Heavy rainfall events recorded in sediments of the TT Lake (southern-central Tibetan Plateau) since AD 440

Abstract HKT-ISTP 2013 B

Forest Shink Plan Using a Carbon Offset System

In April 2005, Canada announced the introduction of new systems that could make the best use of market mechanisms, such as the Climate Fund, the Large Final Emitter System, and the Carbon Offset System, in order to achieve the reductions quota during the first commitment period (2008-2012). The Carbon Offset System has very high potential as a system able to push forward the forest sink policy, as it can help companies obtain credits for the GHG sink through forest sink activities recognized by the Kyoto Protocol (Paragraph 3 and 4, Clause 3). It also enables companies to trade GHG sink credits through the domestic emissions trade market. If the Carbon Offset System, which fully uses market mechanisms, is to be applied in Korea during the second commitment period (2013-2017) when Korea will have to deal with the obligations to reduce GHG emissions, it will be applied mostly to the expansion of the forest sink, through active forest management activities, such as afforestation, reforestation, and deforestation － given Korea has far fewer forest areas than Canada. In this case, it will be possible to increase the efficiency of the system by designing and operating it in a manner suitable for the conditions in Korea, including issuing domestic GHG sink credits to each sink developed through forest management, purchasing the credits, or providing additional subsidies. Forest owners might receive economic incentives through this, and it can also encourage new outside investments, such as forestry investments made by enterprises as part of their social contribution efforts

On Temnocephala axenos Monticelli, 1898 (Platyhelminthes, Temnocephalida): Taxonomic status and designation of a neotype

Temnocephala axenos Monticelli, 1898 was described based on specimens from an unidentified host collected in Blumenau, Santa Catarina, Brazil. Information about type locality was imprecise and the host was later identified as Aegla laevis (Latreille, 1818). However, it is known that A. laevis is not present on the eastern side of the Andes. Also, only histological preparations from one specimen studied by Monticelli are currently available in the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin, but it showed none of the taxonomic characters needed for the characterization of the species. Although the updated description of the species based on Uruguayan specimens, neither the author nor the several previous studies about the species showed a search for the type material, a resolution for the misidentification of the type host or the imprecise type locality due to the subsequent geographical division of the municipality cited in the description. The Uruguayan specimens were not even geographically close to the type locality and a neotype was not designed to validate the species' taxonomic status again. Specimens from Santa Catarina and Paraná States, Brazil, were studied, as well as restudied Argentinean specimens. The new data were compared with the update description of the species. The historical background and the discussion about geographical origins and hosts of the species, as well as a designation of a neotype, allow comparative material of the type locality and type host to exist, eliminating doubts about the identification of T. axenos.Fil: Alves Seixas, Samantha. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. División de Zoología Invertebrados; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Amato, Suzana. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; BrasilFil: Amato, J. F. R.. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; BrasilFil: Daut, L. C. C.. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; BrasilFil: Damborenea, Maria Cristina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. División de Zoología Invertebrados; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

Late Quaternary hydrological changes inferred from lake level fluctuations of Nam Co (Tibetan Plateau, China)

This paper discusses the range of lake level changes, using hydro-acoustic techniques and sediment core data for Lake Nam Co in Central Tibet (China). This second largest Tibetan lake is situated at an elevation of 4718 m a.s.l. Lake level changes with different high stands documented by beach remnants are widespread on the Tibetan Plateau and also in Lake Nam Co. They indicate significant changes in the hydrological system triggered by the monsoonal circulation. Using hydro-acoustic techniques submerged beach remains at approximately 10/15 m, 30 m, 45 m, 70 m and 95 m below present day lake level were detected, indicating a more negative water balance than today. The -10/-15 m lake level is dated to an age equal to the Little Ice Age. All deeper lake levels are assumed to have been formed prior to similar to 10000 cal BP. Folded older sediments, detected in the hydro-acoustic profiles indicate a possible larger extent of the glaciers during or prior to the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). This is followed by a low stand or even by possible desiccation of the entire lake basin during or after the LGM. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved

The Phosphodiesterase Inhibitor IBMX Blocks the Potassium Channel THIK-1 from the Extracellular Side

The two-pore domain potassium channel (K2P-channel) THIK-1 has several predicted protein kinase A (PKA) phosphorylation sites. In trying to elucidate whether THIK-1 is regulated via PKA, we expressed THIK-1 channels in a mammalian cell line (CHO cells) and used the phosphodiesterase inhibitor 3-isobutyl-1-methyl-xanthine (IBMX) as a pharmacological tool to induce activation of PKA. Using the whole-cell patch-clamp recording, we found that THIK-1 currents were inhibited by application of IBMX with an IC50 of 120 µM. Surprisingly, intracellular application of IBMX or of the second messenger cAMP via the patch pipette had no effect on THIK-1 currents. In contrast, extracellular application of IBMX produced a rapid and reversible inhibition of THIK-1. In patch-clamp experiments with outside-out patches, THIK-1 currents were also inhibited by extracellular application of IBMX. Expression of THIK-1 channels in Xenopus oocytes was used to compare wild-type channels with mutated channels. Mutation of the putative PKA phosphorylation sites did not change the inhibitory effect of IBMX on THIK-1 currents. Mutational analysis of all residues of the (extracellular) helical cap of THIK-1 showed that mutation of the arginine residue at position 92, which is in the linker between cap helix 2 and pore helix 1, markedly reduced the inhibitory effect of IBMX. This flexible linker region, which is unique for each K2P-channel subtype, may be a possible target of channel-specific blockers. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: The potassium channel THIK-1 is strongly expressed in the central nervous system. We studied the effect of 3-isobutyl-1-methyl-xanthine (IBMX) on THIK-1 currents. IBMX inhibits breakdown of cAMP and thus activates protein kinase A (PKA). Surprisingly, THIK-1 current was inhibited when IBMX was applied from the extracellular side of the membrane, but not from the intracellular side. Our results suggest that IBMX binds directly to the channel and that the inhibition of THIK-1 current was not related to activation of PKA