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Stalked protozoa identification by image analysis and multivariable statistical techniques

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Abstract

Protozoa are considered good indicators of the treatment quality in activated sludge systems as they are sensitive to physical, chemical and operational processes. Therefore, it is possible to correlate the predominance of certain species or groups and several operational parameters of the plant. This work presents a semiautomatic image analysis procedure for the recognition of the stalked protozoa species most frequently found in wastewater treatment plants by determining the geometrical, morphological and signature data and subsequent processing by discriminant analysis and neural network techniques. Geometrical descriptors were found to be responsible for the best identification ability and the identification of the crucial Opercularia and Vorticella microstoma microorganisms provided some degree of confidence to establish their presence in wastewater treatment plants.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the National Council of Scientific and Technological Development of Brazil (CNPq), the BI-EURAM III ALFA cooperation project (European Commission) and the POCI/AMB/57069/2004 project supported by the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (Portugal). Data from the Nancy plant were made available by Maurício da Motta (UFPE, Recife, Brazil).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. IBB—Institute for Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Centre of Biological Engineering, Universidade do Minho, Campus de Gualtar, 4710-057, Braga, Portugal

    A. L. Amaral, A. Nicolau & E. C. Ferreira

  2. Departamento de Engenharia Química e Biológica, Instituto Superior de Engenharia de Coimbra, Instituto Politécnico de Coimbra, Rua Pedro Nunes, Quinta da Nora, 3030-199, Coimbra, Portugal

    A. L. Amaral

  3. Departamento de Engenharia Bioquímica, Escola de Química/UFRJ, Centro de Tecnologia, E-113, Cidade Universitária, Ilha do Fundão, Rio de Janeiro, CEP, 21941-900, Brazil

    Y. P. Ginoris & M. A. Z. Coelho

Authors
  1. A. L. Amaral
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  2. Y. P. Ginoris
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  3. A. Nicolau
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  4. M. A. Z. Coelho
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  5. E. C. Ferreira
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Correspondence to A. L. Amaral.

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Amaral, A.L., Ginoris, Y.P., Nicolau, A. et al. Stalked protozoa identification by image analysis and multivariable statistical techniques. Anal Bioanal Chem 391, 1321–1325 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-008-1845-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-008-1845-y

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