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The amount of CCA treated wood being removed from spent residential decks is increasing at a tremendous rate. While most spent CCA treated wood is being disposed in landfills, further useful and environmentally beneficial alternatives have to be met. This research estimated the percentage of recoverable lumber from spent CCA decks that can be recycled into other usable products. Six residential decks were removed from service, by either demolition or deconstruction procedures. It was found that 86% of the CCA treated wood from the residential decks could be recovered as reusable CCA treated lumber. It was also found that deconstruction of a residential deck, rather than demolition, was not a factor in the volume of CCA treated wood recovered. Chemical and mechanical properties of the removed CCA treated wood were also analyzed. The chemical retention of the deck material proved that most of the spent CCA treated wood could be used in above ground applications. The stiffness of spent CCA treated wood from residential decks was approximately equal to that of recently treated CCA wood. The strength properties were slightly lower than recently treated CCA wood probably due mainly to physical and climatic degradation. Products were then produced that could be successfully utilized by recycling centers or community and government organizations. Products manufactured included, pallets, picnic tables, outdoor furniture, residential decks, and landscaping components. Waste management, recycling, and government organizations were interviewed to determine what markets and barriers exist for recycled CCA treated products. Most landfill and recycling facilities do not currently sort or recycle CCA treated wood, citing the main reason as a lack of a viable market. Potential users were interested in the material but citied they did not know where to locate the material. A communication barrier exists between the waste management industry, recyclers, and users; which is preventing the successful recycling of CCA treated wood from spent residential decks. / Master of Science

A laboratory testing program was conducted on cement-treated soil mixtures fabricated to represent materials produced by the wet method of deep mixing. The testing program focused on investigating the influences that variations in laboratory testing conditions and in the mix design have on measured property values. A base soil was fabricated from commercially available soil components to produce a very soft lean clay that is relatively easy to mix and can be replicated for future research. The mix designs included a range of water-to-cement ratios of the slurries and a range of cement factors to produce a range of mixture consistencies and a range of unconfined compressive strengths after curing. Unconfined compressive strength (UCS) tests and unconsolidated-undrained (UU) triaxial compression tests were conducted. Secant modulus of elasticity were determined from bottom platen displacements, deformations between bottom platen and cross bar, and from LVDT's placed directly on the cement-treated soil specimens. Five end-face treatment methods were used for the specimens: sawing-and-hand-trimming, machine grinding, sulfur capping, neoprene pads, and gypsum capping. Key findings of this research include the following: (1) The end-face treatment method does not have a significant effect on the unconfined compressive strength and secant modulus; (2) a relationship of UCS with curing time, total-water-to-cement ratio, and dry density of the mixture; (3) the secant modulus determined by bottom platen displacements is significantly affected by slack and deformations in the load frame; (4) the secant modulus determined by local strain measurements was about 630 time the UCS; (5) typical values of Poisson's ratio range from about 0.05 to 0.25 for stress levels equal to half the UCS and about 0.15 to 0.35 at the UCS; (6) Confinement increased the strength at high strains from less than 20% the UCS to about 60% the UCS. In addition to testing the cured mixtures, the consistency of the mixtures were measured right after mixing using a laboratory miniature vane. A combination of the UCS relationship along with the mixture consistency may provide useful information for deep mixing contractors. / MS / Deep mixing is a ground improvement technique that mixes cement with in-situ soil to improve the quality of the soil for supporting embankments, buildings, and other facilities. Deep mixing is also used for earth retention and to form subsurface seepage barriers. When the cement is added in dry powder form, the process is called the dry method of deep mixing, and when the cement is added in the form of cement-water slurry, the process is called the wet method of deep mixing. When using the wet method, both the water-to-cement ratio of the slurry and the amount of slurry added to the soil have important effects on the strength of the cured mixture. Laboratory mixtures are often tested in advance of field mixing to estimate the proportions of cement, water, and soil necessary to produce the desired outcomes. The laboratory test conditions influence the test results, and a wide variety of test conditions are used in practice. This research investigated different testing conditions and different mix designs to demonstrate their impacts on laboratory test results.

In this problem, an attempt was made to determine the fate of various species of bacteria which had previously been isolated from other sources when inoculated into Denton tap water.

Introdução: Bactérias do gênero Aeromonas estão presentes em ambientes de água doce, salgada e salobra. O isolamento destes microrganismos já foi relatado em água de abastecimento público e alimentos. Algumas espécies podem ser patogênicas ao homem, causando gastrenterites e outras infecções. Isolados de Aeromonas de fontes diversas expressam resistência a antimicrobianos, especialmente a -lactâmicos, devido à presença de enzimas -lactamases. A patogenicidade das espécies se deve à virulência multifatorial, que compreende a produção de enterotoxinas (Act, Alt e Ast), de elastase, presença de flagelo, entre outros. Objetivo: Isolar, identificar e quantificar Aeromonas hydrophila isoladas de esgoto e lodo tratado; pesquisar a ocorrência dos genes de virulência e resistência a -lactâmicos. Material e Métodos: A detecção e quantificação de Aeromonas hydrophila foram realizadas por meio da técnica de membrana filtrante e meio de cultura específico; a identificação foi realizada por meio da PCR utilizando um par de primers específicos para a espécie. Após a confirmação da espécie foi realizado o antibiograma para conhecer o perfil de resistência aos antibióticos; a pesquisa dos genes de virulência act, alt, ast, ela, lip e fla e genes de resistência a -lactâmicos foi realizada por meio da PCR e seqüenciamento. Resultados: Foram analisadas 15 amostras (seis de esgoto tratado e nove de lodo tratado). Destas, somente nove foram positivas para A. hydrophila, obtendo-se 441 colônias típicas, das quais 348 foram positivas, por PCR para identificação do gênero e 209 para identificação da espécie. Os 209 isolados, sendo 92 do esgoto tratado e 117 do lodo tratado, apresentaram os seguintes valores na pesquisa dos genes de virulência: 36 por cento (act), 40 por cento (ast), 78 por cento (alt), 82 por cento (fla), 86 por cento (lip) e 87 por cento (ela) e 100 por cento dos isolados apresentaram pelo menos um dos genes. Para os testes de sensibilidade aos antibióticos todos os isolados foram resistentes a pelo menos um dos antibióticos. A produção de enzimas MBL, ESBL e AmpC foi detectada em isolados. Também foram encontrados genes de resistência cphA, bla TEM e bla MOX, enquanto que os genes bla VIM, bla IMP, bla e bla não foram detectados. Conclusão: Os resultados sugerem que A. hydrophila pode resistir ao processo de tratamento de esgoto e lodo, além disso, pode apresentar diversos genes de virulência e resistência a antibióticos, motivos pelos quais A. hydrophila pode ser uma ameaça a Saúde Pública, uma vez que estas amostras são reutilizadas para fins urbanos ou agrícolas / Introduction: Bacteria of the genus Aeromonas are present in fresh, brackish and salty waters. The isolation of these microorganisms has been reported in public water supplies and foods. Some species can be pathogenic to humans, causing gastroenteritis and other infections. Aeromonas isolates from different sources express resistance to antimicrobials, especially -lactams, due to the presence of lactamase enzymes. The pathogenicity of the species is due to the multifactorial virulence, wich includes the production of enterotoxins (Act, Alt and Ast) of Elastase and presense of flagello, among others. Objectives: Identify and quantify Aeromonas hydrophila isolated from treated wastewater and sludge, to investigate the occurrence of virulence genes and resistance to -lactams. Material and methods: The detection and quantification of A. hydrophila were made through the membrane filter technique and specific culture medium, the identification was performed by PCR using a pair of primers specific for the species. After confirming the species sensitivity was performed to know the profile of antibiotic resistance, the survey of virulence genes act, alt, ast, ela, lip, fla and resistance to -lactams gene was performed by PCR and sequencing. Results: We analyzed 15 samples (six of nine treated wastewater and sludge). Of these only nine were positive for A. hydrophila, resulting in 441 typical colonies, of wich 348 were positive by PCR to identify the genus and 209 for species identification. The 209 isolates, being 92 and 117 of treated wastewater and treated sludge showed the following values in the study of the virulence genes: 36 per cent (act), 78 per cent (alt), 82 per cent (fla), 86 per cent (lip), 87 per cent (ela) and 100 per cent of the isolates had at least one of the genes. For antibiotic susceptibility testing all isolates were resistant to at least one antibiotic. The production of MBL, ESBL and AmpC enzyme was detected in isolates. It was also found resistance genes cphA, bla TEM and bla MOX, while genes bla VIM , bla IMP , bla and bla FOX CTX-M were not detected. Conclusion: The results suggest that A. hydrophila can resist the process of treating of wastewater and sludge, moreover, may have different virulence genes and antibiotic resistance, which is why A. hydrophila can be a threat to public health, since these samples are reused for agricultural or urban purposes. , bla SHV