Dissertação apresentada para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Engenharia Electrotécnica e de Computadores, na Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto, sob a orientação do Prof. Doutor José António Ruela Simões Fernandes

With the fast development of communication systems, computers and consumer electronics, the power supplies for telecoms, servers, desktops, laptops, flat-panel TVs, LED lighting, etc. are required for more efficient power delivery with smaller spaces. The LLC resonant converter has been widely adopted for these applications due to the advantages in high efficiency, high power density and holdup time operation capability. However, LLC resonant converter meets some issues, especially in high output current applications. Those issues include magnetic design, start-up, short-circuit protection, synchronous rectifier drive, EMI noise and integration, etc. To solve those issues, like start-up and short-circuit protection, SR driving and EMI, etc., a synthesis method is proposed to find the similar resonant topologies like LLC. Based on this method, lots of multi-element resonant converters are found to solve the issues that LLC resonant converter cannot handle. To evaluate the performance of found numerous valuable topologies. Thus, a general evaluation system is required. State-plane analysis with new normalization factors is utilized. Based on it, the voltage stress, current stresses and apparent power of resonant converters are easy to compare. This method can help select suitable circuit topology for certain applications. Meanwhile, it also can help resonant converters' design. The important performance factors, like start-up, short-circuit protection, SR driving, integration and EMI performance, are also taken into account for the whole evaluation system. The high switching frequency is needed recently for high power density requirement. However, LLC resonant converter suffers high transformer loss. Matrix transformer is introduced to reduce winding loss and total volume. Flux cancellation method is utilized to reduce core size and loss. Synchronous Rectifier (SR) devices and output capacitors are integrated into secondary windings to eliminate termination related winding losses, via loss and reduce leakage inductance. The passive integration is necessary for high power density resonant converter, especially for high order system. Based on stress, suitable passive components are chosen for integration. Then, the magnetic integration method is shown based on multi-winding transformer structure. The passive integration principles are discussed. A novel passive integration method is proposed for multi-elements resonant converters. In conclusion, this work is focus on the topology analysis and integration of resonant converters. Searching the suitable topologies for certain application, and evaluate the performance of them. Then, improve the system power density by integration techniques. / Ph. D.

No description available.

L'evolució clínica de la leucèmia limfocitària crònica (LLC) és amb freqüència indolent, però és una malaltia que roman incurable. Els pacients simptomàtics tenen una supervivència entre 1-7 anys, fins i tot utilitzant les millors opcions terapèutiques. Encara que han estat avaluades tot una sèrie de combinacions terapèutiques en pacients amb recaiguda o refractaris als tractaments, cap alternativa ha demostrat ser superior. Per tant, és evident la necessitat de trobar alternatives terapèutiques per aquests pacients. Diferents estudis en fase II han mostrat que l'associació del rituximab a la quimioteràpia ha millorat el percentatge de resposta i el període lliure de malaltia. No obstant, tots els pacients a la llarga experimenten una progressió de la malaltia. Un dels principals mecanismes d'acció del rituximab és la citotoxicitat cel·lular depenent d'anticossos. Les principals cèl·lules efectores implicades en aquest mecanisme d'acció són les cèl·lules portadores de receptors Fcγ, i dintre d'aquest grup les que juguen un paper primordial són les cèl·lules NK. La hipòtesi general va ser l'anàlisi de molècules potenciadores de la capacitat citotòxica de les cèl·lules NK i de l'ADCC, per poder ser utilitzades associades al rituximab com a adjuvants en el tractament de les leucèmies limfàtiques cròniques. Entre aquestes molècules es va estudiar el CpG ODN A per mimetitzar l'activitat estimuladora del DNA bacterià, a través del TLR9 i provocar una forta activació i síntesi d'IFNγ per cèl·lules NK. L'altre molècula va ser l'IL-15 per estar estretament relacionada en la supervivència, proliferació i activació de les cèl·lules NK. Es va observar que la IL-15 i el CpG ODN A eren 2 molècules estimuladores que potenciaven significativament la capacitat citotòxica de PBMCs, en presència o absència de rituximab, quan s'enfrontaven tant a una línia cel·lular de limfoma B humà com a cèl·lules leucèmiques de LLC-B. La principal població efectora responsable d'aquesta potenciació citotòxica van ser les cèl·lules NK. No obstant el mecanisme d'acció responsable va ser diferent. Mentre que la IL-15 incrementava la capacitat citotòxica de la cèl·lula NK tant directament com indirectament, el CpG ODN A ho feia només indirectament requerint de senyals addicionals presents a les PBMCs. Quan les PBMCs es van enfrontar a cèl·lules de limfoma B de la línia cel·lular Raji va resultar que els dos estímuls es comportaven igual. Però quan van ser cèl·lules leucèmiques de LLC-B, la IL-15 es va comportar com un estímul significativament més potent que el CpG ODN A incrementant la citotoxicitat natural i l'ADCC. La IL-15 en aquest sentit va actuar incrementant l'expressió de receptors relacionats amb cèl·lules NK en desgranulació (CD16, CD69 i NKG2D) i del receptor LFA-1 implicat en la senyalització de la citotoxicitat (adhesió cel·lular). Així com produint un augment significatiu d'IFN-γ. En presència de TGF-β, citocina immunosupressora que disminueix de manera significativa la citotoxicitat natural i l'ADCC de PBMCs enfrontades a cèl·lules leucèmiques de LLC, la IL-15 va poder contrarestar aquest efecte supressor. De la mateixa manera en presència d'IL-15, la disminució que provoca el TGF-β en la producció d'IFN-γ, va ser menor i més variable no sent significativa. / The clinical course of chronic lymphocytic leukemia is often insidious, but it is a disease that remains not treatable. Even using the best therapeutic options, symptomatic patients have a survival between 1-7 years. Several series of therapeutic combinations have been evaluated for patients with relapses and refractory to treatment, but none has been demonstrated to be superior. Therefore, it is notable the need to find therapeutic alternatives for these patients. Different studies in phase II have shown that the addition of rituximab to chemotherapy has improved the percentage of response and the disease free period. However, all patients suffer progression of the disease at long term. One of the main mechanisms of action of rituximab is the antibody mediated cytotoxicity. The most important effector cells involved in this mechanism of action are Fcγ receptors cells, specifically NK cells. The general hypothesis is the analysis of molecules enhancing the cytotoxic capacity of NK cells and ADCC, for them to be used in addition to rituximab as adjuvant in the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Amongst these molecules, CpG ODN A was studied because its capacity to mimetise the stimulating activity of bacterial DNA through TLR9 and to induce a strong activation and synthesis of IFNγ by NK cells. The other molecule was IL-15, due to its involvement in survival, proliferation and activation of NK cells. It was observed that IL-15 and CpG ODN A were two stimulating molecules than significantly enhanced the cytotoxic capacity of PBMCs, in the presence or absence of rituximab, when they were confronted to cells from B lymphoma Raji line and to leukemic cells from CLL-B. The major effector population responsible for this cytotoxic enhancement are the NK cells. However, the mechanism of action is different. Whereas IL-15 increased the cytotoxic capacity of the NK cell directly as much as indirectly, CpG ODN A did it only indirectly, requiring of additional signals present in PBMCs. When PBMCs were confronted to Raji cells from B cell lymphoma, the two stimuli had a similar behavior. However, when PBMCs were confronted to leukemic cells from CLL-B, Il-15 was a stronger stimulus than CpG ODN A, enhancing the natural cytotoxicity and ADCC. In this way, IL-15 worked increasing the expression of receptors related to degranulating NK cells (CD16, CD69 and NKG2D) and of LFA-1 receptor, implied in the cytotoxicity signaling (cellular adhesion), and increasing significantly IFNγ production. In the presence of TGF-β, immunosupressor cytokine that decrease significantly the natural cytotoxicity and ADCC of PBMCs confronted to leukemic cells from CLL, IL-15 is able to counteract this suppressive effect. In the same way, the reduction caused in IFN-γ production is going to be smaller and more variable in the presence of IL-15, although not significantly.

Dissertação (mestrado)—Universidade de Brasília, Faculdade de Ciências da Saúde, 2015. / Submitted by Raquel Viana (raquelviana@bce.unb.br) on 2015-10-20T19:44:19Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2015_WilsonOliveiraSantos.pdf: 885429 bytes, checksum: 5be36bd125c215438c3dad1144fa155e (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Marília Freitas(marilia@bce.unb.br) on 2015-11-11T14:02:31Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 2015_WilsonOliveiraSantos.pdf: 885429 bytes, checksum: 5be36bd125c215438c3dad1144fa155e (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-11-11T14:02:31Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2015_WilsonOliveiraSantos.pdf: 885429 bytes, checksum: 5be36bd125c215438c3dad1144fa155e (MD5) / A leucemia linfoide crônica (LLC) é uma doença linfoproliferativa em que há acúmulo de células B monoclonais na medula óssea, sangue periférico, linfonodos e baço. O curso clínico da LLC é bastante variável, sendo os sintomas mais comuns o acúmulo de linfócitos B e, nos casos mais graves, a ocorrência de hepatomegalia, esplenomegalia, anemia e trombocitopenia. Embora a fisiopatologia da doença seja desconhecida, alguns marcadores prognósticos da LLC são bem definidos, sendo a expressão de ZAP70+ um dos mais avaliados. Atualmente, a fisiopatologia de diversos tipos de neoplasias tem sido relacionada a mecanismos epigenéticos. Nessa linha, nosso grupo recentemente demonstrou o envolvimento da família SMYD no desenvolvimento da leucemia linfoide aguda. Essa associação da família SMYD com uma neoplasia linfoide nos levou a desenvolver o presente trabalho, em que investigamos o padrão de expressão gênica de componentes da família SMYD em amostras de LLC e avaliamos a influência desse achado sobre dados laboratoriais como leucometria, número de plaquetas, expressão da proteína ZAP70 e achados citogenéticos dos pacientes estudados. Para isso, usamos 59 amostras de LLC e 10 amostras de células B obtidas de doadores saudáveis, como controles. Os pacientes com LLC foram submetidos a coleta de sangue para determinação do hemograma. Por citometria de fluxo determinamos a expressão da proteína ZAP-70 nas células B leucêmicas. Além disso, todas as amostras foram submetidas à análise citogenética e a extração de RNA para a análise do perfil de expressão genica da família SMYD por PCR em tempo real. Analisando as características clínicas e laboratoriais dos pacientes com LLC enrolados no estudo, 66% dos casos foram classificados como Binet A, 22% como Binet B e 12% como Binet C. Nessa amostragem, 25% dos casos apresentaram cariótipo normal e 75% dos casos apresentaram algum tipo de alteração citogenética. As amostras de células B leucêmicas e normais não expressaram SMYD1. Entretanto, as células da LLC, comparadas as amostras controle, apresentaram maior expressão de SMYD2, SMYD3, SMYD4 e SMYD5. Tendo em vista a heterogeneidade na expressão desses genes pelas amostras de LLC, as amostras neoplásicas foram dicotomizadas em casos de baixa e alta expressão dos membros SMYD. As amostras que tiveram menor expressão de SMYD2, SMYD3 e SMYD4 dentro do grupo de LLC apresentaram maior número de leucócitos, comparadas aos casos de maior expressão desses genes. É interessante, pois essas amostras com baixa expressão de SMYD2 e SMYD3 apresentaram um elevado índice de alterações citogenéticas complexas, que é um indicador de progressão e de mau prognóstico na LLC. Outro aspecto importante é que existe forte correlação entre a expressão dos genes SMYDs na LLC, indicando a possibilidade de existir na LLC um mecanismo de regulação comum para indução da expressão dos membros dessa família. Por fim, mais estudos são necessários para estabelecer os mecanismos pelo qual essas metiltransferases regulam a evolução da LLC. Esses resultados poderão servir de base para o desenvolvimento de novas estratégias terapêuticas para prevenir a progressão da LLC. / Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is a lymphoproliferative disease that coexists with monoclonal B cells accumulated in the bone marrow, peripheral blood, lymph nodes and spleen. The clinical course of CLL is highly variable, and the most common symptoms are the accumulation of B lymphocytes and, in severe cases, the occurrence of hepatomegaly, splenomegaly, anemia and thrombocytopenia. Although the pathophysiology of the disease is unknown, some CLL prognostic markers are well defined, being the expression of ZAP70+ is one of the most assessed. Recently, the pathophysiology of various types of cancers has been linked to epigenetic mechanisms. In this line, our group recently demonstrated the involvement of SMYD family in the development of acute lymphocytic leukemia. This association of SMYD family with a lymphoid neoplasia led us to develop this work, in which we investigated the gene expression of SMYD members in CLL samples and evaluated the influence of this finding on white blood cell count, platelet count, expression of ZAP70 protein and cytogenetic findings. For this purpose, we recruited 59 CLL samples and 10 normal B-cells. ZAP-70 protein expression was determined by flow cytometry. In addition, all samples were subjected to cytogenetic analysis and RNA extraction, in order to study the genetic profile expression of SMYD family by real time PCR. Analyzing the clinical and laboratorial characteristics of patients with CLL enrolled in the study, 66% of cases were classified as Binet A, 22% as Binet B and 12% as Binet C. Normal karyotype was detected in 25% of cases, while 75% of cases presented some type of alteration cytogenetic. SMYD1 gene expression was not detected in CLL and in normal B-cells. However, compared to the control group, patients with CLL showed higher levels of the genes SMYD2, SMYD3, SMYD4 and SMYD5. Taking into account that the expression of the genes evaluated was heterogeneous among the CLL patients, we used the median value of genes expression as the cut-off to dichotomize CLL patients in ―low‖ and ―high‖ SMYD gene expression. Interestingly, patients with residual expression of SMYD2, SMYD3 and SMYD4 possess high WBC count. More important, these samples with low expression of SMYD2 and SMYD3 expression presented complex cytogenetic alterations, in contrast to the cases where the expression of these genes is high, where the karyotype was normal. Another important aspect is that there is a strong correlation among the SMYDs genes, indicating the possible existence of a common regulatory mechanism of induction of these genes in this cancer. Additional studies are required to establish the complete mechanism by wich these methyltransferases regulate the evolution of the CLL. These results may provide an important starting point for studies aiming to develop new therapeutic strategies to prevent CLL progression.

Dissertação (mestrado)—Universidade de Brasília, Faculdade de Ciências da Saúde, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Farmacêuticas, 2016. / Submitted by Camila Duarte (camiladias@bce.unb.br) on 2016-10-04T15:58:08Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2016_JulianaCarvalhoRochaAlvesdaSilva.pdf: 855628 bytes, checksum: 823ea873caefea29e8d4a65f4c6465a6 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Raquel Viana(raquelviana@bce.unb.br) on 2017-02-16T17:57:35Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 2016_JulianaCarvalhoRochaAlvesdaSilva.pdf: 855628 bytes, checksum: 823ea873caefea29e8d4a65f4c6465a6 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-02-16T17:57:35Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2016_JulianaCarvalhoRochaAlvesdaSilva.pdf: 855628 bytes, checksum: 823ea873caefea29e8d4a65f4c6465a6 (MD5) / A leucemia linfoide crônica (LLC) é uma doença linfoproliferativa que resulta no acúmulo de células B monoclonais na medula óssea, sangue periférico, linfonodos e baço. O diagnóstico dessa doença costuma ocorrer após os 70 anos de idade, sendo mais frequente em homens do que em mulheres. Além disso, esta é a leucemia mais prevalente nos países ocidentais. Embora a etiologia da doença seja desconhecida, alguns fatores prognósticos são bem conhecidos como a expressão da proteína ZAP-70, alta contagem de células malignas (leucocitose) associado ao tempo de duplicação linfocitária e alterações cariotípicas específicas ou aquisição de cariótipo complexo (3 ou mais alterações cariotípicas). Atualmente, a fisiopatologia de diversos tipos de neoplasias tem sido relacionada a mecanismos epigenéticos. Nesse sentido, foi demonstrado que a expressão das enzimas Histona Metiltransferases (HMTs) das famílias Euchromatic Histone-Lysine N-Methyltransferase (EHMT) e Suppressor Of Variegation (SUV) podem estar relacionadas à instabilidade genômica e ao pior prognóstico de alguns tipos de câncer. Considerando essas associações, investigamos nesse trabalho a expressão dos genes membros das famílias EHMT e SUV em pacientes com LLC e associamos esses achados a marcadores de prognóstico, como: expressão da proteína ZAP-70, cariótipo e leucometria desses pacientes. Nesse trabalho, observamos que a baixa expressão do gene SUV39H1 está associada à aquisição de anormalidades citogenéticas em pacientes com LLC. A expressão elevada de SUV39H2 está associada à baixa contagem de plaquetas e a um maior número de casos com alterações cariotípicas. A baixa expressão de SUV4-20H1 está relacionada com maior leucometria, enquanto que a baixa expressão de SUV4-20H2 está associada à expressão elevada de ZAP-70. EHMT1 se mostrou com expressão elevada nas amostras de LLC, enquanto que EHMT2, embora não tenha apresentado expressão diferencial entre LLC e pacientes saudáveis, está associado à aquisição de cariótipo complexo nessa doença. Nossos dados evidenciam que as famílias de metiltransferases SUV e EHMT estão associadas à aquisição de indicadores de mau prognóstico na LLC, como contagem de plaquetas, maior número de células malignas, expressão de ZAP-70 e aquisição de cariótipo complexo. Esses dados contribuem para a área de epigenética e câncer, podendo servir de base para o desenvolvimento de novas abordagens terapêuticas que visem controlar processos epigenéticos na LLC. / Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is a lymphoproliferative disease that results in accumulation of monoclonal B cells in bone marrow, peripheral blood, lymph nodes and spleen. The diagnosis of LLC occurs, normally, after 70 years, affects slightly more men and this disease is the most common leukemia in Western countries. Although the etiology of the CLL is unknown, some prognostic factors are well known as the expression of ZAP-70, the high quantity of malignant cells (leukocytosis) associated with lymphocyte duplicating time and karyotype changes or acquisition of complex karyotype (three or more karyotype alterations). Currently, the pathophysiology of various types of cancers has been linked to epigenetic mechanisms. In this line, it was shown that the expression of the enzymes histone methyl Transferases (HMTs) of Euchromatic Histone-Lysine N-Methyltransferase (EHMT) and Suppressor Of Variegation (SUV) families may be related to genomic instability and to bad prognosis markers of some cancers. Considering these associations, we investigated in this study the expression of EHMT and SUV members in CLL samples. Furthermore, we investigated the association of gene expression analysis and prognosis markers, like: ZAP-70 expression, karyotype and white blood cell count of these patients. In this study, we found that low expression of SUV39H1 gene is associated with the presence of cytogenetic abnormalities in patients with CLL. The high expression of SUV39H2 is associated with low platelet count and with the presence of cytogenetic abnormalities. Low SUV4-20H1 expression is related to the accumulation of leukocytes, while the low SUV4-20H2 expression influences the expression of ZAP-70. EHMT1 was high expressed in LLC, while EHMT2 was associated with the presence of complex karyotype in this disease. Our data clearly show that the methyltransferases SUV and EHMT influence generally in CLL, being associated with the presence of bad prognosis markers in this disease, including platelet count, accumulation of malignant cells, expression of ZAP-70 and abnormal karyotype. These results may provide the basis for the development of new therapeutic strategies to prevent CLL progression.

No description available.

With the fast development of communication systems, computers and consumer electronics, the power supplies for telecoms, servers, desktops, laptops, flat-panel TVs, LED lighting, etc. are required for more power delivery with smaller spaces. The LLC resonant converter has been widely adopted for these applications due to the advantages in high efficiency, high power density and holdup time operation capability. However, unlike PWM converters, the control of the LLC resonant converter is much more difficult because of the fast dynamic characteristic of the resonant tank. In some highly dynamic processes like the load transient, start-up, over-load protection and burst operation, it is hard to control the current and voltage stresses and oscillations in the resonant tank. Moreover, to meet the high power density requirement, the LLC is required to operate at a high switching frequency. Thus the driving of the synchronous rectifier (SR) poses a design challenge as well. To analyze the fast dynamic characteristic, a graphic state-plane technique has been adopted for a class of resonant converters. In this work, it has been extended to the LLC resonant converter. First of all, the LLC steady state and dynamic behaviors are analyzed in the state plane. After that, a simplified implementation of the optimal trajectory control is proposed to significantly improve the load transient response: the new steady state can be tracked in the minimal period of time. With the advantages of the state-trajectory analysis and digital control, the LLC soft start-up is optimized as well. The current and voltage stress is limited in the resonant tank during the start-up process. The output voltage is built up quickly and smoothly. Furthermore, the LLC burst mode is investigated and optimized in the state plane. Several optimal switching patterns are proposed to improve the light load efficiency and minimize the dynamic oscillations. During the burst on-time, the LLC can be controlled to track the steady state of the best efficiency load condition in one-pulse time. Thus, high light-load efficiency is accomplished. Finally, an intelligent SR driving scheme is proposed and its simple digital implementation is introduced. By sensing the SR drain to source voltage and detecting the paralleled body diode conduction, the SR gate driving signal can be tuned within all operating frequency regions. In conclusion, this work not only solves some major academic problems about analysis and control of the LLC resonant converter based on the graphic state plane, but also makes significant contributions to the industry by improving the LLC transient responses and overall efficiency. / Ph. D.

The demand for high power density, high efficiency bus converters has increased interest in resonant topologies, particularly the LLC resonant converter. LLC resonant converters offer several advantages in efficiency, power density, and hold up time extension capability. Among high voltage (>500V) MOSFETs, Super Junction MOSFETs, such as Infineon's CoolMOS parts, offer lower Rds on than conventional parts and are a natural choice for this application to improve efficiency. However, there is a history of converter failure due to reverse recovery problems with the primary switch's body diode. Before selecting CoolMOS devices for use in a LLC resonant converter, it is necessary to investigate its performance in this application. Field failures of PWM soft switching phase shift full bridge converters have been attributed to large reverse recovery charge in the primary side MOSFET body diode. Under low load conditions the device cannot fully recover, and the large reverse recovery current can cause the device to enter secondary break down, leading to failure. The unique structure of Super Junction MOSFETs, such as CoolMOS, avoid this failure mode by providing a different path for the reverse current; however, the reverse recovery charge of CoolMOS devices is large and can cause a loss of efficiency. For this reason, it is important to avoid conditions under which the reverse recovery characteristics of the body diode can be seen. / Master of Science

This research explores two issues when implementing drain-source voltage sensed synchronous rectification (SR) on LLC DC-Transformers (DCXs). Firstly, a current resonance issue caused by the SR controller, and secondly a early turn-off issue from parasitics present in the drain-source sensing path. Two novel methods are proposed to solve the early turn-off issue, and an FPGA based solution is built to validate and fix the resonance issue. Simulations are run to quantify the amount of rectifier power savings possible with the proposed solutions. / Master of Science / This research explores issues and improvements in synchronous rectifiers used in resonant based power conversion circuits. The two issues explored hurt rectifier efficiency, and thus total power conversion circuit efficiency. Implementation issues are identified, simulated, and new solutions are proposed. Simulations are run to quantify the amount of power savings is possible.