Brain asymmetries related to language with emphasis on entorhinal cortex and basal forebrain

Anatomical asymmetries of the human brain are important in at least four respects: 1) they can serve as potential indicators of the evolutionary foundations of language, 2) they can be used for comparative analysis of neural specializations for communication in primates, 3) they may provide underlying structural correlates for functional imaging (fMRI, PET) and genetic studies, and finally 4) they can be used for studying disorders which are suspected to result from either disturbed development of cerebral asymmetry or asymmetric damage to the brain. In the first part of this review, we give a general framework of this field through the brief descriptions of the milestone discoveries and major conceptual advances as they emerged throughout the last 150 years. In the second part, we provide a more detailed view on the functional relevance that asymmetries of the entorhinal cortex and basal forebrain may have on the language

Jelena Krmpotić-Nemanić (1921–2008): Contributions to Human Neuroanatomy

Jelena Krmpoti}-Nemani} (1921–2008) was a world-famous anatomist, internationally distinguished otolaryngologist, a member of the Croatian Academy of Sciences & Arts and appreciated professor at the School of Medicine University of Zagreb. The founding influence in her scientific career came from her mentor Drago Perovi} who was a student of Ferdinand Hochstetter, the leading authority in the field of human developmental neuroanatomy and embryology. Such an influence was obviously important in early shaping of the research agenda of Jelena Krmpoti}-Nemani}, and it remains important in a long series of studies on developing human telencephalon initiated by Ivica Kostovi} and his collaborators – with an always present and active support of Jelena Krmpoti}-Nemani}. The aim of this mini review is to briefly describe her numerous contributions to the anatomy of the human peripheral and central nervous system

Capital Punishment in the Gradec of Zagreb in the Second Half of the Fifteenth Century

Temeljem analize sačuvanih sudskih zapisa te usporedbe s rezultatima istraživanja za druga europska područja, u radu je razmotrena praksa kažnjavanja smrću u zagrebačkom Gradecu tijekom druge polovice 15. stoljeća. Utvrđena su kaznena djela za koja je predviđena sankcija bila smrt te metode egzekucije s obzirom na vrstu počinjenog djela. Analizirane su specifičnosti kaznenog procesa, ishodi postupaka i penalna politika. Ispitan je odnos između dosuđenih i u praksi stvarno provedenih smrtnih kazni, kao i jesu li sami počinitelji ili pripadnici zajednice imali, i ako jesu koliki, utjecaj na odluke gradskog suda.In 1242, King Bela IV of Hungary-Croatia granted the charter known as the Golden Bull and proclaimed Gradec (Mons Grecensis), a small settlement situated on the hill adjacent to the seat of the Zagreb Diocese, a free royal city. As a consequence, Gradec soon developed into the most important urban settlement in medieval Slavonia and had an autonomous right to enact statutes, prosecute criminals and pass the death penalty. The Golden Bull also provided a basic framework for legal actions and described penalties for various crimes, including taking vengeance, i.e. the capital punishment for premeditated murders. However, legal records dating from the fourteenth and fifteenth century reveal that local authorities would not only impose the death sentence for crimes of premeditated murder, but also for other intolerable crimes such as infanticide, counterfeiting, sorcery and even some committed against the property and sexual morality. In this paper, he author examines practices of the imposition and implementation of the capital punishment in late medieval Gradec, based on the analysis of trials performed from 1451 to 1500. Thirty-one out of 62 analyzed trials were concluded with the capital punishment of the convicted criminals. In other 5 trials convicted faced other sentence, but were warned that they will suffer death penalty in case of recidivism. The rest of the trials were concluded with the commuting or, although rarely, forgiving the death sentence. Our findings suggest that local Gradec authorities used various methods of the implementation and ceremonial of public execution, tightly linked to types of crimes. Since there is a number of instances in which a group of respectable people, always successfully, petitioned judicial authorities to have mercy on those sentenced to death and also a few when the authorities showed clemency themselves, it provides us with two new insights. The first one is into the level of influence which popular opinion exercised over legal practice and the second one is into both the community and the local authority’s attitude on what crimes and perpetrators could have deserved their mercy

Anali Zavoda za povijesne znanosti Hrvatske akademije znanosti i umjetnosti u Dubrovniku, sv. 54, br. 1-2, Dubrovnik 2016., 515 str.

Prikaz časopisa

The Role of Croatia in the Management of the Humanitarian Crisis in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Croatia played a crucial role in the management and termination of the humanitarian crisis caused by the aggression of the Yugoslav Army and Serbian paramilitary forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Between 1992 and 1995, Croatia accepted three waves of refugees and cared for more than 500,000 refugees from B&H; it thus secured the basic precondition for the survival of B&H as a state. Croatia invested more than 1,000,000.000 U.S. dollars from its State budget just for the care of refugees from B&H. Even today about 130,000 Bosnian refugees are still accomodated in Croatia, for most are still unable to return to their homes. The European Community and the UN were unable to protect the lives of civilians or to prevent grave breaches of international humanitarian law. At the some time, the Croatian military operation "Storm" in 1995 saved the lives of thousands of civilians in the Bihać area. A careful analysis of the Croatian contribution to the achievement of the Dayton agreements and the resolution of the humanitarian crisis in B&H clearly reveals that the positive role of Croatia has been seriously underestimated and down-played by the international community

Towns and Cities of the Croatian Middle Ages: Image of the Town in the Narrative Sources: Reality and/or Fiction?, ur. Irena Benyovsky Latin i Zrinka Pešorda Vardić, Hrvatski institut za povijest, Zagreb 2017., 410 str.

Prikaz zbornika