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The paper considers the possibility of improving the technical characteristics of gas surge arresters for the co-ordination of insulation at low voltage, medium voltage and high voltage levels. The idea for improving the characteristics of a gas surge arrester is based on the application of the radioactive source 241Am in the area of the surge arrester cathode. Intensive ionization with alpha particles significantly increases the number of free electrons in the space between electrodes, which shortens the time of their transition to initial electrons. This changes the Paschen curve of the gas surge arrester, narrows and flattens its impulse characteristic and reduces the stochasticity of the response of the gas surge arrester. All this results in a significant improvement in the characteristics of the gas surge arrester at all voltage levels. This improvement is particularly noticeable in the case of low voltage surge arresters. The paper is basically theoretical-experimental research. The experiments were performed under well-controlled laboratory conditions. The combined measurement uncertainty of all measurements was acceptable.

Summary: The human cytomegalovirus (HCMV)-encoded chemokine receptor US28 contributes to various aspects of the viral life cycle and promotes immune evasion by scavenging chemokines from the microenvironment of HCMV-infected cells. In contrast to the plasma membrane localization of most human chemokine receptors, US28 has a predominant intracellular localization. In this study, we used immunofluorescence and electron microscopy to determine the localization of US28 upon exogenous expression, as well as in HCMV-infected cells. We observed that US28 localizes to late endosomal compartments called multivesicular bodies (MVBs), where it is sorted in intraluminal vesicles. Live-cell total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) microscopy revealed that US28-containing MVBs can fuse with the plasma membrane, resulting in the secretion of US28 on exosomes. Exosomal US28 binds the chemokines CX3CL1 and CCL5, and US28-containing exosomes inhibited the CX3CL1-CX3CR1 signaling axis. These findings suggest that exosomal release of US28 contributes to chemokine scavenging and immune evasion by HCMV.

Muhammad Haris Ilyas,1 Mahnoor Irfan,2 Syeda Anum Zahra3 1School of Medicine, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK; 2St George’s, University of London, London, UK; 3Imperial College, School of Medicine, London, UKCorrespondence: Mahnoor Irfan, Email mahnoorirfan048@gmail.com

Abstract Banana is an important fruit crop in the tropics and subtropics; however, limited information on biomarkers and signature volatiles is available for selecting commercial cultivars. Clonal fidelity is a major contributor to banana yield and aroma; however, there are no useful biomarkers available to validate clonal fidelity. In this study, we performed the molecular profiling of 20 banana cultivars consisting of diploid (AA or AB) and triploid (AAA or AAB or ABB) genomic groups. We screened 200 molecular markers, of which 34 markers (11 RAPD, 11 ISSR, and 12 SSR) yielded unequivocally scorable biomarker profiles. About 75, 69, and 24 allelic loci per marker were detected for RAPD, ISSR, and SSR markers, respectively. The statistical analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) exhibited a high genetic difference of 77% with a significant FST value of 0.23 (p

Fatima Wasti,1 Parmis Vafapour,2 Mahnoor Irfan1 1St George’s, University of London, London, UK; 2Barts and the London, School of Medicine and Dentistry (QMUL), London, UKCorrespondence: Parmis Vafapour, Email p.vafapour@smd18.qmul.ac.uk

Highlights Environmental hazards caused by the ever‐increasing end‐of‐life (EoL) glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRPs) composite waste is of major concern for the sustainable development of the industry. Compared to land filling or incineration, pyrolysis is one of the most promising environmentally friendly methods of disposal of EoL GFRPs. Pyrolysis not only results in recovery of clean glass fibers but other valuable products, such as oils. However, long processing time at elevated temperature leads to aggravation of already existed surface flaws along with the structural changes. Therefore, thermal conditioning of glass fibers results in severe deterioration of the strength in recovered fibers and hence limiting the use of recovered fibers to low end‐products. In this study, a new strategy was adopted where instead of complete cleaning of the fibers at pyrolysis stage, the fibers were partially oxidized and the complete removal of char from the surface of glass was done during hot alkaline etching. This strategy was opted to enhance the quality of the required fibers while reducing the processing time. The results showed ~200% increase in strength of fibers after the combined treatment of pyrolysis and post etching compared to the just pyrolyzed samples with etching time of just 1 min. End‐of‐life panels of GFRPs were pyrolyzed under inert environment of Argon. Residual char was partially removed through post oxidation under flowing air. Hot alkaline etching resulted in complete removal of char and surface defects. Partial oxidation and short etching cycles resulted in improved strength of recovered glass fibers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Potassium-based perovskites hold the potential to substantially modify renewable technology by developing eco-friendly devices. A thorough analysis of structural, electronic, optical, transport, and mechanical characteristics of the double perovskites K2AgGaZ6 (Z = Cl, Br) has been executed using the Wein2K code. The stability has been verified by analyzing optimization curves, tolerance factor, and the enthalpy of formation energy. The AIMD simulation further confirms the thermodynamic stability of both compounds. The analysis of electronic band structures indicates that the perovskite K2AgGaCl6 has a bandgap of 1.85 eV, which is reduced to 1.14 eV for K2AgGaBr6. The Kramer-Kronig relation is used to evaluate optical characteristics, which exhibit extensive absorption within the visible spectrum for both materials, enabling their utilization in photovoltaics and optoelectronics. The Boltzmann semi-classical framework is employed to calculate thermoelectric properties. These materials have great potential for renewable energy applications due to their high ZT values, supported by their high Seebeck coefficients and electrical conductivities. The demonstrated mechanical attributes confirm ductility, stiffness, anisotropy, and higher melting temperature. Hence, this study provides theoretical evidence that these perovskite compounds are well-suited for green energy harvesting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Automatic polarity prediction is a challenging assessment issue. Even though polarity assessment is a critical topic with many existing applications, it is probably not an easy challenge and faces several difficulties in natural language processing (NLP). Public polling data can give useful information, and polarity assessment or classification of comments on Twitter and Facebook may be an effective approach for gaining a better understanding of user sentiments. Text embedding techniques and models related to the artificial intelligence field and sub-fields with differing and almost accurate parameters are among the approaches available for assessing student comments. Existing state-of-the-art methodologies for sentiment analysis to analyze student responses were discussed in this study endeavor. An innovative hybrid model is proposed that uses ensemble learning-based text embedding, a multi-head attention mechanism, and a combination of deep learning classifiers. The proposed model outperforms the existing state-of-the-art deep learning-based techniques. The proposed model achieves 95% accuracy, 97% recall, having a precision of 95% with an F1-score of 96% demonstrating its effectiveness in sentiment analysis of student feedback. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Stature is an important indicator in determining personal identification of an individual. Identification of the deceased has a pivotal role in various medicolegal cases. Attempts have been made by various researchers across the globe to correlate stature with various body parts. But relatively less attention has been given on correlating stature with the phalangeal length. Objectives: In the present study an attempt is made to correlate stature and phalangeal lengths of both the hands in males and females separately. Linear regression formulae are also derived to estimate stature of an individual from phalangeal lengths. Methods: 300 healthy individuals consisting of 150 males and 150 females belonging to North Karnataka population are selected. Stature is measured using Standard Stadiometer. Phalangeal lengths are measured using Vernier Callipers. Result: In present study, the proximal and middle phalangeal lengths of fourth digit (D4P; r=0.47, p=0.001) (D4M; r=0.47, p=0.001) showed higher correlation coefficient with stature in males. Among females, the proximal and distal phalangeal length of first digit of right hand showed highest correlation coefficient value and is significantly correlated with stature(D1P; r=0.47, p=0.001)(D1D; r=0.47, p=0.001). Conclusion: In the present study, phalangeal lengths of first digit in males showed a negligent correlation with stature. Rest of the phalangeal lengths in males showed significant correlation with stature. In females, all the phalangeal lengths showed significant correlation with stature and the values were higher in right hand phalangeal measurements than in left hand.