When and why did House parties identify exclusive committees? The nexus of parties and standing committees defines the distribution of power in the U.S. House of Representatives, shapes legislators’ careers, and affects Congress's ability to address the nation's problems. Yet, political science provides inadequate and often misleading characterizations of the parties and the most important standing committees. We provide missing detail and offer a historical perspective on party efforts to arrange standing committees in the period since the revolt against Speaker Joseph Cannon in 1909–1910. Our narrative offers a foundation for explaining party efforts to regulate committee membership and meet legislators’ demands. For the first time, we define three periods in committee assignment limitations. In doing so, we place key events in historical context: We report that the modern exclusive committees (Appropriations, Rules, and Ways and Means) did not become defined until the 1950s; the identification by the two parties of a larger set of exclusive committees for which a one-assignment limitation applied began decades earlier; the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946 placed a one-assignment limitation in House rules that had been party practice for three decades by then. In recent decades, deep partisanship has been accompanied by a loosening, not tightening, of restrictions. In fact, there are no fully exclusive committees remaining in practice.

Using manually compiled cost of equity (COE) estimates disclosed in takeover regulatory filings, we provide novel evidence on how investment bankers estimate discount rates. COE estimates are related to several risk proxies, such as beta and size. Other firm characteristics are unrelated to COE estimates or provide relations contradicting academic evidence. We also explore the role of incentives. For example, banks use significantly higher COEs in management buyouts, which potentially underestimates target value, making the bid more attractive for target shareholder approval.

This paper investigates a rather unexpected connection between the alchemy of vermilion, mercury sulphide (HgS), and the primary red highlighted in a colour theory that emerged in the late fifteenth century: trichromacy of colour mixtures. Some early supporters of trichromacy indeed identified the hue of vermilion as the ideal simple red they discussed in their books. The colours observed during the manufacturing of this pigment led to the alchemical colour sequence described in texts and images about the sulphur–mercury theory, and they are in some recipes the same primary colours of trichromatists. This paper also shows that the era of vermilion lasted until the late eighteenth century, when vermilion was finally rejected by other trichromatists.

Two potential obstacles stand between the observation of a statistical correlation and the design (and deployment) of an effective intervention, omitted variable bias and reverse causality. Whereas the former has received ample attention, comparably scant focus has been devoted to the latter in the methodological literature. Many existing methods for reverse causality testing commence by postulating a structural model that may suffer from widely recognized issues such as the difficulty of properly setting temporal lags, which are critical to model validity. In this article, we draw upon advances in machine learning, specifically the recently established link between causal direction and the effectiveness of semi-supervised learning algorithms, to develop a novel method for reverse causality testing that circumvents many of the assumptions required by traditional methods. Mathematical analysis and simulation studies were carried out to demonstrate the effectiveness of our method. We also performed tests over a real-world dataset to show how our method may be used to identify causal relationships in practice.

Let (W, S) be a Coxeter system of rank n, and let $p_{(W, S)}(t)$ be its growth function. It is known that $p_{(W, S)}(q^{-1}) \lt \infty$ holds for all $n \leq q \in \mathbb{N}$. In this paper, we will show that this still holds for $q = n-1$, if (W, S) is 2-spherical. Moreover, we will prove that $p_{(W, S)}(q^{-1}) = \infty$ holds for $q = n-2$, if the Coxeter diagram of (W, S) is the complete graph. These two results provide a complete characterization of the finiteness of the growth function in the case of 2-spherical Coxeter systems with a complete Coxeter diagram.

We presented an attosecond-precision timing detector based on linear optics. The minimum measurement floor is 1×10–10 fs2/Hz with only 1 mW input optical power. With this novel technique, the residual dispersion of a 5.2 km fiber link is characterized and precisely compensated. Finally, a comprehensive feedback model has been developed to analyze the noise coupling in a long-distance link stabilization system. The simulation results demonstrate an out-of-loop jitter of merely 359 as, integrated at [1 Hz, 1 MHz], at 1 mW input power per photodetector of our timing detector. Remarkably, the system is capable of maintaining sub-femtosecond precision even at optical power levels as low as 240 nW (for a 5.2 km link length), or link lengths as long as 20 km (with 1 μW optical power), respectively.

Understanding the behaviour of domes under both contemporary and historical environmental conditions is essential to facilitate the study of dome-divide dynamics and the interpretation of ice core records. This paper presents nearly 20 years of Global Navigation Satellite System observations at Dome C in East Antarctica, focusing on ice velocity and accumulation rates. The 38 measuring poles established in 1996 for the EPICA Dome C project were surveyed three times in 18 years. The data analysis indicates alterations in ice velocity patterns, including a horizontal velocity shift across the dome and a dynamic summit migration of about 100 m a−1. Specifically, increases in velocity on the southeastern slope were counterbalanced by a similar reduction in the northwestern sector. These changes are likely related to variations in accumulation distribution as indicated by snow radar measurements and shifts in the drainage basin of the Byrd Glacier. Furthermore, a 10% alteration in snow accumulation rates at Dome C over the past decade compared with previous centuries was observed, accompanied by an elevation increase of about 3.5 mm a−1. The recent findings of the Beyond EPICA – Oldest Ice (BE-OI) project highlight the minimal perturbations of the climate signal on the ice core, attributable to glaciological variability at the dome position.

Data on the behavioral development of preterm infants are inconclusive. The aim of this study was to explore behavioral development during preschool years, considering prematurity, measurement time, gender, and informant. This is a prospective longitudinal analytical observational study, with a sample of 98 parents and 98 teachers of children aged 4, 5, and 6 years with and without a history of prematurity, who were evaluated by the Child Behavior Checklist and Teacher’s Report Form. Parents and teachers of the preschoolers report average scores on all behavioral scales. We observed variability according to degree of prematurity, age, and informant. Teachers detected more attention difficulties in the very preterm group (VPTG) than in the born-at-term group at 4 years. Parents and teachers coincided in detecting greater withdrawal in the moderate and late preterm group (MTPG) compared to the born-at-term group and an increase in difficulties with increasing age. The General Linear Model revealed that moderate prematurity, the age of 6 years, and parental report have a greater risk of behavioral difficulties. The need for follow-up also in moderate preterm infants is emphasized, especially at 6 years of age and with multi-informants.

This study investigated associations between childhood neighborhood deprivation and adolescent mental health difficulties, and potential protective factors. Data were utilized from the Millennium Cohort Study (MCS) (born in 2000–2002; N = 5,422; 52% female) and the Environmental Risk (E-Risk) Longitudinal Twin Study (born in 1994–1995; N = 1,920; 53% female). Childhood neighborhood deprivation was measured using the Index of Multiple Deprivation between age 9 months and 14 years (MCS) and at age 12 (E-Risk). Adolescent mental health was assessed using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire at age 17 (MCS) and the Diagnostic Interview Schedule conducted at age 18 with symptoms loading onto general psychopathology, internalizing and externalizing factors (E-Risk). Cross-classified models showed high levels of neighborhood deprivation in childhood were associated with more total problems (estimate = 0.46, 95% CI = 0.04–0.88) and internalizing difficulties (estimate = 0.32, 95% CI = 0.06–0.59) in adolescence within MCS. Being male, having higher self-esteem, greater social support, and a more positive parent-child relationship were associated with fewer total problems (estimates = −0.09–−1.87) and internalizing difficulties (estimates = −0.03–−1.88) at age 17 in the full sample regardless of neighborhood deprivation exposure. However, interactions revealed that higher self-esteem was especially beneficial for children exposed to high neighborhood deprivation (estimate = −0.35, 95% CI = −0.43–−0.27). No significant associations between childhood neighborhood deprivation and adolescent mental health symptoms were found in E-Risk. Interventions focused on improving self-esteem, social support, and parenting may help promote better adolescent mental health in the general population. Those living in the most deprived areas may benefit most from increased self-esteem.

This article offers a hermeneutical account of ambiguity using Luke and Acts as an extended case study. After discussing the difficulties in identifying purposeful ambiguity in biblical texts, verbal ambiguity is distinguished from ambiguity beyond the sentence level, such as ambiguities of plot or character. Instead of approaching ambiguity primarily as a failure of language or a problem to be solved, this article offers a framework for thinking about ambiguity as an invitation to read a text from multiple angles. The discussion is illustrated throughout with a series of examples taken from Luke and Acts. I close with reflections on how this approach to ambiguity is helpful when reading scripture against different cultural contexts and in the study of New Testament Christology.

Spectra have been obtained with the multi-fibre instrument 2dF on the Anglo-Australian Telescope of 89 candidate main sequence stars in the globular cluster M55 (NGC 6809). Radial velocities and Gaia proper motions confirm 72 candidates as cluster members. Among these stars one stands out as having a substantially stronger G-band (CH) than the rest of the member sample. The star is a dwarf carbon star that most likely acquired the high carbon abundance ([C/Fe] $\approx$ 1.2 $\pm$ 0.2) via mass transfer from a $\sim$1$-$3 M$_{\odot}$ binary companion (now a white dwarf) during its AGB phase of evolution. Interestingly, M55 also contains a CH-star that lies on the cluster red giant branch – the low central concentration/low density of this cluster presumably allows the survival of binaries that would otherwise be disrupted in denser systems. The existence of carbon stars in six other globular clusters is consistent with this hypothesis, while the origin of the carbon-enhanced star in M15 (NGC 7078) is attributed to a merger process similar to that proposed for the origin of the carbon-rich R stars.

The growing popularity of home-sharing platforms such as Airbnb, partly fueled by hosts’ ability to evade local taxes and regulations, has been shown to elevate housing costs by reallocating long-term housing units to the short-term rental market. This study assesses whether enhanced tax enforcement can mitigate this trend. We analyze staggered tax collection agreements between Airbnb and Florida counties, wherein Airbnb collects taxes from the hosts directly. Using a difference-in-differences methodology, we find these agreements significantly slow the growth of housing costs, highlighting the importance of tax policy in addressing the sharing economy’s influence on housing affordability.

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are prevalent in people with substance use disorder (SUD). The aims of this study were to determine the prevalence of ACEs in a specific sample of people with SUD and to analyze the specific characteristics of these patients according to gender. The studied sample consisted of 215 people seeking treatment for SUD in two clinical centers in Spain. Descriptive and comparison analyses were carried out, and a logistic regression analysis was conducted to identify the main variables related to ACEs. The prevalence of at least one ACE was 82.3%. Women reported a higher prevalence of family mental health problems (p = .045; d = 0.14) and sexual abuse (p < .001; d = 0.43) than men. The group with ≥3 ACEs showed a higher severity profile for the addiction severity and psychopathological variables than the groups with 0 ACEs and 1–2 ACEs. Logistic regression showed that problems related to the group with ≥3 ACEs in the total sample were psychiatric and legal problems and lifetime suicidal ideation (in men, family/social problems and lifetime suicidal ideation; in women, employment/support problems). This study supports the high prevalence of ACEs in people with SUD and the cumulative effect of ACEs. In addition, gender is a relevant factor. The implementation of assessments and treatment for ACEs is necessary in SUD treatment programs.

During the nineteenth century, a growing sense of empathy toward non-human animals emerged within the Habsburg Empire. The new empathy toward animals took organizational form in voluntary associations that attracted men and women in urban settings. In 1852, one of the first such associations was born in the busy port city of Trieste (Trst/Triest), drawing members from the elite. These individuals criticized the animal care practices of the working class and rural population, repeatedly accusing them of “immorality” and even “inhumanity.”

As the article depicts, the guardians of the animal kingdom were not as compassionate as they might appear. In fact, the protectors of animals believed themselves far superior to the proletarians who supposedly whipped their horses. The way the growing bourgeoisie treated their animal friends ultimately served as a tool in the creation of the social distinction between the bourgeoisie on the one hand, and the workers and peasants on the other.

While Trieste’s animal protection society reflected a broader global trend, it also displayed unique characteristics shaped by the city’s distinctive social and cultural dynamics. The article sheds light on how these local traits influenced its development.

This paper demonstrates how Bayesian reasoning can be used for an analog of replication analysis with qualitative research that conducts inference to best explanation. We overview the basic mechanics of Bayesian reasoning with qualitative evidence and apply our approach to recent research on climate change politics, a matter of major importance that is beginning to attract greater interest in the discipline. Our re-analysis of illustrative evidence from a prominent article on global collective-action versus distributive politics theories of climate policy largely accords with the authors’ conclusions, while illuminating the value added of Bayesian analysis. In contrast, our in-depth examination of scholarship on oil majors’ support for carbon pricing yields a Bayesian inference that diverges from the authors’ conclusions. These examples highlight the potential for Bayesian reasoning not only to improve inferences when working with qualitative evidence but also to enhance analytical transparency, facilitate communication of findings, and promote knowledge accumulation.

Electromyogram (EMG)-controlled prosthetic hands have advanced significantly during the past two decades. However, most of the currently available prosthetic hands fail to replicate human hand functionality and controllability. To measure the emulation of the human hand by a prosthetic hand, it is important to evaluate the functional characteristics. Moreover, incorporating feedback from end users during clinical testing is crucial for the precise assessment of a prosthetic hand. The work reported in this manuscript unfolds the functional characteristics of an EMG-CoNtrolled PRosthetIC Hand called ENRICH. ENRICH is a real-time EMG controlled prosthetic hand that can grasp objects in 250.8$ \pm $1.1 ms, fulfilling the neuromuscular constraint of a human hand. ENRICH is evaluated in comparison to 26 laboratory prototypes and 10 commercial variants of prosthetic hands. The hand was evaluated in terms of size, weight, operation time, weight lifting capacity, finger joint range of motion, control strategy, degrees of freedom, grasp force, and clinical testing. The box and block test and pick and place test showed ENRICH’s functionality and controllability. The functional evaluation reveals that ENRICH has the potential to restore functionality to hand amputees, improving their quality of life.

Though formal life sentences have been abolished in Norway, forvaring (post-conviction indefinite preventive detention) – a type of informal life sentence – can be imposed on individuals convicted of certain offenses who are considered to be at high risk of future offending. While great attention has been paid to Norway as an “exceptional” penal outlier globally, there is a notable lack of comprehensive knowledge about its indefinite penal sanction. Drawing on extensive historical research and legal and policy documentary analysis as well as leveraging a unique national dataset on the total forvaring population, this article provides the first international in-depth assessment of the evolution and implementation of Norway’s ultimate penalty. In so doing, it highlights significant disparities between policy ambitions and current practice and questions the extent to which the sanction of forvaring can be considered an “exceptional” approach to life imprisonment. It is argued that the development and growth of this type of informal life sentence can be seen as the epicenter of the impact of a more punitive ideology in Norway, emphasizing the need to move away from the concept of penal exceptionalism to better understand the full spectrum and practice of Norwegian and Nordic penality.