Articular cartilage was examined to determine its decomposition sequence and its potential for assessing the postmortem interval. Scanning electron microscopy of articular cartilage from buried porcine trotters showed the presence of microcrystals on the synovial surface. These orthorhombic pyramidal or "coffin"-shaped crystals, appeared at 3 weeks (22 days) after interment and disappeared afte...

Problem statement: The formation of a urinary stone, known as nephrolithiasis, urolithiasis, renal calculi or kidney stone is a serious, debilitating problem in all societies throughout the world. Struvite or Ammonium Magnesium Phosphate Hexahydrate (AMPH) is one of the components of urinary stone (calculi). Struvite stones are commonly found in women. Struvites form in humans as a result of ur...

Corynebacterium urealyticum (formerly Corynebacterium group D2) has been implicated as a cause of alkaline-encrusted cystitis and urinary tract struvite calculi. Despite preselecting urine specimens with neutral and alkaline pHs and using prolonged incubation on a selective medium, isolation of this organism was rarely observed in a population of hospitalized patients. We do not recommend routi...

A pilot scale reactor was designed and developed to study struvite crystallisation principles. The present work focuses on the possible impact of the reactor's operating parameters on struvite characteristics, and evaluates the performances of the process in removing phosphorus. Struvite precipitation from synthetic liquors was investigated under various situations including: pH, magnesium dosi...

BACKGROUND Microbial electrolysis cells (MECs) use bioelectrochemical reactions to remove organic contaminants at the bioanode and produce hydrogen gas at the cathode. High local pH conditions near the cathode can also be utilized to produce struvite from nutrient-rich wastewater. This beneficial aspect was investigated using lab-scale MECs fed with dewatering centrate collected at a local wast...

Phosphorus (P) is one of the primary nutrients generating eutrophication in aquatic systems1. To prevent eutrophication, municipal or agricultural wastewaters are treated to reduce the phosphorus concentrations in the wastewater reaching surface water streams. While unregulated P is a pollutant in a water body, phosphorous is a useful resource in agricultural fertilizers, food supply, and indus...

There is increasing interest in source separation and treatment of urine so as to recover nitrogen and phosphate more efficiently than treating combined wastewater. Although previous studies primarily focused on struvite precipitation for the recovery of phosphorus, the composition of urine changes during storage. The present study compared the precipitation conditions for fresh urine and hydro...

Corynebacterium group D2 inoculated into normal human urine formed struvite crystals and an increase in pH and ammonium concentration after 24 h of incubation. Zinc disks dipped into a broth culture of this microorganism and inserted into the bladders of rats produced stones with a mean weight of 12.5 mg (ranging from 1 to 57.7 mg) after 12 days. Analysis of the infrared spectrum determined the...

The calcic phosphates represent a complex family. Their conditions of crystallisation and inhibition were studied at various pH values. Phosphate precipitates obtained from artificial urine in the pH range (6.5; 7; 8) were identified using FTIR and XRD. At pH = 6.5 brushite accompanied by carbonated amorphous phosphate complexes precipitated while at pH = 7, the coexistence of brushite, struvit...