Mushrooms are a popular food source as they are highly nutritious and flavorful with a high content of proteins, vitamins, and minerals. Mushrooms could be an alternative solution to the world’s food crisis as they are inexpensive to grow on different types of substrates including waste materials. Pleurotus ostreatus, frequently known as oyster mushrooms, are the second most cultivated mushroom in the world. This species is known for its high protein content and easy cultivation. Oyster mushrooms have the potential to produce protein-rich biomass when grown on various substrates. There is a need to identify substrates that are cost-effective for the commercial production of nutritious oyster mushrooms as the substrates used currently are either costly or inadequate to produce oyster mushrooms in the required quantity or quality. Thus, the effects of 6 different lignocellulosic substrates on the growth and nutritional composition of P. ostreatus were reviewed and analyzed in this article. The substrates included in this review were wheat straw, sugarcane bagasse, corncob, softwood sawdust, hardwood sawdust, and general sawdust. Based on the analyzed data, sugarcane bagasse was concluded as the most suitable substrate to grow P. ostreatus. These substrates contain a high amount of nutrients and are also likely to produce a significantly high yield of oyster mushrooms in addition to enhancing the nutritional quality of the mushroom. However, these findings must be evaluated and confirmed through further research in this field.

COVID-19 is a potentially fatal infectious disease that requires effective vaccines to keep the outbreak under control. Despite the ongoing efforts for an effective vaccine, public hesitancy towards vaccines is now one of the main concerns to the global health in containing this global pandemic. Thus, this preliminary study was carried out to assess the degree of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among the general public in Malaysia and to identify the underlying reasons for their hesitancy by using 5C psychological antecedents of vaccination. This study was conducted by carrying out a cross-sectional online survey for approximately two months between January to February 2021, involving 385 participants. The survey contained questions based on the 5C model proffered by WHO. The data from the survey were analyzed using Smart PLS 3 for statistical analysis, with the partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). According to the findings, only 62.5 percent out of the 385 participants had planned to get the COVID-19 vaccine, while the remaining 37.5 percent did not. The results also showed that confidence, calculation, collective responsibility, and constraints had a significant influence on vaccine hesitancy but not complacency. There is a degree of vaccine hesitancy towards the COVID-19 vaccines among the Malaysian population, although the data that we have obtained cannot be used to generalize for the entire Malaysian population due to the small sample size. Thus, for the vaccination campaign to be more effective, it should focus more on addressing the issue relating to confidence, calculation, collective responsibility, and constraints and less on complacency.

Background: Cutibacterium spp. is one of the most understudied bacteria and this is owed to its slow growing nature and its stringent requirement for anoxic conditions. To date, shortgun metagenomic sequencing and MALDI-TOF MS are widely used for species detection but, the latter is not able to distinguish C. acnes from C. modestum and C. namnetense. Our study has innovatively combined colony morphology, biochemical assays and16s rRNA gene sequencing to identify C. acnes as well as the underreported C. namnetense and C. modestum from facial clinical acne samples.Methods: The clinical samples were obtained using a non-invasive method from acne patients at the Dermatology Clinic of Hospital Tuanku Jaafar, Seremban, Malaysia between January 2022 to December 2022. Colonies of Cutibacterium spp. were screened on BHI agar followed by subjecting them to the catalase and indole tests. The isolates were verified as Cutibacterium spp. using API20A and 16s rRNA Sanger gene sequencing.Result: Out of 68 Cutibacterium spp. isolates, 3 were identified as C. modestum and 1 as C. namnetense while the rest were C. acnes. All isolates were present as raised, white colonies with 0.03 to 1mm in diameter on BHI agar. 89.71% of these isolates were indole producers. All isolates were identified as C. acnes in API20A but, the 16srRNA gene sequencing revealed 4 isolates as C. modestum and C. namnetense.Conclusion: This study is the first to report the isolation of C. namnetense and C. modestum in clinical facial acne samples from Malaysia and across Asia, employing a modified combination of morphological, biochemical, and 16srRNA gene analyses. This methodical yet straightforward approach serves as a viable alternative in research settings lacking access to advanced techniques like MALDI-TOF and shotgun metagenomic sequencing. Moreover, this conventional isolation approach is valuable in assessing the sensitivity of the isolates to inhibitory agents apart from antibiotics, expanding researchers' abilities to develop potent antibacterial agents required for human health and wellbeing.Keywords: Acne; Clinical Samples; Combinatorial; Identification

Pleurotus pulmonarius (Fr.) Quél. is a commercially important edible mushroom recognized for its nutritional and nutraceutical value. However, the influence of alternative agricultural waste substrates on its biochemical composition remains insufficiently characterized. This study investigated the effect of four cultivation substrates, coconut waste (PpC), paddy husk (PpP100), paddy husk supplemented with sawdust (PpP20) and rubberwood sawdust as control (PpS), on the macro- and microelement profile, secondary metabolite composition, and antioxidant activity of P. pulmonarius fruiting bodies. Analytical methods included ICP-MS and FAAS for elemental analysis; GC-MS for fatty acid, carbohydrate and phenolic profiling; Kjeldahl method for total protein; FTIR spectroscopy for structural characterization; and four complementary antioxidant assays (DPPH, ABTS, CUPRAC, FRAP). Coconut waste substrate promoted the highest protein accumulation and elevated concentrations of iron, zinc, and specific phenolic acids (vanillic, protocatechuic). Paddy husk-based substrates favored carbohydrate accumulation, particularly trehalose, while sawdust supported the greatest lipid content, dominated by linoleic acid. Potassium was the predominant macroelement across all variants. Antioxidant activity was highest in PpP100 and PpC across all four assays. FTIR confirmed a mushroom-specific polysaccharide, protein, and lipid profile in all samples. The results demonstrate that agricultural waste represents sustainable, value-added alternatives to conventional sawdust, capable of maintaining or enhancing the nutritional and nutraceutical quality of oyster mushrooms to enhance agricultural production.

Herein, we report the first complete genome of Cutibacterium namnetense from a Malaysian human acne sample. The 2.40 Mb circular chromosome provides valuable resources to study this bacterial-related human disease. These genomic insights improve understanding of acne-related microbiomes, enhancing therapeutic approaches and human health outcomes globally.