Back-Analyses of Landfill Slope Failures

This paper investigates the shear strength of municipal solid waste (MSW) using back analyses of failed waste slopes. Shear strength of MSW is a function of many factors such as waste type, composition, compaction, daily cover, moisture conditions, age, decomposition, overburden pressure, etc. These factors together with non-standardized sampling methods, insufficient sample size to be representative of in-situ conditions, and limited shear displacement or axial strain imposed during the shear tests affect the test results and have created considerable scatter in reported test results. This scatter led the authors to pursue the back-analysis of failed waste slopes as a better means for estimating the shear strength of MSW. The back-analysis of failed waste slopes in the Gnojna Grora landfill in Poland, Istanbul Landfill in Turkey, Hiriya Landfill in Israel, and Payatas Landfill in Philippines are presented in this paper. Each of the landfill slope failures is reviewed and the results of the back-analyses presented. Finally, comparison of the recommended shear strength envelope of MSW and those by various researchers for the design of landfill slopes is presented

The role of the military in the Arab uprisings: the cases of Tunisia and Libya

This thesis examines the role of the military in Tunisia and Libya during the 2010-2011 Arab uprisings by asking why the two states’ military forces chose to either defect from or defend the ruling administration. Using a comparative case study methodology, this study demonstrates that the joint configuration of energy capacity, military structure and the strength of protests led to the different outcomes in these two cases. The data indicates that one can understand the impact of these three factors using theories that focus on the correlation between rational action, institutional identity, economic inducements, and ideological stances. Thus, I employed approaches from rational choice and institutionalism as the theoretical framework for this study. This study shows that the actions of the Tunisian and Libyan military forces should be read through this theoretical framework. While informative, conclusions drawn from these cases do not allow for universal generalizations. Additionally, it is important to note that the three influential factors are not the only elements that influenced the variations in outcome during the Tunisian and Libyan conflicts. Moreover, I do not make a comparison in terms of the absolute values of the factors, but rather in terms of relative values

The Relationship Between Profitability of Banking Sector and Macroeconomic and Financial Variables: Panel ARDL Application

Banking sector is the key to financial markets especially in developing countries. The performance of the banking system, which affects all markets in terms of ensuring financial stability of the countries, is also important. In this study, the short and long term relationship between macroeconomic variables that may affect the profitability of the banks and selected ratios as financial variables have been researched. When the empirical results are examined, it is seen that all variables used in the study are statistically significant, the ratio of the non-performing loans and inflation are negatively influences the performance of banks according to the long term coefficients whereas the ratio of total credits/total assets and economic growth rates positively affects. The error correction parameter is found negative and statistically significant. Accordingly, it is seen that approximately 38,34% of the deviation from the long-run equilibrium between bank performance and total loans, non-performing loans, economic growth and inflation is eliminated in the following perio

Beneficial Effects of Montelukast Against Methotrexate-Induced Liver Toxicity: A Biochemical and Histological Study

The effects of montelukast against methotrexate-induced liver damage were investigated. 35 Wistar albino female rats were divided into 5 groups as follows: group I: control; group II: montelukast (ML); group III: methotrexate (Mtx); group IV: montelukast treatment after methotrexate application (Mtx + ML); group V: montelukast treatment before methotrexate application (ML + Mtx). At the end of the experiment, the liver tissues of rats were removed. Malondialdehyde (MDA), myeloperoxidase (MPO), and reduced glutathione levels were determined from liver tissues. In addition, the liver tissues were examined histologically. MDA and MPO levels of Mtx group were significantly increased when compared to control group. In Mtx + ML group, these parameters were decreased as compared to Mtx group. Mtx injection exhibited major histological alterations such as eosinophilic staining and swelling of hepatocytes. The glycogen storage in hepatocytes was observed as decreased by periodic acid schiff staining in Mtx group as compared to controls. ML treatment did not completely ameliorate the lesions and milder degenerative alterations as loss of the glycogen content was still present. It was showed that montelukast treatment after methotrexate application could reduce methotrexate-induced experimental liver damage

Block-MDS QC-LDPC Codes for Information Reconciliation in Key Distribution

Quantum key distribution (QKD) is a popular protocol that provides information theoretically secure keys to multiple parties. Two important post-processing steps of QKD are 1) the information reconciliation (IR) step, where parties reconcile mismatches in generated keys through classical communication, and 2) the privacy amplification (PA) step, where parties distill their common key into a new secure key that the adversary has little to no information about. In general, these two steps have been abstracted as two distinct problems. In this work, we consider a new technique of performing the IR and PA steps jointly through sampling that relaxes the requirement on the IR step, allowing for more success in key creation. We provide a novel LDPC code construction known as Block-MDS QC-LDPC codes that can utilize the relaxed requirement by creating LDPC codes with pre-defined sub-matrices of full-rank. We demonstrate through simulations that our technique of sampling can provide notable gains in successfully creating secret keys.Comment: 7 pages, 1 figure, submitted to the International Symposium on Information Theory (ISIT) 202

AMGEN Competitive Strategies Smart Science

This project explains how AMGEN became the world’s leading biotechnology company- through the use of science and its style of managing innovation. First, we will provide a model and some definitions to help steer the reader into understanding AMGEN’s strategic direction and policies. This will be followed by a brief overview about the company’s vision, goals, values, and history. Consequently, the reader will gain a solid idea about how resources play an important role in winning strategies. Two types of resources are considered: 1) soft resources including scientific talent and Information Technology 2) hard resources including facilities and finances. Multiple analyses were performed to dissect further and find the key successful factors of AMGEN within its highly competitive environment. Detailed analyses include: Product and Market Analysis Strategic Alliances Analysis SWOT Analysis Competitive Analysis including Porter’s Five Forces The combining analysis aims at providing an extensive view on how important strategy and technology management is, in order to for AMGEN to compete in the rough and a more dynamic environment of globalization to achieve its competitive advantage. Finally, the reader will see a strong relationship between their business strategies and their success. Note: The presentation associated with this report is included here as a supplemental file

Exploiting the electrical conductivity of poly-acid doped polyaniline membranes with enhanced durability for organic solvent nanofiltration

We have developed stable organic solvent nanofiltration (OSN) membranes that are electrically conductive. These membranes overcome key issues with current tuneable membranes: molecular weight cut off (MWCO) limited to the UF-range and lack of filtration stability. Polyaniline (PANI) was in-situ doped by poly(2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonic acid) (PAMPSA) using chemical oxidative polymerization that leads to formation of interpolymer complex. The PANI-PAMPSA membranes were prepared by phase inversion method and the pore sizes were shrunk by annealing the membranes at temperatures lower than the crosslinking temperature. The membranes were systematically evaluated using visual and chemical analysis and in-filtration experiments. The developed membranes were solvent stable, reusable, had a denser structure and lower MWCO and there was no thermal crosslinking as seen by IR. The solvent permeance obtained were: 0.46, 0.60 and 0.74 Lm −2 h −1 bar −1 for acetone, 2-propanol and methanol respectively, with MWCO below 300 Da and 266 Da for methanol. For the tuneability investigation, when applying an electrical potential (20 V) in a custom-made cross-flow membrane cell, an increase in MWCO and permeance (10.4% and 55.6%, respectively) was observed. These results show that this simple in-situ doping method with heat treatment can produce promising and stable PANI membranes, for OSN processes in different solvents, with the distinctive feature of in-situ performance control by applying external electrical potential. </p

Enhanced adsorption of cationic and anionic dyes from aqueous solutions by polyacid doped polyaniline

A new high surface area polyaniline (PANI) adsorbent was synthesized by matrix polymerization of aniline in the presence of a polyacid, poly(2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonic acid) (PAMPSA). Morphological and physicochemical properties of PANI-PAMPSA were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), nitrogen adsorption/desorption and zeta potential measurement. Adsorption properties were evaluated using methylene blue (MB) and rose bengal (RB) as model dyes.The results showed that PANI-PAMPSA obtained a well-defined porous structure with a specific surface area (126 m2 g−1) over 10 times larger than that of the emeraldine base PANI (PANI-EB) (12 m2 g−1). The maximum adsorption capacities were 466.5 mg g−1 for MB and 440.0 mg g−1 for RB, higher than any other PANI-based materials reported in the literature. The FTIR analysis and zeta potential measurement revealed that the adsorption mechanisms involved π-π interaction and electrostatic interaction. The adsorption kinetics were best described by a pseudo-second-order model, and the adsorption isotherms followed the Langmuir model. The thermodynamic study indicated that the adsorption was a spontaneous endothermic process. Overall, the convenient synthesis and the high adsorption capacity make PANI-PAMPSA a promising adsorbent material for dye removal