Developing Tailor-Made Microbial Consortium for Effluent Remediation

The work describes a biofilm-based soluble sulphate reduction system, which can treat up to 1600 ppm of soluble sulphate within 3.5 hours of incubation to discharge level under ambient condition using a well-characterized sulphate-reducing bacterial (SRB) consortium. This system ensures the treatment of 1509 litres of sulphate solution in 24 hours using a 220-litre bioreactor. Performance of the system during series operation was compromised, indicating the presence of inhibitor in solution at a toxic level. A single unit bioreactor would be the ideal configuration for this consortium. Modified designs of bioreactors were tested for optimization of the process using response surface methodology (RSM), where the system could function optimally at an initial sulphate concentration of 1250 ppm with a flow rate of 1.8 litre/hour. The time course of sulphate reduction yielded a parabolic profile (with coefficient of determination r 2 = 0.99 and p value < 0.05). The rate of sulphate reduction was found to be independent of seasonal variation as well as the specific design characteristic

Adherence to antihypertensives in the United States: A comparative meta‐analysis of 23 million patients

Abstract Adherence to antihypertensives is crucial for control of blood pressure. This study analyzed factors and interventions that could affect adherence to antihypertensives in the US. PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Embase were searched on January 21, 2022 and December 25, 2023 for studies on the adherence to antihypertensives in the US. Nineteen studies and 23 545 747 patients were included in the analysis, which showed that adherence to antihypertensives was the highest among Whites (OR: 1.47, 95% CI 1.34–1.61 compared to African Americans). Employment status and sex were associated with insignificant differences in adherence rates. In contrast, marital status yielded a significant difference where unmarried patients demonstrated low adherence rates compared to married ones (OR: 0.8, 95% CI 0.67–0.95). On analysis of comorbidities, diabetic patients reported lower adherence to antihypertensives (OR: 0.95, 95% CI 0.92–0.97); furthermore, patients who did not have Alzheimer showed higher adherence rates. Different BMIs did not significantly affect the adherence rates. Patients without insurance reported significantly lower adherence rates than insured patients (OR: 3.93, 95% CI 3.43–4.51). Polypill users had higher adherence rates compared with the free‐dose combination (OR: 1.21, 95% CI 1.2–1.21), while telepharmacy did not prove to be as effective. Lower adherence rates were seen among African Americans, uninsured, or younger patients. Accordingly, interventions such as fixed‐dose combinations should be targeted at susceptible groups. Obesity and overweight did not affect the adherence to antihypertensives