Conformal Geometry of Statistical Manifold with Application to Sequential Estimation

Abstract

We present a geometrical method for analyzing sequential estimating procedures. It is based on the design principle of the second-order efficient sequential estimation provided in Okamoto et al. (1991 Okamoto , I. , Amari , S. , and Takeuchi , K. ( 1991 ). Asymptotic Theory of Sequential Estimation: Differential Geometrical Approach , Annals of Statistics 19 : 961 – 981 .[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). By introducing a dual conformal curvature quantity, we clarify the conditions for the covariance minimization of sequential estimators. These conditions are further elaborated for the multidimensional curved exponential family. The theoretical results are then numerically examined by using typical statistical models, von Mises-Fisher, and hyperboloid models.     

The measurement of metal droplet temperature in GMA welding by infrared two-colour pyrometry

The temperature of metal droplets is essential for clarifying the phenomenon of metal droplet transfer and the melting behaviour of wire; also, it governs the emission of fumes. On the other hand, in situ measurement of the temperature of a metal droplet formed at the tip of a wire during welding was difficult. Hence, this temperature was obtained in many experiences of measurements by such a way that several numbers of metal droplets were collected in a calorimeter to measure the amount of heat content of metal droplet and the heat was converted to temperature. With this way, however, the reliability of the measurement is not necessarily high because the heat loss of the metal droplet during the time when detaching from the wire tip and entering into the calorimeter has to be estimated properly. In this research, two-colour pyrometry has been conducted to obtain the temperature of metal droplets, in which metal droplets have been photographed by a high-speed camera during arc welding, two wavelengths (950 and 980 nm) of light in the infrared range have been selected from the thermal radiation light emitted from the metal droplet at the instant of arc extinguishment by using an imaging spectroscope, and the temperature has been obtained from the intensity ratio of the two waves of light. Consequently, in CO₂ arc welding, it has been revealed that the constricted arc causes high-heat input density locally at the arc root portion of a metal droplet and thereby the arc root portion exhibits a higher temperature. By contrast, in MAG (80% Ar–20% CO₂) arc welding, it has been disclosed that because the arc covers metal droplets, the temperature distribution in a metal droplet is relatively uniform and the average temperature is lower than in CO₂ arc welding.     

Alteration of Oral and Perioral Soft Tissue in Mice following Incisor Tooth Extraction

Oral and perioral soft tissues cooperate with other oral and pharyngeal organs to facilitate mastication and swallowing. It is essential for these tissues to maintain their morphology for efficient function. Recently, it was reported that the morphology of oral and perioral soft tissue can be altered by aging or orthodontic treatment. However, it remains unclear whether tooth loss can alter these tissues’ morphology. This study examined whether tooth loss could alter lip morphology. First, an analysis of human anatomy suggested that tooth loss altered lip morphology. Next, a murine model of tooth loss was established by extracting an incisor; micro-computed tomography revealed that a new bone replaced the extraction socket. Body weight was significantly lower in the tooth loss (UH) group than in the non-extraction control (NH) group. The upper lip showed a greater degree of morphological variation in the UH group. Proteomic analysis and immunohistochemical staining of the upper lip illustrated that S100A8/9 expression was higher in the UH group, suggesting that tooth loss induced lip inflammation. Finally, soft-diet feeding improved lip deformity associated with tooth loss, but not inflammation. Therefore, soft-diet feeding is essential for preventing lip morphological changes after tooth loss.     

Retinal Degeneration and Microglial Dynamics in Mature Progranulin-Deficient Mice

Progranulin (PGRN) is a secreted glycoprotein that regulates numerous cellular processes. The role of PGRN as a regulator of lysosomes has recently received attention. The purpose of this study was to characterize the retinal phenotype in mature PGRN knockout (Grn^−/−) mice. The a-wave amplitude of scotopic electroretinogram and outer nuclear thickness were significantly reduced at 6 months of age in Grn^−/− mice compared to wild-type (Grn^+/+) mice. In Grn^−/− mice, retinal microglial cells accumulated on the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) apical layer, and the number of infiltrated microglia and white fundus lesions between 2 and 6 months of age showed a close affinity. In Grn^+/+ mice, PGRN was located in the retina, while the strongest PGRN signals were detected in the RPE-choroid. The different effects of PGRN deficiency on the expression of lysosomal proteins between the retina and RPE-choroid were demonstrated. Our data suggest that the subretinal translocation of microglia is a characteristic phenotype in the retina of mature PGRN knockout mice. The different effects of PGRN deficiency on the expression of lysosomal proteins between the retina and RPE-choroid might modulate microglial dynamics in PGRN knockout mice.     

球磨时间和转速对CNTs／Al-2024复合粉末变化的影响

通过机械球磨和热挤出的方法制备碳纳米管（CNTs）增强铝基复合材料。在2024铝合金中加入1％CNTs,并在不同条件下进行球磨。通过X射线衍射仪（XRD）、场发射扫描电镜（FESEM）以及力学性能测试等方法对球磨过的粉末和块体材料的显微组织的变化和力学性能进行测试。研究碳纳米管浓度和球磨时间对CNTs／Al-2024复合材料显微组织的影响。通过对显微组织的观察,讨论粉末在球磨过程中的变形行为。结果表明：在CNTs含帚相同的条件下,粉末颗粒尺寸随着球磨时间和转速的增加而减小,当球磨时间达到15h,粉末颗粒尺寸最小。由于CNTs的加入,铝合金复合材料的拉伸性能有所提高。     

Analysis of fluidization quality of a fluidized bed with staged gas feed for reactions involving gas‐volume reduction

A significant defluidization occurs when carrying out reactions involving a decrease in gas volume in a fluidized catalyst bed. The cause of this phenomenon is a decrease in the gas velocity in the emulsion phase below the minimum fluidization velocity. Fluidization quality is improved by a staged gas feed when hydrogenation of CO₂ is carried out. To evaluate the experimental results, two parameters are introduced; gas‐volume reduction rate and gas‐volume ratio. Fluidization quality and defluidization zone are indicated as a map using these parameters. The vertical distributions of these parameters are calculated using a reactor model to obtain operating lines. The calculation shows that fluidization quality can be improved by operating the reactor by avoiding the operating lines of the defluidization zone in the map. For this purpose, it is required to control the gas‐volume ratio at a level near unity and maintain the gas‐volume reduction rate below 0.01/s. © 2010 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 2010     

Role of Glycated High Mobility Group Box-1 in Gastric Cancer

Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) are produced in response to a high-glucose environment and oxidative stress and exacerbate various diseases. N^ε-(Carboxymethyl)lysine (CML) is an AGE that is produced by the glycation of lysine residues of proteins. There are a few reports on alterations in protein function due to CML modification; however, its association with cancer is not clear. We investigated the significance of CML modification in high mobility group box protein-1 (HMGB1), a cytokine that is significantly associated with cancer progression. Treatment of the gastric cancer cell lines TMK1 and MKN74 with glyoxal or glucose resulted in increased CML modification compared to untreated cells. CML-HMGB1 was modified via oxidation and more pronouncedly activated the receptor for AGE and downstream AKT and NF-κB compared to naïve HMGB1 and oxidized HMGB1. CML-HMGB1 bound with reduced affinity to DNA and histone H3, resulting in enhanced extranuclear translocation and extracellular secretion. Treatment of gastric cancer cells with CML-HMGB1 enhanced cell proliferation and invasion, sphere formation, and protection from thapsigargin-induced apoptosis, and decreased 5-FU sensitivity in comparison to HMGB1. Further, CML-HMGB1 was detected at various levels in all the 10 gastric cancer tumor specimens. HMGB1 levels correlated with primary tumor progression and distant metastasis, whereas CML-HMGB1 levels were associated with primary tumor progression, lymph node metastasis, distant metastasis, and stage. In addition, CML-HMGB1 levels correlated with oxidative stress in cancer tissues and resistance to neoadjuvant therapy. Therefore, CML modification of HMGB1 enhanced the cancer-promoting effect of HMGB1. In this study, CML-HMGB1 has been highlighted as a new therapeutic target, and analysis of the molecular structure of CML-HMGB1 is desired in the future.     

A White LED Driver Using a Buck–Boost Converter

For mobile backlighting applications, a white LED (WLED) driver using a buck–boost converter is proposed in this letter. Unlike conventional converters using boost converters, 2×/1.5× charge pumps, and so on, the proposed converter offers the negative stepped‐down voltage to drive the LED's cathode only when the input voltage is insufficient to drive a 1× transfer mode. Furthermore, unlike the LED backlight using charge pumps, the proposed converter can adjust the output voltage by controlling the duty factor of the clock pulse. Thus, the proposed converter can realize high power efficiency. The validity of the proposed converter is confirmed by simulations and experiments. © 2010 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.