Issue 1

The Amvrakikos Bay is one of the most important ecosystems in the Mediterranean with great environmental, ecological and biological value. However, over the years, water quality has suffered severe degradation and is now one of the most polluted environmental areas in Greece. In the present study, using the analytical data of concentrations of precipitated metal deposits at the bottom of Amvrakikos Gulf, at its three largest lagoons: Logaros, Tsoukalio and Rodia, and by applying the indicators PLI, Igeo and EF, an assessment of the level of pollution of the area was made. The use of these indicators may show the degree of pollution of the area with heavy metals, and reveal the source of pollution i,e. whether the heavy metals are of anthropogenic or of natural processes, assessing simultaneously the degree of anthropogenic effect. Based on the PLI indicator, the marine zone in Menidi and Paliovarka as well as the Rodia and Tsoukalio lagoons are considered to be polluted. According to the Igeo Index, the sampling areas are unchanged to slightly burden by heavy metals. The largest charge is caused by Ni, followed by Mn and Pb. Based on EF, the concentrations of Cr, Mn, Co, Pb and Ni are significantly influenced by the various anthropogenic activities.

The school buildings in and around the city of Patras in the prefecture of Achaia, Greece, are classified on the basis of the prevailing environmental conditions and the existing human activities in the surrounding area. School buildings in urban and rural environment are investigated. The type and the sources of pollutants reaching the soil or the air in the school environment, air particles and noise are considered in this investigation. A number of school buildings have been constructed near traffic roads. As a result of this, the school environment is affected by noise and air particles produced from the combustion of petrol by the vehicles. In other cases, fine particles, related to resuspension of soil of the school yard and the surrounding area, affect the school environmental conditions. Similarly, under specific meteorological conditions, some schools in the rural environment can be affected by the agriculture activities, such as the use of fungicides. Specific measures are suggested to be taken for all groups of schools for the protection of the students' and the teachers' health.

Recently, the exploration of new alternatives to common organic solvents in combination with non-conventional energy sources is a subject of intense research and development as tools for green extraction of plant-derived natural products. This paper deals with the use of low frequency ultrasound (100 W, 32 kHz) and pulsed electrical fields (0.86 kV cm-1, 13 Hz) to raise the efficiency of the extraction of selected plant species rich in valuable phenolic compounds.Four types of natural deep eutectic solvents were applied for the ultrasound-assisted extraction of silymarin from milk thistle among which a choline-chloride-based mixture with glycerol was proved to be the most promising one. Additionally, the usage of high ultrasound power significantly increased the concentration of sylimarin as compared to traditional ethanol extraction, generating rapidly for 10 min considerable temperature rise as a side effect under non-cooling conditions. The application of PEF as a pre-treatment for 0.8 s to the extraction allowed reducing the ethanol percentage in the ethanol/water mixtures giving comparable phenolic yields, without any, or very little, increase in temperature. As such, optimized power intensity in conjunction with appropriate solvent system provides a potential to improve the release of thermally unstable bioactive compounds under mild processing conditions.

The urge of environmental friendly techniques in textile processing is gaining much attention due to high risks of effluent load causing eco-imbalance. For the present study, the cotton fabric and Reactive Violet H3R dye solution were treated with microwave radiation for 2, 4, 6, 8 & 10 min. at different powers (low, medium & high). Dyeing was performed using un-irradiated (NRC) and irradiated cotton (RC) with un-irradiated (NRS) and irradiated dye solution (RS). Different dyeing parameters were optimized and ISO standard methods for color fastness were employed to rate the color change before and after irradiation. It is found that microwave irradiation for 8 min. at high power has given good colour strength. When 60 mL irradiated dye solution of 7.5pH containing 8g/L of salt as exhausting agent is used to dye irradiated fabric at 60^oC for 55 min. ISO standards for colorfastness employed at various shades have shown that microwave irradiation has improved the rating of fastness properties. It is concluded that microwave irradiation has a promising potential to improve the color strength and dyeing properties under mild conditions.