Nature Versus Nurture: Luminous Blue Variable Nebulae in and near Massive Stellar Clusters at the Galactic Center

Three Luminous Blue Variables (LBVs) are located in and near the Quintuplet Cluster at the Galactic Center: the Pistol star, G0.120-0.048, and qF362. We present imaging at 19, 25, 31, and 37 {\mu}m of the region containing these three LBVs, obtained with SOFIA using FORCAST. We argue that the Pistol and G0.120-0.048 are identical ``twins" that exhibit contrasting nebulae due to the external influence of their different environments. Our images reveal the asymmetric, compressed shell of hot dust surrounding the Pistol Star and provide the first detection of the thermal emission from the symmetric, hot dust envelope surrounding G0.120-0.048. Dust and gas composing the Pistol nebula are primarily heated and ionized by the nearby Quintuplet Cluster stars. The northern region of the Pistol nebula is decelerated due to the interaction with the high-velocity (2000 km/s) winds from adjacent Wolf-Rayet Carbon (WC) stars. With the DustEM code we determine that the Pistol nebula is composed of a distribution of very small, transiently-heated grains (10-~35 {\AA}) and that it exhibits a gradient of decreasing grain size from the south to the north due to differential sputtering by the winds from the WC stars. Dust in the G0.120-0.048 nebula is primarily heated by the central star; however, the nebular gas is ionized externally by the Arches Cluster. Unlike the Pistol nebula, the G0.120-0.048 nebula is freely expanding into the surrounding medium. Given independent dust and gas mass estimates we find that the Pistol and G0.120-0.048 nebulae exhibit similar gas-to-dust mass ratios of ~310 and ~290, respectively. Both nebulae share identical size scales (~ 0.7 pc) which suggests that they have similar dynamical timescales of ~10^5 yrs, assuming a shell expansion velocity of v_exp 60 km/s.Comment: 18 pages, 7 figures, accepted to Ap

Old supernova dust factory revealed at the Galactic center

Dust formation in supernova ejecta is currently the leading candidate to explain the large quantities of dust observed in the distant, early Universe. However, it is unclear whether the ejecta-formed dust can survive the hot interior of the supernova remnant (SNR). We present infrared observations of ~0.02 $M_\odot$ of warm (~100 K) dust seen near the center of the ~10,000 yr-old Sgr A East SNR at the Galactic center. Our findings signify the detection of dust within an older SNR that is expanding into a relatively dense surrounding medium ($n_e$ ~ 100 $\mathrm{cm}^{-3}$) and has survived the passage of the reverse shock. The results suggest that supernovae may indeed be the dominant dust production mechanism in the dense environment of early Universe galaxies.Comment: 25 pages, 5 figures. Includes supplementary materials. Published Online March 19 2015 on Science Expres

Search, Seizure, and Section 7: Standing from \u3cem\u3eSalvucci\u3c/em\u3e to \u3cem\u3eSimpson\u3c/em\u3e

This article traces the evolution of automatic standing from Jones v. United States to United States v. Salvucci and discusses the approach that has replaced the Jones rule in the Supreme Court. It then discusses the Washington Supreme Court’s continued adherence to the automatic standing rule, despite the Salvucci decision, under the Washington Constitution rather than the fourth amendment. After focusing on the failure of the United States Supreme Court to fashion a standing rule consistent with the Court’s stated purpose for the exclusionary rule, this article urges the Washington court to interpret the state’s constitution in a more consistent, principled fashion. This article concludes that the Washington court should adopt a policy to preserve the underlying privacy values of the Washington constitution for the principled development of its standing rule in the best tradition of American federalism and jurisprudence

Search, Seizure, and Section 7: Standing from \u3cem\u3eSalvucci\u3c/em\u3e to \u3cem\u3eSimpson\u3c/em\u3e

This article traces the evolution of automatic standing from Jones v. United States to United States v. Salvucci and discusses the approach that has replaced the Jones rule in the Supreme Court. It then discusses the Washington Supreme Court’s continued adherence to the automatic standing rule, despite the Salvucci decision, under the Washington Constitution rather than the fourth amendment. After focusing on the failure of the United States Supreme Court to fashion a standing rule consistent with the Court’s stated purpose for the exclusionary rule, this article urges the Washington court to interpret the state’s constitution in a more consistent, principled fashion. This article concludes that the Washington court should adopt a policy to preserve the underlying privacy values of the Washington constitution for the principled development of its standing rule in the best tradition of American federalism and jurisprudence

Cdc53p acts in concert with Cdc4p and Cdc34p to control the G1 to S phase transition and identifies a conserved family of proteins

Regulation of cell cycle progression occurs in part through the targeted degradation of both activating and inhibitory subunits of the cyclin-dependent kinases. During G1, CDC4, encoding a WD-40 repeat protein, and CDC34, encoding a ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme, are involved in the destruction of these regulators. Here we describe evidence indicating that CDC53 also is involved in this process. Mutations in CDC53 cause a phenotype indistinguishable from those of cdc4 and cdc34 mutations, numerous genetic interactions are seen between these genes, and the encoded proteins are found physically associated in vivo. Cdc53p defines a large family of proteins found in yeasts, nematodes, and humans whose molecular functions are uncharacterized. These results suggest a role for this family of proteins in regulating cell cycle proliferation through protein degradation

Teaching Christian Faith Integration in Psychological Assessment Courses

Within the existing literature that emphasizes the integration of faith and psychology, topics related to psychological assessment are rare inclusions. Yet, it is commonly recognized that assessment measures provide useful clinical infonnation. This article highlights the domain of psychological assessment as fertile ground for integrating psychology with spirituality. Three graduate-level faculty members who each teach psychological assessment courses in a clinical training program describe specific ways they integrate Christian faith and psychological assessment in the classroom. Foci for future efforts that would bring the areas of faith and psychological assessment together arc described along with some of the benefits such efforts would yield, especially for clinical practice