Missing in action? Mortgage enforcement under section 126 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974

This paper sets out the true ambit of section 126 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974, noting that it requires virtually all residential mortgage agreements to be enforced by court order. Despite this, numerous commentaries on the English law of mortgage omit reference to section 126. The implications of our findings are profound. Not least, many accounts of the law of mortgage will require substantial revision, including recognition of the fact that cases such as Ropaigealach v Barclays Bank plc and Horsham Properties Group Ltd v Clark were reversed as long ago as 2008. More significant is the need to ensure that accurate knowledge of section 126 is conveyed to those who advise mortgagors at risk of possession. This is particularly the case given the 'cost of living crisis' and the backlog of possession claims arising out of the Covid-19 pandemic. Any mortgagees tempted to expedite recovery of mortgaged property by enforcing the mortgage extra-judicially should be directed to section 126 and the requirement it imposes to obtain a court order.

Between orthodoxy and openness: a book review essay on: The Palgrave Handbook of Institutional Ethnography: edited by Paul C. Luken and Suzanne Vaughan, Cham, Switzerland, Palgrave Macmillan, 2021 eBook £95.50, Hardcover £119.99 561pp. eBook ISBN: 978-3-030-54222-1 Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-030-54221-4

The Palgrave Handbook of Institutional Ethnography (IE), edited by Paul C. Luken and Suzanne Vaughan, is an important addition to the field, bringing a breadth of disciplines, contexts, and empirical foci together with crucial interventions from seasoned Institutional Ethnographers (IEers). IE as orthodoxy There is a fundamental tension that runs through the IE field, coming up at conferences and in informal discussions: I how to balance defining IE and its boundaries clearly while still encouraging creativity and openness i . Between orthodoxy and openness: a book review essay on: The Palgrave Handbook of Institutional Ethnography: edited by Paul C. Luken and Suzanne Vaughan, Cham, Switzerland, Palgrave Macmillan, 2021 eBook £95.50, Hardcover £119.99 561pp. IE's interdisciplinarity can be exciting and informative, but there is a tension between providing enough detailed description of one's own area of research while also forefronting the IE analytical and/or methodological points which are often of most interest to the IE reader. [Extracted from the article] Copyright of International Journal of Social Research Methodology is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

Algorithmic Solidarity

Both Yao and Zhao hailed the role of technology in addressing the medication shortage. According to Xinhua News Agency, many pharmaceutical companies in China are working at full capacity to produce analgesics, antipyretics, as well as other over-the-counter medicines to treat COVID-19 symptoms. Additionally, the platform will add reminders and guidelines related to safe medication and try to contact suppliers, hoping to provide users with more medication choices, Tencent added. [Extracted from the article] Copyright of Beijing Review is the property of Beijing Review and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

Human Security in China. A Post-Pandemic State: Chi Zhang (ed.), Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, 2022, xvii + 200pp., £71.50/€85.89 ebook

This volume, edited by Chi Zhang, is a timely contribution to the understanding of China's distinctive approach to human security in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Jia Liu's article discusses public health emergency management in China during COVID-19 through the lens of health security. By examining the legal and institutional structure of China's public health emergency management system, Liu offers a detailed explanation of the conditions under which "a-securitisation" and "hyper-securitisation" occurred. [Extracted from the article]

Detection of SARS-CoV-2 infection by exhaled breath spectral analysis: Introducing a ready-to-use point-of-care mass screening method.

BACKGROUND: The current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic created an urgent need for rapid, infection screening applied to large numbers of asymptomatic individuals. To date, nasal/throat swab polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is considered the "gold standard". However, this is inconducive to mass, point-of-care (POC) testing due to person discomfort during sampling and a prolonged result turnaround. Breath testing for disease specific organic compounds potentially offers a practical, rapid, non-invasive, POC solution. The study compares the Breath of Health, Ltd. (BOH) breath analysis system to PCR's ability to screen asymptomatic individuals for SARS-CoV-2 infection. The BOH system is mobile and combines Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy with artificial intelligence (AI) to generate results within 2 min and 15 s. In contrast to prior SARS-CoV-2 breath analysis research, this study focuses on diagnosing SARS-CoV-2 via disease specific spectrometric profiles rather than through identifying the disease specific molecules. METHODS: Asymptomatic emergency room patients with suspected SARS-CoV-2 exposure in two leading Israeli hospitals were selected between February through April 2021. All were tested via nasal/throat-swab PCR and BOH breath analysis. In total, 297 patients were sampled (mean age 57·08 ± SD 18·86, 156 males, 139 females, 2 unknowns). Of these, 96 were PCR-positive (44 males, 50 females, 2 unknowns), 201 were PCR-negative (112 males, 89 females). One hundred samples were used for AI identification of SARS-CoV-2 distinguishing spectroscopic wave-number patterns and diagnostic algorithm creation. Algorithm validation was tested in 100 proof-of-concept samples (34 PCR-positive, 66 PCR-negative) by comparing PCR with AI algorithm-based breath-test results determined by a blinded medical expert. One hundred additional samples (12 true PCR-positive, 85 true PCR-negative, 3 confounder false PCR-positive [not included in the 297 total samples]) were evaluated by two blinded medical experts for further algorithm validation and inter-expert correlation. FINDINGS: The BOH system identified three distinguishing wave numbers for SARS-CoV-2 infection. In the first phase, the single expert identified the first 100 samples correctly, yielding a 1:1 FTIR/AI:PCR correlation. The two-expert second-phase also yielded 1:1 FTIR/AI:PCR correlation for 97 non-confounders and null correlation for the 3 confounders. Inter-expert correlation was 1:1 for all results. In total, the FTIR/AI algorithm demonstrated 100% sensitivity and specificity for SARS-CoV-2 detection when compared with PCR. INTERPRETATION: The SARS-CoV-2 method of breath analysis via FTIR with AI-based algorithm demonstrated high PCR correlation in screening for asymptomatic individuals. This is the first practical, rapid, POC breath analysis solution with such high PCR correlation in asymptomatic individuals. Further validation is required with a larger sample size. FUNDING: Breath of Health Ltd, Rehovot, Israel provided study funding.

Facemasks and face recognition: Potential impact on synaptic plasticity.

Visual recognition of facial expression modulates our social interactions. Compelling experimental evidence indicates that face conveys plenty of information that are fundamental for humans to interact. These are encoded at neural level in specific cortical and subcortical brain regions through activity- and experience-dependent synaptic plasticity processes. The current pandemic, due to the spread of SARS-CoV-2 infection, is causing relevant social and psychological detrimental effects. The institutional recommendations on physical distancing, namely social distancing and wearing of facemasks are effective in reducing the rate of viral spread. However, by impacting social interaction, facemasks might impair the neural responses to recognition of facial cues that are overall critical to our behaviors. In this survey, we briefly review the current knowledge on the neurobiological substrate of facial recognition and discuss how the lack of salient stimuli might impact the ability to retain and consolidate learning and memory phenomena underlying face recognition. Such an "abnormal" visual experience raises the intriguing possibility of a "reset" mechanism, a renewed ability of adult brain to undergo synaptic plasticity adaptations.

COVID-19: Impact analysis and recommendations for power sector operation.

The demand of electricity has been reduced significantly due to the recent COVID-19 pandemic. Governments around the world were compelled to reduce the business activity in response to minimize the threat of coronavirus. This on-going situation due to COVID-19 has changed the lifestyle globally as people are mostly staying home and working from home if possible. Hence, there is a significant increase in residential load demand while there is a substantial decrease in commercial and industrial loads. This devastating situation creates new challenges in the technical and financial activities of the power sector and hence most of the utilities around the world initiated a disaster management plan to tackle this ongoing challenges/threats. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the global scenarios of power systems during COVID-19 along with the socio-economic and technical issues faced by the utilities. Then, this study further scrutinized the Indian power system as a case study and explored scenarios, issues and challenges currently being faced to manage the consumer load demand, including the actions taken by the utilities/power sector for the smooth operation of the power system. Finally, a set of recommendations are presented to support the government/policymakers/utilities around the world not only to overcome the current crisis but also to overcome future unforeseeable pandemic alike scenario.