The cusp plasma imaging detector (CuPID) cubesat observatory: Instrumentation.

The Cusp Plasma Imaging Detector (CuPID) CubeSat observatory is a 6U CubeSat designed to observe solar wind charge exchange in magnetospheric cusps to test competing theories of magnetic reconnection at the Earth's magnetopause. The CuPID is equipped with three instruments, namely, a wide field-of-view (4.6° × 4.6°) soft x-ray telescope, a micro-dosimeter suite, and an engineering magnetometer optimized for the science operation. The instrument suite has been tested and calibrated in relevant environments, demonstrating successful design. The testing and calibration of these instruments produced metrics and coefficients that will be used to create the CuPID mission's data product.

Hazardous chemicals in synthetic turf materials and their bioaccessibility in digestive fluids.

Many synthetic turf fields consist of not only artificial grass but also rubber granules that are used as infill. The public concerns about toxic chemicals possibly contained in either artificial (polyethylene) grass fibers or rubber granules have been escalating but are based on very limited information available to date. The aim of this research was to obtain data that will help assess potential health risks associated with chemical exposure. In this small-scale study, we collected seven samples of rubber granules and one sample of artificial grass fiber from synthetic turf fields at different ages of the fields. We analyzed these samples to determine the contents (maximum concentrations) of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and several metals (Zn, Cr, As, Cd, and Pb). We also analyzed these samples to determine their bioaccessible fractions of PAHs and metals in synthetic digestive fluids including saliva, gastric fluid, and intestinal fluid through a laboratory simulation technique. Our findings include: (1) rubber granules often, especially when the synthetic turf fields were newer, contained PAHs at levels above health-based soil standards. The levels of PAHs generally appear to decline as the field ages. However, the decay trend may be complicated by adding new rubber granules to compensate for the loss of the material. (2) PAHs contained in rubber granules had zero or near-zero bioaccessibility in the synthetic digestive fluids. (3) The zinc contents were found to far exceed the soil limit. (4) Except one sample with a moderate lead content of 53 p.p.m., the other samples had relatively low concentrations of lead (3.12-5.76 p.p.m.), according to soil standards. However, 24.7-44.2% of the lead in the rubber granules was bioaccessible in the synthetic gastric fluid. (5) The artificial grass fiber sample showed a chromium content of 3.93 p.p.m., and 34.6% and 54.0% bioaccessibility of lead in the synthetic gastric and intestinal fluids, respectively.

Age Trends in Political Thinking: Dissent, Voting, and the Distribution of Wealth.

Young people's ideas on dissent, voting, and the distribution of wealth were explored in two samples. Sample 1 consisted of 54 white, middle class boys, ages 8, 11, and 16, from a fairly conservative suburb of Chicago. Sample 2 was comprised of 61 white, middle class boys and girls, ages 6 to 16, from liberal neighborhoods of New York. For the most part, the age trends were similar in the two samples. The youngest children usually said that the people could not dissent because they would be punished, that voting is important to "get a president," and that the rich should obey a rule that they give money to the poor because of the poor's urgent needs. Children in the middle age range often said that dissent is to be tolerated because it occurs, focused on voting as a competitive process, and strongly objected to redistributing the wealth because the rich had earned their money in fair competition. The oldest Ss frequently discussed dissent and voting in terms of democratic principles, and occasionally contemplated an ideal society with no rich and poor.