Characterization Adsorption and Antibacterial Properties of Silver-Modified Kaolinite Clay from Kwi, Plateau State Nigeria

Clay samples from Kwi, Barkin Ladi Local Government Area of Plateau State, Nigeria was purified and characterized using XRF, FT-IR and XRD. Silver-modified clay was prepared in order to develop an antibacterial and adsorptive material. The modified and purified clays were tested for antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus, Enterobacteriae, pseudomonas aureus and salmonella typha by microbiological test as well as adsorptive properties against Chromium (III), Nickel (II), and Lead(II) from leather ternary effluent. From the results the silica content (SiO2) was found to be 56.12%, followed by alumina (Al2O3) 23.90%, iron (III) oxide 2.31% among others. The X-Ray diffraction studies showed that the clay deposit consist predominantly of kaolinite with d-spacing of 7.14639Å and 3.57632Å respectively and traces of quartz with d-spacing of 3.34520Å as well as orthoclase. The FT-IR spectral analysis of the clay samples reveals wave number and absorption band at 3688.02 and 3618.58cm-1 which arise from the internal surface OH group indicative of kaolinite and also deformation band at 1003.02 and 910.43cm-1. Results have shown a strong antimicrobial activity of the Ag modified clay, which considerably inhibited the growth of ordinary microorganisms, including Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. The Ag-clay reacted positively to organisms that had hitherto shown resistance to common antibiotic drugs. Also upto 64% of Cr ions and 94% of Ni ions were removed from ternary wastewater by Ag-modified and purified clays respectively. The results have confirmed the strong anti-bacterial activity of Silver ion. Keywords: Clay characterization, adsorption, anti-microbial Properties, ternary wastewater DOI: 10.7176/CMR/13-1-04 Publication date: January 31st 202

A rapid review of interventions to improve medicine self-management for older people living at home

Background As people age, they are more likely to develop multiple long-term conditions that require complicated medicine regimens. Safely self-managing multiple medicines at home is challenging and how older people can be better supported to do so has not been fully explored. Aim This study aimed to identify interventions to improve medicine self-management for older people living at home and the aspects of medicine self-management that they address. Design A rapid review was undertaken of publications up to April 2022. Eight databases were searched. Inclusion criteria were as follows: interventions aimed at people 65 years of age or older and their informal carers, living at home. Interventions needed to include at least one component of medicine self-management. Study protocols, conference papers, literature reviews and articles not in the English language were not included. The results from the review were reported through narrative synthesis, underpinned by the Resilient Healthcare theory. Results Database searches returned 14,353 results. One hundred and sixty-seven articles were individually appraised (full-text screening) and 33 were included in the review. The majority of interventions identified were educational. In most cases, they aimed to improve older people's adherence and increase their knowledge of medicines. Only very few interventions addressed potential issues with medicine supply. Only a minority of interventions specifically targeted older people with either polypharmacy, multimorbidities or frailty. Conclusion To date, the emphasis in supporting older people to manage their medicines has been on the ability to adhere to medicine regimens. Most interventions identify and target deficiencies within the patient, rather than preparing patients for problems inherent in the medicine management system. Medicine self-management requires a much wider range of skills than taking medicines as prescribed. Interventions supporting older people to anticipate and respond to problems with their medicines may reduce the risk of harm associated with polypharmacy and may contribute to increased resilience in the system. Patient or Public Contribution A patient with lived experience of medicine self-management in older age contributed towards shaping the research question as well as the inclusion and exclusion criteria for this review. She is also the coauthor of this article. A patient advisory group oversaw the study

It's a job to be done’. Managing polypharmacy at home: A qualitative interview study exploring the experiences of older people living with frailty

Introduction Many older people live with both multiple long-term conditions and frailty; thus, they manage complex medicines regimens and are at heightened risk of the consequences of medicines errors. Research to enhance how people manage medicines has focused on adherence to regimens rather than on the wider skills necessary to safely manage medicines, and the older population living with frailty and managing multiple medicines at home has been under-explored. This study, therefore, examines in depth how older people with mild to moderate frailty manage their polypharmacy regimens at home. Methods Between June 2021 and February 2022, 32 patients aged 65 years or older with mild or moderate frailty and taking five or more medicines were recruited from 10 medical practices in the North of England, United Kingdom, and the CARE 75+ research cohort. Semi-structured interviews were conducted face to face, by telephone or online. The interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Findings Five themes were developed: (1) Managing many medicines is a skilled job I didn't apply for; (2) Medicines keep me going, but what happened to my life?; (3) Managing medicines in an unclear system; (4) Support with medicines that makes my work easier; and (5) My medicines are familiar to me—there is nothing else I need (or want) to know. While navigating fragmented care, patients were expected to fit new medicines routines into their lives and keep on top of their medicines supply. Sometimes, they felt let down by a system that created new obstacles instead of supporting their complex daily work. Conclusion Frail older patients, who are at heightened risk of the impact of medicines errors, are expected to perform complex work to safely self-manage multiple medicines at home. Such a workload needs to be acknowledged, and more needs to be done to prepare people in order to avoid harm from medicines. Patient and Public Involvement An older person managing multiple medicines at home was a core member of the research team. An advisory group of older patients and family members advised the study and was involved in the first stages of data analysis. This influenced how data were coded and themes shaped

Optimization and Isothermal Studies of Antibiotics Mixture Biosorption From Wastewater Using Palm Kernel, Chrysophyllum albidum, and Coconut Shells Biocomposite

The presence of persistent pharmaceutical products in water bodies is a significant problem that obstructs wastewater reuse. This study investigated the adsorption process for removing the recalcitrant antibiotics, including tetracycline (TC), ampicillin (AMP), and amoxicillin (AMOX) from an aqueous solution using a composite biosorbent made from a mixture of palm kernel shell (PKS), Chrysophyllum albidum (CAS), and coconut shell (CS). Simplex centroid design in the Design of Expert (12.0.1.0) was applied to optimize the percentage composition (20-55%) of the composite biosorbent precursor and to remove TC-AMP-AMOX mixtures from the aqueous solution in a batch study. The equilibrium data were fitted to 12 isotherm models and analyzed statistically. The maximum adsorption capacity of 9.12 mg/g, 8.66 mg/g, and 7.11 mg/g was achieved for TC, AMP, and AMOX, respectively, using the biocomposite biosorbent with an optimal mixture of 55% PKS, 20% CAS, and 25% CS. The adsorption behavior of TC, AMP, and AMOX was well-described by the Langmuir/Elovich isotherm (R2=1.000), Hill-DeBoer (R2=0.9953), and Freundlich/ Halsey (R2=0.9898) models, respectively. The obtained results showed that the biocomposite PKS-CAS-CS leverages the individual adsorptive capacity of each constituent to enhance the adsorption process. Moreover, the composite biosorbent demonstrated excellent potential for removing recalcitrant pharmaceuticals from wastewater effectively