This research describes the goals, design and implementation of a quasi natural gradient, laboratory scale, sand tank (aquifer) model experiment. The model was used to study the transport of an inorganic tracer (Chloride) in groundwater, within a tropical aquifer (porous medium) material. Three-dimensional sand tank (1.8 m × 0.3 m × 0.8 m) experiments were conducted to investigate contaminant t...

BACKGROUND Sand fly saliva has been shown to have proteins with potent biological activities, salivary proteins that can be used as biomarkers of vector exposure, and salivary proteins that are candidate vaccines against different forms of leishmaniasis. Sand fly salivary gland transcriptomic approach has contributed significantly to the identification and characterization of many of these sali...

Quantitation of the nonlinear heterogeneities in Leishmania parasites, sand fly vectors, and mammalian host relationships provides insights to better understand leishmanial transmission epidemiology towards improving its control. The parasite manipulates the sand fly via production of promastigote secretory gel (PSG), leading to the "blocked sand fly" phenotype, persistent feeding attempts, and...

This study investigated the effects of surface treatments on the bond strength of a resin composite to a commercially pure titanium. The bonding surfaces of all titanium specimens were ground with 1,000-grit silicon carbide paper and then subjected to one or more of these surface treatments: sandblasting with alumina (sand), etching with 45wt% H2SO4 and 15wt% HCl (SH-etchant) at 70°C for 10 min...

Beach sand contains fecal indicator bacteria, often in densities greatly exceeding the adjacent swimming waters. We examined the transferability of Escherichia coli and F+ coliphage (MS2) from beach sand to hands in order to estimate the potential subsequent health risk. Sand with high initial E. coli concentrations was collected from a Chicago beach. Individuals manipulated the sand for 60 sec...

Incidences of Staphylococcus aureus and methicillin resistant S. aureus (MRSA) have risen worldwide prompting a need to better understand routes of human exposure and whether standard bacterial water quality monitoring practices adequately account for this potential threat. Beach water and sand samples were analyzed during summer months for S. aureus, enterococci, and MRSA at three southern Cal...

Leishmaniasis is prevalent mainly in the southern provinces of Thailand where sand flies are considered to be an important vector. Sand flies were collected using Centers for Disease Control (CDC) light traps in Satun Province from June 2013 to July 2014. A total of 1,982 sand flies (1,228 females and 754 males) were collected. Only female sand flies were identified to the species level and wer...

Surface water, groundwater and sand can flow into mine goaf through the fractured rock, which often leads to water inrush and quicksand movement. It is important to study the mechanical properties of water and sand in excavations sites under different conditions and the influencing factors of the water and sand seepage system. The viscosity of water-sand mixtures under different particle sizes,...

For steel castings produced in sand moulds, the expansion of the sand and have a significant impact on the final size and shape of the casting. Experiments are conducted using a cylindrical casting to study this effect for different sands (silica and zircon) and different sand binder systems (phenolic urethane and sodium silicate). The type of sand has a significant effect on the final casting ...

Phlebotomine sand flies are vectors of Leishmania that are acquired by the female sand fly during blood feeding on an infected mammal. Leishmania parasites develop exclusively in the gut lumen during their residence in the insect before transmission to a suitable host during the next blood feed. Female phlebotomine sand flies are blood feeding insects but their life style of visiting plants as ...