We propose a novel pricing factor for currency returns motivated by the market microstructure literature. Our factor aggregates order flow data to provide a measure of buying and selling pressure related to conventional currency trading strategies. It successfully prices the cross-section of currency returns sorted on the basis of forward discount and momentum. The association between our factor and currency returns differs according to the customer segment of the foreign exchange market. In particular, it appears that financial customers are risk-takers in the market, while nonfinancial customers serve as liquidity providers.

Frontline forces responding to Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosive (CBRNE) attacks operate under extreme conditions that severely disrupt sleep patterns, jeopardizing their health and effectiveness. Prolonged shifts, high-stress environments, physical discomfort, and cultural stigmas against rest create significant barriers to healthy sleep. Chronic sleep deprivation not only impairs immediate performance but also increases long-term risks of physical and mental health issues. Addressing these challenges requires a multifaceted approach, including structured rest protocols, sleep-friendly environments, technological tools for sleep monitoring, mental health support, and efforts to combat stigma through education. By prioritizing sleep health, organizations can enhance the resilience and operational readiness of frontline forces, ensuring they are better equipped to handle the demands of CBRNE incidents. This Letter highlights the critical importance of sleep in disaster response and calls for systemic changes to support the well-being of those on the front lines.

Data on the infection of Middendorffʼs eelpout, Hadropareia middendorffii, by metacercariae of the trematodes Cryptocotyle lingua Creplin, 1825 and Liliatrema skrjabini Gubanov, 1953, which are causative agents of black spot disease, is provided here for the first time for Taui Bay, Sea of Okhotsk. The prevalence of infection of fish by larvae of C. lingua reached 79%, while the intensity of infection varied from one to 278 individuals (with an average of 53). The prevalence of infection by L. skrjabini was lower (40%), with an intensity from one to 22 larvae (on average, eight). Metacercariae of both trematode species were surrounded by two envelopes: an outer, connective tissue capsule formed by the host’s cells, and an inner cyst formed by the parasite. The examined metacercariae were found in all regions of the fish’s body (head, trunk, and fins), with approximately equal numbers of individuals of both species found in tissues of the head and trunk regions. Metacercariae of C. lingua were localised in the fishes’ muscles, not only immediately under the skin but also in deeper layers. The capsules formed around metacercariae of both trematode species were dominated by fibroblasts and collagen fibres and did not show pronounced signs of inflammation. Studying the distribution of black spot disease and its effects on fish is crucial for understanding disease patterns in relation to fish population dynamics. It may also inform the development of effective anthelmintic treatments for use in aquaculture farms.

This paper introduces the Arachne System, a scalable, cost-effective mobile microrobot swarm platform designed for educational and research applications. It details the design, functionalities, and potential of the Arachne Bots, emphasizing their accessibility to users with minimal robotics expertise. By providing a comprehensive overview of the system’s hardware, sensory capabilities, and control algorithms, the paper demonstrates the platform’s capacity to democratize and reduce entry barriers in mobile robotic swarms research, fostering innovation and educational opportunities in the field. Extensive experimental validation of the system showcases its broad range of capabilities and effectiveness in real-world implementation.

We consider one-parameter families of smooth circle cocycles over an ergodic transformation in the base, and show that their rotation numbers must be log-Hölder regular with respect to the parameter. As an immediate application, we get a dynamical proof of the one-dimensional version of the Craig–Simon theorem that establishes that the integrated density of states of an ergodic Schrödinger operator must be log-Hölder.

As late as 1750, Portugal had a high output per head by Western European standards. Yet just a century later, Portugal was this region’s poorest country. In this paper, we show that the discovery of massive quantities of gold in Brazil over the eighteenth century played a key role in the long-run development of Portugal. The country suffered from an economic and political resource curse. A counterfactual based on synthetic control methods suggests that by 1800 Portugal’s GDP per capita was 40 percent lower than it would have been without its endowment of Brazilian gold.

This paper studies how investor heterogeneity impacts equilibrium debt maturity. The optimal issuance strategy combines long- and short-term debts. A long-term debt contains default risk but hedges against intermediate downturns. A short-term debt provides repayment commitment but requires being rolled over and becomes risky during downturns. Issuing multiple debt maturities spreads the cost of these risky claims to investors most willing to hold risk at different points in time. The model predicts that debt maturity is more dispersed with lower financing costs and more investment opportunities when debt ownership is spread among many different types of investors.

We examine individuals’ retirement behaviour in response to changes in the State Pension eligibility age (SPe-age) introduced in UK Pension Acts. Our findings show that the annual probability of retirement reduced significantly in response to a one-year increase in SPe-age, by 8.2pp and 6.4pp for men and women, respectively. They also show that younger individuals can adjust their Expected Age of Retirement (EAR) downwards in response to an increase in their SPe-age. Thus, while an increase in the SPe-age induces individuals to postpone actual retirement, it does not necessarily lead to certain groups of individuals to revise their EAR upwards, which could result in suboptimal retirement planning. The latter can be problematic for those with low occupational pension wealth and/or individuals who rely disproportionately on State Pension. Our findings suggest the need for targeted communication campaigns aimed at specific groups of prime aged workers to improve their retirement planning.

This article engages in a theoretical exercise, tackling an intentionally provocative question: is there such a thing as too much access to justice? Conventional wisdom suggests that barriers to access to justice ought to be low. Countless reform efforts put in place throughout the world have sought to expand access to justice and strengthen judicial institutions. What happens when access to these institutions is expanded? Who takes advantage of that access? Who is left behind? Weaving together scholarship on the unintended consequences of legal reforms and empirical examples from access to justice experiments in Canada, China, Colombia, India, Russia, South Africa, and the United States, this article shows how lowering material barriers to access to justice can: (1) increase strain on the legal system, (2) raise but fail to live up to expectations about the possibilities claim-making, (3) reinforce existing inequalities, and (4) offer limited and perhaps inadequate solutions.

With great fanfare, India officially launched its new criminal laws – the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam – on 1 July 2024. These laws were heralded as a significant reform aimed at modernizing the country’s justice system and enhancing protections for victims of violence. The legislation sparked considerable optimism among various stakeholders by promising swift justice and fostering a more responsive police force. However, at six months after their implementation, a critical assessment was warranted. How effective have these laws proven to be in practice? Are the judiciary and police adapting to these changes, or are we merely witnessing another instance of legislative overreach that fails to translate into real-world improvements? This analysis urges us to examine the real impact of these statutes to assess whether they offer a genuine solution to the longstanding challenges within the Indian criminal justice system or if they are simply another bureaucratic illusion. As we examine the initial outcomes and responses from law enforcement and the judiciary, it is essential to evaluate the efficacy of the new provisions in the context of ongoing systemic challenges and societal attitudes toward justice. This evaluation will determine whether these legislative measures have genuinely ushered in a new era of accountability and victim support, or if they have fallen victim to the inertia of existing institutional practices. In this paper we examine the changes and effectiveness brought by these laws as we unchain ourselves from colonial laws.

This study introduces a low-profile, broadband antenna with filtering features and tunable radiation nulls. The antenna consists of an arc-shaped slot, a sawtooth square slot, a Y-shaped filtering branch, two rectangular metal cavities, and curved current loops. High-frequency current balancing technology is used in this research, two rectangular metal cavities are added above the slot to balance the current strength and reduce cross-polarization. By introducing a Y-shaped filtering branch based on the reverse diversion technique, the filtering capability of the antenna can be significantly enhanced. The electric and magnetic field intensity in the specific area is enhanced through arc-shaped slot tuning technology, and the bandwidth is effectively broadened. The radius adjustment of the sector-shaped feeding network controls the position of the high-frequency radiation null, and the curved current loops control the low-frequency radiation null, the two modulate to regulate the roll-off rate of the radiation characteristic. Experimental tests demonstrate an impedance matching bandwidth greater than 55%, a peak gain of 4.5 dBi, and out-of-band suppression of 25 and 21 dB in the low and high-frequency bands, respectively. Moreover, the cross-polarization level obtained in the xoz plane is lower than –35 dB. The designed antenna demonstrates considerable potential for broadband filtering applications.

This work presents a methodological alternative to the traditional study of objects arranged inside funerary bundles, with the aim of preserving the integrity of the bundle and optimizing the material resources and costs derived from the storage and unwrapping processes. The research employs computerized tomographic scans to study the metal artifacts chosen to accompany the individuals arranged inside funerary bundles. It is the first systematic characterization of funerary treatment to focus on the presence of metal objects as part of burial offerings and their relationship with the body of the deceased individuals in the Andean area. Analyzing a total of 85 funerary bundles from the central coast of Peru, the study identified 26 bundles, dating to between AD 1100 and 1532, that contained at least one metal object. The objects were recorded to identify their use, decoration, measurements, location within the bundle, and the presence of any other objects associated with the individual, which made it possible to discern metal objects present in bundles corresponding to female, male, and nonadult individuals. The research concludes that the presence of metal artifacts in a funerary bundle is an indicator of elevated status, although the choice of specific artifacts is determined by elements of an individual’s identity.

Depression, a leading cause of global disability, arises from a multifaceted combination of genetic and environmental components. This study explores the relationship between major depressive disorder (MDD) polygenic scores (PGS), characteristics and symptoms of depression, and community-shared socioeconomic factors derived from postal code data in a cohort of 12,646 individuals from the Australian Genetics of Depression Study (AGDS). Our findings reveal that people living in areas with relatively higher socioeconomic advantages and education/occupation scores are more likely to report experiencing fewer depressive symptoms during their worst depressive period, as well as fewer number of lifetime episodes. Additionally, participants who reported depression onset later in life tend to currently reside in wealthier areas. Interestingly, no significant interaction between genetic and socioeconomic factors was observed, suggesting their independent contribution to depression outcomes. This research underscores the importance of integrating socioeconomic factors into psychiatric evaluation and care, and points to the critical role of public policy in addressing mental health disparities driven by socioeconomic factors. Future research should aim to further elucidate the causal relationships within these associations and explore the potential for integrated genetic and socioeconomic approaches in mental health interventions.