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Limited data exist related to low birth weight (LBW) incidence and risk factors in Western China. This paper aims to assess LBW and its relationship with antenatal care (ANC) in the poor counties of Western China. A community-based study in rural Western China was conducted in 2011. A kernel distribution was used to estimate the adjusted LBW incidence, and associations between LBW and socio-demographic or maternal factors were examined using multilevel logistic regression. Among 8,964 participants, 65.7% were weighed at birth. Crude LBW incidence was 6.6% and the adjusted rate was 9.3%. The study revealed that risk factors of LBW are being female, raised within a minority group, and with a family income below the national poverty line. For maternal risk factors, LBW was positively associated with not attending at least five or eight ANC visits, not receiving any ANC during the first trimester, and not having access to assess certain ANC content (weight, blood pressure, blood test, urine test, B-scan ultrasound, and folic acid supplement). There is urgent need to promote quality ANC in poor and rural areas of Western China and to prioritize vulnerable women and children who will benefit from quality ANC.

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This article explores differences between the current health status of adolescents and the targets set in Healthy China 2030 (HC2030). Methods: Global and domestic policies and strategies relating to adolescent health were reviewed. Data from the Global Burden of Disease Study (1990e2016) and the Chinese National Survey on Students' Constitution and Health (1985e2014) were used to analyze time trends and geographical distributions of health indicators for adolescents aged 10e19 years in China. Results: The Chinese government has released many health policies over the past 3 decades. In this context, there has been a major decline in all-cause mortality and stunting. However, gaps between the current health status of adolescents and the targets set in HC2030 were numerous. The prevalence of obesity and poor vision increased rapidly, and few adolescents meet the physical activity and fitness targets set in HC2030. Urban/rural differences were marked for some indicators such as obesity, whereas for other indicators (e.g., stunting), there remained notable differences across provinces. Conclusions: Many long-standing health problems of adolescents have improved, but new problems related to noncommunicable disease risks have emerged and should be a prominent focus for policy action under HC2030.

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Globally, the COVID-19 pandemic is triggering a public health emergency and crisis on a large scale, with far-reaching effects and severe damage to all aspects of politics, economy, cultural and social life, and health. Consecutive outbreaks over the past nearly 2 years of “living with COVID-19” have forced most schools to physically close, resulting in the largest educational disruption in human history. In turbulent times of the COVID-19 crisis, school leaders are facing numerous major challenges germane to school governance and leadership. The key objective of the study is to fully explore the prospective challenges principals are encountering in public schools in times of COVID-19. To fulfill the research purpose, a systematic literature review (SLR) was carried out to investigate the leadership challenges. As a result, a total of 24 challenges were explored through SLR approach. Frequency analysis approach was initially applied to figure out the most significant challenges. Accordingly, seven challenges were found statistically significant as showing frequency ≥ 50 each. Irrevocably, the study works as a contribution to K-12 school leadership by providing guidance for current and future leaders in crisis based on practical investigation, experiences, and recommendations. Policy makers can leverage these findings to make necessary adjustments to school policy to better prepare school leaders for crisis. Additionally, the findings of the current study are believed to have profound implications for future research. These findings expand our current understanding on school leadership in time of crisis that needs further investigation. Subsequent studies can quantitatively and/or qualitatively validate these leadership challenges findings regarding a particular school context.

Decaploid Elytrigia elongata (tall wheatgrass) is a halophytic relative of wheat that is used to improve salt tolerance of wheat in China. However, the physiological mechanisms for the salt tolerance of decaploid E. elongata remain elusive. To further gain insights into mechanisms important for salt tolerance, we present here a comparative study of salt tolerance in salt-sensitive tetraploid E. elongata (PI578686) and salt-tolerant decaploid E. elongata (PI276399). Results showed that compared with PI578686, PI276399 exhibited a higher relative growth rate and a stronger selective absorption and -transport capacity for K ? over Na ? under high salt conditions (100-200 mM NaCl). This contributed to maintain lower net Na ? uptake rates and more efficiently control Na ? transport to the shoot in PI276399 than in PI578686. Meanwhile, this also resulted in lower reductions of tissue K ? concentrations as well as of net K ? uptake rates in PI276399 compared to PI578686. Taken together, our findings indicate that PI276399 has the stronger selectivity for K ? over Na ? contributing it to maintain lower Na ? uptake and K ? loss compared with PI578686 in the presence of high salt, and hence endowing the higher salt tolerance of PI276399.