Flight Test Preparation of an Ultra-Low Ballistic Coefficient Entry Vehicle

This paper presents the adaptation of ParaShield, an ultra-low ballistic coefficient (ULβ) entry vehicle concept developed at the University of Maryland’s Space Systems Laboratory, for an experimental suborbital flight test under NASA’s RockSat program. Ultra-low ballistic coefficient entry vehicles with β less than 300 Pa experience significantly reduced peak stagnation point temperatures and heating rates, enabling the use of simplified thermal protection systems. ParaShield is a ULβ entry vehicle design that utilizes a deployable radiative heat shield constructed from high-temperature ceramic fabrics supported by an umbrella-like mechanical framework. Because the heat shield is decoupled from the spacecraft body, the payload is no longer constrained to a traditional conical geometry, allowing for greater flexibility in payload configuration and mission design. Adapting ParaShield to the RockSat mission architecture introduces a new set of constraints including payload envelope limitations, mass requirements, deployment timing, and initial flight conditions. This paper presents the system-level design refinements required to meet these constraints, including updates to vehicle geometry, mass distribution, and trajectory analysis for the nominal flight environment. Results demonstrate that the ParaShield design shows strong potential to be configured as a flight-ready experimental payload within the RockSat program guidelines. This suborbital flight test represents a low-cost opportunity to experimentally validate ParaShield’s entry behavior, informing future scaling efforts and advancing deployable thermal protection systems for atmospheric entry applications

Does Undergraduate Research Break the Barrier for First-Generation Students?

First-generation students have historically faced challenges navigating higher education and utilizing on-campus opportunities that aid in the development of career-readiness competencies, identified by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE). In recent years, undergraduate research has been found to be an effective mechanism for students to develop these skills. Our study investigates how engagement in research experiences affects the development of career-readiness competencies and post-college plans among first-generation undergraduate students. We first surveyed first-generation undergraduate students about their involvement in various extracurricular activities and their perceived confidence in five key NACE career-readiness competencies to compare responses between students who participated in undergraduate research and those who did not. Respondents were then invited to participate in a follow-up interview to discuss their skills and experiences in further detail. Survey data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and correlation analysis, while interview transcripts were analyzed using thematic and sentiment analysis. We will discuss the key themes identified between undergraduate research and first-generation career-readiness skill development, outline insights to improve opportunities and support systems for these students, and suggest directions to take research as it concerns first-generation students

When do children map clause types to canonical speech acts?

The clause types of declarative and interrogative map to the different speech act functions of asserting and questioning, respectively. Declaratives and interrogatives also consistently differ in their prosody and syntactic organization. Specifically, polar interrogatives are formed through subject–auxiliary inversion, whereas wh-interrogatives are formed with the corresponding wh-word. We are interested in infants’ understanding of these clause types and speech acts, as well as how they develop their knowledge of them. A previous study we conducted found that 18 month olds can link polar interrogatives to an uninformed speaker. Building on this finding, we are conducting a study testing the polar interrogative knowledge with 15 month olds, as well as a new dimension: whether 18 month olds can link wh-interrogatives to an uninformed speaker. In this study, we show infants videos featuring two bears with differing levels of knowledge about an object in a box, prompting an informative exchange

Electronic Supporting Data: Tetrachloroanthracene Walled Glycoluril Dimer Undergoes Self-Association and 1:1, 2:2, and 1:3 Host•Guest Binding

We report the design, synthesis and characterization of a tetrachloroanthracene walled methylene bridged glycoluril dimer (H1). According to 1H NMR spectroscopy and symmetry considerations we formulate H1 as a C2v-symmetric monomer in DMSO but it exists as a C2h-symmetric dimer (H1•H1) in water. The H1•H1 dimer persists below 25 uM in water and displays high thermodynamic stability (Ks ≥ 1.8 x 106 M-1). H1•H1 is also stable up to 70 ˚C in water. We investigated the binding of H1 with a panel of five dyes by isothermal titration calorimetry and 1H NMR spectroscopy and found that H1 engages with dyes with several different stoichiometries of binding. For example, NMeAc and Berb are capable of causing the dissociation of H1•H1 resulting in the formation of the 1:1 intracavity dye complexes H1•NMeAc and H1•Berb. In contrast, Rh6G and ThT do not dissociate the H1•H1 dimer and instead stack on the exterior of the dimer to form Rh6G•H1•H1•Rh6G and ThT•H1•H1•ThT, respectively. Finally, 3 equivalents of NDI+ causes dissociation of H1•H1 and binds both intracavity and on the exterior to form the H1•(NDI+)3 complex.We thank the National Science Foundation (CHE-1807486) for past financial support. We thank the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health (R35GM153362) for current financial support of this project

Process-Induced Chemical Reactions on Interfaces of Thin Film Ionic Materials

Thin-film samples were fabricated in an AJA Orion 8 magnetron sputtering system equipped with an in-situ mask exchanger, enabling sequential deposition of multiple material configurations without air exposure. A thermally oxidized silicon wafer (500 nm SiO₂) served as the substrate, with a 10 nm Ti / 100 nm Pt bilayer deposited by electron-beam evaporation as the current collector. A 50 nm V₂O₅ film was deposited by reactive RF sputtering from a 2-inch V₂O₅ target (7.5 W/cm², 2 mTorr, 92% Ar / 8% O₂). LiPON overlayers were deposited by reactive RF sputtering from a 2-inch Li₃PO₄ target (3.2 W/cm², 2 mTorr, N₂ atmosphere) to target thicknesses of 10 nm (30 min) and 20 nm (60 min). Li₂O overlayers were deposited by RF sputtering from a 2-inch Li₂O target (3.9 W/cm², 2 mTorr, Ar atmosphere) to target thicknesses of 10 nm (15 min) and 20 nm (30 min). Wedge-shaped shadow masks were used to define distinct deposition regions on the same wafer. Copper top contact pads (2 mm diameter) were deposited through an array mask via DC sputtering. Half of each wafer was post-annealed at 300 °C for 3 hours in a low-N₂ atmosphere (5 mTorr). Optical thickness and constants were determined by spectroscopic ellipsometry (J.A. Woollam M-2000D) at three incident angles (55°, 60°, 65°) over the 192–1688 nm wavelength range, using Tauc-Lorentz oscillator models for V₂O₅ and Cauchy models for the overlayers, all constrained by Kramers-Kronig consistency. Structural characterization was performed by Raman spectroscopy (H-J-Y Raman Microscope, 633 nm laser, 2.1 mW, 860 nm spot size; triplicate acquisitions of 60 s each). Surface and depth composition were measured by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (Kratos Axis Ultra DLD, Al Kα source); surface spectra used a 160 eV pass energy for surveys and 20 eV for high-resolution spectra, with charge correction referenced to adventitious carbon at 284.5 eV. XPS depth profiling was performed using a 5 kV Ar⁺ ion beam with a Wien mass filter, with Shirley background subtraction and Gaussian-Lorentzian peak fitting in CasaXPS. Electrochemical measurements were collected with a BioLogic VSP-300 potentiostat in an Ar-filled glovebox using a two-electrode micromanipulator setup. Potentio-electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (PEIS) was conducted at open-circuit voltage with a 10 mV sinusoidal perturbation over 300 kHz to 250 mHz. Electronic conductivity was assessed by DC-relaxation chronoamperometry (CA), applying a constant voltage for 15 minutes per step across four voltage intervals (0–200 mV in 50 mV steps). The raw data archive is organized by measurement technique: DC-relaxation (CA files), EIS (PEIS files), ellipsometry (optical parameter files), Raman spectroscopy (intensity vs. wavenumber text files), surface XPS, and XPS depth profiles (VAMAS-format .vms files). File naming conventions encode the sample identity, deposition conditions, and measurement date.This dataset supports a study of process-induced interfacial reactions — specifically, spontaneous lithium transfer (autolithiation) — occurring during magnetron sputter deposition of thin dielectric lithium-containing films (lithium phosphorus oxynitride, LiPON, and lithium oxide, Li₂O) onto vanadium pentoxide (V₂O₅) underlayers. Ten sample configurations were fabricated on a single silicon wafer substrate using an in-situ mask exchanger-equipped sputtering system, with overlayer thicknesses of 10 and 20 nm and either room-temperature or 300 °C post-annealing conditions. The dataset includes raw electrochemical, spectroscopic, and optical measurements used to characterize the compositional, structural, optical, and electrical properties of the V₂O₅ underlayers and LiPON/Li₂O overlayers as a function of deposition conditions. These measurements demonstrate that autolithiation proceeds concurrently with overlayer film growth and is governed by thermodynamic decomposition at the film interface. LiPON forms stable, electron-blocking overlayers as thin as 15 nm while lithiating the V₂O₅ at rates of approximately 1 μA/cm², whereas Li₂O deposition results in near-complete lithium transfer into the V₂O₅, achieving compositions approaching Li₃V₂O₅ with less than 2 nm of residual overlayer. The findings have direct implications for the rational design of thin-film fabrication sequences for energy storage, electrochemical random-access memory (ECRAM), and neuromorphic devices.This work was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, under Grant DE-SC0021070. Sandia National Laboratories is a multimission laboratory managed and operated by National Technology & Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Honeywell International, Inc., for the U.S. DOE's National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-NA-0003525. The views expressed in the article do not necessarily represent the views of the U.S. DOE or the United States Government

Investigating the Role of Matrix Metalloproteinases in Cytoneme-mediated Inter-organ Fgf Dispersion in Drosophila

Precise intercellular communication mediated by secreted signaling proteins is essential for the development and homeostasis of multicellular organisms. Recent studies have shown that cells regulate signal dispersion through thin, actin-based filopodia-like protrusions called cytonemes, which transport signaling molecules across tissues and deliver them directly to specific target cells. To investigate the mechanism of contact-mediated signal release at cytoneme contact sites, we examined fibroblast growth factor (FGF) signaling in Drosophila. Specifically, we tested whether matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), known cell-surface sheddases, are required for the release of GPI-anchored FGF at cytoneme contact sites to facilitate uptake by receiving cells. Using an ex vivo culture assay of developing Drosophila wing imaginal discs, we performed quantitative microscopy to analyze the levels of transfer of fluorescently tagged FGF from FGF-producing cells to FGF-receiving cells over time. Inhibition of MMP activity using GM6001, a broad-range MMP inhibitor, significantly reduced FGF exchange levels between cells within the developing tissue compared with control cultures. These findings demonstrate that MMP activity is required for efficient FGF exchange and provide direct support for previous observations that MMP2 mediates the shedding of GPI-anchored FGF at cytoneme contact sites, thereby promoting signal transfer between cells via cytoneme contacts

Sex-specific and Hormonal Effects on Macrophage MMP-2 Activity in Response to Vitamin D

This project investigates how sex, Vitamin D, 17β-estradiol (E2), and macrophage polarization affect MMP-2 activity, an important enzyme in extracellular matrix remodeling and inflammatory signaling. Using J774A.1 (XX) and RAW264.7 (XY) macrophages, the study shows that MMP-2 responses differ by cell line, hormonal environment, and treatment dose. Overall, the work highlights the importance of sex and hormone-aware cell biology research models for interpreting macrophage behavior in inflammation-related research, especially in the context of autoimmune disease, which primarily affects women

“The Empire of your Virtues Reacheth Far”: Oliver Cromwell and the Imperial Protectorship

This paper looks at the ways in which the Cromwellian Protectorate sought novel extensions of executive power though the canny use of the office of the Lord Protector. I argue that the Protectorate sought to rekindle previous efforts to develop an English imperium with the capturing of Jamaica which, far from being a consolation prize of the Western Design scheme, provided an opportunity to develop both merchant commercial interests and religio- political hegemony. I draw these threads together with a discussion of the kingship debates and an assessment of the Protectorate’s developing ideology. I argue that Cromwell functioned less as a "king in all but name" and more as an "emperor" in all but name seeking the powers of the Roman dictator along the way. For the Protectorate, the legal limits, defined through tradition and the precedent of the trial against Charles I, made it a less expansive and therefore less attractive office than that of the Lord Protector. Cromwell, while debating the offer of the crown understood these limits and the refusal of the office may have been a strategic mechanism for enhanced power in the office of Lord Protector that was not available to a king. To contextualize this period, I analyse the court poetry of Edmund Waller and Payne Fisher, the radicalism of Anna Trapnell, and the cultural impact of the 1652 solar eclipse amongst other works of political and legal importance.https://www.midatlanticcbs.org