Aims: This study is focused on the potential of Bacillus cereus ATCC 14579 to degrade natural rubber (NR) latex film and NR latex film added with Metroxylan sagu pith waste (NR/TSPW latex film). Methodology and results: Bacillus cereus is proved capable to utilise rubber as main source of carbon and energy. The biodegradation studies were analyzed by growth profile, weight loss, protein content and tensile strength test. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) test was applied to confirm the biodegradation process. In shake cultures, OD of culture increased by 19.2% from the initial inoculum after 14th cultivation days with NR/TSPW latex film. An increase in protein content up to 0.037 mg/g with 12.377% weight loss of film was obtained after biodegradation. Tensile test result shows tensile strength and elongation break are decreased by 10.203%. Conclusion, significance and impact of study The demand of rubber products is increasing time to time. Due to the high consumable and disposable of rubber latex products, hence remain inert to degradation and leading to their accumulation in the environment. An attempt to combine Natural Rubber (NR) latex system with other degrading materials have been made to facilitate biodegradation process. Thus, Bacillus cereus ATCC 14579 has potency to provide a biotechnological solution to the waste rubber disposal problem.

Prior to COVID-19, dengue was an important public health problem in Malaysia. Due to the movement control order imposed by the Malaysian government to curb the COVID-19 transmission, a study predicted that mosquito-borne diseases would increase during lockdown and partial lockdown seasons. Thus, this study aims to determine the current situation of dengue incidence during the pre-COVID-19 pandemic (2019) and during the COVID-19 pandemic (2020 and 2021). We compared the number of laboratory-confirmed cases in the pre-COVID19 year (2019) and during the COVID-19 pandemic (2020 and 2021). In addition to that, we characterized the clinical manifestation, dengue serotype and viremia levels of dengue patients that were admitted to the Hospital Cancelor Tuanku Muhriz. We found a significant decrease in the number of laboratory-confirmed cases between COVID-19 pandemic and the pre-covid period (p2020=0.064; p2021<0.001). In this study, we found DENV 4 serotype was the most common serotype in dengue patients admitted to our hospital. There was no significant correlation between DENV serotype/viremia level with clinical manifestation of dengue fever and dengue with warning signs. However, patients infected with DENV4 had the highest viral load compared to patients infected with other serotypes. We also found high viremia levels were significantly associated with the febrile phase.