Purpose Changes in cerebral cortical regions occur in HIV-infected patients, even in those with mild neurocognitive disorders. Working memory / attention is one of the most affected cognitive domain in these patients, worsening their quality of life. Our objective was to assess whether cortical thickness differs between HIV-infected patients with and without working memory deficit. Methods Forty-one adult HIV-infected patients with and without working memory deficit were imaged on a 1.5 T scanner. Working memory deficit was classified by composite Z scores for performance on the Digits and Letter-Number Sequencing subtests of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (third edition; WAIS-III). Cortical thickness was determined using FreeSurfer software. Differences in mean cortical thickness between groups, corrected for multiple comparisons using Monte-Carlo simulation, were examined using the query design estimate contrast tool of the FreeSurfer software. Results Greater cortical thickness in left pars opercularis of the inferior frontal gyrus, and rostral and caudal portions of the left middle frontal gyrus (cluster 1; p = .004), and left superior frontal gyrus (cluster 2; p = .004) was observed in HIV-infected patients with working memory deficit compared with those without such deficit. Negative correlations were found between WAIS-III–based Z scores and cortical thickness in the two clusters (cluster 1: ρ = –0.59; cluster 2: ρ = –0.47). Conclusion HIV-infected patients with working memory deficit have regions of greater thickness in the left frontal cortices compared with those without such deficit, which may reflect increased synaptic contacts and/or an inflammatory response related to the damage caused by HIV infection.
This paper aims to explore the production of porous Nb 2 O 5 pellets by pressing and adding anaerobic biomass (sludge) in order to evaluate the microstructure porosity. The thermal treatment temperature of the pellets varied between 300 ºC and 900 ºC. Their structural, morphological, and physical properties were measured, and the adsorption potential of Mn 2+ and their reuse were evaluated. All samples had a monoclinic phase. Density average values of samples pressed using sludge ranged between 2.45 and 2.52 g.cm -3 , while the one obtained without sludge pressing achieved higher values of around 2.72 g.cm -3 . All samples presented high porosity values after the heat treatment (above 40%), which confirms the efficiency of sludge as a means to enhance porosity. These pellets were used for Mn 2+ ions adsorption in aqueous medium. The Langmuir isotherm model was the one that achieved the best goodness-of-fit. In kinetic studies, the adsorption reaction was in accordance with second-order kinetics. Adsorbents in the form of pellets are environmentally friendly on account of their significant reuse and recycling potential. However, the particulate matter might become an environmental liability and incur high treatment costs. The samples proved to be reusable, promoting the adsorption of 67% of the Mn 2+ after the fifth reuse cycle.
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