The neuro-anatomical substrates of major depressive disorder (MDD) are still not well understood, despite many neuroimaging studies over the past few decades. Here we present the largest ever worldwide study by the ENIGMA (Enhancing Neuro Imaging Genetics through Meta-Analysis) Major Depressive Disorder Working Group on cortical structural alterations in MDD. Structural T1-weighted brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans from 2148 MDD patients and 7957 healthy controls were analysed with harmonized protocols at 20 sites around the world. To detect consistent effects of MDD and its modulators on cortical thickness and surface area estimates derived from MRI, statistical effects from sites were meta-analysed separately for adults and adolescents. Adults with MDD had thinner cortical gray matter than controls in the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), anterior and posterior cingulate, insula and temporal lobes (Cohen's d effect sizes: -0.10 to -0.14). These effects were most pronounced in first episode and adult-onset patients (>21 years). Compared to matched controls, adolescents with MDD had lower total surface area (but no differences in cortical thickness) and regional reductions in frontal regions (medial OFC and superior frontal gyrus) and primary and higher-order visual, somatosensory and motor areas (d: -0.26 to -0.57). The strongest effects were found in recurrent adolescent patients. This highly powered global effort to identify consistent brain abnormalities showed widespread cortical alterations in MDD patients as compared to controls and suggests that MDD may impact brain structure in a highly dynamic way, with different patterns of alterations at different stages of life.

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The rapid diversification in microelectronics forebodes more complex system integration, be it for denser function integration or a span of dimensions between various technologies. Products may include more features, perform faster and be cheaper. With these trends the amount of material layers is increasing. This challenges development to a faster rating of material pairings. Delamination is a major issue among the related reliability aspects. When the design or testing steps are accompanied by simulation, fracture mechanical descriptions are increasingly proving helpful. The parameters needed for simulation have to be measured and should be available for different fracture mode mix angles. We investigated the interfacial fracture toughness of the Epoxy Molding Compound (EMC) to Silicon interface. Although difficult to delaminate we could carry out measurements using the Mixed Mode Chisel setup (MMC) that allowed us to induce different stress states at the crack tip at various external load angles. The samples we derived from the molding process of embedded wafer level ball grid arrays. Therefore we were able to use samples made with the same process as in real packaging. The crack tip position was determined by analysis of displacement results by digital image correlation. In order to interpret the sample reaction for extracting fracture mechanical parameters, adequate numerical modeling and simulation was required. The experiments provided the parameters for the models. Establishing the residual stress state in the materials preceded the interface delamination simulation: a two step interpretation. Residual stresses cannot be neglected; indeed they are part of the challenges to delaminate this interface at all. We found energy release rates increasing with fracture mode mix, and such values close to pure tensile opening at the crack tip. We recommend to exclude data from short crack lengths and to carefully expose the sample flanks. The results promise to extend the available interfacial fracture data soon.@en