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Purpose: The aim of this study is to examine levels of COVID-19 stress among Asian youth-compared to white youth-in a Canadian sample, and whether this stress is moderated by a sense of belonging derived from access to contextual (spiritual, cultural, educational) resources., Methods: Data are from a longitudinal study of youth in Alberta, Canada. Participants were those who identified as Asian/Southeast Asian (n = 202) or White (n = 772). Data were collected at three waves. Measures included COVID-19 stress, the Child and Youth Resilience Measure-28 Contextual subscale, and demographics. Data were analyzed using multivariate regression., Results: Overall at Wave 3, Asian youth reported significantly higher COVID-19 stress than white youth. In moderation analyses, Asian youth who reported higher Wave 1 Child and Youth Resilience Measure-28 Contextual scores also reported higher Wave 3 COVID-19 stress., Conclusions: We found that experience of a typically protective factor was altered during COVID-19 for Asian youth in this sample. This finding may be related to societal-level discrimination and inequitable treatment experienced by many Asian communities during the pandemic, but future research is needed to test this mechanism., (Copyright © 2021 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Suicide is a leading cause of death among youth and a prominent concern for school mental health providers. Indeed, schools play a key role in suicide prevention, including participating in risk assessments with students expressing suicidal ideation. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, many schools now need to offer mental health services, including suicide risk assessment, via eHealth platforms. Post pandemic, the use of eHealth risk assessments will support more accessible services for youth living in rural and remote areas. However, as the remote environment is a new context for many schools, guidance is needed on best practices for eHealth suicide risk assessment among youth., Objective: This study aims to conduct a rapid, systematic scoping review to explore promising practices for conducting school-based suicide risk assessment among youth via eHealth (ie, information technologies that allow for remote communication)., Methods: This review included peer-reviewed articles and gray literature published in English between 2000 and 2020. Although we did not find studies that specifically explored promising practices for school-based suicide risk assessment among youth via eHealth platforms, we found 12 peer-reviewed articles and 23 gray literature documents that contained relevant information addressing our broader study purpose; thus, these 35 sources were included in this review., Results: We identified five key recommendation themes for school-based suicide risk assessment among youth via eHealth platforms in the 12 peer-reviewed studies. These included accessibility, consent procedures, session logistics, safety planning, and internet privacy. Specific recommendation themes from the 23 gray literature documents substantially overlapped with and enhanced three of the themes identified in the peer-reviewed literature-consent procedures, session logistics, and safety planning. In addition, based on findings from the gray literature, we expanded the accessibility theme to a broader theme termed youth engagement, which included information on accessibility and building rapport, establishing a therapeutic space, and helping youth prepare for remote sessions. Finally, a new theme was identified in the gray literature findings, specifically concerning school mental health professional boundaries. A second key difference between the gray and peer-reviewed literature was the former's focus on issues of equity and access and how technology can reinforce existing inequalities., Conclusions: For school mental health providers in need of guidance, we believe that these six recommendation themes (ie, youth engagement, school mental health professional boundaries, consent procedures, session logistics, safety planning, and internet privacy) represent the most promising directions for school-based suicide risk assessment among youth using eHealth tools. However, suicide risk assessment among youth via eHealth platforms in school settings represents a critical research gap. On the basis of the findings of this review, we provide specific recommendations for future research, including the need to focus on the needs of diverse youth., (©Deinera Exner-Cortens, Elizabeth Baker, Shawna Gray, Marisa Van Bavel, Rocio Ramirez Rivera, Marisa Van Bavel, Elisabeth Vezina, Aleta Ambrose, Chris Pawluk, Kelly D Schwartz, Paul D Arnold. Originally published in JMIR Mental Health (https://mental.jmir.org), 21.09.2021.)

Students have been multiply impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic: threats to their own and their family's health, the closure of schools, and pivoting to online learning in March 2020, a long summer of physical distancing, and then the challenge of returning to school in fall 2020. As damaging as the physical health effects of a global pandemic are, much has been speculated about the "second wave" of mental health crises, particularly for school-aged children and adolescents. Yet, few studies have asked students about their experiences during the pandemic. The present study engaged with over two thousand ( N  = 2,310; 1,288 female; M age  = 14.5) 12- to 18-year-old Alberta students during their first few weeks of return-to-school in fall 2020. Students completed an online survey that asked about their perceptions of COVID-19, their fall return-to-school experiences (84.9% returned in-person), their self-reported pandemic-related stress, and their behavior, affect, and cognitive functioning in the first few weeks of September. The majority of students (84.9%) returned to school in person. Students reported moderate and equal concern for their health, family confinement, and maintaining social contact. Student stress levels were also above critical thresholds for 25% of the sample, and females and older adolescents (age 15-18 years) generally reported higher stress indicators as compared to males and younger (age 12-14 years) adolescents. Multivariate analysis showed that stress indicators were positively and significantly correlated with self-reported behavioral concerns (i.e., conduct problems, negative affect, and cognitive/inattention), and that stress arousal (e.g., sleep problems, hypervigilance) accounted for significant variance in behavioral concerns. Results are discussed in the context of how schools can provide both universal responses to students during COVID-19 knowing that most students are coping well, while some may require more targeted strategies to address stress arousal and heightened negative affect., Competing Interests: Declaration of Conflicting Interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article., (© The Authors 2021.)

Plants are associated with a complex microbiota that contributes to nutrient acquisition, plant growth, and plant defense. Nitrogen-fixing microbial associations are efficient and well characterized in legumes but are limited in cereals, including maize. We studied an indigenous landrace of maize grown in nitrogen-depleted soils in the Sierra Mixe region of Oaxaca, Mexico. This landrace is characterized by the extensive development of aerial roots that secrete a carbohydrate-rich mucilage. Analysis of the mucilage microbiota indicated that it was enriched in taxa for which many known species are diazotrophic, was enriched for homologs of genes encoding nitrogenase subunits, and harbored active nitrogenase activity as assessed by acetylene reduction and 15N2 incorporation assays. Field experiments in Sierra Mixe using 15N natural abundance or 15N-enrichment assessments over 5 years indicated that atmospheric nitrogen fixation contributed 29%-82% of the nitrogen nutrition of Sierra Mixe maize., Competing Interests: Howard-Yana Shapiro is affiliated with Mars, Incorporated, one of the research sponsors. Author Cristobal Heitmann was unable to confirm authorship or contributions himself, and this was carried out collectively by the other co-authors.

A cross-sectional study explored the presence and power of developmental assets in a sample of youth from rural South African townships. Learners (female = 58%; M age  = 17.1; N = 505) attending three township high schools completed self-report measures of developmental assets and thriving outcomes. Participants reported contextual assets (e.g., family, school, community) in the vulnerable ranges, with gender, family structure, and school type accounting for some differences. Correlation and regression analyses revealed that five asset contexts (family, school, community, personal, social) were uniquely predictive of thriving outcomes. Discussion focuses on contextual expressions of positive youth development among Zulu township youth in challenging environments., (© 2017 The Authors. Child Development © 2017 Society for Research in Child Development, Inc.)