Analysis of the Spirit of Struggle in the New Era Based on General Secretary Xi Jinping’s New Year’s Greetings in the Past Decade

In order to realize the national rejuvenation,General Secretary Xi Jinping attaches great importance to the spiritual strength of struggle,and has repeatedly advocated that all people should exalt the spirit of strive on different occasions.According to his New Year’s greetings since 2014,Xi Jinping has illustrated the connotation of the spirit of enterprising,the necessity of carrying forward and the requirements for practicing the spirit of struggle from different perspectives,pointing out that all Chinese must keep in mind both domestic and international situations,strive in unity,work creative and industrious with the enthusiasm of seizing every minute,catch the opportunity and solve the problem,make substantial progress on the new journey to construct China into a great modern socialist country in all respects.

New insights into the vitamin D requirements during pregnancy

Pregnancy represents a dynamic period with physical and physiological changes in both the mother and her developing fetus. The dramatic 2-3 fold increase in the active hormone 1,25（OH）2D concentrations during the early weeks of pregnancy despite minimal increased calcium demands during that time of gestation and which are sustained throughout pregnancy in both the mother and fetus suggests an immunomodulatory role in preventing fetal rejection by the mother. While there have been numerous observational studies that support the premise of vitamin D＇s role in maintaining maternal and fetal well-being, until recently, there have been few randomized clinical trials with vitamin D supplementation. One has to exhibit caution, however, even with RCTs, whose results can be problematic when analyzed on an intent-to-treat basis and when there is high non-adherence to protocol （as if often the case）, thereby diluting the potential good or harm of a given treatment at higher doses. As such, a biomarker of a drug or in this case ＂vitamin＂ or pre-prohormone is better served. For these reasons, the effect of vitamin D therapies using the biomarker circulating 25（OH）D is a far better indicator of true ＂effect.＂ When pregnancy outcomes are analyzed using the biomarker 25（OH）D instead of treatment dose, there are notable differences in maternal and fetal outcomes across diverse racial/ethnic groups, with improved health in those women who attain a circulating 25（OH）D concentration of at least 100 nmol. L-1 （40 ng. mL-1）. Because ,an important issue is the timing or initiation of vitamin D treatment/supplementation, and given the potential effect of vitamin D on placental gene expression and its effects on inflammation within the placenta, it appears crucial to start vitamin D treatment before placentation （and trophoblast invasion）; however, this question remains unanswered. Additional work is needed to decipher the vitamin D requirements of pregnant women and the optimal timing of supplementation, taking into account a variety of lifestyles, body types, baseline vitamin D status, and maternal and fetal vitamin D receptor （VDR） and vitamin D binding protein （VDBP） genotypes. Determining the role of vitamin D in nonclassical, immune pathways continues to be a challenge that once answered will substantiate recommendations and public health policies.

Solving an Age Old Problem A new law requires children to visit their aging parents

MORE than 10 years ago, the song Come Home As Often As You Can to See Your Parents became popular in China, reminding young people of their obli- gation to set aside their hectic lives and return to their hometowns to visit their aging parents. Today, the idea expressed in this song has been codified in Chinese law.