Effective Two-Stage Estimation for a Linear Function of High-Dimensional Gaussian Means

We consider fixed-size estimation for a linear function of mean vectors from π _i : N _p (μ _i , Σ _i ), i = 1,…, k. The goal of inference is to construct a fixed-span confidence region with required accuracy. We find a new sample-size formulation and propose a two-stage estimation methodology to give the fixed-span confidence region satisfying the probability requirement approximately. We show that the proposed methodology greatly reduces the sample size to enjoy the asymptotic first-order consistency when the dimensionality p is extremely high. With the help of simulation studies, we show that the proposed methodology is still efficient even when p is moderate. We give an actual example to illustrate how it should be done by using the proposed methodology in the inference.     

Surfactant effects on hydrate formation in an unstirred gas/liquid system: An experimental study using HFC-32 and sodium dodecyl sulfate

This paper deals with the effects of a surfactant additive on the formation of a clathrate hydrate in a quiescent guest-gas/liquid-water system. The paper first presents our strong suspicion against the existing hypothesis that the surfactant-micelle formation in the liquid-water phase promotes the hydrate formation. It is pointed out that the Krafft point for sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), a popular anionic surfactant often used in previous hydrate-forming experiments, is presumably higher than the system temperatures set in these experiments and hence that no micelles may have formed in these experiments. The paper then describes our experimental observations of the hydrate formation from a hydrofluorocarbon gas, HFC-32 (CH₂F₂), to show how the hydrate formation behavior is affected by the addition of SDS to the water when brought into contact with HFC-32. In each experiment, HFC-32 gas was continuously supplied to a rectangular chamber partially filled with a quiescent pool of water (pure water or an aqueous SDS solution) to compensate for the gas consumption due to the hydrate formation, thereby maintaining a constant pressure inside the chamber. The present experiments featured the following characteristics: (a) detailed visual observations along horizontal axes through large side windows in the test chamber, and (b) surface tension measurements of the aqueous SDS solutions with the aid of a pendant-drop device inserted in the same chamber to determine the SDS-in-water solubility, which seems to have been misunderstood as the critical micelle concentration (CMC) in some previous studies, under the hydrate-forming conditions. The former revealed that the addition of SDS to the pool-forming water results in the formation of thick, highly porous hydrate layers not only on the liquid-pool surface but also on the chamber walls above the level of the pool surface, leaving the bulk of the liquid pool free from hydrate crystals. The latter led to an important finding that the SDS concentration at which the rate of the hydrate formation peaks is slightly lower than the solubility (the false CMC). An excessive addition of SDS beyond the solubility was found to cause a decrease in the rate of hydrate formation but an increase in the final level of the water-to-hydrate conversion.     

Surface properties of carbon micro-coils oxidized by a low concentration of oxygen gas

Vapor-grown carbon micro-coils were oxidized under a low O₂ flow-rate for introducing oxygen-containing functional groups on the surface. The surface characteristics were then examined. The O1s/C1s intensity ratios of the XPS spectra measured on the surface increased on using the oxidation treatment. The maximum O1s/C1s ratio of 11.4 at.% was obtained under the following conditions: (a) the flow-rate of the mixed gas of O₂+Ar (O₂/Ar=1/10) was 82.5 sccm; (b) the oxidation temperature was 600°C; and (c) the treatment time was 30 min. The maximum O1s/C1s ratio is about 3.5 times that of the source carbon coils. The specific surface area significantly increased due to the oxidation treatment and attained a maximum value of 1050 m² g⁻¹, which is about 10 times that of the source carbon coils. As the specific surface area increased, the surface morphology of the carbon coils became more complicated on a nanometer scale.     

Automatic electron beam alignment adjustment system and automatic filament current adjustment system for electron beam welder

Recently, the electron beam welders with high acceleration voltage (more than 100 kV) and high electrical power (more than 15 kW) have been reviewed the role of the high-energy electron beam density again, due to space or aircraft development or automobile industry desired high productivity and high accurate welding for saving energy. NEC group have supplied these electron beam welders. This time, the automatic alignment adjustment system of the electron beam orbit and the automatic adjustment system of filament current were developed and put to a practical use. As a result, the great effectiveness for the stability of welding quality was apparent.     

Contribution of Invariant Natural Killer T Cells to the Clearance of Pseudomonas aeruginosa from Skin Wounds

Chronic infections are considered one of the most severe problems in skin wounds, and bacteria are present in over 90% of chronic wounds. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is frequently isolated from chronic wounds and is thought to be a cause of delayed wound healing. Invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells, unique lymphocytes with a potent regulatory ability in various inflammatory responses, accelerate the wound healing process. In the present study, we investigated the contribution of iNKT cells in the host defense against P. aeruginosa inoculation at the wound sites. We analyzed the re-epithelialization, bacterial load, accumulation of leukocytes, and production of cytokines and antimicrobial peptides. In iNKT cell–deficient (Jα18KO) mice, re-epithelialization was significantly decreased, and the number of live colonies was significantly increased, when compared with those in wild-type (WT) mice on day 7. IL-17A, and IL-22 production was significantly lower in Jα18KO mice than in WT mice on day 5. Furthermore, the administration of α-galactosylceramide (α-GalCer), a specific activator of iNKT cells, led to enhanced host protection, as shown by reduced bacterial load, and to increased production of IL-22, IL-23, and S100A9 compared that of with WT mice. These results suggest that iNKT cells promote P. aeruginosa clearance during skin wound healing.     

Numerical simulation of deflecting flow in a symmetric enlarged channel

Numerical results of three-dimensional separated flow and heat transfer in a rectangular channel with a suddenexpansion are presented in this paper.Numerical simulations of Navier-Stokes and energy equations are carriedout using the finite difference method.The results of three-dimensional calculations are compared with thetwo-dimensional ones,and effects of the aspect ratio of channel upon the flow are shown.The transition fromsymmetric to asymmetric flow appears at lower Reynolds number as increasing the aspect ratio.The details oflocal heat transfer characteristics in two different separated flow regions on two downstream walls are clarified.Two-dimensionality of the flow and heat transfer almost disappears for the aspect ratio considered.     

Metal-Coated <100>-Cut GaAs Coupled to Tapered Parallel-Plate Waveguide for Cherenkov-Phase-Matched Terahertz Detection: Influence of Crystal Thickness

The influence of crystal thickness of metal-coated <100>-cut GaAs (M-G-M) on Cherenkov-phase-matched terahertz (THz) pulse detection was studied. The M-G-M detectors were utilized in conjunction with a metallic tapered parallel-plate waveguide (TPPWG). Polarization-sensitive measurements were carried out to exemplify the efficacy of GaAs in detecting transverse magnetic (TM)- and transverse electric (TE)-polarized THz waves. The reduction of GaAs’ thickness increased the THz amplitude spectra of the detected TM-polarized THz electro-optic (EO) signal due to enhanced electric field associated with a more tightly-focused and well-concentrated THz radiation on the thinner M-G-M. The higher-fluence THz beam coupled to the thinner M-G-M improved the integrated intensity of the detected THz amplitude spectrum. This trend was not observed for TE-polarized THz waves, wherein the integrated intensities were almost comparable. Nevertheless, good agreement of spectral line shapes of the superposed TM- and TE-polarized THz-EO signals with that of elliptically polarized THz-EO signal demonstrates excellent polarization-resolved detection capabilities of M-G-M via Cherenkov-phase-matched EO sampling technique.     

Effect of catch cup geometry on 3D boundary layer flow over the wafer surface in a spin coating

Recently, development of high technology has been required for the formation of thin uniform film in manufacturing processes of semiconductor as the semiconductor instruments become more sophisticated. Spin coating is usually used for spreading photoresist on a wafer surface. However, since rotating speed of the disk is very high in spin coating, the dropped photoresist scarers outward and reattaches on the film surface. A catch cup is set up outside the wafer in spin coating, and scattered photoresist mist is removed from the wafer edge by the exhaust flow generated at the gap between the wafer edge and the catch cup. In the dry process of a spin coating, it is a serious concern that the film thickness increases near the wafer edge in the case of low rotating speed. The purpose of this study is to make clear the effect of the catch cup geometry on the 3D boundary layer flow over the wafer surface and the drying rate of liquid film.