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The local hair treatment product set “Khalgai” consists of three kinds of products: shampoo, conditioner, and protein. The uniqueness is that all products in the set contain yeast hydrolysate, rich in copper and zinc. The copper and zinc contents in shampoo, conditioner, and protein of this set were 0.53, 34.6; 1.33, 41.3; 5.1, 25.4 mg/kg, respectively, and heavy metals levels measured in all product samples were within the permissible limits for cosmetics. Here, we investigated the effects of copper and zinc enriched yeast hydrolysate-containing hair care products on human hair morphology. A total of 100 females (control group n=50, experimental group n=50) living in Ulaanbaatar, aged between 20 and 60, were subjected to the measurement of scalp hair morphological characteristics before and after using the product. Women in the experimental group were involved in 28 days of treatment with the “Khalgai” set product. Hair density, hair diameter, and follicular units were analyzed at five different scalp sites using quantitative trichoscopic analysis by the TrichoSciencePro v1.7 program before and after treatment. As a result of using the “Khalgai” set product for 28 days, participants' hair density increased by 14-25%, and hair diameter increased by 7-13% (3-5% for normal hair, 1-4% for thick hair) and the number of hairs per follicular unit increased by 1-7%, respectively, indicating improved morphological quality. The research results suggest a possible effect of copper and zinc enriched yeast, which contains in “Khalgai” hair care products, might improve characteristics by supplying nutrients to the hair and scalp. Зэс болон цайраар баяжуулсан дрожжийн гидролизат агуулсан үс арчилгааны бүтээгдэхүүн хэрэглэсний дараах үсний морфологийн өөрчлөлт Хураангуй: “Халгай” нэрийн буурал үс арчилгааны цогц бүтээгдэхүүний багцад шампунь, ангижруулагч, уураг гэсэн гурван төрлийн бүтээгдэхүүн багтсан бөгөөд найрлагад нь зэс, цайраар баяжуулсан дрожжийн гидролизат орсноороо онцлог юм. Энэхүү багцын шампунь, ангижруулагч, уураг зэрэг бүтээгдэхүүнд агуулагдах зэс, цайрын хэмжээ харгалзан 0.53, 34,6; 1.33, 41.3; 5.1, 25.4 мг/кг байсан бөгөөд хүнд металлын агууламж нь ДЭМБ-аас гаргасан гоо сайхны бүтээгдэхүүнд тавигдах шаардлагад нийцэж байв. Дээрх бүтээгдэхүүнүүдийн үсний бүтцэд үзүүлэх нөлөөг тогтоох судалгаанд Улаанбаатар хотын оршин суугч, 20-60 насны 100 эмэгтэй (хяналтын бүлэг n=50, туршилтын бүлэг n=50) хамрагдсан. Туршилтын бүлгийн эмэгтэйчүүд судалгааны 28 хоногийн хугацаанд үс арчилгааны цогц бүтээгдэхүүний багцыг хэрэглэсэн ба туршилт эхлэхийн өмнө болон төгсгөлийн хоногт толгойн хуйхны 5 цэгт үсний диаметр, нягтаршил, нэг уутанцар дах үсний тоо ширхгийн хэмжээг тодорхойлж, TrichoSciencePro v1.7 оношилгооны программ дээр тооцоолон үнэлсэн. “Халгай” буурал үсний цогц бүтээгдэхүүний багцыг 28 хоногийн турш хэрэглэсний дүнд оролцогчдын үсний нягтаршил 14-25%-иар, үсний диаметр 7-13%-иар нэмэгдэж, нэгж уутанцарт байх үсний тоо ширхэг 3-5% (хэвийн ширхэгт), 1-4% (бүдүүн ширхэгт)-иар тус тус нэмэгдэж, үсний морфологийн чанар сайжирсныг статистик магадтай тогтоов. Үүнийг “Халгай” нэрийн буурал үс арчилгааны цогц бүтээгдэхүүний найрлагад агуулагдах зэс, цайраар баяжуулсан дрожжийн задрагийн үс, хуйхны тэжээлийн хангамжийг сайжруулсантай холбон үзэж болно. Түлхүүр үг: “Халгай”, эрдэс, үсний диаметр, нягтаршил, ширхэг

During the last two decades, the rapid urbanization movement has increased the concentration of population and buildings in Ulaanbaatar city (UB), Mongolia. There are several active faults around UB. The estimated maximum magnitude of 7 in the Emeelt fault has been expected to significantly impact the UB region because the fault is only 20 km from the city. To consider the disaster mitigation planning for such large earthquakes, assessments of ground shaking intensities and building damage for the scenarios are crucial. In this study, we develop the building inventory data in UB, including structural types, construction year, height, and construction cost in order to assess the buildings’ vulnerability (repair cost) due to a scenario earthquake. The construction costs are estimated based on the procedure of the Mongolian construction code from the coefficients of cost per floor area for each structural type, and coefficients for heating system, floor areas, and buildings’ locations. Finally, the scenario’s economic loss of the damaged buildings is evaluated using the developed building inventory, global vulnerability curves of GAR-13, and estimated spectral accelerations.

In humans and mice, offspring of allergic mothers are predisposed to development of allergy. In mice, allergic mothers have elevated β-glucosylceramides (βGlcCers) that are transported to the fetus via the placenta and to offspring via milk. Elevated βGlcCers increase numbers of fetal liver CD11c+CD11b+ dendritic cells (DCs) and offspring allergen-induced lung eosinophilia. These effects are modifiable by maternal dietary supplementation with the plant-derived lipids α-tocopherol and γ-tocopherol. It is not known whether βGlcCers and tocopherols directly regulate development of DCs. In this study, we demonstrated that βGlcCers (C16:0, C18:0, C18:1, and C24:1) increased development of GM-CSF-stimulated bone marrow-derived DCs (BMDCs) in vitro. This increase in BMDC numbers was blocked by α-tocopherol and potentiated by γ-tocopherol. Furthermore, βGlcCer increased PKCα and PKCδ activation in BMDCs that was blocked by α-tocopherol. In contrast, γ-tocopherol increased BMDC PKCα and PKCδ activation and enhanced the βGlcCer-induced increase in PKCδ activation in a DC subset. Antigen processing per DC was minimally enhanced in βGlcCer-treated BMDCs and not altered ex vivo in lung DCs from pups of allergic mothers. However, lung DCs from pups of allergic mothers had an increased proportion of CD11b+CD11c+ DCs and exhibited enhanced stimulation of T cells ex vivo. Thus, βGlcCer, which is both necessary and sufficient for development of allergic predisposition in offspring of allergic mothers, directly increased development and PKC activation in BMDCs. Furthermore, this was modifiable by dietary tocopherols. This may inform design of future studies for approaches in the prevention or intervention in asthma and allergic disease. Supported by grants from the NIH (U01 AI131337 (Cook-Mills), R01AI127695 (Cook-Mills)) as well as the Pediatric Scientist Development Program (Lajiness) and Marshall Klaus Perinatal Research Award (Lajiness)

In the food industry, microbiological safety is a major concern. Mycotoxin patulin represents a potential health hazard, as it is heat-resistant and may develop at any stage during the food chain, especially in apple-based products, leading to severe effects on human health, poor quality products, and profit reductions. The target of the study was to identify and characterize an excellent adsorbent to remove patulin from apple juice efficiently and to assess its adsorption mechanism. To prevent juice fermentation and/or contamination, autoclaving was involved to inactivate bacteria before the adsorption process. The HPLC (high-performance liquid chromatography) outcome proved that all isolated strains from kefir grains could reduce patulin from apple juice. A high removal of 93% was found for juice having a 4.6 pH, 15° Brix, and patulin concentration of 100 μg/L by Lactobacillus kefiranofacien, named JKSP109, which was morphologically the smoothest and biggest of all isolates in terms of cell wall volume and surface area characterized by SEM (Scanning electron microscopy) and TEM (transmission electron microscopy). C=O, OH, C–H, and N–O were the main functional groups engaged in patulin adsorption indicated by FTIR (Fourier transform–infrared). E-nose (electronic nose) was performed to evaluate the aroma quality of the juices. PCA (Principal component analysis) results showed that no significant changes occurred between control and treated juice.

The differential recognition of fungal cell wall polysaccharides that program innate and adaptive immunity to the human opportunistic fungal pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus has been a focus of considerable interest. In a mouse model of fungal conidia aspiration, decreased relative levels of cell wall core carbohydrates β-1,3-glucan to chitin in A. fumigatus isolates and mutant strains were correlated with increased airway eosinophil recruitment. In addition, an increase in fungal surface chitin exposure induced by the β-1,3-glucan synthesis-targeting drug caspofungin was associated with increased murine airway eosinophil recruitment after a single challenge of conidia. The response to increased A. fumigatus chitin was associated with increased transcription of IL-17A after a single aspiration, although this cytokine was not required for eosinophil recruitment. Rather, both RAG1 and γδ T cells were required, suggesting that this subset of innate-like lymphocytes may be an important regulator of potentially detrimental type 2 immune responses to fungal inhalation and infection.

Background In recent times, emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases are posing a public health threat in developing countries, and vigilant surveillance is necessary to prepare against these threats. Analyses of multi-year comprehensive infectious disease syndrome data are required in Mongolia, but have not been conducted till date. This study aimed to describe the trends in the incidence of infectious disease syndromes in Mongolia during 2009–2017 using a nationwide syndrome surveillance system for infectious diseases established in 2009. Methods We analyzed time trends using monthly data on the incidence of infectious disease syndromes such as acute fever with rash (AFR), acute fever with vesicular rash (AFVR), acute jaundice (AJ), acute watery diarrhea (AWD), acute bloody diarrhea (ABD), foodborne disease (FD) and nosocomial infection (NI) reported from January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2017. Time series forecasting models based on the data up to 2017 estimated the future trends in the incidence of syndromes up to December 2020. Results During the study, the overall prevalence of infectious disease syndromes was 71.8/10,000 population nationwide. The average number of reported infectious disease syndromes was 14,519 (5229-55,132) per year. The major types were AFR (38.7%), AFVR (31.7%), AJ (13.9%), ABD (10.2%), and AWD (1.8%), accounting for 96.4% of all reported syndromes. The most prevalent syndromes were AJ between 2009 and 2012 (59.5–48.7%), AFVR between 2013 and 2014 (54.5–59%), AFR between 2015 and 2016 (67.6–65.9%), and AFVR in 2017 (62.2%). There were increases in the prevalence of AFR, with the monthly number of cases being 37.7 ± 6.1 during 2015–2016; this could be related to the measles outbreak in Mongolia during that period. The AFVR incidence rate showed winter’s multiplicative seasonal fluctuations with a peak of 10.6 ± 2 cases per 10,000 population in 2017. AJ outbreaks were identified in 2010, 2011, and 2012, and these could be associated with hepatitis A outbreaks. Prospective time series forecasting showed increasing trends in the rates of AFVR and ABD. Conclusions The evidence-based method for infectious disease syndromes was useful in gaining an understanding of the current situation, and predicting the future trends of various infectious diseases in Mongolia.

Chitin is a structural biopolymer found in numerous organisms, including pathogenic fungi, and recognized as an immune-stimulating pathogen associated molecular pattern by pattern recognition molecules of the host immune system. However, programming and regulation of lung innate immunity to chitin inhalation in the context of inhalation of fungal pathogens such as Aspergillus fumigatus is complex and our understanding incomplete. Here we report that the systemic metabolism-regulating cytokine adiponectin is decreased in the lungs and serum of mice after chitin inhalation, with a concomitant decrease in surface expression of the adiponectin receptor AdipoR1 on lung leukocytes. Constitutive lung expression of acidic mammalian chitinase resulted in decreased inflammatory cytokine gene expression and neutrophil recruitment, but did not significantly affect lung adiponectin transcription. Exogenous recombinant adiponectin specifically dampened airway chitin-mediated eosinophil recruitment, while adiponectin deficiency resulted in increased airway eosinophils. The presence of adiponectin also resulted in decreased CCL11-mediated migration of bone marrow-derived eosinophils. In contrast to purified chitin, aspiration of viable conidia from the high chitin-expressing A. fumigatus isolate Af5517 resulted in increased neutrophil recruitment and inflammatory cytokine gene expression in adiponectin-deficient mice, while no significant changes were observed in response to the isolate Af293. Our results identify a novel role for the adiponectin pathway in inhibition of lung inflammatory responses to chitin and A. fumigatus inhalation.

Due to the population growth and urban sprawl in Ulaanbaatar city (UB), Mongolia, hazard and risk analysis for future earthquakes have become an important issue for disaster mitigation planning. Evaluation of a site effect is one of the essential parts of the earthquake hazard estimation in this area. The site effect can be evaluated by site amplifications calculated from shear-wave velocity (VS) models including from bedrock to surface layers. However, it is difficult to assess the pattern of the site effects in UB because shallow mostly up to 15 m and a small number of investigated VS models are available in previous studies. In this study, the VS models are estimated using microtremor data at 50 sites and inversion analysis is applied to the observed data in order to evaluate site amplifications in UB. In particular, the joint inversion technique based on a diffuse field approach is applied to estimate the VS structures at three sites using the observed horizontal-to-vertical (H/V) spectral ratios and surface wave phase velocities obtained by Odonbaatar (2011). The rest of the sites are estimated by the single inversion technique using the observed microtremor H/V spectral ratios considering the results of the joint inversions. The seismic microzoning in UB is performed based on the site amplifications computed from the inverted VS models to characterize the pattern of seismic hazard. The result shows the largest site amplification zone is computed along the Tuul river in the southeastern part of UB.

Systemic immunity and metabolism are coregulated by soluble factors, including the insulin-regulating adipose tissue cytokine adiponectin. How these factors impact detrimental inflammatory responses during fungal infection remains unknown. In this study, we observed that mortality, fungal burden, and tissue histopathology were increased in adiponectin-deficient mice in a neutropenic model of invasive aspergillosis. Lung RNA sequencing, quantitative RT-PCR, and subsequent pathway analysis demonstrated activation of inflammatory cytokine pathways with upstream regulation by IL-1 and TNF in adiponectin-deficient mice with decreased/inhibited anti-inflammatory genes/pathways, suggesting broad cytokine-mediated pathology along with ineffective fungal clearance. Quantitative RT-PCR analysis confirmed increased transcription of IL-1a, IL-6, IL-12b, IL-17A/F, and TNF in adiponectin-deficient mice at early time points postinfection, with a specific increase in intracellular TNF in alveolar macrophages. Although eosinophil recruitment and activation were increased in adiponectin-deficient mice, mortality was delayed, but not decreased, in mice deficient in both adiponectin and eosinophils. Interestingly, neutrophil depletion was required for increased inflammation in adiponectin-deficient mice in response to swollen/fixed conidia, suggesting that immune suppression enhances detrimental inflammation, whereas invasive fungal growth is dispensable. Our results suggest that adiponectin inhibits excessive lung inflammation in invasive aspergillosis. Our study has therefore identified the adiponectin pathway as a potential source for novel therapeutics in immune-compromised patients with detrimental immunity to invasive fungal infection.

The quantification of lung fungal burden is critical for the determination of the relative levels of immune protection and fungal virulence in mouse models of pulmonary fungal infection. Although multiple methods are used to assess fungal burden, quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) of fungal DNA has emerged as a technique with several advantages over previous culture-based methods. Currently, a comprehensive assessment of lung pathology, leukocyte recruitment, fungal burden, and gene expression in mice with invasive aspergillosis (IA) necessitates the use of a significant number of experimental and control animals. Here the quantification of lung histological staining to determine fungal burden using a reduced number of animals was examined in detail. Lung sections were stained to identify fungal structures with Gomori's modified methanamine silver (GMS) staining. Images were taken from the GMS-stained sections from 4 discrete fields of each formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded lung. The GMS stained areas within each image were quantified using an image analysis program, and from this quantification, the mean percentage of stained area was determined for each sample. Using this strategy, eosinophil-deficient mice exhibited decreased fungal burden and disease with caspofungin therapy, while wild-type mice with IA did not improve with caspofungin. Similarly, fungal burden in mice lacking γδ T cells were also improved by caspofungin, as measured by qPCR and GMS quantification. GMS quantification is therefore introduced as a method for the determination of relative lung fungal burden that may ultimately reduce the quantity of experimental animals required for comprehensive studies of invasive aspergillosis.

The article describes the experimental results on the breakdown of the high-speed flow of transformer oil. In real conditions, the flow moves in the contact gap of a high-voltage explosive switch with speeds from 67 to 152 m /s. The geometry of the contact gap is sharply inhomogeneous and forms turbulence in the flow zone. In the arc chute medium the air inclusions pass from the dissolved state to the gaseous and the emerging bubbles enter to the electric field. Breakdown occurs, mainly through gas inclusions. In the moment, the gradient of the breakdown voltage is reduced by 91.6% compared to the static state of the oil. The experiments were carried out on the model of a high-voltage explosive switch, connected to the power circuit of the surge generator. The probing of the gap was made by a standard pulse of 1.5 / 50 [mu]s. As a result, the dependences of the gradient of the breakdown voltage on the flow rate of the transformer oil for the usual geometry of the high-voltage explosive switch contact system are constructed.

The ubiquitous fungal pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus is a mediator of allergic sensitization and invasive disease in susceptible individuals. The significant genetic and phenotypic variability between and among clinical and environmental isolates are important considerations in host-pathogen studies of A. fumigatus-mediated disease. We observed decreased radial growth, rate of germination, and ability to establish colony growth in a single environmental isolate of A. fumigatus, Af5517, when compared to other clinical and environmental isolates. Af5517 also exhibited increased hyphal diameter and cell wall β-glucan and chitin content, with chitin most significantly increased. Morbidity, mortality, lung fungal burden, and tissue pathology were decreased in neutropenic Af5517-infected mice when compared to the clinical isolate Af293. Our results support previous findings that suggest a correlation between in vitro growth rates and in vivo virulence, and we propose that changes in cell wall composition may contribute to this phenotype.

Recently significant interest has focused on the composite recognition of fungal molecular patterns that program innate and adaptive immunity to the human fungal pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus. We observed that decreased relative levels of cell wall β-glucan to chitin in A. fumigatus strains correlated with increased airway eosinophil recruitment associated with decreased fungal clearance by type 2 immune responses in invasive pulmonary aspergillosis. Furthermore, an increase in surface chitin exposure driven by growth and germination in the presence of the anti-fungal, β-glucan targeting drug caspofungin resulted in increased airway eosinophilia upon aspiration of A. fumigatus conidia. More importantly, in a model of invasive aspergillosis, we observed a decrease in fungal clearance upon caspofungin treatment that was reversed in eosinophil-deficient mice. Eosinophil recruitment was partially dependent on γδ T cells, and our preliminary results show a similar increase in caspofungin mediated clearance in γδ-T cell-deficient mice. Our results provide a novel mechanism that may explain the widely reported paradoxical loss of efficacy in response to caspofungin, and we are currently working to define the relationship between drug treatment, eosinophil activation, and fungal burden in clinical samples.

The human fungal pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus is associated with allergic sensitization and invasive infection in susceptible individuals. How the combined recognition of fungal molecular patterns programs host adaptive immunity is not well understood. Previously, we observed that fungal chitin promotes Th2-skewed immunity and eosinophil recruitment that proved detrimental to fungal clearance in invasive infection. In this study, we further characterized the role of early cytokine and effector cells in chitin derived eosinophil activation. We observed that single aspiration of a high-chitin isolate (Af5517) resulted in a marked increase in early transcription of IL-17A. Furthermore, eosinophil recruitment was not increased in RAG1-/- mice, suggesting that γδ T cells are required for early recognition of conidia-associated chitin. Although IL-17A was not required, the absence of γδ T cells (known to be potent sources of innate IL-17A) resulted in a significant decrease in eosinophil recruitment after single and multiple aspirations of Af5517. Also, fungal strains displaying chitin increased exposure or manipulating cell surface carbohydrate ratio by blockage of β-glucan recognition on receptor level resulted in increased airway eosinophil recruitment suggesting that relative high chitin/low β-glucan recognition leads to increased eosinophil recruitment and Th2 responses that are promoted by early responses of γδ T cells.