EFFECTS OF 14-WEEK SWIMMING TRAINING PROGRAM ON THE PSYCHOLOGICAL, HORMONAL, AND PHYSIOLOGICAL PARAMETERS OF ELITE WOMEN ATHLETES

Santhiago, V, da Silva, ASR, Papoti, M, and Gobatto, CA. Effects of 14-week swimming training program on the psychological, hormonal, and physiological parameters of elite women athletes. J Strength Cond Res 25(3): 825-832, 2011-The purpose of the study was to investigate the influence of a 14-week swimming training program on psychological, hormonal, and performance parameters of elite women swimmers. Ten Olympic and international-level elite women swimmers were evaluated 4 times along the experiment (i.e., in T1, T2, T3, and T4). On the first day at 8: 00 AM, before the blood collecting at rest for the determination of hormonal parameters, the athletes had their psychological parameters assessed by the profile of mood-state questionnaire. At 3: 00 AM, the swimmers had their anaerobic threshold assessed. On the second day at 3: 00 AM, the athletes had their alactic anaerobic performance measured. Vigor score and testosterone levels were lower (p <= 0.05) in T4 compared with T3. In addition, the rate between the peak blood lactate concentration and the median velocity obtained in the alactic anaerobic performance test increased in T4 compared with T3 (p < 0.05). For practical applications, the swimming coaches should not use a tapering with the present characteristics to avoid unexpected results.

RESPONSES OF HEMATOLOGICAL PARAMETERS AND AEROBIC PERFORMANCE OF ELITE MEN AND WOMEN SWIMMERS DURING A 14-WEEK TRAINING PROGRAM

Santhiago, V, da Silva, ASR, Papoti, M, and Gobatto, CA. Responses of hematological parameters and aerobic performance of elite men and women swimmers during a 14-week training program. J Strength Cond Res 23(4): 1097-1105, 2009-The main purpose of the present investigation was to verify the responses of hematological parameters in men and women competitive swimmers during a 14-week training program. Twenty-three Olympic and international athletes were evaluated 4 times during the experiment: at the beginning of the endurance training phase (T1), at the end of the endurance training phase (T2), at the end of the quality phases (T3), and at the end of the taper period (T4). On the first day at 8:00 AM, each swimmer had a blood sample taken for the determination of hematological parameters. At 3:00 PM, the athletes had their aerobic performance measured by anaerobic threshold. On the second day at 8: 00 AM, the swimmers had their aerobic performance measured by critical velocity. Hematocrit and mean corpuscular volume diminished (p <= 0.05) from T1 to T2 (men: 5.8 and 7.2%; women: 11.6 and 6.8%), and increased (p <= 0.05) from T2 to T3 (men: 7.2 and 6.0%; women: 7.4 and 5.2%). These results were related to the plasma volume changes of the athletes. However, these alterations do not seem to affect the swimmers` aerobic performance. For practical applications, time-trial performance is better than aerobic performance (i.e., anaerobic threshold and critical velocity) for monitoring training adaptations.

AnSBBR Applied to a Personal Care Industry Wastewater Treatment: Effects of Fill Time, Volume Treated Per Cycle, and Organic Load

A study was performed regarding the effect of the relation between fill time, volume treated per cycle, and influent concentration at different applied organic loadings on the stability and efficiency of an anaerobic sequencing batch reactor containing immobilized biomass on polyurethane foam with recirculation of the liquid phase (AnSBBR) applied to the treatment of wastewater from a personal care industry. Total cycle length of the reactor was 8 h (480 min). Fill times were 10 min in the batch operation, 4 h in the fed-batch operation, and a 10-min batch followed by a 4-h fed batch in the mixed operation. Settling time was not necessary since the biomass was immobilized and decant time was 10 min. Volume of liquid medium in the reactor was 2.5 L, whereas volume treated per cycle ranged from 0.88 to 2.5 L in accordance with fill time. Influent concentration varied from 300 to 1,425 mg COD/L, resulting in an applied volumetric organic load of 0.9 and 1.5 g COD/L.d. Recirculation flow rate was 20 L/h, and the reactor was maintained at 30 A degrees C. Values of organic matter removal efficiency of filtered effluent samples were below 71% in the batch operations and above 74% in the operations of fed batch followed by batch. Feeding wastewater during part of the operational cycle was beneficial to the system, as it resulted in indirect control over the conversion of substrate into intermediates that would negatively interfere with the biochemical reactions regarding the degradation of organic matter. As a result, the average substrate consumption increased, leading to higher organic removal efficiencies in the fed-batch operations.

Effect of impeller type and stirring frequency on the behavior of an AnSBBR in the treatment of low-strength wastewater

The influence of impeller type and stirring frequency on the performance of a mechanically stirred anaerobic sequencing batch reactor containing immobilized biomass on an inert support (AnSBBR - Anaerobic Sequencing Batch Biofilm Reactor) was evaluated. The biomass was immobilized on polyurethane foam cubes placed in a stainless-steel basket inside a glass cylinder. Each 8-h batch run consisted of three stages: feed (10 min), reaction (460 min) and discharge (10 min) at 30 degrees C. Experiments were performed with four impeller types, i.e., helical, flat-blade, inclined-blade and curved-blade turbines, at stirring frequencies ranging from 100 to 1100 rpm. Synthetic wastewater was used in all experiments with an organic-matter concentration of 530 +/- 37 mg/L measured as chemical oxygen demand (COD). The reactor achieved an organic-matter removal efficiency of around 87% under all investigated conditions. Analysis of the four impeller types and the investigated stirring frequencies showed that mass transfer in the liquid phase was affected not only by the applied stirring frequency but also by the agitation mode imposed by each impeller type. The best reactor performance at all stirring frequencies was obtained when agitation was provided by the flat-blade turbine impeller. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

AnSBBR Applied to the Treatment of Metalworking Fluid Wastewater: Effect of Organic and Shock Load

An investigation was performed regarding the application of a mechanically stirred anaerobic sequencing batch biofilm reactor containing immobilized biomass on inert polyurethane foam (AnSBBR) to the treatment of soluble metalworking fluids to remove organic matter and produce methane. The effect of increasing organic matter and reactor fill time, as well as shock load, on reactor stability and efficiency have been analyzed. The 5-L AnSBBR was operated at 30 A degrees C in 8-h cycles, agitation of 400 rpm, and treated 2.0 L effluent per cycle. Organic matter was increased by increasing the influent concentration (500, 1,000, 2,000, and 3,000 mg chemical oxygen demand (COD)/L). Fill times investigated were in the batch mode (fill time 10 min) and fed-batch followed by batch (fill time 4 h). In the batch mode, organic matter removal efficiencies were 87%, 86%, and 80% for influent concentrations of 500, 1,000, and 2,000 mgCOD/L (1.50, 3.12, and 6.08 gCOD/L.d), respectively. At 3,000 mgCOD/L (9.38 gCOD/L.d), operational stability could not be achieved. The reactor managed to maintain stability when a shock load twice as high the feed concentration was applied, evidencing the robustness of the reactor to potential concentration variations in the wastewater being treated. Increasing the fill time to 4 h did not improve removal efficiency, which was 72% for 2,000 mgCOD/L. Thus, gradual feeding did not improve organic matter removal. The concentration of methane formed at 6.08 gCOD/L was 5.20 mmolCH(4), which corresponded to 78% of the biogas composition. The behavior of the reactor during batch and fed-batch feeding could be explained by a kinetic model that considers organic matter consumption, production, and consumption of total volatile acids and methane production.

Effect of Fill Time on the Performance of Pilot-scale ASBR and AnSBBR Applied to Sanitary Wastewater Treatment

Many lab-scale studies have been carried out regarding the effect of feed strategy on the performance of anaerobic sequencing batch reactors (ASBR); however, more detailed pilot-scale studies should be performed to assess the real applicability of this type of operation. Therefore, the objective of this work was to assess the effect of feed strategy or fill time in a 1-m(3) mechanically stirred pilot-scale sequencing batch reactor, treating 0.65 m(3) sanitary wastewater in 8-h cycles at ambient temperature. Two reactor configurations were used: one containing granular biomass (denominated ASBR) and the other immobilized biomass on polyurethane foam as inert support (denominated anaerobic sequencing batch biofilm reactor (AnSBBR)). The reactors were operated under five distinct feed strategies, namely: typical batch and fed-batch for 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% of the cycle length. Stirring frequency in the ASBR was 40 rpm with two flat-blade turbine impellers and 80 rpm in the AnSBBR with two helix impellers. The results showed that both the ASBR and AnSBBR when operated under typical batch, fed-batch for 50% and 75% of the cycle length, presented improved organic matter removal efficiencies, without significant differences in performance, thus showing important operational flexibility. In addition, the reactors presented operation stability under all conditions.

Influence of feed time and sulfate load on the organic and sulfate removal in an ASBR

The removal of sulfate and organic matter was assessed in an ASBR, which treated wastewater containing 500 mg COD L(-1) (3 g COD L(-1) d(-1)) in 8 h-cycles at 30 degrees C. The wastewater was enriched with sulfate at [COD/SO(4)(2-]) ratios of 1.34, 0.67 and 0.34 (8.8,4.5 and 2.2 gSO(4)(2-) L(-1) d(-1)). For each COD/[SO(4)(2-)] ratio fill times used were: 10 min (batch), 3 and 6 h (fed-batch), achieving sulfate reduction of 30%, 72% and 72% (COD/[SO(4)(2-)] of 1.34); 25%, 58% and 55% (COD/[SO(4)(2-)] of 0.67) and 23%, 37% and 27% (COD/[SO(4)(2-)] of 0.34), respectively, and organic matter removal of 87%, 68% and 80% (COD/[SO(4)(2-)] of 1.34); 78%, 75% and 69% (COD/[SO(4)(2-)] of 0.67) and 85%, 84% and 83% (COD/[SO(4)(2-)] of 0.34), respectively. The results showed that fed-batch operation improved sulfate reduction, whereas organic matter removals were similar for batch and fed-batch operation. In addition, increase in sulfate loading in the fed-batch operation improved organic matter removal. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Biodegradability and toxicity assessment of bleach plant effluents treated anaerobically

As part of an experimental project on the treatment of bleach plant effluents the results of biodegradability and toxicity assessment of effluents from a bench-scale horizontal anaerobic immobilized bioreactor (HAIB) are discussed in this paper. The biodegradability of the bleach plant effluents from a Kraft pulp mill treated in the HAIB was evaluated using the modified Zahn-Wellens test. The inoculum came from a pulp mill wastewater treatment plant and the dissolved organic carbon (DOC) was used as the indicator of organic matter removal. The acute and chronic toxicity removal during the anaerobic treatment was estimated using Daphnia similis and Ceriodaphnia silvestrii respectively. Moreover, the evaluation of chromosome aberrations (CA), micronucleus frequencies (MN) and mitotic index (IM) in Allium cepa cells were used as genotoxicity indicators. The results indicate that the effluents from the anaerobic reactor are amenable to aerobic polishing. Acute and chronic toxicity were reduced by 90 and 81%, respectively. The largest CA and MN incidence in the meristematic cells of A. cepa were observed after exposure to the raw bleach plant effluent. The HAIB was able to reduce the acute and chronic toxicity as well as chromosome aberrations and the occurrence of micronucleus.

Effect of Organic Load on the Performance and Methane Production of an AnSBBR Treating Effluent from Biodiesel Production

Currently, there is an increasing demand for the production of biodiesel and, consequently, there will be an increasing need to treat wastewaters resulting from the production process of this biofuel. The main objective of this work was, therefore, to investigate the effect of applied volumetric organic load (AVOL) on the efficiency, stability, and methane production of an anaerobic sequencing batch biofilm reactor applied to the treatment of effluent from biodiesel production. As inert support, polyurethane foam cubes were used in the reactor and mixing was accomplished by recirculating the liquid phase. Increase in AVOL resulted in a drop in organic matter removal efficiency and increase in total volatile acids in the effluent. AVOLs of 1.5, 3.0, 4.5 and 6.0 g COD L(-1) day(-1) resulted in removal efficiencies of 92%, 81%, 67%, and 50%, for effluent filtered samples, and 91%, 80%, 63%, and 47%, for non-filtered samples, respectively, whereas total volatile acids concentrations in the effluent amounted to 42, 145, 386 and 729 mg HAc L(-1), respectively. Moreover, on increasing AVOL from 1.5 to 4.5 g COD L(-1) day(-1) methane production increased from 29.5 to 55.5 N mL CH(4) g COD(-1). However, this production dropped to 36.0 N mL CH(4) g COD(-1) when AVOL was increased to 6.0 g COD L(-1) day(-1), likely due to the higher concentration of volatile acids in the reactor. Despite the higher concentration of volatile acids at the highest AVOL, alkalinity supplementation to the influent, in the form of sodium bicarbonate, at a ratio of 0.5-1.3 g NaHCO(3) g COD (fed) (-1) , was sufficient to maintain the pH near neutral and guarantee process stability during reactor operation.

Temperature and feed strategy effects on sulfate and organic matter removal in an AnSBB

The objective of this work was to analyze the interaction effects between temperature, feed strategy and COD/[SO(4)(2-)] levels, maintaining the same ratio, on sulfate and organic matter removal efficiency from a synthetic wastewater. This work is thus a continuation of Archilha et al. (2010) who studied the effect of feed strategy at 30 degrees C using different COD/[SO] ratios and levels. A 3.7-L anaerobic sequencing batch reactor with recirculation of the liquid phase and which contained immobilized biomass on polyurethane foam (AnSBBR) was used to treat 2.0 L synthetic wastewater in 8 h cycles. The temperatures of 15, 22.5 and 30 degrees C with two feed strategies were assessed: (a) batch and (b) batch followed by fed-batch. In strategy (a) the reactor was fed in 10 min with 2 L wastewater containing sulfate and carbon sources. In strategy (b) 1.2 L wastewater (containing only the sulfate source) was fed during the first 10 min of the cycle and the remaining 0.8 L (containing only the carbon source) in 240 min. Based on COD/[SO(4)(2-)] = 1 and on the organic matter (0.5 and 1.5 gCOD/L) and sulfate (0.5 and 1.5 gSO(4)(2-)/L) concentrations, the sulfate and organic matter loading rates applied were 1.5 and 4.5 g/L.d, i.e., same COD/[SO(4)(2-)] ratio (=1) but different levels (1.5/1.5 and 4.5/4.5 gCOD/gSO(4)(2-)). When reactor feed was 1.5 gCOD/L.d and 1.5 gSO(4)(2-)/L.d, gradual feeding (strategy b) showed to favor sulfate and organic matter removal in the investigated temperature range, indicating improved utilization of the electron donor for sulfate reduction. Sulfate removal efficiencies were 87.9; 86.3 and 84.4%, and organic matter removal efficiencies 95.2; 86.5 and 80.8% at operation temperatures of 30; 22.5 and 15 degrees C, respectively. On the other hand, when feeding was 4.5 gCOD/L.d and 4.5 gSO(4)(2-)/L.d, gradual feeding did not favor sulfate removal, indicating that gradual feeding of the electron donor did not improve sulfate reduction. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Feasibility of a Sequencing Reactor Operated in Batch and Fed-batch Mode Applied to Nitrification and Denitrification Processes

The objective of this work was to study the operational feasibility of nitrification and denitrification processes in a mechanically stirred sequencing batch reactor (SBR) operated in batch and fed-batch mode. The reactor was equipped with a draft-tube to improve mass transfer and contained dispersed (aerobic) and granulated (anaerobic) biomass. The following reactor variables were adjusted: aeration time during the nitrification step; dissolved oxygen concentration, feed time defining batch and fed-batch phases, concentration of external carbon source used as electron donor during the denitrification stage and volumetric ammonium nitrogen load in the influent. The reactor (5 L volume) was maintained at 30 +/- 1 degrees C and treated either 1.0 or 1.5 L wastewater in 8-h cycles. Ammonium nitrogen concentrations assessed were: 50 (condition 1) and 100 mgN-NH(4)(+).L(-1) (condition 2), resulting in 29 and 67 mgN-NH(4)(+).L-1-d(-1), respectively. A synthetic medium and ethanol were used as external carbon sources (ECS). Total nitrogen removal efficiencies were 94.4 and 95.9% when the reactor was operated under conditions 1 and 2, respectively. Low nitrite (0.2 and 0.3 mgN-NO(2)(-).L(-1), respectively) and nitrate (0.01 and 0.3 mgN-NO(3)(-).L(-1), respectively) concentrations were detected in the effluent and ammonium nitrogen removal efficiencies were 97.6% and 99.6% under conditions 1 and 2, respectively.

Fermentative hydrogen production by microbial consortium

Heat pre-treatment of the inoculum associated to the pH control was applied to select hydrogen-producing bacteria and endospores-forming bacteria. The source of inoculum to the heat pre-treatment was from a UASB reactor used in the slaughterhouse waste treatment. The molecular biology analyses indicated that the microbial consortium presented microorganisms affiliated with Enterobacter cloacae (97% and 98%), Clostridium sp. (98%) and Clostridium acetobutyricum (96%), recognized as H, and volatile acids` producers. The following assays were carried out in batch reactors in order to verify the efficiencies of sucrose conversion to H-2 by the microbial consortium: (1) 630.0 mg sucrose/L, (2) 1184.0 mg sucrose/L, (3) 1816.0 mg sucrose/L and (4) 4128.0 mg sucrose/L. The subsequent yields were obtained as follows: 15% (1.2 mol H-2/mol sucrose), 20% (1.6 mol H-2/mol sucrose), 15% (1.2 mol H-2/mol sucrose) and 4% (0.3 mol H-2/mol sucrose), respectively. The intermediary products were acetic acid, butyric acid, methanol and ethanol in all of the anaerobic reactors. (C) 2008 International Association for Hydrogen Energy. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Influence of organic shock loads in an ASBBR treating synthetic wastewater with different concentration levels

Safe application of the anaerobic sequencing biofilm batch reactor (ASBBR) still depends on deeper insight into its behavior when faced with common operational problems in wastewater treatments such as tolerance to abrupt variations in influent concentration, so called shock loads. To this end the current work shows the effect of organic shock loads on the performance of an ASBBR, with a useful volume of 5 L, containing 0.5-cm polyurethane cubes and operating at 30 degrees C with mechanical stirring of 500 rpm. In the assays 2 L of two types of synthetic wastewater were treated in 8-h cycles. Synthetic wastewater I was based on sucrose-amide-cellulose with concentration of 500 mg COD/L and synthetic wastewater II was based on volatile acids with concentration ranging from 500 to 2000 mg COD/L. Organic shock loads of 2-4 times the operation concentration were applied during one and two cycles. System efficiency was monitored before and after application of the perturbation. When operating with concentrations from 500 to 1000 mg COD/L and shock loads of 2-4 times the influent concentration during one or two cycles the system was able to regain stability after one cycle and the values of organic matter, total and intermediate volatile acids, bicarbonate alkalinity and pH were similar to those prior to the perturbations. At a concentration of 2000 mg COD/L the reactor appeared to be robust, regaining removal efficiencies similar to those prior to perturbation at shock loads twice the operation concentration lasting one cycle and stability was recovered after two cycles. However, for shock loads twice the operation concentration during two cycles and shock loads four times the operation concentration during one or two cycles filtered sample removal efficiency decreased to levels different from those prior to perturbation, on an average of 90-80%, approximately, yet the system managed to attain stability within two cycles after shock application. Therefore, this investigation envisions the potential of full scale application of this type of bioreactor which showed robustness to organic shock loads, despite discontinuous operation and the short times available for treating total wastewater volume. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Fluidized ASBR treating synthetic wastewater: Effect of recirculation velocity

An investigation has been performed on the effect of liquid phase recirculation velocity and increasing influent concentration on the stability and efficiency of an anaerobic sequencing batch reactor (ASBR) containing granular biomass. The reactor treated 1.3 L synthetic wastewater at 30 degrees C in 6 h cycles. Initially the effect of recirculation velocity was investigated employing velocities of 5, 7 and 10 m/h and influent concentration of 500 mg COD/L. At these velocities, filtered sample organic matter removal efficiencies were 83, 85 and 84%, respectively. A first order kinetic model could also be fitted to the experimental organic matter concentration profiles. The kinetic parameter values of this model were 1.35, 2.36 and 1.00 h(-1) at the recirculation velocities of 5, 7 and 10 m/h, respectively. The recirculation velocity of 7 m/h was found to be the best operating strategy and this value was maintained while the influent concentration was altered in order to verify system efficiency and stability at increasing organic load. Influent concentration of 1000 mg COD/L resulted in filtered sample organic matter removal efficiency of 80%, and a first order kinetic parameter value of 1.14 h(-1), whereas the concentration of 1500 mg COD/L resulted in an efficiency of 82% and a kinetic parameter value of 1.31 h(-1). (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Registration of temporal sequences of coronal and sagittal MR images through respiratory patterns

This work discusses the determination of the breathing patterns in time sequence of images obtained from magnetic resonance (MR) and their use in the temporal registration of coronal and sagittal images. The registration is made without the use of any triggering information and any special gas to enhance the contrast. The temporal sequences of images are acquired in free breathing. The real movement of the lung has never been seen directly, as it is totally dependent on its surrounding muscles and collapses without them. The visualization of the lung in motion is an actual topic of research in medicine. The lung movement is not periodic and it is susceptible to variations in the degree of respiration. Compared to computerized tomography (CT), MR imaging involves longer acquisition times and it is preferable because it does not involve radiation. As coronal and sagittal sequences of images are orthogonal to each other, their intersection corresponds to a segment in the three-dimensional space. The registration is based on the analysis of this intersection segment. A time sequence of this intersection segment can be stacked, defining a two-dimension spatio-temporal (2DST) image. The algorithm proposed in this work can detect asynchronous movements of the internal lung structures and lung surrounding organs. It is assumed that the diaphragmatic movement is the principal movement and all the lung structures move almost synchronously. The synchronization is performed through a pattern named respiratory function. This pattern is obtained by processing a 2DST image. An interval Hough transform algorithm searches for synchronized movements with the respiratory function. A greedy active contour algorithm adjusts small discrepancies originated by asynchronous movements in the respiratory patterns. The output is a set of respiratory patterns. Finally, the composition of coronal and sagittal image pairs that are in the same breathing phase is realized by comparing of respiratory patterns originated from diaphragmatic and upper boundary surfaces. When available, the respiratory patterns associated to lung internal structures are also used. The results of the proposed method are compared with the pixel-by-pixel comparison method. The proposed method increases the number of registered pairs representing composed images and allows an easy check of the breathing phase. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.