INDIVIDUALIZED COGNITIVE DECLINE AND THE IMPACT OF GUT MICROBIOME COMPOSITION.

The U.S. population is aging at its greatest rate in history. An older average population will increase the number of age-related cognitive issues. Elucidation of factors that contribute to decline with age and methods to prevent or decrease the incidence of cognitive dysfunction in the aging population is vital to offset the impact of the age shift. Validation of tests to identify and predict decline is the first step, but must be paired with an increased understanding of the inter- and intra-individual differences that influence cognitive decline. One difference, gut microbiome diversity, changes within the person across their lifespan and varies among individuals. An individual’s gut microflora can significantly influence gut-brain communication, brain function, and behavior. The study was focused on identification and prediction of cognitive decline using CANTAB and visual ERP as well as exploring the relation between gut-microbiome diversity and cognitive performance. Participants underwent tests to evaluate cognitive decline over time: the MoCA, a CANTAB battery for behavioral cognitive assessment, and an electrophysiological evaluation via a passive oddball paradigm and an active detection task. The role of microbiome diversity in cognitive decline was investigated, ERP measures were validated against CANTAB measures, the predictive relation between MoCA and future cognitive outcomes were characterized, and the utility of ERP PCA factors and CANTAB outcomes to predict future ERP and CANTAB performance were shown. Three CANTAB measures (RTI, SWM, and RVP) were independently confirmed to significantly relate to selected ERP measures in both the active detection and the passive oddball tasks. Baseline MoCA score and change in MoCA score significantly predicted outcomes in the CANTAB battery and ERP tasks at follow-up. The study also included the design and implementation of novel methodology with two-step temporospatial PCA to successfully predict future performance on ERP with baseline performance on the same task, which, to this author’s knowledge, is the first known use of this method for this purpose. Finally, significant relations between gut-microbiome diversity and healthy cognitive function were revealed, where lower microbial diversity significantly relates to poorer cognitive performance on both behavioral (CANTAB) and electrophysiological (ERP) measures.Doctor of Philosoph

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

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

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 4 m. With the support of their governments in the US, Europe, and Canada, 20,000 people realized that vision as the 6.5 m James Webb Space Telescope. A generation of astronomers will celebrate their accomplishments for the life of the mission, potentially as long as 20 yr, 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