The noisy underwater world : the effect of sound on behaviour of captive zebrafish

Over the past few decades, public attention, activities in the field of conservation and animal welfare by nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and scientific exploration are raising awareness on the potential effects of sounds on marine mammals and fish species. The aim of this thesis was to explore sound-induced behavioral changes in fish using captive zebrafish as a model species. I explored behavioural parameters as potential indicators of sound-related stress, disturbance and deterrence. In four different studies, I examined various sound exposure treatments to provide insights that may be useful for future explorations for indoor and outdoor sound impact studies as well as for assessing animal welfare and productivity in captive situations. Furthermore, my findings may also raise awareness for sound levels in laboratories and the potential effect on reliability for fish as a model species for medical and pharmaceutical studies. I also explored the complexity of sound fields in indoor fish tanks by selecting a different set-up for each study, which makes behavioural analyses and direct comparisons not only relevant within each study, but also provides insight into the role of fish tank acoustics on 'natural' and experimental exposure condition.Iranian Ministry of Science, Research and Technology (I.R. Iran).UBL - phd migration 201

SERVANT LEADERSHIP AND ORGANIZATIONAL TRUST: THE MEDIATING EFFECT OF THE LEADER TRUST AND ORGANIZATIONAL COMMUNICATION

The purpose of this paper aims to clarify the relationship between servant leadership and organizational trust, and tries to demonstrate the mediator role of leader trust and organizational communication in this relationship. The study sample included 258 employees of Guilan province Tax Administration and for sampling we used cluster method. Previous studies have also focused on the positive impact of servant leadership in organizational trust and in this article the results show that there is a significant relationship between servant leadership, organizational trust, leader trust and organizational communication

Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS) analysis in determining the saliva protein of orthodontic patients during retention phase

The biological responses involved during retention phase have been studied for many years but little is known about the effect of saliva proteome during retention phase of post-orthodontic treatment. This study aims to identify the protein profiles during retention phase in relation to biological processes involved by Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS) approach. A total of 5 ml of unstimulated saliva was collected from each subject (10 non-orthodontic patients and 15 post-orthodontic patients with 6-months retention phase). Samples were then subjected to LC-MS analysis. The expressed proteins were identified and compared between groups. Incisor irregularity for both maxilla and mandible were determined with Little?s Irregularity Index at 6-months retention phase. 146 proteins and 135 proteins were expressed in control and 6-months retention phase group respectively. 15 proteins were identified to be co-expressed between groups. Immune system process was only detected in 6-months retention phase group. Detected protein in immune system process was identified as Tyrosine-protein kinase Tec. Statistical significant of incisor irregularity was only found in mandible at 6-months retention phase. Our study suggests that immune system process protein which is Tyrosine-protein kinase Tec could be used as biomarker for prediction of stability during retention phase of post-orthodontic treatment

Fractionation of cellulose nanocrystals : enhancing liquid crystal ordering without promoting gelation

Colloids of electrically charged nanorods can spontaneously develop a fluid yet ordered liquid crystal phase, but this ordering competes with a tendency to form a gel of percolating rods. The threshold for ordering is reduced by increasing the rod aspect ratio, but the percolation threshold is also reduced with this change; hence, prediction of the outcome is nontrivial. Here, we show that by establishing the phase behavior of suspensions of cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) fractionated according to length, an increased aspect ratio can strongly favor liquid crystallinity without necessarily influencing gelation. Gelation is instead triggered by increasing the counterion concentration until the CNCs lose colloidal stability, triggering linear aggregation, which promotes percolation regardless of the original rod aspect ratio. Our results shine new light on the competition between liquid crystal formation and gelation in nanoparticle suspensions and provide a path for enhanced control of CNC self-organization for applications in photonic crystal paper or advanced composites

Rheological and flow birefringence studies of rod-shaped pigment nanoparticle dispersions

We study rheological and rheo-optical properties of suspensions of anisometric pigment particles in a non-polar fluid. Different rheological regimes from the dilute regime to an orientationally arrested gel state were characterized and compared with existing theoretical models. We demonstrate the intricate flow behaviour in a wide range of volume fractions. A unique combination of the optical properties of the particles results in a giant rheo-optical effect: an unprecedentedly large shear stress-induced birefringence was found in the isotropic range, exhibiting a sharp pre-transitional behaviour

Shear rheology of cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) aqueous suspensions

Scientific and commercial interests in renewable nanomaterials have been receiving increasing attention over the years. Cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) derived from entirely renewable resources promises wide applicability owing to its high strength, chirality, self-assembly and electromagnetic properties. In this thesis the rheology of CNC aqueous suspensions was studied and the rheological behaviour was correlated with their microstructure. It has been found that the CNC aqueous suspensions experience two microstructural transitions by increasing CNC concentration: a transition from isotropic to chiral nematic liquid crystal occurs above a first critical concentration, and by further increasing concentration, the suspensions go through another transition from chiral nematic liquid crystal to gel above a second critical concentration. The viscosity profile of anisotropic suspensions shows a three-region behaviour characteristic of liquid crystals, and after gel formation a single shear thinning is observed over the whole investigated range. CNC suspensions possessing a higher degree of sulfation have more tendency to form anisotropic chiral nematic structures, and form gels at relatively higher concentration compared to those with a lower degree of sulfation. Sonication up to 1000 J/g CNC, breaks all the aggregates in the system and significantly decreases the viscosity. Although the sonication-induced decrease in viscosity levels off through further sonication (>1000 J/g CNC), it still affects the viscosity of anisotropic suspensions at low shear rates by increasing the size of chiral nematic domains. The effects of adding NaCl to CNC aqueous suspensions have been evaluated in different concentration regimes: isotropic, anisotropic chiral nematic, and gel. For isotropic samples and gels, the viscosity decreases by the addition of NaCl up to 5 mM. For anisotropic samples, on the other hand, the viscosity at low shear rates increases by addition of NaCl up to 5 mM due to decrease in chiral nematic domain size. However, at high shear rates, where all the domains are broken, the viscosity decreases when adding NaCl. Further addition of NaCl (>5 mM) results in extensive aggregation in suspension, and thus the viscosity increases.Applied Science, Faculty ofChemical and Biological Engineering, Department ofGraduat