Comparative cardiotoxicity assessment of bisphenol chemicals and estradiol using human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes.

Bisphenol A (BPA) is commonly used to manufacture consumer and medical-grade plastics. Due to health concerns, BPA substitutes are being incorporated-including bisphenol S (BPS) and bisphenol F (BPF)-without a comprehensive understanding of their toxicological profile. Previous studies suggest that bisphenol chemicals perturb cardiac electrophysiology in a manner that is similar to 17β-estradiol (E2).

Comparative cardiotoxicity assessment of bisphenol chemicals and estradiol using human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes.

Background: Bisphenol A (BPA) is commonly used to manufacture consumer and medical-grade plastics. Due to health concerns, BPA substitutes are being incorporated - including bisphenol S (BPS) and bisphenol F (BPF) - without a comprehensive understanding of their toxicological profile.

Objective: Previous studies suggest that bisphenol chemicals perturb cardiac electrophysiology in a manner that is similar to 17β-estradiol (E2).

The effect of sex and age on ex vivo cardiac electrophysiology: insight from a guinea pig model.

Highlighting the importance of sex as a biological variable, we recently reported sex differences in guinea pig in vivo electrocardiogram (ECG) measurements. However, substantial inconsistencies exist in this animal model, with conflicting reports of sex-specific differences in cardiac electrophysiology observed in vivo and in vitro. Herein, we evaluated whether sexual dimorphism persists in ex vivo preparations, using an isolated intact heart preparation.

Demographic and Methodological Heterogeneity in Electrocardiogram Signals From Guinea Pigs.

Electrocardiograms (ECG) are universally used to measure the electrical activity of the heart; however, variations in recording techniques and/or subject demographics can affect ECG interpretation. In this study, we investigated variables that are likely to influence ECG metric measurements in cardiovascular research, including recording technique, use of anesthesia, and animal model characteristics. Awake limb lead ECG recordings were collected from adult guinea pigs using a platform ECG system, while recordings in anesthetized animals were performed using both a platform and needle ECG system.

Characteristics of Bisphenol Cardiotoxicity: Impaired Excitability, Contractility, and Relaxation.

Bisphenol a (BPA) is a high production volume chemical that is frequently used to manufacture epoxy resins and polycarbonate plastics. BPA-containing products are now pervasive, and as a result, biomonitoring studies report widespread exposure in > 90% of adults, adolescents, and children. Both epidemiological and experimental studies have reported associations between BPA exposure and adverse cardiovascular health outcomes.

KairoSight: Open-Source Software for the Analysis of Cardiac Optical Data Collected From Multiple Species.

Cardiac optical mapping, also known as optocardiography, employs parameter-sensitive fluorescence dye(s) to image cardiac tissue and resolve the electrical and calcium oscillations that underly cardiac function. This technique is increasingly being used in conjunction with, or even as a replacement for, traditional electrocardiography. Over the last several decades, optical mapping has matured into a "gold standard" for cardiac research applications, yet the analysis of optical signals can be challenging.

Replace and repair: Biomimetic bioprinting for effective muscle engineering.

The debilitating effects of muscle damage, either through ischemic injury or volumetric muscle loss (VML), can have significant impacts on patients, and yet there are few effective treatments. This challenge arises when function is degraded due to significant amounts of skeletal muscle loss, beyond the regenerative ability of endogenous repair mechanisms. Currently available surgical interventions for VML are quite invasive and cannot typically restore function adequately.

Bisphenol S and Bisphenol F Are Less Disruptive to Cardiac Electrophysiology, as Compared With Bisphenol A.

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a high-production volume chemical used to manufacture consumer and medical-grade plastic products. Due to its ubiquity, the general population can incur daily environmental exposure to BPA, whereas heightened exposure has been reported in intensive care patients and industrial workers. Due to health concerns, structural analogs are being explored as replacements for BPA.

Outcomes of laceration suture repair in the emergency department.

Objective: To assess patient satisfaction with laceration management, post-ED care, cosmesis and complication rates.

Methods: We undertook a prospective observational study of adult patients with lacerations sutured in two EDs over a 4-month period. ED data included participant demographics, laceration characteristics and management.

Bisphenols and phthalates: Plastic chemical exposures can contribute to adverse cardiovascular health outcomes.

Phthalates and bisphenols are high production volume chemicals that are used in the manufacturing of consumer and medical products. Given the ubiquity of bisphenol and phthalate chemicals in the environment, biomonitoring studies routinely detect these chemicals in 75-90% of the general population. Accumulating evidence suggests that such chemical exposures may influence human health outcomes, including cardiovascular health.

Pinus ponderosa: A checkered past obscured four species.

Premise Of The Study: Molecular genetic evidence can help delineate taxa in species complexes that lack diagnostic morphological characters. Pinus ponderosa (Pinaceae; subsection Ponderosae) is recognized as a problematic taxon: plastid phylogenies of exemplars were paraphyletic, and mitochondrial phylogeography suggested at least four subdivisions of P. ponderosa.

Bevacizumab Versus Ranibizumab in the Treatment of Macular Edema Due to Retinal Vein Occlusion: 6-Month Results of the CRAVE Study.

Background And Objective: To compare efficacy of monthly treatment with bevacizumab or ranibizumab for macular edema due to retinal vein occlusion.

Patients And Methods: Randomized, multicenter, comparative trial (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT01428388).

Ranibizumab versus photodynamic therapy for presumed ocular histoplasmosis syndrome.

Background And Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of ranibizumab in the treatment of choroidal neovascularization secondary to presumed ocular histoplasmosis syndrome.

Patients And Methods: Patients enrolled in the ranibizumab group received a monthly intravitreal injection of 0.5 mg of ranibizumab.

Differentially expressed genes during malting and correlation with malting quality phenotypes in barley (Hordeum vulgare L.).

Breeding for malting quality is an important goal of malting barley breeding programs. Malting quality is a complex phenotype that combines a large number of interrelated components, each of which shows complex inheritance. Currently, only a few genes involved in determining malting quality have been characterized.

Histologic and immunohistochemical features of a vitreous cyst.

Purpose: To report the histologic and immunohistochemical features of a congenital vitreous cyst.

Methods: Interventional case report with immunohistochemical correlation. A 58-year-old woman with known vitreous cyst since childhood had an enlarging visual floater.

Outcome of macular hole surgery in diabetic patients with nonproliferative retinopathy.

Purpose: To determine the outcome of macular hole surgery in a diabetic population with no evidence of proliferative retinopathy.

Methods: This is a retrospective chart review of 183 patients (194 eyes) undergoing pars plana vitrectomy for an idiopathic macular hole.

Results: The anatomic closure rate for the diabetic patients without proliferative retinopathy was 93.