Physical activity participation related challenges that adolescent Montagnard refugee youth encounter in America

Although research has identified that physical activity enhances the psychosocial, physiological, and the academic well-being of at-risk youth, little information is known about the unique challenges that adolescent Montagnard refugee youth face as they acculturate into the United States of America.Methods: This case study used photovoice methodology (Wang, 1998) to examine the physical activity participation related challenges that adolescent Montagnard immigrant youth encounter upon arrival into the United Stated of America.  Sixteen adolescent Montagnard youth (eight male and eight female) participated in this intensive study. They all completed a demographic survey with the use of two bilingual and bicultural interpreters (1 male and 1 female), participated in photovoice training on the use of cameras, took photographs, wrote photo captions, and shared stories about their pictures. A total 356 photographs were developed and analyzed.  Results: The results from the photovoice study clearly indicated that the environmental, socio-cultural, and socio-demographic were the main barriers to participating in physical activity as well as accessing community parks and recreation amenities.Conclusion:  The findings reaffirmed that collaborations among all stakeholders were invaluable, especially in cross-cultural settings

Physical activity participation related challenges that adolescent Montagnard refugee youth encounter in America

Although research has identified that physical activity enhances the psychosocial, physiological, and the academic well-being of at-risk youth, little information is known about the unique challenges that adolescent Montagnard refugee youth face as they acculturate into the United States of America.Methods: This case study used photovoice methodology (Wang, 1998) to examine the physical activity participation related challenges that adolescent Montagnard immigrant youth encounter upon arrival into the United Stated of America.  Sixteen adolescent Montagnard youth (eight male and eight female) participated in this intensive study. They all completed a demographic survey with the use of two bilingual and bicultural interpreters (1 male and 1 female), participated in photovoice training on the use of cameras, took photographs, wrote photo captions, and shared stories about their pictures. A total 356 photographs were developed and analyzed.  Results: The results from the photovoice study clearly indicated that the environmental, socio-cultural, and socio-demographic were the main barriers to participating in physical activity as well as accessing community parks and recreation amenities.Conclusion:  The findings reaffirmed that collaborations among all stakeholders were invaluable, especially in cross-cultural settings

Critical role of lay health cultural brokers in promoting the health of immigrants and refugees: A case study in the United States of America

The United States of America, a home to immigrants and refugees from various cultures and corners of the world continues to encounter waves of mass immigration. Some immigrated due to well-founded fears of persecution (i.e. religious, political, race, or social group) or economic hardships. Others immigrated to, reunite with family members, seek economic and education opportunities, and better standards of living. Notwithstanding their channels of admission or entry and their pivotal role in enriching the culture and the economy of the United States of America, many confront several health and lifestyle related challenges as they acculturate and integrate into the mainstream of American life and culture. Although many individuals and organizations have created numerous programs and activities to help ease these difficulties, minimal documentation is available on the involvement and engagement of the non-traditional work force, such as the lay health cultural brokers

Identification of a cell population model for algae growth processes

The growth process of a Chlamydomonas reinhardtii cell population is modelled with experimental data obtained in a batch reactor. To describe the growth process of this culture, the Droop model, extended by cell population balance model, is considered. On the basis of available measurements and the mathematical model, an optimization problem is defined in order to determine the kinetic parameter values for the growth functions of the Droop model and the cell division parameters of the cell population balance model

IMMIGRANT YOUTH LEADERSHIP IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT THROUGH SPORT PARTICIPATION IN A NEW COUNTRY

The purpose of the study was to explore how immigrant youth develop leadership identity through sport participation in a new country. A purposive sample of 15 immigrant and refugee youth participating in a local sport club in the southeastern United States was selected for the study. All of the participants were male; ranged in age from 13 to 18 years old. The country of origin for one was Mexico, while the remaining 14 came from eight different countries in sub-Saharan Africa. This instrumental case study involved in-depth interviews twice with each participant and a group interview with all of them. The researchers used several strategies to establish credibility, including adherence to IRB guidelines for human subjects’ research. Inductive analyses yielded two major categories with several themes for each; (a) sport participation, and (b) leadership skills. Findings related to these themes led to several implications for schools, community-based organizations, and sport clubs that provide programs for immigrant and refugee youth.  Article visualizations

State estimation of microalgae photobioreactors: applications to Haematococcus pluvialis

Haematococcus Pluvialis is a type of freshwater green unicellular microalgae that can be used as economical natural source of astaxanthin. To guarantee optimal algae production and the proper conditions for the obtainment of high yield of astaxanthin, the growth process should be carefully monitored and controlled. When on-line measurements are not available, state estimators can provide a useful tool for process monitoring. In this paper a geometric observer is designed based on an extended version of the Droop model for microalgae growth, identified on the basis of batch experiments. The observer functioning and convergence are tested using experimental data obtained from a laboratory scale bioreactor

Indistinguishability analysis and observer design for size-structured cell populations

The observability property of population balance equations with biomass measurements is addressed within the framework of indistinguishable trajectories. The population balance equation is described by a partial integro-differential equation which is coupled with an ordinary differential equation for the nutrient dynamics. For the semi-discretized model equations, the dynamics of indistinguishable trajectories are derived and evaluated for the special case of equal partitioning at cell division revealing that the observability property is guaranteed as long as the nutrient concentration is not depleted. Based on these results, an observer is designed and tested in simulation to estimate the cell population distribution using biomass measurements in a batch bioreactor for the case of a bi-structured population.</p