Kent State University View Institution's Website 10 articles published in JoVE Behavior Measuring Skeletal Muscle Thermogenesis in Mice and Rats Christina A. Watts1, Alexandra Haupt1, Jordan Smith2, Emily Welch3, Aalia Malik3, Roman Giacomino3, Dinah Walter3, Nhlalala Mavundza1, Ashley Shemery1, Heather K. Caldwell1,3, Colleen M. Novak1,3 1School of Biomedical Sciences, Kent State University, 2College of Public Health, Kent State University, 3Department of Biological Sciences, Kent State University Mice and rats are surgically implanted with remote temperature transponders and then habituated to the testing environment and procedure. Changes in muscle temperature are measured in response to pharmacological or contextual stimuli in the home cage or during prescribed physical activity (i.e., treadmill walking at a constant speed). Bioengineering Ensemble Force Spectroscopy by Shear Forces Pravin Pokhrel1, Changpeng Hu1, Hanbin Mao1 1Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, Kent State University Ensemble force spectroscopy (EFS) is a robust technique for mechanical unfolding and real-time sensing of an ensemble set of biomolecular structures in biophysical and biosensing fields. Neuroscience Dissection and Isolation of Murine Glia from Multiple Central Nervous System Regions Maksim Sinyuk1, Jessica L. Williams1,2 1Department of Neurosciences, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, 2Brain Health Research Institute, Kent State University Here we present a protocol for in vitro isolation of multiple glial cell populations from a mouse CNS. This method allows for the segregation of regional microglia, oligodendrocyte precursor cells, and astrocytes to study the phenotypes of each in a variety of culture systems. Chemistry High-Contrast and Fast Photorheological Switching of a Twist-Bend Nematic Liquid Crystal Satoshi Aya1, Péter Salamon2, Daniel A. Paterson3, John M. D. Storey3, Corrie T. Imrie3, Fumito Araoka1, Antal Jákli4, Ágnes Buka2 1RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science (CEMS), 2Institute for Solid State Physics and Optics, Wigner Research Center for Physics, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, 3Department of Chemistry, School of Natural and Computing Sciences, University of Aberdeen, 4Chemical Physics Interdisciplinary Program and Liquid Crystal Institute, Kent State University This protocol demonstrates the preparation of a photorheological material that exhibits a solid phase, various liquid crystalline phases, and an isotropic liquid phase by increasing temperature. Presented here are methods for measuring the structure-viscoelasticity relationship of the material. Behavior Eye-tracking to Distinguish Comprehension-based and Oculomotor-based Regressive Eye Movements During Reading Jocelyn R. Folk1, Michael A. Eskenazi2 1Department of Psychological Sciences, Kent State University, 2Department of Psychology, Stetson University The method was designed to investigate the role of inhibition of return (IOR) in regressive eye movements during reading. The focus is on differentiating between regressions triggered as a result of comprehension difficulty versus those triggered from oculomotor error, including the role of IOR in the two types of regressions. Biology The Ingestion of Fluorescent, Magnetic Nanoparticles for Determining Fluid-uptake Abilities in Insects Matthew S. Lehnert1, Kristen E. Reiter1, Andrew Bennett1, Patrick D. Gerard2, Qi-Huo Wei3, Miranda Byler1, Huan Yan3, Wah-Keat Lee4 1Department of Biological Sciences, Kent State University at Stark, 2Department of Mathematical Sciences, Clemson University, 3Liquid Crystal Institute, Kent State University, 4Brookhaven National Laboratory Fluid-feeding insects have the ability to acquire minute quantities of liquids from porous surfaces. This protocol describes a method to directly determine the ability for insects to ingest liquids from porous surfaces using feeding solutions with fluorescent, magnetic nanoparticles. Bioengineering Synthesis of Biocompatible Liquid Crystal Elastomer Foams as Cell Scaffolds for 3D Spatial Cell Cultures Marianne E. Prévôt1, Senay Ustunel1, Leah E. Bergquist2, Richard Cukelj3, Yunxiang Gao1, Taizo Mori1, Lindsay Pauline3, Robert J. Clements3, Elda Hegmann1 1Liquid Crystal Institute, Kent State University, 2Chemical Physics Interdisciplinary Program, Liquid Crystal Institute, Kent State University, 3Department of Biological Sciences, Kent State University This study presents a methodology to prepare 3D, biodegradable, foam-like cell scaffolds based on biocompatible side-chain liquid crystal elastomers (LCEs). Confocal microscopy experiments show that foam-like LCEs allow for cell attachment, proliferation, and the spontaneous alignment of C2C12s myoblasts. Bioengineering Alternating Magnetic Field-Responsive Hybrid Gelatin Microgels for Controlled Drug Release Baeckkyoung Sung*1,2, Steven Shaffer*1, Michal Sittek*1, Talib Alboslemy1, Chanjoong Kim2,3, Min-Ho Kim1 1Department of Biological Sciences, Kent State University, 2Liquid Crystal Institute, Kent State University, 3Chemical Physics Interdisciplinary Program, Kent State University We present a facile method to fabricate a biodegradable gelatin-based drug release platform that is magneto-thermally responsive. This was achieved by incorporating superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles and poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-co-acrylamide) within a spherical gelatin micro-network crosslinked by genipin, in conjunction with an alternating magnetic field application system. Biology Bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) Labeling and Subsequent Fluorescence Activated Cell Sorting for Culture-independent Identification of Dissolved Organic Carbon-degrading Bacterioplankton Steven Robbins*1, Jisha Jacob*1, Xinxin Lu1, Mary Ann Moran2, Xiaozhen Mou1 1Biological Sciences, Kent State University, 2Marine Sciences, University of Georgia (UGA) Environmental bacterioplankton are incubated with a model dissolved organic carbon (DOC) compound and a DNA labeling reagent, bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU). Afterward, DOC-degrading cells are separated from the bulk community based on their elevated BrdU incorporation using fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS). These cells are then identified by subsequent molecular analyses. Medicine Mouse Model of Middle Cerebral Artery Occlusion Terrance Chiang1, Robert O. Messing1, Wen-Hai Chou1,2 1Department of Neurology, Ernest Gallo Clinic and Research Center, University of California, San Francisco, 2Department of Biological Sciences, Kent State University We demonstrate in the video a method for producing a middle cerebral artery occlusion in adult mice using an intraluminal monofilament. We also show how to evaluate the extent of cerebral infarction by 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC) staining.