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The order-of-addition experiments aim at determining the optimal order of m components such that the yields are optimized. The component orthogonal array (COA) allows to economically find out the optimal order by testing some carefully selected orders from all of the m! orders. This paper proposes a new method of finding COAs of broader run sizes. As an application of the new method, some COAs with 4, 5 and 6 components are tabulated. The D-efficiencies of the COAs found by the new method are investigated under the pair-wise ordering model.

Since the microstructure of components made by Laser-based powder bed fusion of metals (PBF-LB/M) is directly affected by the melting and solidification, mechanical properties are very sensitive to deviating process conditions. If deviations occur, local defects may remain within the microstructure. The impact of isolated defects on the resulting mechanical properties is only poorly understood. Since PBF-LB/M processes are increasingly used in industrial applications, fundamental systematic studies on the effects of structural defects on the mechanical properties are necessary to ensure quality. Thus, single defined structural defects of different dimensions are reproducibly placed in PBF-LB/M samples and used for static-mechanical tests. The results of tensile testing are compared with structural mechanical simulations, which provide insights into the prevailing stress and strain distributions. The achieved results show that isolated internal defects have only a minor influence on static strength parameters. Particularly with larger defect sizes, the values determined for tensile strength and yield strength showed only minor impairment.

We introduce order-of-addition (OofA) experiments, which study the order in which m components are applied, such as the order in which m chemicals are added to a mix or m layers to a film. ...

This paper is concerned with a system consisting of multiple types of components and having ( k 1 , k 2 , … , k m ) -out-of- n structure. The ( k 1 , k 2 , … , k m ) -out-of- n system is a system consisting of n i components of type i , i = 1 , 2 , … , m , and functions if at least k 1 components of type 1, k 2 components of type 2, …, k m components of type m work, n = ∑ i = 1 n n i . The exact and approximate expressions are obtained for the survival function of the system under concern. The weighted- ( k 1 , k 2 , … , k m ) -out-of- n system is also defined and studied. This weighted model is applied to evaluate the wind power system that consists of two wind plants.

Design of experiments is a branch of statistics that has been employed in different areas of knowledge. A particular case of experimental designs is uniform mixture design. A uniform mixture design method aims to spread points (mixtures) uniformly distributed in the experimental region. Each mixture should meet the constraint that the sum of its components must be equal to one. In this paper, we propose a new method to approximate uniform mixture designs via evolutionary multi-objective optimization. For this task, we formulate three M -objective optimization problems whose Pareto optimal fronts correspond to a mixture design of M components (or dimensions). In order to obtain a uniform mixture design, we consider six well-known algorithms used in the area of evolutionary multi-objective optimization to solve M -objective optimization problems. Thus, a set of solutions approximates the entire Pareto front of each M -objective problem, while it implicitly approximates a uniform mixture design. We evaluate our proposed methodology by generating mixture designs in two, three, and up to eight dimensions, and we compare the results obtained concerning those produced by different methods available in the specialized literature. Our results indicate that the proposed strategy is a promising alternative to approximate uniform mixture designs. Unlike most of the existing approaches, it obtains mixture designs for an arbitrary number of points. Moreover, the generated design points are properly distributed in the experimental region.

Channel base currents from natural lightning have been measured on the new top structure of the Peissenberg Tower, Germany, since 2008. Here, an analysis is given of the impulsive currents, called initial continuous current (ICC)-pulses, that occurred during the ICC, and of the impulsive currents, called M-component currents, that occurred during the continuing current following return strokes. It was found that the M-component currents and the ICC-pulses closely resemble each other. The 45 flashes analyzed were exclusively negative upward lightning containing 60 return strokes and 264 impulsive currents (79 M-components and 185 ICC-pulses). A total of 246 (93.2%) impulsive currents were negative ones, and 18 (6.8%) impulsive currents were positive ones. The majority of 83.7% were pure impulsive currents and the minority of 16.3% were combined impulsive currents composed by two or more pure impulsive currents. For the pure impulsive currents, the analysis revealed three different types of waveforms for both the M-component currents and the ICC-pulses. The currents of the first type have a more or less symmetrical wave shape. For the 27 M-component currents and the 103 ICC-pulses (values in parentheses) of the first type, the geometric mean values are 0.7 (0.5) kA for the peak value, 23.9 (24.7) μs for the 10%-to-90% risetime, 101.0 (96.5) μs for the full width at half-maximum (FWHM), and 94.3 (57.1) mC for the transferred charge. The impulsive currents of the second type have a bipolar wave shape with current reversal. For the 31 M-component currents and the 37 ICC-pulses of the second type, the geometric mean values are 0.9 (0.6) kA for the peak value, 11.8 (16.9) μs for the 10%-to-90% risetime, 60.6 (74.7) μs for the FWHM, and −42.4/58.5 (−34.1/26.5) mC for the negative/positive charge of the bipolar pulses. The impulsive currents of the third type have a wave shape, which exhibits a fast rise to peak and a much longer decay to low current values. For the 5 M-component currents and the 18 ICC-pulses of the third type, the geometric mean values are 1.0 (1.2) kA for the current peak, 1.2 (2.9) μs for the 10%-to-90% risetime, 56.8 (29.0) μs for the FWHM, and 44.8 (24.03) mC for the transferred charge.

A refinement is proposed for Gause’s principle of competitive exclusion, which guarantees the disappearance of at least one species in a community with a species number that exceeds the number of resources. Theorems revealing the disappearance of at least n – m components have been developed for a general finite-dimensional system of differential equations that simulates the dynamics of a community with n species in a rough case, i.e., in the absence of a finite number of coincidences defined by relations of the equality type, provided that the Malthusian vector-valued function only assumes values on the hyperplane of the dimension m, which does not contain the origin. It is proposed that the constructed theory can be used for a Lotka–Volterra type system with a Malthusian vector-function, which is a linear combination of the quantities of the available resources.

The six force–moment (F/M) components exerted by aligners of different thickness during simulated mesiorotation and distorotation of a mandibular canine were studied. An acrylic mandibular model with a separated right canine mounted on a hexapod via a 3D F/M sensor was used. Duran+® aligners (Scheu Dental, Germany) of thickness 0.5, 0.625, and 0.75 mm were fabricated on plaster models with the measurement tooth in its neutral position. The F/M values were recorded during progressive mesiorotation or distorotation of tooth 43 in 1° steps up to ±15°, corresponding to 0.5 mm displacements of the tooth’s interdental contacts. Each rotation step included renewed seating of the aligner on the acrylic model. Three aligners were tested three times each for each thickness and direction of rotation. The median rotational moments for the 0.5 mm aligner and 15° distorotation of tooth 43 was 27.49 Nmm (interquartile range, IQR 1.45 Nmm). The corresponding values for the 0.625 and 0.75 mm aligners were 41.04 Nmm (IQR 5.62 Nmm) and 42.48 Nmm (IQR 2.17 Nmm), respectively. The average rotational moments for distorotation were 15% higher than for mesiorotation (p = 0.01). Relatively high collateral F/M components, specifically an intrusive force and labiolingual and mesiodistal tipping moments, were observed. To avoid overloading of periodontal structures, derotation of lower canines should be limited to 10° per setup step, leading to rotational moments of about 15 Nmm. The mechanical behavior of the 0.625 and 0.75 mm aligners were similar; thus, it may be omitted from the aligner sequence. Further studies are required to investigate specific aligner modifications or attachments for minimizing collateral F/M components or unwanted movements, respectively, during canine derotation.

Introduction: Our aim was to compare analytical specifications of two assays (monoclonal vs. polyclonal) for free light chains (FLCs) quantification optimized for two different analytical platforms, nephelometer ProSpec (Siemens, Erlangen, Germany) and turbidimetric analyser Optilite (The Binding Site, Birmingham, UK). Materials and methods: The evaluation included verification of the precision, repeatability and reproducibility, estimation of accuracy and method comparison study with 37 serum samples of haematological patients. Kappa and lambda FLC were measured in each sample by both methods and kappa/lambda ratio was calculated. Results: Results show satisfactory precision of both methods with coefficients of variation for ProSpec of CVwr = 2.20% and CVbr = 3.44%, and for Optilite CVwr = 2.82% and CVbr = 4.15%. Estimated bias for FLC lambda was higher on the ProSpec analyser, but bias for FLC kappa was higher on the Optilite analyser. Correlation coefficients were 0.98; P < 0.001 for FLC kappa and 0.97; P < 0.001 for FLC lambda. Considering normal/pathological FLC ratio moderate agreement within assays was detected (κ = 0.621). When the results were categorized according to criteria for progressive disease, 4/37 (0.10) cases were differently classified. Lambda FLC values by Optilite in three samples with monoclonal FLC lambda were more than twelve times higher than by ProSpec. A 25% difference in FLC ratio was detected in 16/37 (0.43) and 50% difference in 13/37 (0.35) patients. Conclusions: All manufacturers’ precision claims could not be achieved in the verification study. The comparison of results to biological variations data showed that coefficients of variations are acceptable for both assays. The assays should not be used interchangeably in haematological patients.

Introduction: While the influence of type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) on periodontal health is well established, results of previous studies regarding the association of this metabolic disease and caries experience are rather inconsistent. The aim of this study was to assess the differences between caries status of healthy and adolescents with T1DM, as well as to determine the differences in caries experience among diabetic patients in relation to their metabolic control.Methods: Assessment of caries status was performed using the DMFT index (decayed, missing, and filled teeth). The study group (Diabetic) included 60 patients diagnosed with T1DM, aged 12-18 years, from Sarajevo Canton. This group was divided into two sub-groups: a sub-group Diabetic-W consisted of 30 patients with well-controlled glycaemia, while a subgroup Diabetic-P comprised of 30 patients with poorer glycemic control. The control group consisted of 30 age-matched metabolically healthy individuals.Results: The T1DM adolescents had a significantly higher (p < 0.01) mean DMFT score than the healthy subjects, 11.49 and 6.19 respectively. Statistically, the diabetic group had also significantly higher values of the D and M components. Concerning the metabolic control, mean DMFT score in the Diabetic-W subgroup was lower (10.57) than in the Diabetic-P subgroup (12.39), however the difference was not statistically significant.Conclusions: The results demonstrate that the T1DM patients have a higher caries experience, regardless of the degree of metabolic control. The level of untreated dental decay and missing teeth components among the diabetic adolescents indicates irregular dental attendance.

We show that every alternating pretzel knot satisfies the slice-ribbon conjecture and that every alternating pretzel link with m components ( m ≥ 2 ) is not slice in the strong sense.

In 2007 the top structure of the Peissenberg Tower was modernized and since 2008 lightning currents have been measured with this new top structure. This paper deals with a detailed analysis of 45 negative upward flashes, including 60 return strokes and 264 impulsive currents, measured between 11/21/2008 and 08/09/2017. 185 of this impulsive currents occurred during the initial continuous current (ICC), called ICC-pulses, and 79 occurred during the continuing current (CC) following return strokes, called M-components. The goal of the analysis of these impulsive currents was to figure out their characteristics. It was found out, that current pulses during the ICC resemble closely M-component currents. Further the analysis revealed three different types of waveforms for impulsive currents occurring during the ICC as well as during the CC. The first type is characterized by a nearly symmetrical waveform. 130 out of 264 impulsive currents were of this type one. 68 impulsive currents of the second type revealed a bipolar waveform with current reversal. Impulsive currents of the third type show a waveform, characterized by a fast rise to peak and a much longer decay to lower current values. 23 out of 264 impulsive currents were of type three. Furthermore we found four combinations (A-D) of at least two pure impulsive currents of type 1-3. In total 43 out of 264 impulsive currents were combined impulsive currents.

Background Serum and urinary protein electrophoresis play an important role in the identification of monoclonal gammopathy. Recently, capillary electrophoresis (CE) has been adapted in many clinical laboratories because of several advantages such as short turnaround time, automation, and high reproducibility. However, there have been unsolved concerns for the concordance between conventional gel and automated capillary electrophoresis methods for protein separation in clinical specimens. In this study, we investigated the diagnostic performance of both methods for detecting monoclonal (M) protein. Methods From February 2012 to August 2015, a total of 3,013 CE tests were performed in our hospital. Among these cases, we reconfirmed results of CE (Capillary 2, Sebia, Lysse, France) with those of conventional agarose gel electrophoresis (GE) (Hydragel 4IF, Sebia, Lisses, France) in 28 specimens from 24 patients with newly diagnosed monoclonal gammopathy (group 1). In addition, 22 cases from 15 patients with previously diagnosed monoclonal gammopathy presenting indeterminate or suspicious results on CE (group 2) were also reconfirmed with GE. Results We compared the results between the two electrophoresis methods in two different groups of patients with newly diagnosed discrete monoclonal peaks vs. pre-existing monoclonal gammopathy with obscure results in follow-up courses. In group 1, agreement rate was 100% (28/28) and there was no discrepant result between these two electrophoresis methods. In contrast, group 2 showed 86.4% (19/22) agreement rate and 0.67 Cohen's kappa value (95% confidence interval, 0.51 - 1.02). Conclusions According to our results, both electrophoresis methods can be used with the same level of assurance at the time of initial diagnosis for monoclonal gammopathy. However, in patients with previously diagnosed monoclonal gammopathy in follow-up course after appropriate treatments, discordant results can be observed due to the reduced amount of M proteins. Therefore, we suggest that some ambiguous cases with very small amounts of M components require a combination of both CE and GE methods for accurate interpretation to confirm the presence of M proteins.

Stage is the most critical factor for patient prognosis and plays a very important role in the therapeutic plan. American Joint Committee on Cancer/tumor, nodes, metastases (AJCC/TNM) cancer staging system is widely used to stage the malignant tumors. The most recent staging system is 2017 AJCC/TNM staging system. The AJCC/TNM staging system is composed of T, N, and M components. T, N, and M represents primary tumor, regional lymph nodes, and distant metastasis, respectively. T category of bladder cancer is determined by invasion depth, and N category is determined according to the number and location of metastatic lymph nodes. M category is based on presence of distant metastasis.

In the present work, it is assumed that the n-components are arranged in the hierarchial order. The n-cascade system surviving with loss of m components by k number of attacks is studied; the general equation for the reliability is obtained for the above said system; and the system reliability is computed numerically for 6-cascade system for 2-number of attacks.

Objective: To compare the effect of Papacarie and Atraumatic Restorative Treatment (ART) on pain and discomfort during caries removal among children. Study Design: Fifty healthy, 4–8 year-old children were equally and randomly allocated to Papacarie and ART to remove caries from decayed primary teeth. A randomized, controlled, blinded, two parallel-arms clinical trial was conducted in the clinic of the Pediatric Dentistry and Dental Public Health Department, Alexandria University, Egypt in March 2014. Pain and discomfort were assessed blindly by two independent investigators watching videotaped treatment sessions using the Sound, Eye and Motor scale (SEM). Their reliability was assessed using Kappa statistics. The effect of caries removal methods, time spent to remove caries and other confounders on SEM score was assessed using regression analysis. Results: Mean time to remove caries using Papacarie and ART was 5.8 and 4.8 minutes, P= 0.005. Median Paparie and ART scores for the S, E and M components were 1, 1, 1 and 3, 2, 3. Adjusted mean SEM score= 3.6 and 7.8, P

We introduce systematic methods to create optimal designs for order-of-addition (OofA) experiments, those that study the order in which $m$ components are applied---for example, the order in which chemicals are added to a reaction or layers are added to a film. Full designs require $m!$ runs, so we investigate design fractions. Balance criteria for creating such designs employ an extension of orthogonal arrays (OA's) to OofA-OA's. A connection is made between $D$-efficient and OofA-OA designs. Necessary conditions are found for the number of runs needed to create OofA-OA's of strengths 2 and 3. We create a number of new, optimal, designs: 12-run OofA-OA's in 4 and 5 components, 24-run OofA-OA's in 5 and 6 components, and near OofA-OA's in 7 components. We extend these designs to include (a) process factors, and (b) the common case in which component orderings are restricted. We also suggest how such designs may be analyzed., Updates: * Moved the location of some tables * Expanded table-isomorphic ideas * Showed by an example that a D-efficiency of 1 and OA are not equivalent * Illustrated some properties of OofA OA designs

Despite longstanding recognition of thymic epithelial neoplasms, there is no official American Joint Committee on Cancer/Union for International Cancer Control stage classification. This article summarizes proposals for classification of the T component of stage classification for use in the 8th edition of the tumor, node, metastasis classification for malignant tumors. This represents the output of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer and the International Thymic Malignancies Interest Group Staging and Prognostics Factor Committee, which assembled and analyzed a worldwide database of 10,808 patients with thymic malignancies from 105 sites. The committee proposes division of the T component into four categories, representing levels of invasion. T1 includes tumors localized to the thymus and anterior mediastinal fat, regardless of capsular invasion, up to and including infiltration through the mediastinal pleura. Invasion of the pericardium is designated as T2. T3 includes tumors with direct involvement of a group of mediastinal structures either singly or in combination: lung, brachiocephalic vein, superior vena cava, chest wall, and phrenic nerve. Invasion of more central structures constitutes T4: aorta and arch vessels, intrapericardial pulmonary artery, myocardium, trachea, and esophagus. Size did not emerge as a useful descriptor for stage classification. This classification of T categories, combined with a classification of N and M categories, provides a basis for a robust tumor, node, metastasis classification system for the 8th edition of American Joint Committee on Cancer/Union for International Cancer Control stage classification.

We estimated the performance characteristics of the Global Lightning Dataset (GLD360) using rocket-and-wire triggered lightning data acquired at Camp Blanding, Florida, in 2011–2013. The data set consisted of 201 return strokes and 84 kiloampere-scale (≥1 kA) superimposed pulses (initial continuous current pulses and M components) in 43 flashes. All the events transported negative charge to ground. The GLD360 detected 75 strokes and 4 superimposed pulses in 29 flashes. The resultant detection efficiencies were 67% for flashes, 37% for strokes, and 4.8% for superimposed pulses. Out of 75 detected strokes, one (1.3%) was reported with incorrect polarity. The median location error was 2.0 km, and the median absolute current estimation error was 27%. This is the first comprehensive evaluation of GLD360 performance characteristics relative to absolute ground truth, with all previous evaluations being at least in part relative to other locating systems. The results presented in this work may be applicable to regions in and around Florida.

We present a detailed evaluation of performance characteristics of the U.S. National Lightning Detection Network (NLDN) using, as ground truth, Florida rocket-triggered lightning data acquired in 2004–2012. The overall data set includes 78 flashes containing both the initial stage and leader/return-stroke sequences and 2 flashes composed of the initial stage only. In these 80 flashes, there are a total of 326 return strokes (directly measured channel-base currents are available for 290 of them) and 173 kiloampere-scale (≥1 kA) superimposed pulses, including 58 initial continuous current pulses and 115 M components. All these events transported negative charge to the ground. The NLDN detected 245 return strokes and 9 superimposed pulses. The resultant NLDN flash detection efficiency is 94%, return-stroke detection efficiency is 75%, and detection efficiency for superimposed pulses is 5% for peak currents ≥1 kA and 32% for peak currents ≥5 kA. For return strokes, the median location error is 334 m and the median value of absolute peak current estimation error is 14%. The percentage of misclassified events is 4%, all of them being return strokes. The median value of absolute event-time mismatch (the difference in times at which the event is reported to occur by the NLDN and recorded at the lightning triggering facility) for return strokes is 2.8 µs. For two out of the nine superimposed pulses detected by the NLDN, we found optical evidence of a reilluminated branch (recoil leader) coming in contact with the existing grounded channel at an altitude of a few hundred meters above ground.

This paper presents a study on the two-stage assembly flow shop scheduling problem for minimising the weighed sum of maximum makespan, earliness and lateness. There are m machines at the first stage, each of which produces a component of a job. A single machine at the second stage assembles the m components together to complete the job. A novel model for solving the scheduling problem is built to optimise the maximum makespan, earliness and lateness simultaneously. Two optimal operation sequences of jobs are determined and verified. As the problem is known to be NP-hard, a hybrid variable neighbourhood search – electromagnetism-like mechanism (VNS-EM) algorithm is proposed for its handling. To search beyond local optima for a global one, VNS algorithm is embedded in each iteration of EM, whereby the fine neighbourhood search of optimum individuals can be realised and the solution is thus optimised. Simulation results show that the proposed hybrid VNS-EM algorithm outperforms the EM and VNS algorithms in b...

An overview of the physics of cloud-to-ground lightning is given, including its initiation, propagation, and attachment to ground. Discharges artificially initiated (triggered) from natural thunderclouds using the rocket-and-wire technique are discussed with a view toward studying properties of natural lightning. Both conventional and runaway breakdown mechanisms of lightning initiation in thunderclouds are reviewed, as is the role of the lower positive charge region in facilitating different types of lightning. New observations of negative-leader stepping and its attachment to ground are compared to similar processes in long laboratory sparks. The mechanism and parameters of compact intracloud lightning discharges that are thought to be the most intense natural producers of HF-VHF (3–300 MHz) radiation on Earth are reviewed. The M-component mode of charge transfer to ground and its difference from the leader/return-stroke mode are discussed. Lightning interaction with the ionosphere and the production of energetic radiation (X-rays and gamma radiation) by cloud-to-ground leaders are considered.

Aggregate computing is a recently proposed framework to build CASs (collective adaptive systems) by focussing on direct programming of ensembles so as to abstract away from individual devices and their single interaction acts: this approach is shown to streamline the identification of highly reusable block components, and support reasoning about their resiliency properties. Following this paradigm, in this paper we present a framework for bridging the gap between the MAPE (Monitor-Analyse-Plan-Execute) loop of autonomic computing managers, and fully-distributed self-organising CASs. This is achieved by seeing the collection of M components of each agent as an aggregate, amenable to a direct specification as overall CAS Monitoring behaviour, and similarly for A, P and E. As a result, a self-organising CAS can be programmed by clearly separating the M, A, P, and E parts of it, though each is expressed in terms of a collective behaviour. The proposed approach is exemplified with an application scenario of crowd dispersal in a large-scale smart-mobility application.

The main purpose of this study is to design a "Courseware Development Model" (CDM) and investigate its effects on pre-service teachers' academic achievements in the field of geography and attitudes toward computer-based education (ATCBE). The CDM consisted of three components: content (C), learning theory, namely, meaningful learning (ML).; multimedia (M). The CDM is designed to show the synthesis of the C and M components under ML. In this study, an experimental design including pre-test and post-test groups is used to define the efficiency of the CDM. There are 31 pre-service teachers in the control group, 28 pre-service teachers in the meaningful learning theory group-ML.; 30 pre-service teachers in GTC group that uses geography teaching courseware-GTC based on the CDM. The results of the analysis indicate that the courseware is quite effective, improving pre-service teachers' academic achievements as well as their ATCBE scores. The results also suggest that the new model has an appropriate structure for courseware design. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Educational aims To describe the changes in the 7th edition of the TNM classification of lung cancer To discuss the clinical implications of the incorporation of the new TNM classification in everyday practice To emphasise the key points for a proper pathologic classification Summary The 7th edition of the TNM (tumour, node, metastases) classification of lung cancer incorporates the proposals of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer, whose database included more than 100,000 patients from Asia, Australia, Europe, and North America. The changes affect the T and the M components of the classification, and the stage grouping. The N component remained unaltered, although the present descriptors were validated both in the clinical and pathologic settings. This new TNM classification applies to non-small cell lung cancer, small cell lung cancer and, for the first time, to broncho-pulmonary carcinoids. The innovations allow for a better separation of tumours with significantly different prognosis, and imply a more careful determination of tumour size.

The possible role of IgG subclasses in patients with M-components or multiple myeloma was investigated. Among 900 patients with monoclonal proteins, the following IgG subclasses were identified: 77 % were IgG1; 14 % were IgG2; 6 % were IgG3; and 3 % were IgG4. The IgG of normal sera consists of 64–70 % IgG1, 23–28 % IgG2, 4–7 % IgG3 and 3–4 % IgG4. IgG1 M-components were seen more frequently and IgG2 less frequently than had been expected. There were 389 patients with documented multiple myeloma assigned to four subgroups based upon IgG sub-classification of their M-components. These four groups resembled each other in many respects, but patients with IgG2 myeloma tended to develop hypercalcaemia and anaemia more frequently than patients with IgG1 or IgG4 myeloma; patients with IgG3 myeloma tended to develop anaemia and had azotaemia more frequently than patients with IgG1 or IgG4 myeloma.

Two families with multiple occurrence of M-components are reported. In one family a mother and her son had M-components. The latter had myeloma with γGK and γAK M-components, the mother had a probable myeloma with γGK M-component. Investigation of eight close relatives revealed no further M-component. In another family three siblings had M-components. A sister had a myeloma with exclusively light chain (Bence-Jones) myeloma protein while two brothers had asymtomatic γGK M-components and Bence-Jones proteinuria respectively (the Bence-Jones proteins in both cases were of type lambda). The significance of genetic factors in these familial cases is discussed in relation to the known figures of the frequency of M-components and myeloma in Swedish populations.

In serum from an apparently healthy male, three M-components were found by Immunoelectrophoresis, γA (α2κ2), γG (γ2κ2 and γM (μ2Λ2)6). No Bence Jones proteins were present in serum or urine.

Before reporting their own case the authors review previously published cases of several immunologically different M components. It is demonstrated that the distribution of heavy chains in the presence of two M components corresponds to the distribution of heavy chains in the presence of one M component. By two differently stained fluorescent antibodies to each of the M components it was demonstrated that these components were present in different cells of types like plasma cells and lymphocytoid cells. On the basis of the histopathological and clinical findings it is discussed whether the patient is suffering from myelomatosis and/or macroglobulinaemia of Waldenstrom. Clinically, it was striking that the red cell sedimentation rate was normal throughout the course of the disease. Furthermore, the relative viscosity of the serum was lower than previously seen at M component concentration of 42 g./l. at 37° C. A possible relationship between the low ESR and the low viscosity is discussed.

This work analyses the waveshapes of continuing currents and parameters of M-components in positive cloud-to-ground (CG) flashes through high-speed GPS synchronized videos. The dataset is composed of only long continuing currents (with duration longer than 40 ms) and was selected from more than 800 flashes recorded in Sao Jose dos Campos (45.864°W, 23.215°S) and Uruguaiana (29.806°W, 57.005°S) in Southeast and South of Brazil, respectively, during 2003 to 2007 summers. The videos are compared with data obtained by the Brazilian Lightning Location System (BrasilDAT) in order to determine the polarity of each flash and select only positive cases. There are only two studies of waveshapes of continuing currents in the literature. One is based on direct current measurements of triggered lightning, in which four different types of waveshapes were observed; and the other is based on measurements of luminosity variations in high-speed videos of CG negative lightning, in which besides the four types above mentioned two additional types were observed. The present work is an extension of the latter, using the same method but now applied to obtain the waveshapes of positive CG lightning. As far as the authors know, this is the first report on M-components in positive continuing currents. We also have used the luminosity-versus-time graphs to observe their occurrence and measure some parameters (duration, elapsed time and time between two successive M-components), whose statistics are presented and compared in detail to the data for negative flashes. We have plotted a histogram of the M-components elapsed time over the total duration of the continuing current for positive flashes, which presented an exponential decay (correlation coefficient: 0.83), similar to what has been observed for negative flashes.

The fine structure of the rovibrational W1(0) transition (v = 1 ← 0, J = 6 ← 0) of solid parahydrogen has been observed using high-resolution near infrared diode laser spectroscopy. Similar to the case of the pure rotational W0(0) transition, the W1(0) transition also exhibits triplet structure which is interpreted as the crystal-field split M components of the J = 6 manifold. The observed splitting is consistent with the theoretical prediction based on the localized J = 6 rotons. The crystal-field splitting parameters obtained by least-squares fitting are in good agreement with the previous work on W0(0) transition.

We measured current and luminosity at the channel bottom of 12 triggered lightning discharges including 44 return strokes, 23 M-components, and 1 initial continuous current pulse. Combined current and luminosity data for impulse currents span a 10–90% risetime range from 0.15 to 192 µs. Current risetime and luminosity risetime at the channel bottom are roughly linearly correlated (τr,I = 0.71τr,L1.08). We observed a time delay between current and the resultant luminosity at the channel bottom, both measured at 20% of peak amplitude, that is approximately linearly related to both the luminosity 10–90% risetime (Δt20,b = 0.24τr,L1.12) and the current 10–90% risetime (Δt20,b = 0.35τr,I1.03). At the channel bottom, the peak current is roughly proportional to the square root of the peak luminosity (IP = 21.89LP0.57) over the full range of current and luminosity risetimes. For two return strokes we provide measurements of stroke luminosity vs. time for 11 increasing heights to 115 m altitude. We assume that measurements above the channel bottom behave similarly to those at the bottom and find that (1) one return stroke current peak decayed at 115 m to about 47% of its peak value at channel bottom, while the luminosity peak at 115 m decayed to about 20%, and for the second stroke 38% and 12%, respectively; and (2) measured upward return stroke luminosity speeds of the two strokes of 1.10 × 108 and 9.7 × 107 ms−1 correspond to current speeds about 30% faster. These results represent the first determination of return stroke current speed and current peak value above ground derived from measured return stroke luminosity data.

Utilizing time-correlated high-speed video and electric field change data, a seven-stroke lightning flash is described in which the fifth return stroke (RS) occurs 0.80 ms after the fourth RS connects to a different ground location 3.3 km away. The fifth RS is 0.34 ms after an M component starts down the different channel. The fifth stroke involves a dart leader traveling concurrently, though slower than the M component, in a prior channel to ground. There was no indication of leader advance along this path earlier during the fourth RS. The fourth stroke involves a stepped leader that started from the end of an observed prior dart leader branch which did not previously propagate to ground. The concurrent M component and dart leader are preceded by an in-cloud event evidenced by a large-amplitude, fast electric field change pulse, at 6.1 km estimated altitude, inferred as the connection to the channel for the M component. The M component current apparently initiates the dart leader about 40 µs later. A visible channel length of 10,400 m allows for the 2-D propagation speed of the M component luminosity to be estimated in the range of 1.0 to 1.2 × 108 m s−1. The concurrent dart leader travels a visible length of 3445 m with 2-D speed of 1.7 × 107 m s−1, similar to other dart leaders in this flash. Luminosity evolution along the channel through the RS and M component is also described. Estimated optical risetimes of three separate M components are 80–200 µs at 520 m above ground.

This work aimed to investigate which pulses (M-components and/or subsequent return stroke) of the upward lightning are detected by BrasilDAT lightning location network. It was found that, these pulses are similar to downward lightning pulses and therefore, they were well detected by the network. This report is based on a set of 29 upward lightning and 16 downward lightning whose strike points are known. All lightning used were recorded in the Jaragua Peak region. High-speed cameras and electric field sensors were used in this analysis to find out the rise time of the waveform and the peak value of the electric field. The comparison with the pulses of the downward lightning recorded by cameras allowed us to validate the BrasilDAT network, determining the detection efficiency and location error. We found a detection efficiency of 37–56%, and a location error of approximately 600 meters. It was observed that the M components of the upward lightning resemble the subsequent return strokes of the downward lightning because the luminosity prior to the pulse is low and the rise time of the electric field waveform is short. The current peaks of the pulses of the upward and downward lightning were intense. These facts explain why BrasilDAT captured these pulses, since the networks tend to discard pulses with low intensity and long rise times.