Drifting blooms of the endemic filamentous brown alga Hincksia sordida at Noosa on the subtropical east Australian coast

Since 2002, the usually uncommon endemic filamentous brown alga Hincksia sordida (Harvey) Silva (Ectocarpales, Phaeophyta) has formed nuisance blooms annually during spring/early summer at Main Beach, Noosa on the subtropical east Australian coast. The Hincksia bloom coincides with the normally intensive recreational use of the popular bathing beach by the local population and tourists. The alga forms dense accumulations in the surf zone at Main Beach, giving the seawater a distinct brown coloration and deterring swimmers from entering the water. Decomposing algae stranded by receding tides emit a nauseating sulphurous stench which hangs over the beach. The stranded algal biomass is removed from the beach by bulldozers. During blooms, the usually crowded Main Beach is deserted, bathers preferring to use the many unaffected beaches on the Sunshine Coast to the south of Main Beach. The bloom worsens with north-easterly winds and is cleared from Noosa by south easterly winds, observations which have prompted the untenable proposal by local authorities that the bloom is forming offshore of Fraser Island in the South Pacific Ocean. The Noosa River estuarine system/Laguna Bay is the more probable source of the bloom and the nutrient inputs into this system must be substantial to generate the high bloom biomass. Current mitigation procedures of removing the blooming alga off the beach with bulldozers treat the symptom, not the cause and are proving ineffective. Environmental management must be based on science and the Noosa bloom would benefit greatly from the accurate ecological data on which to base management options. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Efeito do exercício físico na estabilidade de membrana de eritrócitos

CHAPTER II - This study evaluated the effects of two different types of acute aerobic exercise on the osmotic stability of human erythrocyte membrane and on different hematological and biochemical variables that are associated with this membrane property. The study population consisted of 20 healthy and active men. Participants performed single sessions of two types of exercise. The first session consisted of 60 min of moderate-intensity continuous exercise (MICE). The second session, executed a week later, consisted of high-intensity interval exercise (HIIE) until exhaustion. The osmotic stability of the erythrocyte membrane was represented by the inverse of the salt concentration (1/H50) at the midpoint of the sigmoidal curve of dependence between the absorbance of hemoglobin and the NaCl concentration. The values of 1/H50 changed from 2.29 ± 0.1 to 2.33 ± 0.09 after MICE and from 2.30 ± 0.08 to 2.23 ± 0.12 after HIIE. In MICE has occurred an increase in the mean corpuscular volume, probably due to in vivo lysis of older erythrocytes, with preservation of cells that were larger and more resistant to in vitro lysis. The study showed that a single bout of acute exercise affected the erythrocyte osmotic stability, which increased after MICE and decreased after HIIE.

Shirley Babashoff

General note: Title and date provided by Bettye Lane.

Champion long distance swimmer Diana Nyad

General note: Title and date provided by Bettye Lane.

US women's Olympic swimming team

General note: Title and date provided by Bettye Lane.

Authors night at Dalton Book Store with Rita Mae Brown and Swimmer Diana Nyad (right)

General note: Title and date provided by Bettye Lane.

Understanding Adolescents’ Positive and Negative Developmental Experiences in Sport

The purpose of this study was to gain understanding of adolescents’ positive and negative developmental experiences in sport. Twenty-two purposefully sampled adolescent competitive swimmers participated in a semistructured qualitative interview. Content analysis led to the organization of meaning units into themes and categories (Patton, 2002). Athletes suggested their sport involvement facilitated many positive developmental experiences (i.e., related to challenge, meaningful adult and peer relationships, a sense of community, and other life experiences) and some negative developmental experiences (i.e., related to poor coach relationships, negative peer influences, parent pressure, and the challenging psychological environment of competitive sport). Findings underline the important roles of sport programmers, clubs, coaches, and parents in facilitating youths’ positive developmental experiences in sport, while highlighting numerous important directions for future research. Implications for coach training and practice are outlined.

Gewebeansatz-Strukturen auf pyritisierten Steinkernen von Ammonoideen

3400 pyritized internal moulds of Upper Devonian, Triassic, Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous ammonoids show various soft tissue attachment structures. They are preserved as regularly distributed black patterns on the moulds. All structures can be interpreted as attachment areas of muscles, ligaments and intracameral membranes. Paired structures are developed along the umbilicus and on the flanks of the moulds, unpaired ones appear on the middle of their dorsal and ventral sides. Strong lateral muscles cause paired twin lines on the flanks of the phragmocone and of the body chamber. A ventral muscle is deduced from small rounded or crescent shaped spots in front of each septum on the ventral side. These spots are often connected, forming a band-like structure. Broad dark external bands on the ventral side of the phragmocone, ventral preseptal areas in the posterior part of the living chamber, small twin lines or oval shaped areas on the ventral side of the living chamber represent paired or unpaired attachment areas of the hyponome muscle. A middorsal muscle is documented by small roughened areas in front of each dorsal lobe. Dark spots along the umbilicus, often connected and thus forming a band-like structure (tracking band), are remains of a pair of small dorsolateral muscles at the posterior end of the soft body. Dark bands, lines and rows of small crescent shaped structures behind the tips of sutural lobes are due to spotlike fixation places of the posterior part of the mantle and their translocation before subsequent septal secretion. Devonian goniatites had a paired system of lateral and ventrolateral muscles preserved on the moulds as black or incised lines on the flanks of the living chamber and as dark preseptal areas, ventrally indented. These structures represent the attachment areas of paired lateral cephalic and paired ventral hyponome retractors. Fine black lines on the phragmocone situated parallel to the sutures (pseudosutures) represent a rhythmical secretion of camera! membranes during softbody translocation. Goniatites had a paired system of lateral and ventrolateral muscles, whilst Neoammonoids have a paired lateral and dorsolateral system, and, additionally, an unpaired system on the ventral and on the dorsal side. Mesoammonoids show only a paired lateral and an unpaired dorsal one. Fine black lines situated parallel to the saddles and behind the lobes of the suture line can be interpreted as structures left during softbody translocation and a temporary attachment of rhythmical secreted cameral membranes. Cameral membranes had supported the efficiency of the phragmocone. Only some of the observed structures are also present in recent Nautilus. Differences in the form and position of attachment sites between ammonoids and recent Nautilus indicate different soft body organizations between ammonoids and nautiloids. The attachment structures of goniatites especially of tornoceratids can be compared with those of Nautilus which indicates Richter - Gewebeansatz-Strukturen bei Ammonoideen 3 a comparable mode of life. Differences in the form and position of attachment structures between goniatites and ammonites may indicate an increasing differentiation of the muscular system in the phylogeny of this group. Different soft body organization may depend on shell morphology and on a different mode of life. On the modification or reduction of distinct muscle systems ammonoids can be assigned to different ecotypes. Based on shell morphology and the attachment areas of cephalic and hyponome retractor muscles two groups can be subdivided: - Depressed, evolute morphotypes with longidome body-chambers show only small ventral hyponome retractor muscles. Lateral cephalic retractors are not developed. These morphotypes are adapted to a demersal mode of life. Without strong cephalic retractor muscles no efficient jet propulsion can be produced. These groups represent vertical migrants with efficient phragmocone properties (multilobate sutures, cameral membranes, narrow septal spacing). - Compressed, involute moiphotypes with brevidome body-chambers show strong cephalic and hyponome retractor muscles and represent a group of active swimmers. These morphotypes were able to live at different depths, in the free water column or/and near the seafloor. They are not confined only to one habitat. Most of the examined genera and species belong to this group. Changes of the attachment structures in the course of ontogeny confirm that juveniles of Amaltheus and Quenstedtoceras lived as passive planche drifters in upper and intermediate parts of the free water column after hatching. At the end of the juvenile stage with a shell diameter of 0,3 - 0,5 cm cephalic retractor muscles developed. With the beginning of an active swimming mode of life (neanic stage) the subadult animals left the free water column and moved into shallow water habitats. Fuciniceras showed no marked changes in the attachment structures during ontogeny. This indicates that there occur no differences in the mode of life between juvenile and adult growth stages. Based on attachment structures and shell morphology of Devonian goniatites their relation to the systematic position permits statements about probable phylogenetic relationships between the Cheiloceratidae and Tornoceratidae. In some cases attachment structures of ammonites permit statements about phylogenetic relationships on family and genus level.

Swimming training repercussion on metabolic and structural bone development: benefits of the incorporation of whole body vibration or pilometric training; the RENACIMIENTO project

Introduction: Enviromental factors such as exercise participation and nutrition have often been linked to bone improvements. However, not all sports have the same effects, being non-osteogenic sports such as swimming defined as negative or neutral sports to practice regarding bone mass by some authors, similarly exercise-diet interaction in especific groups is still not clear. Objective: To present the methodology of the RENACIMENTO project that aims to evaluate body composition and more specifically bone mass by several techniques in adolescent swimmers and to observe the effects and perdurability of whole body vibration (WBV) and jumping intervention (JIN) on body composition and fitness on this population and explore posible diet interactions. Design: Randomized controlled trial. Methods: 78 swimmers (12-17 y) and 26 sex- and age-matched controls will participate in this study. Dual energy X-ray, peripheral Quantitative Computed Tomography, Quantitative Ultrasound, Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis, and anthropometry measurements will be performed in order to evaluate body composition. Physical activity, nutrition, pubertal development and socio-economical status may act as confounders of body composition and therefore will also be registered. Several fitness factors regarding strength, endurance, performance and others will also be registered to evaluate differences with controls and act as confounders. A 7-month WBV therapy will be performed by 26 swimmers consisting of a training of 15 minutes 3 times per week. An 8 month JIM will also be performed by 26 swimmers 3 times per week. The remaining 26 swimmers will continue their normal swimming training. Four evaluations will be performed, the first one in order to describe differences between swimmers and controls. The second one to describe the effects of the interventions and the third and fourth evaluations to describe the perdurability of the effects of the WBV and JIN. Conclusion: The RENACIMIENTO project will allow to answer several questions regarding body composition, fitness, bone mass and interaction with diet of adolescent swimmers, describe swimming as a positive, negative or neutral sport to practice regarding these parameters and elucidate the effects and perdurability of WBV and JIM on body composition.

Estágio de natação na equipa de competição da Associação Naval Amorense

Este relatório surge no âmbito do Mestrado em Treino Desportivo, pretendendo dar a conhecer as minhas aprendizagens e trabalho desenvolvido durante o estágio de carater profissionalizante realizado com a equipa de natação absoluta da Associação Naval Amorense ao longo da época 2014/2016. Este estágio permitiu-me analisar e intervir em diversos aspetos integrados no processo de treino da modalidade de natação, tais como: a análise e correção técnica, análise do planeamento da época desportiva e intervenção, tanto em contexto de competição como também em tarefas das sessões de treino. Desta forma, foi-me possível não só obter um conhecimento mais abrangente e real dos processos de treino, mas também, o enquadramento da informação e conhecimento que foram fornecidos ao longo de todo o meu percurso académico. Foi ainda possível acrescentar uma componente de investigação a este mesmo relatório, através de um projeto cientifico realizado com alguns dos nadadores de referência do clube.

Adaptation of motor control to training and disuse : contribution of muscle synergy analysis and movement variability

The well-known degrees of freedom problem originally introduced by Nikolai Bernstein (1967) results from the high abundance of degrees of freedom in the musculoskeletal system. Such abundance in motor control have two sides: i) because it is unlikely that the Central Nervous System controls each degree of freedom independently, the complexity of the control needs to be reduced, and ii) because there are many options to perform a movement, a repetition of a given movement is never the same. It leads to two main topics in motor control and biomechanics: motor coordination and motor variability. The present thesis aimed to understand how motor systems behave and adapt under specific conditions. This thesis comprises three studies that focused on three topics of major interest in the field of sports sciences and medicine: expertise, injury risk and fatigue. The first study (expertise) has focused on the muscle coordination topic to further investigate the effect of expertise on the muscle synergistic organization, which ultimately may represent the underlying neural strategies. Studies 2 (excessive medial knee displacement) and 3 (fatigue) both aimed to better understand its impact on the dynamic local stability. The main findings of the present thesis suggest: 1) there is a great robustness in muscle synergistic organization between swimmers at different levels of expertise (study 1, chapter II), which ultimately indicate that differences in muscle coordination is mainly explained by peripheral adaptations; 2) injury risk factors such as excessive medial knee displacement (study 2, chapter III) and fatigue (study 3, chapter IV) alter the dynamic local stability of the neuromuscular system towards a more unstable state. This change in dynamic local stability represents a loss of adaptability in the neuromuscular system reducing the flexibility to adapt to a perturbation.

Planeamento e controlo de treino no segmento de ciclismo do triatlo do Benfica com vista às provas ITU

Relatório de Estágio apresentado para a obtenção do grau de Mestre em Desporto com especialização em Treino Desportivo

Planeamento e controlo de treino no segmento de ciclismo do triatlo do Benfica com vista às provas ITU

Relatório de Estágio apresentado para a obtenção do grau de Mestre em Desporto com especialização em Treino Desportivo

Vortex evolution in the wake of accelerating low-aspect-ratio plates and three-dimensional bodies of revolution

To find examples of effecient locomotion and manoeuvrability, one need only turn to the elegant solutions natural flyers and swimmers have converged upon. This dissertation is specifically motivated by processes of evolutionary convergence, which have led to the propulsors and body shapes in nature that exhibit strong geometric collapse over diverse scales. These body features are abstracted in the studies presented herein using low-aspect-ratio at plates and a three-dimensional body of revolution (a sphere). The highly-separated vortical wakes that develop during accelerations are systematically characterized as a function of planform shape, aspect ratio, Reynolds number, and initial boundary conditions. To this end, force measurements and time-resolved (planar) particle image velocimetry have been used throughout to quantify the instantaneous forces and vortex evolution in the wake of the bluff bodies. During rectilinear motions, the wake development for the flat plates is primarily dependent on plate aspect ratio, with edge discontinuities and curvature playing only a secondary role. Furthermore, the axisymmetric case, i.e. the circular plate, shows strong sensitivity to Reynolds number, while this sensitivity quickly diminishes with increasing aspect ratio. For rotational motions, global insensitivity to plate aspect ratio has been observed. For the sphere, it has been shown that accelerations play an important role in the mitigation of flow separation. These results - expounded upon in this dissertation - have begun to shed light on the specific vortex dynamics that may be coopted by flying and swimming species of all shapes and sizes towards efficient locomotion.

Os efeitos imediatos da aplicação de Kinesiotape no complexo articular do ombro no desempenho do nadador de competição

Projeto de Graduação apresentado à Universidade Fernando Pessoa como parte dos requisitos para obtenção do grau de Licenciada em Fisioterapia