The westernmost spur of the Tibetan Plateau stretches to Eastern Ladakh in India. It is a region which remains poorly explored because of challenging conditions and long periods of political instability. At the same time, it is one of the highest places on earth supporting angiosperm life, which goes beyond 6000 m a.s.l. here. The whole region, due its remoteness, is practically unaffected by plant invasions and direct human activities. Thus, Ladakh represents a kind of "natural experiment", providing very long gradient of elevation suitable for comparative functional ecology as well as for testing various hypotheses concerning limitations of vascular plants. Arid climate and extreme elevations are the common factors. Our team pursued the goal of systematic botanical and ecological exploration of Ladakh, started by late Leoš Klimeš. This thesis provides insight into the main vegetation types, clonality in plants, plant-plant interactions and soil phototroph communities.

Functional traits of 217 high altitude plants were studied in Eastern Ladakh (NW Himalayas, India). Changes in functional traits along altitudinal and moisture gradient were analysed. Plants were classified into 9 different habitats according to their frequency of occurence.

Submitted by Renata Lopes (renatasil82@gmail.com) on 2017-09-05T15:53:23Z No. of bitstreams: 1 juliagaiofurtadodemendonca.pdf: 4297836 bytes, checksum: 611aa9bbd15f00fc16fe7b8ca2925468 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Adriana Oliveira (adriana.oliveira@ufjf.edu.br) on 2017-09-06T11:32:11Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 juliagaiofurtadodemendonca.pdf: 4297836 bytes, checksum: 611aa9bbd15f00fc16fe7b8ca2925468 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-09-06T11:32:11Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 juliagaiofurtadodemendonca.pdf: 4297836 bytes, checksum: 611aa9bbd15f00fc16fe7b8ca2925468 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-06-19 / O Parque Estadual da Serra do Papagaio (PESP), situado na porção Meridional da Serra da Mantiqueira, sul de Minas Gerais, representa uma grande extensão de formações vegetacionais altimontanas com altitudes que alcançam 2.350 m. O objetivo deste trabalho foi conhecer a composição florística dos campos de altitude do PESP, suas relações fitogeográficas com outras áreas campestres das regiões Sul e Sudeste do Brasil e analisar a estrutura da vegetação ao longo de um gradiente altitudinal. Expedições mensais de campo foram realizadas entre maio de 2015 e outubro de 2016 para coleta de material botânico e realização dos inventários fitossociológicos. Para avaliar a estrutura da vegetação foi utilizado o método de interceptação em linha, com alocação de nove áreas abrangendo três faixas altitudinais entre 1.650 m e 2.050 m. Para analisar as relações fitogeográficas foram selecionadas 14 localidades do Sul e Sudeste do país. Foram realizadas análises de similaridade quantitativas e qualitativas além do cálculo da diversidade para cada faixa altitudinal para avaliar a formação de grupos relacionados à altitude. O primeiro capítulo traz a composição florística dos campos de altitude do PESP, onde foram encontradas 276 espécies, 159 gêneros e 48 famílias de angiospermas, sendo Asteraceae a família mais rica (58 spp.) e Baccharis o gênero mais representativo (12 spp.). Foram encontradas onze espécies sob algum grau de ameaça e duas espécies endêmicas do PESP. As análises fitogeográficas mostraram uma grande dissimilaridade florística entre as 14 localidades analisadas, indicando que as formações campestres são singulares e demandam atenção especial para a conservação. O segundo capítulo apresenta a distribuição das espécies ao longo de um gradiente altitudinal. Foram encontradas 96 espécies nas linhas amostradas, sendo Poaceae (64,3%), Melastomataceae (11,3%) e Asteraceae (8,7%) as famílias com maiores valores de cobertura. A diversidade de Shannon (H’) para cada altitude apontou um padrão similar na distribuição espacial das espécies, enquanto as análises de similaridade demonstraram um forte agrupamento das áreas localizadas em faixas altitudinais comuns, elucidando a importância da conservação dos campos de altitude para a manutenção da biodiversidade da flora altomontana. / The Parque Estadual da Serra do Papagaio (PESP) is located in the southern portion of Serra da Mantiqueira, south of Minas Gerais and represents a large expanse of altitudinal vegetation formations with altitudes that reach 2.350 m. The aim of this work was to carry out the floristic survey of the PESP altitude fields (campos de altitude), their phytogeographic relationships with other rural areas of Southern and Southeastern regions of Brazil, and to analyze the vegetation structure along an altitudinal gradient. Monthly expeditions were carried out between May 2015 and October 2016 for the collection of botanical material and the realization of phytosociological inventories. The line intercept method was used to evaluate the vegetation structure. Were inventoried nine areas covering three altitudinal ranges between 1.650 m and 2.050 m. In order to analyze the phytogeographic relations, were selected 14 localities of Brazil South and Southeast. Quantitative and qualitative similarities analyzes were carried out. In addition, the diversity index (H') were calculated for each altitudinal range in order to evaluate the formation of groups related to altitude. The first chapter presents the floristic composition of the PESP altitude fields, where 276 species, 159 genera and 48 families of angiosperms were found, with Asteraceae being the richest family (58 spp.) and Baccharis the most representative genus (12 spp.). Eleven species are in some threatness category and two species were considered endemic to the PESP. The phytogeographic analyzes showed a great floristic dissimilarity between the 14 localities analyzed, indicating that the formations are unique and require special attention for conservation. The second chapter presents the distribution of the species along an altitudinal gradient. 96 species were found in the sampled lines, with Poaceae (64.3%), Melastomataceae (11.3%) and Asteraceae (8.7%) being the families with the highest coverage values. The diversity of Shannon (H') for each altitude showed a similar pattern in the spatial distribution of species, while the similarity analyzes demonstrated a strong grouping of the areas located in common altitudinal bands, elucidating the importance of the conservation of altitude fields for the maintenance of the biodiversity of the high altitude flora.

Abstract Adequate oxygen supply is necessary for aerobic cell survival. Cellular oxygen deprivation, also known as hypoxia, leads to various responses that aim to increase cellular oxygen delivery and reduce oxygen consumption. Oxygen homeostasis is mainly regulated by the hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF), which regulates the expression of over 300 genes in response to hypoxia. The stability of HIF is regulated by the HIF prolyl 4-hydroxylases (HIF-P4Hs), enzymes that catalyze the hydroxylation of proline residues in HIFα subunits and target them towards proteasomal degradation. HIF-P4Hs require oxygen as a cosubstrate for the reaction, allowing for hypoxic HIF stabilization and target gene induction at low oxygen concentrations. In this study we investigated the role of HIF-P4H-2 in the regulation of red blood cell production, erythropoiesis. We showed that Tibetans living at high altitude have genetically adapted to their hypoxic environment via mutations in the gene encoding for HIF-P4H-2. The Tibetan HIF-P4H-2 D4E,C127S variant showed enhanced hydroxylation of HIFα at low oxygen concentrations, resulting in reduced HIFα protein stabilization under hypoxia. In other studies we used a genetically modified HIF-P4H-2 hypomorphic mouse line which expresses a reduced amount of wild-type Hif-p4h-2 mRNA in tissues. We showed that these mice develop mild age-dependent erythrocytosis due to splenic extramedullary erythropoiesis, which is independent of serum erythropoietin concentration. In addition, these mice were protected against inflammation-induced anemia, a condition commonly seen in patients with inflammatory diseases. The HIF-P4H-2 hypomorphic mice also had altered basal metabolism in their skeletal muscles, which, together with an increase in mean capillary area, reduced their infarct size after skeletal muscle ischemia-reperfusion injury. These studies suggest that pharmacological HIF-P4H-2 inhibition may provide a novel treatment for EPO-resistant anemias and peripheral artery disease. / Tiivistelmä Riittävä hapensaanti on välttämätöntä aerobisten solujen selviytymiselle. Solun alentunut hapen määrä, toiselta nimeltään hypoksia, johtaa useisiin vasteisiin joiden tarkoituksena on turvata solun hapensaanti ja vähentää hapenkulutusta. Happitasapainoa säätelee hypoksiassa indusoituva tekijä (HIF), joka aktivoi yli 300 geenin luentaa hypoksisissa oloissa. HIFα:n määrää soluissa säätelevät HIF prolyyli-4-hydroksylaasientsyymit (HIF-P4H:t), jotka hydroksyloivat proliini-aminohappotähteitä HIFα-alayksiköissä ja ohjaavat ne proteasomaaliseen hajotukseen. HIF-P4H:t tarvitsevat reaktiossa happea mahdollistaen HIF:n stabilisaation ja kohdegeenien lisääntyneen luennan matalassa hapen osapaineessa. Tässä tutkimuksessa selvitimme HIF-P4H-2-entsyymin roolia punasolujen muodostuksen eli erytropoieesin säätelyssä. Osoitimme, että korkealla vuoristossa asuvat tiibetiläiset ovat geneettisesti sopeutuneet hypoksiseen elinympäristöönsä johtuen HIF-P4H-2-entsyymiä tuottavan geenin mutaatiosta. Tiibetiläisiltä löytynyt HIF-P4H-2D4E,C127S variantti hydroksyloi tehokkaammin HIFα-alayksiköitä matalassa hapen osapaineessa johtaen vähäisempään HIFα-alayksiköiden stabiloitumiseen hypoksiassa. Muissa tutkimuksissamme käytimme geneettisesti muunneltua HIF-P4H-2-hiirikantaa, joka tuottaa alentunutta määrää villityypin Hif-p4h-2 lähetti-RNA:ta kudoksissaan. Näille hiirille kehittyi ikäriippuvaisesti lievä punasoluylimäärä eli erytrosytoosi johtuen pernan kiihtyneestä punasolutuotannosta riippumatta seerumin erytropoietiinikonsentraatiosta. Lisäksi nämä hiiret olivat suojassa tulehduksen aiheuttamalta anemialta, joka on yleinen ilmiö tulehduksellisista sairauksista kärsivillä potilailla. HIF-P4H-2-muuntogeenisten hiirten lihasten energia-aineenvaihdunta oli muuttunut siten, että se yhdessä suurentuneen keskimääräisen kapillaaripinta-alan kanssa pienensi vaurioituneen kudoksen pinta-alaa alaraajaiskemia-altistuksen jälkeen. Nämä tutkimukset osoittavat, että lääkkeellinen HIF-P4H-2-entsyymin estäminen on mahdollinen uusi hoitomuoto erytropoietiinille resistenteissä anemioissa sekä alaraajojen valtimoahtaumataudissa.

High Altitude Platforms (HAP) has been evolving to make a new history in wireless communications infrastructure. A number of applications and services have been proposed for HAP based communications which advance HAP over terrestrial and satellite infrastructure for future communications. Providing high speed multimedia mobile communications through HAPs to the users of Third Generation (3G) holds strong position using one of the proposed band, 2GHz. In this study we investigated how to improve the performance of 3G serving from HAP over a territory having suburban characteristics. Two proposed channel models, free space loss and shadowing loss, has been used to analyze the performance of HAP systems at 2GHz frequency band for suburban regions. Three different parameters namely antenna bore point, HAP antenna roll off factor and user antenna roll off factor have proposed to improve the performance of HAP systems while considering suburban regions. A scenario has introduced consisting of an ideal suburban and rural region to serve 3G services while emphasizing on suburban region. The number of HAPs required to serve the defined suburban region is restricted to at least three due to elevation dependent losses in the scenario. The three proposed parameters have been used to improve the performance of 3G services over the selected suburban region. Application of the parameters over suburban region gives different performances which can be categorized in different ways. Some of the parameters are more elastic than others for a certain coverage area. We conclude with adaptive application of the parameters for 3G services over suburban area to have improved performance of HAP. / +46720459586

This thesis conducts research into different rechargeable battery technologies and their applicability to the high altitude balloon flights conducted at Esrange space center. The research focuses on the possible use of lithium ion batteries’, sodium ion batteries, nickel metal hydrate, and Metal hydridelithiumion batteries. Resulting in lithium ion batteries in 18650 cells being recommended. The thesis continues with a modular power distribution system architecture design. The system architecture is established with solarcharging capabilities, up to 1500W peak output power, over 600W continuous output power, multiple output voltages, more than six output channels, remote output power switching, and monitoring of power consumption. A prototype is built from this architecture on which limited testing is performed.The testing shines light on future improvements and displays proof of concept for some parts.

The study offers a solution of a high-altitude object in Brno in the city part called Veveří. There are proposed two towers which are designed in a simple cubic form ( their heights are 154 a 80 metres ) rising from the surrounding buildings. Towers are mutually interconnected by lower object in the same morphology. In the object are situated administrative spaces, hotel, restaurant, coffee bar, penthouse, congress hall, vertical gallery, painters´ incubator and parking house. Particular functions can be connected because of layout plan, or can be used as separate units. The interpretation of the facade of the object is to highlight verticality, due to the raster and increasing reflecting surface of glass segments verticality and evoke by this a feeling of a tower ending in the middle of clouds.

This article gives an overview about the activities of the Leipzig Institute of Meteorology (LIM) within the HALO (High Altitude and Long Range Aircraft) Scientific Priority Program (SPP 1294 funded by DFG). HALO offers unique possibilities for atmospheric research and Earth observations. It can carry a scientific payload of up to 3 t, cover a range of 10000 km and reach a ceiling of 15 km. The LIM contributes to the instrumentation of HALO with the Spectral Modular Airborne Radiation measurement sysTem (SMART). SMART was deployed during the first HALO mission TECHNO in 2010. During subsequent five HALO campaigns SMART measurements provided valuable insights regarding cloud properties and the Earth’s radiative budget. Three further missions, which are scheduled for the coming years, will make use of SMART measurements as well. / Dieser Bericht gibt einen Überblick über die Aktivitäten des Leipziger Instituts für Meteorologie (LIM) im HALO Schwerpunktprogramm (SPP 1294 der DFG). HALO bietet einzigartige Möglichkeiten für die Atmosphärenforschung und Erdbeobachtung. Es kann eine wissenschaftliche Nutzlast von 3 t aufnehmen, eine Reichweite von 10000 km zurücklegen und eine maximale Flughöhe von 15 km erreichen. Das LIM trägt zur Instrumentierung von HALO mit dem Spectral Modular Airborne Radiation measurement sysTem (SMART) bei. SMART wurde 2010 bei der ersten HALO Mission TECHNO eingesetzt. In fünf folgenden HALO Kampagnen verschafften SMART Messungen wertvolle Erkenntnisse bezüglich Wolkeneigenschaften und dem Strahlungsbudget der Erde. Drei weitere HALO Missionen, die für die kommenden Jahre geplant sind, werden ebenfalls SMART nutzen.

<p> Studies to date involving the network properties of drainage systems have been theoretical in nature; and the environmental implications of these network characteristics have not been exploited to the extent that would appear warranted. This situation exists due to the lack of an accurate data source. Many studies have recognized this. inadequacy of the conventional data sources to meet the necessary requirements of efficiency (in data production and handling), accuracy, consistency and uniformity. </p> <p> The present study demonstrates that high altitude, small scale colour infrared photography is capable of providing drainage network data that fulfill all these basic requirements. Data derived from the three drainage basins, mapped from a variety of data sources, demonstrate three important points. The level of detail obtained from the small scale colour infrared photography far exceeds that available from more traditional data sources. Secondly, these network data are statistica+ly consistent with the traditional data sources. Thirdly, the basin characteristics derived from the high altitude data source show a marked association with the known surficial environments and an expected variation from one surficial environment to another. </p> / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)

The ability to control the trajectory and understanding the atmospheric effects on the flight performance of a scientific high altitude balloon has long been an aspiring ambition. This thesis work analyses the thermal and optical environments at float using the simulation software, ANSYS FLUENT. The objectives for this thesis were to evaluate how the solar angle, sunshine factor and the ground emissivity altered the altitude for the balloon during floating condition in Steady-state simulations. A transient simulation was conducted to evaluate the diurnal cycle effects on the altitude of the balloon. The understanding of how the parameters influence the altitude will make it possible to autonomously route the balloon to desired altitudes where you have a favorable wind direction. Performing steady-state simulations showcased the significance of certain parameters. Different solar angles greatly influenced the temperature gradient on the balloon and hence a larger lifting force acted on the balloon when the sun was at its highest point. Varying the cloudiness mostly affected the maximum temperature distribution and did not affect the minimum temperature distribution. The steady-state simulations also indicated a limited but noticeable dependence on the ground emissivity. From the transient simulations it was further enhanced how great of influence the solar angle have, which was illustrated by running diurnal cycles. It was also apparent that there are great differences depending on the seasons. For future applications, it would be of interest to investigate the effects caused by wind velocities in the steady-state case. A comparative analytic solution should be performed in order to validate the simulation results.