Symmetric Unit Research Articles

Preliminary study on active control of double-glazing with pressure compensation using an in-cavity microphone

Enhancing the sound insulation in double-glazed units involves actively controlling inter-glazing cavity pressure to decouple each glass. The optimal strategy to maximize transmission loss requires loudspeakers in the cavity to generate anti-noise and error microphones in the reception room, outside of the cavity. However, this configuration is not suitable for a standalone product where out-of-cavity microphones are not allowed. This study presents an original method to experimentally learn the control of one loudspeaker with one error microphone, both inside the cavity, in order to maximize acoustic isolation in a low-frequency band. The method requires a compensation FIR filter, experimentally identified during a learning phase when an optimal command is applied. Experiments were conducted using an active symmetrical double-glazed unit (30.4 x 30.6 cm, 6 mm thick, 60 mm apart cavities) in a "waveguide" setup. Results show an average transmission loss gain from 50 to 550 Hz of 10 dB with in-cavity microphone compensation. It nearly reaches optimal performance, 11 dB reduction in transmitted waves, compared to 7 dB for the uncompensated in-cavity microphone. This encouraging preliminary result leads to further developments to extend the method to multiple loudspeakers and multiple microphones.

Semi-Supervised Left-Atrial Segmentation Based on Squeeze–Excitation and Triple Consistency Training

Convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have achieved remarkable success in fully supervised medical image segmentation tasks. However, the acquisition of large quantities of homogeneous labeled data is challenging, making semi-supervised training methods that rely on a small amount of labeled data and pseudo-labels increasingly popular in recent years. Most existing semi-supervised learning methods, however, underestimate the importance of the unlabeled regions during training. This paper posits that these regions may contain crucial information for minimizing the model’s uncertainty prediction. To enhance the segmentation performance of the left-atrium database, this paper proposes a triple consistency segmentation network based on the squeeze-and-excitation mechanism (SETC-Net). Specifically, the paper constructs a symmetric architectural unit called SEConv, which adaptively recalibrates the feature responses in the channel direction by modeling the inter-channel correlations. This allows the network to adaptively weigh each channel according to the task’s needs, thereby emphasizing or suppressing different feature channels. Moreover, SETC-Net is composed of an encoder and three slightly different decoders, which convert the prediction discrepancies among the three decoders into unsupervised loss through a constructed iterative pseudo-labeling scheme, thus encouraging consistent and low-entropy predictions. This allows the model to gradually capture generalized features from these challenging unmarked regions. We evaluated the proposed SETC-Net on the public left-atrium (LA) database. The proposed method achieved an excellent Dice score of 91.14% using only 20% of the labeled data. The experiments demonstrate that the proposed SETC-Net outperforms seven current semi-supervised methods in left-atrium segmentation and is one of the best semi-supervised segmentation methods on the LA database.

Asymmetric Cu-N1O3 Sites Coupling Atop-type and Bridge-type Adsorbed *C1 for Electrocatalytic CO2-to-C2 Conversion.

2D functional porous frameworks offer a platform for studying the structure-activity relationships during electrocatalytic CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR). Yet challenges still exist to breakthrough key limitations on site configuration (typical M-O4 or M-N4 units) and product selectivity (common CO2-to-CO conversion). Herein, a novel 2D metal-organic framework (MOF) with planar asymmetric N/O mixed coordinated Cu-N1O3 unit is constructed, labeled as BIT-119. When applied to CO2RR, BIT-119 could reach a CO2-to-C2 conversion with C2 partial current density ranging from 36.9 to 165.0 mA cm-2 in flow cell. Compared to the typical symmetric Cu-O4 units, asymmetric Cu-N1O3 units lead to the re-distribution of local electron structure, regulating the adsorption strength of several key adsorbates and the following catalytic selectivity. From experimental and theoretical analyses, Cu-N1O3 sites could simultaneously couple the atop-type (on Cu site) and bridge-type (on Cu-N site) adsorption of *C1 species to reach the CO2-to-C2 conversion. This work broadens the feasible C-C coupling mechanism on 2D functional porous frameworks.

Chirality-dependent topological edge states in photonic metacrystal.

Topological edge state, a unique mode for manipulating electromagnetic waves (EMs), has been extensively studied in both fundamental and applied physics. Up to now, the work on topological edge states has focused on manipulating linearly polarized waves. Here, we realize chirality-dependent topological edge states in one-dimensional photonic crystals (1DPCs) to manipulate circularly polarized waves. By introducing the magneto-electric coupling term (chirality), the degeneracy Dirac point (DP) is opened in PCs with symmetric unit cells. The topological properties of the upper and lower bands are different in the cases of left circularly polarized (LCP) and right circularly polarized (RCP) waves by calculating the Zak phase. Moreover, mapping explicitly 1D Maxwell's equations to the Dirac equation, we demonstrate that the introduction of chirality can lead to different topological properties of bandgaps for RCP and LCP waves. Based on this chirality-dependent topology, we can further realize chirality-dependent topological edge states in photonic heterostructures composed of two kinds of PCs. Finally, we propose a realistic structure for the chirality-dependent topological edge states by placing metallic helixes in host media. Our work provides a method for manipulating topological edge states for circularly polarized waves, which has a broad range of potential applications in designing optical devices including polarizers, filters, and sensors with robustness against disorder.

Existence of edge modes in periodic microstrip transmission line

The microstrip of modulated width is a realization of a one-dimensional photonic crystal operating in the microwave regime. Like any photonic crystal, the periodic microstrip is characterised by the presence of frequency bands and band gaps that enable and prohibit wave propagation, respectively. The frequency bands for microstrip of the symmetric unit cell can be distinguished by 0 or π\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$\\pi$$\\end{document} Zak phase. The sum of these topological parameters for all bands below a given frequency gap determines the value of the surface impedance at the end of the microstrip. We demonstrate that edge modes are absent in a finite microstrip terminated at both ends in the centres of unit cells, but they can be induced by adding the defected cells. Edge modes present at both ends of the microstrip enable microwave tunneling with high transitivity in the frequency gap with or without a change in phase. This has been demonstrated experimentally and developed in detail using numerical simulations and model calculations. The investigated system, with a doublet of edge modes in the frequency gap, can be considered as a narrow passband filter of high selectivity and characterised by a significant group delay.

Design and Analysis of a Symmetric Joint Module for a Modular Wire-Actuated Robotic Arm with Symmetric Variable-Stiffness Units

Collaborative robots are used in scenarios requiring interaction with humans. In order to improve the safety and adaptability of collaborative robots during human–robot interaction, this paper proposes a modular wire-actuated robotic arm with symmetric variable-stiffness units. The variable-stiffness unit is employed to extend the stiffness-adjustment range of the robotic arm. The variable-stiffness unit is designed based on flexure, featuring a compact and simple structure. The stiffness–force relationship of the variable-stiffness unit can be fitted by a quadratic function with an R-squared value of 0.99981, indicating weak nonlinearity. Based on the kinematics and stiffness analysis of the symmetric joint module of the robotic arm, the orientation of the joint module can be adjusted by regulating the length of the wires and the stiffness of the joint module can be adjusted by regulating the tension of the wires. Because of the actuation redundancy, the orientation and stiffness of the joint module can be adjusted synchronously. Furthermore, a direct method is proposed for the stiffness-oriented wire-tension-distribution problem of the 1-DOF joint module. A simulation is carried out to verify the proposed method. The simulation result shows that the deviation between the calculated stiffness and the desired stiffness was less than 0.005%.

Dispersion control and radiation based on glide-symmetric spoof surface plasmon polaritons.

Glide symmetry transmission line (TL) is a highly symmetric TL with characteristics such as reduced frequency dispersion and merged passband. The dispersion characteristics and field distribution of single-layer and double-layer spoof surface plasmon polaritons (SSPPs) unit with glide symmetry are studied in this paper. It is found that the double layer structure with stronger slow wave effect is more suitable for frequency scanning radiation with higher scanning rates. Thus, T-shaped glide symmetric double-layer unit is proposed. Such unit exhibits stronger field confinement and higher degrees of freedom in modulating dispersion characteristics. Besides the basic transmission characteristic, additional radiation characteristic based on such T-shaped glide symmetric double-layer units performs well with continuously beam scanning in a large frequency and angle range. Experimental results agree well with numerical simulations, demonstrating the superior performance of T-shaped glide symmetric double-layer SSPPs. The radiation method of such T-shaped glide symmetric double layer SSPPs can be applied to antenna design, which is conductive to the development of highly compact plasmonic integrated circuits and systems.

An ultra‐miniaturized single‐layer multiband frequency selective surface with vent for wireless communication

SummaryA novel single‐layer ultra‐miniaturized multi‐band Frequency Selective Surface (FSS) with a circular vent is designed for shielding LTE and ISM bands. The top layer of the proposed FSS unit cell incorporates a circular patch along with convoluted arms. The designed FSS unit cell exhibits band‐rejection characteristics with a resonance of 800 MHz, 2.45 GHz, and 5 GHz and bandwidths of 523 MHz, 687 MHz, and 725 MHz, respectively. The periodicity of an ultra‐miniaturized FSS unit cell is 0.024λօ x 0.024λօ, encompassing a spatial vent hole of 0.01λօ, where λօ corresponds to the lowest operating frequency. Moreover, the proposed FSS unit cell remains unaltered angular stability up to 75° with less than 1% frequency deviation in TE and TM modes. Good polarization insensitivity for the designed four‐fold symmetrical FSS unit cell is achieved. Further, an Equivalent Circuit Model (ECM) analysis is developed to infer the physical insight of the proposed FSS unit cell. The FSS prototype is measured for the assertion, and the good agreement between the findings from simulation and measurement is validated. For real‐time assertion, the FSS prototype is verified using the Amitech SDR04. Thus, FSS is a promising candidate with good ventilation for shielding the LTE, Bluetooth, and Wi‐Fi application bands.

Terahertz-frequency plasmonic-crystal instability in field-effect transistors with asymmetric gate arrays

We present a theory for plasmonic crystal instability in a semiconductor field-effect transistor with a dual grating gate array, designed with strong asymmetry in the elementary cell of this “crystal”. We demonstrate that, under the action of a dc current bias, the Bloch plasma waves in the plasmonic crystal formed in this transistor develop the Dyakonov–Shur instability. By calculating the energy spectrum and instability increments/decrements—which govern the growth/decay of excitations within the plasmonic crystal—we analyze the dependence of the latter on the electron drift velocity and the extent of the structural asymmetry. In contrast with the corresponding problem for gate arrays with symmetric unit cells, the presence of finite plasma instability increments across the entire Brillouin zone is established. This important difference points to the possibility of exciting sustained, radiating, non-linear electron plasma oscillations in the instability endpoint of the asymmetric array. These structures should be readily implementable in common semiconductor heterostructures, using standard nanofabrication techniques, enabling operation at room temperature. Long-range coherence of the unstable plasma oscillations, generated in the elementary cells of the crystal, should dramatically increase the radiated THz electromagnetic power, making this approach a promising pathway to the generation of THz signals.

Topology Prediction of Gas-Separating Metal-Organic Frameworks with Low Symmetry Vertices.

Topology serves as a blueprint for the construction of reticular structures such as metal-organic frameworks, especially for those based on building blocks with highly symmetrical shapes. However, it remains a challenge to predict the topology of the frameworks from less symmetrical units, because their corresponding vertex figures are largely deformed from the perfect geometries with no "default" net embedding. Furthermore, vertices involving flexible units may have multiple shape choices, and the competition among their designated topologies makes the structure prediction in large uncertainty. Herein, the deformation index is proposed to characterize the symmetry loss of the vertex figure by comparing it with its ideal geometry. The mathematical index is employed to predict the shapes of two in situ formed Co-based metalloligands (pseudo-tetrahedron and pseudo-square), which further dictate the framework topology (flu and scu) when they are joined with the [Zr6O8]-based cuboid units. The two frameworks with very similar constituents provide an ideal platform to investigate how the pore shapes and interconnectivity influence the gas separation. The net with cylindrical channels outperforms the other with discreate cages in C3H8/C2H6/CH4 separation, benefiting from the facile accessibility of its interaction sites to the guests imposed by the specific framework topology.

Cu(II) complexes of 5-sulfamoylbenzoic acid derivatives: Synthesis and characterization

Novel three Cu(II) complexes {[Cu2(MeOsba)4(H2O)2] (1, HMeOsba = 2-methoxy-5-sulfamoylbenzoic acid), [Cu(MeOsba)2(2a5mp)2].3H2O (2, 2a5mp = 2-amino-5-methylpyridine) and [Cu(Clsba)2(2amp)2].2H2O (3, 2amp = 2-picolylamine, HClsba = 2,4-dichloro-5-sulfamoylbenzoic acid)} were synthesized. The structure of 1–3 characterized by FT-IR, AAS, X-ray crystallographic analysis, UV, molar conductivity and magnetic moment. All complexes (1–3) formed crystals in the P-1 space group and the triclinic crystal system. The symmetric units of complexes (1–3) contains two Cu(II) cations, four MeOsba anions as bridges and two aqua ligands for 1, one Cu(II) cations, two MeOsba anions, two 2a5mp and three uncoordinated water molecules for 2 and one Cu(II) cations, two Clsba anions, two 2amp and three uncoordinated water molecules for 3. The structure of 1–3 have a crystallographic inversion centre.

Conversion of cool-to-warm orange-reddish light emitting diode by Sm2O3 addition in magnesium borosilicate glasses

The composition of 50SiO2−40B2O3−(10−x)MgO−xSm2O3 (x = 0, 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5) was synthesized using the melt quench technique. All samples are formed the glasses as confirmed by X-ray diffraction. The density and optical band gap are found to be increased with the addition of Sm2O3 (intermediate oxide) in place of MgO (modifier). On the other hand, the refractive index and oxide ion polarizability of the glasses are decreased due to the conversion of non-bridging oxygens into bridging oxygens with higher covalent bonded glasses. Interestingly, the symmetric structural units of SiO2 (Q2 and Q4) increased instead of (Q3 and Q1) with the replacement of MgO by Sm2O3. The CIE coordinates show the emission spectra lie in the reddish-orange region and the SBS-1.5 sample has the lowest CCT value (1858 K), which suggests that this glass can be used for light emitting diode which is sensitive for the human eye.

Flexible Polycarbonate and Copoly(Imide-Carbonate)s-Based Frequency Selective Surface for Electromagnetic Shielding Application

Optically transparent polycarbonates (PCs) and Copoly(Imide-Carbonate)s (Co-PICs) were synthesized by the melt polycondenzation method. Rigid (imide) and flexible (-O- and –C(CH3)2−) moieties were incorporated in the structure of bisimide diol comonomer using 4-aminophenol and 4,4′-(4,4′-isopropylidenediphenoxy) bis(phthalic anhydride). The structural properties of synthesized comonomers and polymers were confirmed by 1H, 13C-NMR and FT-IR spectra. Thermal properties of polycarbonates and copolycarbonates were examined using DSC and TG analysis. Thermal properties (glass transition Tg and thermal decomposition (Td) temperature) of copolymers were enhanced without sacrificing properties of BPA-based PC (high transparency, ductility, and processability) by the incorporation of active functional bisimide diol comonomer (5–10 mole %) in the polycarbonate backbone. Different sets of PCs and Co-PICs thin film substrates were prepared by the solvent casting method and used to design frequency selective surface. The proposed flexible FSS offers shielding of 20 dB at 8.8 GHz. In addition, the FSS offers polarization independent operation with its symmetrical unit cell geometry.

Periodic implicit representation, design and optimization of porous structures using periodic B-splines

Porous structures are intricate solid materials with numerous small pores, extensively used in fields like medicine, chemical engineering, and aerospace. However, the design of such structures using computer-aided tools is a time-consuming and tedious process. In this study, we propose a novel representation method and design approach for porous units that can be infinitely spliced to form a porous structure. We use periodic B-spline functions to represent periodic or symmetric porous units. Starting from a voxel representation of a porous sample, the discrete distance field is computed. To fit the discrete distance field with a periodic B-spline, we introduce the constrained least squares progressive-iterative approximation algorithm, which results in an implicit porous unit. This unit can be subject to optimization to enhance connectivity and utilized for topology optimization, thereby improving the model’s stiffness while maintaining periodicity or symmetry. The experimental results demonstrate the potential of the designed complex porous units in enhancing the mechanical performance of the model. Consequently, this study has the potential to incorporate remarkable structures derived from artificial design or nature into the design of high-performing models, showing the promise for biomimetic applications.

Laurent polynomial identities on symmetric units of group algebras

Let F be an infinite field of characteristic p ≠ 2 , G be a group, and * be an involution of G extended linearly to an involution of the group algebra FG. In the literature, group identities on units U ( FG ) and on symmetric units U + ( FG ) = { α ∈ U ( FG ) | α * = α } have been considered. Here, we investigate normalized Laurent polynomial identities (as a generalization of group identities) on U + ( FG ) under the conditions that either p > 2 or F is algebraically closed. For instance, we show that if G is torsion and U + ( FG ) satisfies a normalized Laurent polynomial identity, then U + ( FG ) satisfies a group identity and FG satisfies a polynomial identity.

Characteristics of truncation resonances in periodic bilayer rods and beams with symmetric and asymmetric unit cellsa).

Truncation resonances are resonant frequencies that occur within bandgaps and are a prominent feature of finite phononic crystals. While recent studies have shed light on the existence conditions and modal characteristics of truncation resonances in discrete systems, much remains to be understood about their behavior in continuous structures. To address this knowledge gap, this paper investigates the existence and modal characteristics of truncation resonances in periodic bilayer beams, both numerically and experimentally. Specifically, the effect of symmetry of the unit cells, boundary conditions, material/geometric properties, and the number of unit cells are studied. To this end, we introduce impedance and phase velocity ratios based on the material and geometric properties and show how they affect the existence of truncation resonances, relative location of the truncation resonances within the bandgap, and spatial attenuation or degree of localization of the truncation resonance mode shapes. Finally, the existence and mode shapes of truncation resonances are experimentally validated for both longitudinal and flexural cases using three-dimensional (3D) printed periodic beams. This paper highlights the potential impact of these results on the design of finite phononic crystals for various applications, including energy harvesting and passive flow control.

Halide-free synthesis of metastable graphitic BC3.

Layered BC3, a metastable phase within the binary boron-carbon system that is composed of graphite-like sheets with hexagonally symmetric C6B6 units, has never been successfully crystallized. Instead, poorly-crystalline BC3-like materials with significant stacking disorder have been isolated, based on the co-pyrolysis of a boron trihalide precursor with benzene at around 800 °C. The halide leaving group (-X) is a significant driving force of these reactions, but the subsequent evolution of gaseous HX species at such high temperatures hampers their scaling up and also prohibits their further use in the presence of hard-casting templates such as ordered silicates. Herein, we report a novel halide-free synthesis route to turbostratic BC3 with long-range in-plane ordering, as evidenced by multi-wavelength Raman spectroscopy. Judicious pairing of the two molecular precursors is crucial to achieving B-C bond formation and preventing phase-segregation into the thermodynamically favored products. A simple computational method used herein to evaluate the compatibility of bottom-up molecular precursors can be generalized to guide the future synthesis of other metastable materials beyond the boron-carbon system.

Pore engineering in robust carbon nanofibers for highly efficient capacitive deionization

Capacitive deionization (CDI) is considered as a revolutionary desalination method to alleviate the global water crisis. However, the current carbon-based CDI cells are constrained by the inferior desalination efficiency, resulting from the undesirable pore structure and sluggish electron/ion transport. Herein, a new porogen of silicalite-1 is proposed for the tailorable fabrication of flexible porous carbon nanofibers (PCNFs) by electrospinning, carbonization and alkali etching, where the surface area, total pore volume, mechanical robustness, specific capacitance, and electrosorption performance of the developed PCNFs are associated with the silicalite-1 dosage. The symmetric CDI unit assembled by the freestanding PCNF membrane electrodes shows a state-of-the-art desalination capacity (38.64 mg g−1), a remarkable salt removal rate (12.1 mg g−1 min−1), a desirable charge efficiency (82.36 %), an acceptable energy consumption (0.668 Wh g−1), and a satisfactory cyclic durability, and such excellent deionization performance can be explained by that the abundant hierarchical pores, the large accessible surface area, and the interconnected conductive carbon network effectively expedite the electron/ion transport. Additionally, the home-made CDI device has a favorable desalination capability toward the high-ion concentration seawater from the Yellow Sea (Xiaomai Island). This work not only validates the feasibility of silicalite-1 as the pore-forming agent for the targeted preparation of flexible PCNFs, but also it highlights the potential of pore engineering in freestanding PCNFs for advanced CDI.

Group identities on symmetric units under oriented involutions in group algebras

AbstractLet $$\mathbb {F}G$$ F G denote the group algebra of a locally finite group G over the infinite field $$\mathbb {F}$$ F with $$\mathop {\textrm{char}}\nolimits (\mathbb {F})\ne 2$$ char ( F ) ≠ 2 , and let $$\circledast :\mathbb {F}G\rightarrow \mathbb {F}G$$ ⊛ : F G → F G denote the involution defined by $$\alpha =\Sigma \alpha _{g}g \mapsto \alpha ^\circledast =\Sigma \alpha _{g}\sigma (g)g^{*}$$ α = Σ α g g ↦ α ⊛ = Σ α g σ ( g ) g ∗ , where $$\sigma :G\rightarrow \{\pm 1\}$$ σ : G → { ± 1 } is a group homomorphism (called an orientation) and $$*$$ ∗ is an involution of the group G. In this paper we prove, under some assumptions, that if the $$\circledast $$ ⊛ -symmetric units of $$\mathbb {F}G$$ F G satisfies a group identity then $$\mathbb {F}G$$ F G satisfies a polynomial identity, i.e., we give an affirmative answer to a Conjecture of B. Hartley in this setting. Moreover, in the case when the prime radical $$\eta (\mathbb {F}G)$$ η ( F G ) of $$\mathbb {F}G$$ F G is nilpotent we characterize the groups for which the symmetric units $$\mathcal {U}^+(\mathbb {F}G)$$ U + ( F G ) do satisfy a group identity.

Luminescent lanthanide mixed N-phthaloylglycinate and terephthalate coordination polymers: Structural and optical properties.

A new class of lanthanide mixed-carboxylate ligands compounds with formula {[Ln2 (phthgly)4 (bdc)(H2 O)6 ]·(H2 O)4 }∞ , labelled as Ln3+ : Eu (1) and Gd (2) coordination polymers (CP) were synthesized under mild reaction conditions between lanthanide nitrate salts and a solution of N-phthaloylglycine (phthgly) and terephthalic (bdc) ligands. The (1) and (2) coordination polymers were formed by symmetric binuclear units, in which phthgly and bdc carboxylate ligands are coordinated to the lanthanide ions by different coordination modes. Surprisingly, all organic ligands participate in hydrogen bonding interactions, forming an extremally rigid crystalline structure. The red narrow emission bands from the 5 D0 →7 FJ transitions of the Eu3+ ion show a high colour purity. The intramolecular energy transfer process from L→Eu3+ ion has been discussed. The experimental intensity parameters (Ω2,4 ) reflect lower angular distortion and polarizability of the chemical environment around the metal ion compared with other Eu3+ compounds reported in the literature. This novel class of coordination polymer offers a more attractive platform for developing luminescent functional materials for different applications.