The Goldilocks Model for TCR—Too Much Attraction Might Not Be Best for Vaccine Design

Recent research on T cell-antigen interactions suggests that tighter binding is not always better at eliciting an effective immune response

Online medical crowdfunding in the United States: a cross-sectional analysis of gendered cancer campaign outcomes

This cross-sectional analysis examined online US crowdfunding campaigns from 2010–2018. Campaigns including prostate, breast, bladder, kidney, cervical, uterine, ovarian, testicular, oral, and thyroid cancers were included. Multivariable modeling was utilized to examine predictive factors for successful campaigns. A total of 1830 online cancer campaigns were included in the final analysis. Breast cancer was estimated to be the most frequent online campaign type (n = 3682), followed by cervical (n = 492), kidney (n = 475), ovarian (n = 460), and prostate cancers (n = 382). Breast cancer campaigns generated the most total funding ($15.3 million). In adjusted models, breast cancers generated significantly more donations per campaign than any other cancer. There was no difference in the average amount of funds raised per campaign by most cancer types, except for thyroid (19.4% less than breast, p < 0.001). Friend-authored campaigns generated more funding than self- and family-authored. Male cancers are under-represented, and breast cancer campaigns are disproportionately over-represented in online medical crowdfunding and generate more donations than many other cancers. Gendered differences in cancer crowdfunding are likely multifactorial and may be influenced by social networks and public health campaigns

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

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

Perceptions of Orthopaedic Volunteers and Their Local Hosts in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Are We on the Same Page?

ObjectiveOur goal was to compare the perceptions of overseas orthopaedic volunteers and their hosts in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) regarding the role of international volunteerism. We also sought to determine if differences in perception exist between trainee and fully trained orthoapedic surgeon volunteers.MethodsSurveys with similar multiple-choice and open-ended questions were administered to 163 Health Volunteers Overseas orthopaedic volunteers (response rate 45%) and 53 members of the host orthopaedic staff (response rate 40%). Fifty-four volunteers and 20 hosts also contributed open-ended responses. Quantitative responses were analyzed for significance using Mantel-Haenzel χ tests. Open-ended responses were coded using thematic analysis.ResultsBoth the international volunteers and their LMIC hosts agreed that volunteers learned new skills while volunteering. Both groups believed that international volunteerism had a positive overall impact on the local practice, but hosts viewed these benefits more favorably than volunteers did. LMIC staff believed that, besides altruistic reasons, volunteers were also motivated by professional gains, diverging from volunteer responses. In open-ended responses, hosts desired longer term commitments from volunteers and had some concerns regarding volunteers' qualifications. Between volunteer trainees and fully trained surgeons, trainees were more likely to be motivated by personal benefits.ConclusionEfforts must be made to further align the expectations and goals of volunteers and their hosts in LMICs. Certain measures such as predeparture orientations for volunteers and developing a more longitudinal and bidirectional experience may enhance the impact of orthopaedic volunteerism in LMICs. Further studies are needed to explore the impact of international orthopaedic volunteerism on the host population