The phrase "applied earlier" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used to refer to something that was implemented or utilized at a previous time in a discussion or document.
Example: "The method we applied earlier has proven to be effective in our recent experiments."
Alternatives: "utilized previously" or "implemented before".
Equation 2 was successfully applied earlier for the description of photonic crystals [14,15], porous films [19], and soils [20].
C. a. teter was identified as a subspecies by Friedman in 1933, but in 1964 Alexander Wetmore separated the western birds, which took the name meridionalis, which was applied earlier to a migrant from South America.
Applicants with the most straightforward cases — including younger people enrolled in school, recently graduated, or living with their parents — have an easier time showing that they have continuously resided in the United States since June 2007, one of the criteria for approval, and therefore may have applied earlier, the authors wrote.
Since integrin-mediated cell chemotaxis and angiogenesis represent a key feature of atherosclerotic plaque vulnerability [15], radionuclide imaging of ανβ3 can be applied earlier in the ischemic process, potentially identifying those vascular lesions carrying an increased risk of complications [16 20].
Many of the criteria were the same as the Americans had applied earlier.
Thorn, formerly the N.B.A.'s senior vice president for basketball operations, pleaded with the league, saying that the Nets would have applied earlier had they known Williams's injury would be career ending.
UCL and Imperial students applied earlier this year by submitting a 300-word pitch of a business idea (or of their skills as a potential team member).
Mr. Rehn said the rules, if applied earlier this year, probably would not have helped Greece because its crisis already was too far advanced by the time it became public.
Hundreds of women applied this summer.
"The state aid rules applied since 1958.
