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Summary: Background: The Global Breast Cancer Initiative (GBCI) Framework, launched by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in 2023, emphasises assessing, strengthening, and scaling up services for the early detection and management of breast cancer. This study aims to determine the feasibility of monitoring the status of breast cancer control in the 21 Asian National Cancer Centers Alliance (ANCCA) countries based on the three GBCI Framework key performance indicators (KPIs): stage at diagnosis, time to diagnosis, and treatment completion. Methods: We reviewed published literature on breast cancer control among 21 ANCCA countries from May to July 2023 to establish data availability and compiled the latest descriptive statistics and sources of the indicators using a standardised data collection form. We performed bivariate Pearson's correlation analysis to measure the strength of correlation between stage at diagnosis, mortality and survival rates, and universal health coverage. Findings: Only 12 (57%) ANCCA member countries published national cancer registry reports on breast cancer age-standardised incidence rate (ASIR) and age-standardised mortality rate (ASMR). Indonesia, Myanmar, and Nepal had provincial data and others relied on WHO's Global Cancer Observatory (GLOBOCAN) estimates. GLOBOCAN data differed from the reported national statistics by 5–10% in Bhutan, Indonesia, Iran, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, and Thailand and >10% in China, India, Malaysia, Mongolia, and Sri Lanka. The proportion of patients diagnosed in stages I and II strongly correlated with the five-year survival rate and with the universal health coverage (UHC) index. Three countries (14%) reported national data with >60% of invasive breast cancer patients diagnosed at stages I and II, and a five-year survival rate of >80%. Over 60% of the ANCCA countries had no published national data on breast cancer staging, the time interval from presentation to diagnosis, and diagnosis to treatment. Five (24%) countries reported data on treatment completion. The definition of delayed diagnosis and treatment completion varied across countries. Interpretation: GBCI's Pillar 1 KPI correlates strongly with five-year survival rate and with the UHC index. Most ANCCA countries lacked national data on cancer staging, timely diagnosis, and treatment completion KPIs. While institutional-level data were available in some countries, they may not represent the nationwide status. Strengthening cancer surveillance is crucial for effective breast cancer control. The GBCI Framework indicators warrant more detailed definitions for standardised data collection. Surrogate indicators which are measurable and manageable in country-specific settings, could be considered for monitoring GBCI indicators. Ensuring UHC and addressing health inequalities are essential to early diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer. Funding: Funding for this research article's processing fee (APC) will be provided by the affiliated institution to support the open-access publication of this work. The funding body is not involved in the study design; collection, management, analysis and interpretation of data; or the decision to submit for publication. The funding body will be informed of any planned publications, and documentation provided.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is an umbrella term for two conditions (Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis) that is characterized by chronic inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract. The use of pre-clinical animal models has been invaluable for the understanding of potential disease mechanisms. However, despite promising results of numerous therapeutics in mouse colitis models, many of these therapies did not show clinical benefits in patients with IBD. Single cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-seq) has recently revolutionized our understanding of complex interactions between the immune system, stromal cells, and epithelial cells by mapping novel cell subpopulations and their remodeling during disease. This technology has not been widely applied to pre-clinical models of IBD. ScRNA-seq profiling of murine models may provide an opportunity to increase the translatability into the clinic, and to choose the most appropriate model to test hypotheses and novel therapeutics. In this review, we have summarized some of the key findings at the single cell transcriptomic level in IBD, how specific signatures have been functionally validated in vivo, and highlighted the similarities and differences between scRNA-seq findings in human IBD and experimental mouse models. In each section of this review, we highlight the importance of utilizing this technology to find the most suitable or translational models of IBD based on the cellular therapeutic target.

Summary: About 95% of cervical cancers worldwide are caused by human papillomavirus (HPV). Cervical cancer is preventable and curable if it is detected and treated early. We reviewed the latest national cervical cancer indicators, and barriers to HPV vaccination and cervical cancer screening in 21 Asian National Cancer Centers Alliance (ANCCA) member countries. Half (n = 11, 52%) of the countries have introduced HPV vaccination for girls as part of their national vaccination programme, three countries reported coverage of over 90%. Most ANCCA member countries have cervical cancer screening programmes, only five countries reported screening uptake of over 50%. The barriers to HPV vaccination coverage and cervical cancer screening participation have been identified. Ensuring health service accessibility and affordability for women, addressing sociocultural barriers, and strengthening the healthcare system and continuum of care are essential to increase HPV vaccination and cervical cancer screening coverage.

Introduction: Cervical cancer is a leading cause of cancer among women in Mongolia with an age-standardized incidence rate of 23.5 per 100,000. HPV vaccination has not been introduced nationally and Gavi co-financing support is not available in Mongolia. Extended Gavi pricing for HPV vaccine may be available from vaccine manufacturers for a number of years. To inform introduction decision-making, we evaluated the potential cost-effectiveness of HPV vaccination among girls and young women in Mongolia. Methods: We used UNIVAC (version 1.4), a static decision model, to evaluate the health and economic outcomes of single-cohort vaccination among females from the government perspective compared to no vaccination. We modeled vaccine introduction over 10 birth cohorts starting in 2022 comparing quadrivalent or bivalent vaccine selection and vaccine pricing variations. We used locally-specific data for cancer incidence, mortality, treatment and costs. Model outcomes included cancer cases, hospitalizations, deaths, disability-adjusted life years (DALY), and costs presented in 2018 USD. Incremental costs and health outcomes were discounted at 3% and aggregated into an Incremental Cost-Effectiveness Ratio (ICER). Results: The base-case scenario of HPV vaccination among 9 year-old girls was projected to avert 5,692 cervical cancer cases, 3,240 deaths, and 11,886 DALYs and incur $2.4–3.1M more costs compared to no vaccination. At prices of ($4.50-$4.60/dose), we estimated an ICER of $166-$265/DALY averted among 9-year-olds. When price per dose was increased to reported mean vaccine purchase price for non-Gavi LMICs ($14.17/dose), the ICER ranged from $556–820/DALY averted. Conclusion: HPV vaccination among girls is highly likely to be a cost-effective investment in Mongolia compared to no vaccination with projected ICERs less than 20% of the 2018 GDP per capita of $3,735.

Objectives: The aim of study is to determine the sensitivity and specificity of screening for fetal trisomy 21 in the first trimester of pregnancy using a combination of maternal serum biomarkers and ultrasonography. The objectives of this study were to first duplicate and confirm within the Mongolian population, the results of other similar studies. Our results corroborated closely with those of other studies and further allowed us to draw conclusions and recommendations unique to Mongolia. A second objective was to apply these results to everyday obstetric practices within Mongolia and advance the state of prenatal care for all Mongolian women. Methods: Obstetric History: The obstetric history was recorded, and serum biomarkers were measured in 415 pregnancies.The degree of risk for trisomy 21 and other fetal aneuploidy were calculated using maternal age, the results of maternal serum pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A, free beta human chorionic gonadotropin, and fetal nuchal translucency thickness. Grouping of Test Subjects: Using a cut-off risk estimate of 1 in 300, the women were grouped into positive and negative screening groups. Sensitivity and specificity of the screening method were calculated from the available data. Results: Sensitivity of the screening test for fetal trisomy 21 was 66.6% and for all fetal aneuploidy was 83%. Specificity of the screening test for fetal trisomy 21 was 87.5% and for all fetal aneuploidy was 97.8% and the false positive rate was 2.2%. Our results are consistent with the results obtained in other international studies. Conclusions: Our study is unique in that it is the first such scientific examination of mothers at risk for congenital abnormalities in Mongolia. This study provides empirical evidence that the combination of the double test, maternal age, and fetal nuchal translucency thickness is an effective prenatal screening method for fetal aneuploidy pregnancy outcomes in Mongolia.

A meteorological and dust monitoring tower with 20 m height set up at a Nomgon site in Umnugobi Aimag in the Mongolian Gobi in 2010. The Nomgon monitoring tower equipped with wind speed sensors at 2, 4, 10 and 20 m height above the ground level (AGL), a wind direction sensor at 10 m height, a sonic anemometer to measure turbulent momentum flux at 8 m height and a soil moisture sensor at 5 cm depth. We had a purpose to measure dust concentration of PM10 at two levels using Dust-Trak instruments during an intensive observation period (IOP) of a dust event in spring. A dust storm was expected in the Mongolian Gobi from 30 April to 1 May 2016 and two Dust-Traks were set at 0.9 and 2.95 m heights in the tower during this IOP for measuring PM10. Wind data at 2 and 10 m height, three wind components at 8 m height by a sonic anemometer, soil moisture (volumetric water content) data in 5 cm depth and dust concentrations of PM10 at two levels are used in this study. These data from the sensors and instruments in the tower were used for estimation friction velocity and vertical dust flux at the Nomgon site. In association with a surface cyclone, its frontal system and a trough aloft, the expected dust storm occurred in the Mongolian Gobi during the IOP period. Dust concentrations of PM10 increased during the dust storm period due to raised wind speed in the dry conditions of air and soil. The present study aimed to estimate friction velocity (u*) and vertical dust flux (F) around Nomgon site in the Mongolian Gobi desert during the dust storm period. The estimation results were presented in this paper.

Summary We report herein the purification of a chloroform (CF)‐reducing enzyme, TmrA, from the membrane fraction of a strict anaerobe Dehalobacter sp. strain UNSWDHB to apparent homogeneity with an approximate 23‐fold increase in relative purity compared to crude lysate. The membrane fraction obtained by ultracentrifugation was solubilized in Triton X‐100 in the presence of glycerol, followed by purification by anion exchange chromatography. The molecular mass of the purified TmrA was determined to be 44.5 kDa by SDS‐PAGE and MALDI‐TOF/TOF. The purified dehalogenase reductively dechlorinated CF to dichloromethane in vitro with reduced methyl viologen as the electron donor at a specific activity of (1.27 ± 0.04) × 103 units mg protein−1. The optimum temperature and pH for the activity were 45°C and 7.2, respectively. The UV‐visible spectrometric analysis indicated the presence of a corrinoid and two [4Fe‐4S] clusters, predicted from the amino acid sequence. This is the first report of the production, purification and biochemical characterization of a CF reductive dehalogenase.

Glutathione (GSH) is one of the most abundant thiol antioxidants in cells. Many chronic and age-related diseases are associated with a decline in cellular GSH levels or impairment in the catalytic activity of the GSH biosynthetic enzyme glutamate cysteine ligase (GCL). γ-glutamylcysteine (GGC), a precursor to glutathione (GSH), can replenish depleted GSH levels under oxidative stress conditions, by circumventing the regulation of GSH biosynthesis and providing the limiting substrate. Soluble amyloid-β (Aβ) oligomers have been shown to induce oxidative stress, synaptic dysfunction and memory deficits which have been reported in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Calcium ions, which are increased with age and in AD, have been previously reported to enhance the formation of Aβ40 oligomers, which have been casually associated with the pathogenesis of the underlying neurodegenerative condition. In this study, we examined the potential beneficial effects of GGC against exogenous Aβ40 oligomers on biomarkers of apoptosis and cell death, oxidative stress, and neuroinflammation, in human astrocytes. Treatment with Aβ40 oligomers significantly reduced the cell viability and apoptosis of astrocyte brain cultures and increased oxidative modifications of DNA, lipids, and protein, enhanced pro-inflammatory cytokine release and increased the activity of the proteolytic matrix metalloproteinase enzyme, matric metalloproteinase (MMP)-2 and reduced the activity of MMP-9 after 24 h. Co-treatment of Aβ40 oligomers with GGC at 200 μM increased the activity of the antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and led to significant increases in the levels of the total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and GSH and reduced the GSSG/GSH ratio. GGC also upregulated the level of the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 and reduced the levels of the pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-1β) and attenuated the changes in metalloproteinase activity in oligomeric Aβ40-treated astrocytes. Our data provides renewed insight on the beneficial effects of increased GSH levels by GGC in human astrocytes, and identifies yet another potential therapeutic strategy to attenuate the cytotoxic effects of Aβ oligomers in AD.

Objectives: The goal of this study is to evaluate expression of the HPV16/18 L1 in cervical tissues in correlation with lesion grade. Methods:A total of 96 specimens were analyzed in this study. There were 50 cases diagnosed as low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (LSIL) and 46 cases diagnosed as high-grade (H-) SIL. All cases were submitted for immunohistochemistry with anti-HPV16 /18 L1 antibody. Results: The positive rate of HPV16 L1 and HPV18 L1 was identified in 61 (64%) and 21 (22%) of all cases. There was a statistically significant difference for HPV18 (X2 = 0.599, p0.05) in the two SIL groups. In addition, 27 cases had no HPV16/18 L1 expression and 13 cases had HPV16/18 L1 co-expression. Conclusion: Lack of HPV L1 capsid protein in cervical lesions may serve as a prognostic marker of enhanced malignant potential. There is still a critical need to find other molecular surrogate markers, which can provide accurate information about which precursor lesions would progress toward cancer.

The distribution and transport of windblown dust that occurred in Northeast Asia from 28 March to 2 April 2012 was investigated. Data of particulate matter less than 10 micrometers (PM10) near the surface and light detection and ranging (LiDAR) measurements from the ground up to 18 km were used in the study. A severe dust event originated over southern Mongolia and northern China on 28 March 2012, and the widespread dust moved from the source area southeastward toward Japan over several days. Windblown dust reached Japan after two days from the originating area. LiDAR measurements of the vertical distribution of the dust were one to two km thick in the lower layer of the atmosphere, and increased with the increasing distance from the source area.

Hydrogenases are metalloenzymes that reversibly catalyse the oxidation or production of molecular hydrogen (H2). Amongst a number of promising candidates for application in the oxidation of H2 is a soluble [Ni–Fe] uptake hydrogenase (SH) produced by Cupriavidus necator H16. In the present study, molecular characterisation of the SH operon, responsible for functional SH synthesis, was investigated by developing a green fluorescent protein (GFP) reporter system to characterise PSH promoter activity using several gene cloning approaches. A PSH promoter-gfp fusion was successfully constructed and inducible GFP expression driven by the PSH promoter under de-repressing conditions in heterotrophic growth media was demonstrated in the recombinant C. necator H16 cells. Here we report the first successful fluorescent reporter system to study PSH promoter activity in C. necator H16. The fusion construct allowed for the design of a simple screening assay to evaluate PSH activity. Furthermore, the constructed reporter system can serve as a model to develop a rapid fluorescent based reporter for subsequent small-scale process optimisation experiments for SH expression.

Recent climate change, especially during the 2000s, may be the primary reason for the expansion of the Asian dust source region. The change in the dust source region was investigated by examining anthropogenic radionuclides contained in surface soil samples from Mongolia. Surface soil was globally labeled by radioactive fallout from nuclear testing during the late 1950s and early 1960s, but there are no current direct sources for anthropogenic radionuclides in the air (before the Fukushima nuclear power plant accident in 2011). Radionuclides in the atmosphere are therefore carried mainly by wind-blown dust from surface soil, that is, aeolian dust. Asian dust carries traces of 90Sr, 137Cs, and other anthropogenic radionuclides; the heaviest deposition occurs in spring and has been recorded in Japan since the early 1990s. The composition of anthropogenic radionuclides in atmospheric depositions would be affected by a change in the dust source. Previous studies of atmospheric deposition at long-term monitoring sites (e.g. in Tsukuba, Japan) have detected changes in the 137Cs/90Sr ratio and in the specific activity of the radionuclides. These changes in the composition of observed atmospheric depositions are supposed to reflect changes in the climatic conditions of the dust source region. To investigate this dust source change, we conducted a field survey of radionuclides (90Sr and 137Cs) in surface soil samples in September 2007 in the eastern and southern regions of Mongolia, where dust storms have occurred more frequently since 2000. The specific activities of both radionuclides as well as the 137Cs/90Sr ratio in the surface soil were well correlated with annual average precipitation in the Mongolian desert-steppe zone. Higher specific activities and a higher 137Cs/90Sr ratio were found in grassland regions that experienced greater precipitation. These findings suggest that the increased specific activities and the activity ratio detected in atmospheric depositions in Japan during years with frequent Asian dust transport events in the 2000s are a sign of grassland degradation.

A meteorological and dust monitoring tower with 20 m height set up at a Nomgon site in the Mongolian Gobi Deserts in 2010. The Nomgon monitoring tower equipped with wind speed sensors at 2, 4, 10 and 20 m height above the ground level (AGL), a wind direction sensor at 10 m height, a sonic anemometer to measure turbulent momentum flux at 8 m height and a soil moisture sensor at 5 cm depth. A dust storm was expected in the Mongolian Gobi from 30 April to 1 May 2016 and two aerosol monitors (Dust-Trak) were set at 0.9 and 2.95 m heights in the tower for measuring PM10. Above mentioned data from the tower during an intensive observation period (IOP) of the dust event are used in this study. In association with a surface cyclone, its frontal system and a trough aloft, dust concentrations of PM10 increased during the dust storm period due to raised wind speed in the dry conditions of air and soil. The present study aims to estimate friction velocity (u*) and vertical dust flux (F) around the Nomgon site during the dust storm period. The observations and estimation results are presented.

This study analyzes a regional dust storm event that occurred in spring 2016 using data from observation sites, Lidar measurements, and satellite imageries. PM10 concentrations at surface observation stations are considered as a primary indicator of the dust events. The dust events occurred on 3-12 March with PM10 reaching a maximum beyond 1682, 1498, 706, and 165 μg m−3 at observation sites in Mongolia, China, Korea and Japan, respectively. The dust event in Northeast Asia is captured by time series of PM10 concentrations at observation sites. On 3-4 March, the dust storm event originated from Mongolia move toward China, Korea and Japan. Vertical distributions of dust observed by Lidar measurements from stations in AD-Net capture a thick layer of nearly 2.2 km of high concentrations above surface in the area of origin. The maximum PM10 concentration drops with downwind transport. Dust source identification and dust-loaded air parcel trajectories are calculated using the HYSPLIT model. According to the HYSPLIT model, the dust storm started on 3-4 March from Mongolia and reached northern Japan in about 4 days passing over northern China and Korea.