Thesis deal with the new building of hotel in Brno circuit areal in Ostrovačice. The structure has six floors. The first floor is 45 meters long and 22 meters wide. The upper floors size is 34,5 x 16,8m. The last sixth floor is offset from the building frontage. In this master´s thesis the main supporting elements of first floor was designed, including columns, girder and slab. Structure has mainly traverse wall construction system transferred into column frame in first floor. The slabs are designed as a reinforced concrete slabs.

The aim the diploma thesis is the design and the assessment of the main structure of the shopping centre in the Hradec Králové. The shape of the construction is the cylindrical hall with dimensions 120 x 32 m. The structure is formed by lattice trusses, solid purlins, columns and composite construction. The model of the structure and some calculations were provided by the program Dlubal RFEM.

My diploma thesis presents structural design of an apartment block in Praha Smíchov. It is a reinforced concrete column structure with six floors. Plane dimensions of the building are 19x36 m. The project includes design of main structural system elements - columns, ceiling plate, foundation and staircase structure.

This diploma thesis focuses on the study of the procedure of evaluation of the crash tests made on car steering columns and the subseuent optimalisation of this procedure by creating an evaluation sequence. The theoretical part contains the description of the testing environment and the description of the procedure of the crash test in use. Further in this section there is a description of several computer programmes which are used in the testing and evaluation procedure. The practical part starts with a description of the developement and the creation of the evalution programme that is able to evaluate the tests without the need for the operator to evaluate them himself. The results gained from the programme are veried in the following chapter. The conclusion is focused on comparing the old evaluation method with the new one that uses the evaluation sequences.

The majority of research on high strain-rate effects in timber structures has been limited to the study of the load-bearing members in isolation. Limited work has been conducted on timber connections and full-scale timber assemblies under blast loading, and these have generally been constrained to qualitative observations. In North America, the increasing prevalence of mid- and high-rise timber structures makes them susceptible to blast effects. In addition, questions remain on how to design and optimize these timber assemblies, including the connections, against blast loads, due in part to the limitations on comprehensive design provisions. The effects of far-field blast explosions were simulated using the University of Ottawa shock tube. A total of fifty-eight dynamic tests were conducted on connection-level and full-scale specimens. The research program aimed to investigate the behaviour of heavy-timber connections when subjected to simulated blast loads. The experimental results showed that connections with a main failure mechanism consisting of wood crushing experienced significant increases in dynamic peak load when compared to the static peak load. In contrast, connections where steel yielding and rupturing occurred experienced no statistically significant increase in dynamic peak load. Full-scale glulam specimens with bolted connections designed to yield via wood crushing and bolt bending performed better than those with overdesigned connections. Bolted connections which failed in splitting led to premature failure of the glulam assembly. Reinforcement with self-tapping screws allowed these bolted joints to fail in a combination of bolt yielding and wood crushing, and provided more ductility when compared to unreinforced specimens. Specially designed energy-absorbing connections significantly increased the energy dissipation capabilities of the timber assemblies. The basis of these connections was to allow for connection yielding while delaying failure of the wood member. This was achieved via elastoplastic connection behaviour, which effectively limited the load imparted onto the wood member. Based on the experimental results, limitations in the current Canadian blast provisions were highlighted and discussed. A two-degree-of-freedom blast analysis software was developed and validated using full-scale and connection-level experimental results and was found to adequately capture the system response with reasonable accuracy. Sensitivity analyses regarding the applicability of using single-degree-of-freedom analysis were presented and discussed.

Difficulties with reproducibility of isolation yields when distilling 211At from irradiated bismuth targets led us to use a “wet chemistry” approach for that process1. The wet chemistry approach has provided 211At isolation yields of ~ 78 % after decay and Bi attenuation corrections2. However, the use of diisopropyl ether (DIPE) in the separation process has made it difficult to reach our goal of automating the 211At isolation. Therefore, we have investigated the use of column materials to simplify the isolation of 211At and remove DIPE from the process. In this investigation we evaluated the use of a strong anion exchange resin (AG1×8), a strong cation exchange resin (AG MP-50) and a polyethylene glycol (PEG)-coated resin for separation of 211At from the bismuth target material. Anion and cation resins AG1×8 and AG MP-50 were obtained from commercial sources. A PEG-coated resin was prepared by reaction of the Merrifield resin with mPEG-OH 2000 in the pres-ence of tBuOK at 80 °C for 3 days, followed by drying under vacuum. Prior to use of the PEG resin, it was soaked in H2O. Resins (400–800 mg) were loaded into polypropylene columns (Applied Separations, Inc.). Column elution studies were conducted with and without reductants (0.75M FeSO4/1M H2SO4 or Na2S2O5) to determine their effect on capture of 211At. After target dissolution in HNO3 (and in most cases subse-quent removal of HNO3 by distillation and redis-solution of solid in 8M HCl), 211At solution was loaded onto the column, then the column was washed with 2M HCl or H2O to separate the Bi, and finally was eluted with strong base to remove the 211At. Initial studies were conducted with stable iodine to determine if reductants were effective in the presence of large amounts of bismuth ions. Studies with AG1×8 used 125I to determine if that radiohalogen could be captured and recovered from the column when eluting with boric acid buffers at pH 5.3, 8.0 or 10, or H2O at pH 7. Capture and recovery of 211At was evaluated under the same conditions. Further studies with AG1×8 involved eluting with 4M H2SO4. A limited study with AG MP-50 resin used 1M HCl as eluant. Studies with PEG-coated columns used 2M HCl, 4M HCl, 8M HCl, 16 M HNO3 and 8M HNO3 as initial (capture) eluants. Strong base (0.2, 1 or 12.5 M NaOH; 15M NH4OH) and 3 or 500 mM tetrabutylammonium bromide (TBAB) were evaluated for removal of 211At from the columns tested. The efficiency for capture of 211At on the AG1×8 column was high (99%) when loading with strong acid, but decreased when using 0.1–0.2M boric acid (69–91 %) buffer. Low 211At capture efficiencies were obtained with AG MP-50 col-umns (15–29%). High 211At capture efficiencies (96–100%) were obtained with PEG-coated resins when loading with 8M HCl or 8M HNO3, irre-spective of whether reductant was in the acid solution. Four column washings (2 mL of 2M HCl each) were required to remove all Bi prior to elution of 211At. No bismuth was detected in solution from the 4th washing in any of the elutions studied. Low (< 6%) recovery of 211At from the AG1×8 columns was obtained using the conditions studied. Good (60–79%) recovery of 211At was obtained from PEG-coated resin using 15M NH4OH. Isolation of the 211At from NH4OH solution was accomplished by distillation. In an initial study 211At distilled before obtaining a dry residue. However, later studies demonstrated that addi-tion of NaOH prior to distillation kept the 211At in the distilling flask. These studies demonstrated that PEG-coated columns could be used to isolate 211At from HNO3-dissolved bismuth targets with good non-optimized (~60%) overall recovery yields. The studies are continuing with optimization of elu-tion conditions and automation of the process.

Tetrachloroethylene and its daughter-products represent a group of contaminations which are frequently found at sites with industrial activities, such as metal processing, electrotechnical and pharmaceutical industries as well as dry cleaning of clothing and the production of colours, paints and laquers. Due to their toxicity and persistence under natural conditions "denser-than-water" non aqueous phase liquids are substantial threats to the subsurface environment as well as the surface ecosystems including human beings. During the last two decades a number of technical solutions has been presented to enhance the situation of contaminated areas. One of the more recently established concepts are permeable reactive barriers. Permeable reactive barriers are passive in situ treatment zones containing a reactive material suitable to remove the contamination from the groundwater. They are installed downgradient from the pollution source perpendicular to the groundwater flow direction to immobilise or degrade the dissolved pollutants in the groundwater as it flows through. This project was organised in two main parts. The first part assessed seven different iron powders in batch experiments to determine the most efficient powder in terms of degradation velocity. The second part of the study employed this powder in a column experiment using different mixing ratios with sand to evaluate its performance under simulated subsurface conditions in a permeable reactive barrier. The aim of this experiment was to obtain a more detailed description of the behaviour and performance of the selected material. In the batch experiment the most promissing iron powder produced a half-life of tetrachloroethylene of 2.36 h. The column study demonstrated that cis-dichloroethylene has the longest half-life compared to tetrachlorethylene and trichloroethylene with 1.65 h. Having the longest half-life of all chloroethylenes included in this investigation the cis-dichloroethylene concentration will determine the dimensioning of a permeable barrier for remediation purposes.

The distribution of cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript-like immunoreactivity (CART-LI) was investigated in the rat spinal cords with the use of an antiserum against the CART peptide fragment 55-102. CART-LI fibers were concentrated in the superficial layers of the dorsal horn of all segments. In addition to CART-LI fibers, intensely labeled somata were detected in the intermediolateral cell column (IML) and other sympathetic preganglionic nuclei of the thoracolumbar segments. In the lumbosacral segments, CART-LI fibers but not somata were seen in the sacral parasympathetic nucleus. Double-labeling the spinal sections with choline acetyltransferase (ChAT)-antisera and CART-antisera revealed that the large majority of ChAT-positive somata in the sympathetic preganglionic nuclei were CART-positive, whereas ChAT-positive somata in the parasympathetic preganglionic nuclei were CART-negative. Our results show that CART-LI is selectively expressed in a population of sympathetic preganglionic neurons (SPNs), but not in parasympathetic preganglionic neurons (PPNs) of the rat.

1. Whole-cell patch recordings were made from antidromically identified sympathetic preganglionic neurons (SPN) of immature rat spinal cord slices. Bath application of nociceptin (0.1-1 μmol/L) suppressed excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSP) and hyperpolarized a population of SPN; these effects were naloxone (1 μmol/L) insensitive. 2. Nociceptin suppressed the amplitude of EPSP without causing a concomitant change in glutamate-induced depolarizations, suggesting a presynaptic inhibitory action. 3. Analysis of current-voltage relationships showed that nociceptin hyperpolarized SPN by increasing an inwardly rectifying K+ current. 4. Intrathecal injection of nociceptin (3, 10 and 30 nmol) to urethane-anaesthetized rats dose-dependently reduced the mean arterial pressure and heart rate; these effects were not prevented by prior intravenous injection of naloxone (1 mg/kg). 5. Results from our in vitro and in vivo experiments suggest that nociceptin suppresses spinal sympathetic outflow either by attenuating excitatory synaptic responses or hyperpolarizing SPN.

The two recently isolated hypothalamic peptides orexin A and orexin B, also known as hypocretin 1 and 2, are reported to be important signaling molecules in feeding and sleep/wakefulness. Orexin-containing neurons in the lateral hypothalamus project to numerous areas of the rat brain and spinal cord including the intermediolateral cell column (IML) of the thoracolumbar spinal cord. An in vivo and in vitro study was undertaken to evaluate the hypothesis that orexins, acting on sympathetic preganglionic neurons (SPNs) in the rat spinal cord, increase sympathetic outflow. First, orexin A (0.3, 1, and 10 nmol) by intrathecal injection increased mean arterial pressure (MAP) and heart rate (HR) by an average of 5, 18, and 30 mmHg and 10, 42, and 85 beats/min in urethane-anesthetized rats. Intrathecal injection of saline had no significant effects. Orexin B (3 nmol) by intrathecal administration increased MAP and HR by an average of 11 mmHg and 40 beats/min. The pressor effects of orexin A were attenuated by prior intrathecal. injection of orexin A antibodies (1:500 dilution) but not by normal serum albumin. Intravenous administration of the α1-adrenergic receptor antagonist prazosin (0.5 mg/kg) or the β-adrenergic receptor antagonist propranolol (0.5 mg/kg) markedly diminished, respectively, the orexin A-induced increase of MAP and HR. Second, whole cell patch recordings were made from antidromically identified SPNs of spinal cord slices from 12- to 16-day-old rats. Superfusion of orexin A or orexin B (100 or 300 nM) excited 12 of 17 SPNs, as evidenced by a membrane depolarization and/or increase of neuronal discharges. Orexin A- or B-induced depolarizations persisted in TTX (0.5 μM)-containing Krebs solution, indicating that the peptide acted directly on SPNs. Results from our in vivo and in vitro studies together with the previous observation of the presence of orexin A-immunoreactive fibers in the IML suggest that orexins, when released within the IML, augment sympathetic outflow by acting directly on SPNs.