The Science Performance of JWST as Characterized in Commissioning

This paper characterizes the actual science performance of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), as determined from the six month commissioning period. We summarize the performance of the spacecraft, telescope, science instruments, and ground system, with an emphasis on differences from pre-launch expectations. Commissioning has made clear that JWST is fully capable of achieving the discoveries for which it was built. Moreover, almost across the board, the science performance of JWST is better than expected; in most cases, JWST will go deeper faster than expected. The telescope and instrument suite have demonstrated the sensitivity, stability, image quality, and spectral range that are necessary to transform our understanding of the cosmos through observations spanning from near-earth asteroids to the most distant galaxies.Comment: 5th version as accepted to PASP; 31 pages, 18 figures; https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1538-3873/acb29

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

The James Webb Space Telescope Mission

Twenty-six years ago a small committee report, building on earlier studies, expounded a compelling and poetic vision for the future of astronomy, calling for an infrared-optimized space telescope with an aperture of at least $4m$. With the support of their governments in the US, Europe, and Canada, 20,000 people realized that vision as the $6.5m$ James Webb Space Telescope. A generation of astronomers will celebrate their accomplishments for the life of the mission, potentially as long as 20 years, and beyond. This report and the scientific discoveries that follow are extended thank-you notes to the 20,000 team members. The telescope is working perfectly, with much better image quality than expected. In this and accompanying papers, we give a brief history, describe the observatory, outline its objectives and current observing program, and discuss the inventions and people who made it possible. We cite detailed reports on the design and the measured performance on orbit.Comment: Accepted by PASP for the special issue on The James Webb Space Telescope Overview, 29 pages, 4 figure

PATH-06. QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS OF MGMT PROMOTER METHYLATION AND ITS PROGNOSTIC VALUE IN GLIOBLASTOMA MULTIFORME (GBM) PATIENTS TREATED WITH ALKYLATING CHEMOTHERAPY- PRELIMINARY REPORT

Abstract OBJECTIVE To correlate the percentage of MGMT methylation with progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) in GBM patients receiving alkylating chemotherapy. BACKGROUND MGMT promoter methylation is a known favorable factor for patients with GBM to have better response to the treatment with alkylating chemotherapy and better survival outcome. However, in daily practice, patients with very high percentage of MGMT methylation sometimes were observed to have a shorter survival period. This study is to investigate if the strength of the positivity is correlated to the PFS and OS in GBM patients receiving alkylating chemotherapy. METHODS and PATIENTS: Quantitative MGMT methylation measurement was performed. 5% was defined as positive methylation. Seventeen patients with a diagnosis of GBM and methylated MGMT were reviewed retrospectively. Patients were placed into 3 categories based on their MGMT methylation percentages: 5–33%, 34–66%, and 67–100%. The average PFS and OS were calculated for each category. RESULTS The 6 patients in the 5–33% methylation category had an average PFS of 14.8 months (range 9 to 32) and OS of 27.2 months (range 10 to 42). The 8 patients in the 34–66% methylation category had an average PFS of 23.9 months (range 0 to 73) and OS of 28.1 months (range 1 to 82). The 3 patients in the 67–100% methylation category had an average PFS of 9.6 months (range 2 to 21) and censored OS of 14.7 months (range 2 to 35) as 2 of the 3 are alive. CONCLUSION Our sample size is too small to provide conclusions. Comparing the first two methylation categories, the extent of MGMT methylation appears positively correlates with PFS (14.8 versus 23.9 months) but not OS of patients (27.2 versus 28.1 months). Data from additional 15 MGMT methylated patients after follow-ups will be added for analysis

Adherence to Prophylactic Anticonvulsant Guidelines for Newly Diagnosed Brain Tumor Patients: A Quality Improvement Study

Background and purposeClinical guidelines suggest that prophylactic antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) should be given to newly diagnosed seizure-naive brain tumor patients for up to 1 week after craniotomy. Yet, data suggest that prophylactic AEDs are used up to 12 months after surgery. A quality improvement project was implemented to improve adherence to evidence-based prophylactic AED guidelines.MethodsA quasi-experimental, pre- and post-test intervention design was used to assess the effect of a multiphase intervention on guideline adherence and prophylactic anticonvulsant prescription rates. The 16-week intervention consisted of provider education sessions, provider alerts, documentation templates, and a weekly audit and feedback. Participants included four providers and newly diagnosed seizure-naive brain tumor patients. Measures included guideline adherence rates and AED prescription rates extracted from chart review, and a provider attitude and knowledge survey. Analyses included descriptive statistics, Wilcoxon signed-rank tests, and Chi-square tests.ResultsGuideline adherence increased significantly (p < .01) from 4 months before implementation (15.8%) to 1 year before implementation (27.8%) and then to 93.3% after implementation. Provider knowledge showed clinically meaningful decreases in the likelihood to prescribe prophylactic AEDs (-.5 point) and increased understanding of prophylactic AED side effects (+0.5 point), although these were not statistically significant (p = .083). Finally, prophylactic AED prescription rates decreased by 2.2% (p = .119) compared with 4 months and 1 year before implementation (2.6%; p = .072).ConclusionThis project highlights the important role of provider education, provider alerts, a documentation template, and audit and feedback in improving guideline adherence rate. Findings suggest that the combination intervention and weekly audit and feedback strategy can improve guideline adherence to prophylactic anticonvulsant use in seizure-naive newly diagnosed brain tumor patients.ImplicationsBy following prophylactic AED guideline recommendations, clinicians can avoid the potential side effects of anticonvulsant-induced cognitive, behavioral, and psychiatric issues that can impair patients' quality of life

PATH-06. QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS OF MGMT PROMOTER METHYLATION AND ITS PROGNOSTIC VALUE IN GLIOBLASTOMA MULTIFORME (GBM) PATIENTS TREATED WITH ALKYLATING CHEMOTHERAPY- PRELIMINARY REPORT

Abstract OBJECTIVE To correlate the percentage of MGMT methylation with progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) in GBM patients receiving alkylating chemotherapy. BACKGROUND MGMT promoter methylation is a known favorable factor for patients with GBM to have better response to the treatment with alkylating chemotherapy and better survival outcome. However, in daily practice, patients with very high percentage of MGMT methylation sometimes were observed to have a shorter survival period. This study is to investigate if the strength of the positivity is correlated to the PFS and OS in GBM patients receiving alkylating chemotherapy. METHODS and PATIENTS: Quantitative MGMT methylation measurement was performed. 5% was defined as positive methylation. Seventeen patients with a diagnosis of GBM and methylated MGMT were reviewed retrospectively. Patients were placed into 3 categories based on their MGMT methylation percentages: 5–33%, 34–66%, and 67–100%. The average PFS and OS were calculated for each category. RESULTS The 6 patients in the 5–33% methylation category had an average PFS of 14.8 months (range 9 to 32) and OS of 27.2 months (range 10 to 42). The 8 patients in the 34–66% methylation category had an average PFS of 23.9 months (range 0 to 73) and OS of 28.1 months (range 1 to 82). The 3 patients in the 67–100% methylation category had an average PFS of 9.6 months (range 2 to 21) and censored OS of 14.7 months (range 2 to 35) as 2 of the 3 are alive. CONCLUSION Our sample size is too small to provide conclusions. Comparing the first two methylation categories, the extent of MGMT methylation appears positively correlates with PFS (14.8 versus 23.9 months) but not OS of patients (27.2 versus 28.1 months). Data from additional 15 MGMT methylated patients after follow-ups will be added for analysis