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We aimed to explore the validity and reliability of the Korean version of the COVID-19 Anxiety Scale (CAS-7) among the general population and compare the psychometric properties of the CAS-7 with major rating scales for viral anxiety according to the generalized anxiety disorder-7 (GAD-7) during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. This anonymous online survey was conducted among the general population in South Korea during November 9–15, 2021, and 400 people participated. The survey form included demographic characteristics and rating scales, including the CAS-7, Stress and Anxiety to Viral Epidemics-6 items (SAVE-6), Coronavirus Anxiety Scale (CAS), Fear of COVID-19 scale (FCV-19S), and GAD-7. The single-factor structure of CAS-7 showed good fits for the model and convergent validity with other viral anxiety scales. When comparing psychometric properties, the CAS-7 and SAVE-6 scales were more sensitive than CAS, which was the most discriminating as well as the most difficult. CAS, FCV-19S, and GAD-7 provided more information and were more efficient than CAS-7 and SAVE-6. The Korean version of the CAS-7 is a valid and reliable rating scale for measuring viral anxiety. The viral anxiety rating scale can be applied depending on the objective of assessment in this pandemic. • The Korean version of CAS-7 was a valid and reliable rating scale. • The CAS-7 can measure viral anxiety. • The viral anxiety scale can be selected depending on the objective of assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Determining whether changes in leptin signaling plays a role in the improvement of cognitive function post-bariatric surgery may aid in the understanding and development of novel therapeutic approaches targeting cognitive dysfunction through the greater understanding of processes connecting obesity and brain health. Several studies have explored the effects of cognition post bariatric surgery, and others have studied leptin and its changes post surgery. However the amalgamation of the effects of leptin signaling in relation to cognition post bariatric surgery have yet to be considered as key tools in the understanding of cognitive dysfunction in obese subjects with leptin resistance or insensitivity. This review serves to highlight the potential correlations, to further elucidate the effect of improved leptin signaling on cognition post bariatric surgery, and to propose a direct cause for the improvement of cognitive function via the amelioration of the leptin Janus kinase/Signal transducer and activator of transcription (JAK/STAT) signaling pathway as a result of the reversal of inflammatory processes involved in diseased individuals. • Leptin signaling is improved in obese patients post bariatric surgery. • Cognition is improved in obese patients post bariatric surgery. • Changes in leptin signaling may be related to improvement of cognition post surgery. • Possible mechanisms include the JAK/STAT inflammatory pathways. • Leptin's signal transduction across the blood brain barrier may also be involved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stereotactic MR-guided Adaptive Radiation Therapy (SMART) dose painting in hypoxia shows promise in improving treatment outcomes but clinically feasible imaging and localization remains a challenge. Oxygen-enhanced (OE)-MRI is compelling for hypoxia imaging via preferential O 2 uptake and T 1 relaxation shortening in normoxic tissues, as changes in 1/T 1 (ΔR) quantifiability reflect tissue oxygenation level dependent (TOLD) contrast. While OE-MRI has been investigated at high-fields, no studies have optimized low-field TOLD T 1 detection and quantification. This work aims to establish the feasibility of clinically-efficient hypoxia imaging with TOLD T 1 contrast on a 0.35T MR-Linac by optimizing a low-field MP2RAGE sequence for time-efficient dynamic T 1 mapping and quantifying T 1 sensitivity and O 2 change detectability limits. Clinically-efficient low-field OE-MRI with dynamic volumetric acquisitions to quantify and map O 2 distributions was achieved by developing an optimized 3D MP2RAGE T 1 mapping method that maximizes signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and temporal resolution on a 0.35T MR-Linac. High-resolution whole-brain scans were acquired in 5 healthy volunteers to evaluate image fidelity and repeatability. T 1 mapping validation was performed with a phantom containing 8 chemically-formulated inserts of known T 1 values. Mean T 1 values within a volumetric region-of-interest were compared with ground-truth to evaluate T 1 linearity with the optimized sequences. Sensitivity to T 1 changes were evaluated with a dynamic 3D protocol with 20 consecutive measurements. Two-sided 95% prediction intervals were computed to determine the T 1 and ΔR detectability margins to define the O 2 detectability limits. Whole-brain scans showed excellent T 1 concordance with literature values at 0.35T and high repeatability. 3D MP2RAGE optimization for clinically-efficient low-field OE-MRI with a GRAPPA parallel imaging approach achieved a balance of spatial resolution, SNR, and temporal resolution with a 26.6 second whole-brain 3D scan time, capable of 20 measurements within 8:52 min. Phantom scans resulted in T 1 maps with robust linear correlations (R2 = 0.983) within a clinically-relevant T 1 range. Statistical analysis reveals a median (range) T 1 detectability margin of 8.26 (3.91–16.55) ms for T 1 values 344 (180–703) ms, corresponding to a ΔR 1 of 0.028 (0.009–0.097) ms-1, which establishes high sensitivity to T 1 changes and O 2 change detectability, equivalent or superior to high-field studies. We optimized a low-field MP2RAGE sequence with the capability for dynamic 3D T 1 mapping with high sensitivity and O 2 change detectability on a 0.35T MR-Linac. This work establishes the feasibility of clinically efficient hypoxia imaging with OE-MRI TOLD T 1 contrast, enabling hypoxic tissues characterization, and contributing to novel technical advancements to biologically guided adaption and dose painting to hypoxic spatial distributions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]