United States Bureau of Reclamation

Seasonal weathering cycles such as freeze-thaw play a key role in cold regions engineering. With climate change driving more extreme weather events, areas that have previously been dominated by permafrost are now experiencing seasonal freeze-thaw cycles. This has resulted in a significant degradation of soil engineering properties as the number of seasonal weathering cycles increases. Geomembranes offer a cost-effective solution to improving a soils engineering characteristics without the need for other expensive alternatives while also offering long lasting solutions. However, there has been a lack in literature and testing standards regarding the impact that cold aging and temperature have upon the performance of geomembranes. With most of their testing and properties being determined at above freezing temperatures, this has resulted in potentially incorrect design applications for geomembranes when used in cold regions. This study sought to investigate the impact that increasing seasonal freeze-thaw cycles and temperature have on the tearing resistance of geomembranes. To accomplish this, four different geomembranes were cold-aged weathered by exposing them to 0, 5, 10, 30, and 60 freeze-thaw cycles. After the pre-determined number of freeze-thaw cycles had been completed, the samples were then tested in a custom-built device that utilized a newly proposed method for investigating the tearing resistance of geomembranes. This method resulted in a coefficient of variation for the measured maximum force and displacement of 10% and 15%, respectively, for all samples tested. Each geomembrane was tested at material temperatures of 20°C, 0°C, −20°C, and −80°C; however, only material temperatures 20°C and −20°C are presented due to length constraints. Materials exhibited unique trends depending on material temperature and number of freeze-thaw cycles. It was found that for all geomembranes as the temperature at time of testing decreased, sample ductility substantially decreased as well. However, the overall observed tearing strength was not significantly impacted.

Abstract Consumptive use of freshwater is of concern in many estuarine ecosystems, and various frameworks have been used to prescribe environmental flows to benefit native species. However, few of these frameworks explicitly examine the potential trade‐offs between socioeconomic and conservation‐oriented values. This is exemplified in California, USA, where freshwater management has been an area of focus and controversy. Operations of numerous reservoirs and water diversion facilities distributed throughout the state, while critical for economic and public health benefits, have contributed to the decline of many native species. The endangered delta smelt ( Hypomesus transpacificus ) is endemic to the Sacramento‐San Joaquin Delta, the heart of California's complex water conveyance system. To aid recovery of delta smelt, fall‐timed freshwater pulse flows were implemented, which require water to be either released from reservoirs, or made unavailable to export for consumptive uses. Previous research has indicated that the effectiveness of the current pulse flow action could be improved by reconsidering the timing and magnitude; however, uncertainties in the predicted fish response to flow pulses may hinder decision‐making about flow management. Using a water resource planning model, different iterations of an individual‐based life cycle model, and decision analysis tools, we assessed the importance of sources of uncertainty to hypothetical flow management decisions, including uncertainty surrounding the predicted responses in delta smelt population growth rates, and variability of decision‐maker's values. We found both the choice of which (if any) flow action to take for delta smelt, and the expected value of further research, depended on how decision‐makers weight the delta smelt and water supply objectives. There was expected value of information (VOI) only if a decision‐maker weighted the delta smelt objective ≥0.59, and within this range, research to improve estimates of changes in delta smelt prey items related to flow actions could be prioritized over other sources of uncertainty to improve outcomes of decision‐making. Our study demonstrates how uncertainty, even if large, may not be equally relevant to different decision‐makers (e.g., with different agency missions), and how VOI analysis can be used to guide management in an overallocated water system such as California.

This study interprets Al-Ghazali's main texts such as Ihya' Ulum al-Din, Ayyuha al-Walad, and Mizan al-'Amal to discover the essence of education from an Islamic spiritual perspective. The results of the study show that education in Al-Ghazali's view is an integral process between the development of reason, moral development, and purification of the heart. Teachers play a role not only as instructors, but as murabbi and ethical role models who guide students through exemplary behavior and sincerity. The relevance paradigm that balances intellectuality and spirituality, thus producing students who are knowledgeable, moral, and have pure souls.

River confluence geometry, dynamics, and sedimentology have predominantly been studied from the confluence downstream. Having also identified a paucity of literature on confluences of ephemeral streams, we concentrated our observations on the topography, sedimentary character, and morphologic changes that occurred during two monsoon seasons at ephemeral confluences with the Rio Grande in central New Mexico, USA. We quantified how trunk and tributary water discharge modified the junction and lowermost reach of the tributary through deposition and subsequent erosion. By excavating the sedimentary deposits, we found evidence of recirculatory deposition in the confluence mouth when only the trunk confluent flowed, and coarse bar deposition when flow was dominated by the smaller, ephemeral confluent. Trunk sediments deposited in the ephemeral branch exhibited parallel as well as cross stratification, with thicknesses decreasing upstream from the junction. Tributaries with wide junction mouths at the confluence hosted more extensive low-energy flow zones that promoted deposition of trunk river sediment, diverting and temporarily storing sediment during high trunk flows. Larger flow events in the tributaries then dissected the prior confluence junction deposits. The nature of these eddy and slackwater deposits and their resultant topographies are ephemeral, but with expected hydraulic and ecological consequences.

ABSTRACT A simple and effective procedure is presented to calculate permanent deformations in earth dams caused by seismic events. The procedure uses strain‐compatible shear moduli from one‐dimensional wave propagation analysis to calculate permanent deformations in the stream and dam‐axis directions using continuum‐mechanics‐based procedure. The continuum analysis results are used to identify regions of tensile stresses where cracks are likely to occur due to the seismic event. Validity of the procedure is checked by comparing results of computed deformations and tension zones with measured post‐seismic deformations and crack locations on two well‐instrumented earth dams. The computed deformations and tension zone locations are also compared with the results obtained by two‐ and three‐dimensional continuum‐based numerical analyses of the same dams by others. The proposed procedure includes the influence of reservoir water and is applicable to stable but otherwise deformable structures founded on rock or firm soil stratum. The information presented is expected to be of interest to engineers in dam engineering practice.

ABSTRACT Five native fish species, Pallid Sturgeon Scaphirhynchus albus , Shovelnose Sturgeon Scaphirhynchus platorynchus , Paddlefish Polyodon spathula , Blue Sucker Cycleptus elongatus , and Sauger Sander canadensis , were evaluated with radio telemetry over the period 2015–2018 for their ability to pass Intake Dam, a low‐head irrigation diversion dam on the Lower Yellowstone River, Montana, and ascend upriver. The objectives were to (1) quantify frequency and timing of passage success of the five species past Intake Dam; (2) document the choice of passage route past the dam (i.e., over the dam or via a natural side‐channel); (3) quantify the extent of upriver movement of fish passing the dam; and (4) interpret species results and differences by synthesizing and reviewing relevant key migration, hydraulic, and ecomorphological studies on these species. All species used both routes (over the dam and the side channel) for upriver passage, but passage success differed greatly among species. Overall upriver passage of Acipenseriform species (sturgeons and Paddlefish) encountering the dam did not exceed 20% over the 4‐year study via the two combined possible routes; annual passage rates never exceeded 28.6%. Pallid Sturgeon and Paddlefish primarily used the side‐channel. In contrast, the passage rates of Blue Sucker (97.9%) and Sauger (63.3%) encountering the dam were much higher. Blue Sucker almost exclusively passed over the dam; Sauger passage was split between over the dam (42%) and via the side‐channel (58%). Multiple (post hoc) comparisons indicated that Yearling Pallid Sturgeon passage success at the dam was significantly lower than other groups of Pallid Sturgeon (i.e., hatchery‐reared and wild) as well as all other species. In contrast, Blue Sucker and Sauger passage success was significantly higher than the other species, with Blue Sucker passage success significantly higher than Sauger. Once fish from all five species passed the dam, all fish moved more freely than when below the dam, and passage of fish encountering Gibbs Station, an unimpeded control reach boundary upriver, ranged from 67% to 100% depending on species. Whereas upriver passage past the dam incorporated the two routes, all the downriver passage to below the dam occurred over the dam. The differences among species in their ability to pass the dam, in their passage route (over the dam or side channel) and passage through an unobstructed upriver control reach were related to discharge magnitude, timing, and duration, as well as to life history, ecomorphological, and behavioral differences among species documented in other studies.

A stochastic weather generator was developed with the novel feature of considering seasonality of precipitation and temperature, motivated largely within the context of climate change adaptation and planning. The weather generator, wxgenR , is released as an R language package on the Comprehensive R Archive Network. wxgenR was tested using weather station data from nine locations in the continental United States with varied hydroclimatic regimes. wxgenR development was initiated by a hydroclimate analysis using areal average precipitation and temperature from the Lower Santa Cruz River Basin in Arizona, where representing monsoon moisture and changes therein is important for water supply planning. wxgenR performs well in the cross-validation with both in-sample and out-of-sample data.

Oats had become an important crop in southwest China due to their high nutritional value and excellent adaptability to the challenging climate. Continuous oat cropping can lead to reduced oat yield and soil degradation, meanwhile, crop rotation have b

The use of cold vibration through the Buzzy device appears promising in reducing pain and anxiety levels in children and adolescents during needle-related procedures. This systematic review and meta-analysis summarizes and evaluates the evidence on this non-pharmacological treatment for pediatric patients undergoing venipuncture or injection procedures. A search was conducted across 6 databases in January 2025. Sixteen randomized controlled trials, involving a total of 1486 patients, were included. Cold vibration stimulation significantly reduced pain (Standard Mean Difference SMD –1.06, 95% confidence interval [–1.39, –0.72], P < .00001) and anxiety levels (SMD –1.60, 95% confidence interval [–2.70, –0.51], P = .004) compared to the control group. The judgment for the direction of the recommendation was rated “for” the Buzzy intervention, with the strength of the recommendation rated as “weak.” The use of cold vibration through the Buzzy device may have beneficial effects in reducing anxiety and pain levels in children and adolescents undergoing needle procedures.