Strongly localised plasmons in metallic nano-structures offer exciting characteristics for guiding and focusing light on the nano-scale, opening the way for the development of new types of sensors, circuitry and improved resolution of optical microscopy. The work presented in this thesis focuses on two major areas of plasmonics research - nano-focusing structures and nano-sized waveguides. Nano-focusing structures focus light to an area smaller than the wavelength and will find applications in sensing, efficiently coupling light to nano-scale devices, as well as improving the resolution of near field microscopy. In the past the majority of nano-focusing structures have been nano-scale cones or tips, which are capable of focusing light to a spot of nano-scale area whilst enhancing the light field. The alternatives are triangular nano-focusing structures which have received far less attention, and only one type of triangular nano-focusing structure is known – a sharp V-groove in a metal substrate. This structure focuses light to a strip of nano-scale width, which may lead to new applications in microscopy and sensing. The difficulty with implementing the V-groove is that the structure is not robust and is quite difficult to fabricate. This thesis aims to develop new triangular nano-focusing devices which will overcome these difficulties, whilst still producing an intense light source on the nano-scale. The two proposed structures presented in this thesis are a metallic wedge submerged in uniform dielectric and a tapered metal film lying on a dielectric substrate, the latter being the easier to fabricate and the more structurally sound and robust. The investigation is performed using the approximation of continuous electrodynamics, the geometrical optics approximation and the zero-plane method. The second aim of this thesis is to investigate plasmonic waveguides and couplers for the development of nano-optical circuitry, more compact photonic devices and sensors. The research will attempt to fill the gaps in the current knowledge of the V-groove waveguide, which consists of a sharp triangular groove in a metal substrate, and the gap plasmon waveguide, which consists of a rectangular slot in a thin metal film. The majority of this work will be performed using the author’s in house finite-difference time-domain algorithm and FEMLAB as well as the effective medium method and geometric optics approximation. The V-groove may be used as either a nano-focusing or waveguiding device. As a waveguide the V-groove is one of the most promising plasmonic waveguides in the optical regime. However, there exist quite a number of gaps in the current knowledge of V-groove waveguides which this thesis will attempt to fill. In particular, the effect of rounded groove tip on plasmon propagation has been assessed for the V-groove. The investigation of rounded groove tip is important, as due to modern fabrication processes it’s not possibly to produce an infinitely sharp groove, and the existing literature has not considered the impact of this problem. The thesis will also investigate the impacts of the inclusion of dielectric filling in the groove on plasmon propagation parameters. This research will be important for optimising the propagation characteristics of the mode for certain applications, but it may also lead to easier methods of fabricating the V-groove device and prevent oxidation of the metal film. The gap plasmon waveguide is easier to fabricate than the V-groove, and is a new type of sub-wavelength waveguide which displays many advantages over other types of plasmon waveguides, including ease of fabrication, almost 100% transmission around sharp bends, sub-wavelength localisation and long propagation distances of the guided mode, etc. This waveguide may prove invaluable in the development of compact photonic devices. In the past the modes supported by this structure were not thoroughly analysed and the possibility of using this structure to develop sub-wavelength couplers for sensing and nano-optical circuits was not considered in detail. This thesis aims to resolve these issues. In conclusion, the results of this thesis will lead to a better understanding of Vgroove and gap plasmon waveguide devices for the development of nano-optical circuits, compact photonic devices and sensors. This thesis also proposes two new nano-focusing structures which are easier to fabricate than the V-groove structure and will lead to applications in sensing, coupling light efficiently into nano-scale devices and improving the resolution of near-field microscopy.

La fatigue du seuil d’endommagement laser dans la silice fondue a été largement étudiée au cours des dernières années, car ce phénomène est directement lié à la durée de vie des matériaux optiques utilisés dans des applications laser, le plus souvent à forte puissance. En effet, dans l’UV, on observe une décroissance du seuil d’endommagement laser quand le nombre de tirs laser augmente. Ce phénomène a été attribué pour ce couple longueur d’onde-matériau à des modifications laser-induites dans le matériau. Sous irradiation laser multiple à 266 nm, en utilisant des impulsions nanosecondes de densité d’énergie constante, nous avons observé que le signal de photoluminescence est modifié jusqu’à l’endommagement. A partir de cela, nous proposons une nouvelle représentation des données expérimentales qui permet de prédire l’apparition d’un endommagement dans le matériau. Cette prédiction réalisée à partir du signal de fluorescence et non de la statistique d’endommagement utilisée jusque-là, permet une économie significative de surface de composant et du temps d’expérience. Afin d’étendre l’intérêt de l’étude à un plus grand nombre d’applications, une extension des résultats à la longueur d’onde de 355 nm est proposée. Nous proposons un modèle où l’endommagement dans la silice fondue sous irradiation multiple à 266 nm est causé par une accumulation de modifications laser-induites induisant de l’autofocalisation non-linéaire. Afin d’essayer de généraliser la méthode de diagnostic de la fatigue par fluorescence, nous avons aussi réalisé des tests préliminaires sur des cristaux optiques non-linéaires bien connus comme le LBO ou le KDP. / Fatigue effects in fused silica have been largely studied in the past years, as this phenomenon is directly linked to the lifetime of high power photonic materials. Indeed, in the UV regime, we observe a decrease of the LIDT (Laser-Induced Damage Threshold) when the number of laser shots increases and this has been attributed for this couple wavelength/material to laser-induced material modifications. Under 266 nm laser irradiation, with nanosecond pulses of constant fluence, we observed that the photoluminescence is modified until damage occurs. Based on this observation, we propose a new representation of the experimental S-on-1 breakdown data which allows predicting the occurrence of material breakdown. This prediction, based on fluorescence signal and not damage statistics (presently widely used) allows consuming fewer sample surface and saving time. To extend the interest of the study to many more applications, we propose an extension of the results at 355 nm. We suppose that damage is caused in our fused silica samples by accumulation of laser-induced modifications under multiple-pulse UV irradiation inducing catastrophic non-linear self-focusing. In order to try to extend the fatigue diagnostic method by fluorescence, we have also realized preliminary tests in well-known non-linear crystals like LBO and KDP.

Les matériaux à gradient d'indice de réfraction (GRIN) présentent des propriétés mécaniques variant en temps ou/et en espace. Ils ont été testés pour des applications prometteuses dans de nombreuses applications d'ingénierie, comme pour le contrôle santé structurale ou la surveillance de structure (SHM), le contrôle des vibrations et bruit, la récupération d'énergie, etc. D'un autre côté, les matériaux piézoélectriques offrent la possibilité de réaliser des cellules composites dont les propriétés mécaniques peuvent être contrôlées en ligne. Motivé par ces deux approches, cette thèse étudie la mise en œuvre de structures GRIN adaptatifs pour le contrôle des ondes élastiques. Deux types de structures GRIN adaptatifs sont étudiés dans ce travail. Le premier exemple concerne la mise en œuvre d'une lentille piézoélectrique dans une plaque. Il est composé de patchs piézoélectriques shuntés, collés périodiquement en surface du guide d'ondes. Les circuits de shunt utilisés permettent d'émuler une capacité négative (NC). En accordant les valeurs de NC on peut ajuster l'indices de réfraction du milieu à l'intérieur de la lentille piézoélectrique et pour satisfaire une fonction sécante hyperbolique. Les résultats numériques montrent que les lentilles piézoélectriques peuvent alors focaliser les ondes de flexion de la plaque sur les points focaux. La lentille piézoélectrique est efficace dans une grande bande de fréquences et efficace dans une grande plage de fonctionnement. Ainsi elle peut focaliser des ondes sur différent points par simple ajustement des valeurs de NC réalisés par le circuit. Cette focalisation adaptative la rend très intéressante pour de nombreuses applications comme la récupération d'énergie ou le SHM. La mise en œuvre de ces techniques pour la récupération d'énergie est discutée dans cette thèse. Le second exemple concerne l'étude d'une structure dont les propriétés mécaniques sont contrôlées en temps et en espace. En particulier, une modulation périodique permet de créer une onde artificielle se propageant dans la structure. L'interaction avec des ondes mécaniques entraîne une rupture de réciprocité visible dans un diagramme de bande non symétrique. De nombreux phénomènes inhabituels sont observés dans ce type de structures variables : fractionnement des fréquences, conversion d'ondes et transmission unidirectionnelles. Deux types de conversion fréquentielle sont démontrés et expliqués. Le premier est induit par la transmission d'énergie entre les différents modes Bloch et le second type est dû à la diffusion de Bragg dans les structures modulées. La transmission unidirectionnelle des ondes pourrait être exploitée pour réaliser des diodes dans des systèmes infinis ou semi-infinis. Cependant, la transmission unidirectionnelle n'existe pas dans les systèmes finis en raison des phénomènes de conversion de fréquence. / GRadient INdex (GRIN) media are those whose properties smoothly vary in space or/and time. They have shown promising effects in many engineering applications, such as Structural Health Monitoring (SHM), vibration and noise control, energy harvesting, etc. On the other hand, piezoelectric materials provide the possibility to build unit cells, whose mechanical properties can be controlled on-line. Motivated by these two facts, adaptive GRIN structures, which can be realized using shunted piezoelectric materials, are explored in this dissertation to control guided elastic waves. Two types of adaptive GRIN structures are studied in this work. The first type is a piezo-lens. It is composed of shunted piezoelectric patches bonded on the surfaces of plates. To control the mechanical properties of the piezoelectric composite, the piezoelectric patches are shunted with Negative Capacitance (NC). By tuning the shunting NC values, refractive indexes inside the piezo-lens are designed to satisfy a hyperbolic secant function in space. Numerical results show that the piezo-lens can focus waves by smoothly bending them toward the designated focal point. The piezo-lens is effective in a large frequency band and is efficient in many different working conditions. Also the same piezo-lens can focus waves at different locations by tuning the shunting NC values. The focusing effect and tunable feature of piezo-lens make it useful in many applications like energy harvesting and SHM. The former application is fully discussed in this thesis. The focusing effect at the focal point results in a known point with high energy density, therefore harvesting at the focal point can yield more energy. Besides, the tunable ability makes the harvesting system adaptive to environment changes. The second type is the time-space modulated structure. Its properties are modulated periodically both in time and space. Particularly, the modulation works like a traveling wave in the structure. Due to the time-varying feature, time-space modulated structures break the reciprocity theorem, i.e., the wave propagation in them is nonreciprocal. Many unusual phenomena are observed during the interaction between waves and time-space modulated structures: frequency splitting, frequency conversion and one-way wave transmission. Two types of frequency conversion are demonstrated and explained. The first type is caused by energy transmission between different orders Bloch modes. The second type is due to the Bragg scattering effect inside the modulated structures. The one-way wave transmission could be exploited to realize one-way energy insulation in equivalent infinite or semi-inffnite systems. However, the one-way energy insulation fails in finite systems due to the frequency conversion phenomenon.

The dependencies of electrophoretic mobility on pH were measured for a set of 14 markers used for isoelectric focusing that were developed by the group of Šlais and that are based on substitutions on the nitrophenol core, and for a kit consisting of 5 pI markers developed by Shimura, which have an oligopeptide structure. The dissociation constants and limiting electrophoretic mobilities of these compounds were obtained from the dependencies with the use of the program AnglerFish. The isoelectric point values of the compounds were consequently calculated using the obtained data. A comparison of the obtained pI values with the values that have been declared in literature, albeit gained by different analytical methods, has been made. Key Words capillary zone electrophoresis, isoelectric focusing, pI markers, isoelectric point, thermodynamic dissociation constant, limiting ionic mobility

The subject of this diploma thesis is a description of complex surveying activities during the reconstruction of the road in Otakara Ševčíka Street in cadastral area Židenice. This work describes connection of the points to the coordinate system S-JTSK and to the height system Bpv. Geodetic documentation is made for individual measurements and laying out. Next is the analysis of measurement accuracy and comparison of achieved values with deviations specified in the relevant ČSN.

This thesis deals with optical distance measurement and 3D scene measurement using focusing techniques with focus on confocal microscopy, depth from focus and depth from defocus. Theoretical part of the thesis is about different approaches to depth map generation and also about micro image defocusing technique for measuring refractive index of transparent materials. Then the camera calibration for focused techniques is described. In the next part of the thesis is described experimentally verification of depth from focus and depth from defocus techniques. For the first technique are shown results of depth map generation and for the second technique is shown comparison between measured distance values and real distance values. Finally, the discussed techniques are compared and evaluated.

The thesis deals with the professional competencies of teachers of nursery schools. The theoretical part focuses on contemporary education of nursery school teachers and its history in the Czech Republic with an emphasis on professional competencies. Besides defining the concept of professional competence and their various concepts. Czech education preschool teachers is contrasted with the situation in Europe. The main aim of the research part of the thesis is to describe the differences between differently educated teachers of kindergartens within the conceptualization of professional competencies. The investigation is specifically compared how teachers assess the importance of professional competence and adequacy of their development in the initial training. The survey includes pilot study and private research. Pilot study includes data collection questionnaires and structured interviews for the four case studies with differently educated preschool teachers. Own research is realized in the form of questionnaires with different educated preschool teachers and structured interviews with experts on preschool education. Further analysis was carried out educational plans of selected institutions that educate future teachers of pre-primary. The benefit of the pilot study is especially significant...

[pt] Sinais ultrassônicos são amplamente utilizados na indústria para detecção de defeitos e caracterização de materiais. Neste âmbito, o método de focalização total (TFM) é comumente aplicado no pós-processamento dos dados ultrassônicos. Estes dados são adquiridos por transdutores multielementos do tipo phased array pela técnica de Captura de Matriz Completa (FMC). Embora a técnica FMC-TFM seja amplamente empregada, a energia da onda transmitida ao material é limitada pela utilização de um único elemento do transdutor, podendo fornecer uma baixa relação sinal-ruído (SNR) na imagem reconstruída. Para superar essa limitação e melhorar a qualidade das imagens TFM, propõese neste trabalho o uso da técnica Fontes Virtuais combinada com dois métodos diferentes de melhoria do SNR: Decomposição do Operador de Reversão Temporal (DORT) e Correlação Espacial de Sub-abertura (SASACI). Neste último, foram ainda propostas alterações para tornar a abordagem original mais robusta. Ambas as propostas de combinação foram aplicadas e avaliadas para melhorar as imagens de caracterização de múltiplos defeitos. Tais propostas foram avaliadas por meio de simulações e experimentos. As simulações consideraram um modelo de elementos finitos de um bloco de aço contendo quatro furos simulando defeitos volumétricos no material. Vários níveis de ruído foram adicionados aos sinais simulados para se avaliar o desempenho das combinações propostas em um ambiente com alto nível de ruído não-correlacionado. As combinações propostas nos dados de FMC simulados mostraram que o uso da técnica Fontes Virtuais combinada com a técnica DORT foi capaz de aumentar o SNR em 21.5 dB, enquanto a combinação de Fontes Virtuais com o SASACI foi capaz de aumentar o SNR em 76.2 dB. Este último resultado está 16.3 dB acima da soma dos ganhos individuais de cada técnica, enquanto o primeiro está 7.4 dB acima. Isso indica um efeito sinérgico no aumento da qualidade da imagem para ambas as combinações. Além disso, o uso das Fontes Virtuais mostrou-se capaz de melhorar a imagem reconstruída, onde inicialmente não é possível distinguir o ruído do sinal de interesse. A avaliação experimental foi realizada sobre o bloco de aço de quatro furos com as mesmas propriedades do bloco simulado. Ao contrário da simulação, os dados coletados não estão sujeitos à altos níveis de ruído não-correlacionado. Portanto, em ambas as combinações, o emprego da técnica Fontes Virtuais não resultaram em ganhos significativamente superiores aos ganhos individuais de cada técnica. Os métodos DORT e SASACI sem Fontes Virtuais aumentaram o SNR em 7.5 dB e 75.0 dB, respectivamente, enquanto que, com o seu uso, esse aumento foi de 9.2 dB e 74.1 dB. Os resultados do SASACI, quando comparados ao DORT, se mostraram evidentemente superiores tanto na simulação quanto na avaliação experimental. Ambos os métodos proporcionaram melhoria da qualidade de imagens TFM e, portanto, promissores para serem aplicados em ensaios não destrutivos. / [en] Ultrasonic signals are widely utilized in the industry for detecting defects and material characterization. In this context, the Total Focusing Method (TFM) is commonly applied for post-processing of ultrasonic data. Those are acquired by phased array transducers through the Full Matrix Capture (FMC) technique. Although the FMC-TFM technique is widely employed, the energy of the wave transmitted to the material is limited by the utilization of a single element of the transducer, which can provide a low Signal-Noise Ratio (SNR) of the reconstructed image. To circumvent this limitation and enhance TFM image quality, this work proposes the use of the Virtual Sources technique combined with two different methods for SNR improvement: Decomposition of the Time Reversal Operator (DORT) and Spatially Averaged Sub-Aperture Correlation Imaging (SASACI). In the latter, we also propose modifications to make the original approach more robust. Both combinations were implemented, applied and evaluated for the enhancement of images for characterization of multiple defects. These proposals were all assessed through simulations and experiments. The simulations considered a finite element model of a steel block containing four holes emulating volumetric defects on the material. Several noise levels were added to the simulated signals aiming for performance assessment in an environment with high levels of non-correlated noise. The proposed combinations in the simulated FMC data showed that the utilization of the Virtual Sources technique combined with DORT increased the SNR up to 21.5 dB, while the combination of Virtual Sources with SASACI was capable of increasing SNR up to 76.2 dB. The second combination is 16.3 dB above the sum of the individual gains for each technique applied separately, while the first combination is 7.4 dB above. This implies a synergistic effect in the improvement of image quality for both proposed combinations. Moreover, the utilization of the Virtual Sources technique was capable of enhancing the reconstructed image, where it is not possible to initially distinguish the noise of the signal of interest. The experimental evaluation was realized on the four-hole steel block with the same properties of the simulated block. Unlike the simulation, the collected data were not subjected to high levels of noncorrelated noise. Thus, for both combinations, the utilization of the Virtual Sources technique did not result in significantly superior gains when compared to the individual gains obtained from each technique individually applied. The use of DORT and SASACI without Virtual Sources caused an SNR increase of 7.5 dB and 75.0 dB, respectively, while this increase was of 9.2 dB and 74.1 dB when the Virtual Sources was used in combination. The results obtained from SASACI, when compared to DORT, were evidently superior for both simulation and experimental evaluation. Both methods showed potential for improvement of TFM image quality, and thus, are promising for application in nondestructive evaluation.

Das Problem des Missbrauchs von Erythropoietin (EPO) als Dopingsubstanz zur Steigerung der Ausdauerleistung wurde schlagartig weltweit durch den Skandal zur Tour de France 1998 bekannt. Das Internationale Olympische Komitee (IOC) führte ab 1992 Erythropoietin explizit auf der Liste der verbotenen Wirkstoffe auf, ohne des es möglich war zwischen den rekombinantem und dem körpereigene Erythropoietin zu unterscheiden. Bei der im Institut für Dopinganalytik und Sportbiochemie Kreischa durchgeführten Arbeit wurden zwei generelle Strategien verfolgt: zum einen ein indirekter Nachweis des rhEPO, basisierend auf dessen Auswirkungen auf die Erythropoese, und zum anderen der direkte Nachweis des Unterschieds zwischen rekombinantem und humanem Erythropoietin. In der ersten durchgeführten Populationsuntersuchung von 229 Leistungssportlern konnte bei der Auswertung der Daten lediglich eine signifikante Erhöhung des löslichen Transferrinrezeptors (sTfR) bei den Ausdauerathleten gefunden werden, während sich die hämatologischen Parameter nicht unterschieden. In der anschließenden Verlaufsuntersuchung von Ausdauerathleten des Deutschen Leichtathletikverbandes wurden zusätzlich zu den bereits in der Populationsstudie untersuchten Parametern erstmalig von Hochleistungs-athleten Retikulozyten und deren Reifeparameter untersucht. Bei den Hochleistungs-sportlern konnten, insbesondere für die Retikulozyten-parameter, über den Zeitraum der Studie konstante Werte gefunden werden. Die Untersuchung der zirkadianen Rhythmik zeigte lediglich für den Parameter Erythropoietin einen signifikante Veränderung mit einem Maximum in den späten Abendstunden (20:00 bis 23:00 Uhr) erreichte. Die Untersuchung der Variation der indirekten Parameter über den Zeitraum eines Jahres zeigte, dass im Gegensatz zu der Verlaufsuntersuchung der DLV-Athleten, bei der der längste Untersuchungs-zeitraum sechs Monate betrug, eine Veränderung aller Parameter, mit Ausnahme von Erythropoietin, bestand. Bei der Auswertung der Belastungsstudien wurde für die gut trainierten Athleten nur ein geringer Einfluss auf die hämatologischen Parameter gefunden, während bei einigen Retikulozytenparametern signifikante Erhöhungen durch die Belastung festgestellt werden konnten. Mit der Etablierung der direkten Nachweismethode für EPO im Urin und der Anpassung der ursprünglichen Methode an das neue Präparat ARANESP, ein modifiziertes EPO, änderte sich die Aufgabenstellung für die indirekten Parameter, da es ab sofort möglich war eine große Anzahl Proben unter Verwendung von niedrigeren Grenzwerten zu screenen. Anhand der Werte der weltbesten Ausdauerathleten wurden allgemein gültige Grenzwerte und eine globale Strategie für ein Screening aufgestellt. Bei einem auffälligen Befund würde in jedem Fall die korrespondierende Urinprobe mittels der direkten Methode untersucht und erst mit dem Nachweis des rekombinanten Erythropoietins als positiv bewertet werden. Zusätzlich zu den indirekten Parametern wurden Untersuchungen hinsichtlich des direkten Nachweis, d. h. der Anreicherung von Erythropoietin und einer massenspektrometrischen Analyse einzelner Glykanketten, durchgeführt, bei denen mit der Kombination Nanospray und TOF-MS die notwendigen Nachweisgrenzen erreicht werden konnten. Die Ergebnisse der Arbeit zeigen, dass ausgewählter Blutparameter sehr gut geeignet sind, um als Screeningmethode für erythropoesesteigernde Substanzen zu dienen. Im Gegensatz zur Methode des direkten Nachweises von EPO im Urin, die durch die Verfügbarkeit der Referenzsubstanzen limitiert ist, bietet der indirekte Nachweis über Blutparameter den Vorteil, Veränderungen des erythropoetischen Systems, verursacht durch neue Substanzen oder Methoden, erfassen zu können.

En förhöjd produktion av fria kappakedjor (KFLC) i serum observeras vanligen vid inflammatoriska processer och vid autoimmuna sjukdomar. En överproduktion av fri kappakedja utgör en markör för intratekal immunglobulinproduktion i centrala nervsystemet (CNS) vilket kan ofta ses vid multipel skleros och andra inflammatoriska nervsjukdomar. Detta kan mätas både kvantitativt genom IgG index med nefelometri och kvalitativt genom att påvisa oligoklonala band i cerebrospinalvätska (CSV) med isoelektrisk fokusering. Syftet med studien är att sätta upp analys för bestämning av fri kappa-kedja i likvor på en nefelometer och utvärdera olika kvantitativa mått för intratekal Ig-syntes där fri kappakedja ingår genom att jämföra de mot isoelektrisk fokusering, vilket är dagens standardmetod för att påvisa intratekal Ig syntes. Studien erhöll goda resultat för olika KFLC parametrar jämfört med oligoklonalaband, där KFLC IF påvisade högst sensitivitet och specificitet (72% och 93%) jämfört med oligoklonala band. / An increased production of free coat chains in (KFLC) serum is commonly observed in inflammatory processes and in autoimmune diseases. An overproduction of free kappa chain is a marker for intrathecal immunoglobulinproduction in the central nervous system (CNS), which can often be seen in multiple sclerosis and other inflammatory nerve diseases. This can be measured both quantitatively by IgG index with nephelometry and qualitatively by detecting oligoclonal bands in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) with isoelectric focusing. The purpose of the studies is to set up analysis for determination of free kappa chain in liquids on a nephelometer and evaluate different quantitative measures for intrathecal Ig synthesis where free kappa chain is included by comparing them against isoelectric focusing, which is the current standard method for detecting intrathecal Ig synthesis. The study obtained good results for different KFLC parameters compared to oligoclonal bands, where KFLC IF has the highest sensitivity and specificity (72%and 93%) compared to oligoclonal bands.