Prikaz knjige: Zorislav Kaleb - Djelovanje kaznene presude na parnični postupak /Vizura, Zagreb, 2008./

Nedavno je u izdanju nakladničke kuće Vizura objavljena knjiga mr. sc. Zorislava Kaleba, suca Kaznenog odjela Općinskog suda u Zagrebu, Djelovanje kaznene presude na parnični postupak s podnaslovom Vezanost parničnog suda za pravomoćnu presudu kaznenog suda. Knjiga Djelovanje kaznene presude na parnični postupak predstavlja autorov izra¬đeni i obranjeni magistarski rad na poslijediplomskom znanstvenom studiju iz trgovačkog prava i prava društava na Pravnom fakultetu Sveučilišta u Zagrebu dana 4. travnja 2006. godine na temu Vezanost parničnog suda za pravomoćnu presudu kaznenog suda pred Povjerenstvom koje su činili akademik Jakša Barbić, predsjednik Povjerenstva, prof. dr. se. Mihajlo Dika kao mentor, te prof. dr. se. Davor Krapac i dr. se. Branko Vukmir kao članovi Povjerenstva. Isti rad je autor u međuvremenu dijelom prilagodio radi objave kao monografije, a također je unio i izmjene koje su se u međuvremenu dogodile našem pozitivnom zakonodavstvu. U knjizi se obrađuje odnos između parničnog i kaznenog postupka, vezanost par¬ničnog suda za pravomoćnu osuđujuću presudu kaznenog suda po tužbi iz istog događaja, prejudicijelno djelovanje presude kaznenog suda na parnični postupak, djelovanje kaznene presude kao pravno relevantne činjenice u parničnom postupku, prekid postupka po od¬luci suda u parničnom postupku, donošenje pravomoćne kaznene presude kao razlog za ponavljanje parničnog postupka, te neki zaključni prijedlozi de legeferenda. Rad dijelom komparativno obrađuje istu materiju i u nekim drugim zakonodavstvima u opsegu koliko je to zanimljivo za našeg praktičara. Knjiga je rezultat dvogodišnjeg istraživanja autora prvenstveno odluka Županijskog suda u Zagrebu i Vrhovnog suda Republike Hrvatske, te potom i dostupnih odluka drugih domaćih i stranih sudova

Cohort profile: the avon longitudinal study of parents and children: ALSPAC mothers cohort

The Avon Longitudinal Study of Children and Parents (ALSPAC) was established to understand how genetic and environmental characteristics influence health and development in parents and children. All pregnant women resident in a defined area in the South West of England, with an expected date of delivery between 1st April 1991 and 31st December 1992, were eligible and 13 761 women (contributing 13 867 pregnancies) were recruited. These women have been followed over the last 19–22 years and have completed up to 20 questionnaires, have had detailed data abstracted from their medical records and have information on any cancer diagnoses and deaths through record linkage. A follow-up assessment was completed 17–18 years postnatal at which anthropometry, blood pressure, fat, lean and bone mass and carotid intima media thickness were assessed, and a fasting blood sample taken. The second follow-up clinic, which additionally measures cognitive function, physical capability, physical activity (with accelerometer) and wrist bone architecture, is underway and two further assessments with similar measurements will take place over the next 5 years. There is a detailed biobank that includes DNA, with genome-wide data available on >10 000, stored serum and plasma taken repeatedly since pregnancy and other samples; a wide range of data on completed biospecimen assays are available. Details of how to access these data are provided in this cohort profile

Associations of existing diabetes, gestational diabetes, and glycosuria with offspring IQ and educational attainment: The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children

Introduction. Results from studies examining associations of maternal diabetes in pregnancy with offspring cognitive outcomes have been inconclusive. Methods. We used data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, a UK prospective pregnancy cohort. Outcomes were School Entry Assessment (SEA) scores (age 4, N = 6, 032) and WISC-III IQ (age 8, N = 5, 282–5, 307) and General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) results (age 16, N = 7, 615). Results. Existing diabetes, gestational diabetes, and, to a lesser extent, glycosuria were associated with lower offspring SEA scores (age 4), IQ (age 8), and GCSE results (age 16) even when adjusting for offspring sex, maternal age, prepregnancy BMI, smoking in pregnancy, parity, caesarean section, maternal education, and occupational social class. Offspring of mothers with existing diabetes had a threefold risk of achieving no GCSEs graded A∗-C, whilst offspring of women with gestational diabetes had, on average, a five point lower IQ compared to offspring of women with no diabetes or glycosuria. Conclusions. Maternal diabetes in pregnancy is consistently associated with lower offspring cognition and educational attainment though confidence intervals were wide. The weaker associations with glycosuria suggest a dose-dependent adverse association with IQ.Abigail Fraser, ScottM. Nelson, CorrieMacdonald-Wallis, and Debbie A. Lawlo

Self-control in decision-making involves modulation of the vmPFC valuation system

Every day, individuals make dozens of choices between an alternative with higher overall value and a more tempting but ultimately inferior option. Optimal decision-making requires self-control. We propose two hypotheses about the neurobiology of self-control: (i) Goal-directed decisions have their basis in a common value signal encoded in ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), and (ii) exercising self-control involves the modulation of this value signal by dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to monitor brain activity while dieters engaged in real decisions about food consumption. Activity in vmPFC was correlated with goal values regardless of the amount of self-control. It incorporated both taste and health in self-controllers but only taste in non–self-controllers. Activity in DLPFC increased when subjects exercised self-control and correlated with activity in vmPFC

Impact of multiple cardiovascular medications on mortality after an incidence of ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack

BACKGROUND: To manage the risk factors and to improve clinical outcomes, patients with stroke commonly receive multiple cardiovascular medications. However, there is a lack of evidence on the optimum combination of medication therapy in the primary care setting after ischemic stroke. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the effect of multiple cardiovascular medications on long-term survival after an incident stroke event (ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA)). METHODS: This study consisted of 52,619 patients aged 45 and above with an incident stroke event between 2007 and 2016 in The Health Improvement Network database. We estimated the risk of all-cause mortality in patients with multiple cardiovascular medications versus monotherapy using a marginal structural model. RESULTS: During an average follow-up of 3.6 years, there were 9230 deaths (7635 in multiple cardiovascular medication groups and 1595 in the monotherapy group). Compared with patients prescribed monotherapy only, the HRs of mortality were 0.82 (95% CI 0.75-0.89) for two medications, 0.65 (0.59-0.70) for three medications, 0.61 (0.56-0.67) for four medications, 0.60 (0.54-0.66) for five medications and 0.66 (0.59-0.74) for ≥ six medications. Patients with any four classes of antiplatelet agents (APAs), lipid-regulating medications (LRMs), angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs)/angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs), beta-blockers, diuretics and calcium channel blockers (CCBs) had the lowest risk of mortality (HR 0.51, 95% CI 0.46-0.57) versus any one class. The combination containing APAs, LRMs, ACEIs/ARBs and CCBs was associated with a 61% (95% CI 53-68%) lower risk of mortality compared with APAs alone. CONCLUSION: Our results suggested that combination therapy of four or five cardiovascular medications may be optimal to improve long-term survival after incident ischemic stroke or TIA. APAs, LRMs, ACEIs/ARBs and CCBs were the optimal constituents of combination therapy in the present study

Joint modelling compared with two stage methods for analysing longitudinal data and prospective outcomes: A simulation study of childhood growth and BP

© The Author(s) 2014. There is a growing debate with regards to the appropriate methods of analysis of growth trajectories and their association with prospective dependent outcomes. Using the example of childhood growth and adult BP, we conducted an extensive simulation study to explore four two-stage and two joint modelling methods, and compared their bias and coverage in estimation of the (unconditional) association between birth length and later BP, and the association between growth rate and later BP (conditional on birth length). We show that the two-stage method of using multilevel models to estimate growth parameters and relating these to outcome gives unbiased estimates of the conditional associations between growth and outcome. Using simulations, we demonstrate that the simple methods resulted in bias in the presence of measurement error, as did the two-stage multilevel method when looking at the total (unconditional) association of birth length with outcome. The two joint modelling methods gave unbiased results, but using the re-inflated residuals led to undercoverage of the confidence intervals. We conclude that either joint modelling or the simpler two-stage multilevel approach can be used to estimate conditional associations between growth and later outcomes, but that only joint modelling is unbiased with nominal coverage for unconditional associations

A structured approach to hypotheses involving continuous exposures over the life course

© The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the International Epidemiological Association. Background: Epidemiologists are often interested in examining different hypotheses for how exposures measured repeatedly over the life course relate to later-life outcomes. A structured approach for selecting the hypotheses most supported by theory and observed data has been developed for binary exposures. The aim of this paper is to extend this to include continuous exposures and allow for confounding and missing data. Methods: We studied two examples, the association between: (i) maternal weight during pregnancy and birthweight; and (ii) stressful family events throughout childhood and depression in adolescence. In each example we considered several plausible hypotheses including accumulation, critical periods, sensitive periods, change and effect modification. We used least angle regression to select the hypothesis that explained the most variation in the outcome, demonstrating appropriate methods for adjusting for confounders and dealing with missing data. Results: The structured approach identified a combination of sensitive periods: pre-pregnancy weight, and gestational weight gain 0-20 weeks and 20-40 weeks, as the best explanation for variation in birthweight after adjusting for maternal height. A sensitive period hypothesis best explained variation in adolescent depression, with the association strengthening with the proximity of stressful family events. For each example, these models have theoretical support at least as strong as any competing hypothesis. Conclusions: We have extended the structured approach to incorporate continuous exposures, confounding and missing data. This approach can be used in either an exploratory or a confirmatory setting. The interpretation, plausibility and consistency with causal assumptions should all be considered when proposing and choosing life course hypotheses

Cardiovascular biomarkers and vascular function during childhood in the offspring of mothers with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy: findings from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children

<p><b>Aims:</b> It is uncertain if the higher blood pressure (BP) observed in the offspring of hypertensive pregnancies is an isolated abnormality or one that is accompanied by impaired vascular function and alterations in lipid and inflammation markers that would be indicative of a more general cardiometabolic disturbance of the type observed in the mother during pre-eclampsia.</p> <p><b>Methods and results:</b> In a large UK cohort of maternal-offspring pairs (n = 3537–4654), assessed at age 9–12 years, we examined the associations of maternal gestational hypertension and pre-eclampsia with offspring BP, endothelial function assessed by brachial artery flow-mediated dilatation; arterial stiffness assessed by carotid to radial pulse wave velocity; brachial artery distensibility and BP (vascular outcomes); as well as markers of inflammation, lipids and apolipoproteins A1 and B. Offspring of women with pre-eclampsia or gestational hypertension had higher systolic blood pressure by 2.04 mmHg (95% CI: 1.33, 2.76) and 1.82 mmHg (95% CI: 0.03, 3.62), respectively, and higher diastolic blood pressure by 1.10 mmHg (95% CI: 0.47, 1.73) and 1.26 mmHg (95% CI: −0.32, 2.85), respectively, in analyses adjusted for maternal and offspring body mass index (BMI), offspring dietary sodium intake and other potential confounders. However, we found no associations of either hypertensive disorder of pregnancy with the other vascular outcomes or with inflammatory markers, lipids, and apolipoproteins.</p> <p><b>Conclusion:</b> Pre-eclampsia and gestational hypertension are associated with higher offspring BP in childhood in the absence of other vascular alterations or metabolic derangements. The findings support the existence of shared mother-offspring risk factors that are specific for higher BP, rather than the additional cardiometabolic abnormalities of hypertensive disorder of pregnancy having long-term consequences for offspring.</p&gt