Apparent Time Delay Research Articles

High-accuracy noninvasive continuous glucose monitoring using OCT angiography-purified blood scattering signals in human skin.

The accuracy of noninvasive continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) through near-infrared scattering is challenged by mixed scattering signals from different compartments, where glucose has a positive correlation with a blood scattering coefficient but a negative correlation with a tissue scattering coefficient. In this study, we developed a high-accuracy noninvasive CGM based on OCT angiography (OCTA)-purified blood scattering signals. The blood optical scattering coefficient (BOC) was initially extracted from the depth attenuation of backscattered light in OCT and then purified by eliminating the scattering signals from the surrounding tissues under the guidance of a 3D OCTA vascular map in human skin. The purified BOC was used to estimate the optical blood glucose concentration (BGC) through a linear calibration. The optical and reference BGC measurements were highly correlated (R = 0.94) without apparent time delay. The mean absolute relative difference was 6.09%. All optical BGC measurements were within the clinically acceptable Zones A + B, with 96.69% falling in Zone A on Parke's error grids. The blood glucose response during OGTT was mapped with a high spatiotemporal resolution of the single vessel and 5 seconds. This noninvasive OCTA-based CGM shows promising accuracy for clinical use. Future research will involve larger sample sizes and diabetic participants to confirm these preliminary findings.

Evaluation of Air-Cavities behind Concrete Tunnel Linings Using GPR Measurements

The primary objectives of this study are to investigate the interference of ground penetrating radar (GPR) signals with air-cavities behind concrete linings subjected to three experimental parameters (GPR antenna frequency, thickness of concrete lining, and thickness of air-cavities), and their effects on the evaluation of important engineering parameters (thickness of concrete, and length and thickness of air-cavities) for tunnel structure inspection using GPR. For these purposes, first, a concrete model specimen is fabricated in the laboratory, which simulates air-cavity defects with various thicknesses (0 mm, 30 mm, 100 mm, 200 mm, and 300 mm) behind concrete with four different thicknesses (100 mm, 200 mm, 300 mm, and 400 mm) in tunnel structures. Second, a series of GPR survey is performed on the fabricated concrete model specimen using three ground-coupled GPR antennas with nominal center frequencies of 400 MHz, 900 MHz, and 1600 MHz. Third, a practical signal interpretation method is proposed to evaluate air-cavities in concrete tunnel linings subjected to the three experimental parameters. It is demonstrated that the cross-correlation analysis is effective for identifying air-cavities behind concrete, and for characterizing the length of the air-cavities. In addition, the thicknesses of air-cavities are estimated by a new approach in this study, measuring the apparent time delay of partially overlapped electromagnetic wave reflections within air-cavities. The results in this study provide a fundamental basis to improve GPR signal interpretation techniques for the evaluation of air-cavities behind concrete tunnel linings.

Estimating chain length for time delays in dynamical systems using profile likelihood.

Apparent time delays in partly observed, biochemical reaction networks can be modelled by lumping a more complex reaction into a series of linear reactions often referred to as the linear chain trick. Since most delays in biochemical reactions are no true, hard delays but a consequence of complex unobserved processes, this approach often more closely represents the true system compared with delay differential equations. In this paper, we address the question of how to select the optimal number of additional equations, i.e. the chain length (CL). We derive a criterion based on parameter identifiability to infer CLs and compare this method to choosing the model with a CL that leads to the best fit in a maximum likelihood sense, which corresponds to optimizing the Bayesian information criterion. We evaluate performance with simulated data as well as with measured biological data for a model of JAK2/STAT5 signalling and access the influence of different model structures and data characteristics. Our analysis revealed that the proposed method features a superior performance when applied to biological models and data compared with choosing the model that maximizes the likelihood. Models and data used for simulations are available at https://github.com/Data2Dynamics/d2d and http://jeti.uni-freiburg.de/PNAS_Swameye_Data. Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

Large‐Scale Horizontally Enhanced Sodium Layers Coobserved in the Midlatitude Region of China

AbstractWe report 19 coobserved enhanced sodium layers, including sporadic sodium layers (SSLs) and thermospheric enhanced sodium layers (TeSLs), over Hefei (31.8°N, 117.3°E) and Wuhan (30.5°N, 114.4°E) from 2011 to 2018. The total coobservation time at Hefei and Wuhan was 387.24 hr, and the average occurrence rates were 0.038 hr−1 and 0.028 hr−1 for the SSLs and TeSLs, respectively. The SSL and TeSL occurrence rates in summer were 0.078 and 0.039 hr−1, respectively, which were considerably higher than those in other seasons. Among all 19 cases, 16 cases, including 9 SSL cases and 7 TeSL cases, occurred almost simultaneously over Hefei and Wuhan without a time delay. Seven TeSLs and four out of the nine SSLs were accompanied by ionospheric sporadic E (Es), suggesting that an “Es‐SSL (TeSL)” chain formed via the wave‐induced wind shear mechanism. Three SSLs were modulated by waves and the two other cases were related with gravity wave overturning. In general, the correlation coefficients between Hefei and Wuhan for long‐duration cases (more than 2 hr) were high due to some large‐scale mechanism, and the short‐duration cases (less than 2 hr) had poor correlation due to different local characteristics. In addition, three cases were observed with an apparent time delay over Hefei and Wuhan, which might indicate the possible existence of long‐distance transport processes.

Cosmic time slip: Testing gravity on supergalactic scales with strong-lensing time delays

We devise a test of nonlinear departures from general relativity (GR) using time delays in strong gravitational lenses. We use a phenomenological model of gravitational screening as a step discontinuity in the measure of curvature per unit mass, at a radius $\Lambda$. The resulting slip between two scalar gravitational potentials leads to a shift in the apparent positions and time delays of lensed sources, relative to the GR predictions, of size $\gamma_{\rm PN}-1$. As a proof of principle, we use measurements of two lenses, RXJ1121-1231 and B1608+656, to constrain deviations from GR to be below $|\gamma_{\rm PN}-1| \leq 0.2 \times (\Lambda/100\, \rm kpc)$. These constraints are complementary to other current probes, and are the tightest in the range $\Lambda=10-200$ kpc, showing that future measurements of strong-lensing time delays have great promise to seek departures from general relativity on kpc-Mpc scales.

Push-off apparent time delay based on COP trajectory of gait

Push-off apparent time delay based on COP trajectory of gait

Exposure-response analyses of blood pressure and heart rate changes for methylphenidate in healthy adults.

The aim of the study was to evaluate the exposure-response (E-R) relationships of blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR) changes in healthy adults taking methylphenidate (MPH). Intensive time profiles of BP and HR from healthy adults in placebo and MPH treatment arms of seven clinical trials from the FDA internal database were utilized for this analysis. The analysis model contains a circadian component for placebo effect and an E-R component to describe drug effect. Internal validation was performed using goodness-of-fit plots and visual predictive check. A meta-database based on a systemic literature search was constructed and used for external validation of the developed models. We found that circadian models could quantify the time profiles of BP/HR in placebo arms. Linear models could describe the correlations between MPH concentrations, and BP/HR changes. The BP and HR changes were highly dependent on the shapes of MPH pharmacokinetic (PK) profiles without an apparent time delay. MPH has the greatest effect on HR, followed by systolic BP, and diastolic BP. Internal validation revealed that the developed models could adequately describe the circadian rhythms of HR and BP in placebo arms and the E-R relationships of MPH. External validation showed the models had good predictive capability of the literature data. In conclusion, the developed models adequately characterized the circadian rhythm and the MPH induced effects on BP and HR. The changes in BP and HR were highly correlated with MPH blood levels with no apparent delay. The time courses of BP and HR are similar to the MPH PK profiles. As a result, the immediate-release formulation may yield larger maximum BP and HR effect than the extended-release formulation under similar dose.

An Integrated Altitude Control Design for a Tail-Sitter UAV Equipped With Turbine Engines

An accurate and robust altitude controller is critical for vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in achieving quasi-stationary flight. Most UAV altitude control designs neglect the rotor dynamics. Therefore, they cannot be used for a tail-sitter UAV equipped with turbine engines because of the complicated engine dynamics with an apparent time delay. In this paper, we develop an integrated altitude controller that considers the engine dynamics. The new controller consists of a proportional-derivative (PD) control term and an acceleration feedback term. The stability region in the parameter space is analyzed and the controller is designed to achieve specific gain and phase margins. A UAV hover flight experiment is conducted and the results are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed altitude controller.

Optical layer development for thin films thermal conductivity measurement by pulsed photothermal radiometry.

Measurement of thermal conductivity and volumetric specific heat of optically transparent thin films presents a challenge for optical-based measurement methods like pulsed photothermal radiometry. We present two approaches: (i) addition of an opaque optical layer to the surface and (ii) approximate correction of the mathematical model to incorporate semitransparency of the film. Different single layer and multilayer additive optical layers were tested. The materials of the optical layers were chosen according to analysis and measurement of their optical properties: emissivity and absorption coefficient. Presented are thermal properties' measurement results for 6 different thin films with wide range of thermal conductivity in three configurations of surface: as deposited, added Ti layer, and added Ti/TiAlSiN layer. Measurements were done in dependence on temperature from room temperature to 500 °C. The obtained thermal effusivity evolution in time after the laser pulse shows different effects of the surface layers: apparent effusivity change and time delay. Suitability of different measurement configurations is discussed and results of high temperature testing of different optical layers are presented.

A photochemical method for in vitro evaluation of fluid flow in human dentine

ObjectiveTo evaluate the flow dynamics of dentine fluid using a chemiluminescence method in vitro. Materials and methodsHorizontally sliced coronal dentine specimens with thicknesses of 1.4, 1.6, 1.8, and 2.0mm (n=10 each) were prepared from extracted human third molars. After cleaning with EDTA, a mounted specimen was clamped between 2 acrylic chambers attached to both the occlusal and pulpal sides. The occlusal chamber, which was closed with a glass coverslip, was filled with a chemiluminescent solution (0.02% luminol and 1% sodium hydroxide in water). A trigger solution of 1% hydrogen peroxide and 1% potassium ferricyanide was injected into the pulpal chamber at a constant pressure of 2.5kPa, and allowed to immediately flow into the patent dentinal tubules. Four consecutive measurements (T1–T4) were performed on each sample by recording the emission of chemiluminescence with a photodetector. The relationship between the crossing time of the liquid through the slice and dentine thickness was examined. ResultsAn apparent time delay was detected between the starting points of the trigger solution run and photochemical emission at T1. Dt (Dt, s) values of each thickness group were 13.6±4.25 for 1.4mm, 18.1±2.38 for 1.6mm, 28.0±2.46 for 1.8mm, and 39.2±8.61 for 2.0mm, respectively. Dt significantly decreased as dentine became thinner towards the pulp chamber (P<0.001). ConclusionsThe velocity of fluid flow increased both with increasing dentine depth or reduction of remaining dentine thickness.

TIDALLY MODULATED ERUPTIONS ON ENCELADUS:CASSINIISS OBSERVATIONS AND MODELS

We use images acquired by the Cassini Imaging Science Subsystem (ISS) to investigate the temporal variation of the brightness and height of the south polar plume of Enceladus. The plume’s brightness peaks around the moon’s apoapse, but with no systematic variation in scale height with either plume brightness or Enceladus’ orbital position. We compare our results, both alone and supplemented with Cassini near-infrared observations, with predictions obtained from models in which tidal stresses are the principal control of the eruptive behavior. There are three main ways of explaining the observations: (1) the activity is controlled by right-lateral strike slip motion; (2) the activity is driven by eccentricity tides with an apparent time delay of about 5 hr; (3) the activity is driven by eccentricity tides plus a 1:1 physical libration with an amplitude of about 0. ◦ 8 (3.5 km). The second hypothesis might imply either a delayed eruptive response, or a dissipative, viscoelastic interior. The third hypothesis requires a libration amplitude an order of magnitude larger than predicted for a solid Enceladus. While we cannot currently exclude any of these hypotheses, the third, which is plausible for an Enceladus with a subsurface ocean, is testable by using repeat imaging of the moon’s surface. A dissipative interior suggests that a regional background heat source should be detectable. The lack of a systematic variation in plume scale height, despite the large variations in plume brightness, is plausibly the result of supersonic flow; the details of the eruption process are yet to be understood.

Quantification of signal and noise in two-way transmitted wavefields to improve well ties in Cooper Basin, Australia

Permian coal beds at 2400–2900 m depth in Cooper Basin, Australia have normal-incident reflection coefficient values as large as [Formula: see text]. If internal multiples are included in synthetic seismograms, excellent correlations exist between the synthetic seismogram and seismic, even when more than 50 coal beds are present. However, neither the synthetic seismogram nor the seismic tie the well-log lithologic boundaries because the incident wavefield that strikes a lithologic boundary and returns to the surface contains a signal wavelet followed by high-amplitude noise, which are interbed multiple reflections. Because the spectra of the signal and noise coda at a given two-way time normally do not overlap, time-varying Gaussian filters applied to the near-offset stack enhance the signal and suppress the noise coda. After filtering, the apparent time delay of reflections introduced by the coal beds is removed with variable time shifts (time compression), based on the estimated time-varying signal wavelets. The two-step process of low-pass filtering and compression yields seismic events that successfully tie the lithologic boundaries in the borehole, although with limited resolution. Our preliminary tests on a seismic line indicate that the horizon event associated with the base of a 500-m-thick coal sequence is more coherently imaged with our processing than with conventional processing.

Using temporal analysis of products and flux response technology to determine diffusion coefficients in catalytic monoliths

The importance of accurately measuring gas diffusivity in porous materials has led to a number of methods being developed. In this study the Temporal Analysis of Products (TAP) reactor and Flux Response Technology (FRT) have been used to examine the diffusivity in the washcoat supported on cordierite monoliths. Herein, the molecular diffusion of propane within four monoliths with differently prepared alumina/CeZrOx washcoats was investigated as a function of temperature. Moment-based analysis of the observed TAP responses led to the calculation of the apparent intermediate gas constant, Kp, that characterises adsorption into the mesoporous network and apparent time delay, τapp, that characterises residence time in the mesoporous network. Additionally, FRT has been successfully adapted as an extensive in situ perturbation technique in measuring intraphase diffusion coefficients in the washcoats of the same four monolith samples. The diffusion coefficients obtained by moment-based analysis of TAP responses are larger than the coefficients determined by zero length column (ZLC) analysis of flux response profiles with measured values of the same monolith samples between 20 and 100°C ranging from 2–5×10−9m2s−1 to 4–8×10−10m2s−1, respectively. The TAP and FRT data, therefore, provide a range of the lower and upper limits of diffusivity, respectively. The reported activation energies and diffusivities clearly correlate with the difference in the washcoat structure of different monolith samples.

Model-Based Multiactuator Control for Real-Time Hybrid Simulation

AbstractHybrid simulation combines numerical simulation and experimental testing in a loop of action and reaction to capture the dynamic behavior of a structure. With an extended time scale, convergence of the desired displacements or forces can be assured in each actuator connected to the experimental component before advancing to the next time step. However, when the rate-dependent behavior of an experimental component is of interest, the hybrid simulation must be conducted in real time [i.e., real-time hybrid simulation (RTHS)]. In RTHS, the dynamic behavior of the loading system (i.e., actuators, controllers, and computers) is directly introduced into the RTHS loop. These dynamics consist of both time delays and frequency dependent time lags. At the same time, the phenomenon of control-structure interaction leads to a coupling of the dynamic behavior of the actuators and the structure. Traditional actuator control approaches for RTHS compensate for an apparent time delay or time lag rather than addres...

Study of time-dependent characteristics of a syllectogram in the presence of aggregation inhibition

Red blood cell aggregation is an important risk indicator of cardiovascular diseases, which can be quantified by dynamical parameters derived from a time-dependent light transmission profile (syllectogram). This study tests the hypothesis that inhibitory factors on the aggregation process of the blood could greatly alter the dynamical information provided by the syllectogram and highlights the possible limitations in utilizing time-dependent photometric methods for quantifying aggregation. The concept of AIwin (aggregation index) that has been used in conventional aggregometers to determine the extent of aggregation within a 12-s standard time period was distinguished from AI (aggregation index) derived from the aggregating phase of syllectogram. Apparent time delays in shape recovery and aggregating phases were observed at high levels of aggregation inhibition (high medium viscosity) which accounted for the discrepancy between AI and AIwin. In the presence of a small shear (3 s−1), this discrepancy diminished. Fractal analysis was used to validate the aggregation results obtained from the syllectogram. AI was found to better depict the extent of aggregation compared to AIwin.

Primary charge separation within P870* in wild type and heterodimer mutants in femtosecond time domain

Primary charge separation dynamics in the reaction center (RC) of purple bacterium Rhodobacter sphaeroides and its P870 heterodimer mutants have been studied using femtosecond time-resolved spectroscopy with 20 and 40fs excitation at 870nm at 293K. Absorbance increase in the 1060–1130nm region that is presumably attributed to PAδ+ cation radical molecule as a part of mixed state with a charge transfer character P*(PAδ+PBδ−) was found. This state appears at 120–180fs time delay in the wild type RC and even faster in H(L173)L and H(M202)L heterodimer mutants and precedes electron transfer (ET) to BA bacteriochlorophyll with absorption band at 1020nm in WT. The formation of the PAδ+BAδ− state is a result of the electron transfer from P*(PAδ+PBδ−) to the primary electron acceptor BA (still mixed with P*) with the apparent time delay of ~1.1ps. Next step of ET is accompanied by the 3-ps appearance of bacteriopheophytin a− (HA−) band at 960nm. The study of the wave packet formation upon 20-fs illumination has shown that the vibration energy of the wave packet promotes reversible overcoming of an energy barrier between two potential energy surfaces P* and P*(PAδ+BAδ−) at ~500fs. For longer excitation pulses (40fs) this promotion is absent and tunneling through an energy barrier takes about 3ps. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Photosynthesis Research for Sustainability: from Natural to Artificial.

Effect of wave-function localization on the time delay in photoemission from surfaces

We investigate streaking time delays in the photoemission from a solid model surface as a function of the degree of localization of the initial-state wave functions. We consider a one-dimensional slab with lattice constant alatt of attractive Gaussian-shaped core potentials of width σ . The parameter σ/alatt thus controls the overlap between adjacent core potentials and localization of the electronic eigenfunctions on the lattice points. Small values of σ/alatt � 1 yield lattice eigenfunctions that consist of localized atomic wave functions modulated by a “Bloch-envelope” function, while the eigenfunctions become delocalized for larger values of σ/alatt 0.4. By numerically solving the time-dependent Schr¨ odinger equation, we calculate photoemission spectra from which we deduce a characteristic bimodal shape of the band-averaged photoemission time delay: as the slab eigenfunctions become increasingly delocalized, the time delay quickly decreases near σ/alatt = 0.3 from relatively large values below σ/alatt ∼ 0.2 to much smaller delays above σ/alatt ∼ 0.4. This change in wave-function localization facilitates the interpretation of a recently measured apparent relative time delay between the photoemission from core and conduction-band levels of a tungsten surface.

How Accurate Is the Attosecond Streak Camera?

An attosecond streak camera holds the promise of time resolving the dynamics of photoionization with a few-attosecond accuracy. But can the attosecond measurement be disentangled from the process it measures? We address this question by deriving simple closed-form analytical expressions for the measurement-related apparent time delays in photoionization, associated with the application of the attosecond streak camera and/or resolution of attosecond beating by interference of two-photon transitions techniques. Our analytical results are accurate on about the 1 asec level and show that both intrinsic and measurement-induced delays depend on the same scattering phase and are, therefore, not independent. We also suggest a procedure for extracting intrinsic time delays from the measurement and a possible resolution of the controversy caused by the experiments of Schultze et al. [Science 328, 1658 (2010)].

Streaking and Wigner time delays in photoemission from atoms and surfaces

Streaked photoemission metrology allows the observation of an apparent relative time delay between the detection of photoelectrons from different initial electronic states. This relative delay is obtained by recording the photoelectron yield as a function of the delay between an ionizing ultrashort extended ultraviolet (XUV) pulse and a streaking infrared (IR) pulse. Theoretically, photoemission delays can be defined based on i) the phase shift the photoelectron wavefunction accumulates during the release and propagation of the photoelectron (``Wigner delay") and, alternatively, ii) the streaking trace in the calculated photoemission spectrum (``streaking delay"). We investigate the relation between Wigner and streaking delays in the photoemission from atomic and solid-surface targets. For solid targets and assuming a vanishing IR-skin depth, both Wigner and streaking delays can be interpreted as an average propagation time needed by photoelectrons to reach the surface, while the two delays differ for non-vanishing skin depths. For atomic targets, the difference between Wigner and streaking delays depends on the range of the ionic potential.

Burn injury caused by mixing incompatible chemicals with sodium permanganate

This article discusses the investigation of an incident caused by the mixing of incompatible chemicals: a strong oxidizing agent with a reducing agent. The exact mixture and sequence of mixing was unknown, but the materials included an aqueous solution of 40% sodium permanganate and either solid sodium thiosulfate or solid sodium metabisulfite. These chemicals were part of a new technology being pilot-tested for remediating contaminated groundwater. Throughout the pilot test, excess waste permanganate was transported by hand in 5-gallon pails from the injection area to a designated nearby area for reduction. During one such transfer, a worker was seriously burned when a pail of sodium permanganate solution erupted onto him. The liquid splashed onto and ignited his clothing. A puzzling feature of this accident was the apparent time delay between chemical addition and the subsequent reaction. Various chemical addition scenarios were evaluated by thermodynamic calculations, followed by laboratory, pilot, and full-scale tests. The test results revealed that while some chemical addition scenarios resulted in a prompt exothermic reaction with the generation of steam; other scenarios resulted in a similar but delayed reaction. The time delay was caused by mass transfer limitations associated with the solids dissolution process. This case study serves as a reminder that the hazardous result of mixing incompatible chemicals may be delayed and may occur when least expected. © 2011 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Process Saf Prog, 2011