Symmetry

11 pages, 2470 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Research on the Hydrophilicity of Non-Coal Kaolinite and Coal Kaolinite from the Viewpoint of Experiments and DFT Simulations

by Peng Xi, Ruixin Ma and Wenli Liu

Symmetry 2020, 12(7), 1199; https://doi.org/10.3390/sym12071199 - 21 Jul 2020

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1854

Abstract

Coal is often coated by coal kaolinite in flotation, resulting in an increase in concentrate ash. The natural hydrophilicity of minerals is the key factor to determining its flotation behavior. The results of studies on the contact angle of non-coal kaolinite and coal [...] Read more.

Coal is often coated by coal kaolinite in flotation, resulting in an increase in concentrate ash. The natural hydrophilicity of minerals is the key factor to determining its flotation behavior. The results of studies on the contact angle of non-coal kaolinite and coal kaolinite samples found that the contact angle of coal kaolinite was bigger than that of non-coal kaolinite and the hydrophilicity of the latter was stronger. To investigate the mechanism of the hydrophilic difference between non-coal kaolinite and coal kaolinite, the adsorption of a single water molecule on non-coal kaolinite and coal kaolinite (100) and (00

\bar{1}

) surfaces was calculated with the first principle method of the density functional theory (DFT). The calculation results showed that hydrogen bonds were formed between the hydrogen atom and the oxygen atom of the surface and the hydrogen atom and the oxygen atom of the water molecule after the water molecule was adsorbed on the kaolinite (100) and (00

\bar{1}

) surface. The adsorption process of water molecules on the kaolinite surface was physical adsorption with Van der Waals force existing between them. Regardless of whether the kaolinite (001) surface or the kaolinite (00

\bar{1}

) surface was doped with a carbon atom, the adsorption of a single water molecule was weakened, with a weaker hydrogen bond formed. The calculated results explained the difference of hydrophilicity between non-coal kaolinite and coal kaolinite samples from the molecular and atomic viewpoint. Full article

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15 pages, 732 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Advanced Algorithms and Common Solutions to Variational Inequalities

by Hasanen A. Hammad, Habib ur Rehman and Manuel De la Sen

Symmetry 2020, 12(7), 1198; https://doi.org/10.3390/sym12071198 - 20 Jul 2020

Cited by 22 | Viewed by 2113

Abstract

The paper aims to present advanced algorithms arising out of adding the inertial technical and shrinking projection terms to ordinary parallel and cyclic hybrid inertial sub-gradient extra-gradient algorithms (for short, PCHISE). Via these algorithms, common solutions of variational inequality problems (CSVIP) and strong [...] Read more.

The paper aims to present advanced algorithms arising out of adding the inertial technical and shrinking projection terms to ordinary parallel and cyclic hybrid inertial sub-gradient extra-gradient algorithms (for short, PCHISE). Via these algorithms, common solutions of variational inequality problems (CSVIP) and strong convergence results are obtained in Hilbert spaces. The structure of this problem is to find a solution to a system of unrelated VI fronting for set-valued mappings. To clarify the acceleration, effectiveness, and performance of our parallel and cyclic algorithms, numerical contributions have been incorporated. In this direction, our results unify and generalize some related papers in the literature. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Iterative Numerical Functional Analysis with Applications)

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12 pages, 287 KiB

Open AccessArticle

On a Fractional in Time Nonlinear Schrödinger Equation with Dispersion Parameter and Absorption Coefficient

by Mohamed Jleli, Bessem Samet and Calogero Vetro

Symmetry 2020, 12(7), 1197; https://doi.org/10.3390/sym12071197 - 20 Jul 2020

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1799

Abstract

This paper is concerned with the nonexistence of global solutions to fractional in time nonlinear Schrödinger equations of the form [...] Read more.

This paper is concerned with the nonexistence of global solutions to fractional in time nonlinear Schrödinger equations of the form

i^{α} \partial_{t}^{α} ω (t, z) + a_{1} (t) Δ ω (t, z) + i^{α} a_{2} (t) ω (t, z) = ξ {| ω (t, z) |}^{p}, (t, z) \in (0, \infty) \times R^{N}

, where

N \geq 1

,

ξ \in C \ {0}

and

p > 1

, under suitable initial data. To establish our nonexistence theorem, we adopt the Pohozaev nonlinear capacity method, and consider the combined effects of absorption and dispersion terms. Further, we discuss in details some special cases of coefficient functions

a_{1}, a_{2} \in L_{l o c}^{1} ([0, \infty), R)

, and provide two illustrative examples. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Symmetry in Ordinary and Partial Differential Equations and Applications)

25 pages, 774 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Symmetric Banzhaf Cooperation Value for Games with a Proximity Relation among the Agents

by Inés Gallego, Julio R. Fernández, Andrés Jiménez-Losada and Manuel Ordóñez

Symmetry 2020, 12(7), 1196; https://doi.org/10.3390/sym12071196 - 20 Jul 2020

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1931

Abstract

A cooperative game represents a situation in which a set of agents form coalitions in order to achieve a common good. To allocate the benefits of the result of this cooperation there exist several values such as the Shapley value or the Banzhaf [...] Read more.

A cooperative game represents a situation in which a set of agents form coalitions in order to achieve a common good. To allocate the benefits of the result of this cooperation there exist several values such as the Shapley value or the Banzhaf value. Sometimes it is considered that not all communications between players are feasible and a graph is introduced to represent them. Myerson (1977) introduced a Shapley-type value for these situations. Another model for cooperative games is the Owen model, Owen (1977), in which players that have similar interests form a priori unions that bargain as a block in order to get a fair payoff. The model of cooperation introduced in this paper combines these two models following Casajus (2007). The situation consists of a communication graph where a two-step value is defined. In the first step a negotiation among the connected components is made and in the second one players inside each connected component bargain. This model can be extended to fuzzy contexts such as proximity relations that consider leveled closeness between agents as we proposed in 2016. There are two extensions of the Banzhaf value to the Owen model, because the natural way loses the group symmetry property. In this paper we construct an appropriate value to extend the symmetric option for situations with a proximity relation and provide it with an axiomatization. Then we apply this value to a political situation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fuzzy Mathematics Applied to Science, Engineering and Sustainability Issues)

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11 pages, 1103 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Solution of Multi-Term Time-Fractional PDE Models Arising in Mathematical Biology and Physics by Local Meshless Method

by Imtiaz Ahmad, Hijaz Ahmad, Phatiphat Thounthong, Yu-Ming Chu and Clemente Cesarano

Symmetry 2020, 12(7), 1195; https://doi.org/10.3390/sym12071195 - 19 Jul 2020

Cited by 97 | Viewed by 4423

Abstract

Fractional differential equations depict nature sufficiently in light of the symmetry properties which describe biological and physical processes. This article is concerned with the numerical treatment of three-term time fractional-order multi-dimensional diffusion equations by using an efficient local meshless method. The space derivative [...] Read more.

Fractional differential equations depict nature sufficiently in light of the symmetry properties which describe biological and physical processes. This article is concerned with the numerical treatment of three-term time fractional-order multi-dimensional diffusion equations by using an efficient local meshless method. The space derivative of the models is discretized by the proposed meshless procedure based on the multiquadric radial basis function though the time-fractional part is discretized by Liouville–Caputo fractional derivative. The numerical results are obtained for one-, two- and three-dimensional cases on rectangular and non-rectangular computational domains which verify the validity, efficiency and accuracy of the method. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ordinary and Partial Differential Equations: Theory and Applications)

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15 pages, 1546 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Route Configuration Method for Highway Passenger Hubs from the Perspective of Transportation Integration: A Case Study of Nanjing, China

by Xiaochuan Du, Zhenjun Zhu, Junlan Chen, Cong Qi and Xiucheng Guo

Symmetry 2020, 12(7), 1194; https://doi.org/10.3390/sym12071194 - 19 Jul 2020

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2372

Abstract

As a result of transportation integration, the role of highway passenger transport hubs has changed dramatically; these nodes act as important links to construct a seamless regional comprehensive passenger transport system which reflects the coordination and symmetry of public transportation and the integrated [...] Read more.

As a result of transportation integration, the role of highway passenger transport hubs has changed dramatically; these nodes act as important links to construct a seamless regional comprehensive passenger transport system which reflects the coordination and symmetry of public transportation and the integrated transportation system. In order to optimise the efficiency of transportation organisation and improve the quality of passenger transport services, in this study we developed an optimisation method for the allocation of passenger transport hubs based on the analysis of passenger flow demand and spatial distribution. Configuration models of the departure sites of single-station and multi-station hub lines were established according to the service scope of the stations and the relative generalised travel cost, respectively. The overall optimisation method of the route allocation scheme was proposed by checking and optimising the passenger volume of each station. The developed methodology was successfully validated by applying it to the highway passenger transport hub system of Nanjing, China. The proposed methodology is expected to help management agencies and business operators to optimise existing highway passenger bus lines, thereby improving the quality of their services. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Computer)

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15 pages, 7143 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Unsupervised Hashing with Gradient Attention

by Shaochen Jiang, Liejun Wang, Shuli Cheng, Anyu Du and Yongming Li

Symmetry 2020, 12(7), 1193; https://doi.org/10.3390/sym12071193 - 18 Jul 2020

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2096

Abstract

The existing learning-based unsupervised hashing method usually uses a pre-trained network to extract features, and then uses the extracted feature vectors to construct a similarity matrix which guides the generation of hash codes through gradient descent. Existing research shows that the algorithm based [...] Read more.

The existing learning-based unsupervised hashing method usually uses a pre-trained network to extract features, and then uses the extracted feature vectors to construct a similarity matrix which guides the generation of hash codes through gradient descent. Existing research shows that the algorithm based on gradient descent will cause the hash codes of the paired images to be updated toward each other’s position during the training process. For unsupervised training, this situation will cause large fluctuations in the hash code during training and limit the learning efficiency of the hash code. In this paper, we propose a method named Deep Unsupervised Hashing with Gradient Attention (UHGA) to solve this problem. UHGA mainly includes the following contents: (1) use pre-trained network models to extract image features; (2) calculate the cosine distance of the corresponding features of the pair of images, and construct a similarity matrix through the cosine distance to guide the generation of hash codes; (3) a gradient attention mechanism is added during the training of the hash code to pay attention to the gradient. Experiments on two existing public datasets show that our proposed method can obtain more discriminating hash codes. Full article

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31 pages, 2723 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Testing of a Virtualized Distributed Processing System for the Execution of Bio-Inspired Optimization Algorithms

by Nancy Gélvez, Helbert Espitia and Jhon Bayona

Symmetry 2020, 12(7), 1192; https://doi.org/10.3390/sym12071192 - 17 Jul 2020

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1797

Abstract

Due to the stochastic characteristics of bio-inspired optimization algorithms, several executions are often required; then a suitable infrastructure must be available to run these algorithms. This paper reviews a virtualized distributed processing scheme to establish an adequate infrastructure for the execution of bio-inspired [...] Read more.

Due to the stochastic characteristics of bio-inspired optimization algorithms, several executions are often required; then a suitable infrastructure must be available to run these algorithms. This paper reviews a virtualized distributed processing scheme to establish an adequate infrastructure for the execution of bio-inspired algorithms. In order to test the virtualized distributed system, the well known versions of genetic algorithms, differential evolution and particle swarm optimization, are used. The results show that the revised distributed virtualized schema allows speeding up the execution of the algorithms without altering their result in the objective function. Full article

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37 pages, 2158 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceReview

Security and Privacy in IoT-Cloud-Based e-Health Systems—A Comprehensive Review

by Chanapha Butpheng, Kuo-Hui Yeh and Hu Xiong

Symmetry 2020, 12(7), 1191; https://doi.org/10.3390/sym12071191 - 17 Jul 2020

Cited by 100 | Viewed by 18366

Abstract

When the Internet and other interconnected networks are used in a health system, it is referred to as “e-Health.” In this paper, we examined research studies from 2017–2020 to explore the utilization of intelligent techniques in health and its evolution over time, particularly [...] Read more.

When the Internet and other interconnected networks are used in a health system, it is referred to as “e-Health.” In this paper, we examined research studies from 2017–2020 to explore the utilization of intelligent techniques in health and its evolution over time, particularly the integration of Internet of Things (IoT) devices and cloud computing. E-Health is defined as “the ability to seek, find, understand and appraise health information derived from electronic sources and acquired knowledge to properly solve or treat health problems. As a repository for health information as well as e-Health analysis, the Internet has the potential to protect consumers from harm and empower them to participate fully in informed health-related decision-making. Most importantly, high levels of e-Health integration mitigate the risk of encountering unreliable information on the Internet. Various research perspectives related to security and privacy within IoT-cloud-based e-Health systems are examined, with an emphasis on the opportunities, benefits and challenges of the implementation such systems. The combination of IoT-based e-Health systems integrated with intelligent systems such as cloud computing that provide smart objectives and applications is a promising future trend. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Special issue on Symmetry and Asymmetry in IoT and CPS Security and Privacy)

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17 pages, 4818 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Theoretical Model of Radial Scattering Velocity of Fragments of the Reactive Core PELE Projectile

by Liangliang Ding, Jingyuan Zhou, Xianwen Ran, Wenhui Tang, Xiaoguang Xue and Yuli Zhao

Symmetry 2020, 12(7), 1190; https://doi.org/10.3390/sym12071190 - 17 Jul 2020

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2480

Abstract

PELE projectile is a new type of armor-piercing warhead and has a more obvious fragmentation effect, which solves the problem of insufficient after-effects of conventional armor-piercing projectiles. Reactive material is a new type of energetic material, which has some characteristics similar to the [...] Read more.

PELE projectile is a new type of armor-piercing warhead and has a more obvious fragmentation effect, which solves the problem of insufficient after-effects of conventional armor-piercing projectiles. Reactive material is a new type of energetic material, which has some characteristics similar to the traditional explosives but has better mechanical properties. Reactive material is insensitive under normal conditions, and it can release huge energy under external impact loading. This paper hopes to study the application of reactive materials to the inner core of PELE projectiles to further improve the fragmentation effect of PELE projectiles. The fragmentation effect of PELE projectile is mainly reflected in the radial scattering velocity of fragments after it perforates the target plate. In this paper, three energy sources for the radial scattering of fragments were obtained by analyzing the penetration process of PELE projectile, that is, the axial kinetic energy of outer casing, the radial compression potential energy generated by the inner core to the outer casing, and the chemical energy released by the reactive core material. Based on the simplification and assumptions, the theoretical model of radial scattering velocity of fragments of the reactive core PELE projectile was established. In addition, numerical simulations were carried out to verify the theoretical model. The results show that the numerical simulation results are in good agreement with the theoretical calculation results, which indicates that the model established in this paper is scientific and reasonable. The reactive core PELE projectile has a more significant fragmentation effect, which further enhances the comprehensive damage power of traditional PELE projectile. The theoretical model established in this paper can quickly assess the power of reactive core PELE projectile’s fragmentation effect, which can be used to provide guidance and reference for engineering application. Full article

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19 pages, 1583 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Fast Attribute Reduction Algorithm Based on a Positive Region Sort Ascending Decision Table

by Linzi Yin and Zhaohui Jiang

Symmetry 2020, 12(7), 1189; https://doi.org/10.3390/sym12071189 - 17 Jul 2020

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1909

Abstract

Attribute reduction is one of the challenging problems in rough set theory. To accomplish an efficient reduction algorithm, this paper analyzes the shortcomings of the traditional methods based on attribute significance, and suggests a novel reduction way where the traditional attribute significance calculation [...] Read more.

Attribute reduction is one of the challenging problems in rough set theory. To accomplish an efficient reduction algorithm, this paper analyzes the shortcomings of the traditional methods based on attribute significance, and suggests a novel reduction way where the traditional attribute significance calculation is replaced by a special core attribute calculation. A decision table called the positive region sort ascending decision table (PR-SADT) is defined to optimize some key steps of the novel reduction method, including the special core attribute calculation, positive region calculation, etc. On this basis, a fast reduction algorithm is presented to obtain a complete positive region reduct. Experimental tests demonstrate that the novel reduction algorithm achieves obviously high computational efficiency. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Computer)

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21 pages, 3725 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Consistency of Estimators in a Heteroscedastic Partially Linear Model with ρ⁻-Mixing Errors

by Yu Zhang and Xinsheng Liu

Symmetry 2020, 12(7), 1188; https://doi.org/10.3390/sym12071188 - 17 Jul 2020

Viewed by 1412

Abstract

This paper studies a heteroscedastic partially linear model based on

ρ^{-}

-mixing random errors, stochastically dominated and with zero mean. Under some suitable conditions, the strong consistency and

p

-th

(p > 0)

mean consistency of least squares (LS) estimators [...] Read more.

This paper studies a heteroscedastic partially linear model based on

ρ^{-}

-mixing random errors, stochastically dominated and with zero mean. Under some suitable conditions, the strong consistency and

p

-th

(p > 0)

mean consistency of least squares (LS) estimators and weighted least squares (WLS) estimators for the unknown parameter are investigated, and the strong consistency and

p

-th

(p > 0)

mean consistency of the estimators for the non-parametric component are also studied. These results include the corresponding ones of independent, negatively associated (NA), and

ρ^{*}

-mixing random errors as special cases. At last, two simulations are presented to support the theoretical results. Full article

(This article belongs to the Section Computer)

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12 pages, 1594 KiB

Open AccessArticle

An Accelerated Symmetric Nonnegative Matrix Factorization Algorithm Using Extrapolation

by Peitao Wang, Zhaoshui He, Jun Lu, Beihai Tan, YuLei Bai, Ji Tan, Taiheng Liu and Zhijie Lin

Symmetry 2020, 12(7), 1187; https://doi.org/10.3390/sym12071187 - 17 Jul 2020

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2020

Abstract

Symmetric nonnegative matrix factorization (SNMF) approximates a symmetric nonnegative matrix by the product of a nonnegative low-rank matrix and its transpose. SNMF has been successfully used in many real-world applications such as clustering. In this paper, we propose an accelerated variant of the [...] Read more.

Symmetric nonnegative matrix factorization (SNMF) approximates a symmetric nonnegative matrix by the product of a nonnegative low-rank matrix and its transpose. SNMF has been successfully used in many real-world applications such as clustering. In this paper, we propose an accelerated variant of the multiplicative update (MU) algorithm of He et al. designed to solve the SNMF problem. The accelerated algorithm is derived by using the extrapolation scheme of Nesterov and a restart strategy. The extrapolation scheme plays a leading role in accelerating the MU algorithm of He et al. and the restart strategy ensures that the objective function of SNMF is monotonically decreasing. We apply the accelerated algorithm to clustering problems and symmetric nonnegative tensor factorization (SNTF). The experiment results on both synthetic and real-world data show that it is more than four times faster than the MU algorithm of He et al. and performs favorably compared to recent state-of-the-art algorithms. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Symmetric Tensor Decomposition Methods)

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26 pages, 3875 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Exploiting Obstacle Geometry to Reduce Search Time in Grid-Based Pathfinding

by Fahed Jubair and Mohammed Hawa

Symmetry 2020, 12(7), 1186; https://doi.org/10.3390/sym12071186 - 17 Jul 2020

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2301

Abstract

Pathfinding is the problem of finding the shortest path between a pair of nodes in a graph. In the context of uniform-cost undirected grid maps, heuristic search algorithms, such as

A^{★}

and weighted

A^{★}

(

W A^{★}

), have been [...] Read more.

Pathfinding is the problem of finding the shortest path between a pair of nodes in a graph. In the context of uniform-cost undirected grid maps, heuristic search algorithms, such as

A^{★}

and weighted

A^{★}

(

W A^{★}

), have been dominantly used for pathfinding. However, the lack of knowledge about obstacle shapes in a gird map often leads heuristic search algorithms to unnecessarily explore areas where a viable path is not available. We refer to such areas in a grid map as blocked areas (BAs). This paper introduces a preprocessing algorithm that analyzes the geometry of obstacles in a grid map and stores knowledge about blocked areas in a memory-efficient balanced binary search tree data structure. During actual pathfinding, a search algorithm accesses the binary search tree to identify blocked areas in a grid map and therefore avoid exploring them. As a result, the search time is significantly reduced. The scope of the paper covers maps in which obstacles are represented as horizontal and vertical line-segments. The impact of using the blocked area knowledge during pathfinding in

A^{★}

and

W A^{★}

is evaluated using publicly available benchmark set, consisting of sixty grid maps of mazes and rooms. In mazes, the search time for both

A^{★}

and

W A^{★}

is reduced by

28 %

, on average. In rooms, the search time for both

A^{★}

and

W A^{★}

is reduced by

30 %

, on average. This is achieved while preserving the search optimality of

A^{★}

and the search sub-optimality of

W A^{★}

. Full article

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13 pages, 2129 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Theoretical Derivation and Optimization Verification of BER for Indoor SWIPT Environments

by Wei Chien, Tzong-Tyng Hsieh, Chien-Ching Chiu, Yu-Ting Cheng, Yang-Han Lee and Qiang Chen

Symmetry 2020, 12(7), 1185; https://doi.org/10.3390/sym12071185 - 17 Jul 2020

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1903

Abstract

Symmetrical antenna array is useful for omni bearing beamforming adjustment with multiple receivers. Beam-forming techniques using evolution algorithms have been studied for multi-user resource allocation in simultaneous wireless information and power transfer (SWIPT) systems. In a high-capacity broadband communication system there are many [...] Read more.

Symmetrical antenna array is useful for omni bearing beamforming adjustment with multiple receivers. Beam-forming techniques using evolution algorithms have been studied for multi-user resource allocation in simultaneous wireless information and power transfer (SWIPT) systems. In a high-capacity broadband communication system there are many users with wearable devices. A transmitter provides simultaneous wireless information and power to a particular receiver, and the other receivers harvest energy from the radio frequency while being idle. In addition, the ray bounce tracking method is used to estimate the multi-path channel, and the Fourier method is used to perform the time domain conversion. A simple method for reducing the frequency selective effort of the multiple channels using the feed line length instead of the digital phase shifts is proposed. The feed line length and excitation current of the transmitting antennas are adjusted to maximize the energy harvest efficiency under the bit error rate (BER) constraint. We use the time-domain multipath signal to calculate the BER, which includes the inter symbol interference for the wideband system. In addition, we use multi-objective function for optimization. To the best of our knowledge, resource allocation algorithms for this problem have not been reported in the literature. The optimal radiation patterns are synthesized by the asynchronous particle swarm optimization (APSO) and self-adaptive dynamic differential evolution (SADDE) algorithms. Both APSO and SADDE can form good patterns for the receiver for energy harvesting. However, APSO has a faster convergence speed than SADDE. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Selected Papers from IIKII 2020 Conferences II)

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30 pages, 6900 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceReview

Enantioselective Catalytic Synthesis of N-alkylated Indoles

by Dmitri Trubitsõn and Tõnis Kanger

Symmetry 2020, 12(7), 1184; https://doi.org/10.3390/sym12071184 - 17 Jul 2020

Cited by 16 | Viewed by 4746

Abstract

During the past two decades, the interest in new methodologies for the synthesis of chiral N-functionalized indoles has grown rapidly. The review illustrates efficient applications of organocatalytic and organometallic strategies for the construction of chiral α-N-branched indoles. Both the direct [...] Read more.

During the past two decades, the interest in new methodologies for the synthesis of chiral N-functionalized indoles has grown rapidly. The review illustrates efficient applications of organocatalytic and organometallic strategies for the construction of chiral α-N-branched indoles. Both the direct functionalization of the indole core and indirect methods based on asymmetric N-alkylation of indolines, isatins and 4,7-dihydroindoles are discussed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Chiral Auxiliaries and Chirogenesis II)

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11 pages, 255 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Lateralization of Auditory Processing of Silbo Gomero

by Pamela Villar González, Onur Güntürkün and Sebastian Ocklenburg

Symmetry 2020, 12(7), 1183; https://doi.org/10.3390/sym12071183 - 17 Jul 2020

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3324

Abstract

Left-hemispheric language dominance is a well-known characteristic of the human language system. However, it has been shown that leftward language lateralization decreases dramatically when people communicate using whistles. Whistled languages present a transformation of a spoken language into whistles, facilitating communication over great [...] Read more.

Left-hemispheric language dominance is a well-known characteristic of the human language system. However, it has been shown that leftward language lateralization decreases dramatically when people communicate using whistles. Whistled languages present a transformation of a spoken language into whistles, facilitating communication over great distances. In order to investigate the laterality of Silbo Gomero, a form of whistled Spanish, we used a vocal and a whistled dichotic listening task in a sample of 75 healthy Spanish speakers. Both individuals that were able to whistle and to understand Silbo Gomero and a non-whistling control group showed a clear right-ear advantage for vocal dichotic listening. For whistled dichotic listening, the control group did not show any hemispheric asymmetries. In contrast, the whistlers’ group showed a right-ear advantage for whistled stimuli. This right-ear advantage was, however, smaller compared to the right-ear advantage found for vocal dichotic listening. In line with a previous study on language lateralization of whistled Turkish, these findings suggest that whistled language processing is associated with a decrease in left and a relative increase in right hemispheric processing. This shows that bihemispheric processing of whistled language stimuli occurs independent of language. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cognitive and Neurophysiological Models of Brain Asymmetry)

17 pages, 3343 KiB

Open AccessReview

Down Syndrome Face Recognition: A Review

by Olalekan Agbolade, Azree Nazri, Razali Yaakob, Abdul Azim Ghani and Yoke Kqueen Cheah

Symmetry 2020, 12(7), 1182; https://doi.org/10.3390/sym12071182 - 17 Jul 2020

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 17076

Abstract

One of the most pertinent applications of image analysis is face recognition and one of the most common genetic disorders is Down syndrome (DS), which is caused by chromosome abnormalities in humans. It is currently a challenge in computer vision in the domain [...] Read more.

One of the most pertinent applications of image analysis is face recognition and one of the most common genetic disorders is Down syndrome (DS), which is caused by chromosome abnormalities in humans. It is currently a challenge in computer vision in the domain of DS face recognition to build an automated system that equals the human ability to recognize face as one of the symmetrical structures in the body. Consequently, the use of machine learning methods has facilitated the recognition of facial dysmorphic features associated with DS. This paper aims to present a concise review of DS face recognition using the currently published literature by following the generic face recognition pipeline (face detection, feature extraction, and classification) and to identify critical knowledge gaps and directions for future research. The technologies underlying facial analysis presented in recent studies have helped expert clinicians in general genetic disorders and DS prediction. Full article

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14 pages, 3513 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Computer-Aided Sketching: Incorporating the Locus to Improve the Three-Dimensional Geometric Design

by José Ignacio Rojas-Sola, David Hernández-Díaz, Ricardo Villar-Ribera, Vicente Hernández-Abad and Francisco Hernández-Abad

Symmetry 2020, 12(7), 1181; https://doi.org/10.3390/sym12071181 - 16 Jul 2020

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3684

Abstract

This article presents evidence of the convenience of implementing the geometric places of the plane into commercial computer-aided design (CAD) software as auxiliary tools in the computer-aided sketching process. Additionally, the research considers the possibility of adding several intuitive spatial geometric places to [...] Read more.

This article presents evidence of the convenience of implementing the geometric places of the plane into commercial computer-aided design (CAD) software as auxiliary tools in the computer-aided sketching process. Additionally, the research considers the possibility of adding several intuitive spatial geometric places to improve the efficiency of the three-dimensional geometric design. For demonstrative purposes, four examples are presented. A two-dimensional figure positioned on the flat face of an object shows the significant improvement over tools currently available in commercial CAD software, both vector and parametric: it is more intuitive and does not require the designer to execute as many operations. Two more complex three-dimensional examples are presented to show how the use of spatial geometric places, implemented as CAD software functions, would be an effective and highly intuitive tool. Using these functions produces auxiliary curved surfaces with points whose notable features are a significant innovation. A final example provided solves a geometric place problem using own software designed for this purpose. The proposal to incorporate geometric places into CAD software would lead to a significant improvement in the field of computational geometry. Consequently, the incorporation of geometric places into CAD software could increase technical-design productivity by eliminating some intermediate operations, such as symmetry, among others, and improving the geometry training of less skilled users. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances on Engineering Graphics: Improvements and New Proposals)

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14 pages, 711 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Group Decision-Making Method Based on Expert Classification Consensus Information Integration

by Lei Wang and Huifeng Xue

Symmetry 2020, 12(7), 1180; https://doi.org/10.3390/sym12071180 - 16 Jul 2020

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1627

Abstract

Existing decision-making methods are mostly a simple aggregation of expert decision information when solving large group decision-making problems. In these methods, priority should be given to expert weight information; however, it is difficult to avoid the loss of expert decision information in the [...] Read more.

Existing decision-making methods are mostly a simple aggregation of expert decision information when solving large group decision-making problems. In these methods, priority should be given to expert weight information; however, it is difficult to avoid the loss of expert decision information in the decision-making process. Therefore, a new idea to solve the problem of large group decision-making by combining the expert group clustering algorithm and the group consensus model is proposed in this paper in order to avoid the disadvantages of subjectively assigning expert weights. First, expert groups are classified by the clustering algorithm of breadth-first search neighbors. Next, the decision information of the experts in the class is corrected adaptively using the group consensus model; then, expert decision information in the class is integrated using probabilistic linguistic translation methods. This method not only avoids the shortcomings of artificially given expert weights, but also reduces the loss of expert decision information. Finally, the method comprehensively considers the scale of the expert class and the difference between the classes to determine the weight of the expert class, and then it weights and integrates the consensus information of all expert classes to obtain the final decision result. This article verifies the effectiveness of the proposed method through a case analysis of urban water resource sustainability evaluation, and provides a scientific evaluation method for the sustainable development level of urban water resources. Full article

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17 pages, 321 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Comparison Methods for Solving Non-Linear Sturm–Liouville Eigenvalues Problems

by Kamel Al-Khaled and Ashwaq Hazaimeh

Symmetry 2020, 12(7), 1179; https://doi.org/10.3390/sym12071179 - 16 Jul 2020

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1925

Abstract

In this paper, we present a comparative study between Sinc–Galerkin method and a modified version of the variational iteration method (VIM) to solve non-linear Sturm–Liouville eigenvalue problem. In the Sinc method, the problem under consideration was converted from a non-linear differential equation to [...] Read more.

In this paper, we present a comparative study between Sinc–Galerkin method and a modified version of the variational iteration method (VIM) to solve non-linear Sturm–Liouville eigenvalue problem. In the Sinc method, the problem under consideration was converted from a non-linear differential equation to a non-linear system of equations, that we were able to solve it via the use of some iterative techniques, like Newton’s method. The other method under consideration is the VIM, where the VIM has been modified through the use of the Laplace transform, and another effective modification has also been made to the VIM by replacing the non-linear term in the integral equation resulting from the use of the well-known VIM with the Adomian’s polynomials. In order to explain the advantages of each method over the other, several issues have been studied, including one that has an application in the field of spectral theory. The results in solutions to these problems, which were included in tables, showed that the improved VIM is better than the Sinc method, while the Sinc method addresses some advantages over the VIM when dealing with singular problems. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Iterative Numerical Functional Analysis with Applications)

44 pages, 455 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Binary Operations in the Unit Ball: A Differential Geometry Approach

by Nikita E. Barabanov and Abraham A. Ungar

Symmetry 2020, 12(7), 1178; https://doi.org/10.3390/sym12071178 - 16 Jul 2020

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2186

Abstract

Within the framework of differential geometry, we study binary operations in the open, unit ball of the Euclidean n-space

R^{n}

,

n \in N

, and discover the properties that qualify these operations to the title addition despite the fact that, [...] Read more.

Within the framework of differential geometry, we study binary operations in the open, unit ball of the Euclidean n-space

R^{n}

,

n \in N

, and discover the properties that qualify these operations to the title addition despite the fact that, in general, these binary operations are neither commutative nor associative. The binary operation of the Beltrami-Klein ball model of hyperbolic geometry, known as Einstein addition, and the binary operation of the Beltrami-Poincaré ball model of hyperbolic geometry, known as Möbius addition, determine corresponding metric tensors in the unit ball. For a variety of metric tensors, including these two, we show how binary operations can be recovered from metric tensors. We define corresponding scalar multiplications, which give rise to gyrovector spaces, and to norms in these spaces. We introduce a large set of binary operations that are algebraically equivalent to Einstein addition and satisfy a number of nice properties of this addition. For such operations we define sets of gyrolines and co-gyrolines. The sets of co-gyrolines are sets of geodesics of Riemannian manifolds with zero Gaussian curvatures. We also obtain a special binary operation in the ball, which is isomorphic to the Euclidean addition in the Euclidean n-space. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Symmetry and Geometry in Physics)

11 pages, 2851 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Anatomical Considerations and Study of the Fractal Dimension around the Posterior Superior Alveolar Artery

by Yolanda Guerrero-Sánchez, Francisco José Gómez García, Manuel Fernández-Martínez, Blanca Pallarés Martínez and Pia López-Jornet

Symmetry 2020, 12(7), 1177; https://doi.org/10.3390/sym12071177 - 16 Jul 2020

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1873

Abstract

The Posterior Superior Alveolar Artery (PSAA) provides vascular support to molars, gingiva, and maxillary sinus. A tear of the PSAA may cause profuse hemorrhages which may lead to complications at a surgical level. As such, it becomes crucial to anatomically analyse several features [...] Read more.

The Posterior Superior Alveolar Artery (PSAA) provides vascular support to molars, gingiva, and maxillary sinus. A tear of the PSAA may cause profuse hemorrhages which may lead to complications at a surgical level. As such, it becomes crucial to anatomically analyse several features regarding the PSAA as well as the area surrounding it. In this paper, we are particularly interested in the study of the complexity of the periodontal tissue structure which appears close to the location of the PSAA. A total amount of 400 cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) scans (two per subject) were performed to explore the presence of the PSAA, the thickness of the Schneider’s membrane, and the existence of septa. Several parameters were evaluated including the location of the artery in the maxillary sinus, the distance from the PSAA to the alveolar ridge, the thickness of the membrane, the diameter of the cavities produced by the septa, and the fractal dimension of the trabecular tissue that surrounds the PSAA. They were found strong linear relationships between Distal and Central Measures (a Pearson’s

R^{2} = 0.9952

), Mesial and Central Measures (

R^{2} = 0.9950

), and Distal and Mesial Measure (

R^{2} = 0.997

). We hypothesised that the loss of dental pieces would imply a distinct complexity of the trabecular tissue structure surrounding the PSAA. In this way, a p-value equal to

0.001

was provided by the Mann-Whitney test, which supports our hypothesis. Furthermore, the mean of the fractal dimensions of the group of edentulous patients (equal to

1.56

) was found to be lower than the one of the group of non-edentulous patients (equal to

1.61

) with small standard deviations in both cases. Our study suggests that accurate calculations of the fractal dimension combined with the use of CBCT do provide valuable information regarding the area that surrounds the PSAA. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Nonlinear, Discrete, Continuous and Hamiltonian Systems)

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16 pages, 1319 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Analysis of Heat and Mass Transfer for Second-Order Slip Flow on a Thin Needle Using a Two-Phase Nanofluid Model

by Siti Nur Alwani Salleh, Norfifah Bachok, Fadzilah Md Ali and Norihan Md Arifin

Symmetry 2020, 12(7), 1176; https://doi.org/10.3390/sym12071176 - 16 Jul 2020

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2340

Abstract

The present paper concentrates on the second-order slip flow over a moving thin needle in a nanofluid. The combined effects of thermophoresis and Brownian motion are considered to describe the heat and mass transfer performance of nanofluid. The resulting system of equations are [...] Read more.

The present paper concentrates on the second-order slip flow over a moving thin needle in a nanofluid. The combined effects of thermophoresis and Brownian motion are considered to describe the heat and mass transfer performance of nanofluid. The resulting system of equations are obtained using similarity transformations and being executed in MATLAB software via bvp4c solver. The physical characteristics of embedded parameters on velocity, temperature, concentration, coefficient of skin friction, heat and mass transfer rates are demonstrated through a graphical approach and are discussed in detail. The obtained outcomes are validated with the existing works and are found to be in good agreement. It is shown that, for a specific domain of moving parameter, dual solutions are likely to exist. The stability analysis is performed to identify the stability of the solutions gained, and it is revealed that only one of them is numerically stable. The analysis indicated that the percentage of increment in the heat and mass transfer rates from no-slip to slip condition for both thin and thick surfaces of the needle (

a = 0.1

and

a = 0.2

) are

10.77 %

and

12.56 %

, respectively. Moreover, the symmetric behavior is noted for the graphs of reduced heat and mass transfer when the parameters

N b

and

N t

are the same. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Symmetry in Numerical Analysis and Numerical Methods)

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19 pages, 6466 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Motion of a Point Vortex in Multiply-Connected Polygonal Domains

by El Mostafa Kalmoun, Mohamed M. S. Nasser and Khalifa A. Hazaa

Symmetry 2020, 12(7), 1175; https://doi.org/10.3390/sym12071175 - 16 Jul 2020

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2135

Abstract

We study the motion of a single point vortex in simply- and multiply-connected polygonal domains. In the case of multiply-connected domains, the polygonal obstacles can be viewed as the cross-sections of 3D polygonal cylinders. First, we utilize conformal mappings to transfer the polygonal [...] Read more.

We study the motion of a single point vortex in simply- and multiply-connected polygonal domains. In the case of multiply-connected domains, the polygonal obstacles can be viewed as the cross-sections of 3D polygonal cylinders. First, we utilize conformal mappings to transfer the polygonal domains onto circular domains. Then, we employ the Schottky-Klein prime function to compute the Hamiltonian governing the point vortex motion in circular domains. We compare between the topological structures of the contour lines of the Hamiltonian in symmetric and asymmetric domains. Special attention is paid to the interaction of point vortex trajectories with the polygonal obstacles. In this context, we discuss the effect of symmetry breaking, and obstacle location and shape on the behavior of vortex motion. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Symmetry in Numerical Analysis and Numerical Methods)

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15 pages, 2651 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Strategic and Significant Method for the Optimal Placement of Phasor Measurement Unit for Power System Network

by Maveeya Baba, Nursyarizal B. M. Nor, M. Aman.Sheikh, Muhammad Irfan and Mohammad Tahir

Symmetry 2020, 12(7), 1174; https://doi.org/10.3390/sym12071174 - 16 Jul 2020

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2843

Abstract

Currently the new state of power system relies on a precise monitoring of electrical quantities such as voltage and current phasors. Occasionally, its operation gets disturbed because of the flicking in load and generation which may result in the interruption of power supply [...] Read more.

Currently the new state of power system relies on a precise monitoring of electrical quantities such as voltage and current phasors. Occasionally, its operation gets disturbed because of the flicking in load and generation which may result in the interruption of power supply or may cause catastrophic failure. The advanced technology of phasor measurement unit (PMU) is introduced in the late 1990s to measure the behavior of power system more symmetrically, accurately, and precisely. However, the implementation of this device at every busbar in a grid station is not an easy task because of its expensive installation and manufacturing cost. As a result, an optimum placement of PMU is much needed in this case. Therefore, this paper proposes a new symmetry approach of multiple objectives for the optimum placement of PMU problem (OPPP) in order to minimize the installed number of PMUs and maximize the measurement redundancy of the network. To overcome the drawbacks of traditional techniques in the proposed work a reduction and exclusion of pure transit node technique is used in the placement set. In which only the strategic, significant, and the most desirable buses are selected without considering zero injection buses (ZIBs). The fundamental novelty of the proposed work considers most importantly the reduction technique of ZIBs from the optimum PMU locations, as far as the prior approaches concern almost every algorithm have taken ZIBs as their optimal placement sets. Furthermore, a PMUs channel limits and an alternative symmetry location for the PMUs placement are considered when there is an outage or PMUs failure may occur. The performance of the proposed method is verified on different IEEE-standard such as: IEEE-9, IEEE-14, IEEE-24, IEEE-30, IEEE-57, IEEE-118, and a New England-39 bus system. The success of the proposed work was compared with the existing techniques’ outcomes from the literature. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Symmetry in Mechanical Engineering Ⅱ)

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10 pages, 1890 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Ferroelectric and Electrical Properties Optimization of Mg-doped BiFeO₃ Flexible Multiferroic Films

by Der-Yuh Lin, Hone-Zern Chen, Ming-Cheng Kao and Pei-Li Zhang

Symmetry 2020, 12(7), 1173; https://doi.org/10.3390/sym12071173 - 15 Jul 2020

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2445

Abstract

Bi_1-xMg_xFeO₃ (BMFO, x = 0, 0.02, 0.04, 0.06 and 0.08) multiferroic films were directly synthesized on flexible stainless steel (FSS), save the bottom electrode process, by means of sol–gel spin-coating technology. The effects of different bending conditions on [...] Read more.

Bi_1-xMg_xFeO₃ (BMFO, x = 0, 0.02, 0.04, 0.06 and 0.08) multiferroic films were directly synthesized on flexible stainless steel (FSS), save the bottom electrode process, by means of sol–gel spin-coating technology. The effects of different bending conditions on ferroelectric, dielectric and leakage-current properties of BMFO films were investigated. The leakage-current densities of BiFeO₃ (BFO, x = 0) and BMFO (x = 0.06) films were 5.86 × 10⁻⁴ and 3.73 × 10⁻⁷ A/cm², which shows that the BMFO (x = 0.06) has more than three orders of magnitude lower than that of BFO film. The residual polarization (2 Pr) can be enhanced from 120 to 140 μC/cm². The proper doping of Mg in BiFeO₃ film could provide an effective method for reducing the leakage-current values as well as boosting the ferroelectric properties. In this study, the leakage-current mechanism of low electric field and high electric field of BMFO film is analyzed and established. In addition, the flexible BMFO film maintains practical ferroelectric and leakage-current properties at retention time of 10⁶ s under different symmetry bending conditions. These results indicate that the BFMO film will be very practical in opto-electronic and storage device applications. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optical and Electronic Characteristics of Semiconductor Materials and Devices)

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19 pages, 6583 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Traffic Flow Density Model and Dynamic Traffic Congestion Model Simulation Based on Practice Case with Vehicle Network and System Traffic Intelligent Communication

by Eduard Zadobrischi, Lucian-Mihai Cosovanu and Mihai Dimian

Symmetry 2020, 12(7), 1172; https://doi.org/10.3390/sym12071172 - 15 Jul 2020

Cited by 30 | Viewed by 9587

Abstract

The massive increase in the number of vehicles has set a precedent in terms of congestion, being one of the important factors affecting the flow of traffic, but there are also effects on the world economy. The studies carried out so far try [...] Read more.

The massive increase in the number of vehicles has set a precedent in terms of congestion, being one of the important factors affecting the flow of traffic, but there are also effects on the world economy. The studies carried out so far try to highlight solutions that will streamline the traffic, as society revolves around transportation and its symmetry. Current research highlights that the increased density of vehicles could be remedied by dedicated short-range communications (DSRC) systems through communications of the type vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) or vehicle-to-everything (V2X). We can say that wireless communication technologies have the potential to significantly change the efficiency and road safety, thus improving the efficiency of transport systems. An important factor is to comply with the requirements imposed on the use of vehicle safety and transport applications. Therefore, this paper focuses on several simulations on the basis of symmetry models, implemented in practical cases in order to streamline vehicle density and reduce traffic congestion. The scenarios aim at both the communication of the vehicles with each other and their prioritization by the infrastructure, so we can have a report on the efficiency of the proposed models. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Symmetry and IoT Intelligence in the Post Pandemic Economy)

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21 pages, 9566 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Dynamic Modeling and Vibration Characteristics Analysis of Transmission Process for Dual-Motor Coupling Drive System

by Wei Fan, Yongfei Yang and Xiangang Su

Symmetry 2020, 12(7), 1171; https://doi.org/10.3390/sym12071171 - 14 Jul 2020

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2403

Abstract

The dual-motor coupling drive system (DCDS), which is widely used in electric vehicles, has attracted increasing attention due to its high transmission efficiency and economical fuel consumption. Current research has mainly focused on the control scheme of dual motors and has ignored the [...] Read more.

The dual-motor coupling drive system (DCDS), which is widely used in electric vehicles, has attracted increasing attention due to its high transmission efficiency and economical fuel consumption. Current research has mainly focused on the control scheme of dual motors and has ignored the dynamic characteristics of the asymmetrical transmission structure. This paper presents an investigation of a dynamic model and an analysis method of the transmission process for the DCDS. The entire dynamic model of the DCDS was established by considering the planetary gear, differential bevel gear, and drive shaft with the transfer matrix method (TMM). Then, a detailed theoretical analysis was developed to study the influence of meshing stiffness and excitation source on the dynamic characteristics. Finally, the DCDS experimental platform was utilized to validate the effectiveness of the proposed dynamic model. For susceptibility to low-frequency vibrations, the first four natural frequencies and vibration modes of the DCDS were analyzed through the processing and analysis of acceleration signals. The experimental dynamic responses were generally consistent with the numerically computed results, which demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed dynamic model with TMM. Furthermore, the proposed dynamic analysis method may be helpful for developing effective control algorithms to suppress vibrations and achieving highly smooth motions for electric vehicles. Full article

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27 pages, 781 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Linguistic Picture Fuzzy Set and Its Application in Multi-Criteria Decision-Making: An Illustration to the TOPSIS and TODIM Methods Based on Entropy Weight

by Donghai Liu, Yan Luo and Zaiming Liu

Symmetry 2020, 12(7), 1170; https://doi.org/10.3390/sym12071170 - 14 Jul 2020

Cited by 20 | Viewed by 2565

Abstract

The paper considers the multi-criteria decision-making problem based on linguistic picture fuzzy information. Firstly, we propose the concept of linguistic picture fuzzy set(LPFS), where the positive-membership, the neutral-membership and the negative-membership are represented by linguistic variables, and its operation rules are also discussed. [...] Read more.

The paper considers the multi-criteria decision-making problem based on linguistic picture fuzzy information. Firstly, we propose the concept of linguistic picture fuzzy set(LPFS), where the positive-membership, the neutral-membership and the negative-membership are represented by linguistic variables, and its operation rules are also discussed. The linguistic picture fuzzy weighted averaging (LPFWA) operator and linguistic picture fuzzy weighted geometric (LPFWG) operator are developed based on the proposed operation rules. Secondly, we propose the generalized weighted distance measure, the generalized weighted Hausdorff distance measure, and the generalized hybrid weighted distance measure between LPFSs and discuss their properties. Thirdly, we extend the technique for order of preference by similarity to the ideal solution (TOPSIS) method and the TODIM (an acronym in Portuguese of interactive and multi-criteria decision-making) method to the proposed distance measure, and the linguistic picture fuzzy entropy method is proposed to calculate the weights of the criteria. Finally, an illustrative example is given to verify the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed methods, the comparative analysis with other existing methods and sensitivity analysis of the proposed methods are also discussed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fuzzy Mathematics Applied to Science, Engineering and Sustainability Issues)

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