Cryopreservation Methods and Frontiers in the Art of Freezing Life in Animal Models

The development in cryobiology in animal breeding had revolutionized the field of reproductive medicine. The main objective to preserve animal germplasm stems from variety of reasons such as conservation of endangered animal species, animal diversity, and an increased demand of animal models and/or genetically modified animals for research involving animal and human diseases. Cryopreservation has emerged as promising technique for fertility preservation and assisted reproduction techniques (ART) for production of animal breeds and genetically engineered animal species for research. Slow rate freezing and rapid freezing/vitrification are the two main methods of cryopreservation. Slow freezing is characterized by the phase transition (liquid turning into solid) when reducing the temperature below freezing point. Vitrification, on the other hand, is a phenomenon in which liquid solidifies without the formation of ice crystals, thus the process is referred to as a glass transition or ice-free cryopreservation. The vitrification protocol applies high concentrations of cryoprotective agents (CPA) used to avoid cryoinjury. This chapter provides a brief overview of fundamentals of cryopreservation and established methods adopted in cryopreservation. Strategies involved in cryopreserving germ cells (sperm and egg freezing) are included in this chapter. Last section describes the frontiers and advancement of cryopreservation in some of the important animal models like rodents (mouse and rats) and in few large animals (sheep, cow etc).

Applied Intelligence for Mental Health Detection

Mental health is a major healthcare issue around the world, and it must be made a priority in the healthcare sector. That being said, it seems that progress in this area is moving at a slow rate. These conditions aren't always difficult to live with, but they also put you at risk for heart failure, severe anxiety, and depression, leading to serious stress and physical disability. In middle and upper nations, a majority of people deal with at least one of these psychiatric disorders at a certain stage in their lives. Artificial intelligence techniques have recently received a lot of attention in a variety of areas, including psychological health. A personalized therapy that aims to deliver emotional support to a particular person has to be enabled with the help of specialized artificial intelligence methods and ML algorithms. The aim of this chapter is to evaluate and create a system that assists a person in predicting and curing his or her psychiatric disorder using various artificial intelligence concepts and strategies, thus assisting people in curing their problems.

Research Competence for Teaching Students With Disabilities Act (IDEA) in Russian General Education

Research Competence for Teaching Students with Disabilities Act (IDEA) in Russian General Education needs of students with disabilities are caused by patterns of impaired development: difficulties of interaction with environment (first of all, with surrounding people), problems of individual development; the smaller speed of reception and processing of sensory information; the smaller volume of the information remaining in memory; problems of verbal expression (for example, difficulties in development of verbal generalizations and in nomination of objects); problems of development of any movements (slowness, difficulties of coordination); the slow rate of mental development as a whole; increased fatigability. Taking into account special educational requirements, special educational conditions are created for children with disabilities. Difficulties in interactions with social environment are also caused by special features of development of students with disabilities.

Incremental Validity of Multi-Method and Multi-Informant Evaluations in the Clinical Diagnosis of Preschool ADHD

Objectives: This study investigated the discriminative validity of various single or combined measurements of electroencephalogram (EEG) data, Conners’ Kiddie Continuous Performance Test (K-CPT), and Disruptive Behavior Disorder Rating Scale (DBDRS) to differentiate preschool children with ADHD from those with typical development (TD). Method: We recruited 70 preschoolers, of whom 38 were diagnosed with ADHD and 32 exhibited TD; all participants underwent the K-CPT and wireless EEG recording in different conditions (rest, slow-rate, and fast-rate task). Results: Slow-rate task-related central parietal delta (1–4 Hz) and central alpha (8–13 Hz) and beta (13–30 Hz) powers between groups with ADHD and TD were significantly distinct ( p < .05). A combination of DBDRS, K-CPT, and specific EEG data provided the best probability scores (area under curve = 0.926, p < .001) and discriminative validity to identify preschool children with ADHD (overall correct classification rate = 85.71%). Conclusions: Multi-method and multi-informant evaluations should be emphasized in clinical diagnosis of preschool ADHD.

Structural basis of the super- and hyper-relaxed states of myosin II

Super-relaxation is a state of muscle thick filaments in which ATP turnover by myosin is much slower than that of myosin II in solution. This inhibited state, in equilibrium with a faster (relaxed) state, is ubiquitous and thought to be fundamental to muscle function, acting as a mechanism for switching off energy-consuming myosin motors when they are not being used. The structural basis of super-relaxation is usually taken to be a motif formed by myosin in which the two heads interact with each other and with the proximal tail forming an interacting-heads motif, which switches the heads off. However, recent studies show that even isolated myosin heads can exhibit this slow rate. Here, we review the role of head interactions in creating the super-relaxed state and show how increased numbers of interactions in thick filaments underlie the high levels of super-relaxation found in intact muscle. We suggest how a third, even more inhibited, state of myosin (a hyper-relaxed state) seen in certain species results from additional interactions involving the heads. We speculate on the relationship between animal lifestyle and level of super-relaxation in different species and on the mechanism of formation of the super-relaxed state. We also review how super-relaxed thick filaments are activated and how the super-relaxed state is modulated in healthy and diseased muscles.

Promises and challenges of Blockchain in education

Blockchain is arguably the next technology-mediated socioeconomic mega trend after the ongoing era of Net Neutrality and Big Data. This theoretical paper explores blockchain technology and its impacts on education. It is argued that we cannot take for granted that the network neutrality, popularized accessibility of the Internet and its influence on education will remain as we know it today. Blockchain promises, among others, a greater control over financing and investing in education, implementing instructional projects, a certification/accreditation system and learning. Education blockchain with its distributed ledgers would set novel standards of crypto-learning and crypto-administration that are acceptable across organizations and nations, enhancing thus the objectivity, validity and control of information without being compromised by socio-economic instabilities. The slow rate of adoption of blockchain technology in education reflects the rate in the fields of finance and management but, at the same time, it poses a few critical challenges such as lacking tangible incentives for technology maintenance or ‘blockchain mining’ (inward sustainability) coupled with a rather feeble orientation to collective development of education (outward sustainability).

Influence of native ureolytic microbial community on biocementation potential of Sporosarcina pasteurii

Microbially induced calcium carbonate precipitation (MICP)/Biocementation has emerged as a promising technique for soil engineering applications. There are chiefly two methods by which MICP is applied for field applications including biostimulation and bioaugmentation. Although bioaugmentation strategy using efficient ureolytic biocementing culture of Sporosarcina pasteurii is widely practiced, the impact of native ureolytic microbial communities (NUMC) on CaCO3 mineralisation via S. pasteurii has not been explored. In this paper, we investigated the effect of different concentrations of NUMC on MICP kinetics and biomineral properties in the presence and absence of S. pasteurii. Kinetic analysis showed that the biocementation potential of S. pasteurii is sixfold higher than NUMC and is not significantly impacted even when the concentration of the NUMC is eight times higher. Micrographic results revealed a quick rate of CaCO3 precipitation by S. pasteurii leading to generation of smaller CaCO3 crystals (5–40 µm), while slow rate of CaCO3 precipitation by NUMC led to creation of larger CaCO3 crystals (35–100 µm). Mineralogical results showed the predominance of calcite phase in both sets. The outcome of current study is crucial for tailor-made applications of MICP.

Iron-Speciation Control of Chalcopyrite Dissolution from a Carbonatite Derived Concentrate with Acidic Ferric Sulphate Media

The mechanisms involved in the dissolution of chalcopyrite from a carbonatite concentrate in a ferric sulphate solution at pH 1.0, 1.5 and 1.8, and temperatures 25 °C and 50 °C were investigated. Contrary to expectations and thermodynamic predictions according to which low pH would favour high Cu dissolution, the opposite was observed. The dissolution was also highly correlated to the temperature. CuFeS2 phase dissolution produced intermediate Cu rich phases: CuS, Cu2S and Cu5FeS4, which appeared to envelop CuFeS2. Thermodynamic prediction revealed CuS to be refractory and could hinder dissolution. CuFeS2 phase solid-state dissolution process was further discussed. Free Fe3+ and its complexes (Fe(HSO4)2+, Fe(SO4)2– and FeSO4+ were responsible for Cu dissolution, which increased with increasing pH and temperature. The dissolution improved at pH 1.8 rather than 1.0 due to the increase of (Fe(HSO4)2+, Fe(SO4)2– and FeSO4+, which were also the predominating species at a higher temperature. The fast and linear first dissolution stage was attributed to the combined effect of Fe3+ and its complex (Fe(HSO4)2+, while Fe(SO4)2– was the main species for the second Cu dissolution stage characterised by a slow rate.