Function Of Time Research Articles

Integrator dynamics in the cortico-basal ganglia loop underlie flexible motor timing.

Flexible control of motor timing is crucial for behavior. Before volitional movement begins, the frontal cortex and striatum exhibit ramping spiking activity, with variable ramp slopes anticipating movement onsets. This activity in the cortico-basal ganglia loop may function as an adjustable 'timer,' triggering actions at the desired timing. However, because the frontal cortex and striatum share similar ramping dynamics and are both necessary for timing behaviors, distinguishing their individual roles in this timer function remains challenging. To address this, we conducted perturbation experiments combined with multi-regional electrophysiology in mice performing a flexible lick-timing task. Following transient silencing of the frontal cortex, cortical and striatal activity swiftly returned to pre-silencing levels and resumed ramping, leading to a shift in lick timing close to the silencing duration. Conversely, briefly inhibiting the striatum caused a gradual decrease in ramping activity in both regions, with ramping resuming from post-inhibition levels, shifting lick timing beyond the inhibition duration. Thus, inhibiting the frontal cortex and striatum effectively paused and rewound the timer, respectively. These findings suggest the striatum is a part of the network that temporally integrates input from the frontal cortex and generates ramping activity that regulates motor timing.

Enhancing the Functionality of a Single Burner Electric Cooker through IoT Automation

Single-burner electric cookers are frequently utilized in homes and small kitchens because they offer unmatched convenience and portability. However, they often grapple with challenges such as energy inefficiency and limited temperature control, and in some instances, pose potential hazards ranging from fires to electric shocks. Addressing these issues, this research explores the integration of IoT (Internet of Things) automation as a transformative solution to enhance the overall efficiency of single-burner electric cookers. Through the integration of IoT technology, the electric cooker was automated with programmable timer functionality and precise temperature control and connected to a smart device via a wireless connection. This allows users to remotely manage and control the cooker's operations using a dedicated app. The system includes a microcontroller, temperature sensor, timer module, Wi-Fi module, and a mobile app. Users can input the desired cooking parameters on the app, which are then transmitted to the microcontroller through a Wi-Fi network. The temperature sensor continuously monitors the cooking temperature and sends feedback to the microcontroller, which makes necessary adjustments to maintain the desired temperature. The timer function ensures that the cooking process concludes at the specified time, preventing overcooking or burning of food. This system introduces features such as remote monitoring and control, improved cooking precision, enhanced safety measures, and increased energy efficiency

App-based intervention for parents of children with crying, sleeping, and feeding problems: Usability, usefulness and implications for improvement

BackgroundThere is a lack of evidence-based app guidance for parents of children with crying, sleeping, and feeding problems who are often highly burdened and not likely to seek professional help. A new psychoeducational app for parents providing scientifically sound information via text and videos, a diary function, selfcare strategies, a chat forum and a regional directory of specialized counseling centers may serve as a low-threshold intervention for this target group. ObjectiveWe investigated how parents perceived the app in terms of the following: (1) overall impression and usability, (2) feedback on specific app functions regarding usefulness and (3) possible future improvements. MethodsOur clinical sample of N = 137 parents of children aged from 0 to 24 months was recruited from a cry baby outpatient clinic in Southern Germany between 2019 and 2022. A convergent parallel mixed methods design was used to collect and analyse cross-sectional data on app evaluation. After app use within the framework of a clinical trial, parents filled in an app evaluation questionnaire. ResultsMost participants used the app at least once a week (86, 62.8 %) over an average period of 19.06 days (SD = 15.00). Participants rated overall impression and usability as good, and the informational texts, expert videos and regional register of counseling centers as appealing and useful. The diary function and chat forum were found to be helpful in theory, but improvements in implementation were requested, such as a timer function for the diary entry. Regarding future functionality, parents posed several suggestions such as the option to contact counseling centers directly via app, and the inclusion of the profile of their partners. ConclusionsPositive ratings of overall impression, usability, and specific app functions are important prerequisites for the app to be effective. App-based guidance for this target group should include easy-to-use information. The app is intended to serve as a secondary preventive low-threshold offer and to complement professional counseling.

FPGA Implementation of IEC 61131-3-Based Hardware-Aided Timers for Programmable Logic Controllers

Designs of timer function blocks (FBs) are presented in the article. The developed modules are IEC 61131-3. An analysis of IEC 61131-3 in terms of timer functionality and implementation options is presented. Three types are presented, timer-on, timer-off, and timer-pulse, with each type designed to be fully hardware or software-like. Both designs, hardware or software-like, can operate as multi-channel timers. Particularly noteworthy is the software-like design, for which a solution without edge detectors was achieved. Such a feature was obtained by reversing the method of time determination by counting the difference between the start and end times and by using specific features of the D flip-flops, that is, clock-enable inputs. The presented timers were written in Verilog language and implemented in an FPGA chip. Thanks to the universal design of the interface, the proposed FBs can be used for the hardware support of existing programmable logic controllers (PLCs) or as an integral part of newly built PLC CPUs. The idea of a CPU architecture with hardware support is proposed. The paper presents the results of the implementation in an FPGA of the Kintex UltraScale+ family from AMD-Xilinx.

Effect of different types and levels of phosphorous fertilizers on kinetics of phosphorous release in the soil

A field experiment was carried out in one of the fields of Diwaniya governorate for the agricultural season 2019 to study the effect of adding organic fertilizer and sources of phosphate fertilizer during the growth stages of the maize plant (Zea mays. L) and its reflectance on growth and productivity of the plant. The experiment was conducted according to the design of the (split-split plots and included two levels of the organic fertilizer(L1-L0) standing for (0- 1.5 tons) and three sources of the following fertilizers: Tri super phosphate TSP, DiAmmonium phosphate DAP and Urea UP) as add to control treatment (p0) symbolized by p1, p2, p3, respectively. The seeds of maize (Zea mays. L) Behoth 5018s cultivar were planted in a 25 kg/H range. The kinetics of phosphorous in the soil were studied. The phosphorus release rate was determined during the stages of plant growth, and the best equation in describing the mechanism of desorption in the stages of plant growth (25, 50, 75, 100 and 125 days). The results showed that all used equations (first-order, diffusion and Elovich) have described the mechanism of phosphorous release from a solid phase to the soil solution. All equations gave a highly significant correlation (r) between released phosphorous in the stages of Plant growth. The first-order equation surpassed other equations describing the mechanism of phosphorous release in the soil. The values of the coefficient of phosphorous release rate (KP) ranged between (0.0045 - 0.004 mg. p. kg-1 . Day-1 ) for the equation of first- -order, where the results showed that the linear relationship between the amount of released phosphorous as a function of time for the equation of first-order, is the best equation in describing the release, which indicates the interest in the amount and timing of addition of p fertilizers during the stages of plant growth, according to what was shown in the kinetic equations. Keywords: Phosphorous desorption, fertilizers, maize, kinetic equations, soil solution.

Triboelectric‐Electromagnetic Hybrid Generator with Single Timer Under Monostable Operation for Wind Energy Harvesting

As a renewable clean energy with good application prospects, wind energy has attracted more and more attention. Harvesting energy from the ambient environment with triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs), for use in electronic devices has become a feasible method. Nevertheless, the alternating‐current signal generated by TENGs needs to be converted into direct‐current signal to be effective in applications. Therefore, this article presents a power management circuit with a self‐triggering triboelectric‐electromagnetic hybrid generator (ST‐TEHG). The switch module of the power management circuit is composed of an electromagnetic (EMG), 555 single timer, and an N‐type metal–oxide–semiconductor, the module converts the AC signal output by EMG into a square wave signal under monostable state. The self‐triggering switching function is realized when in monostable operation. Systematic experiments demonstrate that the 555 single timer function can output waveforms of monostable operation. The back‐end of the circuit can output DC signals stably, the ripple voltage is 0.03 V, and the ripple coefficient is 0.52%. ST‐TEHG provides a new way of thinking for the power supply of microelectronic components.

Distributed chemical detection outside standard coated fibers using Brillouin optical time-domain analysis of cladding mode spectra

Propagation in the cladding modes of standard optical fibers enables the sensing of chemicals outside the fiber boundary, where light in the single core mode cannot reach. Coupling to the cladding modes typically relies on the inscription of permanent gratings, which restricts the operation of the sensors to point measurements only. In addition, most applications rely on bare, uncoated fibers, which are difficult to deploy outside the research laboratory. In this work, we report the spatially distributed analysis of cladding mode spectra in a standard, off-the-shelf coated fiber. The inscription of the gratings, removal of the coating, or other structural modifications are not required. Coupling is based on Brillouin dynamic gratings: Two optical pump fields stimulate an acoustic wave, which couples a probe field to a counter-propagating cladding mode. Spatial mapping is obtained through time-of-flight analysis: pulsed modulation of one pump wave and the monitoring of the output probe power as a function of time. All fields are launched and detected only in the core mode. The coupling spectrum is sensitive to local changes in the refractive index of the coating layer, to the third decimal point. The spatial resolution is one meter. The demonstrated range is a few meters, and is scalable to hundreds of meters. The technique is used to detect and monitor the local immersion of a fiber section in acetone. The results establish a practical method for spatially distributed fiber optic chemical sensors.

From superradiance to subradiance: exploring the many-body Dicke ladder.

We report a time-resolved study of collective emission in dense ensembles of two-level atoms. We compare, on the same sample, the buildup of superradiance and subradiance from the ensemble when driven by a strong laser. This allows us to measure the dynamics of the population of superradiant and subradiant states as a function of time. In particular, we demonstrate the buildup in time of subradiant states through superradiant dynamics. This illustrates the dynamics of the many-body density matrix of superradiant ensembles of two-level atoms when departing from the ideal conditions of Dicke superradiance, in which symmetry forbids the population of subradiant states.

ALMA High-frequency Long-baseline Campaign in 2017: An Investigation of Phase-referencing Cycle Times and Effective Baseline Lengths Using Band-to-band and In-band Phase Calibration Techniques

Abstract The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array can achieve unprecedented spatial resolutions of 15 to 5 mas with the longest baselines of 16 km and observing at the highest frequencies of 275–950 GHz (1.09–0.30 mm). Two conditions are paramount for successful observations at these frequencies: a phase calibrator in close proximity to the science target and a stable-enough atmosphere to provide a low residual phase rms post-phase-referencing. We investigate the effect of phase-referencing cycle times, for in-band and band-to-band (B2B) observing techniques, using close and distant phase calibrators, at bands 7, 8, and 9 for baselines >2000 m. We find that (1) the phase rms estimated from baselines longer than the effective baseline increases as a function of time . (2) The expected coherence estimated using the expected phase rms corresponds well to the achieved image coherence. (3) Faster phase-referencing cycle times (<1 minute) improve phase calibration accuracy and image coherence when close phase calibrators (<2°) are used. (4) For cycle times <2 minutes the negative impact of distant phase calibrators dominates the phase error budget. We also explore whether a theoretical parameterization of the effective baseline used to estimate the phase rms and a phase stability measurement, combined with an empirical parameterization of coherence degradation as a function of calibrator separation, is suitable in estimating the expected coherence of target images. The latter proves to be more accurate. Finally, we illustrate a pragmatic approach in establishing an optimal observing strategy via dynamic cycle times and on-calibrator scan lengths.

Systematic strong coupling expansion for out-of-equilibrium dynamics in the Lieb-Liniger model

We consider the time evolution of local observables after an interaction quench in the repulsive Lieb-Liniger model. The system is initialized in the ground state for vanishing interaction and then time-evolved with the Lieb-Liniger Hamiltonian for large, finite interacting strength c. We employ the Quench Action approach to express the full time evolution of local observables in terms of sums over energy eigenstates and then derive the leading terms of a 1/c expansion for several one and two-point functions as a function of time t>0 after the quantum quench. We observe delicate cancellations of contributions to the spectral sums that depend on the details of the choice of representative state in the Quench Action approach and our final results are independent of this choice. Our results provide a highly non-trivial confirmation of the typicality assumptions underlying the Quench Action approach.

Construction and Application of Intelligent Agricultural Greenhouse Irrigation System

In the environment of scientific and technological progress and the wide application of intelligent agriculture, the project designs and implements an intelligent agricultural greenhouse irrigation system based on MCU, which makes the greenhouse planting of crops more convenient and reasonable The main modules of the irrigation system are soil moisture detection module, liquid crystal display module, timer module, MCU control module and watering module. The system detects the soil humidity through the humidity sensor, displays the humidity on the LCD, and drives the watering module to work through the single chip microcomputer control module. The function of timer is to control the watering time and water consumption, and intelligently complete the automatic work of agricultural greenhouse irrigation system. Through this system design, the application of SCM in various fields can be expanded. It makes the irrigation of agricultural greenhouse intelligent. It provides a solid foundation for the construction of green agriculture.

HHT-Based Detection Method of Cutter Abnormal Vibration in Spiral Surface Machining

Background:: Cutter abnormal vibration occurs frequently during the spiral surface machining process, and it results in low quality of the finished surface. In order to suppress cutter abnormal vibration effectively, it is necessary to detect abnormal vibration as soon as possible, but the analysis and processing of the cutter abnormal vibration signal in spiral surface machining are difficult because of its complicated components and non-linear non-stationary characteristics. In this paper, a detection method of cutter abnormal vibration signal based on Empirical Mode Decomposition (EMD) and Hilbert–Huang Transform (HHT) is proposed to be applied in spiral surface machining. Method:: First of all, EMD of the cutter vibration signal in the spiral surface machining is performed to obtain a series of Intrinsic Mode Function (IMF) components in different frequency bands. Secondly, the variation in the energy of each IMF component in the frequency domain and the correlation with the original signal are analyzed to obtain the IMF component with the largest amount of information on abnormal vibration symptom. Finally, the Hilbert transform is conducted on the IMF component to extract the symptom features of abnormal vibration. Results:: The Hilbert-Huang spectrogram obtained by Hilbert transform is a two-variable function of time and frequency, from which the frequency information at any time can be obtained, including the magnitude and amplitude of the frequency and the corresponding moments appearing, which can describe the time-frequency characteristics of the non-stationary non-linear signal in detail. Experimental results show that the HHT based method to analyze the cutter vibration signal in the spiral surface machining can extract the symptom of abnormal vibration quickly and effectively, and can detect cutter abnormal vibration rapidly. Conclusion:: The proposed method based on HHT in this paper is fundamentally different from the traditional signal time-frequency analysis methods, and has achieved good results in practical applications. This method could be successfully used in abnormal vibration detection, which could also provide basis and guarantee for the subsequent suppression of abnormal vibration.

Computer simulation for stability analysis of the viscoelastic annular plate with reinforced concrete face sheets

This article deals with the frequency analysis of viscoelastic sandwich disk with graphene nano-platelets (GPLs) reinforced viscoelastic concrete (GPLRVC) face sheets and honeycomb core. The honeycomb core is made of aluminum due to its low weight and high stiffness. The rule of the mixture and modified Halpin–Tsai model are engaged to provide the effective material constant of the concrete. By employing Hamilton's principle, the governing equations of the structure are derived and solved with the aid of the Generalize Differential Quadrature Method (GDQM). In this paper, viscoelastic properties are modeled according to Kelvin-Voigt viscoelasticity. The deflection as the function of time can be solved by the fourth-order Runge-Kutta numerical method. Afterward, a parametric study is carried out to investigate the effects of the outer to inner radius ratio, hexagonal core angle, thickness to length ratio of the concrete, the weight fraction of GPLs into concrete, and the thickness of honeycomb core to inner radius ratio on the frequency of the viscoelastic sandwich disk with honeycomb core and FGGPLRVC face sheet.

Validation of a wrist-type home nocturnal blood pressure monitor in the sitting and supine position according to the ANSI/AAMI/ISO81060-2:2013 guidelines: Omron HEM-9601T.

This study aimed to validate the accuracy of the Omron HEM‐9601T, an automatic wrist‐type device for self‐blood pressure (BP) measurement with a timer function for automatic measurement of nocturnal BP, in the sitting position according to the American National Standards Institute/Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation/International Organization for Standardization (ANSI/AAMI/ISO) 81060‐2:2013 guidelines, and to assess its performance in the supine position by applying the same protocol as conducted in the sitting position. The mean differences between the reference BPs and HEM‐9601T readings were 1.2 ± 6.9/1.1 ± 5.5 mmHg, 2.2 ± 6.5/1.8 ± 5.7 mmHg, 0.1 ± 6.6/1.5 ± 6.2 mmHg, and −0.8 ± 7.2/0.5 ± 6.4 mmHg for systolic BP/diastolic BP for criterion 1 in the sitting position, supine with sideways palm position, supine with upward palm position, and supine with downward palm position, respectively. In addition, the mean differences and their standard deviations for systolic BP and diastolic BP calculated according to criterion 2 in the ANSI/AAMI/ISO 81060‐2:2013 guidelines were acceptable in all four positions. In conclusion, the Omron HEM‐9601T fulfilled the validation criteria of the ANSI/AAMI/ISO81060‐2:2013 guidelines when used in the sitting position with the wrist at heart level, and its accuracy in the supine position was acceptable and roughly equivalent to that in the sitting position. The wrist‐type home BP monitor could be a more suitable tool for repeated nocturnal BP measurements at home than upper‐arm devices, and could improve the reliability of diagnosis and management of nocturnal hypertension.

Biomethane Potential of Agricultural Biomass with Industrial Wastewater for Biogas Production

The aim of this present study is to determine the biogas potential of sugarcane bagasse and corn silage. Sugarcane bagasse (SB) and corn silage (CS) are feedstocks that could be used to produce renewable sources of energy such as biogas, serving as an alternative energy source. There have been several drawbacks in the past decades on anaerobic monodigestion such as reactor failure and process instability. Also, there has not been any studies on the use of industrial wastewater with SB or CS for biogas production, hence, providing the novelty in this study. A working pH range of 6.0 to 8.5 was observed in this study without the addition of a buffering medium. A feedstock loading of 1.5 gVS/100 mL solution was used with SB or CS controlled over a digestion period of 35 days for both 35 °C and 25 °C. The proximate and the ultimate analysis were carried out by the gravimetric method and the use of the scanning electron microscope (SEM) coupled with the energy dispersive x-ray (EDX) analyzer, respectively. The thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA) and the differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) were used to evaluate the changes in masses (gain or loss) for both CS and SB over a temperature range as a function of time. A higher biogas yield of 1.2 L/d was observed at 35 °C by the anaerobic co-digestion (AcoD) of CS with industrial wastewater with a methane yield of 79 % at a working temperature of 35 °C. The result of the study showed that the AcoD of CS or SB is promising and could contribute significantly on the yield of biogas production.

Benefits of time dependent ignition probability models within the framework of Quantitative Risk Analysis

The evaluation of ignition probabilities is a fundamental step within the calculation of hazardous phenomena frequencies associated to a loss of containment of a flammable product (explosion, pool fire, jet fire). An error on this step can substantially change quantitative risk analysis conclusions.It is important to keep in mind that quantitative risk analysis are increasingly used to design facilities. In other words, facilities (equipment, structures and buildings) are designed to withstand accidental loads up to down a certain frequency. Three main approaches are commonly used for ignition probabilities calculation: tabulated values ??from databases, semi-quantitative methods or more or less sophisticated mathematical models.Nowadays, time dependent models are implemented to predict the evolution of the ignition probability as function of time. These models are particularly useful when combined with Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) calculations to provide flammable gas volume build up as function of time. Thus, it is possible to predict the evolution of the delayed ignition probability as function of time. Main interest of these models is to propose a discretization by time intervals of the delayed ignition probability. This approach is particularly relevant for performing explosion risk analysis.

Safety of old centrifuges in ATEX environment, how can you insure safe working conditions?

Process safety is one of the oldest priorities in process industry. With time, the ignition source mechanisms are more and more understood and the current standards are much more accurate than their first versions. Due to this evolution, some characteristics that were allowed in the past may not be tolerable any more. Besides due to the ageing of the devices, it can happen that some properties do not comply with the last versions of the concerned standards. In that case, the end user has few choices and usually end up changing its device.This presentation describes the study of old centrifuges (more than 30 years old) whose some characteristics appeared to be out of the ranges defined by the current standards. In that case, the centrifuges were supposed to be coated with a dissipative coating but some showed values of resistances to the ground several orders of magnitude higher than the values defined in the IEC 60079-32-1: 2013 (IEC, 2013). As resistance to the ground is a key parameter to avoid spark discharges, the user should change the centrifuges or recoat them with a proper coating. However, this standard describes that the threshold values for resistance were assessed to avoid that the electric potential du to static electricity build up exceeds 100 V.The basket of the centrifuge was then modelled through an RC circuit and based on measured data on the centrifuges and on the specifications of the handled products, the voltage across this circuit was defined as a function of time. It was then possible to assess the required waiting time to let the voltage decrease below 100V.The model was then tested against a real case experiment using the worse centrifuge. The results of the test were predicted by the model.

A Capacitive Venous Transfusion Alertor Based on NB-IoT

This capacitive venous transfusion alertor is based on rise time of RC circuit and input capture function of timer in the microcontroller. The measure element of alertor is integrated with circuit board, it has the advantages of simple structure and low cost. Combined with narrow band intent of things(NB-IoT) technology to upload data, it can reduce the workload of medical personnel and caregivers, avoid unnecessary trouble and danger.

Joint Smoothing and Tracking Based on Continuous-Time Target Trajectory Function Fitting

We present a continuous time state estimation framework that unifies traditionally individual tasks of smoothing, tracking, and forecasting (STF), for a class of targets subject to smooth motion processes, e.g., the target moves with nearly constant acceleration or affected by insignificant noises. Fundamentally different from the conventional Markov transition formulation, the state process is modeled by a continuous trajectory function of time (FoT) and the STF problem is formulated as an online data fitting problem with the goal of finding the trajectory FoT that best fits the observations in a sliding time-window. Then, the state of the target, whether the past (namely, smoothing), the current (filtering) or the near-future (forecasting), can be inferred from the FoT. Our framework releases stringent statistical modeling of the target motion in real time, and is applicable to a broad range of real world targets of significance such as passenger aircraft and ships which move on scheduled, (segmented) smooth paths but little statistical knowledge is given about their real time movement and even about the sensors. In addition, the proposed STF framework inherits the advantages of data fitting for accommodating arbitrary sensor revisit time, target maneuvering and missed detection. The proposed method is compared with state of the art estimators in scenarios of either maneuvering or non-maneuvering target.

The influence of software timing error on measurement accuracy of data acquisition

The application of high-speed real-time data acquisition is becoming increasingly wide spread in industrial field, and its measurement accuracy is also increasing. The closed-loop test system of sine wave signal is constructed by the RIGOL’s DG1022 dual-channel signal source, DS1102C oscilloscope and PCI7489 multifunctional data acquisition card. Three kinds of timing methods, such as Visual Basics (VB) Timer control, multimedia timer function timing and query performance frequency function timing method, were carried out a series of comparative experiments. This paper analyzes the correlation characteristics of the measured voltage peak data, which includes mean value, variance, standard deviation, range, mutation system, deviation, kurtosis and so on, and then finds out the influence rules of software timing error on data acquisition and measurement accuracy. In the high-speed data acquisition, the repeatability error can be reduced from 84.22% to 0.62%, which provides scientific basis and reference for selecting software timing method in different test environment.