Iceberg Effect Research Articles

Consciousness and Scientific Discovery: The Iceberg Effect.

Consciousness and Scientific Discovery: The Iceberg Effect.

MEDICATION ERRORS: CAUSE & EFFECT – A DESCRIPTIVE STUDY

Medication errors are a leading cause of injury and avoidable harm in healthcare systems across the world2. The objective of this study was to nd the rate, types, cause and effect of medication error for the period of January – December, 2022 in a tertiary care hospital. Adescriptive study design was adopted to collect data by convenience sampling technique from 20 medication error reporting forms using NABH medication error guidelines. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and results showed that the average medication error rate is 0.3/1000 patient days, 40% (n = 8) of errors were dispensing error, major cause for error (30%, n = 6) was wrong patient identication and 55% (n = 11) errors caused no harm to the patient. The results conclude that it is the iceberg effect and huge errors are not reported. So, medication safety that is medication without harm and a safe medication error reporting system must be fostered

Theoretical Framework for the Study of Genetic Diseases Caused by Dominant Alleles.

We propose a theoretical basis for analyzing several features of genetic diseases caused by dominant alleles, including: disease prevalence, genotype penetrance, and the relationship between causal genotype frequency and disease frequency. In addition, we provide a theoretical framework for accurate diagnosis and clinical approaches for disease study, including two examples in which inaccurate and incomplete diagnoses affect the estimates of disease prevalence: First, the disease iceberg effect shows that disease prevalence is often underestimated due to errors introduced by inaccurate diagnosis; second, because lifetime risk of disease is cumulative, and therefore an increasing function of age, measurements of prevalence are inaccurate if people of all ages are not included. Finally, we discuss the aggregation of genetic diseases. We identify theoretical and computational deficiencies associated with using the sibling recurrence-risk ratio as a measure of familial aggregation. We develop an alternative concept of aggregation and propose an associated measure that does not experience the deficiencies. Throughout, we provide clinicians and researchers practical implications of our theoretical framework.

Impact of Concrete Cracking: Case Study in Chilean Construction Projects

The construction sector is one of the most relevant to the world economy. Within it, the most used material is concrete given its excellent construction characteristics. However, this material suffers from different issues that can severely affect its performance and thus a construction project’s productivity. Of these issues, cracking is one of the most common and significant. It can affect the three most important aspects of construction: cost, deadline, and quality. Although its importance is recognized within the construction industry, to this day no clear vision exists as to the specific impact that cracking can have on a project. Consequently, this study aimed to determine that impact on mining, electrical, and civil infrastructure construction projects through a statistical analysis of 13 completed projects that suffered cracking. To obtain this information, companies involved in the construction of those projects in Chile were contacted. Additionally, this statistical analysis was complemented by a survey targeting professionals in the field who have dealt with cracking situations, with the objective of comparing the statistical results with the personal/professional survey responses. Analysis of project records indicated that concrete cracks represented a low percentage of total construction cost. This correlated with the surveyed professionals’ perceptions; however, the lack of proper recordkeeping by construction companies creates annual losses of several million in rehabilitation work, besides possibly hiding the real impact of cracking, creating an iceberg effect.

Activating parvalbumin-expressing interneurons produces iceberg effects in mouse primary visual cortex neurons

In the primary visual cortex (V1) inhibitory interneurons form a local circuit with excitatory pyramidal cells to produce distinct receptive field properties. Parvalbumin-expressing interneurons (Pvalb+) are the most common subclass of V1 interneurons, and studies of orientation tuning indicate they shape pyramidal stimulus selectivity by balancing excitation with inhibition relative to the spike threshold. The iceberg effect, where subthreshold responses have broader tuning than spiking responses, predicts that other receptive field properties besides orientation tuning should also be affected by this balance mediated by Pvalb+ cells. To test this, we measured receptive field size and visual latency of pyramidal cells while Pvalb+ activity was optogenetically increased. We found that amplifying Pvalb+ input to pyramidal cells significantly increased their latency and decreased their receptive field size, which corroborates the proposed role of Pvalb+ interneurons in sculpting pyramidal tuning by controlling cortical gain.

Using novel methods to track British and Irish Ice Sheet dynamics since the Late Pleistocene, along the west Porcupine Bank, NE Atlantic

Extensive research has been undertaken to elucidate the glacial history of the British Irish Ice Sheet (BIIS) in the NE Atlantic. BRITICE-CHRONO has compiled terrestrial and marine based evidence, to provide an empirical reconstruction of ice sheet expansion and retreat during the Late Pleistocene. Across the Irish margin, particular focus has been given to seafloor sediments which contain ice-rafted debris (IRD). However, there are few publications on IRD from areas proximal to the maximum extent of the BIIS, which would offer further insights on the behaviour of the ice sheet during (de)glacial events. Previous exploratory surveys of the west Porcupine Bank (wPB) visually identified IRD on the seafloor and these present a new study site to investigate the extent of the BIIS and the course of its icebergs. Moreover, there are uncertainties about the effects of icebergs on the marine life and cold-water corals occupying the nearby Porcupine Bank Canyon. Assessing a sediment core containing an IRD analogue for the wPB would thus, have a dual purpose. In the past however, coring missions of the wPB using traditional coring methods (i.e. piston and gravity cores) were unsuccessful. Here, we utilized a novel ROV-mounted vibrocoring procedure to capture a 0.75 m IRD-bearing sediment core from the wPB. Then further novel analytical methods (computed tomography-based IRD-detection) were used to quantify IRD every 0.02 cm to provide the highest resolution record of BIIS related IRD to date. From this, several fluxes of IRD deposition onto the wPB between 31.6 and 9 ka BP were revealed and corroborated by other published records from across the NE Atlantic. It was shown that the wPB IRD fluxes occur simultaneously with other parts of the margin. The IRD signal also shows that iceberg calving occurred on the wPB during the Younger Dryas. Grain-size analysis of the core allowed for a reconstruction and interpretation of the palaeoenvironmental conditions during these IRD flux events and shows that BIIS-derived glaciers had a major impact on hydrodynamic conditions in the wPB. Subsequently, intensive scouring led to a major hiatus in the core during 27.3–17.2 ka BP. These results are a useful addition to BIIS literature on this part of the shelf. Furthermore, it shows that bottom currents were influenced by (de)glacial events, an important finding when considering the presence of nearby current-dependant benthos.

Effect of position of OH group in isomeric butanediols on intermolecular interaction with Choline Acetate: A thermodynamic study at different temperatures

The prominent effect of the position of hydroxyl groups in isomeric butanediols i.e.1,3-butanediol (1,3-BTD), 1,2-butanediol (1,2-BTD) and 2,3-butanediol (2,3-BTD) on intermolecular interactions with Choline Acetate has been investigated using various thermophysical parameters such as density ρ, speed of sound u, refractive index nD and specific conductivity κ over different concentration range and at temperatures varying from 293.15 to 323.15 K at atmospheric pressure. To gain further insight the derived parameters such as apparent molar volumes Vϕ, apparent molar isentropic compressibilities Ksϕ, and their infinite parameters mainly limiting apparent molar volumes at infinite dilution Vϕo, limiting apparent molar expansibilities Eϕo, limiting isentropic compression Kϕo, molar refraction Rm and infinite molar conductance ̂mo values have been calculated. The least values obtained for apparent molar volumes and compressibilities in case of 1,3-BTD mixtures are attributed to its highest ability to form intramolecular hydrogen bonding among isomeric butanediols and thus lesser availability to interact with Choline Acetate molecules. However for 2,3-BTD and 1,2-BTD binary mixtures the results have been explained on the basis of hydrophobic or iceberg effect where alkyl groups are present either on one end (1,2-BTD) or at both ends (2,3-BTD) while OH groups are located at vicinal carbon atoms.

From unloading to trimming: studying bruising in individual slaughter cattle.

Livestock bruising is both an animal welfare concern and a detriment to the economic value of carcasses. Understanding the causes of bruising is challenging due to the numerous factors that have been shown to be related to bruise prevalence. While most cattle bruising studies collect and analyze data on truckload lots of cattle, this study followed a large number (n = 585) of individual animals from unloading through postmortem processing at five different slaughter plants. Both visual bruise presence and location was recorded postmortem prior to carcass trimming. By linking postmortem data to animal sex, breed, trailer compartment, and traumatic events at unloading, a rich analysis of a number of factors related to bruise prevalence was developed. Results showed varying levels of agreement with other published bruising studies, underscoring the complexity of assessing the factors that affect bruising. Bruising prevalence varied across different sex class types (P < 0.001); 36.5% of steers [95% confidence interval (CI): 31.7, 41.6; n = 378], 52.8% of cows (45.6, 60.0; 193), and 64.3% of bulls (no CI calculated due to sample size; 14) were bruised. There was a difference in bruise prevalence by trailer compartment (P = 0.035) in potbelly trailers, indicating that cattle transported in the top deck were less likely to be bruised (95% CI: 26.6, 40.4; n = 63) compared to cattle that were transported in the bottom deck (95% CI: 39.6, 54.2; n = 89). Results indicated that visual assessment of bruising underestimated carcass bruise trimming. While 42.6% of the carcasses were visibly bruised, 57.9% of carcasses were trimmed due to bruising, suggesting that visual assessment is not able to capture all of the carcass loss associated with bruising. Furthermore, bruises that appeared small visually were often indicators of larger, subsurface bruising, creating an “iceberg effect” of trim loss due to bruising.

Probabilistic Modelling of Icebergs in the Russian Arctic Seas

The paper aims at providing safe development of oil and gas deposits in the offshore area of the Kara and Barents seas where promising hydrocarbon deposits are located. For these water areas marine oil and gas structures construction projects are designed, primarily in connection with the plans for oil and gas fields’ development. Icebergs belong to such kind of drifting ice features, the action of which in most cases neither floating, nor stationary marine hydraulic structures can withstand.The danger of a large drifting iceberg effect on exploration and production platforms, oil and gas pipelines is obvious, therefore, the iceberg – structure hit probability prediction is of great applied importance.The aim of the paper is probabilistic modelling of icebergs to prevent their collision with structures, the Kara and Barents seas taken as an example.

Quantifying the arthritis pyramid for Ontario by using comprehensive community health data

Introduction: Arthritis is a leading cause of functional impairment and health care utilization in Canada and in the Western world. The aim of this investigation is to quantify the frequency, severity, and magnitude of arthritis in Ontario, Canada, using recognized databases supplemented with comprehensive, population-based survey data to facilitate informed, evidence-based planning. Materials and Methods: Data from Vital Statistics (2011, mortality), Canadian Institute for Health Information (2013, Discharge Abstract Database), Census (2011, demographic information), National Ambulatory Care Reporting System (2013, emergency department visits), and the Canadian Community Health Survey (2011/12) were used to construct an arthritis pyramid for residents of Ontario aged 15 years and older. Results and Discussion: Although arthritis is not a common cause of death, it is an important reason for hospitalizations and emergency room visits. Its greatest impact lies in the prevalence of individuals who are affected; approximately 1.8 million individuals in Ontario, and the resulting negative impact on functional ability, health care utilization, and health-care costs. The impact on society is immense and is expected to worsen as the population ages. Conclusion: A nationwide health care strategy to prevent and manage all forms of arthritis is crucial. In order to do this, we must first understand its prevalence and impact on society. This study provides a detailed information on the iceberg effect for arthritis and offers valid information for regional planning, provincial comparisons and an illustration for similar analyses nationally and internationally.

How do icebergs affect the Greenland ice sheet under pre-industrial conditions? – a model study with a fully coupled ice-sheet–climate model

Abstract. Icebergs have a potential impact on climate since they release freshwater over a widespread area and cool the ocean due to the take-up of latent heat. Yet, so far, icebergs have never been modelled using an ice-sheet model coupled to a global climate model. Thus, in climate models their impact on climate has been restricted to the ocean. In this study, we investigate the effect of icebergs on the climate of the mid- to high latitudes and the Greenland ice sheet itself within a fully coupled ice-sheet (GRenoble model for Ice Shelves and Land Ice, or GRISLI)–earth-system (iLOVECLIM) model set-up under pre-industrial climate conditions. This set-up enables us to dynamically compute the calving sites as well as the ice discharge and to close the water cycle between the climate and the cryosphere model components. Further, we analyse the different impact of moving icebergs compared to releasing the ice discharge at the calving sites directly. We performed a suite of sensitivity experiments to investigate the individual role of the different factors that influence the impact of the ice release on the ocean: release of ice discharge as icebergs versus as freshwater fluxes, and freshening and latent heat effects. We find that icebergs enhance the sea-ice thickness around Greenland, thereby cooling the atmosphere and increasing the Greenland ice sheet's height. Melting the ice discharge directly at the calving sites, thereby cooling and freshening the ocean locally, results in a similar ice-sheet configuration and climate as the simulation where icebergs are explicitly modelled. Yet, the simulation where the ice discharge is released into the ocean at the calving sites while taking up the latent heat homogeneously underestimates the cooling effect close to the ice-sheet margin and overestimates it further away, thereby causing a reduced ice-sheet thickness in southern Greenland. We conclude that in our fully coupled atmosphere–ocean–cryosphere model set-up the spatial distribution of the take-up of latent heat related to iceberg melting has a bigger impact on the climate than the input of the iceberg's meltwater. Moreover, we find that icebergs affect the ice sheet's geometry even under pre-industrial equilibrium conditions due to their enhancing effect on sea ice, which causes a colder prevailing climate.

The Matthew Effect and widely prescribed pharmaceuticals lacking environmental monitoring: Case study of an exposure-assessment vulnerability

Assessing ambient exposure to chemical stressors often begins with time-consuming and costly monitoring studies to establish environmental occurrence. Both human and ecological toxicology are currently challenged by the unknowns surrounding low-dose exposure/effects, compounded by the reality that exposure undoubtedly involves mixtures of multiple stressors whose identities and levels can vary over time. Long absent from the assessment process, however, is whether the full scope of the identities of the stressors is sufficiently known. The Matthew Effect (a psychosocial phenomenon sometimes informally called the “bandwagon effect” or “iceberg effect,” among others) may adversely bias or corrupt the exposure assessment process. The Matthew Effect is evidenced by decisions that base the selection of stressors to target in environmental monitoring surveys on whether they have been identified in prior studies, rather than considering the possibility that additional, but previously unreported, stressors might also play important roles in an exposure scenario. The possibility that the Matthew Effect might influence the scope of environmental stressor research is explored for the first time in a comprehensive case study that examines the preponderance of “absence of data” (in contrast to positive data and “data of absence”) for the environmental occurrence of a very large class of potential chemical stressors associated with ubiquitous consumer use — active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). Comprehensive examination of the published data for an array of several hundred of the most frequently used drugs for whether their APIs are environmental contaminants provides a prototype example to catalyze discussion among the many disciplines involved with assessing risk. The findings could help guide the selection of those APIs that might merit targeting for environmental monitoring (based on the absence of data for environmental occurrence) as well as the prescribing of those medications that might have minimal environmental impact (based on data of absence for environmental occurrence).

Islands of Ice: Influence of Free-Drifting Antarctic Icebergs on Pelagic Marine Ecosystems

Regional warming around West Antarctica, including the Antarctic Peninsula, is related to the retreat of glaciers that has resulted in significant ice mass loss in recent decades (De Angelis and Skvarca, 2003). Large icebergs (> 18.5 km long) originating from ice shelves in the Ross and Weddell Seas (Scambos et al., 2000) are attributed primarily to major loss events in these regions. Once free, icebergs become entrained in the counterclockwise Antarctic Coastal Current (Figure 1), eventually entering a strong northward flow in the Northwest Weddell Sea. We examined free-drifting icebergs in the Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean in December 2005, aboard ARSV Laurence M. Gould, and in June 2008 and March/April 2009, aboard RVIB Nathaniel B. Palmer. Prior to these studies, little information was available about the effects of icebergs on the pelagic realm. On these cruises, we investigated the iceberg ecosystem (Smith et al., 2007; Smith, 2011) to assess the degree to which icebergs are (1) hotspots of biological activity across multiple trophic levels, and (2) focal points for enhanced export of organic carbon to the deep sea. An important focus of this work was to examine the fundamental mechanisms by which icebergs affect the pelagic ecosystem, including physical disruption and effects on the availability of critical nutrients (e.g., iron, nitrate).

Simulating Heinrich event 1 with interactive icebergs

During the last glacial, major abrupt climate events known as Heinrich events left distinct fingerprints of ice rafted detritus, and are thus associated with iceberg armadas; the release of many icebergs into the North Atlantic Ocean. We simulated the impact of a large armada of icebergs on glacial climate in a coupled atmosphere–ocean model. In our model, dynamic-thermodynamic icebergs influence the climate through two direct effects. First, melting of the icebergs causes freshening of the upper ocean, and second, the latent heat used in the phase-transition of ice to water results in cooling of the iceberg surroundings. This cooling effect of icebergs is generally neglected in models. We investigated the role of the latent heat by performing a sensitivity experiment in which the cooling effect is switched off. At the peak of the simulated Heinrich event, icebergs lacking the latent heat flux are much less efficient in shutting down the meridional overturning circulation than icebergs that include both the freshening and the cooling effects. The cause of this intriguing result must be sought in the involvement of a secondary mechanism: facilitation of sea-ice formation, which can disturb deep water production at key convection sites, with consequences for the thermohaline circulation. We performed additional sensitivity experiments, designed to explore the effect of the more plausible distribution of the dynamic icebergs’ melting fluxes compared to a classic hosing approach with homogeneous spreading of the melt fluxes over a section in the mid-latitude North Atlantic (NA) Ocean. The early response of the climate system is much stronger in the iceberg experiments than in the hosing experiments, which must be a distribution-effect: the dynamically distributed icebergs quickly affect western NADW formation, which synergizes with direct sea-ice facilitation, causing an earlier sea-ice expansion and climatic response. Furthermore, compared to dynamic-thermodynamic icebergs, a homogeneous hosing overestimates the fresh water flux in the Eastern Ruddiman belt, causing a fresh anomaly in the Eastern North Atlantic, leading to a delayed recovery of the circulation after the event.

Simulating the impact of freshwater inputs and deep-draft icebergs formed during a MIS 6 Barents Ice Sheet collapse

[1] An intermediate complexity climate model is used to simulate the collapse of the Barents Ice Sheet during Marine Isotope Stage 6 (MIS 6; 140 ka B.P) with the purpose of investigating whether a mass input of freshwater from the collapse could have affected the convection and deep water formation in the North Atlantic Ocean. Further experiments used a coupled dynamic and thermodynamic iceberg model to determine the effects of deep-draft icebergs, rather than freshwater alone, on the ocean circulation. The results predict that the collapse of the Barents Ice Sheet had a significant impact on the meridional overturning circulation in both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Freshwater fluxes have more of an impact on the Atlantic overturning circulation during the actual release period compared to icebergs, but the bergs induce effects over longer time scales even after the pulse is removed. Freshwater fluxes of 0.15 sverdrup (Sv) and iceberg surges of 0.1 Sv trigger significant changes in the global patterns, particularly in the North Pacific where there is strengthening of the overturning circulation at the expense of that in the North Atlantic, and associated increases in Pacific sea surface temperatures. These results highlight the importance of simulating not only the correct flux but also the form of the freshwater input from ice sheet collapses appropriately.

How well do we recognise non-motor symptoms in a British Parkinson’s disease population?

Although awareness of non-motor symptoms in Parkinson's disease (PD) has recently increased, little is known about their recognition and treatment in routine clinical practice. We therefore applied non-motor rating scales for dementia, depression, anxiety and excessive daytime sleepiness to a community-ascertained cohort of 202 PD patients. Hospital case notes were reviewed for evidence that the non-motor problems had been recognized and whether any action had been taken to ameliorate or assess these symptoms. The prevalence of each non-motor problem was as follows: dementia 25.3% (95% CI 19.0, 32.4), depression 37.3% (95% CI 30.6, 44.4), anxiety 31.3% (95% CI 25.0, 38.2), excessive daytime sleepiness 59.4% (95% CI 52.2, 66.3). However, these features were only recognised in 27.2, 38.7, 9.5, and 12.8%, respectively. We did not identify any specific factor that predicted under-recognition. Our study shows that when rating scales are applied to formally assess for non-motor symptoms a large clinical 'iceberg effect' emerges with the majority of symptoms going unrecognised and untreated.

The Iceberg Effect: Behind the User Interface of Mobile Collaborative Systems

The Iceberg Effect: Behind the User Interface of Mobile Collaborative Systems

Phytoplankton composition and abundance in relation to free-floating Antarctic icebergs

Free-drifting icebergs in the Weddell Sea are expected to affect the surrounding marine ecosystem. Sampling associated with iceberg C-18a, a large tabular, free-drifting iceberg in the NW Weddell Sea, carried out from 10 March to 7 April 2009, was designed to test the hypothesis that the iceberg's presence modified phytoplankton composition and abundance. Areas that define a gradient of possible iceberg influence were sampled for phytoplankton: stations close (<1 km) and far (18 km) from iceberg C-18a, an area with numerous small icebergs, Iceberg Alley, and a control site 74 km away. Quantitative samples were obtained from Niskin bottles and counted with an inverted microscope for species abundance. Qualitative samples were collected with nets from the ship's seawater intake. Taxonomic determinations were performed with light and electron microscopy. Overall, diatoms dominated in the mixed layer (surface-∼40 m) and unidentified small flagellated and coccid cells at depth (∼100 m). Fragilariopsis nana, a diatom 2.4–15.5 μm in length, dominated numerically the phytoplankton and was most abundant at the control area. The iceberg's effect on phytoplankton composition was consistent with the hypothesis that they facilitate phytoplankton communities enriched in diatoms, as found in other productive areas of Antarctica. Near the iceberg, diatoms were most abundant, principally at depth, while small flagellate concentration diminished. However, total phytoplankton abundance was lowest at Iceberg Alley in the area of highest meltwater contribution, as indicated by low mean temperature in the mixed layer, and highest at the control site. These results suggest that during austral fall, low growth or high zooplankton grazing could be counteracting the positive effect by icebergs on phytoplankton biomass, otherwise observed in summer months.

Composition and structure of macrozooplankton and micronekton communities in the vicinity of free-drifting Antarctic icebergs

Recent warming in the Antarctic has led to increased production of icebergs; however, the ecological effects of icebergs on pelagic communities within the Southern Ocean have not been well-studied. We used a 10 m 2 MOCNESS to collect macrozooplankton and micronekton in the upper 300 m of the water column near free-drifting icebergs in the Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean during three seasons: December 2005 (late spring), June 2008 (late fall) and March-April 2009 (late summer). Communities were dominated in all three seasons by Antarctic krill ( Euphausia superba) and salps ( Salpa thompsoni), which collectively comprised 60-95% of the community wet biomass in most cases. During our spring and summer cruises, mean biomass was elevated by 3.1-4.3x at a distance of 0.37 km from large icebergs vs. 9.26 km away. These differences were not statistically significant, and no trend in biomass with distance was apparent in samples from fall 2008, when total biomass was an order of magnitude lower. Biomass levels near icebergs during Dec 2005 and Mar-Apr 2009 were comparable to values reported from marginal ice zones, suggesting that waters around icebergs support macrozooplankton and micronekton communities comparable in magnitude to those in some of the most productive areas of the Southern Ocean. Sample variance also was significantly higher within 1.85 km of icebergs during Dec 2005 and Mar-Apr 2009, reflecting increased patchiness on scales sampled by the MOCNESS (20–40×10 3 m 3 filtered per sample). This pattern was not significant during Jun 2008. Large predatory medusae were observed within 1.85 km of icebergs and in Iceberg Alley, an area through which icebergs pass frequently, but were virtually absent in areas remote from icebergs. Small euphausiids showed an inverse distribution, with low densities in areas populated by large medusae. A shift in community composition from a near-iceberg assemblage dominated by herbivores to a carnivore-dominated community in Iceberg Alley may reflect a transition from bottom-up to top-down control with increasing distance and time. Body sizes of dominant species varied seasonally but did not show consistent trends with distance from icebergs. Concentrations of photosynthetic pigments in the guts of E. superba and S. thompsoni corresponded broadly to patterns in surface chlorophyll a concentrations and were comparable to maximum gut pigment concentrations measured in animals collected from highly productive marginal ice zones. Our results suggest that the macrozooplankton and micronekton assemblages near free-drifting icebergs can be quantitatively and qualitatively different from those in surrounding, iceberg-free waters, perhaps due to both bottom-up and top-down processes as well as physical forcing by the passage of a large object through the upper ocean.

Coordinated and circumlocutory semantic naming errors are related to anterolateral temporal lobes in mild AD, amnestic mild cognitive impairment, and normal aging

Naming difficulties are characteristic of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and, to a lesser extent, of amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) patients. The association of naming impairment with anterior temporal lobe (ATL) atrophy in Semantic Dementia (SD) could be a tip of the iceberg effect, in which case the atrophy is a marker of more generalized temporal lobe pathology. Alternatively, it could reflect the existence of a functional gradient within the temporal lobes, wherein more anterior regions provide the basis for greater specificity of representation. We tested these two hypotheses in a study of 15 subjects with mild AD, 17 with aMCI, and 16 aged control subjects and showed that coordinate and circumlocutory semantic error production on the Boston Naming Test was weakly correlated with ATL gray matter density, as determined by voxel-based morphometry. Additionally, we investigated whether these errors were benefited by phonemic cues, and similarly to SD, our AD patients had small improvement. Because there is minimal gradient of temporal lobe atrophy in AD or MCI, and, therefore, no basis for a tip of the iceberg effect, these findings support the theory of a modest functional gradient in the temporal lobes, with the ATLs being involved in the naming of more specific objects.