Pulmonary fibrosis may begin in infancy: from childhood to adult interstitial lung disease.

Background: Childhood interstitial lung disease (chILD) encompasses a group of rare heterogeneous respiratory conditions associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Reports suggest that many patients diagnosed with chILD continue to have potentially progressive or fibrosing disease into adulthood. Over the last decade, the spectrum of conditions within chILD has widened substantially, with the discovery of novel entities through advanced genetic testing.

Researching COVID to enhance recovery (RECOVER) pediatric study protocol: Rationale, objectives and design.

Importance: The prevalence, pathophysiology, and long-term outcomes of COVID-19 (post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 [PASC] or "Long COVID") in children and young adults remain unknown. Studies must address the urgent need to define PASC, its mechanisms, and potential treatment targets in children and young adults.

Observations: We describe the protocol for the Pediatric Observational Cohort Study of the NIH's REsearching COVID to Enhance Recovery (RECOVER) Initiative.

Postacute Sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 in Children.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused significant medical, social, and economic impacts globally, both in the short and long term. Although most individuals recover within a few days or weeks from an acute infection, some experience longer lasting effects. Data regarding the postacute sequelae of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection (PASC) in children, or long COVID, are only just emerging in the literature.

Estimating the effect of nintedanib on forced vital capacity in children and adolescents with fibrosing interstitial lung disease using a Bayesian dynamic borrowing approach.

Background: The rarity of childhood interstitial lung disease (chILD) makes it challenging to conduct powered trials. In the InPedILD trial, among 39 children and adolescents with fibrosing ILD, there was a numerical benefit of nintedanib versus placebo on change in forced vital capacity (FVC) over 24 weeks (difference in mean change in FVC % predicted of 1.21 [95% confidence interval: -3.

Fibroblast growth factor 10 reverses cigarette smoke- and elastase-induced emphysema and pulmonary hypertension in mice.

Background: COPD is an incurable disease and a leading cause of death worldwide. In mice, fibroblast growth factor (FGF)10 is essential for lung morphogenesis, and in humans, polymorphisms in the human gene correlate with an increased susceptibility to develop COPD.

Methods: We analysed FGF10 signalling in human lung sections and isolated cells from healthy donor, smoker and COPD lungs.

Impact assessment of a raw coal ban on maternal and child health outcomes in Ulaanbaatar: a protocol for an interrupted time series study.

Introduction: Despite a decade of policy actions, Ulaanbaatar's residents continue to be exposed to extreme levels of air pollution, a major public health concern, especially for vulnerable populations such as pregnant women and children. In May 2019, the Mongolian government implemented a raw coal ban (RCB), prohibiting distribution and use of raw coal in households and small businesses in Ulaanbaatar. Here, we present the protocol for an interrupted time series (ITS; a strong quasi-experimental study design for public health interventions) that aims to assess the effectiveness of this coal ban policy on environmental (air quality) and health (maternal and child) outcomes.

Common protein-coding variants influence the racing phenotype in galloping racehorse breeds.

Selection for system-wide morphological, physiological, and metabolic adaptations has led to extreme athletic phenotypes among geographically diverse horse breeds. Here, we identify genes contributing to exercise adaptation in racehorses by applying genomics approaches for racing performance, an end-point athletic phenotype. Using an integrative genomics strategy to first combine population genomics results with skeletal muscle exercise and training transcriptomic data, followed by whole-genome resequencing of Asian horses, we identify protein-coding variants in genes of interest in galloping racehorse breeds (Arabian, Mongolian and Thoroughbred).

Carbon monoxide levels in households using coal-briquette fuelled stoves exceed WHO air quality guidelines in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

In 2019, a domestic raw coal ban (RCB) was introduced in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Coal-briquettes have since been promoted in Ger district households, however implications for carbon monoxide (CO) exposure remains uncertain. We obtained 48-hour indoor CO concentrations in 23 Ger district households and compared these to 10 raw-coal households.

Nintedanib in children and adolescents with fibrosing interstitial lung diseases.

Background: Childhood interstitial lung disease (ILD) comprises a spectrum of rare ILDs affecting infants, children and adolescents. Nintedanib is a licensed treatment for pulmonary fibrosis in adults. The primary objectives of the InPedILD trial were to determine the dose-exposure and safety of nintedanib in children and adolescents with fibrosing ILD.

Integrating quantitative and qualitative approaches to assess wintertime illness-related absenteeism and its direct and indirect costs among the private sector in Ulaanbaatar.

Causes for employee absenteeism vary. The commonest cause of work absenteeism is "illness-related." Mongolia's capital city, Ulaanbaatar, experiences high employee absenteeism during the winter than during other seasons due to the combination of extreme cold and extreme air pollution.

Effectiveness of interventions to reduce household air pollution from solid biomass fuels and improve maternal and child health outcomes in low- and middle-income countries: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Interventions to reduce household air pollution (HAP) are key to reducing associated morbidity and mortality in low- and middle- income countries (LMICs); especially among pregnant women and young children. This systematic review aims to determine the effectiveness of interventions aimed to reduce HAP exposure associated with domestic solid biomass fuel combustion, compared to usual cooking practices, for improving health outcomes in pregnant women and children under five in LMIC settings. A systematic review and meta-analysis was undertaken with searches undertaken in MEDLINE, EMBASE, CENTRAL, GIM, ClinicalTrials.

Conserved Mechanisms in the Formation of the Airways and Alveoli of the Lung.

Branching is an intrinsic property of respiratory epithelium that can be induced and modified by signals emerging from the mesenchyme. However, during stereotypic branching morphogenesis of the airway, the relatively thick upper respiratory epithelium extrudes through a mesenchymal orifice to form a new branch, whereas during alveologenesis the relatively thin lower respiratory epithelium extrudes to form sacs or bubbles. Thus, both branching morphogenesis of the upper airway and alveolarization in the lower airway seem to rely on the same fundamental physical process: epithelial extrusion through an orifice.

Winter Air Pollution from Domestic Coal Fired Heating in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, Is Strongly Associated with a Major Seasonal Cyclic Decrease in Successful Fecundity.

Pollution of the environment is increasing and threatens the health and wellbeing of adults and children around the globe. The impact of air pollution on pulmonary and cardiovascular disease has been well documented, but it also has a deleterious effect on reproductive health. Ulaanbaatar, the capital city of Mongolia, has one of the highest levels of air pollution in the world.

Sprouty2 limits intestinal tuft and goblet cell numbers through GSK3β-mediated restriction of epithelial IL-33.

Dynamic regulation of intestinal cell differentiation is crucial for both homeostasis and the response to injury or inflammation. Sprouty2, an intracellular signaling regulator, controls pathways including PI3K and MAPKs that are implicated in differentiation and are dysregulated in inflammatory bowel disease. Here, we ask whether Sprouty2 controls secretory cell differentiation and the response to colitis.

Effectiveness of interventions to reduce household air pollution from solid biomass fuels and improve maternal and child health outcomes in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review protocol.

Background: A variety of public health interventions have been undertaken in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) to prevent morbidity and mortality associated with household air pollution (HAP) due to cooking, heating and lighting with solid biomass fuels. Pregnant women and children under five are particularly vulnerable to the effects of HAP, due to biological susceptibility and typically higher exposure levels. However, the relative health benefits of interventions to reduce HAP exposure among these groups remain unclear.

Rapid Emergence of Multidrug-Resistance among Gram Negative Isolates at a Tertiary Pediatric and Maternity Hospital in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

Introduction: Information on microbiological and susceptibility profiles of clinical isolates in Mongolia is scarce, hampering infection control and clinical care.

Methods: Species and resistance profiles of 6334 clinical gram negative isolates, collected at Mongolia's National Center for Maternal and Child Health between 2014 and 2017 were analyzed.

Results: Annual proportion of multidrug-resistance among and isolates increased from 2.

Early policy actions and emergency response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Mongolia: experiences and challenges.

Country-led control measures to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, have been diverse. Originating in Wuhan, China, in December, 2019, the COVID-19 outbreak was declared a pandemic by WHO on March 11, 2020. In recognition of the severity of the outbreak, and having the longest shared border with China, the Government of Mongolia activated the State Emergency Committee in January, 2020, on the basis of the 2017 Disaster Protection Law.

Failure to Down-Regulate Expression in Early Postnatal Mouse Lung Epithelium Suppresses Alveologenesis, with Changes in Tgf-β Signaling Similar to those Induced by Exposure to Hyperoxia.

Background: Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is a lung disease of preterm born infants, characterized by alveolar simplification. MicroRNA ( are known to be involved in many biological and pathological processes in the lung. Although a changed expression has been described for several in BPD, a causal role remains to be established.