Mosque-based emotional support among young Muslim Americans

Despite a growing literature on social support networks in religious settings (i.e., church-based social support), little is known about mosque-based support among Muslims. This study investigates the demographic and religious behavior correlates of mosque-based social support among a multi-racial and ethnic sample of 231 young Muslims from southeast Michigan. Several dimensions of mosque-based support are examined including receiving emotional support, giving emotional support, anticipated emotional support and negative interactions with members of one’s mosque. Results indicated that women both received and antic- ipated receiving greater support than did men. Higher educational attainment was associated with receiving and giving less support compared to those with the lowest level of educational attainment. Moreover, highly educated members reported fewer negative interactions than less educated members. Mosque attendance and level of congregational involvement positively predicted receiving, giving, and anticipated emotional support from congregants, but was unrelated to negative interactions. Overall, the study results converge with previously established correlates of church- based emotional support.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/107410/1/art%3A10.1007%2Fs13644-013-0119-0(1).pd

Inhibition of Neuroblastoma Tumor Growth by Targeted Delivery of MicroRNA-34a Using Anti-Disialoganglioside GD2 Coated Nanoparticles

Neuroblastoma is one of the most challenging malignancies of childhood, being associated with the highest death rate in paediatric oncology, underlining the need for novel therapeutic approaches. Typically, patients with high risk disease undergo an initial remission in response to treatment, followed by disease recurrence that has become refractory to further treatment. Here, we demonstrate the first silica nanoparticle-based targeted delivery of a tumor suppressive, pro-apoptotic microRNA, miR-34a, to neuroblastoma tumors in a murine orthotopic xenograft model. These tumors express high levels of the cell surface antigen disialoganglioside GD2 (GD(2)), providing a target for tumor-specific delivery.Nanoparticles encapsulating miR-34a and conjugated to a GD(2) antibody facilitated tumor-specific delivery following systemic administration into tumor bearing mice, resulted in significantly decreased tumor growth, increased apoptosis and a reduction in vascularisation. We further demonstrate a novel, multi-step molecular mechanism by which miR-34a leads to increased levels of the tissue inhibitor metallopeptidase 2 precursor (TIMP2) protein, accounting for the highly reduced vascularisation noted in miR-34a-treated tumors.These novel findings highlight the potential of anti-GD(2)-nanoparticle-mediated targeted delivery of miR-34a for both the treatment of GD(2)-expressing tumors, and as a basic discovery tool for elucidating biological effects of novel miRNAs on tumor growth

Measuring Five Dimensions of Religiosity Across Adolescence

This paper theorizes and tests a latent variable model of adolescent religiosity in which five dimensions of religiosity are interrelated: religious beliefs, religious exclusivity, external religiosity, private practice, and religious salience. Research often theorizes overlapping and independent influences of single items or dimensions of religiosity on outcomes such as adolescent sexual behavior, but rarely operationalizes the dimensions in a measurement model accounting for their associations with each other and across time. We use longitudinal structural equation modeling (SEM) with latent variables to analyze data from two waves of the National Study of Youth and Religion. We test our hypothesized measurement model as compared to four alternate measurement models and find that our proposed model maintains superior fit. We then discuss the associations between the five dimensions of religiosity we measure and how these change over time. Our findings suggest how future research might better operationalize multiple dimensions of religiosity in studies of the influence of religion in adolescence

Search for a new resonance decaying to a W or Z boson and a Higgs boson in the ll/lv/vv + bb final states with the ATLAS detector

A search for a new resonance decaying to a W or Z boson and a Higgs boson in the ll/lv/vv + bb final states is performed using 20.3 fb −1 of pp collision data recorded at √ s = 8 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The search is conducted by examining the W H / Z H invariant mass distribution for a localized excess. No significant deviation from the Standard Model background prediction is observed. The results are interpreted in terms of constraints on the Minimal Walking Technicolor model and on a simplified approach based on a phenomenological Lagrangian of Heavy Vector Triplets

Search for additional heavy neutral Higgs and gauge bosons in the ditau final state produced in 36 fb−1 of pp collisions at √s=13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

A search for heavy neutral Higgs bosons and Z′ bosons is performed using a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 36.1 fb−1 from proton-proton collisions at √s=13 TeV recorded by the ATLAS detector at the LHC during 2015 and 2016. The heavy resonance is assumed to decay to τ+τ− with at least one tau lepton decaying to final states with hadrons and a neutrino. The search is performed in the mass range of 0.2-2.25 TeV for Higgs bosons and 0.2-4.0 TeV for Z′ bosons. The data are in good agreement with the background predicted by the Standard Model. The results are interpreted in benchmark scenarios. In the context of the hMSSM scenario, the data exclude tan β > 1.0 for mA= 0.25 TeV and tan β > 42 for mA=1.5 TeV at the 95% confidence level. For the Sequential Standard Model, ZSSM′ with mZ′< 2.42 TeV is excluded at 95% confidence level, while Z NU′ with mZ ′ < 2.25 TeV is excluded for the non-universal G(221) model that exhibits enhanced couplings to third-generation fermions

Study of the spin and parity of the Higgs boson in diboson decays with the ATLAS detector

Studies of the spin, parity and tensor couplings of the Higgs boson in the H→ZZ∗→4ℓ, H→WW∗→eνμν and H→γγ decay processes at the LHC are presented. The investigations are based on 25fb−1 of pp collision data collected by the ATLAS experiment at √s=7 TeV and √s=8 TeV. The Standard Model (SM) Higgs boson hypothesis, corresponding to the quantum numbers JP=0+, is tested against several alternative spin scenarios, including non-SM spin-0 and spin-2 models with universal and non-universal couplings to fermions and vector bosons. All tested alternative models are excluded in favour of the SM Higgs boson hypothesis at more than 99.9 % confidence level. Using the H → ZZ∗ → 4ℓ and H → WW∗ → eνμν decays, the tensor structure of the interaction between the spin-0 boson and the SM vector bosons is also investigated. The observed distributions of variables sensitive to the non-SM tensor couplings are compatible with the SM predictions and constraints on the non-SM couplings are derived

Measurement of jet fragmentation in Pb+Pb and pp collisions at √s NN =5.02 TeV with the ATLAS detector

This paper presents a measurement of jet fragmentation functions in 0.49 nb −1 of Pb+Pb collisions and 25 pb −1 of pp collisions at √ sNN =5.02 TeV collected in 2015 with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. These measurements provide insight into the jet quenching process in the quark-gluon plasma created in the aftermath of ultra-relativistic collisions between two nuclei. The modifications to the jet fragmentation functions are quantified by dividing the measurements in Pb+Pb collisions by baseline measurements in pp collisions. This ratio is studied as a function of the transverse momentum of the jet, the jet rapidity, and the centrality of the collision. In both collision systems, the jet fragmentation functions are measured for jets with transverse momentum between 126 GeV and 398 GeV and with an absolute value of jet rapidity less than 2.1. An enhancement of particles carrying a small fraction of the jet momentum is observed, which increases with centrality and with increasing jet transverse momentum. Yields of particles carrying a very large fraction of the jet momentum are also observed to be enhanced. Between these two enhancements of the fragmentation functions a suppression of particles carrying an intermediate fraction of the jet momentum is observed in Pb+Pb collisions. A small dependence of the modifications on jet rapidity is observed

Search for Higgs bosons produced via vector-boson fusion and decaying into bottom quark pairs in √s =13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for the bb ¯ decay of the Standard Model Higgs boson produced through vector-boson fusion is presented. Three mutually exclusive channels are considered: two all-hadronic channels and a photon-associated channel. Results are reported from the analysis of up to 30.6 fb −1 of pp data at s √ =13 TeV collected with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The measured signal strength relative to the Standard Model prediction from the combined analysis is 2.5 +1.4 −1.3 for inclusive Higgs boson production and 3.0 +1.7 −1.6 for vector-boson fusion production only

Searches for exclusive Higgs and Z boson decays into J/ψγ,ψ(2S)γ,and Υ(nS)γ at √s=13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

Searches for the exclusive decays of the Higgs and Z bosons into a J/ψ,ψ(2S), or Υ(nS)(n=1,2,3) meson and a photon are performed with a pp collision data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 36.1 fb −1 collected at √s =13 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. No significant excess of events is observed above the expected backgrounds, and 95% confidence-level upper limits on the branching fractions of the Higgs boson decays to J/ψγ, ψ(2S)γ,and Υ(nS)γ of 3.5×10 −4, 2.0×10−3,and(4.9,5.9,5.7)×10 −4,respectively, are obtained assuming Standard Model production. The corresponding 95% confidence-level upper limits for the branching fractions of the Z boson decays are 2.3×10 −6, 4.5×10 −6 and (2.8,1.7,4.8)×10 −6, respectively

Search for heavy long-lived multi-charged particles in pp collisions at √s = 8 TeV using the ATLAS detector

A search for heavy long-lived multi-charged particles is performed using the ATLAS detector at the LHC. Data collected in 2012 at s√ = 8 TeV from pp collisions corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 20.3 fb−1 are examined. Particles producing anomalously high ionisation, consistent with long-lived massive particles with electric charges from |q|=2e to |q|=6e are searched for. No signal candidate events are observed, and 95% confidence level cross-section upper limits are interpreted as lower mass limits for a Drell–Yan production model. The mass limits range between 660 and 785 GeV