Το κοινωνικό-οικονομικό επίπεδο των Ρομά γονιών και η ένταξη των παιδιών τους στο σχολείο

Η παρούσα εργασία πραγματεύεται το κοινωνικοοικονομικό επίπεδο των Ρομά γονιών, το μορφωτικό τους επίπεδο καθώς και τις αντιλήψεις τους για τη φοίτηση των παιδιών τους και κατά πόσο αυτά επηρεάζουν την ένταξη των παιδιών τους στο σχολείο. Το θεωρητικό πλαίσιο που επιλέξαμε για την έρευνά μας είναι η θεωρία του κεφαλαίου του Pierre Bourdieu. Η έρευνα είναι ποιοτικής μεθοδολογίας και ως μεθοδολογικό εργαλείο χρησιμοποιήθηκε η ημιδομημένη συνέντευξη με γονείς Ρομά. Τα αποτελέσματα της έρευνας έδειξαν ότι, παρόλο που το οικονομικό επίπεδο των γονιών είναι χαμηλό, τα τσιγγανόπουλα έχουν ενσωματωθεί σε μεγάλο βαθμό στο σχολικό περιβάλλον είτε αυτό είναι οι δάσκαλοι είτε οι συμμαθητές τους.The present thesis discusses the social-economic level of Roma parents, their educational level and their beliefs for the education of their kids and how all these infuence the integration of their children at school. The research was based on the theory of habitus by Pierre Bourdieu. It is a quality research and as methodology tool was used the semi-structured interview with Roma parents. The results of this survey proved that the kids Roma have been integrated a lot at their school environment and they have good relations with their teachers and their schoolmates, despite the fact that the economic status of their parents is low

2-Oxoesters: A Novel Class of Potent and Selective Inhibitors of Cytosolic Group IVA Phospholipase A2.

Cytosolic phospholipase A2 (GIVA cPLA2) is the only PLA2 that exhibits a marked preference for hydrolysis of arachidonic acid containing phospholipid substrates releasing free arachidonic acid and lysophospholipids and giving rise to the generation of diverse lipid mediators involved in inflammatory conditions. Thus, the development of potent and selective GIVA cPLA2 inhibitors is of great importance. We have developed a novel class of such inhibitors based on the 2-oxoester functionality. This functionality in combination with a long aliphatic chain or a chain carrying an appropriate aromatic system, such as the biphenyl system, and a free carboxyl group leads to highly potent and selective GIVA cPLA2 inhibitors (X I(50) values 0.00007-0.00008) and docking studies aid in understanding this selectivity. A methyl 2-oxoester, with a short chain carrying a naphthalene ring, was found to preferentially inhibit the other major intracellular PLA2, the calcium-independent PLA2. In RAW264.7 macrophages, treatment with the most potent 2-oxoester GIVA cPLA2 inhibitor resulted in over 50% decrease in KLA-elicited prostaglandin D2 production. The novel, highly potent and selective GIVA cPLA2 inhibitors provide excellent tools for the study of the role of the enzyme and could contribute to the development of novel therapeutic agents for the treatment of inflammatory diseases

Carbon-cryogel hierarchical composites as effective and scalable filters for removal of trace organic pollutants from water

Effective technologies are required to remove organic micropollutants from large fluid volumes to overcome present and future challenges in water and effluent treatment. A novel hierarchical composite filter material for rapid and effective removal of polar organic contaminants from water was developed. The composite is fabricated from phenolic resin-derived carbon microbeads with controllable porous structure and specific surface area embedded in a monolithic, flow permeable, poly(vinyl alcohol) cryogel. The bead-embedded monolithic composite filter retains the bulk of the high adsorptive capacity of the carbon microbeads while improving pore diffusion rates of organic pollutants. Water spiked with organic contaminants, both at environmentally relevant concentrations and at high levels of contamination, was used to determine the purification limits of the filter. Flow through tests using water spiked with the pesticides atrazine (32 mg/L) and malathion (16 mg/L) indicated maximum adsorptive capacities of 641 and 591 mg pollutant/g carbon, respectively. Over 400 bed volumes of water contaminated with 32 mg atrazine/L, and over 27,400 bed volumes of water contaminated with 2 μg atrazine/L, were treated before pesticide guideline values of 0.1 μg/L were exceeded. High adsorptive capacity was maintained when using water with high total organic carbon (TOC) levels and high salinity. The toxicity of water filtrates was tested in vitro with human epithelial cells with no evidence of cytotoxicity after initial washing

Determination, occurrence, and treatment of saccharin in water: A review

Saccharin (SAC) is an emerging contaminant, widely detected in the environment, with potential ecotoxicity risks to aqueous organisms and human beings. Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are key sources and sinks of SAC, and play a vital role in eliminating SAC entering the environment. An overview is provided of the potential ecotoxicity of SAC, its occurrence in the aqueous environment, and its degradation performance in WWTPs. SAC treatments, including physical, chemical (mainly advanced oxidation processes AOPs), biological, and hybrid processes, and possible degradation mechanisms are also considered. Of the various SAC removal processes, we find that adsorption-based physical methods exhibit relatively poor performance in terms of SAC removal, whereas chemical methods, especially hydroxy radical-mediated oxidation processes, possess excellent capacities for SAC elimination. Although biological degradation can be efficient at removing SAC, its efficiency depends on oxygen supply and the presence of other co-existing pollutants. Hybrid aerobic biodegradation processes combined with other treatments including AOPs could achieve complete SAC reduction. Furthermore, novel adsorbents, sustainable chemical methods, and bioaugmentation technologies, informed by in-depth studies of degradation mechanisms and the metabolic toxicity of intermediates, are expected further to enhance SAC removal efficiency and enable comprehensive control of SAC potential risks

Aldehyde-catalyzed epoxidation of unactivated alkenes with aqueous hydrogen peroxide

The organocatalytic epoxidation of unactivated alkenes using aqueous hydrogen peroxide provides various indispensable products and intermediates in a sustainable manner. While formyl functionalities typically undergo irreversible oxidations when activating an oxidant, an atropisomeric two-axis aldehyde capable of catalytic turnover was identified for high-yielding epoxidations of cyclic and acyclic alkenes. The relative configuration of the stereogenic axes of the catalyst and the resulting proximity of the aldehyde and backbone residues resulted in high catalytic efficiencies. Mechanistic studies support a non-radical alkene oxidation by an aldehyde-derived dioxirane intermediate generated from hydrogen peroxide through the Payne and Criegee intermediates