Granular Formation Research Articles

Bone Morphogenetic Proteins 2/4 Are Upregulated during the Early Development of Vascular Calcification in Chronic Kidney Disease.

Vascular calcification is a main cause of increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients. This study aimed to investigate the role of the bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling pathway in the early development of vascular calcification in CKD. A CKD vascular calcification rat model was established by providing rats with a 1.8% high-phosphorus diet and an intragastric administration of 2.5% adenine suspension. The kidney and aortic pathologies were analyzed. Blood biochemical indicators, serum BMP-2 and BMP-4 levels, and aortic calcium content were determined. The expression levels of BMP-2, BMP-4, bone morphogenetic protein receptor-IA (BMPR-IA), and matrix Gla protein (MGP) in aorta were examined by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemistry. Compared with the normal control (Nor) rats, the CKD rats exhibited a significantly decreased body weight and an increased kidney weight as well as abnormal renal function and calcium-phosphorus metabolism. Aortic von Kossa and Alizarin red staining showed massive granular deposition and formation of calcified nodules in aorta at 8 weeks. The aortic calcium content was significantly increased, which was positively correlated with the serum BMP-2 (r = 0.929; P < 0.01) and serum BMP-4 (r = 0.702; P < 0.01) levels in CKD rats. The rat aortic BMP-2 mRNA level in the CKD rats was persistently increased, and the BMP-4 mRNA level was prominently increased at the 4th week, declining thereafter. Strong staining of BMP-2, BMP-4, BMPR-IA, and MGP proteins was observed in the tunica media of the aorta from the 4th week after model induction. In conclusion, activation of the BMP signaling pathway is involved in the early development of vascular calcification in CKD. Therefore, elevated serum BMP-2 and BMP-4 levels may serve as serum markers for CKD vascular calcification.

Clinicopathology and diagnosis of Marek's disease and coccidiosis co-infection in Giriraja chicken in Manipur

Clinico-pathological study was undertaken to investigate the outbreak of bloody diarrhoea and high mortalityin Giriraja chicken in the Poultry Farm, Department of Animal Sciences, College of Agriculture, CAU, Imphal, Manipur during July, 2007. Clinically, the affected birds showed loss of appetite, unthriftiness, emaciation, ruffled feathers, bloody diarrhea with mucus, while some birds showed additional signs of ataxia, paralysis of legs, wings, neck and subsequent unilateral paralysis of extremities resulting in typical posture of one leg stretched forward and other backward. Necropsy examination revealed anaemic pale musculature, distended small intestines and haemorrhages onmucosa and sub-mucosa. Most of the birds showed enlargement of the liver with granular appearances and formation of lymphoid nodular lesions, while some birds with signs of leg paralysis had enlarged sciatic nerves with loss of cross-striations. Examination of the mucosal scraping from intestine showed numerous oocysts of Eimeria spp. Histopathological examination showed severe haemorrhagic enteritis with necrosis and degeneration of of glandular epithelial cells. Several schizonts were visible in the epithelial cells along with merozoites and infiltrating heterophils and eosinophils. The liver section revealed pleomorphic lymphoid cells proliferation replacingthe parenchymatous cells. Marek's disease was confirmed by detection of the viral antigen with the help of AGPT.

Icotinib inhibits EGFR signaling and alleviates psoriasis-like symptoms in animal models

To investigate the effects of icotinib hydrochloride and a derivative cream on epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) signaling and within animal psoriasis models, respectively. The effect of icotinib on EGFR signaling was examined in HaCaT cells, while its effect on angiogenesis was tested in chick embryo chorioallantoic membranes (CAM). The effectiveness of icotinib in treating psoriasis was tested in three psoriasis models, including diethylstilbestrol-treated mouse vaginal epithelial cells, mouse tail granular cell layer formation, and propranolol-induced psoriasis-like features in guinea pig ear skin. Icotinib treatment blocked EGFR signaling and reduced HaCaT cell viability as well as suppressed CAM angiogenesis. Topical application of icotinib ameliorated psoriasis-like histological characteristics in mouse and guinea pig psoriasis models. Icotinib also significantly inhibited mouse vaginal epithelium mitosis, promoted mouse tail squamous epidermal granular layer formation, and reduced the thickness of the horny layer in propranolol treated auricular dorsal surface of guinea pig. We conclude that icotinib can effectively inhibit psoriasis in animal models. Future clinical studies should be conducted to explore the therapeutic effects of icotinb in humans.

Newly identified 1.89 Ga mafic dyke swarm in the Archean Yilgarn Craton, Western Australia suggests a connection with India

The Archean Yilgarn Craton in Western Australia is intruded by numerous mafic dykes of varying orientations, which are poorly exposed but discernible in aeromagnetic maps. Previous studies have identified two craton-wide dyke swarms, the 2408 Ma Widgiemooltha and the 1210 Ma Marnda Moorn Large Igneous Provinces (LIP), as well as limited occurrences of the 1075 Ma Warakurna LIP in the northern part of the craton. We report here a newly identified NW-trending mafic dyke swarm in southwestern Yilgarn Craton dated at 1888 ± 9 Ma with ID-TIMS U-Pb method on baddeleyite from a single dyke and at 1858 ± 54 Ma, 1881 ± 37 and 1911 ± 42 Ma with in situ SHRIMP U-Pb on baddeleyite from three dykes. Preliminary interpretation of aeromagnetic data indicates that the dykes form a linear swarm several hundred kilometers long, truncated by the Darling Fault in the west. This newly named Boonadgin dyke swarm is synchronous with post-orogenic extension and deposition of granular iron formations in the Earaheedy basin in the Capricorn Orogen and its emplacement may be associated with far field stresses. Emplacement of the dykes may also be related to initial stages of rifting and formation of the intracratonic Barren Basin in the Albany-Fraser Orogen, where the regional extensional setting prevailed for the following 300 million years. Recent studies and new paleomagnetic evidence raise the possibility that the dykes could be part of the coeval 1890 Ma Bastar-Cuddapah LIP in India. Globally, the Boonadgin dyke swarm is synchronous with a major orogenic episode and records of intracratonic mafic magmatism on many other Precambrian cratons.

Granular carbon dioxide sorbent preparation for cyclic operations

CO2 emission is a big issue related to the global warming. CO2 removal from the flue gas or the biogas for further applications is also an important work to reduce CO2 emission. In this study, the granular porous solid CO2 sorbent was prepared. Montmorillonite was used as the binder and mixed with CaO to form the solid sorbent. Current results revealed that 22.51 wt% of CO2 can be captured into the solid sorbent and 38.65% of CaO was used for CO2 adsorption in the single cycle operation. For the long-term stability test, 12.30 wt% of CO2 can be captured into the solid sorbent at 700 °C and 11.55 wt% of CO2 can also be captured and the sorbent remained granular format after 5 cycles. The L9 (34) Taguchi orthogonal array was adapted for the experimental design to prepare the solid sorbent in this study.

Towards theoretical modeling of the sand dunes motion

The transport of sand by wind is a potent erosion force, creates sand dunes and ripples, and loads the atmosphere with suspended dust aerosols. This article presents a short review of the physics of wind-driven sand. Specifically, we review the physics of saltation, the formation and development of sand dunes and ripples. We also discuss some classes of the governing equations which describe the physics of wind-driven sand and dune formation. We describe selected types of dunes and conditions under which they occur, and also some features of dunes as well as processes that they are involved in. We show that the normalized dunes height collapses using a simple product of the Froude and Reynolds numbers. This would obscure the effects of frictional dissipation, which clearly plays an important role in all mentioned upper process. Ignoring friction, one can construct a simple energy balance between the kinetic energy of the impacting and the potential energy of the dunes, where we assume the dunes thickness is proportional to ds. This produces the following scaling. In other words, was one to increase the grain diameter ds by a factor of 10 ~ i.e., reduce Re by 100! for the same impact conditions, then the frictionless flow would predict a 10-fold reduction in , whereas the experiments suggest a 100-fold reduction. This shows clearly that viscous forces play a role in the granular dunes formation (and their relevant dynamics), as well as gravity and inertia.&#x0D; These circumstances move us to conclude the vide range of (non-dissipative) hydrodynamic approaches to describe dunes formation and their dynamics just as a robust model approaches.

On the crystallographic, stage I-like, character of fine granular area formation in internal fish-eye fatigue cracks

The crystallographic character of fine granular area (FGA) formation from internal particles in martensitic high strength steel has been revealed by an assessment of the plastic zone size at the FGA border. This plastic zone size corresponded to about 3 times the martensite lath width. Tests at different temperatures (20°C, 200°C and 400°C) revealed a decreasing FGA size with increasing temperature at constant applied stress amplitude. As a consequence, the critical stress intensity factor varied as the FGA decreased with temperature. In contrast, the critical plastic zone size remained constant and equal to the sizes of microstructural features. This represents a strong similarity between crystallographic, stage I-like, crack propagation and FGA formation in a vacuum.

Carbothermic Reduction of Ferruginous Manganese Ore for Mn/Fe Beneficiation: Morphology Evolution and Separation Characteristic

In the present paper, beneficiation of Fe and Mn elements from a ferruginous manganese ore via carbothermic reduction followed by magnetic separation process was investigated in detail. The effects of the experimental parameters were systematically discussed. Iron-rich products with an Fe grade of 62.3% and 88.2% of Fe recovery, and manganese-rich product with a Mn grade of 63.7% of and 70.4% of Mn recovery were obtained, respectively, at an optimal temperature of 1100 °C, with a roasting time of 100 min, anthracite addition of 25%, milling fineness of 90% passing 0.074 mm, and a magnetic intensity of 140 A/m. Furthermore, the morphology evolution and phase transformation laws along with reduction process were revealed by optical microscope, scanning electron microscope equipped with energy dispersive X-ray detector (SEM-EDX), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and chemical phase analysis. The results demonstrated that the ferruginous manganese ore reduction can be described as follows: plate-like Fe-Mn symbiotic phase decomposition → granular MnO phase formation → fine metallic iron formation → aggregation of metallic iron → boundary development between Fe and Mn phases.

Oncoidal granular iron formation in the Mesoarchaean Pongola Supergroup, southern Africa: Textural and geochemical evidence for biological activity during iron deposition.

We document the discovery of the first granular iron formation (GIF) of Archaean age and present textural and geochemical results that suggest these formed through microbial iron oxidation. The GIF occurs in the Nconga Formation of the ca. 3.0-2.8Ga Pongola Supergroup in South Africa and Swaziland. It is interbedded with oxide and silicate facies micritic iron formation (MIF). There is a strong textural control on iron mineralization in the GIF not observed in the associated MIF. The GIF is marked by oncoids with chert cores surrounded by magnetite and calcite rims. These rims show laminated domal textures, similar in appearance to microstromatolites. The GIF is enriched in silica and depleted in Fe relative to the interbedded MIF. Very low Al and trace element contents in the GIF indicate that chemically precipitated chert was reworked above wave base into granules in an environment devoid of siliciclastic input. Microbially mediated iron precipitation resulted in the formation of irregular, domal rims around the chert granules. During storm surges, oncoids were transported and deposited in deeper water environments. Textural features, along with positive δ56 Fe values in magnetite, suggest that iron precipitation occurred through incomplete oxidation of hydrothermal Fe2+ by iron-oxidizing bacteria. The initial Fe3+ -oxyhydroxide precipitates were then post-depositionally transformed to magnetite. Comparison of the Fe isotope compositions of the oncoidal GIF with those reported for the interbedded deeper water iron formation (IF) illustrates that the Fe2+ pathways and sources for these units were distinct. It is suggested that the deeper water IF was deposited from the evolved margin of a buoyant Fe2+aq -rich hydrothermal plume distal to its source. In contrast, oncolitic magnetite rims of chert granules were sourced from ambient Fe2+aq -depleted shallow ocean water beyond the plume.

A reciprocal relationship between reactive oxygen species and mitochondrial dynamics in neurodegeneration

Mitochondrial fragmentation due to fission/fusion imbalance has often been linked to mitochondrial dysfunction and apoptosis in neurodegeneration. Conventionally, it is believed that once mitochondrial morphology shifts away from its physiological tubular form, mitochondria become defective and downstream apoptotic signaling pathways are triggered. However, our study shows that beta-amyloid (Aβ) induces morphological changes in mitochondria where they become granular-shaped and are distinct from fragmented mitochondria in terms of both morphology and functions. Accumulation of mitochondrial reactive oxygen species triggers granular mitochondria formation, while mitoTEMPO (a mitochondria-targeted superoxide scavenger) restores tubular mitochondrial morphology within Aβ-treated neurons. Interestingly, modulations of mitochondria fission and fusion by genetic and pharmacological tools attenuated not only the induction of granular mitochondria, but also mitochondrial superoxide levels in Aβ−treated neurons. Our study shows a reciprocal relationship between mitochondrial dynamics and reactive oxygen species and provides a new potential therapeutic target at early stages of neurodegenerative disease pathogenesis.

GROUNDWATER RESOURCES ASSESSMENT OF GRANULAR AQUIFERS IN GREECE

Sound groundwater resources management is a matter of paramount importance in Circum-Mediterranean, for the ecologic status of the underlying aquifer systems. Freshwater resources in Greece are identified within all types of aquifer formations, however two distinct types are the ones that draw the attention of the scientific and the engineering community; the granular as well as the karst aquifers. This paper describes the groundwater resources potential that are found within granular aquifer formations, in combination with the major environmental threats associated with their exploitation and management.

Use of Collagen Scaffolds in Conjunction with NPWT for the Care of Complex Wounds: Clinical Report

Open wounds treatment is very often a challenge for both the physician and patient. They require long term complex treatment with surgical debridement, dressing changing, additional therapies including expensive medication, with a high risk of failure. The most difficult to treat are the diabetic wounds and those that are associated with advanced arterial disease. In these special cases, the peripheral vascularization is severely impaired and the complications are imminent. Sixteen patients were selected from those appearing to our hospital departments of orthopedic and plastic surgery. Inclusion criteria included patients with a recurrent mixed fibrotic and granular wound base following trauma or diabetes, in which NPWT was indicated, without exclusion criteria. Patients enrolled were treated with regularly scheduled NPWT dressing change and using of a collagen scaffold. Patients were followed until healing, with visual representations of wound progression and time to full healing recorded. Both applications of these therapies appeared to accelerate the wound healing by clearing degenerative fibrous tissue and expediting wound granulation without additional complication. Some of the patients were healed partially and plastic surgery techniques were applied. Use of collagen scaffolds in conjunction with negative pressure wound therapy in the care of complex wounds is a reliable and effective method combining both the new granular tissue formation capacity of the scaffold to hold osteoblasts. In our experience, we have noticed that the patients benefit greatly when collagen scaffolds is combined with NPWT. It is our belief that this combination therapy combines the molecular clearing of non-viable collagen with the wound granulation necessary to advance complex wounds in healing.

Start-up and operation of an aerobic granular sludge system under low working temperature inoculated with cold-adapted activated sludge from Finland

An aerobic granular sludge system has been started-up and operated at 7°C temperature using cold-adapted activated sludge as inoculum. The system could form granular biomass due to batch operation allowing for just 5–3min of biomass sedimentation. Scanning electron microscopy showed that fungi helped in the granular biomass formation in the early stages of the granule formation. The removal performance of the system was of 92–95% in BOD5, 75–80% in COD, 70–76% in total nitrogen and 50–60% in total phosphorous. The bacterial community structure from cold-adapted activated sludge changed during the operational time, leading to a final configuration dominated by Microbacteriaceae members Microbacterium and Leucobacter, which were strongly correlated to biomass settling velocity and bioreactor performance, as suggested by multivariate redundancy analyses. This experiment showed that aerobic granular sludge systems could be successfully started-up and operated, with high performance, under low operational temperatures when using cold-adapted biomass as inoculum.

MICROSTRUCTURE FEATURES OF CHROME-NICKEL COATING WELDED WITH FILLER WIRE PL AN-111 WITH A 50% OVERLAP

Purpose . The paper involves investigation of microstructure features of the coating welded with filler wire PL AN-111 with a 50% beads overlap. Methodology. Wear-resistant layer was formed by means of electric arc deposit welding using filler wire PL AN-111 on the plate from steel 09G2S. Deposit welding was conducted under the following parameters: welding current is of 650-750 A; arc voltage is of 30-34 V; welding speed is of 32 m/h. Microstructure was researched with application of optical microscopies “Neophot-21”, “Nikon Eclipse M200” and electron scanning microscopy JEOL JSM-6510 LV. Microhardness of structural constituents was measured with tester FM-300 (Future-Tech) under loading of 10-50 g. Findings . It is shown that the overlap of the beads leads to the formation of inhomogeneous microstructure in the cross section that varies by zones from free-carbide austenite to hypereutectic microstructure with primary chromium carbides. The analysis of the microhardness of the structural constituents in various coating areas was carried out. It was found that hardness of austenite, carbide eutectic and carbides M 7 C 3 varies in coatings in the range of 3 100-3 850 МPа, 4 100-6 800 МPа and 12 100-15 100 МPа, accordingly. Originality . Authors determined that Cr-Ni coating comprises substantially austenitic-carbide eutectic with different density and thickness of carbide fibers within eutectic colonies. Along the border “base/coating” a single-phase austenitic layer lies which turns into a layer with a hypoeutectic structure. In the heat affected zone from beads fusion austenite disintegration with the granular carbides formation was recorded. This leads to decreasing of matrix corrosion resistance due to chromium depletion. Above the zone of beads fusion, the coating has a hypereutectic structure with the presence of large primary chromium carbides. Practical value . It is shown that deposit welding with filler wire PL AN-111 with a 50% overlap of beads results in a coarsening of the structure due to formation of a hypereutectic structure comprising in the presence of large primary chromium carbides with lower microhardness.

Promoting Wound Healing Using Low Molecular Weight Fucoidan in a Full-Thickness Dermal Excision Rat Model.

Low molecular weight fucoidan (LMF) has been reported to possess anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities. Thus, we examined the effects of LMF extracted from Undaria pinnatifida on dermal wounds. Five round dermal wounds were created on the dorsal back of rats, and they were then treated topically with distilled water (DW), Madecasol Care™ (MC) or LMF at 200, 100 and 50 mg/mL, twice a day for a week. There were dose-dependent increases in wound contraction in the groups receiving LMF but not in the MC group, compared with the DW. Histopathological examination revealed that LMF treatment accelerated wound healing, which was supported by increases in granular tissue formation on day four post-treatment but a decrease on day seven, accompanied by an evident reduction in inflammatory cells. In the LMF-treated wounds, collagen distribution and angiogenesis were increased in the granular tissue on days four and seven post-treatment. Immunoreactive cells for transforming growth factor-β1, vascular endothelial growth factor receptor-2 or matrix metalloproteinases 9 were also increased, probably due to tissue remodeling. Furthermore, LMF treatment reduced lipid peroxidation and increased antioxidant activities. These suggested that LMF promotes dermal wound healing via complex and coordinated antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and growth factor-dependent activities.

The impact of meteorological conditions on snow and ice thickness in an Arctic lake

Inter-annual variation of meteorological conditions and their effects on snow and ice thickness in an Arctic lake Unari (67.14° N, 25.73° E) were investigated for winters 1980/1981–2012/2013. The lake snow and ice thicknesses were modelled applying a thermodynamic model, and the results were compared with observations. Regression equations were derived for the relationships between meteorological parameters and modelled snow and ice properties. The composite differences of large-scale atmospheric circulation patterns between seasons of thin and thick ice were analysed. The air temperature had an increasing trend (statistical significance p<0.05) during the freezing season (1.0° C/decade), associated with an increasing trend of liquid precipitation (p<0.05) in winter. Both observed and modelled average and maximum ice thicknesses showed a decreasing trend (p<0.05). The model results were statistically more reliable (1) for lake ice than snow and (2) for seasonal means than maxima. Low temperature with less precipitation prompted the formation of columnar ice, whereas strong winds and heavy snowfall were in favour of granular ice formation. The granular (columnar) ice thickness was positively (negatively) correlated with precipitation. The seasonal mean and maximum modelled lake ice and snow thicknesses were controlled by precipitation and temperature history, with 58–86 % of the inter-annual variance explained. Using regression equations derived from data from 1980 to 2013, snow and ice thickness for the following winter seasons was statistically forecasted, yielding errors of 9–12 %. Among large-scale climate indices, the Pacific Decadal Oscillation was the only one that correlated with inter-annual variations in the seasonal average ice thickness in Lake Unari.

Investigation on bainite transformation and metastable omega/orthorhombic martensite phases in as-quenched Cu-bearing ferrite steel

The as-quenched microstructures of low-carbon Cu-bearing ferrite steel are investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). It is found that the granular bainite formation in Cu-bearing ferrite steel is attributed to a mixed mode of diffusional and displacive mechanisms. Besides, the particle-like or plate-shaped ω phases, along with thin-plate martensites consist of twin, are observed in the Mn1.4Cu-bearing steel, and the orientation relationship is determined as: [2 −1 −10]ω // [0 1 1]α and (0 1 −1 0)ω // (2 −1 1)α. The ultra-fine or ellipsoidal shaped nanoscale orthorhombic martensite phases, along with laths martensites consist of a high density of dislocations, are observed in the Mn0.66Cu-bearing steel, and the orientation relationship is determined as: [0 1 −1]o//[−1 1 1]α and (−1 1 1)o//(1 0 1) α. A model is proposed to describe the overall martensite transformation kinetics by taking into account the Mn content, heterogeneity of C content and dislocation reactions play a major role in the subsequent martensite transformation.

A Failure Criterion for Unsupported Boreholes in Poorly Cemented Granular Formations

A Failure Criterion for Unsupported Boreholes in Poorly Cemented Granular Formations

Granular Formation during Apoptosis in Blastocystis sp. Exposed to Metronidazole (MTZ).

The role and function of the granular life cycle stage in Blastocystis sp, remains uncertain despite suggestions being made that the granules are metabolic, reproductive and lipid in nature. This present study aims to understand granular formation by triggering apoptosis in Blastocystis sp. by treating them with metronidazole (MTZ). Blastocystis sp.cultures of 4 sub-types namely 1, 2, 3 and 5 when treated with 0.01 and 0.0001 mg/ml of metronidazole (MTZ) respectively showed many of the parasites to be both viable and apoptotic (VA). Treated subtype 3 isolates exhibited the highest number of granular forms i.e. 88% (p<0.001) (0.0001 mg/ml) and 69% (p<0.01) (0.01 mg/ml) respectively at the 72 h in in vitro culture compared to other subtypes. These VA forms showed distinct granules using acridine orange (AO) and 4’,6-diamino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) staining with a mean per cell ranging from 5 in ST 5 to as high as 16 in ST 3. These forms showed intact mitochondria in both viable apoptotic (VA) and viable non-apoptotic (VNA) cells with a pattern of accumulation of lipid droplets corresponding to viable cells. Granular VA forms looked ultra-structurally different with prominent presence of mitochondria-like organelle (MLO) and a changed mitochondrial trans-membrane potential with thicker membrane and a highly convoluted inner membrane than the less dense non-viable apoptotic (NVA) cells. This suggests that granular formation during apoptosis is a self-regulatory mechanism to produce higher number of viable cells in response to treatment. This study directs the need to search novel chemotherapeutic approaches by incorporating these findings when developing drugs against the emerging Blastocystis sp. infections.

P- and S-wave velocity models of shallow dry sand formations from surface wave multimodal inversion

Surficial formations composed of loose, dry granular materials constitute a challenging target for seismic characterization. They exhibit a peculiar seismic behavior, characterized by a nonlinear seismic velocity gradient with depth that follows a power-law relationship, which is a function of the effective stress. The P- and S-wave velocity profiles are then characterized by a power-law trend, and they can be defined by two power-law exponents [Formula: see text] and two power-law coefficients [Formula: see text]. In case of depth-independent Poisson’s ratio, the P-wave velocity profile can be defined using the [Formula: see text] power-law parameters and Poisson’s ratio. Because body wave investigation techniques (e.g., P-wave tomography) may perform ineffectively on such materials because of high attenuation, we addressed the potential of surface-wave method for a reliable seismic characterization of shallow formations of dry, uncompacted granular materials. We took into account the dependence of seismic wave velocity on effective pressure and performed a multimodal inversion of surface-wave data, which allowed the [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] profiles to be retrieved. The method requires the selection of multimodal dispersion curve points referring to surface-wave frequency components traveling within the granular media formation and their inversion for the S-wave power-law parameters and Poisson’s ratio. We have tested our method on a synthetic dispersion curve and applied it to a real data set. In both cases, the surficial layer was made of loose dry sand. The test on the synthetic data set confirmed the reliability of the proposed procedure because the thickness and the [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text] profiles of the sand layer were correctly estimated. For the real data, the outcomes were validated by other geophysical measurements conducted at the same site and they were in agreement with similar studies regarding loose sand formations.