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Key Clinical Message: Routine venography should be performed before the device upgrade. Clinicians should not be unconcerned because of the lack of symptoms following lead‐related venous occlusion. Knowledge of collateral anatomy is essential for future interventional plans. The venous pathway's return to the right atrium may entail risks to patient outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new form of secured lending using "digital collateral" has recently emerged, most prominently in low- and middle-income countries. Digital collateral relies on lockout technology, which allows the lender to temporarily disable the flow value of the collateral to the borrower without physically repossessing it. We explore this new form of credit in a model and a field experiment using school-fee loans digitally secured with a solar home system. Securing a loan with digital collateral drastically reduced default rates (by 19 percentage points) and increased the lender's rate of return (by 49 percentage points). Using a variant of the Karlan and Zinman (2009) methodology, we decompose the total effect on repayment and find that roughly two-thirds is attributable to moral hazard, and one-third to adverse selection. In addition, access to digitally secured school-fee loans significantly increased school enrollment and school-related expenditures without detrimental effects on households' balance sheets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite market is booming, and the expectations for an efficient regulatory system are rising. Governments seek to keep regulatory improvements at the same pace as innovations. However, their divergent priorities and interests result in different frameworks and relatively costly solutions. Moreover, LEO satellites are operated in space, where states' security interests exist. This clash of interests substantially influences the concepts of national security and competition. Consequently, a regulatory framework shifts from a simple licensing system to a gatekeeper to entail that just competition cannot drive the market without considering national security concerns. In this respect, entities and customers are exposed to various incentives and transaction costs, prompting them to alter their strategies and contractual arrangements. In some cases, these choices operate like barriers to entry which in turn might distort market competitiveness. This paper considers the regulatory frameworks in Australia, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Japan, and Vietnam to explore the shape of a robust regulatory framework. Given that the United States is a pioneer in the expanding notion of national security and the LEO satellite market, the Federal Communications Commission's recent changes are also examined. This paper employs transaction costs and rent-seeking approaches to identify root causes of possible anticompetitive behaviors and proposes viable solutions to advance a robust regulatory framework consistent with LEO satellite internet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The vast volumes of our consumer data that companies retain to target advertising, train artificial intelligence products, and predict our preferences can also help solve crimes and identify unknown perpetrators. Two powerful strategies for cracking cases involving unknown perpetrators, keyword warrants and geofence warrants, direct businesses to disclose devices that performed incriminating keyword searches or that were present during a crime. The new digital search strategies drawing on corporately held big data are sparking conflicts and confusion in the courts because a suspect is not named, spurring originalism-influenced analogies to 1700s-era general warrants. Evaluating digital searches through the lens of a time before electric power existed-much less electronic data-makes no sense but remains alluring because of Romantic Luddism, a tradition of anxiety over technological change and nostalgia for the past. Advancing beyond Romantic Luddism in Fourth Amendment interpretation, this Article offers a new analytical lens for big data search strategies that are evolving with technology. How crimes are perpetrated in the digital age has evolved. Our concept of the Fourth Amendment's requirements, including what constitutes probable cause and particularity in big data search warrants, must evolve as well. This Article frames the concepts of digital probable cause and collateral impact to address conflicts in the courts over big data searches using keyword and geofence warrants to identify unknown perpetrators. The Article draws on the analogy of John Doe DNA warrants to explain how advances in science and technology can give new grounds for probable cause and particularity when a perpetrator's identity is unknown. The Article also frames the concepts of collateral impact and collateral harm to evaluate overbreadth concerns and empathy disparities regarding the impact of searches on persons not involved with the crime. The Article's proposal enables controlled use Of big data search strategies such as geofence and keyword warrants while forestalling abuses, such as mass surveillance of political protesters or hunting for abortion seekers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Stroke interventions that increase collateral flow have the potential to salvage penumbral tissue and increase the number of patients eligible for reperfusion therapy. We compared the efficacy of two different collateral therapeutics during transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (tMCAO) in normotensive and hypertensive rats. Methods: The change in collateral and core perfusion was measured using dual laser Doppler in response to either a pressor agent (phenylephrine, 10mg/kg iv or vehicle) or a collateral vasodilator (TM5441, 5mg/kg iv or vehicle) given 30min into tMCAO in male Wistar and spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs). Results: Pressor therapy increased collateral flow in the Wistar rats but was ineffective in the SHRs. The increase in collateral flow in the Wistar rats was associated with impaired cerebral blood flow autoregulation (CBFAR) that was intact in the SHRs. TM5441 caused a decrease in collateral perfusion in the Wistar rats and a modest increase in the SHRs. The pressor therapy reduced early infarction in both groups but increased edema in the SHRs, whereas TM5441 did not have any beneficial effects in either group. Conclusions: Thus, the pressor therapy was superior to a collateral vasodilator in increasing collateral flow and improving outcomes in the Wistar rats, likely due to pial collaterals that were pressure passive; the lack of CBF response in the SHRs to pressor therapy was likely due to intact CBFAR that limited perfusion. While TM5441 modestly increased CBF in the SHRs but not in the Wistar rats, it did not have a beneficial effect on stroke outcomes. These results suggest that collateral therapies may need to be selected for certain comorbidities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Impaired collateral formation is a major factor contributing to poor prognosis in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. However, the current pharmacological treatments for improving collateral formation remain unsatisfactory. The induction of endothelial autophagy and the elimination of reactive oxygen species (ROS) represent potential therapeutic targets for enhancing endothelial angiogenesis and facilitating collateral formation. This study investigates the potential of molybdenum disulfide nanodots (MoS2 NDs) for enhancing collateral formation and improving prognosis. Results: Our study shows that MoS2 NDs significantly enhance collateral formation in ischemic tissues of diabetic mice, improving effective blood resupply. Additionally, MoS2 NDs boost the proliferation, migration, and tube formation of endothelial cells under high glucose/hypoxia conditions in vitro. Mechanistically, the beneficial effects of MoS2 NDs on collateral formation not only depend on their known scavenging properties of ROS (H2O2, •O2-, and •OH) but also primarily involve a molecular pathway, cAMP/PKA-NR4A2, which promotes autophagy and contributes to mitigating damage in diabetic endothelial cells. Conclusions: Overall, this study investigated the specific mechanism by which MoS2 NDs mediated autophagy activation and highlighted the synergy between autophagy activation and antioxidation, thus suggesting that an economic and biocompatible nano-agent with dual therapeutic functions is highly preferable for promoting collateral formation in a diabetic context, thus, highlighting their therapeutic potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: A major driver of individual variation in long-term outcomes following a large vessel occlusion (LVO) stroke is the degree of collateral arterial circulation. We aimed to develop and evaluate machine-learning models that quantify LVO collateral status using admission computed tomography angiography (CTA) radiomics. Methods: We extracted 1116 radiomic features from the anterior circulation territories from admission CTAs of 600 patients experiencing an acute LVO stroke. We trained and validated multiple machine-learning models for the prediction of collateral status based on consensus from two neuroradiologists as ground truth. Models were first trained to predict (1) good vs. intermediate or poor, or (2) good vs. intermediate or poor collateral status. Then, model predictions were combined to determine a three-tier collateral score (good, intermediate, or poor). We used the receiver operating characteristics area under the curve (AUC) to evaluate prediction accuracy. Results: We included 499 patients in training and 101 in an independent test cohort. The best-performing models achieved an averaged cross-validation AUC of 0.80 ± 0.05 for poor vs. intermediate/good collateral and 0.69 ± 0.05 for good vs. intermediate/poor, and AUC = 0.77 (0.67–0.87) and AUC = 0.78 (0.70–0.90) in the independent test cohort, respectively. The collateral scores predicted by the radiomics model were correlated with (rho = 0.45, p = 0.002) and were independent predictors of 3-month clinical outcome (p = 0.018) in the independent test cohort. Conclusions: Automated tools for the assessment of collateral status from admission CTA—such as the radiomics models described here—can generate clinically relevant and reproducible collateral scores to facilitate a timely treatment triage in patients experiencing an acute LVO stroke. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Horn of Africa region gained particular importance for the Gulf states after the Arab Spring, and especially after the outbreak of the civil war in Yemen. While the Gulf states mainly sought to use their financial resources to pursue security interests and strengthen their position in the international arena, the governments of the Horn of Africa countries cooperated primarily for the benefit of domestic policy. Building on the theory of regional security complexes, the article attempts to answer the question of how the rivalry between the Gulf states influenced their policies towards the countries of the Horn of Africa and what effects it had on the stability and security in this region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Central banks normally accept debt of their own governments as collateral in liquidity operations without reservations. This gives rise to a valuable liquidity premium that reduces the cost of government finance. The ECB is an interesting exception in this respect. It relies on external assessments of the creditworthiness of its member states, such as credit ratings, to determine eligibility and the haircut it imposes on such debt. We show how such features in a central bank's collateral framework can give rise to cliff effects and multiple equilibria in bond yields and increase the vulnerability of governments to external shocks. This policy can potentially induce sovereign debt crises and defaults that would not otherwise occur. The success of the ECB's temporary suspension of these features of its collateral framework during the pandemic illustrates the practical relevance of this mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the implication of secured credit with a default option for monetary equilibrium. The intermediary structure has the feature of costly state verification, with the monitoring cost interpreted as the cost of foreclosing assets once a default occurs. Without monitoring costs, uncertainty in asset payoffs does not matter for allocation. The asset price can exhibit a liquidity premium because more assets as collateral raises the borrower's credit limit. When there are monitoring costs, the asset's liquidity premium is strictly positive because pledging more assets reduces the default probability and thus the chance to incur monitoring costs. Under some circumstances, increased risk to dividends of the pledged asset may decrease the marginal borrowing cost to such an extent that bank lending rises, and higher default rates are accompanied by larger aggregate liquidity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a growing trend of nation states invoking national security and emergency declarations to build state‐sponsored infrastructure projects for border defense, energy production, and transportation. Established laws, regulations, and agreements for the protection of nature and cultural heritage within and between countries are becoming secondary to national security, compromising the function of protected areas, such as national parks, wilderness areas, and biosphere reserves that safeguard biodiversity, climate, and human health. We considered cases where decades‐long multinational cross‐border endangered species recovery programs have been jeopardized by waivers of environmental protection laws to facilitate rapid construction of border barriers that impede the movement and migration of animals, such as at the US–Mexico and Poland–Belarus borders. Renewable energy megaprojects, such as the Pinacate solar plant in Mexico, coupled with power transmission lines and road networks likewise cast a large footprint on the land and are being carried out with minimal to no environmental compliance under the guise of national security. National sovereignty likewise has been used as justification for bypassing laws to proceed with similar projects, such as Mexico's Dos Bocas refinery and Poland's Vistula Spit canal. Emphasis on security is also apparent in increasing military expenditure by the world's largest economies, which has created a mismatch with improvement in environmental policy stringency. Decisions to prioritize security can undermine democratic principles and environmental review protocols, trivialize humanity's dependence on functioning ecosystems, and contradict the United Nation's resolution on the human right to a healthy environment. Framing infrastructure projects as matters of national security also foments civil and political unrest by the labeling and casting of dissenters, including conservation scientists and environmental defenders, as antinational. World leaders must refrain from misusing extraordinary powers, adhere to laws and international agreements, and consult experts and local people before taking unilateral action on projects that affect ecological and human communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article delves into the intricate legal complexities surrounding the perfection of security interests in digital assets, with a particular emphasis on cryptocurrency, amidst the rapid advancement of emerging technologies. It explores the challenges faced by lenders in perfecting security interests against intangible digital assets like cryptocurrency, which lack physical presence and are governed by decentralized systems.

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Commercial law and crypto are colliding. Against the backdrop of explosive growth (and discord) in the digital asset market, there has been a series of recent revisions to American commercial law aimed at addressing new and emerging technologies. These changes to the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) are designed to facilitate the buying and selling of digital assets as well as their use as collateral. However, to date, the literature exploring these changes has mainly focused on understanding the basics of the new regime. This Essay moves beyond that baseline by showing how the UCC amendments can be used to structure more complex secured credit arrangements that tap into the borrowed capital potential of blockchain technology. Specifically, this study explains how these recent law reforms--in concert with the inherent capabilities of distributed ledgers, smart contracts, and cryptography--can be used to create a floating lien (the quintessential financing device in American commercial law) over crypto inventory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To compete effectively for global influence, US Army and defense planners should focus on economic globalization in addition to security interests when assessing potential foreign military partners. The results of a quantitative analysis of US-led exercise participants between 1990 and 2016 demonstrate the variety of interests, including economic, that underlie a partner's decision to train or not with US forces. Since the US Army bills itself as the "partner of choice," this piece will interest military and policy practitioners involved in strategically assessing potential international military partners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Proper cortical lamination is essential for cognition, learning, and memory. Within the somatosensory cortex, pyramidal excitatory neurons elaborate axon collateral branches in a laminar-specific manner that dictates synaptic partners and overall circuit organization. Here, we leverage both male and female mouse models, single-cell labeling and imaging approaches to identify intrinsic regulators of laminar-specific collateral, also termed interstitial, axon branching. We developed new approaches for the robust, sparse, labeling of Layer II/III pyramidal neurons to obtain single-cell quantitative assessment of axon branch morphologies. We combined these approaches with cell-autonomous loss-of-function (LOF) and overexpression (OE) manipulations in an in vivo candidate screen to identify regulators of cortical neuron axon branch lamination. We identify a role for the cytoskeletal binding protein drebrin (Dbn1) in regulating Layer II/III cortical projection neuron (CPN) collateral axon branching in vitro. LOF experiments show that Dbn1 is necessary to suppress the elongation of Layer II/III CPN collateral axon branches within Layer IV, where axon branching by Layer II/III CPNs is normally absent. Conversely, Dbn1 OE produces excess short axonal protrusions reminiscent of nascent axon collaterals that fail to elongate. Structure-function analyses implicate Dbn1S142 phosphorylation and Dbn1 protein domains known to mediate F-actin bundling and microtubule (MT) coupling as necessary for collateral branch initiation upon Dbn1 OE. Taken together, these results contribute to our understanding of the molecular mechanisms that regulate collateral axon branching in excitatory CPNs, a key process in the elaboration of neocortical circuit formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The importance of assessing the collateral status (CS) in patients with ischaemic stroke (IS) has repeatedly been emphasised in clinical guidelines. Various publications offer qualitative or semiquantitative scales with gradations corresponding to the different extents of the collaterals, visualised mostly on the basis of CTA images. However, information on their inter-rater reliability is limited. Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate the inter-rater reliability of the scales for collateral assessment. CTA images of 158 patients in the acute period of IS were used in the study. The assessment of CS was performed by two experts using three methodologies: the modified Tan scale, the Miteff scale, and the Rosenthal scale. Cohen's kappa, weighted kappa and Krippendorff's alpha were used as reliability measures. For the modified Tan scale and the Miteff and Rosenthal scales, the weighted kappa values were 0.72, 0.49 and 0.59, respectively. Although the best measure of consistency was found for the modified Tan scale, no statistically significant differences were revealed among the scales. The impact of the CS on the degree of neurological deficit at discharge was shown for the modified Tan and Rosenthal scales. In conclusion, the analysis showed a moderate inter-rater reliability of the three scales, but was not able to distinguish the best one among them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses several court cases relating to personal property secured transactions, as applied to Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) in the U.S. Some of these cases include The Peoples Bank of Marion v. Nutrien AG Solutions Inc. which highlighted rights in a collateral, 1944 Beach Boulevard LLC v. Live Oak Banking Co. which focused on the adequacy of a financing statement, and Seifert v. US Bank which focused on rights upon default.

Several papers explain why asset bubbles are observed when growth is large. These papers differ in the role of the bubble, used to provide liquidities or as collateral in a borrowing constraint. We compare the liquidity and collateral roles of bubbles in an overlapping generations model. When the bubble is deterministic, the equilibrium is identical under these two roles, implying that the same mechanism explains the crowding‐in effect of the bubble on growth. With stochastic bubbles, growth is larger when bubbles play the liquidity role, because the burst of a bubble used for liquidity is less damaging to capital investors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Retrograde approach technique has been challenging in percutaneous coronary interventional treatment of chronic total occlusion (CTO) coronary disease. The present study endeavors to determine a novel Chinese scoring system for predicting successful collateral channels traverse via retrograde approach. Methods: The demographic characteristics and angiographic characteristics of 309 CTO patient were analyzed by univariable and multivariable analysis for selecting potential predictors. And the nomogram was used to establish the scoring system. Then it was evaluated by the internal and external validation. Results: The predictors of Age, Connections between collateral channels and recipient vessels, and Channel Tortuosity (ACT) were identified with univariable and multivariable analysis and employed to the ACT score system. With acceptable calibrations, the area under curve of the scoring system and the external validation were 0.826 and 0.816 respectively. Based on score, the predictors were divided into three risk categories and it showed a consistent prediction power in the validation cohort. Conclusions: The novel Chinese ACT score is a reliable tool for predicting successful retrograde collateral traverse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Pancreaticoduodenectomy in patients with CA stenosis due to median arcuate ligament often required carefully collateral pathways management to avoid hepatic ischemic complications. Cases presentation: Case 1: A 63-year-old man was referred to our department because of jaundice with distal common bile duct tumor. Pancreaticoduodenectomy with left posterior SMA first approach and circumferential lymphadenectomy was performed. Case 2: A 48-year-old man was referred to our department because of right-upper-quadrant abdominal pain with Vater tumor. Laparoscopic pancreaticoduodenectomy with left posterior SMA first approach and circumferential lymphadenectomy was performed. Postoperatively, in all two cases, three-dimensional reconstruction images showed developed collateral pathways around the pancreatic head, and the CA was stenosis in 75% and 70% due to MAL, respectively. Intraoperatively, in all two cases, we confirmed poor blood flow in the common hepatic artery (CHA) by palpation and observation. So that in the first case, we have decided to proceed a no-touch technique of GDA segmental resection en bloc with the tumor and reconstructed with an end-to-end GDA anastomosis; in the second cases, we have decided to proceed gastroduodenal collateral preservation. When preserving these collateral pathways, we confirmed that the PHA flow remained pulsatile as an indicator that the blood flow was adequate. Conclusion: Celiac axis stenosis was a rare but difficult-to-managed condition associated with pancreaticoduodenectomy. Collateral pathways management depends on variety of collateral pathways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the potential for science and technology cooperation in the Asia Pacific region. It highlights the growing intensity of scientific cooperation among countries in the region, with China emerging as a major driver of science and innovation development. Germany has traditionally cooperated with countries in the region that are comparable and complementary partners, but cooperation with China has become more difficult due to geopolitical conflicts. The article suggests that Germany should increase its engagement with catch-up states in the region to increase its visibility, while acknowledging that working with China remains important for addressing global challenges. [Extracted from the article]

While targeted treatment against BRAF(V600E) improve survival for melanoma patients, many will see their cancer recur. Here we provide data indicating that epigenetic suppression of PGC1α defines an aggressive subset of chronic BRAF-inhibitor treated melanomas. A metabolism-centered pharmacological screen further identifies statins (HMGCR inhibitors) as a collateral vulnerability within PGC1α-suppressed BRAF-inhibitor resistant melanomas. Lower PGC1α levels mechanistically causes reduced RAB6B and RAB27A expression, whereby their combined re-expression reverses statin vulnerability. BRAF-inhibitor resistant cells with reduced PGC1α have increased integrin-FAK signaling and improved extracellular matrix detached survival cues that helps explain their increased metastatic ability. Statin treatment blocks cell growth by lowering RAB6B and RAB27A prenylation that reduces their membrane association and affects integrin localization and downstream signaling required for growth. These results suggest that chronic adaptation to BRAF-targeted treatments drive novel collateral metabolic vulnerabilities, and that HMGCR inhibitors may offer a strategy to treat melanomas recurring with suppressed PGC1α expression. Melanoma phenotypic switching contributes to targeted BRAF treatment resistance. Here the authors identify a subset of BRAF treatment-resistant melanomas with suppressed PGC1a expression that are sensitive to HMGCR inhibitors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research work focused on studying an important issue on Zakat which was a subject of dispute among the jurists –may Allah have mercy on them- and on which they had different opinions, this issue is the attachment of the obligatory of Zakat. Is it attached to the wealth or the onus of the Zakat payer, and what follows the difference of opinions on this issue? Regarding those who mean it attached to the wealth, what is the nature of this attachment? Is it an attachment of right or a shared one, or is it an attachment of confirmation? And if it is an attachment of confirmation what is the nature of this attachment? is it like the attachment of debt to the collateral, or like the attachment of difference in value of crime (arsh) to the onus of the crime perpetrator; and what are the issues that follow the difference of opinion on this? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transaction price of identical housing units can vary widely due to heterogeneity in buyer and seller preferences, matching, and search costs, generating what we term "markups" above or below the average market price. We measure markups for 3.4 million purchase‐money mortgages and show that they can predict mortgage defaults and credit losses conditional on default even after accounting for collateral coverage (loan‐to‐value ratio) and a comprehensive set of other covariates. The findings suggest that standard collateral coverage estimation may be inaccurate, with implications for both individual and portfolio‐level credit risk assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How does stablecoin design affect market behavior during turbulent periods? Stablecoins attempt to maintain a "stable" peg to the US dollar, but do so with widely varying structural designs. The spectacular collapse of the TerraUSD (UST) stablecoin and the linked Terra (LUNA) token in May 2022 precipitated a series of reactions across major stablecoins, with some experiencing a fall in value and others gaining value. Using a Baba, Engle, Kraft and Kroner (1990) (BEKK) model, we examine the reaction to this exogenous shock and find significant contagion effects from the UST collapse, likely partially due to herding behavior among traders. We test the varying reactions among stablecoins and find that stablecoin design differences affect the direction, magnitude, and duration of the response to shocks. We discuss the implications for stablecoin developers, exchanges, traders, and regulators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) has revolutionized large vessel occlusion (LVO) stroke management, but often requires advanced imaging. The collateral pattern on CT angiograms may be an alternative because a symmetric collateral pattern correlates with a slowly growing, small ischemic core. We tested the hypothesis that such patients will have favorable outcomes after EVT. Consecutive patients (n = 74) with anterior LVOs who underwent EVT were retrospectively analyzed. Inclusion criteria were available CTA and 90-day modified Rankin Scale (mRS). CTA collateral patterns were symmetric in 36%, malignant in 24%, or other in 39%. Median NIHSS was 11 for symmetric, 18 for malignant, and 19 for other (p = 0.02). Ninety-day mRS ≤2, indicating independent living, was achieved in 67% of symmetric, 17% of malignant, and 38% of other patterns (p = 0.003). A symmetric collateral pattern was a significant determinant of 90-day mRS ≤2 (aOR = 6.62, 95%CI = 2.24,19.53; p = 0.001) in a multivariable model that included age, NIHSS, baseline mRS, thrombolysis, LVO location, and successful reperfusion. We conclude that a symmetric collateral pattern predicts favorable outcomes after EVT for LVO stroke. Because the pattern also marks slow ischemic core growth, patients with symmetric collaterals may be suitable for transfer for thrombectomy. A malignant collateral pattern is associated with poor clinical outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the relation between the types of collateral offered in rural loans in Brazil and the access to credit, loan conditions and default rates. We use a proprietary database of rural loans from one of the largest private banks in Brazil containing more than 110 thousand loan observations. Our results show that the use of fiduciary lien improves the access to loans for more opaque borrowers (i.e., those with shorter relationship with the bank). This type of collateral gives the bank the ability to seize collateral quicker, reducing loss given default, even if these borrowers are riskier, given that they present higher default rates on average. Our results also show that loan conditions are less restrictive as relationship length increases, and that this effect is more intense among loans collateralized by fiduciary lien. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this Article, we argue that increasingly harsh collateral consequences have surfaced an underappreciated and undertheorized dynamic of criminal plea bargaining. Collateral consequences that mostly or entirely benefit third parties (such as other communities or other states) create an interest asymmetry that prosecutors and defendants can exploit in plea negotiations. In particular, if a prosecutor and a defendant can control the offense of conviction (often through what some term a “fictional plea”), they can work together to evade otherwise applicable collateral consequences, such as deportation or sex-offender registration and notification. Both parties arguably benefit: Prosecutors can leverage collateral consequences to extract greater punishments and defendants can avoid consequences they view as particularly burdensome. But these benefits can come at a cost to others who are not at the bargaining table. We contend that “collusive prosecution” of this sort can be pernicious, as may be the case when sex-offender registration and notification laws are in play, but it also has potential to be socially attractive. Accordingly, we sketch a normative framework for evaluating collusive prosecution as a matter of prosecutorial ethics. We draw on the emerging field of public fiduciary theory to characterize prosecutors’ ethical duties to varied—and often conflicting—beneficiaries. We suggest that programmatic uses of collusive prosecution may be fair and reasonable in a common immigration context, but collusive prosecution designed to relocate sex-offense registrants likely fail these conditions. Ultimately, we offer a suite of reforms that may be useful for policing collusive prosecution without banning the practice outright. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Portosystemic collateral formation in cirrhotic patients plays an essential role in the natural history of patients. A thorough understanding of collateral anatomy and hemodynamics in cirrhosis, it is important to envisage diagnosis and outcomes of portal hypertension. The understanding of the patterns of aberrant portosystemic collateral channels has important implications both for the clinician and the interventionist. In this case report, our patient presented to us with the formation of aberrant collaterals at the site of subcostal hernia for which he underwent a mesh repair eight years back. The technical challenges in the management of shunt closure of these aberrant collaterals were discussed. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There exists a noteworthy incongruence between the regulatory paradigm overseeing the imposition of mortgage rights on uncertified land assets and its pragmatic execution, presenting substantial impediments for landowners in pursuit of credit. This investigation intricately explores the preservation of legal certainty associated with land serving as collateral in credit arrangements, particularly in instances where said land lacks formal certification. The research methodology employed herein comprises qualitative inquiry, amalgamating a normative legal perspective with a conceptual framework. The study contributes innovative perspectives by elucidating the legal provisions governing collateral relations involving land, addressing persistent administrative and juridical obstacles, and proposing practicable remedies. This emphasizes the imperative for the registration of uncertified land, given its susceptibility to legal complexities and heightened susceptibility. Aligning the registration of land rights with Mortgage Rights Law holds the potential to enhance the efficiency of credit provision and accelerate land registration endeavours within the Indonesian context. Policymakers can leverage this study to fine-tune regulations and expedite credit accessibility. Financial institutions, adhering to the 5C principles, can improve their evaluation of credit risk. Simultaneously, landowners stand to gain from heightened awareness regarding the significance of land ownership and the ensuing legal certainty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes and compares the impact of the 1968 Prague Spring on military and strategic thinking in Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia. A great change in the Czechoslovakian military caused Memorandum 68, a proposal of domestic military doctrine which consistently took into account the vital security interests of Czechoslovakia in international relations at that time. The document was mainly based on the inviolability of Czechoslovak territory and the right of its nations to defend their own existence regardless of the superpower interests of the Soviet Union. At the same time Yugoslavia began to develop its own doctrine of the General People's Defence and Social Self-Protection, which emphasized its total nature, creating the reality of the concept of a "nation in arms," which attached great importance to soldiers and the art of soldiering in Y ugoslavia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Collateral status is an important predictor for the outcome of acute ischemic stroke with large vessel occlusion. Multiphase computed-tomography angiography (mCTA) is useful to evaluate the collateral status, but visual evaluation of this examination is time-consuming. This study aims to use an artificial intelligence (AI) technique to develop an automatic AI prediction model for the collateral status of mCTA. Methods: This retrospective study enrolled subjects with acute ischemic stroke receiving endovascular thrombectomy between January 2015 and June 2020 in a tertiary referral hospital. The demographic data and images of mCTA were collected. The collateral status of all mCTA was visually evaluated. Images at the basal ganglion and supraganglion levels of mCTA were selected to produce AI models using the convolutional neural network (CNN) technique to automatically predict the collateral status of mCTA. Results: A total of 82 subjects were enrolled. There were 57 cases randomly selected for the training group and 25 cases for the validation group. In the training group, there were 40 cases with a positive collateral result (good or intermediate) and 17 cases with a negative collateral result (poor). In the validation group, there were 21 cases with a positive collateral result and 4 cases with a negative collateral result. During training for the CNN prediction model, the accuracy of the training group could reach 0.999 ± 0.015, whereas the prediction model had a performance of 0.746 ± 0.008 accuracy on the validation group. The area under the ROC curve was 0.7. Conclusions: This study suggests that the application of the AI model derived from mCTA images to automatically evaluate the collateral status is feasible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CRISPR/Cas13 systems are increasingly used for programmable targeting of RNAs. While Cas13 nucleases are capable of degrading both target RNAs and bystander RNAs in vitro and in bacteria, initial studies fail to detect collateral degradation of non-target RNAs in eukaryotic cells. Here we show that RfxCas13d, also known as CasRx, a widely used Cas13 system, can cause collateral transcriptome destruction when targeting abundant reporter RNA and endogenous RNAs, resulting in proliferation defect in target cells. While these results call for caution of using RfxCas13d for targeted RNA knockdown, we demonstrated that the collateral activity can be harnessed for selective depletion of a specific cell population defined by a marker RNA in an in vitro setting. The collateral activity of the CRISPR/RfxCas13d system in mammalian cells is explored using spike-in RNA-seq and reporter assays. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing incidence of drug resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis has diminished the efficacy of almost all available antibiotics, complicating efforts to combat the spread of this global health burden. Alongside the development of new drugs, optimised drug combinations are needed to improve treatment success and prevent the further spread of antibiotic resistance. Typically, antibiotic resistance leads to reduced sensitivity, yet in some cases the evolution of drug resistance can lead to enhanced sensitivity to unrelated drugs. This phenomenon of collateral sensitivity is largely unexplored in M. tuberculosis but has the potential to identify alternative therapeutic strategies to combat drug-resistant strains that are unresponsive to current treatments. Here, by using drug susceptibility profiling, genomics and evolutionary studies we provide evidence for the existence of collateral drug sensitivities in an isogenic collection M. tuberculosis drug-resistant strains. Furthermore, in proof-of-concept studies, we demonstrate how collateral drug phenotypes can be exploited to select against and prevent the emergence of drug-resistant strains. This study highlights that the evolution of drug resistance in M. tuberculosis leads to collateral drug responses that can be exploited to design improved drug regimens. Here using drug susceptibility profiling, genomics and evolutionary studies the authors provide strategies to exploit collateral drug responses in Mycobacterium tuberculosis to prevent the emergence of drug resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mutations can have deleterious fitness effects when they decrease protein specific activity or decrease active protein abundance. Mutations will also be deleterious when they cause misfolding or misinteractions that are toxic to the cell (i.e. independent of whether the mutations affect specific activity and abundance). The extent to which protein evolution is shaped by these and other collateral fitness effects is unclear in part because little is known of their frequency and magnitude. Using deep mutational scanning (DMS), we previously found at least 42% of missense mutations in the TEM-1 β-lactamase antibiotic resistance gene cause deleterious collateral fitness effects. Here, we used DMS to comprehensively determine the collateral fitness effects of missense mutations in three genes encoding the antibiotic resistance proteins New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase (NDM-1), chloramphenicol acetyltransferase I (CAT-I), and 2″-aminoglycoside nucleotidyltransferase (AadB). AadB (20%), CAT-I (0.9%), and NDM-1 (0.2%) were less susceptible to deleterious collateral fitness effects than TEM-1 (42%) indicating that genes have different propensities for these effects. As was observed with TEM-1 , all the studied deleterious aadB mutants increased aggregation. However, aggregation did not correlate with collateral fitness effects for many of the deleterious mutants of CAT-I and NDM-1. Select deleterious mutants caused unexpected phenotypes to emerge. The introduction of internal start codons in CAT-1 caused loss of the episome and a mutation in aadB made its cognate antibiotic essential for growth. Our study illustrates how the complexity of the cell provides a rich environment for collateral fitness effects and new phenotypes to emerge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We consider a multi-state, general-equilibrium model with collateralized financial promises to study how allowing an asset to back multiple financial contracts (i.e., tranching) affects price bases. A basis emerges when one asset can be tranched to issue more derivative securities than can be backed by another asset. Variations in the ability to tranche an asset or to pyramid derivative debt lead to variations in price bases. Tranching a CDS, as occurs with the CDX index, increases the basis on the underlying asset. Our theory correctly predicts that inclusion in the CDX index increases the underlying CDS basis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Archegos Capital Management, at its height, had $35 billion in assets. But in the spring of 2021, in part through its use of total return swaps, Archegos sparked a $30 billion dollar sell-off that left many of the world's largest banks footing the bill. Mitsubishi UFJ Group estimated a loss of$300 million; UBS, Switzerland's biggest bank, lost $861 million; Morgan Stanley lost $911 million; Japan's Nomura lost $2.85 billion; but the biggest hit came to Credit Suisse Group AG which lost $5.5 billion. Archegos, itself lost $20 billion over two days. The unique characteristics of total return swaps and Archegos's formation as a family office made these losses possible, permitting Archegos to skin trading regulations and reporting requirements. Archegos essentially purchased beneficial ownership in large amounts of stock, particularly ViacomCBS Inc. and Discovery Inc., on credit. Under Regulation T Of the Federal Reserve Board, up to 50% of the purchase price of securities can be borrowed on margin. However, to avoid these rules, Archegos instead entered into total return swaps with the banks whereby the bank was the actual owner of the stock, but Archegos would bear the risk of loss if the price of the stock was to fall and reap the benefits if the stock was to go up or make a distribution. Archegos would still pay the transaction fees, but the device permitted Archegos to buy massive amounts of stock without having the initial margin requirements, thus making Archegos heavily leveraged. This Article argues that the total return s«wap contracts are analogous to and should be recharacterized as what they really are-disguised secured transactions. Essentially, the banks are lending money to enable the Archegoses of the world to buy stocks and are simply retaining a security interest in the stocks. Such a recharacterization should place these transactions back into Regulation T and the margin limits. But recharacterization also offers another contract law approach that is more draconian. If the structure of the contract violates a regulation, then total return swaps could be declared void as against public policy. This raises the specter that a court could apply the doctrine of in pari delicto and leave the parties where they found them in any subsequent suits to recover outstanding debts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the justiciability of the national security clause of the Competition Act 89 of 1998, which was introduced through recent amendments to the merger regulation framework. The clause provides for the executive, through the establishment of a national security committee, to intervene in mergers which may pose a threat to national security interests of the country. The national security committee will have authority to determine whether a proposed merger may be approved, approved subject to conditions, or prohibited. International practice does permit national security concerns as one of the public interest considerations in the assessments of a merger involving a foreign firm. However, section 18A of the Competition Act fails to provide a clear guideline for recourse for parties to a merger that has been deemed to be in contravention of the provision. Consequently, this article assesses the justiciability of the national security clause in section 18A of the Competition Act by advancing the approach of the WTO Panel in Russia - Measures Concerning Traffic in Transit. In the light of this, it is our view that the decision of the national security committee to prohibit a merger based on national security interests could be challenged by an aggrieved party, even though the Act makes no provision for such a scenario on the grounds of the correlative principles of rule of law, legality and legal certainty, as well as the inherent jurisdiction of our higher (in relative terms) courts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores to answer the question: does the introduction of a moveable collateral registry lead to significant increase in access to credit to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises? We examine this question through a unique dataset collected from the moveable collateral registry and commercial banks in Malawi. The findings indicate that the introduction of the registry in Malawi has led to marginal increase in MSME's access to bank credit. Real property, however, remains the preferred collateral and ability to repay the loan is the most important consideration amongst banks in assessing whether to lend to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises. We recommend the registry to integrate into its programs financial literacy training for MSMEs, and credit guarantee schemes to mitigate the perceived high risk associated with small enterprises. This will equip the MSMEs to keep proper accounts and enhance their access to the registry and bank credit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Savings and loan companies have attempted to satisfy the needs of their customers by raising assets and giving them credit. The study examines the financial challenges of savings and loan companies in Ghana from 2016 to 2021. The data came from the Savings and Loans Companies database and the Bank of Ghana (BoG) database. Using panel data analysis and the Whited-Wu Index, the results show that the firm shows a consistent higher level of financial constraints of −1.7 in 2016. From 2019 to 2021, the company will have easier access to funds compared to the period between 2017 and 2018. The study shows that cash holdings and private credit have a positive influence on the financial constraints of the companies. The study also found that firm size, collateral security, corruption index, and exchange rate significantly affect the financial challenges of companies negatively. It turned out that there was no connection between Ghana's economic growth and the company's financial challenges. The absence of sufficient financing significantly affects operations and profitability for the company. It is therefore recommended that there be business realignment at the savings and loan companies in Ghana. Company realignment is mostly done to get out of lines of business with poor margins and go into lines that are more naturally financially smart and boost performance.

Technology market has been proposed to benefit technology development and increase productivity, and there is a growing interest on technology market in recent years. However, there is little specific guidance documented the link between patent-based measures and patent collateral. Therefore, the purpose of this article attempts to investigate how patent-based measures and patents used as collateral are related. This article employed eight frequently used patent-based measures categorized into three dimensions, i.e., knowledge flow, technological diversity, and legal protection, to analyze which factors increase patent collateral likelihood and patent collateral speed. The results of this article shows that reference count, times cited count, originality index, generality index, claim count, and family size all increase patent collateral likelihood. On the other hand, reference count, nonpatent reference count, originality index, claim count, and family size accelerate patent collateral speed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Image encryption has attracted a lot of interest as an important security application for protecting confidential image data against unauthorized access. An adversary with the power to manipulate cipher image data can crop part of the image out to prevent decryption or render the decrypted image useless. This is known as the occlusion attack. In this paper, we address a vulnerability to the occlusion attack identified in the medical image encryption framework recently proposed in [1]. We propose adding a pixel scrambling phase to the framework and show through simulation that the extended framework effectively mitigates the occlusion attack while maintaining the other attractive security features. The scrambling is performed using a separate chaotic map which is securely initialized using a secret key and a random nonce to deter chosen-plaintext attacks. Moreover, we show through simulation that the choice of chaotic map used for scrambling is irrelevant to the effectiveness of the scrambling algorithm against the occlusion attack. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Covert communication has attracted growing interests as a new security technique, which focuses on concealing the signal transmission. Owing to the high flexibility, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) can be utilized to realize long-distance covert transmission. In this correspondence, we propose a UAV relaying scheme to assist the covert communication between two terrestrial nodes. Due to the high risk of eavesdropping in line-of-sight (LoS) channels, we assume that the UAV adopts the Gaussian signalling to confuse the warden's detection. First, we divide the transmission into two phases. Then, in both phases, the requirement of covertness is derived to optimize the transmit power and blocklength. With different distance between the transmitter and warden, the location of UAV is optimized to maximize the effective throughput under the constraint of transmit power and blocklength. Simulation results show the effectiveness of the proposed UAV relaying scheme to guarantee the covert transmission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How strenuously, and at what risk, should the United States resist China's efforts to dominate the South China Sea? An identification of three options along a continuum—from increased resistance to China's assertive policies on one end to a partial South China Sea retrenchment on the other, with current U.S. policy in the middle—captures the choices facing the United States. An analysis of China's claims and behavior in the South China Sea and of the threat that China poses to U.S. interests concludes that the United States' best option is to maintain its current level of resistance to China's efforts to dominate the South China Sea. China has been cautious in pursuing its goals, which makes the risks of current policy acceptable. Because U.S. security interests are quite limited, a significantly firmer policy, which would generate an increased risk of a high-intensity war with China, is unwarranted. If future China's actions indicate its determination has significantly increased, the United State should, reluctantly, end its military resistance to Chinese pursuit of peacetime control of the South China Sea and adopt a policy of partial South China Sea retrenchment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper develops a framework for designing collateral requirements in a centrally cleared market. Clearing members post collateral—initial margins and default funds—to increase their pledgeable income, thereby committing to risk management. The two types of collateral, however, are not perfect substitutes. By achieving loss mutualization, default funds are economically more efficient than initial margins in aligning members' incentives for risk management ex ante. The optimal mix of collateral resources balances the efficiency in providing incentives with their relative opportunity costs. Our model predicts increased use of initial margins under stringent capital requirements and of default funds under distressed market scenarios. This paper was accepted by David Simchi-Levi, finance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a survey of cases on personal property secured transactions under the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC). The disputes in cases covered include secured loan restructuring in NextEngine Inc. v. NextEngine Inc., authenticated security agreement that describes the collateral in In re Ricca, property rights in the collateral in First Dakota National Bank v. Gregg, and attachment of security interest in McGowen, Hurst, Clark & Smith PC v. Commerce Bank.