Augmentative Pharmacological Strategies in Treatment-Resistant Major Depression: A Comprehensive Review

Treatment resistant depression (TRD) is associated with poor outcomes, but a consensus is lacking in the literature regarding which compound represents the best pharmacological augmentation strategy to antidepressants (AD). In the present review, we identify the available literature regarding the pharmacological augmentation to AD in TRD. Research in the main psychiatric databases was performed (PubMed, ISI Web of Knowledge, PsychInfo). Only original articles in English with the main topic being pharmacological augmentation in TRD and presenting a precise definition of TRD were included. Aripiprazole and lithium were the most investigated molecules, and aripiprazole presented the strongest evidence of efficacy. Moreover, olanzapine, quetiapine, cariprazine, risperidone, and ziprasidone showed positive results but to a lesser extent. Brexpiprazole and intranasal esketamine need further study in real-world practice. Intravenous ketamine presented an evincible AD effect in the short-term. The efficacy of adjunctive ADs, antiepileptic drugs, psychostimulants, pramipexole, ropinirole, acetyl-salicylic acid, metyrapone, reserpine, testosterone, T3/T4, naltrexone, SAMe, and zinc cannot be precisely estimated in light of the limited available data. Studies on lamotrigine and pindolol reported negative results. According to our results, aripiprazole and lithium may be considered by clinicians as potential effective augmentative strategies in TRD, although the data regarding lithium are somewhat controversial. Reliable conclusions about the other molecules cannot be drawn. Further controlled comparative studies, standardized in terms of design, doses, and duration of the augmentative treatments, are needed to formulate definitive conclusions.     

Modified cassava starch/poly(vinyl alcohol) blend films plasticized by glycerol: Structure and properties

We report a systematic investigation on the structure–property relationships in glycerol-plasticized poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)/cassava starch blends prepared via solution casting. In particular, PVA mixed with native, low-oxidized, high-oxidized, and pregelatinized cassava starches were characterized by means of SEM, XRD, FTIR, thermal analysis and mechanical testing and the immiscible systems were received. Burial tests over a period of several days suggested the preferential degradation of the starch and glycerol component (as indicated by the absence of FTIR signatures of those components) and the amorphous phase of PVA (as indicated by the enhanced crystallinity index of the degraded samples). The rheological properties of the blends seem to dictate their morphological characteristics that, in turn, have a profound impact on their mechanical properties. In that sense, the study highlights promising strategies for the development of a new family of polymeric materials that combine their biodegradable nature within superior mechanical properties. © 2020 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2020 , 137, 48848.     

Forming of Ceramics during Firing without the Application of External Pressure

A method to form thin ceramic bodies is described in which curvature in the component is introduced at high temperature without the application of an external stress. The internal stress that drives the deformation results as a consequence of cation penetration from a coating into a substrate material. This technique has been developed for alumina substrates that are coated with layers of chromia, magnesia, titania, calcia, silica, and iron oxide. Normalized deflections of segment height to sample thickness ( A/t ) of up to 10 were observed for samples with beam geometry and A/t values of 4 were obtained for disks. The magnitude of the deflection is dependent on the amount of dopant that is applied, as well as the soak temperature and time. An analytical model has been developed to describe the magnitude of the deflections. The best agreement with the experimental data is obtained when the deflections are treated as occurring at high temperature, where the resistance to bending from stiffness effects is reduced. This forming method is shown to be suitable to produce shapes of moderate complexity, such as ceramic wave springs.     

Processing and Mechanical Properties of Ti3SiC2: II, Effect of Grain Size and Deformation Temperature

In this article, the second part of a two-part study, we report on the mechanical behavior of Ti₃SiC₂. In particular, we have evaluated the mechanical response of fine-grained (3–5 μm) Ti₃SiC₂ in simple compression and flexure tests, and we have compared the results with those of coarse-grained (100–200 μm) Ti₃SiC₂. These tests have been conducted in the 25°–1300°C temperature range. At ambient temperature, the fine- and coarse-grained microstructures exhibit excellent damage-tolerant properties. In both cases, failure is brittle up to ∼1200°C. At 1300°C, both microstructures exhibit plastic deformation (>20%) in flexure and compression. The fine-grained material exhibits higher strength compared with the coarse-grained material at all temperatures. Although the coarse-grained material is not susceptible to thermal shock (up to 1400°C), the fine-grained material thermally shocks gradually between 750° and 1000°C. The results presented herein provide evidence for two important aspects of the mechanical behavior of Ti₃SiC₂: (i) inelastic deformation entails basal slip and damage formation in the form of voids, grain-boundary cracks, kinking, and delamination of individual grains, and (ii) the initiation of damage does not result in catastrophic failure, because Ti₃SiC₂ can confine the spatial extent of the damage.     

Computer-aided optimum design and NC milling of planar cam mechanisms

In the present paper a computer-aided procedure for optimum design and NC milling of cam mechanisms is introduced. In the first part of the paper a non-linear programming optimization technique, to design a cam mechanism with optimum transfer functions and minimum dimensions, is presented. Furthermore, considering the interpolation facilities of the available NC milling machine, a procedure to generate the cam NC-code, enabling the achievement of the desired cam accuracy and of the permitted transfer functions deviations, is introduced. This procedure also leads to a significant reduction of the NC code size. An application of the developed CAD-CAM system is demonstrated. Cams, designed and manufactured with the aid of the presented procedure, are tested by measuring the follower acceleration and comparing it with the theoretical one.     

An Algorithm for Adaptive Mean Filtering and Its Hardware Implementation

Noise due to the sensor and the electronics of a camera is an undesirable issue in any machine vision application. Such noise tends to corrupt images and to obstruct any further analysis. An algorithm to detect and cancel such noise, using statistical methods, is presented in this paper. The proposed algorithm is an adaptive mean filter, which filters out image regions that are found to be noise corrupted. The efficiency of the proposed filter was examined both qualitatively and quantitatively, by software simulation in several noisy conditions. The main advantage of the filter in hand is that it is appropriate for hardware implementation and can be easily incorporated to smart cameras. The hardware implementation of the filter is also presented in this paper. This implementation aims at time critical applications such as machine vision, inspection and visual surveillance. Ioannis Gasteratos holds a Diploma in Electrical Engineering from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Democritus University of Thrace, Greece, 2004. His research interests include digital VLSI design, computer architectures and artificial intelligence. He is a member of the IEEE, and a member of the Technical Chamber of Greece (TEE). Antonios Gasteratos is a Lecturer of Robotics in the Department of Production and Management, Democritus University of Thrace, Greece. He holds a PhD from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Democritus University of Thrace, Greece, 1999. During 2001–2003 he was a visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Democritus Univesrsity of Thrace. He serves as a reviewer to numerous of Scientific Journals and International Conferences. His research interests are mainly in computer and robot vision and sensory data fusion. He is a member of the IEEE, the IAPR, the EURASIP, the Hellenic Society of Artificial Intelligence (SETN) and the Technical Chamber of Greece (TEE). Ioannis Andreadis received the Diploma Degree from the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, DUTH, Greece, in 1983 and the MSc and PhD Degrees from the University of Manchester Institute of Science & Technology, UK, in 1985 and 1989, respectively. His research interests are mainly in Intelligent Systems, Machine Vision and VLSI based computing architectures. He joined the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, DUTH in 1993. He is a member of the Editorial Board of the Pattern Recognition Journal, TEE and IEEE.     

Process modeling for doped regions formation on high efficiency crystalline silicon solar cells

Process modeling approaches derived from CMOS industry are successfully applied in the Photovoltaic industry, in order to provide guidance on the design of the doped regions. The accurate prediction of the dopant diffusion and activation kinetics, as well the oxide growth rate, are essential for the adequate profile engineering. The latter is vital for a cost effective optimization of the cell operation. In addition, in the case of ion implantation, TCAD modeling is also necessary for the monitoring of the damage evolution and its optimized reduction. Indeed, high levels of residual defects are found to deteriorate the electrical properties of the doped regions, as they act as recombination centers for Shockley-Read-Hall recombination and thus limit the minority carrier lifetimes. Designing optimum anneal strategies is an important objective of the TCAD modeling approach. In this paper we are presenting an overview of our developments to optimize TCAD simulations for doped regions formation used in high efficiency crystalline silicon solar cells. The modeling studies cover the two major dopant techniques (tube diffusion and ion implantation) for each dopant (Boron and Phosphorus).     

Diffusion and oxidation phenomena at elevated temperatures in the contact area between hardened steel and various PVD coatings

Growing cost reduction trends in machining applications has led to a significant increase of cutting speeds and process temperatures. In this way, oxidation and diffusion mechanisms in the contact area between chip and tool become substantial, affecting the tool performance.In this paper, diffusion and oxidation interactions at 800 °C among various PVD coated cemented carbide inserts, hardened steel counterparts and low oxygen atmosphere will be introduced. The experiments were conducted under adjustable ambient conditions by a device, developed for this purpose. The coated specimens were fastened inside an electrical heating unit in a controlled gas atmosphere, allowing their contact with steel specimens at a desired pressure and temperature. During the experiments, periodic intervals of the applied pressure were followed by brief non-contact pauses, to avoid any permanent welding between coating and counterpart. For providing insight on the effect of diffusion and oxidation on the films' chemical composition and mechanical properties, coatings' cross sections in the film contact area were investigated by EDX-line scanning. The results show a considerable deterioration of the films' mechanical properties, which can be attributed more to coatings' oxidation and less to diffusion.     

Autonomous Vehicle Emergency Recovery Tool: A Cooperative Robotic System for Car Extraction

Vehicles have been proven to be an ideal means for terrorists because they can be meticulously prepared well in advance before being deployed in urban and public places. To increase the risk and burden of explosive ordnance disposal teams, third‐party vehicles have also been used to block the access path to the explosive loaded vehicle. In this paper, we present a multirobot system that can remove vehicles from confined spaces with delicate handling, swiftly and in any direction to a safer disposal point. The new lifting robots, capable of omnidirectional movement, autonomously underride the identified vehicle and dock to its wheels for a synchronized lifting and extraction. The validity and efficiency of the novel robotic system is illustrated via experiments in an indoor parking lot, demonstrating successful autonomous navigation, docking, lifting, and extraction of a conventional car for a total covered distance of 20 m.