Hirudin Inhibits Pyroptosis to Alleviate Renal Fibrosis via the mTOR/HIF-1α Pathway.

Hirudin, a polypeptide extracted from medicinal leeches, has demonstrated potential in treating renal fibrosis. This study aimed to explore the underlying mechanisms by which Hirudin alleviates renal fibrosis. Renal fibrosis models were established using unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO) surgery in rats and transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β)-induced HK-2 cells, followed by treatment with different concentrations of Hirudin.

Covariate adjustment in LGBTQ+ health disparities research: aligning methods with assumptions.

In 2016, the NIH designated LGBTQ+ individuals (ie, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and all sexual and gender minorities) as a health disparities population. The growing interest in studying the health of LGBTQ+ populations merits revisiting the methodological approaches researchers employ. We elucidate how researchers can identify appropriate adjustment sets for causal questions using directed acyclic graphs (DAGs).

Preoperative embolization improves local control and modulates gene expression in atypical WHO grade 2 meningioma.

Background: Preoperative embolization is hypothesized to reduce blood loss and operative time for meningioma resection, but the impact of preoperative embolization on long-term oncological outcomes and molecular features of meningiomas is incompletely understood. Here we investigate how preoperative embolization influences perioperative and long-term outcomes and molecular features of atypical WHO grade 2 meningiomas.

Methods: Patients who underwent resection of WHO grade 2 meningiomas from 1997 to 2021 were retrospectively identified from an institutional database.

Electrophysiological identification of 4 macrocyclic lactones as female-specific volatiles of the agarwood tree defoliator Heortia vitessoides (Lepidoptera: Crambidae).

Agarwood trees (Aquilaria spp.) are widely cultivated in tropical Asia for their valuable resin. The defoliator moth Heortia vitessoides Moore (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) is a devastating pest that significantly limits the productivity of agarwood plantations.

[ Granules ameliorate renal damage in MRL/lpr mice by inhibiting the MyD88/NF-κB pathway].

Objectives: To investigate the mechanism of (QJZ) for ameliorating renal damage in MRL/lpr mice.

Methods: With 6 female C57BL/6 mice as the normal control group, 30 female MRL/lpr mice were randomized into model group, QJZ treatment groups at low, moderate and high doses, and prednisone treatment group (6). After 8 weeks of treatment, the mice were examined for 24-h urine protein, creatinine and albumin levels, serum levels of IgG, complement 3 (C3), C4, anti-dsDNA, interferon γ (IFN‑γ) and interleukin 17 (IL-17).