Foundation Selection and Construction Performance - Clark Bridge Replacement

The paper describes the foundation investigation for the Clark Bridge Replacement, which spans the Mississippi River at Alton, Illinois. The subsurface investigation and the design considerations leading to the foundation piling selection are detailed. The construction performances of the selected H-piles and composite piles are described, including the use of pre-construction wave equation analyses to predict the performance of proposed pile hammers, and the use of the dynamic pile driving analyzer during construction to limit driving stresses and prevent pile damage

A review of the changes of internal state related to high temperature creep of polycrystalline metals and alloys

When polycrystalline metals and their alloys are used at high temperature, creep deformation leads to changes in their internal state. The change in internal state manifests itself in many ways, but the two ways that concern us in this review are (i) the creation of internal stress arising from the strain incompatibility between grains and/or the formation of cell/sub-grain structures and (ii) a change in the material resistance. This review aims to provide a clear separation of these two concepts by exploring the origin of each term and how it is associated with the creep deformation mechanism. Experimental techniques used to measure the internal stress and internal resistance over different length-scales are critically reviewed. It is demonstrated that the interpretation of the measured values requires knowledge of the dominant creep deformation mechanism. Finally, the concluding comments provide a summary of the key messages delivered in this review and highlight the challenges that remain to be addressed

Obesity and caries in four-to-six year old English children: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Obesity and caries are common conditions in childhood and can have significant implications on children's wellbeing. Evidence into their association remains conflicting. Furthermore, studies examining the ssociation between obesity and caries commonly focus on individual-level determinants. The present study aimed to examine the association between obesity and caries in young English children and to determine the impact of deprivation and area-level characteristics on the distribution of the two conditions. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study among children in Plymouth city aged four-to-six years. Anthropometric measurements included weight and height (converted to Body Mass Index centiles and z-scores), and waist circumference. Caries was assessed by using the sum of the number of teeth that were decayed, missing or filled. A questionnaire was used to obtain information on children's demographic characteristics, oral hygiene, and dietary habits. The impact of deprivation on anthropometric variables and caries was determined using Linear and Poisson regression models, respectively. Multiple logistic regression was used to assess the association between different anthropometric measures and caries. Logistic regression models were also used to examine the impact of several demographic characteristics and health behaviours on the presence of obesity and caries. RESULTS: The total sample included 347 children aged 5.10 ± 0.31 (mean ± SD). Deprivation had a significant impact on caries and BMI z-scores (p < 0.05). Neither BMI- nor waist circumference z-scores were shown to be significantly associated with dental caries. Among the neighbourhood characteristics examined, the percentage of people dependent on benefits was found to have a significant impact on caries rates (p < 0.05). Household's total annual income was inversely related to caries risk and parental educational level affected children's tooth brushing frequency. CONCLUSIONS: No associations between any measure of obesity and caries were found. However, deprivation affected both obesity and caries, thus highlighting the need to prioritise disadvantaged children in future prevention programmes

Regulatory, Environmental and Geotechnical Solutions to Construction of a Roadway Embankment Over a Landfill

The new Illinois Route 143 alignment was constructed with the new Clark Bridge that crosses the Mississippi River in Alton, Illinois. The new bridge forced the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) to cross the Alton Commons Landfill with a new alignment. Approximately 318 meters of embankment with fill heights ranging between 4.5 to 7.6 meters were constructed on top of the landfill. An Environmental Impairment Assessment, Preliminary Site Assessment (PSA), Phase II and Phase III investigations were completed in 1989 and 1990. Using Brownfield concepts, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) approved the alignment construction without having to remediate the site. This approval was contingent upon the following three conditions: - requiring a deed restriction, - restricting groundwater use, - prohibiting intrusive activities. The landfill was preloaded with a test fill of 5.2 meters of soil and reloaded with 7.6 meters of soil when embankment construction commenced with the planned fill and an additiona13 meters surcharge. Settlement plates and inclinometers were used to monitor the earthwork performance during and after construction. As the landfill was loaded, consolidation was immediate, typically 5 to 7 days of loading. Total settlement including movement during preloading ranged between .6 and .9 meters for fill heights ranging between 5.5 and 7.6 meters. Settlement reading showed 10 to 15% of the landfill thickness consolidated beneath the embankment. Settlement two years after embankment construction showed the landfill was settling 1.8 centimeters per year. Settlement after three years showed less than 1 centimeter per year. The ongoing movements is characteristic of secondary compression and possibly undrained creep. The landfill material does not fit the category of soil types or conditions that would be susceptible to creep; however, this is the most similar plastic deformation model available to the authors and as such undrained creep was qualitatively analyzed. The initial log of strain rate versus log time plots after primary consolidation was completed have a slope that is flatter than 1:1 indicating creep to failure. The plots for the last year have steepened indicating a stable condition

Profile of morbidity among elderly at home health care service in Southern Saudi Arabia

Background: This study aimed to determine the profile of morbidity among elderly registered at home health care service in the Armed Forces Hospital of Southern Region, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Materials and Methods: A retrospective study was conducted (over a period of 6 months during year 2011) and data was collected by reviewing of medical records of all elderly patients of elderly. Results: The total number of elderly ≥ 60 years were 880. The most prevalent morbidity is hypertension (59.1%) followed by diabetes mellitus (57.3%), stroke (34.9%), dementia (28.5%), osteoarthritis (24.2%) and Alzheimer (21.4%). Females are at higher risks of having many types elderly diseases compared to males. The highest risk was for obesity (OR = 9.1; 95% CI = 3.51- 12.8), followed by osteoporosis (OR = 8.7; 95% CI = 15.10 - 9.13) and fracture neck femur (OR = 3.9; 95 CI = 2.11 - 6.91). In addition, females were also at higher risks of having Osteoarthritis and thyroid disorder. On the other hand, males are more susceptible to hypertension (OR = 1.4; 95 % CI = 1.07 - 1.85), stroke (OR = 1.3; 95 % CI = 1.08 - 1.89) and renal diseases (OR = 2.4; 95% CI = 1.25 - 4.54). Conclusion: It is concluded that there is a great need for preventive, curative and rehabilitative program in order to introduce high quality of health care services to elderly