Urine Application Research Articles

Response of Soil Health Indicators to Dung, Urine and Mineral Fertiliser Application Under Contrasting Grassland Management Systems

Response of Soil Health Indicators to Dung, Urine and Mineral Fertiliser Application Under Contrasting Grassland Management Systems

A Highly Sensitive Disposable In-House Screen-Printed Electrodes for Determination of 3,5-di-tert-butyl-4-hydroxybenzoic Acid Aided by Essential Green Chemistry Tools: Application in Nile River Samples and Human Urine

A green voltammetric method of analysis is proposed for the electrochemical determination of 3,5-di-tert-butyl-4-hydroxybenzoic acid (BHTCOOH); the major metabolite of the extensively consumed antioxidant, butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT). Environmental contamination by BHTCOOH is unavoidable owing to recurrence human exposure for these chemicals so (BHTCOOH) was detected in human urine and Nile River water samples. BHTCOOH is investigated by applying square-wave voltammetry (SWV) at two in-house fabricated screen-printed electrodes (SPE); Screen-Printed Graphite Electrode (SPGE) and Graphene-Modified Screen-Printed Graphite Electrode (GM-SPGE). Cyclic voltammetric analysis is used to optimize the voltammetric conditions. BHTCOOH oxidation on the surface of the electrodes is found to be irreversible and diffusion controlled. Using our fabricated SPEs, a linearity range of 4.88–21.62 and 0.12–1.31 μg ml−1 with minimum detectability levels of 1.06 and 0.03 μg ml−1 are reached at the surface of the SPGE and GM-SPGE, respectively. Moreover, the greenness of the method is inspected and found to be “excellent,” owing to the use of limited amounts of less hazardous chemicals and hence reduced waste production. The developed method is then successfully applied on urine and Nile-River samples; being the major source of water in Egypt, thereby allow for an adequate assessment of risks to human health and safety.

Efektivitas Konsentrasi dan Frekuensi Pemberian Urin Sapi Segar Terhadap Pertumbuhan dan Produksi Tanaman Bawang Merah (Allium ascalonicum L.)

This study aims to find out the effectiveness of the concentration and frequency of fresh cow urine application both singly and in interactions on the growth and production of shallots (Allium ascalonicum L), conducted from November 2020 to January 2021 in the greenhouse of the Faculty of Agriculture, Pattimura University, Ambon. This study used a factorial completely randomized block design with 2 treatment factors. The first factor was the concentration of fresh cow urine with four levels: KO (Control), K1 (10% urine concentration), K2 (20% urine concentration), and K3 (30% urine concentration), while the second factor was the frequency of application with three levels, namely: F1 (2 MST), F2 (4 MST), F3 (6 MST). Parameters observed were number of leaves, leaf area, plant length, number of tubers, fresh weight of tubers, fresh weight of leaves, dry weight of tubers, total plant dry weight, net assimilation rate, plant growth rate and harvest index. The results of the study showed that the concentration and frequency of its application and their interactions were not effective on all variables of growth and production of shallot plants but had a good tendency on several variables including the number of leaves (4 MST and 6 MST), plant length (2 MST and 6 MST) and total dry weight of plants after treatment of 20% cow urine concentration given 3 times, at 2 MST and 6 MST.

The short‐lived inhibitory effect of Brachiaria humidicola on nitrous oxide emissions following sheep urine application in a highly nitrifying soil

AbstractBackgroundBrachiaria humidicola (Bh) has the ability to produce biological nitrification inhibitors (NIs) and release NIs from the root to the soil.AimsTo compare the effects of growing Bh with Brachiaria ruziziensis (Br, which is not able to produce NIs) on soil nitrogen (N) dynamics, N gases and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and nitrifiers and denitrifiers following sheep urine application, a laboratory incubation was conducted in a He/O2 continuous flow denitrification system (DENIS). This incubation was conducted in the absence of light. Hence the measured effects of Bh and Br on N cycling were the residual effect of biological NIs released into the soil prior to the incubation and released via root death.MethodsThe treatments were: (1) Bh with water application (Bh + W); (2) Bh with sheep urine (Bh + U); (3) Br with water application (Br + W); (4) Br with sheep urine (Br + U).ResultsResults showed that soil NO3– concentration increased significantly in the soil with sheep urine application after the incubation. Soil nitrous oxide (N2O) and nitric oxide (NO) emissions increased immediately after the sheep urine application and peaked twice during the incubation. Cumulative emissions for the first peak were significantly lower from the Bh + U treatment (0.054 kg N ha–1) compared with the Br + U treatment (0.111 kg N ha–1), but no significant differences were observed in the total cumulative N2O and NO emissions between the Bh + U and Br + U treatment at the end of the incubation. Sheep urine addition did not affect the AOA, nirS and nosZ gene copies, but significantly increased the AOB gene copies after the incubation.ConclusionsWe conclude that the residual effect of Bh to mitigate N2O emissions in a highly nitrifying soil is short‐lived.

Effects of plantain in pasture on nitrous oxide emissions from cattle urine patches, as affected by urine deposition timing and soil type

ABSTRACT Two lysimeter experiments were conducted to quantify the effect of including plantain in pasture on nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from cattle urine patches, as affected by urine deposition timing and soil type. In experiment one, two pasture types were tested: (i) perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne)/white clover (Trifolium repens) (PRG/WC), and (ii) perennial ryegrass/white clover/plantain (Plantago lanceolata) (PRG/WC/P) pastures, under four urine application dates (late summer, early autumn, mid-autumn, and late autumn). In experiment two, two pasture types were tested: (i) PRG/WC and (ii) PRG/WC/P on two soil types (Balmoral shallow stony silt loam and Templeton deep stone-less silt loam). Both experiments applied cow urine (700 kg N ha−1) and collected gas samples using a closed chamber method. In experiment one and two, the addition of plantain to pasture had no significant effect on N2O-N emissions. Soil type had no significant effect on N2O-N emissions. However, urine application timing had a significant effect, with February having the highest average N2O-N emissions (9.0 kg N2O-N ha−1), followed by March (3.0 kg N2O-N ha−1), April (2.7 kg N2O-N ha−1) and May (1.7 kg N2O-N ha−1). This change in N2O-N emissions is attributed to cooler conditions reducing microbial activity, subsequently reducing nitrification and denitrification rates.

Improving the accuracy of nitrous oxide emission factors estimated for hotspots within dairy-grazed farms

Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from dairy-grazing pastures can be dominated by large emissions from small areas (‘hotspots’) frequently used by grazing dairy cattle (i.e., water troughs and gateways). N2O emissions from these hotspots are quantified by investigating whether N2O emissions and emission factors (% of applied N emitted as N2O, EF3) from potential hotspots are different from non-hotspots. To better characterise N2O emissions from hotspots and non-hotspots of farms to understand their contributions to national agricultural greenhouse gas inventory calculations, a series of measurements were conducted during winter and spring on two NZ typical dairy farms with contrasting soil drainage (poorly versus well drained). Before measurements were taken, the soils either received a cow urine application or remained untreated. The results showed that changes in water-filled pore space (WFPS) and mineral N around water troughs and gateways, due to additional stock movements and disproportionate excreta-N deposition during previous grazing events, affected both background and total N2O emissions. But there was little impact on EF3 values (calculated using IPCC guidelines) from deposited urine between hotspot and pasture areas. These results suggest the same EF3 values can be used for both to calculate emissions from urine deposited on grazed pastures. However, these results raise concerns about higher background emission in hotspots subtracted from measured emissions from urine-N deposition in calculating EF3 values and discounting the effects of disproportionate N inputs in intensive agriculture on increased background emissions (legacy effect). This IPCC inventory method does not account for the legacy effect of N loading prior to the measurements which may underestimate the emissions. Thus, an allowance for higher hotspot background emissions could be included in the Inventory to accurately estimate total emissions from agriculture.

Nitrous oxide emission factors for cattle dung and urine deposited onto tropical pastures: A review of field-based studies

Livestock excreta on pastures is an important source of nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions, however studies measuring these emissions in tropical regions, particularly Africa, remain limited. Therefore we measured N2O emissions from different quantities of dung patches during three observation periods (dry, wet and transition from dry to wet season) and different volumes of urine patches during wet and dry seasons. Dung patches did not stimulate soil N2O emissions in any of the three observation periods, while urine application stimulated soil N2O emissions during both seasons, with higher emissions observed during the wet season. The dung EFs (0.00–0.03%) and the urine EFs (0.04–0.40%) showed no detectable effects of dung quantity or urine volume. We further synthesized observations from other studies in wet and dry tropical regions, which indicated that the excreta N2O EFs were similar to the default values provided in the IPCC 2019 refinement (0.11% vs 0.07% for dung and 0.41% vs 0.32% for urine in dry climates, and 0.13% vs 0.13% for dung and 0.65% vs 0.77% for urine in wet climates). However, sub-Saharan African (SSA) studies had consistently lower EFs, possibly due to the lower urine-N: dung-N ratio in SSA compared with the other tropical regions, suggesting that the refinement may still overestimate excreta emissions in SSA. Moreover, considering the large variations in the summarized tropical excreta N2O EFs, from -0.01 to 1.77% for dung and 0.00 to 4.90% for urine, more studies under diverse conditions across tropical regions are recommended.

A comparison of three nitrate leaching mitigation treatments with dicyandiamide using lysimeters

ABSTRACT The effect of three surface applied nitrate leaching mitigation treatments 3,4-dimethylpyrazole phosphate (DMPP), sodium chlorate (ClO3 -) and a combination of Gibberellic acid and Lignosulphonate (GA + LS) at two levels (R1, R2) were compared to a single level of dicyandiamide (DCD, 10 kg ha−1) in lysimeter field sites in Canterbury and the Manawatu, New Zealand. All treatments were applied as surface sprays 24 h following urine application to simulate a practical application timing in a grazed pasture. In the Canterbury site, on a stony Lismore soil the treatments were ranked in order of significance (P < 0.1) and % reduction (as indicated in the brackets) in nitrate leaching from dairy urine patches (600 kgN ha−1): DCD (63%) >> DMPP (R2, 29%), GA + LS (R2, 25%), ClO3 - (R1, 25%; R2, 23%) > DMPP (R1, 13%) >> GA + LS (R1, −18%), while in the Manawatu site with a volcanic pumice soil the rankings were: ClO3 - (R1, 41%; R2, 37%), DMPP (R2, 32%) GA + LS (R2, 15%) > DMPP(R1, 18%) >> DCD (4%), GA + LS (R1, −3%). The results showed that the efficacy of GA + LS increased with application rates while the increase in rate for the chlorate (ClO3 -) produced no further reductions in nitrate leaching.

A highly stable, rapid and sensitive fluorescent probe for ciprofloxacin based on Al3+-enhanced fluorescence of gold nanoclusters

Fluoroquinolone antibiotics, especially ciprofloxacin (CIP), are commonly used in clinical practice as the antibacterial drugs. It is necessary to analyze CIP in biological media for studying its pharmacokinetics, further guiding correct medication. This paper reported Al3+ and gold nanoclusters (AuNCs) templated with glutathione for quantifying CIP with ratio-fluorescence analysis. Al3+ caused the aggregation of AuNCs that had the property of aggregation-induced emission, so the orange fluorescence of AuNCs was observed to sharply increase with Al3+ exposure. With adding CIP to coordinate with Al3+, AuNCs displayed decreased orange fluorescence due to the disaggregation, and the instinct blue fluorescence of CIP was also observed. The probe exhibited outstanding detection stability because of the ratiometric response, and could avoid the analyte-independent interference. It also displayed rapid response and excellent sensitivity during the detection of CIP. The response allowed to be completed within 1 min, and CIP even as low as 1.4 nM could be detected. Moreover, the application in urine revealed that the spiked recoveries of the probe were between 91.2 % and 103.6 %. Overall, this paper exploits a fluorescent probe for highly stable, rapid and sensitive determination of CIP through Al3+-enhanced fluorescence of AuNCs.

Evaluation of proximal sensing technologies for mapping bovine urine patches under grazing pastures

Animal urine patches, particularly bovine, are the major source of gaseous and leaching losses of nitrogen (N) in livestock-grazed pastoral systems. One method of mitigating these losses is the application of N inhibitors to patches that slow down the N transformations, thus allowing more time for plant uptake. If inhibitors can be applied as spot-treatments, then the overall volume of chemical can be minimized without compromising inhibitor efficacy. To enable this, accurate and reliable methods of detecting patches within hours of deposition are required. In this study, we aimed to validate the output of the newly developed and modified instrument ‘Spikey-R’ for detecting and mapping urine patches via measurement of soil surface electrical conductivity with the aim of using these data for targeting in-situ spot treatment of detected patches. We compared measurements from Spikey-R against thermal imagery from a handheld camera taken during urine deposition, as well as imagery taken from a remotely piloted aircraft system (RPAS or ‘drone’) 2 weeks after deposition. Wetted areas, as a result of urine application, across all sites were 0.2–0.3 m2 (1 L urine), 0.3–0.5 m2 (2 L), and 0.3–0.8 m2 (3 L). Spikey-R data generally compared well with the reference map produced from the thermal imagery, with slightly larger mean patch areas that still fell within the bounds of uncertainty. Repeat Spikey-R runs over the same patches showed no significant difference in detected areas up to 48 h after application. The drone was successful in detecting most urine patches 14 days post-application and identified a much larger pasture response (average > 150% larger again) than the initial wetted area with sizes ranging from 0.4 to 0.7 m2 (1 L), to 0.5 to 1.1 m2 (2 L), to 0.5 to 1.5 m2 (3 L). Spikey-R proved to be an effective tool in a research setting; advantages and disadvantages of each technology are discussed in detail.

Bioefficacy, environmental safety and synergistic impacts of biorational formulations against whitefly, leafhopper and blister beetle in organic okra ecosystem

AbstractWhitefly (Bemisia tabaci Gennadius), leafhopper (Amrasca biguttula biguttula Ishida) and large yellow-banded blister beetle (Mylabris phalerata) cause considerable damage to okra, especially under organic farming. Thus, the present study was carried out to test the bioefficacy and environmental safety of six naturally derived components [indigenous water plant extracts, i.e. chilli (Capsicum annum), garlic (Allium sativum L.) and neem (Azadirachta indica A. Juss.) along with cow urine in three different combinations, one commercial botanical (azadirachtin 0.15%), and two formulated entomopathogenic fungi (Verticillium lecanii and Beauveria bassiana)] on aforesaid pests for two consecutive years at field scale. In addition to this, the eco-toxicological effect of naturally derived components was also studied on natural enemies’ populations, viz. spiders and coccinellids. Quaternary mixture application of chilli, garlic, neem leaf and cow urine (CGNC) at 10% w/v was found effective in reducing leafhoppers (94.6%), whiteflies (95.2%) and blister beetle (94.6%) over control. Okra treated with CGNC produced a higher marketable fruit yield (18.44 mg/ha) than those of other treatments. It was also observed that the application of CGNC had no phytotoxic symptoms on okra plants. Application of CGNC was found safer to the natural enemy's population (spiders and coccinellids). Thus, the study suggests that CGNC can be considered as a potential source for managing the population of whitefly, leafhopper and blister beetle without affecting the ecology of natural enemies and it could be a viable eco-friendly option in organic okra production for ensuring food safety and healthy environment.

Elevating soil pH does not reduce N2O emissions from urine deposited onto pastoral soils

ABSTRACT Urine deposited onto grazed pastures is the main source of anthropogenic nitrous oxide (N2O) in New Zealand. Low soil pH (ca 5.0) has been linked to increases in the proportion of N2O to N2 emitted through soil denitrification. However, total denitrification rates and N2O emissions can increase with soil pH up to ca 7.0–8.0. We conducted an incubation experiment and a field study to examine the potential to mitigate total N2O emissions from urine deposition by increasing the soil pH through liming. The incubation study used three different soils where the pH was adjusted to 6.5, 6.9 and 7.4. Cumulative N2O emissions following synthetic urine application at 630 kg N ha−1 increased with increasing soil pH. The field study, where soil pH was adjusted to 6.6, 7.0 and 7.1, had synthetic urine applied one year later at 600 kg N ha−1. Within the pH range studied, increasing pH did not have a significant effect on N2O emissions following urine application. Both experiments suggest adjusting soil pH from ca 6 to ca 7 is not an effective tool for reducing N2O emissions from urine patches.

Effect of Soil Application of Cattle Urine and Nitrogen on Growth, Yield and Nutrient Uptake by Maize (Fodder) in Inceptisol

The experiment was conducted to study effect of soil application of cattle urine and nitrogen levels on growth, yield and nutrient uptake by maize (fodder) in Inceptisol at the Division of Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry and Animal Husbandry and Dairy Science, College of Agriculture, Pune, during Kharif-2019. There were seven treatment viz., 1) Absolute control; 2) Recommended dose of fertilizers 100:50:50 kg ha-1 N, P2O5 and K2O; 3) General recommended dose of fertilizers 100:50:50 kg ha-1 N, P2O5 and K2O + FYM @ 5 t ha-1; 4) 25% RDN + 75% N through cattle urine + FYM @ 5 t ha-1; 5) 50% RDN + 50% N through cattle urine + + FYM @ 5 t ha-1; 6) 75% RDN + 25% N + FYM @ 5 t ha-1; 7) 100% N through cattle urine + FYM @ 5 t ha-1 and three replications in completely randomized design.&#x0D; Periodical plant height and number of functional leaves at 20, 40 and 60 DAS was found to be significantly higher with the soil application 50% RDN through urea + 50% N through cattle urine along with FYM @ 5 t ha-1. The magnitude of increase in the leaf area was found higher from 494 to 969 cm2 at 40 to 60 DAS than 20 to 40 DAS (203 to 494 cm2) with the application of 75% RDN through urea + 25% N through cattle urine + FYM @ 5 t ha-1. Soil application of 75% RDN through urea + 25% N through cattle urine with FYM @ 5 t ha-1 reported significantly higher chlorophyll in fodder maize. Soil application of 75% RDN through urea + 25% N through cattle urine + FYM @ 5 t ha-1 reported significantly higher nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium, iron, zinc and copper uptake by fodder maize. Similar treatment also recorded significantly higher green fodder (984 g pot-1) and dry matter (423.11 g pot-1) yield of maize. Similar treatment also found superior for nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium, iron, zinc and copper uptake by fodder maize.

Reusing urine and coffee processing wastewater as a nutrient source: Effect on soil characteristics at optimum cabbage yield

Treatment and application of wastewater as a plant nutrient source is one of the waste management approaches currently used. This study attempted to investigate the effect of the application of human urine and coffee processing wastewater (UCPWW) on selected soil characteristics and compared it with rainwater and synthetic fertilizer in a completely randomized design. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) for difference and principal component analysis for correlation was employed. It was found that the soil organic carbon (SOC) and available phosphorus after production in a 1:2 ratio of UCPWW was significantly varied from the values before production and the soil treated with synthetic fertilizer (F=24.01, p=0.001; F=49.03, p=0.001, respectively). No significant difference was observed on micro-nutrients and the cation exchange capacity, but on some of the exchangeable cations: Na+(F=15.27, p=0.001) and Mg2+ (F=12.99, p=0.001) of 1:2 ratio application. The soil salinity was significantly increased and varied from other treatments: Na+ (F=11.88, p=0.04), Cl−(F=17.24, p=0.001), and total salinity (EC) (F=11.88, p=0.003), and significantly correlated with SOC and nutrients. The exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP), saturated electrical conductivity (ECe), and pH values for single round cultivation indicated no effects of sodicity, saline-sodicity, and salinity. However, the effect for repeated applications and cultivations, and mechanism of minimizing the salinity by the substrate should be studied before large-scale application.

Pemberian Urine Sapi dan Penentuan Dosis Pupuk N Pada Tanaman Ketimun (Cucumis Sativus, L.)

An experiment to study the effect of cow urine applications and dosage of N fertilizer was conducted in Bondowoso, from February to April 2002. A factorial experiment consisted of two factors and the whole treatments were arranged in 3x4 factorial Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with 3 replications. The first factor was urine of Cow, consist of U0 = control, U1= 20%, U = 40%. The second factor was dosage of N fertilizer, consist of N1 = 0 kg/ha, N2 = 150 kg/ha, N3 = 300 kg/ha, N4 = 450 kg/ha. The effect of treatments on growth and yield of cucumber were observed. The result showed that there was no interaction between cow urine application and dosage of N fertilizer, except to the fruit diameter. Cow urine application significantly improved the yield of Cucumber, and the 40% application gave the best fruits weight. Dosage of N fertilizer significantly increased the growth and yield of cucumber, and the 450 kg N-fertilizer/ha had the better effects.

Effect of Web Causation Epidemiological Model on Preventive Behaviors of Diabetic Females with Genitourinary Tract Infection

Context: Genitourinary tract infection becomes a silent epidemic that devastated female life. It is closely interrelated with hyperglycemia, diabetes, and lack of awareness about personal hygiene care. All increase the susceptibility to various types of infections.&#x0D; Aim: To assess the effect of web causation epidemiological model on preventive behaviors of diabetic females with genitourinary tract infection.&#x0D; Methods: The study was conducted at a diabetic outpatient clinic in El Demerdash Hospital because it received clients from different areas and a high population rate. This study encompasses a purposive sample of 100 females. A quasi-experimental research design was selected. Data were collected using a structured interviewing questionnaire and preventive practice checklists to assess the knowledge and practices of the diabetic female.&#x0D; Results: 69% of diabetic females had a family history of diabetes mellitus. 39% of them had satisfactory knowledge about causes that increased blood glucose in diabetic females shift to 81% at post-intervention. 35% of diabetic females had satisfactory knowledge about the function of the reproductive system at preprogram shift to 93% at post-program implementation. 34% of diabetic females had satisfactory knowledge about entry urinary tract infection methods at preprogram shift to 81% at post-program implementation. A highly statistically significant association between the presence of urine infection and application of web causation model (causative factors) such as lack of hygiene during menstruation, lack of hygiene before and after sexual intercourse, using mechanical contraceptive methods, increase the intake of salty foods, poor glycemic control and lack of personal hygiene with the results of urine analysis for infection.&#x0D; Conclusions: Females exposed to the web causation epidemiological model exhibited better knowledge and preventive practices after exposure than their pre-intervention level. Apply the web-causation model at high population areas as slum areas on a large group of participants to improve awareness and practices regarding diabetes mellitus and genitourinary tract infection. Replicate the current study on a representative sample to improve the generalizability.

Different effects of sheep excrement type and supply level on plant and soil C:N:P stoichiometry in a typical steppe on the loess plateau

Deposition of urine and dung is a key mechanism by which herbivores influence the nutrient cycling of terrestrial ecosystems. Yet, little is known about the roles of urine, dung and their mixtures in regulating the plant and soil carbon:nitrogen:phosphorus (C:N:P) stoichiometry and their interactions. We explored how different excrement types (urine, dung and their mixtures) and supply levels [urine: 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 L m−2; dung: 4.7, 9.4 and 14.2 g m−2; mixtures (urine+dung): 0.5 + 4.7, 1.0 + 9.4 and 1.5 + 14.2] altered the plant and soil C:N:P stoichiometry in a semi-arid grassland on the Loess Plateau. We found that the aboveground biomass of the whole community was highest at the highest mixtures application rate, while the highest aboveground biomass of the three dominant species was detected at applications of 0.5 L m−2 urine for Stipa bungeana, 9.4 g m−2 dung for Lespedeza davurica and 1.0 L m−2 urine +9.4 g m−2 dung for Artemisia capillaris. Urine and dung alone increased plant N concentration, which peaked at 1.0 L m−2 urine. Plant P concentration at 1.5 + 14.2 mixtures was significantly higher than that at control without significant difference between excrement types. Compared to the control, excrement deposition did not significantly change plant C concentration and C:N, C:P and N:P ratios. However, plant C:P and N:P ratios under the mixtures were significantly lower than those under urine or dung. Excrement applications led to more soil (total, microbial and organic) C, N and P accumulations. Compared to urine and dung, the mixtures induced higher total P concentration but lower total N concentration in soil. Our study demonstrated that the impacts of sheep urine and dung on plant and soil C and nutrient concentrations and stoichiometry differed from that of mixtures. The plant N:P ratio indicated balanced N:P supply for urine and dung applications but N limitation for mixtures application. This study provides experimental evidence that the excrement of herbivores plays an important role in altering ecological stoichiometry in plants and soil.

ESI–LC–MS/MS for Therapeutic Drug Monitoring of Binary Mixture of Pregabalin and Tramadol: Human Plasma and Urine Applications

Tramadol (TRM) and pregabalin (PGB) are frequently used in combination for neuropathic pain management. Accordingly, a selective and sensitive high-performance liquid chromatography–electrospray ionization–mass/mass spectrometric (ESI–LC–MS/MS) method is presented for determination of TRM and PGB, whether in pure forms or human biological fluids (plasma/urine), using gabapentin (GBP) (IS) as the internal standard. Chromatographic separation was effected in total run time of 2.5 min, on Phenomenex Luna® Omega 1.6 um polar C18 (LC 150 × 2.1 mm) column with a mobile phase of methanol/water (70:30, v/v), 0.1% (v/v) formic acid at a flow rate of 0.3 mL/min. Ionization of the analytes was obtained using electrospray in the positive ion mode (ESI+). The MS/MS detection was performed by monitoring the fragments for TRM, PGB and GBP on a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer. Assay calibration was over the range of 10–1000 ng mL−1 for TRM and PGB with the correlation coefficients over 0.999 in pure form, human plasma and urine spiked with the studied compounds. Validation data showed the inter-run relative standard deviations (RSDs) were less than 4.3% for TRM and 3.8% for PGB, whereas the intra-run RSDs were less than 3.7% for TRM and 3.6% for PGB. The mean extraction recoveries for TRM and PGB were in the ranges of 86.51–93.38% and 86.20–92.42%. This method was successfully performed on real plasma and urine samples taken from neuropathic patients and proved to be an applicable method for routine therapeutic drug monitoring of the proposed drug combination.

Nitrous Oxide Emission from Grazing Is Low across a Gradient of Plant Functional Diversity and Soil Conditions

Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from pastures can vary significantly depending on soil and environmental conditions, nitrogen (N) input, as well as the plant’s ability to take up the N. We tested the hypothesis that legume-based N sources are characterized by significantly lower emission factors than mineral N based dairy systems. Therefore, this study monitored N2O emissions for a minimum of 100 days and up to two growing seasons across a gradient of plant species diversity. Emissions were measured from both grazed pastures and a controlled application of urine and dung using the static chamber method. About 90% of the simulated experiments’ accumulated N2O emissions occurred during the first 60–75 days. The average accumulated N2O emissions were 0.11, 0.87, 0.99, and 0.21 kg ha−1 for control, dung, urine patches, and grazed pastures, respectively. The N uptake efficiency at the excreta patch scale was about 70% for both dung and urine. The highest N2O-N emission factor was less than half compared with the IPCC default (0.3 vs. 0.77), suggesting an overestimation of N2O-N emissions from organically managed pastures in temperate climates. Plant diversity showed no significant effect on N2O emission. However, functional groups were significant (p &lt; 0.05). We concluded that legume-containing pasture systems without a fertilizer addition generally appear capable of utilizing nitrogen inputs from excreta patches efficiently, resulting in low N2O emissions.

Effects of cow urine in the agroecological management of insects and witches' broom (Moniliophtora perniciosa Stahel Aime &amp; Phillips-Mora) in cacao crops (Theobroma cacao L.)

Witches' broom (Moniliophtora perniciosa Stahel Aime Phillips-Mora) was first reported in the state of Bahia (Brazil), in 1989, in areas of cacao cultivation, where it immediately became the most important disease of this culture, responsible for marked losses in production, mainly by weakening the plants and causing leaf area reduction, leading even to the death of the adult plant. After several years of dropping cacao production in the southern region of Bahia, producers have renovated their hopes for farming by adopting practices that favor increments in productivity, such as stand renewal using productive, self-compatible genetic material that is more resistant to this disease, thus enhancing the cultural management of cacao in agroforestry systems. In order to combat this disease, farmers have resorted to pesticides; however, their indiscriminate use has led to the contamination of workers and the environment, which is increasingly unbalanced and creating resistance to the fungus. Alternative methods to control this disease are already being tested by the producers themselves, who have perceived improvements in their crops and in their quality of life when using them, mainly since they are natural, cheap, and easily accessible, as is the case of cow urine pulverization. In this study, we evaluated the application of cow urine at different concentrations, with five treatments and four repetitions each, using a completely randomized design. The results showed that lactating cow urine at concentrations of 0.5%, 1.0%, and 1.5% was as efficient as the pesticide used as a control in the experiment, simulating conventional treatment. However, no significant differences in results were observed when using the Tukey test at 5% probability.