Attosecond ionization time delays in strong-field physics

Electronic processes within atoms and molecules reside on the timescale of attoseconds. Recent advances in the laserbased pump-probe interrogation techniques have made possible the temporal resolution of ultrafast electronic processes on the attosecond timescale, including photoionization and tunneling ionization. These interrogation techniques include the attosecond streak camera, the reconstruction of attosecond beating by interference of two-photon transitions, and the attoclock. While the former two are usually employed to study photoionization processes, the latter is typically used to investigate tunneling ionization. In this review, we briefly overview these timing techniques towards an attosecond temporal resolution of ionization processes in atoms and molecules under intense laser fields. In particular, we review the backpropagation method, which is a novel hybrid quantum-classical approach towards the full characterization of tunneling ionization dynamics. Continued advances in the interrogation techniques promise to pave the pathway towards the exploration of ever faster dynamical processes on an ever shorter timescale.

Adaptive predictor-based control for a helicopter system with input delays:Design and experiments

In this paper,we consider a 2-degrees-of-freedom(DOF)helicopter system subject to long input delays and uncertain system parameters.To address the challenges including unknown system parameters and input delays in control design,we develop an adaptive predictor-feedback control law to achieve trajectory tracking.Stability of the closed-loop system is further established,where the tracking errors are shown to converge towards zero.Through simulation and experiments on the helicopter system,we illustrate that tracking of a desired trajectory is achieved with the proposed control scheme.

Addressing diagnostic delays in inflammatory bowel diseases in Germany

Inflammatory bowel diseases(IBDs),including Crohn's disease(CD)and ulcerative colitis,are chronic inflammatory conditions of the gastrointestinal tract that necessitate timely diagnosis to prevent complications and improve patient outcomes.Despite advancements in medical knowledge and diagnostic techniques,significant diagnostic delays persist,particularly in CD.The study by Blüthner et al,published in the World Journal of Gastroenterology,elucidates the diagnostic delays experienced by German patients with IBD and identifies key risk factors contributing to these delays.

Lyapunov-Based Output Containment Control of Heterogeneous Multi-Agent Systems With Markovian Switching Topologies and Distributed Delays

This paper considers the mean square output containment control problem for heterogeneous multi-agent systems(MASs)with randomly switching topologies and nonuniform distributed delays.By modeling the switching topologies as a continuous-time Markov process and taking the distributed delays into consideration,a novel distributed containment observer is proposed to estimate the convex hull spanned by the leaders'states.A novel distributed output feedback containment controller is then designed without using the prior knowledge of distributed delays.By constructing a novel switching Lyapunov functional,the output containment control problem is then solved in the sense of mean square under an easily-verifiable sufficient condition.Finally,two numerical examples are given to show the effectiveness of the proposed controller.

Diagnostic delay in inflammatory bowel diseases in a German population

BACKGROUND Early diagnosis is key to prevent bowel damage in inflammatory bowel disease(IBD).Risk factor analyses linked with delayed diagnosis in European IBD patients are scarce and no data in German IBD patients exists.AIM To identify risk factors leading to prolonged diagnostic time in a German IBD cohort.METHODS Between 2012 and 2022,430 IBD patients from four Berlin hospitals were enrolled in a prospective study and asked to complete a 16-item questionnaire to determine features of the path leading to IBD diagnosis.Total diagnostic time was defined as the time from symptom onset to consulting a physician(patient waiting time)and from first consultation to IBD diagnosis(physician diagnostic time).Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to identify risk factors for each time period.RESULTS The total diagnostic time was significantly longer in Crohn’s disease(CD)compared to ulcerative colitis(UC)patients(12.0 vs 4.0 mo;P<0.001),mainly due to increased physician diagnostic time(5.5 vs 1.0 mo;P<0.001).In a multivariate analysis,the predominant symptoms diarrhea(P=0.012)and skin lesions(P=0.028)as well as performed gastroscopy(P=0.042)were associated with longer physician diagnostic time in CD patients.In UC,fever was correlated(P=0.020)with shorter physician diagnostic time,while fatigue(P=0.011)and positive family history(P=0.046)were correlated with longer physician diagnostic time.CONCLUSION We demonstrated that CD patients compared to UC are at risk of long diagnostic delay.Future efforts should focus on shortening the diagnostic delay for a better outcome in these patients.

Sliding Mode Control for Recurrent Neural Networks With Time-Varying Delays and Impulsive Effects

Dear Editor,This letter studies the problem of sliding mode control(SMC)design for recurrent neural networks(RNNs)with impulsive disturbances and time-varying transmission delays.To this end,an appropriate integral sliding surface function and SMC law are adopted for use under impulsive disturbances and time-varying delays.

Prescribed Performance Tracking Control of Time-Delay Nonlinear Systems With Output Constraints

The problem of prescribed performance tracking control for unknown time-delay nonlinear systems subject to output constraints is dealt with in this paper. In contrast with related works, only the most fundamental requirements, i.e., boundedness and the local Lipschitz condition, are assumed for the allowable time delays. Moreover, we focus on the case where the reference is unknown beforehand, which renders the standard prescribed performance control designs under output constraints infeasible. To conquer these challenges, a novel robust prescribed performance control approach is put forward in this paper.Herein, a reverse tuning function is skillfully constructed and automatically generates a performance envelop for the tracking error. In addition, a unified performance analysis framework based on proof by contradiction and the barrier function is established to reveal the inherent robustness of the control system against the time delays. It turns out that the system output tracks the reference with a preassigned settling time and good accuracy,without constraint violations. A comparative simulation on a two-stage chemical reactor is carried out to illustrate the above theoretical findings.

Position Measurement Based Slave Torque Feedback Control for Teleoperation Systems With Time-Varying Communication Delays

Bilateral teleoperation system is referred to as a promising technology to extend human actions and intelligence to manipulating objects remotely.For the tracking control of teleoperation systems,velocity measurements are necessary to provide feedback information.However,due to hardware technology and cost constraints,the velocity measurements are not always available.In addition,the time-varying communication delay makes it challenging to achieve tracking task.This paper provides a solution to the issue of real-time tracking for teleoperation systems,subjected to unavailable velocity signals and time-varying communication delays.In order to estimate the velocity information,immersion and invariance(I&I)technique is employed to develop an exponential stability velocity observer.For the proposed velocity observer,a linear relationship between position and observation state is constructed,through which the need of solving partial differential and certain integral equations can be avoided.Meanwhile,the mean value theorem is exploited to separate the observation error terms,and hence,all functions in our observer can be analytically expressed.With the estimated velocity information,a slave-torque feedback control law is presented.A novel Lyapunov-Krasovskii functional is constructed to establish asymptotic tracking conditions.In particular,the relationship between the controller design parameters and the allowable maximum delay values is provided.Finally,simulation and experimental results reveal that the proposed velocity observer and controller can guarantee that the observation errors and tracking error converge to zero.

Hopf bifurcation and phase synchronization in memristor-coupled Hindmarsh–Rose and FitzHugh–Nagumo neurons with two time delays

A memristor-coupled heterogenous neural network consisting of two-dimensional(2D)FitzHugh–Nagumo(FHN)and Hindmarsh–Rose(HR)neurons with two time delays is established.Taking the time delays as the control parameters,the existence of Hopf bifurcation near the stable equilibrium point in four cases is derived theoretically,and the validity of the Hopf bifurcation condition is verified by numerical analysis.The results show that the two time delays can make the stable equilibrium point unstable,thus leading to periodic oscillations induced by Hopf bifurcation.Furthermore,the time delays in FHN and HR neurons have different effects on the firing activity of neural network.Complex firing patterns,such as quiescent state,chaotic spiking,and periodic spiking can be induced by the time delay in FHN neuron,while the neural network only exhibits quiescent state and periodic spiking with the change of the time delay in HR neuron.Especially,phase synchronization between the heterogeneous neurons is explored,and the results show that the time delay in HR neurons has a greater effect on blocking the synchronization than the time delay in FHN neuron.Finally,the theoretical analysis is verified by circuit simulations.

Cyclic-Pursuit-Based Circular Formation Control of Mobile Agents with Limited Communication Ranges and Communication Delays

This article addresses the circular formation control problem of a multi-agent system moving on a circle in the presence of limited communication ranges and communication delays.To minimize the number of communication links,a novel distributed controller based on a cyclic pursuit strategy is developed in which each agent needs only its leading neighbour’s information.In contrast to existing works,we propose a set of new potential functions to deal with heterogeneous communication ranges and communication delays simultaneously.A new framework based on the admissible upper bound of the formation error is established so that both connectivity maintenance and order preservation can be achieved at the same time.It is shown that the multi-agent system can be driven to the desired circular formation as time goes to infinity under the proposed controller.Finally,the effectiveness of the proposed method is illustrated by some simulation examples.

Cascading Delays for the High-Speed Rail Network Under Different Emergencies:A Double Layer Network Approach

High-speed rail(HSR) has formed a networked operational scale in China. Any internal or external disturbance may deviate trains’ operation from the planned schedules, resulting in primary delays or even cascading delays on a network scale. Studying the delay propagation mechanism could help to improve the timetable resilience in the planning stage and realize cooperative rescheduling for dispatchers. To quickly and effectively predict the spatial-temporal range of cascading delays, this paper proposes a max-plus algebra based delay propagation model considering trains’ operation strategy and the systems’ constraints. A double-layer network based breadth-first search algorithm based on the constraint network and the timetable network is further proposed to solve the delay propagation process for different kinds of emergencies. The proposed model could deal with the delay propagation problem when emergencies occur in sections or stations and is suitable for static emergencies and dynamic emergencies. Case studies show that the proposed algorithm can significantly improve the computational efficiency of the large-scale HSR network. Moreover, the real operational data of China HSR is adopted to verify the proposed model, and the results show that the cascading delays can be timely and accurately inferred, and the delay propagation characteristics under three kinds of emergencies are unfolded.

Investigation on maternal mortality in Southeast Asia,Europe and Africa using three delays model

Background:Maternal mortality is a prevalent issue in healthcare provision worldwide.It is particularly common in developing and underdeveloped countries,where maternal deaths during childbirth or pregnancy occur frequently.Various internal and external factors contribute to the high maternal mortality rate in specific regions.One model,known as the three delays model approach,examines three distinct causes that contribute to this problem.The first delay is the lack of awareness in seeking timely healthcare,the second delay involves obstacles in reaching healthcare facilities on time,and the third delay relates to poor or inadequate healthcare provision in tertiary care facilities.These delays are responsible for the elevated maternal mortality rates,with the prevalence of each delay varying across regions.Objective:The objective of this literature review is to examine and critically evaluate existing literature on perceptions and investigations regarding maternal mortality in Southeast Asia,Europe and Africa,utilizing the three delays model approach as a categorization framework.Method:This literature review followed BEME guide No.3.A total of 18 articles were included in the sample after conducting a thorough search of various databases and search engines.A Prisma flowchart was created,and the articles were critically appraised.Results:A total of 18 articles focusing on different regions were analyzed.The findings revealed that in countries of Southeast Asia,the primary cause of maternal mortality is the first delay,which refers to the lack of awareness in seeking medical care.On the other hand,in Africa and other European countries,the second and third delays are more prominently associated with maternal mortality.Conclusion:Inadequate care is one of the major causes of maternal mortality in majority of regions acrossthe globe.Multiple factors can hinder access to appropriate healthcare.The three delays model plays a significant role in the higher maternal mortality rate.By raising awareness among women and their families about the importance of seeking healthcare,the risk of fatality can be reduced.Similarly,in developing regions,it is crucial to ensure that healthcare facilities are easily accessible and provide high-quality emergency obstetric care to meet the needs of pregnant women in critical situations.

Hopf Bifurcation of Nonresident Computer Virus Model with Age Structure and Two Delays Effects

This paper constructed and studied a nonresident computer virus model with age structure and two delays effects. The non-negativity and boundedness of the solution of the model have been discussed, and then gave the basic regeneration number, and obtained the conditions for the existence and the stability of the virus-free equilibrium and the computer virus equilibrium. Theoretical analysis shows the conditions under which the model undergoes Hopf bifurcation in three different cases. The numerical examples are provided to demonstrate the theoretical results.

Examining the association between delay discounting,delay aversion and physical activity in Chinese adults with type-2 diabetes mellitus

BACKGROUND The role of physical activity in diabetes is critical,influencing this disease's development,man-agement,and overall outcomes.In China,22.3%of adults do not meet the minimum level of physical activity recommended by the World Health Organization.Therefore,it is imperative to identify the factors that contributing to lack of physical activity must be identified.AIM To investigate the relationship among delay discounting,delay aversion,glycated hemoglobin(HbA1c),and various levels of physical activity in Chinese adults diagnosed with type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM).METHODS In 2023,400 adults with T2DM were recruited from the People's Hospital of Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture of Gansu Province.A face-to-face questionnaire was used to gather demographic data and details on physical activity,delay discounting,and delay aversion.In addition,HbA1c levels were measured in all 400 participants.The primary independent variables considered were delay discounting and delay aversion.The outcome variables included HbA1c levels and different intensity levels of physical activity,including walking,moderate physical activity,and vigorous physical activity.Multiple linear regression models were utilized to assess the relationship between delay discounting,delay aversion,and HbA1c levels,along with the intensity of different physical activity measured in met-hours per week.RESULTS After controlling for the sample characteristics,delay discounting was negatively associated with moderate physical activity(β=-2.386,95%CI:-4.370 to-0.401).Meanwhile,delay aversion was negatively associated with the level of moderate physical activity(β=-3.527,95%CI:-5.578 to-1.476)in the multiple linear regression model,with statistically significant differences.CONCLUSION Elevated delay discounting and increased delay aversion correlated with reduced levels of moderate physical activity.Result suggests that delay discounting and aversion may influence engagement in moderate physical activity.This study recommends that health administration and government consider delay discounting and delay aversion when formulating behavioral intervention strategies and treatment guidelines involving physical activity for patients with T2DM,which may increase participation in physical activity.This study contributes a novel perspective to the research on physical activity in adults with T2DM by examining the significance of future health considerations and the role of emotional responses to delays.

Spectrum of delayed post-hypoxic leukoencephalopathy syndrome:A systematic review

BACKGROUND Delayed post hypoxic leukoencephalopathy syndrome(DPHLS),also known as Grinker’s myelinopathy,is a rare but significant neurological condition that manifests days to weeks after a hypoxic event.Characterized by delayed onset of neurological and cognitive deficits,DPHLS presents substantial diagnostic and therapeutic challenges.AIM To consolidate current knowledge on pathophysiology,clinical features,diagnostic approaches,and management strategies for DPHLS,providing a comprehensive overview and highlighting gaps for future research.METHODS Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyzes guidelines,we systematically searched PubMed,ScienceDirect and Hinari databases using terms related to delayed post-hypoxic leukoencephalopathy.Inclusion criteria were original research articles,case reports,and case series involving human subjects with detailed clinical,neuroimaging,or pathological data on DPHLS.Data were extracted on study characteristics,participant demographics,clinical features,neuroimaging findings,pathological findings,treatment,and outcomes.The quality assessment was performed using the Joanna Briggs Institute critical appraisal checklist.RESULTS A total of 73 cases were reviewed.Common comorbidities included schizoaffective disorder,bipolar disorder,hypertension,and substance use disorder.The primary causes of hypoxia were benzodiazepine overdose,opioid overdose,polysubstance overdose,and carbon monoxide(CO)poisoning.Symptoms frequently include decreased level of consciousness,psychomotor agitation,cognitive decline,parkinsonism,and encephalopathy.Neuroimaging commonly revealed diffuse T2 hyperintensities in cerebral white matter,sometimes involving the basal ganglia and the globus pallidus.Magnetic resonance spectroscopy often showed decreased N-acetylaspartate,elevated choline,choline-to-creatinine ratio,and normal or elevated lactate.Treatment is often supportive,including amantadine,an antioxidant cocktail,and steroids.Hyperbaric oxygen therapy may be beneficial in those with CO poisoning.Parkinsonism was often treated with levodopa.Most of the patients had substantial recovery over the course of months and many cases had some residual neurocognitive deficits.CONCLUSION DPHLS remains a complex and multifaceted condition with various etiologies and clinical manifestations.Early recognition and appropriate management are crucial to improving patient outcomes.Future research should focus on standardizing diagnostic criteria,using advanced imaging techniques,and exploring therapeutic interventions to improve understanding and treatment of DPHLS.Conducting prospective cohort studies and developing biomarkers for early diagnosis and monitoring will be essential to advance patient care.

Analysis and Design of Time-Delay Impulsive Systems Subject to Actuator Saturation

This paper investigates the exponential stability and performance analysis of nonlinear time-delay impulsive systems subject to actuator saturation. When continuous dynamics is unstable, under some conditions, it is shown that the system can be stabilized by a class of saturated delayed-impulses regardless of the length of input delays. Conversely, when the system is originally stable, it is shown that under some conditions, the system is robust with respect to sufficient small delayed-impulses. Moreover, the design problem of the controller with the goal of obtaining a maximized estimate of the domain of attraction is formulated via a convex optimization problem. Three examples are provided to demonstrate the validity of the main results.

Surgical techniques to prevent delayed gastric emptying after pancreaticoduodenectomy

Background: Delayed gastric emptying(DGE) is one of the most common complications after pancreaticoduodenectomy(PD). DGE represents impaired gastric motility without significant mechanical obstruction and is associated with an increased length of hospital stay, increased healthcare costs, and a high readmission rate. We reviewed published studies on various technical modifications to reduce the incidence of DGE. Data sources: Studies were identified by searching Pub Med for relevant articles published up to December 2022. The following search terms were used: “pancreaticoduodenectomy”, “pancreaticojejunostomy”, “pancreaticogastrostomy”, “gastric emptying”, “gastroparesis” and “postoperative complications”. The search was limited to English publications. Additional articles were identified by a manual search of references from key articles. Results: In recent years, various surgical procedures and techniques have been explored to reduce the incidence of DGE. Pyloric resection, Billroth II reconstruction, Braun's enteroenterostomy, and antecolic reconstruction may be associated with a decreased incidence of DGE, but more high-powered studies are needed in the future. Neither laparoscopic nor robotic surgery has demonstrated superiority in preventing DGE, and the use of staplers is controversial regarding whether they can reduce the incidence of DGE. Conclusions: Despite many innovations in surgical techniques, there is no surgical procedure that is superior to others to reduce DGE. Further larger prospective randomized studies are needed.

A nonlocal dispersal and time delayed HIV infection model with general incidences

Biologically,because of the impact of reproduction period and nonlocal dispersal of HIV-infected cells,time delay and spatial heterogeneity should be considered.In this paper,we establish an HIV infection model with nonlocal dispersal and infection age.Moreover,applying the theory of Fourier transformation and von Foerster rule,we transform the model to an integrodifferential equation with nonlocal time delay and dispersal.The well-posedness,positivity,and boundedness of the solution for the model are studied.

Designing Proportional-Integral Consensus Protocols for Second-Order Multi-Agent Systems Using Delayed and Memorized State Information

This paper is concerned with consensus of a secondorder linear time-invariant multi-agent system in the situation that there exists a communication delay among the agents in the network.A proportional-integral consensus protocol is designed by using delayed and memorized state information.Under the proportional-integral consensus protocol,the consensus problem of the multi-agent system is transformed into the problem of asymptotic stability of the corresponding linear time-invariant time-delay system.Note that the location of the eigenvalues of the corresponding characteristic function of the linear time-invariant time-delay system not only determines the stability of the system,but also plays a critical role in the dynamic performance of the system.In this paper,based on recent results on the distribution of roots of quasi-polynomials,several necessary conditions for Hurwitz stability for a class of quasi-polynomials are first derived.Then allowable regions of consensus protocol parameters are estimated.Some necessary and sufficient conditions for determining effective protocol parameters are provided.The designed protocol can achieve consensus and improve the dynamic performance of the second-order multi-agent system.Moreover,the effects of delays on consensus of systems of harmonic oscillators/double integrators under proportional-integral consensus protocols are investigated.Furthermore,some results on proportional-integral consensus are derived for a class of high-order linear time-invariant multi-agent systems.

Assessment of the three representative empirical models for zenith tropospheric delay(ZTD)using the CMONOC data

The precise correction of atmospheric zenith tropospheric delay(ZTD)is significant for the Global Navigation Satellite System(GNSS)performance regarding positioning accuracy and convergence time.In the past decades,many empirical ZTD models based on whether the gridded or scattered ZTD products have been proposed and widely used in the GNSS positioning applications.But there is no comprehensive evaluation of these models for the whole China region,which features complicated topography and climate.In this study,we completely assess the typical empirical models,the IGGtropSH model(gridded,non-meteorology),the SHAtropE model(scattered,non-meteorology),and the GPT3 model(gridded,meteorology)using the Crustal Movement Observation Network of China(CMONOC)network.In general,the results show that the three models share consistent performance with RMSE/bias of 37.45/1.63,37.13/2.20,and 38.27/1.34 mm for the GPT3,SHAtropE and IGGtropSH model,respectively.However,the models had a distinct performance regarding geographical distribution,elevation,seasonal variations,and daily variation.In the southeastern region of China,RMSE values are around 50 mm,which are much higher than that in the western region,approximately 20 mm.The SHAtropE model exhibits better performance for areas with large variations in elevation.The GPT3 model and the IGGtropSH model are more stable across different months,and the SHAtropE model based on the GNSS data exhibits superior performance across various UTC epochs.