Publications

The main goal of the workshop on LES and DNS of ignition process and complex structure flames with local extinction was to deliver a review of the state-of-the-art in this field. A number of leading European researches were invited to deliver keynote lectures in the field of LES and DNS of turbulent combosution, ignition and extinction problems. In addition, experimental investigations were presented that are crucial for the validation of advanced numerical models. The problems discussed during the workshop ranged from simultaitons of academic test cases like lifted jet flames, with simple geometry and complex structure, to ignition of liquid fuels in a full multi-sector combustor of an aeroengine and to spark ignition in piston engines. The variety of problems and methods presented during the workshop stimulated very interesting discussions among the academic and industrial participants.

This Special Issue of 

Polymers

 is the result of the scientific work and subsequent discussions and collaborations that took place during four years (May 2012–May 2016) of the COST Action MP1105 “FLARETEX: Sustainable flame retardancy for textiles and related materials based on nanoparticles substituting conventional chemicals”. The Action involved 30 countries and more than 850 participants attended the 20 organized events up to December 2015; four events including the final conference are planned for 2016. The participants included post graduate students, early career researchers, established academics, engineers, and researchers/technologists from industry. The work done by the members of this Action from 2012 until 2016 is an important source of information regarding recent developments in the area of fire safety, and environmentally friendly flame retardant solutions for textiles and related materials.

It goes without saying that agriculture is a form of colonisation of nature by society. In the course of history the articulation of natural and societal features gave rise to a wide variety of agrosystems within the boundaries of Europe which were embedded in supra-regional political and economic contexts at least from the High Middle Ages onwards. By following an integrative approach, this volume defines agrosystems as production systems based on the ecological and socioeconomic relations involved in the reproduction of rural societies at multiple levels. The authors explore the articulation of natural and societal factors through the prism of labour relations. The structural and practical organization of labour is seen as the crucial link between rural production and reproduction. Accordingly, the contributions focus on the rural household as the basic unit of production and reproduction in different temporal and spatial contexts. Therefore, the question arises if the changes in ecosystems and social systems have so fundamentally altered European agriculture up to now that peasant family farming will disappear (if it is no longer sustained by state intervention).

This Symposium was hosted by the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid as an initiative of Working Group 5 of COST Action 924. The earlier Model-IT were organised in The Netherlands, New Zealand nad Leuven, and their results and publications by ISHS have shown that the tradition that started ten years ago is still attractive. For proper chain management, good and realiable predictive models covering all aspects of the food chain are necessary to control and optimise the food chain, going from farm to fork, with respect to quality and safety. This wide range was mirrored by the expertises displayed in the various conference contributions. Furthermore, the symposium offered the participants four workshops specially prepared for this occasion. We hope that these proceedings will be a source of inspiration to students and reserachers in industry and academia.

This volume provides a total of 24 peer reviewed papers as an overview of the work performed within COST Action G8 “Non-Destructive Testing and Analysis of Museum Objects” which ran from 2001 to 2006. This book is intended for all those interested in the benefit of non-destructive techniques, especially conservators, restorers, and art historians who will find examples of the applications of various analytical methods to art objects, ranging from metal artefacts through paintings and drawings to ceramics and stone.
The content will also be of interest to scientists working in research institutions who, whilst not having themselves a background in art or archaeology, often come face-to-face with issues related to cultural heritage which need specific scientific input to resolve particular problems. It is, over all, aimed at helping to bridge the gaps between the numerous players in this emerging multi-disciplinary field.

COST-TIST covers all COST research activities in the field of Telecommunications and Information technologies, services and applications. COST Actions in this area have successfully contributed to the aims of the European Research Area by brining a large set of national, industrial and university research activities in the field together into a common framework of research objectives.