A Search For Star Formation in the Smith Cloud

Motivated by the idea that a subset of HVCs trace dark matter substructure in the Local Group, we search for signs of star formation in the Smith Cloud, a nearby ~2x10^6 Msun HVC currently falling into the Milky Way. Using GALEX NUV and WISE/2MASS NIR photometry, we apply a series of color and apparent magnitude cuts to isolate candidate O and B stars that are plausibly associated with the Smith Cloud. We find an excess of stars along the line of sight to the cloud, but not at a statistically significant level relative to a control region. The number of stars found in projection on the cloud after removing an estimate of the contamination by the Milky Way implies an average star formation rate surface density of 10^(-4.8 +/- 0.3) Msun yr^(-1) kpc^(-2), assuming the cloud has been forming stars at a constant rate since its first passage through the Milky Way ~70 Myr ago. This value is consistent with the star formation rate expected based on the average gas density of the cloud. We also discuss how the newly discovered star forming galaxy Leo P has very similar properties to the Smith Cloud, but its young stellar population would not have been detected at a statistically significant level using our method. Thus, we cannot yet rule out the idea that the Smith Cloud is really a dwarf galaxy.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA

Closing One Door on the Parent-Child Immunity Doctrine: Legislature Rejects the Decision of Coffey v. Coffey

This Note has four objectives. First, this Note will summarize the facts of Coffey. Second, this Note will review the history of parent-child immunity and the role of the family purpose doctrine in cases involving parent-child immunity in automobile cases. Third, this Note will analyze the Coffey case, the North Carolina Legislature\u27s abolishment of parent-child immunity in motor vehicle cases, and possible alternatives to the parent-child immunity doctrine in cases other than those involving motor vehicles. Fourth, this Note will suggest that the North Carolina courts are not powerless to abrogate parent-child immunity. The courts should take the initiative to modernize the judicially created parent- child immunity doctrine as it applies to tort actions between parents and their children

I Can\u27t Accept Your Lifestyle Because I Love You Mississippi Christians\u27 Beliefs and Attitudes Toward Homosexuality and Gay and Lesbian Civil Rights

Using surveys and interviews with Mississippi Christians, this study provides a more complete understanding of Christians’ beliefs and attitudes toward homosexuality and gay and lesbian civil rights. I analyze how Mississippi Christians make sense of their relationships with gay and lesbian friends and family members and how this differs based on their religious identity. I then consider how these beliefs and attitudes are influenced by social contact with gays and lesbians. I find Mississippi Christians’ views toward homosexuality and gay and lesbian civil rights vary widely from rejection to acceptance. The most conservative views are held by evangelical Protestants who set themselves apart from society through their beliefs about homosexuality. They feel that homosexuality is always sinful and describe almost complete opposition to gay and lesbian civil rights. On the contrary, mainline Protestants continue to move towards full assimilation with secular society. Many believe the Bible does not say anything about homosexuality and that the church should be accepting of gays and lesbians. Mainline Protestants also largely support gay and lesbian civil rights. Catholics fall in the middle of the continuum. They describe a greater degree of ambivalence about the sinfulness of homosexuality and describe conditional acceptance of gay and lesbian civil rights. Social contact with gays and lesbians did not influence evangelical Protestants beliefs and attitudes toward homosexuality or gay and lesbian civil rights. Similarly, conservative Catholics continued to hold on to their more conservative religious beliefs about homosexuality despite social contact. Conservative Christians’ subcultural identity which stands in opposition to homosexuality is stronger than the effects of social contact for evangelical Protestants and conservative Catholics. On the other hand, social contact is often a strong enough influence to change beliefs and attitudes toward homosexuality and gay and lesbian civil rights for mainline Protestants and more liberal Catholics. This study demonstrates that conservative religion acts as a negative feature that deters the positive benefits of social contact to overcome prejudice

miR-34a-/- mice are susceptible to diet-induced obesity

Objective: MicroRNA (miR)−34a regulates inflammatory pathways, and increased transcripts have been observed in serum and subcutaneous adipose of subjects who have obesity and type 2 diabetes. Therefore, the role of miR-34a in adipose tissue inflammation and lipid metabolism in murine diet-induced obesity was investigated. Methods: Wild-type (WT) and miR-34a−/− mice were fed chow or high-fat diet (HFD) for 24 weeks. WT and miR-34a−/− bone marrow-derived macrophages were cultured in vitro with macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF). Brown and white preadipocytes were cultured from the stromal vascular fraction (SVF) of intrascapular brown and epididymal white adipose tissue (eWAT), with rosiglitazone. Results: HFD-fed miR-34a−/− mice were significantly heavier with a greater increase in eWAT weight than WT. miR-34a−/− eWAT had a smaller adipocyte area, which significantly increased with HFD. miR-34a−/− eWAT showed basal increases in Cd36, Hmgcr, Lxrα, Pgc1α, and Fasn. miR-34a−/− intrascapular brown adipose tissue had basal reductions in c/ebpα and c/ebpβ, with in vitro miR-34a−/− white adipocytes showing increased lipid content. An F4/80high macrophage population was present in HFD miR-34a−/− eWAT, with increased IL-10 transcripts and serum IL-5 protein. Finally, miR-34a−/− bone marrow-derived macrophages showed an ablated CXCL1 response to tumor necrosis factor-α. Conclusions: These findings suggest a multifactorial role of miR-34a in controlling susceptibility to obesity, by regulating inflammatory and metabolic pathways

Pushing The Limits Of Ground-Based Exoplanet Characterization Surveys

Improving the current measurement limitations of ground-based exoplanet surveys is necessary to push towards the characterization of potentially habitable, rocky exoplanets. In this thesis, I address several challenges faced by current ground-based exoplanet surveys. I begin with the variability of Earth\u27s atmosphere, or `telluric\u27 noise, that can limit the photometric precision needed to detect transiting companions, and can skew radial velocity measurements of exoplanet host stars. To alleviate telluric noise in photometric surveys of red dwarfs, I present a robotic auxiliary telescope that monitors the column density of water vapor above Fred Lawrence Whipple Observatory on Mount Hopkins each night for use by local photometric surveys. Second, to investigate telluric correction methods pertinent to radial velocity observations, I present a new method to dissociate telluric lines from the stellar spectral component and demonstrate its application to high resolution spectra of the Sun. I discuss the accuracy and completeness of the molecular line list database used in this work and describe the output telluric spectra and a state-of-the-art optical solar atlas that are both useful for future analysis efforts. In the second part of this thesis, I focus on exo-atmospheric interpretation and characterization methods. This includes work on incorporating a parameterization cloud model into the atmospheric retrieval code, Pyrat Bay, with a demonstration of the importance of accounting for clouds when interpreting transit spectra. Finally, I explore a new way to characterize exoplanet atmospheres with a unique, high-throughput instrument. This instrument utilizes narrowband interference filters to achieve high resolution, multiband photometry. I discuss the capabilities of the instrument in application to oxygen detection in Earth-like exoplanet atmospheres and present a prototype of the design that I test in lab and on sky