Drained response of municipal solid waste in large-scale triaxial shear testing

A comprehensive laboratory investigation was performed on municipal solid waste (MSW) from a landfill located in northern California using a large-scale triaxial (TX) apparatus. An improved, standardized waste specimen preparation method was developed and used to prepare 27 large-scale TX specimens (d=300mm, h=600-630mm). The effects of waste composition, confining stress, unit weight, loading rate, and stress path on the drained stress-strain response of MSW were investigated. Waste composition has a significant effect on its stress-strain response. The commonly observed upward curvature of the stress-strain response of specimens composed of larger-sized waste materials results from the fibrous constituents (primarily paper, plastic and wood) reinforcing the waste matrix. This effect is greatest when the MSW specimen is sheared across the long axis of the fibrous particles. Due to this significant strain hardening effect and waste's in situ stress state, a limiting strain failure criterion of 5% axial strain from the K(o) field consolidation state is judged to be most appropriate. Results from this test program and data from the literature indicate that the TX compression secant friction angle of MSW varies from 34° to 44°, with 39° as a best estimate, at a confining stress of one atmosphere (assuming c=0). The friction angle decreases as confining stress increases. The friction angles measured in this testing program are representative of failure surfaces that are oriented at an angle to the predominant orientation of the long axis of the fibrous waste particles. These friction angles are higher than those obtained in direct shear tests where shearing typically occurs parallel to the orientation of the fibrous waste particles.     

Synthetic Media: A Promising New Treatment Technology for 1,4‐Dioxane

1,4‐Dioxane (14DX) is classified as a probable human carcinogen by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and it has toxic effects on the kidney and liver. EPA's Health Advisory Level (HAL) for 14DX is 0.35 micrograms per liter (μg/L). Accordingly, several states have lowered their drinking water advisory levels and site cleanup levels. The widespread occurrence of 14DX in contaminated groundwater has contributed to a growing demand for remediation services. Treating 14DX is a challenge due to its very low Henry's law constant, low sorption potential, and strong ether linkages. The primary solution for 14DX remediation has been various forms of advanced oxidation processes (AOP), namely pump and treat followed by ex situ treatment with catalyzed ultraviolet light oxidation or ozone‐peroxidation. Many of the available advanced oxidation systems are complex, requiring careful monitoring and maintenance to adjust for variable source water and operating conditions. Synthetic media is a relatively new 14DX treatment technology that overcomes many of the operating challenges faced by existing technologies. AMBERSORB? 560 (AMBERSORB) has recently demonstrated the effective removal of 14DX over a wide range of concentrations and operating conditions, including those created by in situ thermal remediation. Consistent and reliable treatment down to sub‐0.3 μg/L levels differentiates synthetic media technology from other 14DX treatment technologies. AMBERSORB provides a solution to the problem of “stranded capital” by offering a 14DX treatment system capable of meeting regulatory standards today and in the foreseeable future. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The informal rules of working relationships

It was expected that there would be informal rules of several kinds for working relationships. In the first study subjects rated 33 common rules and a number of relationship-specific rules for three work roles. It was found that certain rules were strongly endorsed for work-mates, superiors and subordinates. These provide a maintenance function by regulating general and relationship-specific sources of conflict. Rules about cooperation, help and fairness applied strongly to work-mates, rules about consideration and skilful use of power to supervisors, rules about using initiative and accepting orders and criticism to subordinates. Rules about reward were also obtained and these tended to be task-focused rather than intimacy sustaining. In the second study one hundred and twenty-four subjects rated the degree of dissatisfaction which they would feel for 11 types of rule violation by each of four work colleagues varying in degree of intimacy. Some level of dissatisfaction was expressed for each rule violation particularly maintenance rules, and the degree of expressed dissatisfaction increased with increased closeness to the work colleague. Study I was replicated in three other countries — Italy, Hong Kong and Japan, and cross-cultural comparisons were made. While there was some cross-cultural consistency for certain maintenance rules, there were cultural differences both in the type of rules endorsed and the strength of endorsement. Japanese relationships in particular were most dissimilar to other countries, characterized by greater homogeneity of overall rule structure within the four work roles, and by lower levels of intimacy and emotional expressiveness towards the other person in each relationship.     

The habitat saturation hypothesis and sociality in an allodapine bee: cooperative nesting is not “making the best of a bad situation”

Several factors thought to be important for the evolution of cooperative breeding in vertebrates have received little attention in facultatively social insects. One of these, the “habitat saturation hypothesis” of Selander (1964), predicts that colony sizes will be greater in breeding units where dispersal opportunities are limited, suggesting that group living is a secondary option to independent reproduction. The Australian allodapine bee Exoneura bicolor exhibits a number of traits that occur in cooperatively breeding bird species, including long life-span, repeated opportunities for reproduction, and vulnerability to brood predation and parasitism. We experimentally examined the effect of a potentially limiting environmental factor, nesting substrate availability, as an agent influencing sociality in E. bicolor. We manipulated nesting substrate availability in two separate locations during a time when foundress dispersal is common. No significant difference was found between colony sizes in cases where dispersal options were abundant and cases where dispersal options were limited. An increase in opportunities for dispersal did not lead to higher rates of independent nesting, suggesting that cooperative nesting is a preferred strategy regardless of distance-related costs of dispersal. Reproductivity per female and brood survival were examined as factors selecting for group living. Low survival of brood in single-female nests has the potential to select for cooperative nesting in this bee. Received: 29 September 1995/Accepted after revision: 24 June 1996