Westmont College

The tears of the ‘daughters of Jerusalem’ in Luke 23.27–31 are often taken as a representation of pathos. However, women's public performance of lamentation serves several purposes in the biblical prophets and Greco-Roman historiography and rhetoric. Women are responsible for mourning rituals following a death to honour the deceased and their family. They express communal lament following defeat in war. Women use tears to protest political and legal situations, swaying public opinion and decisions. The rhetorical functions of women's mourning in antiquity offer valuable insight into the potential purposes of mourning in Luke 23.27–31. The women's initial display of tears honours Jesus. The disruption of the negative perception of Jesus at this point in the narrative suggests the women's tears may be political protest. The redirection of their tears to themselves and their children provides the audience with a model response to the destruction of Jerusalem. As in Jer 9.17–22, the mourning of Luke's ‘daughters of Jerusalem’ is prophetic.

This study examined the association of everyday discrimination with risk of obesity and the potential modifying effect of religious service attendance. Participants included Black, South Asian, and white women in three cohort studies that belong to the Study on Stress, Spirituality and Health. Logistic regression models estimated odds of obesity classification (BMI ≥ 30) relative to experiences of everyday discrimination. In initial pooled analyses, high levels of discrimination were related to increased odds of obesity. Race-specific analyses revealed marginal associations for white and South Asian women. Among Black women, high levels of discrimination and religious service attendance were both associated with higher odds of obesity. However, among women who attended religious services frequently, higher levels of everyday discrimination were associated with slightly lower odds of obesity. These findings underline the complex association between obesity and religion/spirituality, suggesting that higher levels of discrimination may uniquely activate religious resources or coping strategies. Findings highlight the need for additional studies to examine the impact of everyday discrimination on risk of obesity across racial/ethnic communities and how religious practices or coping strategies might affect these dynamics.

A bstract A search for physics beyond the Standard Model inducing periodic signals in the dielectron and diphoton invariant mass spectra is presented using 139 fb − 1 of $$ \sqrt{s} $$ s = 13 TeV pp collision data collected by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC. Novel search techniques based on continuous wavelet transforms are used to infer the frequency of periodic signals from the invariant mass spectra and neural network classifiers are used to enhance the sensitivity to periodic resonances. In the absence of a signal, exclusion limits are placed at the 95% confidence level in the two-dimensional parameter space of the clockwork gravity model. Model-independent searches for deviations from the background-only hypothesis are also performed.

A bstract A search is performed for a heavy particle decaying into different-flavour, dilepton final states, using 139 fb − 1 of proton-proton collision data at $$ \sqrt{s} $$ s = 13 TeV collected in 2015–2018 by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. Final states with electrons, muons and hadronically decaying tau leptons are considered ( eμ , eτ or μτ ). No significant excess over the Standard Model predictions is observed. Upper limits on the production cross-section are set as a function of the mass of a Z ′ boson, a supersymmetric τ -sneutrino, and a quantum black-hole. The observed 95% CL lower mass limits obtained on a typical benchmark model Z ′ boson are 5.0 TeV (e μ ), 4.0 TeV (e τ ), and 3.9 TeV ( μτ ), respectively.

Drawing on his experiences in Berlin under Schleiermacher and his travels to the Vatican, Mendelssohn, as the Director of Prussian Church Music, wanted to offer an edifying worship experience where large-scale choral works would become an indispensable part of the liturgy, which he saw as a performative or representational act, centered around the life of Christ. Yet he quickly realized that the court and clergy were not interested in his foundational concepts; they merely wanted reforms based on the restauration ideals espoused by Winterfeld and Thibaut. Analyses of his 25 Domchor compositions and their revisions in this Element chronicle Mendelssohn's stylistic development and his ability to continue to offer a Christological worship experience within strictly prescribed parameters. The Berlin Domchor and its new repertoire by Mendelssohn and contemporaneous composers quickly became the model for the emerging a cappella movement throughout Protestant Germany.

A bstract A measurement of novel event shapes quantifying the isotropy of collider events is performed in 140 fb − 1 of proton-proton collisions with $$ \sqrt{s} $$ s = 13 TeV centre-of-mass energy recorded with the ATLAS detector at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider. These event shapes are defined as the Wasserstein distance between collider events and isotropic reference geometries. This distance is evaluated by solving optimal transport problems, using the ‘Energy-Mover’s Distance’. Isotropic references with cylindrical and circular symmetries are studied, to probe the symmetries of interest at hadron colliders. The novel event-shape observables defined in this way are infrared- and collinear-safe, have improved dynamic range and have greater sensitivity to isotropic radiation patterns than other event shapes. The measured event-shape variables are corrected for detector effects, and presented in inclusive bins of jet multiplicity and the scalar sum of the two leading jets’ transverse momenta. The measured distributions are provided as inputs to future Monte Carlo tuning campaigns and other studies probing fundamental properties of QCD and the production of hadronic final states up to the TeV-scale.

A bstract A search for a new heavy scalar particle X decaying into a Standard Model (SM) Higgs boson and a new singlet scalar particle S is presented. The search uses a proton-proton ( pp ) collision data sample with an integrated luminosity of 140 fb − 1 recorded at a centre-of-mass energy of $$ \sqrt{s} $$ s = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The most sensitive mass parameter space is explored in X mass ranging from 500 to 1500 GeV, with the corresponding S mass in the range 200–500 GeV. The search selects events with two hadronically decaying τ -lepton candidates from H → τ ⁺ τ − decays and one or two light leptons ( ℓ = e , μ ) from S → VV ( V = W , Z ) decays while the remaining V boson decays hadronically or to neutrinos. A multivariate discriminant based on event kinematics is used to separate the signal from the background. No excess is observed beyond the expected SM background and 95% confidence level upper limits between 72 fb and 542 fb are derived on the cross-section σ ( pp → X → SH ) assuming the same SM-Higgs boson-like decay branching ratios for the S → VV decay. Upper limits on the visible cross-sections σ ( pp → X → SH → WWττ ) and σ ( pp → X → SH → ZZττ ) are also set in the ranges 3–26 fb and 6–33 fb, respectively.

A bstract A search for leptoquarks decaying into the bτ final state is performed using Run 2 proton-proton collision data from the Large Hadron Collider, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb − 1 at $$ \sqrt{s} $$ s = 13 TeV recorded by the ATLAS detector. The benchmark models considered in this search are vector leptoquarks with electric charge of 2/3e and scalar leptoquarks with an electric charge of 4/3e. No significant excess above the Standard Model prediction is observed, and 95% confidence level upper limits are set on the cross-section times branching fraction of leptoquarks decaying into bτ . For the vector leptoquark production two models are considered: the Yang-Mills and Minimal coupling models. In the Yang-Mills (Minimal coupling) scenario, vector leptoquarks with a mass below 1.58 (1.35) TeV are excluded for a gauge coupling of 1.0 and below 2.05 (1.99) TeV for a gauge coupling of 2.5. In the case of scalar leptoquarks, masses below 1.28 (1.53) TeV are excluded for a Yukawa coupling of 1.0 (2.5). Finally, an interpretation of the results with minimal model dependence is performed for each of the signal region categories, and limits on the visible cross-section for beyond the Standard Model processes are provided.

A bstract This paper reports the first ATLAS measurement of the $$ {B}_s^0 $$ B s 0 → μμ effective lifetime. The measurement is based on the data collected in 2015–2016, amounting to 26.3 fb − 1 of 13 TeV LHC proton-proton collisions. The proper decay-time distribution of 58 ± 13 background-subtracted signal candidates is fit with simulated signal templates parameterised as a function of the $$ {B}_s^0 $$ B s 0 effective lifetime, with statistical uncertainties extracted through a Neyman construction. The resulting effective measurement of the $$ {B}_s^0 $$ B s 0 → μμ lifetime is $$ {0.99}_{-0.07}^{+0.42} $$ 0.99 − 0.07 + 0.42 (stat.) ± 0 . 17 (syst.) ps and it is found to be consistent with the Standard Model.

A bstract A search for dark matter produced in association with a Higgs boson in final states with two hadronically decaying τ -leptons and missing transverse momentum is presented. The analysis uses 139 fb − 1 of proton-proton collision data at $$ \sqrt{s} $$ s = 13 TeV collected by the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider between 2015 and 2018. No evidence of physics beyond the Standard Model is found. The results are interpreted in terms of a 2HDM+ a model featuring two scalar Higgs doublets and a pseudoscalar singlet field. Exclusion limits on the parameters of the model in selected benchmark scenarios are derived at 95% confidence level. Model-independent limits are also set on the visible cross-section for processes beyond the Standard Model producing missing transverse momentum in association with a Higgs boson decaying into τ -leptons.

Previous research has identified a positive association between religious attendance and anxiety in U.S. South Asians. The current study assesses the mediating role of congregational neglect as a potential mechanism explaining this association. Analyses relied on data from the Study on Stress, Spirituality, and Health (SSSH) questionnaire in the Mediators of Atherosclerosis in South Asians Living in America (MASALA) study (n = 936), the largest community-based study of health among U.S. South Asians. Analyses were conducted using path analysis and adjusted for a variety of background characteristics. Results confirmed that higher levels of religious service attendance were associated with higher levels of anxiety. Congregational neglect was a significant mediator in this relationship, explaining 27% of the association between religious attendance and anxiety. Congregational neglect also had the second largest standardized coefficient in the model. This study provides evidence that congregational neglect plays an important intervening role in the connection between religious service attendance and anxiety among U.S. South Asians. The findings move beyond description, flagging a relevant social process which underlies the relationship. By recognizing the potential adverse effects of religious attendance on anxiety in this population, it may be possible to develop interventions aimed at enhancing social inclusion in South Asian religious communities. In addition to practical implications, this study highlights the need for further research on how communal religious participation shapes mental health in ethnic and racial minority populations in the United States.

Although grateful that Berge, Edelman, Guillaume, and Rossi have engaged my essay, ‘The Question of Provenance and the Economics of Deuteronomy’, their critique, which speaks against my conclusions, fails to account for essential archaeological, ethnographic, and linguistic data illuminating the economic profile of the Book of Deuteronomy. The most significant lacuna is their failure to address the economic realities of the Persian period. That data, and more, is summarized here. The present essay moves past literary and historiographic presuppositions regarding the provenance of Urdeuteronomium in order to engage the economic and numismatic realia that is recoverable from Israel’s world and offer an important avenue forward in deuteronomic researcḥ

We examined inter-subject variation in human balance, focusing on sensorimotor feedback. Our central hypothesis was that inter-subject variation in balance characteristics arises from differences in central sensorimotor processing. Our second hypothesis was that similar sensorimotor feedback mechanisms are used for sagittal and frontal balance. Twenty-one adults stood on a continuously rotating platform with eyes-closed in the sagittal or frontal plane. Plant dynamics (mass, height, inertia) and feedback control were included in a model of sensory weight, neural time delays, and sensory-to-motor scaling (stiffness, damping, and integral gains). Sway metrics (root-mean-square (RMS) sway and velocity) were moderately correlated between planes of motion (RMS: R=0.66-0.69 and RMS velocity: R=0.53-0.58). Sensory weight and integral gain exhibited the highest correlations between plane of motion (R=0.59 for sensory weight and R=0.75 for integral gain during large stimuli). Compared to other subjects, people who adopted a high vestibular weight or large integral gain in one condition did so across all tests. Inter-subject variation in sensory weight, stiffness, and integral gain were significantly associated with inter-subject variation in RMS sway while sensory weight and time delay were the strongest significant predictors of RMS velocity. A multiple linear regression showed that inter-subject variation in sway metrics were predicted better by inter-subject variation in central feedback mechanisms vs. plant dynamics. Together, results supported the first hypothesis and partially supported the second hypothesis because only a subset of feedback processes were moderately or strongly correlated (mostly during large surface tilts) between planes of motion.

Poor family functioning is associated with higher symptom severity in pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and delayed help-seeking behavior in other forms of psychopathology. However, little is known about the impact of family functioning on help-seeking behavior and symptom severity in adults with OCD. The present study investigated the association between family functioning and both treatment delay and symptom severity in adults with obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Participants were 194 adults who self-identified as having OCD and completed an internet survey, including measures assessing family functioning, obsessive-compulsive symptom severity, help-seeking behavior, and depression symptom severity. Poorer family functioning was associated with higher obsessive-compulsive and depression symptom severity, after controlling for significant demographic variables. With respect to domains of family functioning, poorer general functioning, problem solving, communication skills, role functioning, affective involvement, and affective responsiveness were associated with higher obsessive-compulsive and depression symptom severity, after controlling for demographics. Poorer problem solving and communication were not significantly associated with treatment delay after controlling for demographics. Findings highlight the need for family intervention within the treatment framework for adult OCD and suggest targets (e.g., communication) to be addressed.