This book is the proceedings of an international conference entitled "Close Binaries in the 21st Century: New Opportunities and Challenges", held in Syros island, Greece, June 27-30, 2005. The papers collected in this volume detail the latest achievements in the field and reflect the state of the art of the dynamically evolving area of binary star research.

Introduction to Close Binary Systems provides a comprehensive survey and guide to the fast-moving field of multiple, specifically binary, stars, with an up to date account of research around 'close', i.e. interacting pairs. Such interactions allow direct quantification of stellar properties, opening up factual insights into basic building blocks of the Universe. The book provides a much needed update for the seminal Close Binary Systems of Zdenĕk Kopal. Following a comparable plan, it presents relevant subject matter with an emphasis on building a framework of understanding to serve as a supporting resource for students and researchers. The text starts from a general historical background and progresses into the main theoretical ideas supporting our prima facie interpretation of observations. The central chapters explore further into these observational methods, arranged according to the classic subdivisions of astrometry, spectroscopy and photometry. Optimal inversion of observational data into model parametrization is a theme through these chapters. Significant here is the problem of how non-uniqueness in modelling affects interpretation. The underlying issues of stellar evolution bearing on observational evidence become paramount in the last four chapters. The book proceeds step-by-step from directly understandable examples of unevolved pairs to the challenging cases where stars are found in more and more extreme conditions, leading up to the mergers of massive black hole pairs seen in the new field of gravitational wave astronomy. This is a valuable reference for postgraduate and advanced undergraduate students working in mainstream areas of stellar astrophysics, with applications also to exoplanet research which shares some methodological features. Course designers for stellar astrophysics will find a useful selection of topics within this book. Key features: • Provides a well-explained and backgrounded, up-to-date account of close binary systems, in a fast-moving field of research that is growing in scientific importance • Surveys a wide range of case-studies within the context of binary and multiple star systems • Fills an acknowledged gap in current literature Cover Image: A public memorial to Zdenek Kopal in his home town (birthplace) of Litomysl in Czechia.

Transactions XXVIA of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) provides a comprehensive and authoritative review of what has been achieved in astronomy during the years 2003 to 2005. The insightful and up-to-date reviews are written by the Presidents and Chairpersons of the IAU's different Divisions, Commissions and Working Groups and each focuses on a different subject area. Topics covered in this wide-ranging volume include: fundamental astronomy; the Sun and heliosphere; planetary systems sciences; stars; variable stars; interstellar matter; the Galactic system; galaxies and the Universe; optical and infrared techniques; radio astronomy; space and high energy astrophysics; and other IAU activities. The reviews are written at a level suitable for colleagues in the same field, but they will also be useful for students and researchers wishing to gain an overview beyond their own research area.

Stellar models are the very basic building blocks with which we build up our knowledge of the Universe. New numerical experiments are heralding a new level of sophistication in our ability to model, and understand, how stars work. This volume provides an overview and the most recent advances in modeling of stellar structure and evolution. Modeling of stars relies on our understanding of the detailed physical processes happening in stars, and the most recent observations of stars made by modern large telescopes and current high technologies. IAU Symposium 252 presents the most recent developments in five key areas, including: improvements of the physical ingredients of stellar models; the evolution of low and intermediate mass stars; the evolution of massive stars; close binary evolution; and stellar physics in the era of very large telescopes. This overview of stellar research is at a level suitable for research astronomers and graduate students.

This volume presents the final results of the CHALLENGE research project (The Changing Landscape of European Liberty and Security) - a five-year project funded by the Sixth Framework Programme of DG Research of the European Commission. The book critically appraises the liberties of citizens and others within the EU, and the different ways in which they are affected by the proliferation of discourses, practices and norms of insecurity enacted in the name of collective and individual safety. It analyses from an interdisciplinary perspective the impacts of new techniques of surveillance and control on the liberty and security of the citizen. The book studies illiberal practices of liberal regimes in the field of security, and the relationship between the internal and external effects of these practices in an increasingly interconnected world, as well as the effects in relation to the place of the EU in world politics.

This book provides a current review of Medical Research Ethics on a global basis. The book contains chapters that are historically and philosophically reflective and aimed to promote a discussion about controversial and foundational aspects in the field. An elaborate group of chapters concentrates on key areas of medical research where there are core ethical issues that arise both in theory and practice: genetics, neuroscience, surgery, palliative care, diagnostics, risk and prediction, security, pandemic threats, finances, technology, and public policy.This book is suitable for use from the most basic introductory courses to the highest levels of expertise in multidisciplinary contexts. The insights and research by this group of top scholars in the field of bioethics is an indispensable read for medical students in bioethics seminars and courses as well as for philosophy of bioethics classes in departments of philosophy, nursing faculties, law schools where bioethics is linked to medical law, experts in comparative law and public health, international human rights, and is equally useful for policy planning in pharmaceutical companies.

This book contains the proceedings of IAU Symposium No. 151 `Evolutionary Processes in Interacting Binary Stars,' which was held from 5 to 9 August 1991 in Cordóba, Argentina. The primary aim of this conference was to review and evaluate our current understanding of the evolutionary processes in wide variety of interacting binary stars from their births to their deaths. Subjects included the formation of binaries, mass flow and transfer, accretion processes, and binaries with collapsed components, such as novae, X-ray binaries and binary pulsars. As the field covered is both broad and diverse, there were in all thirty-seven invited talks; sixty-two contributed papers were also presented. In addition, these proceedings contain comments from a panel discussion of the major unsolved problems of interacting binary stars.

The International Mining Forum is a meeting of scientists and professionals for exchanging new ideas and experiences, evaluate previously implemented solutions, and discuss fresh ideas that might change the mining industry's image. In recent years theory and technology in mine safety and efficient exploitation has made considerable progress in Chin