Full nitrogen recovery and potable water production from human urine by membrane distillation

Human urine offers some interesting possibilities for ammonia and potable water recovery. Membrane distillation holds possible advantages over existing urine treatment technologies, specifically regarding ammonia recovery. It was shown that up to 95 m% of all ammonia present in hydrolyzed urine could be recovered by increasing the urine pH to 10.5 or higher within a period of 2 hours, with a maximal separation factor of up to 16. The possibility of potable water production was investigated in human urine by assessing the permeate water quality, maximum recovery and mid-term process stability. It was shown that at least 75% of the available water could be recovered from non-hydrolyzed human urine without process failure. As such, membrane distillation is a viable alternative for existing urine treatment

The formation of glycocyamine in man and its urinary excretion

Glycocyamine was first isolated from human and dog urine and identified by Weber (1-3). He supported the view that glycocyamine is a normal precursor of creatine and that its appearance in urine (2) is “an overflow phenomenon of an intermediate metabolic product ...” He expressed no views on the mechanism of its formation

The Effectiveness of Urine as a Subtitute Nitrogen Fertilizer on Nursery Cocoa Plants (Theobrema Cacao, L)

This research explains comparison of effectiveness human urine with urea fertilizer on the growth of cocoa seedlings (Theobroma cacao, L). This Research use Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with seven treatments, namely: (1) U0 = 2 g Urea, (2) U1 = 50 ml human urine without fermentation, (3) U2 = 100 ml human urine without fermentation, (4 ) U3 = 50 ml fermentation of human urine for 7 days, (5) U4 = 100 ml fermentation of human urine for 7 days, (6) U5 = 50 ml fermentation of human urine for 14 days, and (7) U6 = 100 ml fermentation of human urine for 14 days. Each treatment was repeated 3 times, thus obtained 21 experimental units. in this research, parameters measured were seedling height, number of leaves, leaf area, stem diameter, root volume, wet weight, dry weight of plants, the ratio of roots crown, and seed quality index of cocoa seedlings. The data obtained in this study continued using Duncan's Multiple Range Test 5%. This study shows that the use of human urine is more effective than the use of urea fertilizer, especially on the use of 100 ml of human urine without fermentation. The use of human urine 100 ml without fermentation, can significantly improve seedling height, leaf number, root volume, wet weight, and quality of cocoa seedlings index

Optimizing DNA Extraction Methods for Nanopore Sequencing of Neisseria gonorrhoeae Directly from Urine Samples

Empirical gonorrhea treatment at initial diagnosis reduces onward transmission. However, increasing resistance to multiple antibiotics may necessitate waiting for culture-based diagnostics to select an effective treatment. There is a need for same-day culture-free diagnostics that identify infection and detect antimicrobial resistance. We investigated if Nanopore sequencing can detect sufficient Neisseria gonorrhoeae DNA to reconstruct whole genomes directly from urine samples. We used N. gonorrhoeae-spiked urine samples and samples from gonorrhea infections to determine optimal DNA extraction methods that maximize the amount of N. gonorrhoeae DNA sequenced while minimizing contaminating host DNA. In simulated infections, the Qiagen UCP pathogen mini kit provided the highest ratio of N. gonorrhoeae to human DNA and the most consistent results. Depletion of human DNA with saponin increased N. gonorrhoeae yields in simulated infections but decreased yields in clinical samples. In 10 urine samples from men with symptomatic urethral gonorrhea, ≥92.8% coverage of an N. gonorrhoeae reference genome was achieved in all samples, with ≥93.8% coverage breath at ≥10-fold depth in 7 (70%) samples. In simulated infections, if ≥104 CFU/ml of N. gonorrhoeae was present, sequencing of the large majority of the genome was frequently achieved. N. gonorrhoeae could also be detected from urine in cobas PCR medium tubes and from urethral swabs and in the presence of simulated Chlamydia coinfection. Using Nanopore sequencing of urine samples from men with urethral gonorrhea, sufficient data can be obtained to reconstruct whole genomes in the majority of samples without the need for culture

Complete genome sequence of BK polyomavirus subtype Ib-1 detected in a kidney transplant patient with BK viremia using shotgun sequencing

We report here the complete genome sequence of polyomavirus BK subtype Ib-1, isolate AR11, identified in urine from a human kidney transplant recipient with a clinical diagnosis of BK viremia. The AR11 isolate is closely related to reference strain human polyomavirus 1 isolate J2B-2 with 99% identity

Dual mechanism of brain injury and novel treatment strategy in maple syrup urine disease

Maple syrup urine disease (MSUD) is an inherited disorder of branched-chain amino acid metabolism presenting with lifethreatening cerebral oedema and dysmyelination in affected individuals. Treatment requires life-long dietary restriction and monitoring of branched-chain amino acids to avoid brain injury. Despite careful management, children commonly suffer metabolic decompensation in the context of catabolic stress associated with non-specific illness. The mechanisms underlying this decompensation and brain injury are poorly understood. Using recently developed mouse models of classic and intermediate maple syrup urine disease, we assessed biochemical, behavioural and neuropathological changes that occurred during encephalopathy in these mice. Here, we show that rapid brain leucine accumulation displaces other essential amino acids resulting in neurotransmitter depletion and disruption of normal brain growth and development. A novel approach of administering norleucine to heterozygous mothers of classic maple syrup urine disease pups reduced branched-chain amino acid accumulation in milk as well as blood and brain of these pups to enhance survival. Similarly, norleucine substantially delayed encephalopathy in intermediate maple syrup urine disease mice placed on a high protein diet that mimics the catabolic stress shown to cause encephalopathy in human maple syrup urine disease. Current findings suggest two converging mechanisms of brain injury in maple syrup urine disease including: (i) neurotransmitter deficiencies and growth restriction associated with branchedchain amino acid accumulation and (ii) energy deprivation through Krebs cycle disruption associated with branched-chain ketoacid accumulation. Both classic and intermediate models appear to be useful to study the mechanism of brain injury and potential treatment strategies for maple syrup urine disease. Norleucine should be further tested as a potential treatment to prevent encephalopathy in children with maple syrup urine disease during catabolic stress

Urine Specimens from Pregnant and Nonpregnant Women Inhibitory to Amplification of \u3cem\u3eChlamydia trachomatis\u3c/em\u3e Nucleic Acid by PCR, Ligase Chain Reaction, and Transcription-Mediated Amplification: Identification of Urinary Substances Associated with Inhibition and Removal of Inhibitory Activity

The presence of endogenous amplification inhibitors in urine may produce false-negative results for the detection of Chlamydia trachomatis nucleic acids by tests such as PCR, ligase chain reaction (LCR), and transcription-mediated amplification (TMA). Consecutive urine specimens from 101 pregnant women and 287 nonpregnant women submitted for urinalysis were processed for C. trachomatis detection. Aliquots were spiked with the equivalent of one C. trachomatis elementary body and were tested by three commercial assays: AMPLICOR CT/NG, Chlamydia LCX, and Chlamydia TMA. The prevalence of inhibitors resulting in complete inhibition of amplification was 4.9% for PCR, 2.6% for LCR, and 7.5% for TMA. In addition, all three assays were partially inhibited by additional urine specimens. Only PCR was more often inhibited by urine from pregnant women than by urine from nonpregnant women (9.9 versus 3.1%; P = 0.011). A complete urinalysis including dipstick and a microscopic examination was performed. Logistic regression analysis revealed that the following substances were associated with amplification inhibition: beta-human chorionic gonadotropin (odd ratio [OR], 3.3) and crystals (OR, 3.3) for PCR, nitrites for LCR (OR, 14.4), and hemoglobin (OR, 3.3), nitrites (OR, 3.3), and crystals (OR, 3.3) for TMA. Aliquots of each inhibitory urine specimen were stored at 4 and -70°C and a dilution of 1:10 (84% for PCR, 100% for LCR, and 92% for TMA). Five urine specimens (three for PCR and two for TMA) required phenol-chloroform extraction to remove inhibitors. The results indicate that the prevalence of nucleic acid amplification inhibitors in female urine is different for each technology, that this prevalence may be predicted by the presence of urinary factors, and that storage and dilution remove most of the inhibitors