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Erosion of alluvial soils along the Ohio River is a matter of increasing concern to riparian landowners and commercial interests. One mechanism by which erosion of alluvial streambanks takes place is by sliding wedge failures of upper bank layers. Results of a study are presented in which the sliding wedge mechanism was investigated for Ohio River banks. Streambanks were assumed to fail by sliding along sand partings underlying cohesive upper layers. Results of computer wedge stability analyses indicated that bank stability is most sensitive to the depth of water present in tension cracks behind the face of the bank. Other factors found to be important to wedge stability are the effective angle of internal friction of the sand seam underlying the cohesive sliding wedge and the unit weight of the cohesive wedge. The importance of tension crack formation on wedge stability of multilayered river banks was also evaluated.

A series of onedimensional compression tests was performed at vertical pressures as high as 689 MPa (100,000 psi). Three materials were tested: Ottawa sand, a granulated slag called Black Beauty, and soda lime glass. Glass specimens included three grades of spherical particles and one grade of angular particles. Test results showed how particle crushing is influenced by initial void ratio, particle size, particle angularity, and particle material composition. Three phases of compression behavior were identified: Volume decrease as a result of particle rearrangement at low stresses, characterized by a low “initial” constrained modulus; more intense compression as particles crush and are rearranged extensively under higher stresses; and, as the number of contacts between fractured particles increases greatly at very high stresses, an approach to pseudoelastic behavior characterized by very high values of constrained modulus typical of natural sandstones. Even though the tested specimens varied in mineralogy, initial void ratio, median grain size, particle shape and initial moduli, they showed little variation in final constrained modulus.

Construction of an automobile assembly plant with 3,000,000‐sq ft (280,000‐m2) plan area required excavation of more than 2,700,000 cu yd (2,000,000 m3) of soil and rock, and placement of more than 1,700,000 cu yd (1,300,000 m3) of fill. Footings on rock and piers drilled through soil‐rock fill were used to support column loads. Shale‐limestone bedrock was excavated by blasting. Processed rock yielded sufficient fines to provide some cohesion to the fill. Fill performance was evaluated by field plate loading tests. Settlements of fill and underlying residual soils were monitored during construction. Construction was completed successfully within a compressed schedule. Plate load tests provided important data on soil‐rock fill compressibility. Settlement readings confirmed laboratory and field test results, and verified predictions of settlement magnitude. Rate of settlement greatly exceeded estimated rates. Pier drilling through the soil‐rock fill was accomplished without liners, with no significant ravelling of fill material.

Background The increasing success of renal transplantation is paralleled by the increased size of the waiting list. Efforts to increase the donor pool have included the use of living-underlated kidney donors (LURDs). Methods. During a 12-year period our center performed 309 transplantations from living donors; 279 patients received living-related donor (LRD) transplants, and 30 patients received LURD transplants. During the same period 543 patients received cadaveric renal donor transplants. A total of 86.7% of LURD transplants were spousal transplants. A total of 29% of the patients who received LRDs were human leukocyte antigen-identical with their donors, and 53% were haploidentical, versus 0 human leukocyte antigen-identical or haploidentical in the LURD group. Results. Twenty-seven (90%) of 30 LURD recipients are alive, as are 240 (86%) of 279 LRD recipients. Mean current creatinine is 1.6 mg/dl for the LURD group and 1.7 mg/dl for the LRD group. Kaplan-Meier 1- and 5-year graft survival was 94.9% and 82.9% for the LRD group, 93.1% and 85.9% for the LURD group (p=not significant), and 84.6% and 70.7% for the cadaveric renal donor group (p<0.05). Conclusions. LURD patient and graft survival is comparable to LRD transplants depite inferior human leukocyte antigen matching. LURD transplant survival is superior to that of cadaveric renal donor transplants. LURDs are an excellent but undersused source of organs for renal transplant recipients.

A study was conducted between 1978 and 1984 in a 72 mile-long stretch of the Ohio River to detect the influence of construction of the Smithland Locks and Dam on bank instability. Changes in bank appearance were noted during four inspections made before dam construction and pool raise, and during two inspections made after pool raise. The navigation dam raised river pool levels as much as 22 feet. During inspections, the entire extent of the stream affected by the navigation dam was evaluated. Banks were classified (high-eroded, low-eroded, vegetated, etc.). Correlations of erosion classification with magnitude of pool raise, planform location, and other factors were attempted. This work extended previous site-specific erosion evaluations and studies in other reaches of river. This was the first before dam-after dam study of bank erosion, of this kind, ever published. It was found that raising the navigation pool in 1981, had no effect on riverbank appearance and apparent erosion between 1978 and 1984.

Examination of more than 700 miles (1,120 km) of Ohio River banks between 1977 and 1986 indicated that erosion intensity and extent decreased between 1983 and 1986. Detailed examination of 106 sites in the study area confirmed the bank survey results. During 1983-1986, commercial river traffic increased more than 35%. Many sites became more stable during this traffic increase, while other nearby sites with similar bank soils and plan-form locations remained unchanged. These circumstances indicated that waves from in-channel traffic had no significant impact on bank erosion and instability on this portion of the Ohio River.

Gasoline, heating oil, and electric bills in recent months all testify to the inflationary effect of unchecked demand on limited supply. Short-term, workable solutions to the problem seem tangled in a web of expert opinion. Scientists argue the merits of nuclear fusion, solar power derived from synchronous satellites, or the hydrogen economy. Environmentalists champion austerity, conservation, and a curtailment of open-ended public consumption. But at least part of the answer could lie outside Buck Rogers and bureaucratic thinking in the earthy, engineering realm of bootstrapping. The municipal waste of industrial nations — long relegated to rat-infested land fills — can be diverted to fueling electric power and steam plants. Practical, workable systems already exist, while others are under advanced development. And it's a safe bet that no one need worry about running out of trash!