Electronic faucet powered by low cost ceramic microbial fuel cells treating urine.

Hygienic measures are extremely important to avoid the transmission of contagious viruses and diseases. The use of an electronic faucet increases the hygiene, encourages hand washing, avoids touching the faucet for opening and closing, and it saves water, since the faucet is automatically closed. The microbial fuel cell (MFC) technology has the capability to convert environmental waste into energy. The implementation of low cost ceramic MFCs into electronic interfaces integrated in toilets, would offer a compact powering system as well as an environmentally friendly small-scale treatment plant. In this work, the use of low cost ceramic MFCs to power an L20-E electronic faucet is presented for the first time. A single MFC was capable of powering an electronic faucet with an open/close cycle of 8.5 min, with 200 ml of urine. With a footprint of 360 cm3, the MFC could easily be integrated in a toilet. The possibility to power e-toilet components with MFCs offers a sustainable energy generation system. Other electronic components including an automatic flush, could potentially be powered by MFCs and contribute to the maintenance efficiency and hygiene of the public toilets, leading to a new generation of self-sustained energy recovering e-toilets.

Pharmacokinetics and tissue elimination of flunixin in veal calves.

OBJECTIVE To describe plasma pharmacokinetic parameters and tissue elimination of flunixin in veal calves. ANIMALS 20 unweaned Holstein calves between 3 and 6 weeks old. PROCEDURES Each calf received flunixin (2.2 mg/kg, IV, q 24 h) for 3 days. Blood samples were collected from all calves before the first dose and at predetermined times after the first and last doses. Beginning 24 hours after injection of the last dose, 4 calves were euthanized each day for 5 days. Plasma and tissue samples were analyzed by ultraperformance liquid chromatography. Pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated by compartmental and noncompartmental methods. RESULTS Mean ± SD plasma flunixin elimination half-life, residence time, and clearance were 1.32 ± 0.94 hours, 12.54 ± 10.96 hours, and 64.6 ± 40.7 mL/h/kg, respectively. Mean hepatic and muscle flunixin concentrations decreased to below FDA-established tolerance limits (0.125 and 0.025 µg/mL, respectively) for adult cattle by 3 and 2 days, respectively, after injection of the last dose of flunixin. Detectable flunixin concentrations were present in both the liver and muscle for at least 5 days after injection of the last dose. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE The labeled slaughter withdrawal interval for flunixin in adult cattle is 4 days. Because administration of flunixin to veal calves represents extralabel drug use, any detectable flunixin concentrations in edible tissues are considered a violation. Results indicated that a slaughter withdrawal interval of several weeks may be necessary to ensure that violative tissue residues of flunixin are not detected in veal calves treated with that drug.