fernández-Arias
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(4), 1386; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11041386
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/4/1386

6. “Towards Phase Change Materials for Thermal Energy Storage: Classification, Improvements and Applications in the Building Sector”
by Christina V. Podara, Ioannis A. Kartsonakis and Costas A. Charitidis
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(4), 1490; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11041490
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/4/1490

7. “Estimation of the Optimum Energy Received by Solar Energy Flat-Plate Convertors in Greece Using Typical Meteorological Years. Part I: South-Oriented Tilt Angles”
by Harry D. Kambezidis and Basil E. Psiloglou
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(4), 1547; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11041547
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/4/1547

8. “PV-Powered Electric Vehicle Charging Stations: Preliminary Requirements and Feasibility Conditions”
by Saleh Cheikh-Mohamad,Manuela Sechilariu, Fabrice Locment and Youssef Krim
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(4), 1770; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11041770
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/4/1770

9. “Efficient Operative Cost Reduction in Distribution Grids Considering the Optimal Placement and Sizing of D-STATCOMs Using a Discrete-Continuous VSA”
by Oscar Danilo Montoya, Walter Gil-González and Jesus C. Hernández
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(5), 2175; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11052175
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/5/2175

10. “Application of Long-Short-Term-Memory Recurrent Neural Networks to Forecast Wind Speed”
by Meftah Elsaraiti and Adel Merabet
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(5), 2387; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11052387
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/5/2387

11. “A 0.3 V, Rail-to-Rail, Ultralow-Power, Non-Tailed, Body-Driven, Sub-Threshold Amplifier”
by Francesco Centurelli, Riccardo Della Sala, Giuseppe Scotti and Alessandro Trifiletti
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(6), 2528; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11062528
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/6/2528

12. “Building Information Modelling and Internet of Things Integration for Facility Management—Literature Review and Future Needs”
by Antonino Mannino, Mario Claudio Dejaco and Fulvio Re Cecconi
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(7), 3062; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11073062
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/7/3062

13. “Towards an Occupancy-Oriented Digital Twin for Facility Management: Test Campaign and Sensors Assessment”
by Elena Seghezzi, Mirko Locatelli, Laura Pellegrini, Giulia Pattini, Giuseppe Martino Di Giuda, Lavinia Chiara Tagliabue and Guido Boella
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(7), 3108; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11073108
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/7/3108

14. “Optimal Multi-Operation Energy Management in Smart Microgrids in the Presence of RESs Based on Multi-Objective Improved DE Algorithm: Cost-Emission Based Optimization”
by Mohammad Ghiasi, Taher Niknam, Moslem Dehghani, Pierluigi Siano, Hassan Haes Alhelou and Amer Al-Hinai
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(8), 3661; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11083661
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/8/3661

15. “Review of Renewable Energy-Based Charging Infrastructure for Electric Vehicles”
by Gamal Alkawsi, Yahia Baashar, Dallatu Abbas U, Ammar Ahmed Alkahtani and Sieh Kiong Tiong
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(9), 3847; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11093847
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/9/3847

16. “PV Benefits Assessment for PV-Powered Charging Stations for Electric Vehicles”
by Youssef Krim, Manuela Sechilariu and Fabrice Locment
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(9), 4127; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11094127
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/9/4127

17. “An Adapted Model of Cognitive Digital Twins for Building Lifecycle Management”
by Ibrahim Yitmen, Sepehr Alizadehsalehi, İlknur Akıner and Muhammed Ernur Akıner
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(9), 4276; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11094276
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/9/4276

18. “Optimal Control for a Hydraulic Recuperation System Using Endoreversible Thermodynamics”
by Robin Masser and Karl Heinz Hoffmann
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(11), 5001; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11115001
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/11/5001

19. “Perspectives on Cathodes for Protonic Ceramic Fuel Cells”
by Glenn C. Mather, Daniel Muñoz-Gil, Javier Zamudio-García, José M. Porras-Vázquez, David Marrero-López and Domingo Pérez-Coll
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(12), 5363; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11125363
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/12/5363

20. “A State-of-Art-Review on Machine-Learning Based Methods for PV”
by Giuseppe Marco Tina, Cristina Ventura, Sergio Ferlito and Saverio De Vito
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(16), 7550; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11167550
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/16/7550

We are pleased to announce the launch of a new initiative—the MDPI Special Issue Mentor Program.

This program will enable early career researchers (who must hold a Ph.D. in a related field) to experience editing a Special Issue in MDPI journals, under the mentorship of our experienced Editorial Board Members or other experienced scientists. The mentor program will provide an excellent opportunity for early career scientists to gain editorial experience, and to cultivate their ability to edit scientific research.

The mentee’s responsibilities include:

• Proposing a Special Issue title and assisting the mentor in preparing a summary (around 200–400 words) and 3–10 keywords describing the background, importance, and goal of the Issue;
• Writing a brief promotion plan for the Special Issue;
• Preparing a list of scholars who may be interested in the Issue and personally e-mailing invitations on behalf of Guest Editors;
• Writing an editorial for the online Special Issue together with the mentor.

The mentor’s responsibilities include:

• Conducting a final check before the Special Issue is published online;
• Performing editorial control of the Special Issue and quality control of the publications, both of which must be carried out in a timely manner;
• Providing suggestions to younger scholars if they have any doubts or concerns regarding submissions;
• Organizing video calls with young scholars and the Editorial Office regularly to discuss problems and improvement suggestions for the Special Issue;
• Making and submitting decisions regarding submissions with the assistance of mentees.

Certificates and awards:
After the Special Issue closes, the Editorial Office will provide official certificates for all the mentors and early career researchers.

If you are interested in this opportunity, please send your Special Issue proposal to the Editorial Office of a journal you choose, and we will discuss the process (i.e., mentor collaboration, Special Issue topic feasibility analysis, etc.) in further detail. The full list of MDPI journals is as follows: https://www.mdpi.com/about/journals.

In addition to the new Special Issue Mentor Program, we will continue to welcome all Special Issue proposals focusing on hot research topics.

The goal of the Editor’s Choice Articles project is to promote high-quality articles published in Applied Sciences (ISSN: 2076-3417). Please find below the list of articles carefully handpicked by the scientific editors of the journal, which we believe will be of interest to you.

1. “A Survey on Robotic Technologies for Forest Firefighting: Applying Drone Swarms to Improve Firefighters’ Efficiency and Safety”
by Juan Jesús Roldán-Gómez, Eduardo González-Gironda and Antonio Barrientos
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(1), 363; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11010363
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/1/363

2. “Deep Learning Method for Fault Detection of Wind Turbine Converter”
by Cheng Xiao, Zuojun Liu, Tieling Zhang and Xu Zhang
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(3), 1280; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11031280
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/3/1280

3. “Multi-Resolution SPH Simulation of a Laser Powder Bed Fusion Additive Manufacturing Process”
by Mohamadreza Afrasiabi, Christof Lüthi, Markus Bambach and Konrad Wegener
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(7), 2962; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11072962
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/7/2962

4. “Rail Diagnostics Based on Ultrasonic Guided Waves: An Overview”
by Davide Bombarda, Giorgio Matteo Vitetta and Giovanni Ferrante
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(3), 1071; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11031071
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/3/1071

5. “Security Vulnerabilities in LPWANs—An Attack Vector Analysis for the IoT Ecosystem”
by Nuno Torres, Pedro Pinto and Sérgio Ivan Lopes
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(7), 3176; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11073176
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/7/3176

6. “A Literature Review of Energy Efficiency and Sustainability in Manufacturing Systems”
by Paolo Renna and Sergio Materi
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(16), 7366; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11167366
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/16/7366

7. “An Improved VGG19 Transfer Learning Strip Steel Surface Defect Recognition Deep Neural Network Based on Few Samples and Imbalanced Datasets”
by Xiang Wan, Xiangyu Zhang and Lilan Liu
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(6), 2606; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11062606
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/6/2606

8. “Effect of Hydrogen Addition on the Energetic and Ecologic Parameters of an SI Engine Fueled by Biogas”
by Saugirdas Pukalskas, Donatas Kriaučiūnas, Alfredas Rimkus, Grzegorz Przybyła, Paweł Droździel and Dalibor Barta
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(2), 742; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11020742
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/2/742

9. “A Five-Step Approach to Planning Data-Driven Digital Twins for Discrete Manufacturing Systems”
by Matevz Resman,Jernej Protner, Marko Simic and Niko Herakovic
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(8), 3639; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11083639
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/8/3639

10. “Application of an Additive Manufactured Hybrid Metal/Composite Shock Absorber Panel to a Military Seat Ejection System”
by Valerio Acanfora, Chiara Corvino, Salvatore Saputo, Andrea Sellitto and Aniello Riccio
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(14), 6473; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11146473
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/14/6473

11. “Digital Twin and Reinforcement Learning-Based Resilient Production Control for Micro Smart Factory”
by Kyu Tae Park, Yoo Ho Son, Sang Wook Ko and Sang Do Noh
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(7), 2977; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11072977
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/7/2977

12. “Impact Fracture and Fragmentation of Glass via the 3D Combined Finite-Discrete Element Method”
by Zhou Lei, Esteban Rougier, Earl E. Knight, Mengyan Zang and Antonio Munjiza
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(6), 2484; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11062484
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/6/2484

13. “Friction Stir Welding of 1Cr11Ni2W2MoV Martensitic Stainless Steel: Numerical Simulation Based on Coupled Eulerian Lagrangian Approach Supported with Experimental Work”
by Mohamed Ragab, Hong Liu, Guan-Jun Yang and Mohamed M. Z. Ahmed
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(7), 3049; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11073049
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/7/3049

14. “A Review on the Lifecycle Strategies Enhancing Remanufacturing”
by Raoul Fonkoua Fofou, Zhigang Jiang and Yan Wang
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(13), 5937; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11135937
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/13/5937

15. “Nano-Elicitation as an Effective and Emerging Strategy for In Vitro Production of Industrially Important Flavonoids”
by Amna Komal Khan, Sidra Kousar, Duangjai Tungmunnithum, Christophe Hano, Bilal Haider Abbasi and Sumaira Anjum
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(4), 1694; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11041694
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/4/1694

We would like to thank all of the research groups that authored these exceptional papers for their contribution. We sincerely hope you find these articles of Applied Sciences as useful and insightful as we have found them.

MDPI has just become the first open access (OA) publisher to reach the milestone of one million articles published. That is one million articles freely available to all, to circulate and build upon! We are proud to share this special moment with the global scientific community.

This landmark has been reached thanks to the immeasurable support of more than 600,000 expert reviewers, 66,000 editorial board members and 6700 hard-working colleagues across MDPI’s global offices.

Within more than 25 years of publishing, our journals received 2.1 million manuscripts and generated 4.6 million peer review reports to get to one million papers published.

Reaching the milestone of one million articles published reinforces our mission to remove any existing barriers and to make scientific research accessible to all. Since its inception, MDPI’s goal has been to create reliable processes to make science open. This is a path towards facilitating the dissemination of novel insights in scientific communities.

Regular feedback from authors and reviewers shows that our service is greatly appreciated and needed. At the same time, the feedback helps us identify areas for further improvement.

As it stands, a significant share of published research findings remain closed access. More than half of the content published with the most well-known legacy publishers stays behind a paywall, and that is not including articles published in hybrid OA journals, or made available months or years after publication.

A new policy announced by the US administration in August 2022 requires that, as of January 2026, all US federally funded research be made freely and immediately available after publication. While the new policy does not mandate articles be published under an open access license, it is aligned with the open access movement in removing all barriers to research. Similarly, some of the most advanced research institutions in the world intend to have all funded research articles published in open access by 2025.

MDPI is proud to be the leading agent of the transition to open access.

"Thanks a Million" to all the contributors!

1. “Smartphone-Based NFC Potentiostat for Wireless Electrochemical Sensing”
by Karnpimon Krorakai, Supannika Klangphukhiew, Sirinan Kulchat and Rina Patramanon
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(1), 392; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11010392
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/1/392

2. “Arsenic Contamination of Groundwater and Its Implications for Drinking Water Quality and Human Health in Under-Developed Countries and Remote Communities—A Review”
by Samuel B. Adeloju, Shahnoor Khan and Antonio F. Patti
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(4), 1926; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11041926
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/4/1926

3. “Thermal Conductivity of Nanofluids: A Review on Prediction Models, Controversies and Challenges”
by Inês Gonçalves, Reinaldo Souza, Gonçalo Coutinho, João Miranda, Ana Moita, José Eduardo Pereira, António Moreira and Rui Lima
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(6), 2525; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11062525
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/6/2525

4. “Synthesis and Characterization of ZnBi2O4 Nanoparticles: Photocatalytic Performance for Antibiotic Removal under Different Light Sources”
by Oussama Baaloudj, Achraf Amir Assadi, Mohamed Azizi, Hamza Kenfoud, Mohamed Trari, Abdeltif Amrane, Aymen Amine Assadi and Noureddine Nasrallah
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(9), 3975; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11093975
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/9/3975

5. “Deep Eutectic Solvents for the Extraction of Bioactive Compounds from Natural Sources and Agricultural By-Products”
by Bárbara Socas-Rodríguez, Monica Vanessa Torres-Cornejo, Gerardo Álvarez-Rivera and Jose A. Mendiola
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(11), 4897; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11114897
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/11/4897

6. “Current View on Green Tea Catechins Formulations, Their Interactions with Selected Drugs, and Prospective Applications for Various Health Conditions”
by Magdalena Cerbin-Koczorowska, Magdalena Waszyk-Nowaczyk, Paweł Bakun, Tomasz Goslinski and Tomasz Koczorowski
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(11), 4905; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11114905
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/11/4905

7. “Five-Membered Cyclic Carbonates: Versatility for Applications in Organic Synthesis, Pharmaceutical, and Materials Sciences”
by Patrick Rollin, Liane K. Soares, Angelita M. Barcellos, Daniela R. Araujo, Eder J. Lenardão, Raquel G. Jacob and Gelson Perin
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(11), 5024; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11115024
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/11/5024

8. “Chemical Profiling, Antioxidant, and Antimicrobial Activity against Drug-Resistant Microbes of Essential Oil from Withania frutescens L”
by Abdelfattah EL Moussaoui, Mohammed Bourhia, Fatima Zahra Jawhari, Ahmad Mohammad Salamatullah, Riaz Ullah, Ahmed Bari, Hafiz Majid Mahmood, Muhammad Sohaib, Bohza Serhii, Alexander Rozhenko et al.
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(11), 5168; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11115168
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/11/5168

9. “A Review on the Advancements in the Field of Metal Complexes with Schiff Bases as Antiproliferative Agents”
by Alessia Catalano, Maria Stefania Sinicropi, Domenico Iacopetta, Jessica Ceramella, Annaluisa Mariconda, Camillo Rosano, Elisabetta Scali, Carmela Saturnino and Pasquale Longo
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(13), 6027; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11136027
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/13/6027

10. “Recovery of Heavy Metal Ions Using Magnetic Glycine-Modified Chitosan—Application to Aqueous Solutions and Tailing Leachate”
by Asmaa Benettayeb, Amine Morsli, Khalid Z. Elwakeel, Mohammed F. Hamza and Eric Guibal
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(18), 8377; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11188377
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/18/8377

We are pleased to announce that the website of the MDPI Sustainability Foundation has been revamped! For the past couple of months, our UX UI team and front-end developers have been working hard to launch the website in time for the opening of the Sustainability Awards nominations.

The website is not the only thing that has had a remodeling. Indeed, the format of the Emerging Sustainability Leader Award (ESLA) has been updated. ESLA is now a competition open to individual researchers or start-ups founded by researchers under the age of 35. Nominee applications will go through 2 rounds of selection until the final 3 are decided. The finalists will then be invited to give pitch presentations during the Award Ceremony to win either first place (10,000 USD) or runner-up (2 x 5000 USD).

The World Sustainability Award, on the other hand, remains the same: a total prize money of 100,000 USD is up for grabs by senior individual researchers or groups of researchers from the international research community.

Nominations for both the World Sustainability Award and the Emerging Sustainability Leader award are now open! Check out our new website for more information on how to nominate.

1. “Digital Processing of Seismic Data from Open-Pit Mining Blasts”
by Natalia Koteleva and Ilia Frenkel
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(1), 383; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11010383
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/1/383

2. “A Review of the Water Desalination Technologies”
by Domenico Curto, Vincenzo Franzitta and Andrea Guercio
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(2), 670; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11020670
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/2/670

3. “Towards Integrated Digital Twins for Industrial Products: Case Study on an Overhead Crane”
by Juuso Autiosalo, Riku Ala-Laurinaho, Joel Mattila, Miika Valtonen, Valtteri Peltoranta and Kari Tammi
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(2), 683; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11020683
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/2/683

4. “Classification and Quantification of Human Error in Manufacturing: A Case Study in Complex Manual Assembly”
by Yaniel Torres, Sylvie Nadeau and Kurt Landau
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(2), 749; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11020749
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/2/749

5. “Developing a Digital Twin and Digital Thread Framework for an ‘Industry 4.0’ Shipyard”
by Toh Yen Pang, Juan D. Pelaez Restrepo, Chi-Tsun Cheng, Alim Yasin,Hailey Lim and Miro Miletic
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(3), 1097; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11031097
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/3/1097

6. “Lot-Sizing and Scheduling for the Plastic Injection Molding Industry—A Hybrid Optimization Approach”
by Nathalie Klement, Mohamed Amine Abdeljaouad, Leonardo Porto and Cristóvão Silva
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(3), 1202; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11031202
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/3/1202

7. “A Review of Experimental and Numerical Studies of Lithium Ion Battery Fires”
by Matt Ghiji, Shane Edmonds and Khalid Moinuddin
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(3), 1247; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11031247
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/3/1247

8. “Nano-Elicitation as an Effective and Emerging Strategy for In Vitro Production of Industrially Important Flavonoids”
by Amna Komal Khan, Sidra Kousar, Duangjai Tungmunnithum, Christophe Hano, Bilal Haider Abbasi and Sumaira Anjum
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(4), 1694; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11041694
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/4/1694

9. “A Systematic Mapping of the Advancing Use of Machine Learning Techniques for Predictive Maintenance in the Manufacturing Sector”
by Milena Nacchia, Fabio Fruggiero, Alfredo Lambiase and Ken Bruton
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(6), 2546; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11062546
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/6/2546

10. “An Improved VGG19 Transfer Learning Strip Steel Surface Defect Recognition Deep Neural Network Based on Few Samples and Imbalanced Datasets”
by Xiang Wan, Xiangyu Zhang and Lilan Liu
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(6), 2606; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11062606
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/6/2606

11. “Is Digital Twin Technology Supporting Safety Management? A Bibliometric and Systematic Review”
by Giulio Paolo Agnusdei, Valerio Elia and Maria Grazia Gnoni
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(6), 2767; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11062767
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/6/2767

12. “Adaptive Pitch Controller of a Large-Scale Wind Turbine Using Multi-Objective Optimization”
by Manuel Lara, Juan Garrido, Mario L. Ruz and Francisco Vázquez
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(6), 2844; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11062844
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/6/2844

13. “Security Vulnerabilities in LPWANs—An Attack Vector Analysis for the IoT Ecosystem”
by Nuno Torres, Pedro Pinto and Sérgio Ivan Lopes
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(7), 3176; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11073176
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/7/3176

14. “The Role of Digital Technologies in Operationalizing the Circular Economy Transition: A Systematic Literature Review”
by Enrico Cagno, Alessandra Neri, Marta Negri, Carlo Andrea Bassani and Tommaso Lampertico
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(8), 3328; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11083328
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/8/3328

15. “Recent Progress Trend on Abrasive Waterjet Cutting of Metallic Materials: A Review”
by Jennifer Milaor Llanto, Majid Tolouei-Rad, Ana Vafadar and Muhammad Aamir
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(8), 3344; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11083344
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/8/3344

16. “Smart Manufacturing Real-Time Analysis Based on Blockchain and Machine Learning Approaches”
by Zeinab Shahbazi and Yung-Cheol Byun
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(8), 3535; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11083535
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/8/3535

17. “Mobile Learning Technologies for Education: Benefits and Pending Issues”
by Santiago Criollo-C, Andrea Guerrero-Arias, Ángel Jaramillo-Alcázar and Sergio Luján-Mora
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(9), 4111; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11094111
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/9/4111

18. “Applications of Smart Glasses in Applied Sciences: A Systematic Review”
by Dawon Kim and Yosoon Choi
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(11), 4956; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11114956
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/11/4956

19. “A Literature Review of Energy Efficiency and Sustainability in Manufacturing Systems”
by Paolo Renna and Sergio Materi
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(16), 7366; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11167366
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/16/7366

20. “Adaptable and Explainable Predictive Maintenance: Semi-Supervised Deep Learning for Anomaly Detection and Diagnosis in Press Machine Data”
by Oscar Serradilla, Ekhi Zugasti, Julian Ramirez de Okariz, Jon Rodriguez and Urko Zurutuza
Appl. Sci. 2021, 11(16), 7376; https://doi.org/10.3390/app11167376
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/16/7376