Louisiana Tech University View Institution's Website 4 articles published in JoVE Biology Detecting Estrogenic Ligands in Personal Care Products using a Yeast Estrogen Screen Optimized for the Undergraduate Teaching Laboratory Thea M. Edwards1,2, Howard E. Morgan2,3, Coralia Balasca4, Naveen K. Chalasani5, Lauren Yam4,6, Alison M. Roark4 1Department of Biology, University of the South, 2School of Biological Sciences, Louisiana Tech University, 3School of Medicine, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, 4Department of Biology, Furman University, 5Department of Computer Science, Louisiana Tech University, 6Clemson University This article presents an optimized yeast estrogen screen for quantifying ligands in Personal Care Products (PCPs) that bind estrogen receptors alpha (ERα) and/or beta (ERβ). The method incorporates two colorimetric substrate options, a six-day refrigerated incubation for use in undergraduate courses, and statistical tools for data analysis. Biology The Assembly and Application of 'Shear Rings': A Novel Endothelial Model for Orbital, Unidirectional and Periodic Fluid Flow and Shear Stress Luke A. White1, Emily V. Stevenson1, J. Winny Yun1, Randa Eshaq1, Norman R. Harris1, David K. Mills2, Alireza Minagar3, Pierre-Olivier Couraud4, J. Steven Alexander1 1Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in Shreveport, 2Biological Sciences, Louisiana Tech University, 3Neurology, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in Shreveport, 4Institut Cochin, Inserm U1016, Cnrs Umr8104, Université Paris Descartes Different levels and patterns of fluid shear are known to modulate endothelial gene expression, phenotype and susceptibility to disease. We discuss the assembly and use of 'shear rings': a model that produces unidirectional, periodic shear stress patterns. Shear rings are simple to assemble, economical and can produce high cell yields. Bioengineering Generation of Scalable, Metallic High-Aspect Ratio Nanocomposites in a Biological Liquid Medium Kinsey Cotton Kelly1, Jessica R. Wasserman2, Sneha Deodhar3, Justin Huckaby4, Mark A. DeCoster4,5 1Biophysics Department, Centenary College of Louisiana, 2Department of Chemistry, Louisiana Tech University, 3Department of Integrative Physiology, University of North Texas Health Sciences Center, 4Biomedical Engineering, Louisiana Tech University, 5Institute for Micromanufacturing, Louisiana Tech University Here we present a protocol to synthesize novel, high-aspect ratio biocomposites under biological conditions and in liquid media. The biocomposites scale from nanometers to micrometers in diameter and length, respectively. Copper nanoparticles (CNPs) and copper sulfate combined with cystine are the key components for the synthesis. Neuroscience Multiphoton Microscopy of Cleared Mouse Brain Expressing YFP Sonia G. Parra*1, Sam S. Vesuna*1, Teresa A. Murray1,2, Michael J. Levene1 1Department of Biomedical Engineering, Yale University, 2Department of Biomedical Engineering, Louisiana Tech University Multiphoton microscopy of whole mouse organs is possible by optically clearing the organ before imaging, but not all protocols preserve the fluorescent signal of fluorescent proteins. Using an optical clearing method with ethanol-based dehydration and benzyl alcohol:benzyl benzoate clearing, we show high-resolution multiphoton images of whole mouse brain expressing YFP.