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

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

Identifying specific proteins involved in eggshell membrane formation using gene expression analysis and bioinformatics

Abstract Background The avian eggshell membranes surround the egg white and provide a structural foundation for calcification of the eggshell which is essential for avian reproduction; moreover, it is also a natural biomaterial with many potential industrial and biomedical applications. Due to the insoluble and stable nature of the eggshell membrane fibres, their formation and protein constituents remain poorly characterized. The purpose of this study was to identify genes encoding eggshell membrane proteins, particularly those responsible for its structural features, by analyzing the transcriptome of the white isthmus segment of the oviduct, which is the specialized region responsible for the fabrication of the membrane fibres. Results The Del-Mar 14 K chicken microarray was used to investigate up-regulated expression of transcripts in the white isthmus (WI) compared with the adjacent magnum (Ma) and uterine (Ut) segments of the hen oviduct. Analysis revealed 135 clones hybridizing to over-expressed transcripts (WI/Ma + WI/Ut), and corresponding to 107 NCBI annotated non-redundant Gallus gallus gene IDs. This combined analysis revealed that the structural proteins highly over-expressed in the white isthmus include collagen X (COL10A1), fibrillin-1 (FBN1) and cysteine rich eggshell membrane protein (CREMP). These results validate previous proteomics studies which have identified collagen X (α-1) and CREMP in soluble eggshell extracts. Genes encoding collagen-processing enzymes such as lysyl oxidase homologs 1, 2 and 3 (LOXL1, LOXL2 and LOXL3), prolyl 4 hydroxylase subunit α-2 and beta polypeptide (P4HA2 and P4HB) as well as peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase C (PPIC) were also over-expressed. Additionally, genes encoding proteins known to regulate disulfide cross-linking, including sulfhydryl oxidase (QSOX1) and thioredoxin (TXN), were identified which suggests that coordinated up-regulation of genes in the white isthmus is associated with eggshell membrane fibre formation. Conclusions The present study has identified genes associated with the processing of collagen, other structural proteins, and disulfide-mediated cross-linking during eggshell membrane formation in the white isthmus. Identification of these genes will provide new insight into eggshell membrane structure and mechanisms of formation that will assist in the development of selection strategies to improve eggshell quality and food safety of the table egg

Identifying specific proteins involved in eggshell membrane formation using gene expression analysis and bioinformatics

Publisher's PDF.Background The avian eggshell membranes surround the egg white and provide a structural foundation for calcification of the eggshell which is essential for avian reproduction; moreover, it is also a natural biomaterial with many potential industrial and biomedical applications. Due to the insoluble and stable nature of the eggshell membrane fibres, their formation and protein constituents remain poorly characterized. The purpose of this study was to identify genes encoding eggshell membrane proteins, particularly those responsible for its structural features, by analyzing the transcriptome of the white isthmus segment of the oviduct, which is the specialized region responsible for the fabrication of the membrane fibres. Results The Del-Mar 14 K chicken microarray was used to investigate up-regulated expression of transcripts in the white isthmus (WI) compared with the adjacent magnum (Ma) and uterine (Ut) segments of the hen oviduct. Analysis revealed 135 clones hybridizing to over-expressed transcripts (WI/Ma + WI/Ut), and corresponding to 107 NCBI annotated non-redundant Gallus gallus gene IDs. This combined analysis revealed that the structural proteins highly over-expressed in the white isthmus include collagen X (COL10A1), fibrillin-1 (FBN1) and cysteine rich eggshell membrane protein (CREMP). These results validate previous proteomics studies which have identified collagen X (α-1) and CREMP in soluble eggshell extracts. Genes encoding collagen-processing enzymes such as lysyl oxidase homologs 1, 2 and 3 (LOXL1, LOXL2 and LOXL3), prolyl 4 hydroxylase subunit α-2 and beta polypeptide (P4HA2 and P4HB) as well as peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase C (PPIC) were also over-expressed. Additionally, genes encoding proteins known to regulate disulfide cross-linking, including sulfhydryl oxidase (QSOX1) and thioredoxin (TXN), were identified which suggests that coordinated up-regulation of genes in the white isthmus is associated with eggshell membrane fibre formation. Conclusions The present study has identified genes associated with the processing of collagen, other structural proteins, and disulfide-mediated cross-linking during eggshell membrane formation in the white isthmus. Identification of these genes will provide new insight into eggshell membrane structure and mechanisms of formation that will assist in the development of selection strategies to improve eggshell quality and food safety of the table egg.University of Delaware. Department of Animal and Food Sciences

Medical marijuana, recreational cannabis, and cardiovascular health: a scientific statement from the American Heart Association.

Cannabis, or marijuana, has potential therapeutic and medicinal properties related to multiple compounds, particularly Δ-9-tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabidiol. Over the past 25 years, attitudes toward cannabis have evolved rapidly, with expanding legalization of medical and recreational use at the state level in the United States and recreational use nationally in Canada and Uruguay. As a result, the consumption of cannabis products is increasing considerably, particularly among youth. Our understanding of the safety and efficacy of cannabis has been limited by decades of worldwide illegality and continues to be limited in the United States by the ongoing classification of cannabis as a Schedule 1 controlled substance. These shifts in cannabis use require clinicians to understand conflicting laws, health implications, and therapeutic possibilities. Cannabis may have therapeutic benefits, but few are cardiovascular in nature. Conversely, many of the concerning health implications of cannabis include cardiovascular diseases, although they may be mediated by mechanisms of delivery. This statement critically reviews the use of medicinal and recreational cannabis from a clinical but also a policy and public health perspective by evaluating its safety and efficacy profile, particularly in relationship to cardiovascular health

Instrument Science Report WFC3 2009-07 Overview of the WFC3 Cycle 17 Detector Monitoring Campaign

During the Hubble Space Telescope’s Cycle 17—nominally from August 2009 to October 2010— eleven calibration programs will be executed to assess the stability of the detector response. Six core programs will monitor changes in flat fields, dark current, bias, and gain in both the UVIS and the IR channels. Five additional programs will monitor specific detector effects of interest to observers: contamination, hot pixels, charge-transfer efficiency, and quantum efficiency hysteresis in the UVIS channel, and persistence in the IR channel