Nightjars are a group of nocturnal and aerial insectivorous birds that have experienced long-term decline likely driven primarily by habitat loss and declines in prey populations. Eastern Whip-poor-will (Antrostomus vociferus) and Chuck-will’s-widow (Antrostomus carolinensis), two nightjar species native to Illinois, declined 69% and 58% since 1966, respectively. Although previous survey efforts have documented presence of Chuck-will’s-widow and Whip-poor-will, their current distribution in the state is not well known. Using Autonomous Recording Units (ARUs) deployed in a uniform, systematic grid, I surveyed 142 locations from May – July 2022 on public and private lands across the southern eleven counties of Illinois to assess Whip-poor-will and Chuck-will’s-widow distribution and estimate species occupancy. I estimated species relationships with proportion of landcover types, forest patch configuration, and proximity to other landcover types. Additionally, I quantified disturbances from the past 15 years to estimate species relationships to the severity and duration of disturbances. I deployed ARUs for 710 survey days collecting 170,400 minutes or 3,000 hours of recordings. Acoustic bird call identification software, BirdNet, was highly accurate at detecting focal species and greatly reduced the time spent manually reviewing acoustic data. BirdNet identified 43,922 calls of Whip-poor-will and 31,447 calls of Chuck-will’s-widow. I detected Whip-poor-will on 78 surveys with 100% accuracy and Chuck-will’s-widow on 75 surveys with 76% accuracy. Whip-poor-will were positively associated with forest patches with large core areas that neighbored pastures. Additionally, Whip-poor-will were likely to occupy landscapes that had experienced low to moderate disturbance within the previous 15 years. Covariates used to model Chuck-will’s-widow occupancy explained little variation in detection or occupancy and there were no significant relationships with any covariate. However, examining non-significant trends suggest similar relationships as Whip-poor-will in the area. Results highlight the efficiency of passive acoustic monitoring for these birds and the need for further investigation into Chuck-will’s-widow species-environmental relationships. In southern Illinois, Chuck-will’s-widow populations appears to be consistent with previous estimates from the 1990s while Whip-poor-will follow the broader trend of decline.

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Presented diploma thesis deals with experimental study of fluid induced instabilities which occur in rotating machinery with journal bearings. The first part describes the oil whirl and oil whip instabilities. It also gives an example of optical methods used for observation of journal bearings. Next part is dedicated to modifications of an existing test rig that were necessary for carrying out experiments. Finally, there are presented results of experiments that define the effect of initial conditions on appearance of instabilities.

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This dissertation thesis consists rotordynamics of modern turbocharger. First part begins with prediction of critical speed, prediction of onset instability of oil whirl and oil whip by XLTRC2 and comparison with measured data (Cascade diagram, shaft motion, FFT analysis). List of measurement method for the detection of the natural frequency of turbocharger (EMA). Create software for long term monitoring and recording and output data size reduction. Detection of critical speed by defined measurement methodology without using software simulation with measured data from the Cascade diagram, move the rotor shaft motion in the bearing, FFT analysis and results from measurements of natural frequencies. Comparison of predicted data (critical speed, prediction of onset instability) program XLTRC2 with the values measured by this approach measurement (waterfall diagram, shaft motion, FFT analysis)

The thesis describes methods for spectrum monitoring, which are used by the Czech telecommunication office. The thesis describes a design of an RF unit for a portable monitoring station and its potential use. The RF unit consists of several devices, which are connected. Devices like an antenna, a rotator, a rotator control unit, coaxial switches, an amplifier and attenuator were chosen as commercially available devices. It is also described, why were these devices chosen. Other devices such as filters, a control unit for the RF unit and a power supply were designed. The RF unit is controlled by a computer. A software for spectrum monitoring contains a graphical user interface for the RF unit control.