991 research outputs found
Barge Transport of Illinois River Sediment from Peoria to Chicago
A barge load of sediment excavated by clamshell from Lower Peoria Lake was shipped to Chicago, Ill. It was loaded onto trucks with a large excavator and placed at a conservation area and the Paxton I landfill reclamation site (Figures 1 and 2). The material handled well and maintained its consistency in the barge and after placing. It readily dumped from the trucks and formed piles about 2.5 feet high. The demonstration showed that this material can be transported and handled with conventional equipment and placed on fields without the necessity of using engineered containment structures
Are Wild Bee Pollinator Populations Declining?
How climate change may affect insect pollinator populations in the Midwest.Environmental Change Institute UIUCAgroecology and Sustainable Agriculture Program UIUCunpublishednot peer reviewe
Plastic (wire-combed) grooving of a slip-formed concrete runway overlay at Patrick Henry Airport: An initial evaluation
A wire-comb technique is described for transversely grooving the surface of a freshly laid (plastic state) slip-formed concrete overlay installed at Patrick Henry Airport. This method of surface texturing yields better water drainage and pavement skid resistance than that obtained with an older conventional burlap drag concrete surface treatment installed on an adjacent portion of the runway
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Physician Attitudes Toward Homosexuality and HIV: The PATHH-III Survey.
PurposeThe aims of this study were (1) to evaluate current physician attitudes toward homosexuality and homosexual, transgender, and HIV-positive individuals and (2) to compare current attitudes of those from prior surveys of the same population, the San Diego County medical community.MethodsAn online survey was conducted during November-December 2017 to assess general attitudes toward homosexuality and medically focused items that addressed homosexual orientation, transgender identity, and HIV. Responses were weighted for nonresponse. Predictors of stigma were assessed using generalized linear models. Trends across three surveys of the same population in 1982, 1999, and 2017 using common items were assessed using unweighted responses.ResultsOf 4418 eligible physicians, 491 (11.1%) responded (median age 55 years, 38% female and 8.7% gay or bisexual). Regarding admission to medical school, 1% opposed admitting a homosexual applicant, 2% a transgender applicant, and 5% an HIV-positive applicant. Regarding consultative referral to a pediatrician, 3% would discontinue referral to a homosexual pediatrician, 5% to a transgender pediatrician, and 10% to an HIV-positive pediatrician. Regarding discomfort treating patients, 7% reported discomfort treating homosexual patients, 22% transgender patients, and 13% HIV-positive patients. Earlier year of graduation from medical school, male gender, and heterosexual orientation were significant predictors of stigma-associated responses. Compared with the results from surveys in 1982 and 1999, the current results suggest substantively less stigma associated with homosexuality and HIV.ConclusionThere have been substantive declines over a 35-year period in the prevalence of stigmatizing attitudes toward sexual minorities and HIV-positive people among physician respondents in three survey waves of the San Diego County medical community
Backwater Restoration Opportunities: Illinois River
During the past two centuries the Illinois River and its hydrology have been altered numerous times. Early navigation works, levees, diversion, agricultural and urban drainage practices, locks and dams and other changes all contributed to habitat modification. Over the years the river has changed from a free flowing stream bisecting a broad floodplain to a series of pools with substantial areas of leveed floodplain. The image conjured by the term “restoration” varies with the time frame used as a base. Given that all major navigation dams were in place by the1940's, a common vision of a restored river includes permanently flooded lakes and
backwaters with sufficient depth to support the flora and fauna which were abundant in the early 1950's as well as recreational boating. Others envision a relatively free flowing river with a variety of backwater and side channel habitats.Ope
Evaluation of Sediment Removal Options and Beneficial Use of Dredged Material for Illinois River Restoration: Preliminary Report
The overall habitat quality of the Illinois River is significantly degraded by over 100 years of sediment accumulation. Once-deep backwaters and side channels have lost well over 70 percent of their water storage
capacity and in many areas average about a foot deep. A twenty-year restoration project by the State of Illinois and Army Corps of Engineers is being planned to address this problem. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources is evaluating methods of restoring habitat diversity by removing sediment to create a variety of water depths and elevations on the floodplain and islands. Numerous agencies and private companies have cooperated in this effort. This paper provides an overview of the work in progress and preliminary results. Potential beneficial uses of the sediment include topsoil and island formation. For these purposes it is best to add as little water as possible during dredging. The Dry Dredge™ completed a small pilot island in two feet of water by filling a ring of geotextile tubes and then pumping sediment at in situ moisture content into the ring. The Dry Dredge™ and a conventional clamshell also piled sediment at various elevations on an existing island where consolidation and erosion were observed. The transport of freshly excavated sediment on conventional conveyor belts was demonstrated. Sediment cores six feet in length were taken with a vibracore and analyzed for a variety of chemical and physical parameters. Plant growth in sediment was compared to that of native topsoil in greenhouse tests, and field tests with
corn and soybeans are underway. Prior dredged material placement sites were investigated to determine the agronomic properties of the sediment after years of weathering. Additionally, clam shelled sediment at in situ moisture content was trucked to a former industrial site where the progress of soil formation is being monitored along with the appearance of plants. The potential exists for unloading sediment from barges directly onto brownfields and farmland with slurry pumps. A hydrodynamic model was developed to predict project impacts on flood heights, water flow and sedimentation rates. Researchers are also looking into various methods of detecting objects buried in sediment.Ope
Potential Use of Innovative Dredge Technology and Beneficial Use of Sediment for River Restoration
This paper focuses on an overview of concepts for removing sediment from the backwaters and side channels of the Illinois River.Ope
Long Distance Transport of Illinois River Dredged Material for Beneficial Use in Chicago
Sedimentation severely impacts aquatic habitat along the Illinois River system in Illinois. The problem is especially severe in backwater lakes and the Peoria Lakes that are bisected by the navigation channel. The State of Illinois and the US Army Corps of Engineers, in cooperation with local governments and other organizations, are investigating methods of restoring the river’s watershed. Key elements of the developing restoration plan include reducing future sedimentation and removing large quantities of sediment from the backwaters. This paper reports on a pilot project for sediment removal and beneficial use. Sediment mechanically excavated from Lower Peoria Lake is being transported by barge 270 km (168 mi) for use as topsoil. It is being placed on fields at the old US Steel South Works mill bordering Lake Michigan. The site is currently covered with slag and has no topsoil. The area will become part of the Chicago Park District’s lakefront park system.Ope
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