| 1. |
- Curreri, Chiara, et al.
(författare)
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The influence of occupation type and complexity on cognitive performance in older adults
- 2022
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Ingår i: Psychiatry Research. - : Elsevier BV. - 0925-4927 .- 1872-7506. ; 326
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Sociodemographic factors, such as education and occupation, may influence the individual's cognitive reserve. We explored the extent to which the type and complexity of previous work activities influence cognitive performance (evaluated with Mini-Mental State Examination, MMSE, and the Animal Naming Test, ANT) in 799 older people with or without brain damage. The presence of cortical/subcortical ischemic brain lesions and right/left hippocampal atrophy was derived from magnetic resonance imaging. We found that individuals who had done intellectual work had better MMSE and ANT scores than their counterparts in the presence of brain lesions or hippocampal atrophy. Among the manual workers there were significant differences between the MMSE scores of individuals with and without brain damage (mean MMSE difference (2.09 [SD: 0.68], p=0.01), but not among the intellectuals (0.19 [SD: 0.29], p=0.36) nor the service providers (1.67 [SD: 0.55], p=0.21). Occupations involving more complex dealings with people were associated with better MMSE scores in the presence of brain lesions [β=-0.41, 95%CI: -0.72,-0.09] and hippocampal atrophy [β=-0.29, 95%CI:-0.58,-0.001]. These results indicate that in more cognitively stimulating work with greater social interaction may help older individuals preserve cognitive functions, even in the presence of brain damage.
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| 2. |
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| 3. |
- Delmonte, Barbara, et al.
(författare)
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Aeolian dust in East Antarctica (EPICA-Dome C and Vostok): provenance during glacial ages over the last 800 kyr.
- 2008
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Ingår i: GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS. - 0094-8276. ; 35:7
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Aeolian mineral dust archived in Antarctic ice cores represents a key proxy for Quaternary climate evolution. The longest and most detailed dust and climate sequences from polar ice are provided today by the Vostok and by the EPICA-Dome C (EDC) ice cores. Here we investigate the geographic provenance of dust windborne to East Antarctica during Early and Middle Pleistocene glacial ages using strontium and neodymium isotopes as tracers. The isotopic signature of Antarctic dust points towards a dominant South American origin during Marine Isotopic Stage (MIS) 8, 10, 12, and back to MIS 16 and 20 as deduced from EDC core. Data provide evidence for a persistent overall westerly circulation pattern allowing efficient transfer of dust from South America to the interior of Antarctica over the last 800 kyr. Some small but significant dissimilarity between old and recent glacial ages suggests a slightly reduced Patagonian contribution during ancient glaciations.
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| 4. |
- Delmonte, Barbara, et al.
(författare)
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Aeolian dust in the Talos Dome ice core (East Antarctica, Pacific/Ross Sea sector) : Victoria Land versus remote sources over the last two climate cycles
- 2010
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Ingår i: Journal of Quaternary Science. - : Wiley. - 0267-8179 .- 1099-1417. ; 25:8, s. 1327-1337
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- A new ice core (TALDICE) drilled at Tabs Dome (East Antarctica, Ross Sea sector) preserves a ca. 250 ka long record of palaeoclimate and atmospheric history. We investigate dust variability and provenance at the site during glacial periods and the Holocene through the Sr-Nd isotopic composition of ice core dust and potential source areas (PSA). We provide new isotopic data on dust sources from Victoria Land such as regoliths, glacial drifts, aeolian sands and beach deposits. Some of these sources are located at high altitude and are known to have been ice free throughout the Pleistocene. The major features of the TALDICE dust record are very similar to those from central East Antarctica. During glacial times, South America was the dominant dust supplier for Tabs Dome as well as for the entire East Antarctic plateau. Conversely, during the Holocene the principal input of mineral dust at Tabs Dome probably derives from proximal sources which are the ice-free areas of northern Victoria Land, located at similar altitude with respect to the drilling site. Atmospheric mobilisation of dust from these neighbouring areas and transport inland to Tabs Dome can be ultimately associated with advection of maritime air masses from the Pacific/Ross Sea region. Copyright (C) 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
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| 5. |
- Delmonte, B, et al.
(författare)
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Causes of dust size variability in central East Antarctica (Dome B):Atmospheric transport from expanded South American sources during Marine Isotope Stage 2
- 2017
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Ingår i: Quaternary Science Reviews. - : Elsevier. - 0277-3791 .- 1873-457X. ; 168, s. 55-68
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We here investigate the spatial and temporal variability of eolian dust particle sorting recorded in the Dome B (77 05 S, 94 55 E) ice core, central East Antarctica, during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 2. We address the question whether such changes reflect variable transport pathways from a unique source area or rather a variable apportionment from diverse Southern Hemisphere sources transported at different elevation in the troposphere. The Sr-Nd radiogenic isotope composition of glacial dust samples as well as single-particle Raman mineralogy support the hypothesis of a single dust provenance both for coarse and fine mode dust events at Dome B. The southern South American provenance of glacial dust in Antarctica deduced from these results indicate a dust composition coherent with a mixture of volcanic material and minerals derived from metamorphic and plutonic rocks. Additionally, Dome B glacial samples contain aragonite particles along with diatom valves of marine benthic/epiphytic species and freshwater species living today in the northern Antarctic Peninsula and southern South America. These data suggest contribution from the exposed Patagonian continental shelf and glacial outwash plains of southern Patagonia at the time when sea level reached its minimum. Our results confirm that dust sorting is controlled by the relative intensity of the two main patterns of tropospheric dust transport onto the inner Plateau, i.e. fast low-level advection and long-range high-altitude transport including air subsidence over Antarctica.
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| 6. |
- Delmonte, Barbara, et al.
(författare)
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Holocene dust in East Antarctica : Provenance and variability in time and space
- 2020
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Ingår i: The Holocene. - : SAGE Publications. - 0959-6836 .- 1477-0911. ; 30:4, s. 546-558
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In this paper, we provide a comprehensive overview of the state-of-knowledge of dust flux and variability in time and space in different sectors of East Antarctica during the Holocene. By integrating the literature data with new evidences, we discuss the dust flux and grain-size variability during the current interglacial and its provenance in the innermost part of the East Antarctic plateau as well as in peripheral regions located close to the Transantarctic Mountains. The local importance of aeolian mineral dust aerosol deflated from low-elevation areas of peripheral East Antarctica is also discussed in the light of new data from several coastal, low-elevation sites.
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| 7. |
- Varotto, Claudio, et al.
(författare)
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A pilot study of eDNA metabarcoding to estimate plant biodiversity by an alpine glacier core (Adamello glacier, North Italy)
- 2021
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Ingår i: Scientific Reports. - : Springer Nature. - 2045-2322. ; 11:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Current biodiversity loss is a major concern and thus biodiversity assessment of modern ecosystems is compelling and needs to be contextualized on a longer timescale. High Throughput Sequencing (HTS) is progressively becoming a major source of data on biodiversity time series. In this multi proxy study, we tested, for the first time, the potential of HTS to estimate plant biodiversity archived in the surface layers of a temperate alpine glacier, amplifying the trnL barcode for vascular plants from eDNA of firn samples. A 573 cm long core was drilled by the Adamello glacier and cut into sections; produced samples were analyzed for physical properties, stable isotope ratio, and plant biodiversity by eDNA metabarcoding and conventional light microscopy analysis. Results highlighted the presence of pollen and plant remains within the distinct layers of snow, firn and ice. While stable isotope ratio showed a scarcely informative pattern, DNA metabarcoding described distinct plant species composition among the different samples, with a broad taxonomic representation of the biodiversity of the catchment area and a high-ranking resolution. New knowledge on climate and plant biodiversity changes of large catchment areas can be obtained by this novel approach, relevant for future estimates of climate change effects.
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