Field Utilization of Dried Water Hyacinth for Phosphorous Recovery from Source-Separated Human Urine

This research demonstrated the feasibility of converting source-separated human urine into a solid fertilizer by means of continuous absorption and solar thermal evaporation using dried water hyacinth as adsorbent. In a preliminary experiment, the dried petioles of water hyacinth (DWH) absorbed urine in a mean rate of 18.78 ml·g-1 within 7 d, retrieving about 3.46% urine dissolved solids (UDS). In an advanced experiment, the DWH’s capacity of urine absorption declined from an initial 2.73 L·kg-1·d-1 to 0.68 L·kg-1·d-1, with a requirement of material change in about 25 effective days and an average ratio of 25 (L) to 1 (kg). Phosphorus (P2O5) concentration in the adsorbent increased from 0.46% (material baseline) to 3.14% (end product), suggesting a satisfactory recovery of the element. In field application, the urine was discharged, not in wet weather, onto the DWH via a tube connected to a waterless urinal. There are several ways to use the UDS-DWH as P(K)-rich fertilizer, e.g., making soluble fertilizer for foliage spraying to encourage prolific flowering and fruiting. Apparently, utilization of water hyacinth waste to recover dissolved plant nutrient elements from source-separated urine will benefit the environment in a wide range of perspectives. The herein innovative use of water hyacinth is also expected to be useful in the recycling of certain dissolved hazardous materials.

Urea hydrolysis and recovery of nitrogen and phosphorous as MAP from stale human urine

Laboratory-scale tests for magnesium ammonium phosphate（MAP）precipitation following urea hydrolysis of human urine were conducted using orthogonal experiment design.The effects of initial pH,temperature and the volumetric ratios of stale urine to fresh urine,on urea hydrolysis in urine were studied to determine the final hydrolysis time to recover most nitrogen from separated human urine by MAP.With a volumetric ratio of stale to fresh urine>10% and at temperature≥20℃,urea hydrolysis could be completed in two days.Alkaline pH inhibited urea hydrolysis progress.The final pH values were all around 9.0 following urine hydrolysis,while the suspension pH might act as an indicator to detect the start and extent of urea hydrolysis.Over 95% of ammonium nitrogen and over 85% of phosphorus from hydrolyzed urine as MAP precipitate were obtained using MgCl;·6H;O and Na;HPO;·12H;O as precipitation agents at pH 8.5,molar ratio of Mg;:NH;-N:PO;-P at（1.2-1.3）:1:1,mixing speed of 120 r/min,and precipitation time and reaction time of 3 h and 15 min,respectively.The precipitate has a structure resembling pure MAP crystal.

Urine versus brushed samples in human papillomavirus screening： study in both genders

Aim： To investigate whether urine is a good medium for screening and whether there is a correlation between the amount of extracted DNA and human papillomavirus （HPV）-positivity. Methods： In the present study, 30 first-voided urine （FVU） specimens and 20 urethroglandular swabs using cervex-brushes from male partners of HPV-positive patients, and 31 FVU specimens and 100 liquid-based cervix cytology leftovers sampled with cervix-brushes from HPV-positive women were examined for the presence of β-globin. Oncogenic HPV were detected using type-specific PCR. Results： β-globin was found in all the brushed samples, whereas it was found in only 68.9% of the FVU specimens. HPV-PCR was positive in 60.0% of the male brushes, in 29% of the female brushes and in 0% of the male FVU specimens. DNA concentration was, respectively, 0.9998 ng/μL, 37.0598 ng/μL and 0.0207 ng/μL. Conclusion： Urine is not a good tool for HPV detection, probably because the low DNA concentration reflects a low amount of collected cells. β-globin is measurable in FVU by real time quantitative PCR, but the DNA concentration is lower compared to brush sampling for both genders. β-globin-positivity of urethral and cervical swabs is 100%, showing a higher mean concentration of DNA, leading to a higher detection rate of HPV. This is the first article linking DNA- concentration to the presence of HPV.

Protective Effect of Distillate and Redistillate of Cow’s Urine in Human Polymorphonuclear Leukocytes Challenged With Established Genotoxic Chemicals

Objective From the ancient period cow’urine has been used as a medicine. In Veda, cow’urine was compared to the nectar. In Susrut, several medicinal properties of cow’ urine have been mentioned and are known to cause weight loss, reversal of certain cardiac and kidney problems, indigestion, stomach ache, edema, etc. However, the literature and scripture did not mention the antigenotoxic properties of cow’urine. Methods In the present investigation, the antigenotoxic/ antioxidant properties of cow’ urine distillate and redistillate were studied in vitro. The antioxidant status and volatile fatty acid levels were determined. Actinomycin-D (0.1ol/L) and hydrogen peroxide (150 mol/L) were used for inducing DNA strand break with 0.1% DMSO as negative control. Dose for the antigenotoxic effect of cow’ urine was chosen from the dose response study carried out earlier. Results Both actinomycin-D and H2O2 caused statistically significant DNA unwinding of 80% & 75% respectively (P<0.001) as revealed by fluorimetric analysis of DNA unwinding (FADU), and the damage could be protected with the redistilled cow urine distillate (1, 50 & 100 ) in simultaneous treatment with genotoxic chemicals. Conclusion The redistillate of cowurine was found to possess total antioxidant status of around 2.6 mmol, contributed mainly by volatile fatty acids (1500 mg/L) as revealed by the GC-MS studies. These fatty acids and other antioxidants might cause the observed protective effects.

Determination of Sparfloxacin in Human Urine by Reversed-Phase High Performance Liquid Chromatography With Nitrous Acid and Hydroiodic Pre-Column Derivatization

Sparfloxacin can be oxidized by nitrous acid, then react with hydroiodic acid to form a fluorescent derivative. Based on this, a reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatographic pre-column derivatization new method is described for the determination of sparfloxacin in human urine. The linear range is 0.05 mg/L to 4.0 mg/L, the recoveries are 91.5%similar to 95.7% and the RSD is 1.2%similar to4.2%. The results showed that this method is suitable for the determination of sparfloxacin in human urine.

Biotransformation of aesculin by human gut bacteria and identification of its metabolites in rat urine

AIM:To observe the biotransformation process of a Chinese compound,aesculin,by human gut bacteria,and to identify its metabolites in rat urine.METHODS:Representative human gut bacteria were collected from 20 healthy volunteers,and then utilized in vitro to biotransform aesculin under anaerobic conditions.At 0,2,4,8,12,16,24,48 and 72 h post- incubation,10 mL of culture medium was collected.Metabolites of aesculin were extracted 3×from rat urine with methanol and analyzed by HPLC.For in vivo metabolite analysis,aesculetin(100 mg/kg)was administered to rats via stomach gavage,rat urine was collected from 6 to 48 h post-administration,and metabolite analysis was performed by LC/ESI-MS and MS/MS in the positive and negative modes.RESULTS:Human gut bacteria could completely convert aesculin into aesculetin in vitro.The biotransformation process occurred from 8 to 24 h post-incubation,with its highest activity was seen from 8 to 12 h.The in vitro process was much slower than the in vivo process.In contrast to the in vitro model,six aesculetin metabolites were identified in rat urine,including 6-hydroxy-7-gluco- coumarin(M1),6-hydroxy-7-sulf-coumarin(M2),6,7-di- gluco-coumarin(M3),6-glc-7-gluco-coumarin(M4),6-O-methyl-7-gluco-coumarin(M5)and 6-O-methyl-7- sulf-coumarin(M6).Of which,M2 and M6 were novel metabolites.CONCLUSION:Aesculin can be transferred into aesculetin by human gut bacteria and is further modified by the host in vivo.The diverse metabolites of aesculin may explain its pleiotropic pharmaceutical effects.

Enantioselective assay of S（＋）－ and R（－）－propafenone in human urine by using RP－HPLC with pre－column chiral derlvatization

The enantioselective assay for S(+)- and R(-)-propafenone (PPF) in human urine that developed in this work involves extraction of propafenone from human urine and using S(+)-propafenone as internal standard, chiral derivatization with 2,3,4,6-tetra-O-fl-D-glucopranosyl isothiocyanate, and quantitation by an RP-HPLC system with UV detection (λ=220 nm). A baseline separation of propafenone enantiomers was achieved on a 5-μm reverse phase ODS column, with a mixture of methanol:water:glacial acetic acid (25:12:0.02,v/v) as mobile phase. There was good linear relationship from 24.9 ng/ml to 1875.0 ng/ml for both of enantiomers. The regression equations of the standard curves based on CS-PPF (or CR-PPF ) versus ratio of As-PPF/As (or AR-PPF/As ) were y=0.0032x-0.081, (r=0.999) for S-PPF and y=0.0033x+0.0039, (r=0.998) for R-PPF, respectively. The method's limit of detection was 12.5 ng/ml for both enantiomers, and the method's limit of quantitation was 28.2±0.52 ng/ml for S-PPF, 30.4±0.53 ng/ml for R-PPF (RSD<8%, n=5). The analytical method yielded average recovery of 98.9% and 100.4% for S-PPF and R-PPF, respectively. The relative standard deviation was no more than 6.11% and 6.22% for S-PPF and R-PPF, respectively. The method enabled study of metabolism of S(+)- and R(-)-propafenone in human urine. The results from 7 volunteers administered 150 mg racemic propafenone indicated that propafenone enantiomers undergo stereoselective metabolism and that in the human body, S(+)-propafenone is metabolized more extensively than R(-)-propafenone.

Effects of N source and nitrification pretreatment on growth of Arthrospira platensis in human urine

Culture of Arthrospira platensis (Spirulina platensis) in human urine was investigated to get valuable biomass. NO3-N was the proper N source, in comparison with other N source, including urea, NH4-N and NO2-N. As a result, aerobic nitrification of human urine was performed, with above 93.6% nitrification percentage finally achieved with total-N (TN) load of 46.52 mg/(L·d), in which Arthrospira platensis was successfully grown. The main compositions of the obtained biomass are close to those in Zarrouk medium. Thus, it is possible to culture Arthrospira platensis in nitrified human urine for food production within bioregenerative life support systems (BLSSs).

Characterization of Digestates from Anaerobic Co-Digestion of Manioc Effluent, Human Urine and Cow Dung

This study focused on the characterization of digestates resulting from anaerobic digestion of manioc effluents from attiéké factories. Two types of digestate were characterized, one consisting of manioc effluent + urine and another composed of manioc effluent + urine + cow dung. As a result, these residues of bio-digestion rich in nutrients (NPK) can be used as agricultural fertilizer. Moreover, the determination of some microorganisms and heavy metals digestates allowed to better appreciate its fertilizing quality. These parameters remained in accordance with the quality standards of a digestate prescribed. These results show that digestates from anaerobic co-digestion of manioc effluents, urine and cow dung can be used without fear as an agricultural biofertilizer.

Pheromones in Human Urine: A Study

The present study was conducted to understand if pheromone or any similar substance was present in human semen and whether it could be recognized by smell. One hundred and fifty two subjects of either sex participated in this study. The study lasted for one month. They were to identify urine by smell. Daily first urine sample was submitted by five male and five female subjects for this study. Menstrual status of female subjects was recorded. Many distinguished the smell of urine of male from that of female. Interestingly male subjects recognized the smell of female urine of ovulation day. Reason may be pheromone. A woman may be releasing maximally pheromone on this day. This supports the theory of pheromone which attracts a man to a woman on her ovulation day.

Quality of Human Urine Used as Fertilizer: Case of an Ecological Sanitation System in Ouagadougou Peri-Urban Areas-Burkina Faso

The use in agriculture of excreta from urine-diversion toilets can be an alternative solution to the lack of sanitation and high costs of mineral fertilizers inherent to developing countries. The objective of this study was to evaluate the hygienic quality of urine used as fertilizer through an ecological sanitation system in Ouagadougou peri-urban areas. Chemical and microbiological analyses were performed in urine samples taken before and after thirty (30) days of storage in jerry cans exposed to sunlight. The concentrations of 7.0 g/l;3.5 and 9.6 g/l of ammonia nitrogen for mean, minimum and maximum respectively, are obtained in unstored urine samples. These concentrations did not practically vary with the storage. On average, values of other chemical parameters analyzed in stored urine were as follows: pH, 8.8;phosphorus (P), 0.3 g/l;potassium (K), 1.9 g/l;total dissolved solids (TDS), 21.0 g/l;cadmium (Cd), 154.3 μg/l;copper (Cu), 5.2 μg/l;lead (Pb), 15.2 μg/l;chromium (Cr), 6.1 μg/l;nickel (Ni), 154.0 μg/l. Escherichia coli, staphylococci, enterococci, Salmonella and spores of Clostridium perfringens were detected in unstored urine samples, with 26% of fecal contamination rate. The time of storage (30 days) under sunlight was enough for almost all bacteria removal in urine samples. Although the fertilizing value of urine was confirmed, it would be important to take account of the best practices on applying in soils, because of the high TDS contents. Also, the risk linked to micropollutants in urine-based fertilizers could be negligible in view of low quantities. The results obtained in this study prove that after 30 days of exposure to sunlight urine collected via eco-toilet becomes bacteriologically sanitized, and can therefore be used to fertilize soils. However, it is necessary to demonstrate the inactivation of other groups of enteric microorganisms in human urine during storage.

Nutritional Quality of Tomato (<i>Lycopersicon lycopersicum</i>L.) Varieties as Influenced by Combined Application of Human Urine and Rock Phosphate

There has been increasing interest in the quality of food produced in the sub-Saharan Africa and organic fertilizers can be used as palliative for eradicating malnutrition and improving the livelihood of the populace. A study was conducted in two phases, 4 × 5 × 2 and 2 × 4 factorial experiments in a completely randomized design with three replicates at the Department of Agronomy screenhouse, University of Ibadan, Nigeria. In the first experiment, five N levels (0, 20, 40, 60 and 80 kgN/ha) were combined with two P levels (0 and 20 kgP/ha) using urea and single superphosphate, respectively and four varieties (Roma VF, UC82B, Rio grande and Roma savana) of tomatoes were used. In the second experiment, optimum rates (60 kgN and 20 kgP/ha) from the first experiment formed the basis for the application of urea + SSP, urine + ORP, urea + SSP + urine + ORP and control. The best-performing varieties (Rio grande and Roma savana) in the first experiment were used. Data were subjected to analysis of variance. Combined application of N and P had higher N use efficiency and nutrient uptake than sole application of N or P. Urine + ORP based fertilizer mixtures were best for nutrient uptake and crop utilization of N and P. Increasing N levels led to decrease in nutrient use efficiency. Application of urine + ORP and urea + SSP gave better fruit qualities. The descending order of varietal superiority with respect to nutrient uptake, utilization and quality was: Rio grande > Roma savana > Roma VF > UC82B. Thus, urine + ORP based fertilizer mixtures have great potentials as substitutes for urea + SSP in the production of tomatoes.

GAS CHROMATOGRAPHIC-MASS SPECTROMETRIC ANALYSIS OF ANABOLIC STEROIDS IN HUMAN URINE

A new GC/MS method for detection and identification of 19 anabolic steroids in human urine is presented.The procedure involves adsorption and isolation on a macroporous XAD-2 resin,enzymatic hydrolysis,alkaline extraction,derivatization,GC separation and MS detec- tion.Gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric data illustrate artifacts arising from enzymatic hydrolysis of steroid glucuronides and the structural characterization of their metabolites. Using this method,metabolic studies of these steroids in human urine were made after their ingestion by normal and healthy male volunteers.This method was proven to be suitable for large-scale routine analysis of anabolic steroids and was used successfully in passing the doping control test held by the Medical Commission of the International Olympic Committee.

GC/MS CONFIRMATORY METHOD OF BENZTHIAZIDE IN HUMAN URINE

A GC-MS method for the confirmation of benzthiazide is reported for the first time. This method is based on, the main decomposed product of the methylated derivative and provides a reliable detection of this drug. The detection limit of the method is 1.0 ng with selected ion monitoring.

Factors hindering the degradation of pharmaceuticals from human urine in an iron-activated persulfate system

This study investigated the degradation of clofibric acid(CFA),bezafibrate(BZF),and sulfamethoxazole(SMX)in synthetic human urine using a novel mesoporous iron powderactivated persulfate system(mFe-PS system),and identified the factors limiting their degradation in synthetic human urine.A kinetic model was established to expose the radical production in various reaction conditions,and experiments were conducted to verify the modeling results.In the phosphate-containing mFe-PS system,the 120 min removal efficiency of CFA decreased from 95.1%to 76.6%as the phosphate concentration increased from 0.32 to 6.45 mmol/L,but recovered to 90.5%when phosphate concentration increased to 16.10 mmol/L.Meanwhile,the increased concentration of phosphate from 0.32 to 16.10mmol/L reduced the BZF degradation efficacy from 91.5%to 79.0%,whereas SMX removal improved from 37.3%to 62.9%.The m Fe-PS system containing(bi)carbonate,from 4.20 to166.70 mmol/L,reduced CFA and BZF removal efficiencies from 100%to 76.8%and 80.4%,respectively,and SMX from 83.5%to 56.7%within a 120-min reaction time.In addition,alkaline conditions(pH≥8.0)inhibited CFA and BZF degradations,while nonacidic pH(pH≥7.0)remarkably inhibited SMX degradation.Results of the kinetic model indicated the formation of phosphate(H_(2)PO_(4)^(·)/HPO_(4)^(·-))and/or carbonate radicals(CO_(3)^(·-))could limit pharmaceutical removal.The transformation products(TPs)of the pharmaceuticals revealed more incompletely oxidized TPs occurred in the phosphate-and(bi)carbonate-containing m Fe-PS systems,and indicated that H_(2)PO_(4)^(·)/HPO_(4)^(·-)mainly degraded pharmaceuticals via a benzene ring-opening reaction while CO_(3)^(·-)preferentially oxidized pharmaceuticals via a hydroxylation reaction.

Dispersive Liquid-liquid Microextraction Combined with High-performance Liquid Chromatography for the Determination of Clozapine and Chlorpromazine in Urine

A simple method has been proposed for the determination of clozapine （CLZ） and chlorpromazine （CPZ） in human urine by dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction （DLLME） in combination with high-performance liquid chromatography-ultraviolet detector （HPLC-UV）. All important variables influencing the extraction efficiency, such as pH, types of the extraction solvent and the disperser solvent and their volume, ionic strength and centrifugation time were investigated and optimized. Under the optimal conditions, the limit of detection （LODs） and quantification （LOQs） of the method were 13 and 39 ng/mL for CLZ, and 2 and 6 ng/mL for CPZ, respectively. The relative standard deviations （RSDs） of the targets were less than 5.1% （C=0.100 μg/mL, n=9）. Good linear behaviors over the tested concentration ranges were obtained with the values of R20.999 for the targets. The absolute extraction efficiencies of CLZ and CPZ from the spiked blank urine samples were 98.3% and 97.8%, respectively. The applicability of the technique was validated by analyzing urine samples and the mean recoveries for spiked urine samples ranged from 93.3% to 105.0%. The method was successfully applied for the determination of CLZ and CPZ in real human urine.

Measurement of Orotic Acid in Urine by Supercritical Fluid Chromatography

This work presents a simple, rapid and reliable supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) method for a sensitive measurement of orotic acid in human urine. The samples were diluted with deionized water and analyzed directly without any pretreatment.

Utilization of Urine for Cultivation of Selected Vegetable Crops in Backyard “Peeponics”

This study evaluated the use of urine for soilless cultivation (as Peeponics) of Amaranthus viridis and Corchorus olitorius vegetables. This is a laboratory-based experiment involving optimization of amount of urine and dilution required for optimal growth of the test plants. Based on laboratory results, the experiments were scaled up. About 50 L of raw urine was collected from a male postgraduate student’s hall of residence, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria. Water from Awba Dam, a natural lake within University of Ibadan, was used as the control. Viable seeds of Amaranthus viridis and Corchorus olitorius were collected from Department of Agronomy, University of Ibadan, and germinated in a nursery for 10 days before transplanting. The raw urine was diluted with varying amount of water in the ratio 1:1 through 1:50. Nutrients in urine media (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium) and biomass indicators of plant growth (height, weight, number of leaves and leaf area) were determined using standard procedures. Urine dilution ratios below 1:25 did not support the experimental plants growth within a week. Plant height (cm), stem girth (cm), number of leaves (sheets) and leaf area (cm2) of Amaranthus viridis and Corchorus olitorius cultivated on Urine Dilution Ratio (UDR) 1:35 and 1:45 were higher at the end of week 3 compared to other dilutions and control. Percentage reduction of nutrients (NPK) in the media of Amaranthus viridis cultivated on UDR 1:45 was several folds higher (N = 59.9%, P = 100%, K = 55.3%) compared to that of UDR 1:35 (N = 38.5%, P = 49.1%, K = 37.6%). In the control water, the nutrients were totally removed during the experimental period. Growth of Corchorus olitorius cultivated on both UDR 1:35 and 1:45, was significantly higher at the end of week 6. A significant negative correlation was observed between Corchorus olitorius plant height and Phosphorus (r = -0.0418;p < 0.05) removal in the media. The study concluded that the use of diluted human urine for soilless cultivation of vegetables, if encouraged, could promote food security and environmental sustainability at household level in communities.