Transient Bias Research Articles

B-138 A Harmonization Program Leading to Improved Accuracy and Precision of Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) Testing: A Six-Year Multi-Site, Multi-Instrument Review and Comparison

Abstract Background Across four global laboratory locations in North America, Europe, and Asia a quality control system was implemented in the measurement of Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c). The intent was to improve accuracy and reduce imprecision, both being independent contributors to total analytical performance. Methods Quality control (QC) data, created during routine clinical operations, was used for this analysis. Analysis of QC data evaluated bias and precision separately and provided the ability to predict and monitor performance. The in-process harmonization program indicated a change in instrumentation was needed to meet and maintain a more stringent analytical error profile. The instrumentation change allowed for a before and after comparison across platforms. Results Use of a harmonized quality control system allowed for the visualization of the role bias and precision play in measurements. Improved performance was confirmed using native matrix samples tested routinely from participation in the National Glycohemoglobin Standardization Program. Independently assessing bias and precision highlighted the cumulative and offsetting effects that challenge quality assessment and risk mitigation. Bias appeared to have both a transient and systematic nature. The transient bias contributed to the overall normal distributive property of the quality data. In contrast, the systematic accumulation of bias appeared to occur slowly, over multiple reagent and calibration cycles. The accumulation of bias occurred in the direction of the assay drift. While precision commonly consumes the largest amount of analytical error within an instrument, the dual (negative and positive) nature of bias similarly affects the harmonization of an instrument group. Conclusions Changing the way data is viewed to include assessments of bias improved performance and aided in the identification of opportunities to reduce analytical variances that results in inter- and intra-individual variation. Harmonization of instruments should include methods to assess and describe bias, independent of precision.

Phase shift control of dual active bridge DC‐DC converter based on feedforward compensation and transient optimization strategy

SummaryIn the context of the dual active bridge (DAB) bidirectional DC‐DC converter using the traditional dual‐phase‐shift (DPS) control method, a transient DC bias occurs during power co‐direction and commutation conversion. This bias negatively impacts the converter's transient performance and can lead to harsh effects, such as hard switching problems, resulting in power loss and excessive current stress. In a closed‐loop control system, poor transient response may destroy the stability of the converter. In this paper, the transient‐optimized‐dual‐phase‐shift (TODPS) control strategy is proposed to eliminate the transient DC bias and to maintain soft switching during transient states. It reduces power loss, eliminates excessive current stress, and allows for smooth transitions between single‐phase‐shift (SPS) and DPS control strategies without introducing DC bias. A closed‐loop control system based on TODPS control is established with feed‐forward compensation to adjust the primary‐side current and modify transmission power. This adjustment enhances the transient performance of the DAB converter. The proposed strategy is versatile and applicable to various power conversion scenarios involving DAB converters. It enables quick switching of the magnitude and direction of the primary‐side current during transient states, resulting in a smooth transient effect without noticeable overshoot or oscillation. The experiment results verify the effectiveness of the proposed transient optimization strategy.

Chemokine receptor distribution on the surface of repolarizing T cells

T cells migrate constitutively with a polarized morphology, underpinned by signaling compartmentalization and discrete cytoskeletal organizations, giving rise to a dynamic and expansive leading edge, distinct from the stable and constricted uropod at the rear. In vivo, the motion and function of T cells at various stages of differentiation is highly directed by chemokine gradients. When cognate ligands bind chemokine receptors on their surface, T cells respond by reorientating their polarity axis and migrating toward the source of the chemokine signal. Despite the significance of such chemotactic repolarization to the accurate navigation and function of T cells, the precise signaling mechanisms that underlie it remain elusive. Notably, it remained unclear whether the distribution of chemokine receptors on the T cell surface is altered during repolarization. Here, we developed parallel cell-secreted and microfluidics-based chemokine gradient delivery methods and employed both fixed imaging and live lattice light-sheet microscopy to investigate the dynamics of chemokine receptor CCR5 on the surface of primary murine CD8+ T cells. Our findings show that, during constitutive migration, chemokine receptor distribution is largely isotropic on the T cell surface. However, upon exposure to a CCL3 gradient, surface chemokine receptor distributions exhibit a transient bias toward the uropod. The chemokine receptors then progressively redistribute from the uropod to cover the T cell surface uniformly. This study sheds new light on the dynamics of surface chemokine receptor distribution during T cell repolarization, advancing our understanding of the signaling of immune cells in the complex chemokine landscapes they navigate.

Transient DC Bias Suppression for Three-level Dual Active Bridge Converter

Transient DC Bias Suppression for Three-level Dual Active Bridge Converter

Robust power spectral density estimation via a performance-weighted blend of order statistics

Loud transients introduce bias to background spectrum estimates based on the sample mean, like the Welch Overlapped Segment Averaging (WOSA) [1967]. The Schwock and Abadi [2021] Welch Percentile (SAWP) estimator avoids the loud transient bias by replacing the averaging of the WOSA with a scaled order statistic (OS) of the sample power spectrum. While the scaling ensures the SAWP is unbiased regardless of which OS is chosen, the 80th percentile minimizes the variance of the SAWP estimator in a scenario without loud transients. However, the 80th percentile SAWP is still vulnerable to bias and increased variance from more frequent loud transients. Also, the rate of occurrence of loud transients may change with time, requiring the SAWP to adapt which percentile is used. To approach this challenge, this talk proposes a Universal SAWP estimator which is a weighted sum across different fixed percentile SAWP estimators. At each iteration, the Universal SAWP updates the blend weights to promote the percentile with the lowest sample variance over recent observations. In computer simulations, the Universal SAWP quickly assigns higher weights to the lowest variance estimators as the occurrence of loud transients increases. Overall, the Universal SAWP achieves equal or lower variance as the best fixed percentile SAWP estimator. [Work supported by ONR Code 321US.]

Phase-Shift Control With Unified PWM/PFM for Improved Transient Response in a Bidirectional Dual-Active-Bridge DC/DC Converter

Determining how to efficiently obtain superior transient response under both unidirectional power-changing and power-reversing operations in a bidirectional dual-active-bridge (DAB) dc/dc converter is a challenging problem. The traditional direct phase-shifting scheme would induce a transient dc current bias in the high-frequency link of the DAB, and therefore lead to some adverse issues, such as magnetic saturation and increased current stress. In addition, the ac transient can propagate to the dc terminates and give rise to a worse transient response in a closed-loop control system. In this study, a fast phase-shift control is proposed which can execute all the possible power changes in a unified manner. By properly operating the primary bridge with pulsewidth modulation (PWM) and the secondary bridge with pulse frequency modulation (PFM), the DAB converter can complete the phase-shifting operation fast without a dc current bias in the ac link. A closed-loop control based on the hybrid PWM/PFM is further designed to regulate the primary dc current with improved transient performance. Since both PWM and PFM are standard, the whole control algorithm can be implemented efficiently in practical applications. Experimental results are provided to show that the power of the DAB converter can be governed bidirectionally with the proposed phase-shift control. The dc terminal current can be changed to both polarities with fast transient and no apparent overshoot or oscillation.

Transient mutation bias increases the predictability of evolution on an empirical genotype-phenotype landscape.

Predicting how a population will likely navigate a genotype-phenotype landscape requires consideration of selection in combination with mutation bias, which can skew the likelihood of following a particular trajectory. Strong and persistent directional selection can drive populations to ascend toward a peak. However, with a greater number of peaks and more routes to reach them, adaptation inevitably becomes less predictable. Transient mutation bias, which operates only on one mutational step, can influence landscape navigability by biasing the mutational trajectory early in the adaptive walk. This sets an evolving population upon a particular path, constraining the number of accessible routes and making certain peaks and routes more likely to be realized than others. In this work, we employ a model system to investigate whether such transient mutation bias can reliably and predictably place populations on a mutational trajectory to the strongest selective phenotype or usher populations to realize inferior phenotypic outcomes. For this we use motile mutants evolved from ancestrally non-motile variants of the microbe Pseudomonas fluorescens SBW25, of which one trajectory exhibits significant mutation bias. Using this system, we elucidate an empirical genotype-phenotype landscape, where the hill-climbing process represents increasing strength of the motility phenotype, to reveal that transient mutation bias can facilitate rapid and predictable ascension to the strongest observed phenotype in place of equivalent and inferior trajectories. This article is part of the theme issue 'Interdisciplinary approaches to predicting evolutionary biology'.

Interdisciplinary approaches to predicting evolutionary biology.

Interdisciplinary approaches to predicting evolutionary biology.

Dynamic Enhancement for Dual Active Bridge Converter with a Deadbeat Current Controller.

This paper investigates the deadbeat current controllers for isolated bidirectional dual-active-bridge dc-dc converter (IBDC), including the peak current mode (PCM) and middle current mode (MCM). The controller uses an enhanced single phase shift (ESPS) modulation method by exploiting pulse width as an extra control variable in addition to phase shift ratio. The control variables for PCM controllers are derived in detail and the two different current controllers are compared. A double-closed-loop control method is then employed, which could directly control the high-frequency inductor current and eliminate the transient DC current bias of the transformer. Furthermore, load feedforward was introduced to further enhance the dynamic of the converter. With the proposed control method, the settling time could be reduced within several PWM cycles during load disturbance without transient DC current bias. A 5 kW IBDC converter prototype was built and the settling time of 6 PWM cycles during load change with voltage regulation mode was achieved, which verifies the superior dynamic performance of the control method.

Transient DC bias suppression strategy of dual active bridge based on dual integral sliding mode‐direct power control

AbstractThe transient DC bias current will be generated when the input voltage or load of the dual active bridge (DAB) converter suddenly changes, resulting in the excessive peak value of the inductor current and saturation of the transformer core. An improved three‐phase‐shift (ITPS) strategy based on double integral sliding mode‐direct power control (DISM‐DPC) is proposed in this paper to suppress DC bias current without additional hardware. The proposed ITPS determines the steady‐state phase shift ratio through an inductor RMS current optimisation strategy. The transient phase shift strategy can be determined by the transient DC bias current model, which eliminates the DC bias within one switching cycle and effectively reduces the current impact. In addition, a dual‐loop compensation control method of power inner loop and output voltage outer loop is proposed. Compared with the steady‐state control method, the transient optimisation method of double‐loop compensation control can stabilise the output voltage quickly, effectively reduce the transient impact of the current and improve the dynamic performance of the circuit operation. The experimental results verify the theoretical analysis and prove the effectiveness of the scheme.

Transient DC Bias and Universal Dynamic Modulation of Multiactive Bridge Converters

Multiactive bridge (MAB) converters are attracting increasing attention due to their advantages of mutual electrical isolation and bidirectional power flow capability among different ports. However, the presence of transient dc bias in MAB can increase the current stress and lead to transformer saturation, thus affecting the system reliability. This letter establishes a quantitative and general description of the transient dc bias based on the instantaneous middle current of the high-frequency transformer and proposes a general dynamic modulation method to eliminate the bias, which is robust irrespective of the phase-shift modulation methods and the power flow directions. Also, it works at both the normal and startup modes. More importantly, the proposed method can ensure that the high-frequency transformer current reaches to new steady state without transient dc bias within one half cycle. Finally, the MAB experimental prototypes, including a triple active bridge and a modular MAB with a high-frequency ac bus, are built to verify the superior performance of the proposed method.

Scaling of Time-Dependent Tunneling Current in Terahertz Scanning Tunneling Microscopes

Terahertz scanning tunneling microscopy (THz-STM) has enabled spatiotemporal imaging with femtosecond temporal resolution and angstrom spatial resolution. In THz-STMs, the junction bias is modulated by coupling THz pulses, which results in transient voltage bias and extremely high transient tunneling currents. In order to have efficient imaging of the sample surface, it is important to understand the nonlinear tunneling current response and its parametric dependence. In this work, we theoretically investigate the basic scaling of rectified electrons in a THz-STM junction. We use a self-consistent quantum model that includes both space-charge potential and exchange-correlation potential, which were ignored in previous studies. Since THz-STMs are operated at high transient voltage in field emission regime, the effects of exchange-correlation potential become crucial. We validate our calculation with recently reported experimental data and investigate the rectification property of the tip-sample junction for different parameters. We find that the time-dependent tunneling current and the electron transport can be manipulated by varying the dc bias voltage (polarity, amplitude), incident THz field (polarity, shape, peak amplitude), work functions of STM tip and sample---especially their difference $\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Delta}}W$, and the tip-sample separation. Our study provides an important framework that can be used in the future to characterize, control, and improve THz-induced currents and probing techniques at the nanometer scale over subpicosecond time periods.

Scalable high-repetition-rate sub-half-cycle terahertz pulses from spatially indirect interband transitions

Intense phase-locked terahertz (THz) pulses are the bedrock of THz lightwave electronics, where the carrier field creates a transient bias to control electrons on sub-cycle time scales. Key applications such as THz scanning tunnelling microscopy or electronic devices operating at optical clock rates call for ultimately short, almost unipolar waveforms, at megahertz (MHz) repetition rates. Here, we present a flexible and scalable scheme for the generation of strong phase-locked THz pulses based on shift currents in type-II-aligned epitaxial semiconductor heterostructures. The measured THz waveforms exhibit only 0.45 optical cycles at their centre frequency within the full width at half maximum of the intensity envelope, peak fields above 1.1 kV cm−1 and spectral components up to the mid-infrared, at a repetition rate of 4 MHz. The only positive half-cycle of this waveform exceeds all negative half-cycles by almost four times, which is unexpected from shift currents alone. Our detailed analysis reveals that local charging dynamics induces the pronounced positive THz-emission peak as electrons and holes approach charge neutrality after separation by the optical pump pulse, also enabling ultrabroadband operation. Our unipolar emitters mark a milestone for flexibly scalable, next-generation high-repetition-rate sources of intense and strongly asymmetric electric field transients.

Change not State: Perceptual coupling in multistable displays reflects transient bias induced by perceptual change

We investigated how changes in dynamic spatial context influence visual perception. Specifically, we reexamined the perceptual coupling phenomenon when two multistable displays viewed simultaneously tend to be in the same dominant state and switch in accord. Current models assume this interaction reflecting mutual bias produced by a dominant perceptual state. In contrast, we demonstrate that influence of spatial context is strongest when perception changes. First, we replicated earlier work using bistable kinetic-depth effect displays, then extended it by employing asynchronous presentation to show that perceptual coupling cannot be accounted for by the static context provided by perceptually dominant states. Next, we demonstrated that perceptual coupling reflects transient bias induced by perceptual change, both in ambiguous and disambiguated displays. We used a hierarchical Bayesian model to characterize its timing, demonstrating that the transient bias is induced 50–70 ms after the exogenous trigger event and decays within ~200–300 ms. Both endogenous and exogenous switches led to quantitatively and qualitatively similar perceptual consequences, activating similar perceptual reevaluation mechanisms within a spatial surround. We explain how they can be understood within a transient selective visual attention framework or using local lateral connections within sensory representations. We suggest that observed perceptual effects reflect general mechanisms of perceptual inference for dynamic visual scene perception.

Transient DC Bias Current Reducing for Bidirectional Dual-Active-Bridge DC–DC Converter by Modifying Modulation

Transient dc bias current will appear in dual-active-bridge (DAB) dc-dc converter when power changes, resulting in transformer core saturation. Traditionally, a transitional period with extra calculation is added in the transient process to keep the voltage-second balance and eliminate the dc bias current for the DAB converter. In this article, the modulation process rather than the phase-shift control is concerned, and the transient dc bias current can be reduced or even eliminated by staggering the load time of the primary bridge and secondary bridge compare values. The modulation scheme with this modification does not need any transitional period or extra calculation, and the time delay in the closed-loop control is constant and smaller than the previous schemes. Besides, as only the load time is modified, the modulation scheme can be implemented in all the phase-shift control methods and the whole operation range. The experimental results verify the theoretical analysis and show the practical feasibility of the modified modulation schemes.

Steady-State and Transient DC Magnetic Flux Bias Suppression Methods for a Dual Active Bridge Converter

This article presents dc magnetic flux bias suppression methods for a dual active bridge (DAB) converter in both steady state and transient process. The steady-state dc offset is caused by asymmetries of the circuit and power switches in practice, while the transient offset is caused by the sudden update of phase shift ratio. This dc bias will increase the conduction losses, lead to loss of zero voltage switching (ZVS), and even saturate the magnetic components. To prevent this risk, this article proposes methods to suppress the dc bias both in steady state and transient process. For steady-state dc bias suppression, the duty cycles of square voltages generated by the primary and secondary side H-bridges are regulated according to the dc bias current. The conditions to achieve zero dc bias and the small-signal model to regulate the dc bias current are derived. For transient dc bias suppression, the phase shift ratio variation is limited to ensure the peak inductor current within the safe operating range. Tunnel magnetoresistance (TMR) is employed to sense the currents, and an analog integration and sampling method is proposed to detect dc bias. Finally, the proposed method is verified through experimental results on a 3200-W DAB prototype.

Universal Modulation Scheme To Suppress Transient DC bias Current in Dual Active Bridge Converters

This article presents a modulation scheme to suppress the transient dc bias current in dual active bridge (DAB) converters. The current in the transformer at the commutating time is associated with the initial current in a switching period, so there must be a dc bias current during the transient response. To investigate the modulation scheme for suppressing the transient dc bias current, the article reviews the optimal TPS control strategy, which is derived from the zero voltage switching with the minimum current stress in the transformer. By analyzing the dc bias current, the transient dc bias current can be evaluated by the current in the transformer at the symmetry line of the primary full-bridge voltage waveform instead of the current at the commutating time. It can be concluded that the expressions of the transient dc bias current for different working modes are unified. Therefore, the modulation schemes without transient dc bias current for different working modes can be also unified. On this basis, a universal strategy can meet all the transient cases. There is no need to identify or select the working modes and power conditions in the transient dc bias current control, which simplifies the implementation of the modulation scheme in the digital signal processor. Finally, an experimental prototype has been built to verify the effectiveness of the proposed modulation scheme.

Generic Dynamic Phase-Shift Control for Bidirectional Dual-Active Bridge Converters

This letter proposes a generic method to model and mitigate the transient dc bias in the transformer winding current and the magnetizing flux linkage of the dual-active bridge (DAB) converter, which is valid for all the most commonly used modulation methods such as single phase-shift, extended phase-shift, dual phase-shift, and triple phase-shift. By performing a simple dynamic volt-seconds balancing in each half-bridge independently, the transformer winding current and the magnetizing flux linkage can reach any new reference steady state in half-switching cycle simultaneously with significantly suppressed transient dc-bias components. More importantly, this excellent dynamic performance can be realized for any modulation mode transition, regardless of the dc voltage ratio and the power direction change. Comprehensive simulations and experiments are performed to validate the effectiveness of the proposed control method.

Nanoscale terahertz STM imaging of a metal surface

Terahertz scanning tunneling microscopy (THz-STM) has enabled studies of ultrafast dynamics in materials down to the atomic scale. However, despite recent advances, more work is needed to better understand and quantify the subpicosecond THz pulse-induced tunnel currents and corresponding THz-STM images of nanoscale features on surfaces. Here, we perform THz-STM on a metal surface and fully characterize the observed THz pulse-induced tunnel current and nanoscale imaging at atomic steps and defects using a Bardeen tunneling model in a three-dimensional (3D) tip geometry. We show that the measured steady-state STM current-voltage curves can be used in our model to accurately map the observed ultrafast THz-induced tunnel currents and calibrate the magnitude of the near-field peak transient THz voltage bias in the tunnel junction. Peak THz voltage bias transients greater than 10 V across the STM junction are achieved leading to field emission of subpicosecond tunnel currents with current densities exceeding ${10}^{9}\phantom{\rule{0.28em}{0ex}}\mathrm{A}/\mathrm{c}{\mathrm{m}}^{2}$ in THz-STM imaging of a Cu(111) surface. Our results establish an important benchmark for future studies in THz-STM by quantifying the ultrafast THz-induced currents and bias voltages in the tunnel junction and providing a 3D tunneling model for understanding and accurately simulating THz-STM images of nanoscale features on metal surfaces.

Flux Balancing Control of Ungapped Nanocrystalline Core-Based Transformer in Dual Active Bridge Converters

Transformer flux dc bias is a critical issue, impacting the reliable operation of dual active bridge (DAB) converters especially when ungapped high permeability nanocrystalline core is used. Steady state current dc bias can easily saturate ungapped nanocrystalline transformers, and it is even more dangerous in transient conditions. A dc bias model is proposed to analyze steady state dc bias in different load conditions. The magnetizing current detection is necessary for closed-loop control of dc bias; conductors’ position is shown to impact sensor noise, and it is analyzed in detail. To deal with both steady state and transient dc bias, a unified flux balancing control (UFBC) is proposed introducing a predictive bias suppression (PBS) method with closed-loop flux balancing control (CFBC). With the proposed PBS, both primary/secondary current balance and flux balance can be achieved within one switching cycle using UFBC. Power characteristics and interaction between power control and flux balancing control of DAB converters are analyzed, and the CFBC needs to work in a low bandwidth due to sensor bandwidth limitation and interaction between power control and flux balancing control. The UFBC is verified on a 300-kW cascaded DAB converter prototype.