Psychosocial associated factors for glycaemic control among type two diabetes mellitus patients in Kuala Terengganu

Background: Prevalence of poor glycaemic control is significantly increased in Malaysia. There are multiple factors influencing the glycaemic control including psychosocial factors. Achieving good glycaemic control requires patients to follow a treatment regime, which involve lifelong behavioural changes, life regulation through lifestyle changes and self-management skills. This is where psychosocial factors play a role in the management of diabetes despite good medications prescribed to them. Objective: To determine the psychosocial factors associated with glycaemic control among type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients in Kuala Terengganu. Methodology: A cross-sectional study involving 338 patients with T2DM attending two selected out-patient health clinics with highest prevalence of poor glycaemic control in Kuala Terengganu from December 2014 to June 2015. Systematic random sampling, 1:15 interval was applied. A self-administered questionnaire consists of socio-demographic background, social support score, Malay version of DASS-21 for psychological factors and Malaysian version of Medication Adherence Score (MalMAS) has been distributed to respondents.Medical background of patients were completed by the researcher. The data were analysed using descriptive statistic and logistic regression. Results: The mean age was 60.9 (+SD 10.3). 76% (257) patients has uncontrolled diabetes with mean HbA1c of 8.55% (+SD 1.95). The median social support score was 22.0 (17.0, 28.0). Through multivariable analysis using multiple logistic regression test, this study showed unemployed and pensioner patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus have protective association to have poor glycaemic control by 0.46 (p=0.035) and 0.28 (p=0.001) times respectively. Patients who perceived diabetes had interfered with their activity of daily living have 3.18 times (p=0.024) the odds to have poor glycaemic control and a patient with an increase of 1 social support score has 7% higher risk (p=0.001) to have poor glycaemic control. Conclusion: Psychosocial associated factors which were employment status, patients’ perceived diabetes had interfered with their activity of daily living, and the social support score has significant influence on the outcome of diabetes control

Synergistic effects on process parameters to enhance enzymatic hydrolysis of alkaline oil palm fronds

Due to an increasing demand for more sustainable and renewable resources, there has been strong interest in utilizing biomass as a source for cleaner production of energy and chemicals. In this work, the lignocellulosic elements of oil palm frond (OPF) biomass were assessed as an alternate sugar feedstock for biofuel and bioproducts production. At present, long hydrolysis times and high enzymatic loadings hinder commercialisation and large-scale utilisation of enzymatic hydrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass. Thus, various process parameters of enzymatic hydrolysis of alkaline OPF fibre were investigated in an attempt to improve process performance. In this study, OPF biomass was pretreated with 4.42% NaOH at 100 °C for 58.31 min, resulting in significant disruption as characterised by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Alkaline pretreatment of OPF biomass improved enzymatic biodegradability, and glucan recovery by the Cellic Ctec2 enzyme was more effective than the conventional Celluclast 1.5 L cellulase enzyme. Synergistic effects of stirring speed, surfactant Triton X-100 loading, and β-glucosidase supplement on enzymatic hydrolysis were assessed using statistical experimental design. Under optimal conditions (450 rpm, 1.31%, and 0.14 pNPGU/FPU), 88% conversion of glucan was obtained from alkaline OPF, which is equivalent to the conversion from commercial cellulose (microcrystalline cellulose, MCC). Enzymatic hydrolysis of pretreated OPF was further improved at high agitation speeds. Synergy between agitation speed and surfactant loading interactions with β-glucosidase supplement enhanced glucose production due to the efficient mixing and availability of cellulose to be adsorbed by cellulase

Kinetic Model of Thermophilic Biohydrogen Production from POME

The study of fermentation kinetic parameters are crucial to understanding the environmental factors affect on biohydrogen production. Kinetic models for hydrogen production from anaerobic digestion of palm oil mill effluent (POME) by mixed culture were developed based on published work. The models accounted for substrate limitation, substrate inhibition, hydrogen production, and endogenous decay rate. Data from previous literature were used to compare four microbial growth kinetic models for hydrogen production in an ASBR system. The estimated values of the maximum specific growth rate (μm) were found to be 0.371 h-1. In this study, the parameters of Y, kd, and B0 calculated were 2.64 gVSS/gCOD, 0.053 h-1, and 0.133 L H2/gCOD, respectively. The model fitting was found to be in good agreement with the experimental and can be utilized for the optimization and design of the process

Extraction of cellulose and microcrystalline cellulose from kenaf

Bast and core of kenaf which categorized as agriculture residues were used in the extraction of cellulose due to its lignocellulosic nature. In this study, cellulose was extracted from the raw kenaf by using 10% alkaline peroxide pre-treatment followed by extraction process at 85 °C using the combination of 20% (v/v) formic acid and 10% (v/v) hydrogen peroxide that formed peroxy acid. The extracted cellulose was further hydrolyzed by 1.5 M of hydrochloric acid at 80 °C to yield microcrystalline cellulose (MCC). Relatively high yield of 71.81% (w/w) and 94.8% (w/w) were achieved for extracted cellulose and MCC, respectively. Based on FESEM, the average diameter of kenaf cellulose and MCC were 12.43 μm and 11.64 μm, respectively with the separated fibrils and rod-like structural. FT-IR spectral peaks observed in the cellulose and MCC revealed that most hemicellulose and lignin were eliminated during the chemical treatments. XRD analysis results exhibited that kenaf MCC gives the sharpest and highest peak s compared to others. The results also showed that the crystallinity index of extracted cellulose and MCC were increased to 60.5% and 62.3%, respectively

BOOSTING ENZYMATIC HYDROLYSIS OF PRESSURIZED AMMONIUM HYDROXIDE PRETREATED EMPTY FRUIT BUNCH USING RESPONSE SURFACE METHODOLOGY

Oil palm Empty Fruit Bunch (EFB) was pretreated using Pressurized Ammonium Hydroxide (PAH) and was employed as Lignocellulosic Biomass(LCB) substrate for the investigation on the monomeric fermentable sugar production using the enzymatic hydrolysis process. Cellulose saccharification in enzymatic hydrolysis into a high yield fermentable sugar is an important step in Biochemical Conversion Technology (BCT). In order to determine the optimum variable conditions that can produce a high yield of fermentable sugar, a statistical approach using Response Surface Methodology (RSM) was performed in this study. Three independent variables, enzyme loading (15-50 FPU/g glucan), hydrolysis temperature (45-60°C), and agitation of the hydrolysis process (100-180 rpm) were investigated at five different levels (-α,-1, 0, +1, +α) of operating conditions and the experimental conditions were randomly setup using the Design of Experiment software. The regression models indicated that R 2 for glucose and xylose concentration was 95 and 88% showing the experimental variations were well defined by the models. For the lack of fit test, with p-values > 0.05 for both concentration sugars, 0.218 for glucose and 0.055 for xylose, it proves that the model was significant to the prediction models. The optimal conditions for the enzymatic hydrolysis of the EFB were determined at 32.5 FPU/g of glucan of enzyme loading, 50°C of hydrolysis temperature, and 140 rpm of agitation speed. The validation of the model at the optimum conditions produced a maximum glucose concentration of 8.78 ± 0.01 g/L (conversion of 81.7 ± 0.02 %, and yield of 332.95 ± 0.98 g/kg dry EFB), with a corresponding xylose concentration of 4.40 ± 0.01 g/L (conversion of 57 ± 0.35% and yield of 173.72 g/kg dry EFB)

Pembangunan kursus elektif bermodul bagi pelajar Sarjana Muda Kejuruteraan Kimia KOHOT 2015 - 2020: kelebihan dan cabaran

Jabatan Kejuruteraan Kimia dan Proses (JKKP), Fakulti Kejuruteraan dan Alam Bina, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia telah mengambil initiatif semasa semakan kurikulum 2016 untuk melaksanakan Kursus Elektif secara bermodul bagi pelajar tahun IV sejak kohot kemasukan 2015/2016 sehingga 2019/2020. Kaedah pembangunan modul yang digunakan adalah melalui penanda-arasan bersama universiti terkemuka di dalam dan luar negara, serta melalui input daripada panel penilai industri yang dilantik dan menjalankan soal selidik bersama industri berkaitan. Pembangunan modul kursus elektif ini merupakan satu langkah untuk memberikan peluang kepada pelajar untuk mengambil kursus pengkhususan kejuruteraan kimia mengikut kombinasi kursus tertentu sahaja secara lebih berfokus. JKKP telah memperkenalkan 3 modul kursus elektif iaitu bioproses, kejuruteraan sistem proses dan proses industri. Pendekatan ini mampu untuk memberi pelajar pilihan yang lebih berstruktur dalam mengikuti kursus elektif yang wajib diambil pada semester akhir pengajian mereka. Amalan ini adalah sangat berbeza dengan amalan sebelumnya yang lebih terhad dan tidak berstruktur. Di dalam kurikulum terkini ini, terdapat lebih banyak pilihan kursus yang dibangunkan mengikut acuan terkini industri di dalam bidang-bidang utama yang dikenalpasti. Kajian ini dilakukan untuk membandingkan tentang penawaran kursus elektif di peringkat jabatan dalam tempoh sebelum dan selepas semakan kurikulum dilakukan. Kemudian, minat pelajar berdasarkan pemilihan modul yang dilakukan telah diselidiki. Didapati bahawa kebanyakkan pelajar sangat cenderung untuk memilih modul proses industri, diikuti dengan kejuruteraan sistem proses dan akhir sekali bioproses. Melalui amalan ini, dapat dilihat kecenderungan minat pelajar ke arah bidang pengkhususan tertentu. Maklum balas yang positif juga diperoleh daripada pelajar di mana mereka menyatakan bahawa kursus elektifbermodul ini perlu diteruskan di masa akan datang kerana pelajar dapat menentukan halatuju kerjaya yang lebih jelas melalui pengkhususan kursus yang dipilih. Namun, terdapat beberapa cabaran yang perlu ditangani oleh jabatan bagi memupuk lebih minat pelajar kepada bidang yang kurang diminati seperti bioproses. Antaranya adalah dengan meningkatkan kualiti pengajaran dan bahan pengajaran yang digunakan serta melibatkan industri di dalam pelbagai cara untuk menerapkan minat bidang-bidang tersebut. Dengan penghasilan graduat jurusan kejuruteraan kimia dari bidang yang pelbagai serta mencukupi dipercayai mampu untuk membekalkan tenaga kerja yang kompeten di dalam era revolusi industri 4.0 (IR 4.0) kini