Mental health is deteriorating quickly and significantly globally post-COVID. Though there were already over 1 billion people living with mental disorders pre-pandemic, in the first year of COVID-19 alone, the prevalence of anxiety and depression soared by 25% worldwide. In light of the chronic shortages of mental health provider and resources, along with disruptions of available health services caused by the pandemic and COVID-related restrictions, technology is widely believed to hold the key to addressing rising mental health crises. However, hurdles such as fragmented and often suboptimal patient protection measures substantially undermine technology's potential to address the global mental health crises effectively, reliably, and at scale. To shed light on these issues, this paper aims to discuss the post-pandemic challenges and opportunities the global community could leverage to improve society's mental health en masse.

Worldwide, women face a disproportionately heavy health burden than their male counterparts. Yet there is a chronic lack of research attention and investment in women's health, which may explain the absence of women-inclusive, let alone women-centred, understanding of the causes, consequences, and confounding factors that shape individuals' health and quality of life. In this manuscript, by analysing the U.S. National Health Expenditure data, we show how ingrained the issue of poor investment in women's health even in the 0-18 years age group in terms of per capita health expenditure. We hope this manuscript sheds light on how early-life poor health investment in women's health might be a potential cause for women's poor health in adulthood, and in turn, underscores the importance of investing resources into better understanding and improving women's health.

Avoidable disasters are both saddening and baffling. In 2022, 159 people, mostly in their 20s, and 30s were crushed to death in Itaewon's narrow alleyway amid South Korea's first pandemic-restrictions-free Halloween celebration. What is particularly sobering about this tragedy is that although many people called police hotlines as crowds became cramped and static, their calls went unheeded for hours. Rather than order independent investigations into the catastrophe (as of January 2024), the President of South Korea at the time focused on superficial issues such as asking the public to refer to the disaster as an "accident" (which it was not, it was an avoidable disaster) and the casualties as "the dead" (who are casualties indeed, instead of victims of a preventable tragedy). In this paper, we examine how officials' complacency about public health and safety dangers, ineffective disaster prevention, and preparedness systems, as well as the government's chronic lack of prioritization of public health and safety may have contributed to the disaster. Furthermore, we discuss the importance of creating integrated public health and safety protection systems to prevent similar tragedies from happening.

BACKGROUND Alcohol use and abuse remain prevalent in China, though mounting evidence shows that even drinking in moderation is detrimental to health. While many countries' intake is on the decline, China's alcohol consumption is rising fast and is on the path to overtaking countries like the United States, even on a per capita level. OBJECTIVES This paper aims to analyze the danger of lax enforcement of laws and regulations against alcohol use and abuse and underscores the imperative for effective health interventions to curb problematic alcohol consumption in China. RESULTS Different from their Western counterparts, Chinese drinkers often consume more spirit with a high percentage of alcohol in social settings that encourage the "ganbei culture"-making toasts with alcohol filled to the brim and downed in one go to show respect-which perpetuates excessive drinking at a fast pace. Though the country has various laws and regulations in place to curb problematic alcohol consumption, like workplace drinking, their impacts are dismal. Considering that China has 1.4 billion people, the country's uncurbed alcohol consumption trend could have a detrimental effect on national strategic objectives like "Healthy China 2030" and international ones like the Sustainable Development Goals. To further compound the situation, prevalent campaigns promoted by liquor companies-like alcohol-infused coffee, chocolate, and ice cream-may groom young people to develop alcohol consumption habits, if not addictions, for generations to come. CONCLUSIONS We developed the Framework of 5Vs of China's "Ganbei Culture to shed light on the issue, with the hope that it, along with the overarching insights of this paper, can assist health professionals and policymakers in better guarding and improving public health against the harms of alcohol use and abuse in China and beyond.

Lumbar disc herniation (LDH) often results in significant pain and disability, and histopathologic evaluation of intervertebral discs offers critical insights into treatment outcomes. This prospective observational study explores histopathologic (HP) changes in intervertebral discs (IVD) and their association with clinical outcomes following surgical treatment for lumbar disc herniation (LDH). A cohort of 141 patients undergoing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-confirmed LDH surgery underwent HP evaluation using a semi-quantitative Histopathologic Degeneration Score (HDS). Preoperatively and at a six-month follow-up, comprehensive clinical assessment included the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) and Visual Analog Scale (VAS), with a minimal clinically important difference (MCID) calculated from ODI and VAS. Results indicated significant associations between higher HDS and adverse clinical outcomes, including persistent pain and greater disability post-surgery. Specifically, HDS ≥ 7 was predictive (OR = 6.25, 95%CI: 2.56-15.23) of disability outcomes measured with MCID-ODI (AUC: 0.692, 95%CI: 0.609-0.767, P < 0.001), and HDS ≥ 8 was predictive (OR = 1.72, 95%CI: 1.04-2.77) of persistent pain measured with MCID-VAS (AUC: 0.628, 95%CI: 0.598-0.737, P = 0.008), highlighting the diagnostic potential of HDS in assessing postoperative recovery. This study underscores the potential of HP evaluation using HDS to provide valuable insights into disease progression and outcomes in LDH patients, complementing conventional radiologic methods. The findings support the application of personalized treatment strategies based on HP findings while acknowledging challenges in interpretation and clinical implementation.

Simple Summary This study explores hypoxia-inducible factors (HIFs) in glioblastoma development, progression, and treatment. Reviewing 104 relevant studies, it highlights diverse global contributions, with China leading at 23.1%. The most productive year was 2019, contributing 11.5% of the studies. Key factors studied included HIF1α, HIF2α, osteopontin, and cavolin-1, involving pathways such as GLUT1, GLUT3, VEGF, PI3K-Akt-mTOR, and ROS. HIF expression correlates with glioblastoma progression, survival, neovascularization, glucose metabolism, migration, and invasion. Overcoming treatment resistance and the lack of biomarkers is crucial for integrating HIF-related therapies into glioblastoma treatment to improve patient outcomes. Abstract Background: The study aims to investigate the role of hypoxia-inducible factors (HIFs) in the development, progression, and therapeutic potential of glioblastomas. Methodology: The study, following PRISMA guidelines, systematically examined hypoxia and HIFs in glioblastoma using MEDLINE (PubMed), Web of Science, and Scopus. A total of 104 relevant studies underwent data extraction. Results: Among the 104 studies, global contributions were diverse, with China leading at 23.1%. The most productive year was 2019, accounting for 11.5%. Hypoxia-inducible factor 1 alpha (HIF1α) was frequently studied, followed by hypoxia-inducible factor 2 alpha (HIF2α), osteopontin, and cavolin-1. Commonly associated factors and pathways include glucose transporter 1 (GLUT1) and glucose transporter 3 (GLUT3) receptors, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)-Akt-mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway, and reactive oxygen species (ROS). HIF expression correlates with various glioblastoma hallmarks, including progression, survival, neovascularization, glucose metabolism, migration, and invasion. Conclusion: Overcoming challenges such as treatment resistance and the absence of biomarkers is critical for the effective integration of HIF-related therapies into the treatment of glioblastoma with the aim of optimizing patient outcomes.