SECURING EVIDENCE IN CIVIL PROCEDURE: DEVELOPMENT OF THEORY, LEGISLATIVE AND PRACTICE

The article presents an analysis of the institution of securing evidence in the civil process from the point of view of the development of its legal regulation, doctrine and practice. The teaching of professor M.K. Treushnikov on the evidence is taken as a basis. Through the prism of his ideas, theoretical concepts of securing evidence are revealed, from prerevolutionary works to modern research; the sequence of the formation of norms on the securing evidence on the example of procedural codes of various periods; trends in the law practice of securing evidence. The correlation of the securing evidence with the elements of the judicial proof is revealed. It is substantiated that the securing evidence includes such elements of the structure of judicial proof as: indication of facts, indication of evidence and preliminary assessment. The end result of the procedural action to secure evidence is the possibility of implementing all subsequent elements – presentation, disclosure, investigation and final assessment of evidence. Conclusions are formulated on the results of the development of the institution of securing evidence, which from rather brief and obvious provisions of procedural legislation, a few practice has turned into an actual procedural activity. Its demand is predicted to grow in the context of digitalization of information, as well as due to the possibility of using it in the framework of arbitration. At the same time, an increase in the number of cases of unfounded appeal of interested parties to actions to secure evidence is noted. The authors support a critical assessment of the rule of the Arbitration Procedure Code of the Russian Federation that the securing evidence is carried out by the arbitration court according to the rules for securing a claim, and a proposal for a unified regulation of this institution in accordance with the rules of the Civil Procedure Code of the Russian Federation.

Emerging Impact of Non-coding RNAs in the Pathology of Stroke

Ischemic stroke (IS) is an acute cerebral vascular event with high mortality and morbidity. Though the precise pathophysiologic routes leading to this condition are not entirely clarified, growing evidence from animal and human experiments has exhibited the impact of non-coding RNAs in the pathogenesis of IS. Various lncRNAs namely MALAT1, linc-SLC22A2, linc-OBP2B-1, linc_luo_1172, linc-DHFRL1-4, SNHG15, linc-FAM98A-3, H19, MEG3, ANRIL, MIAT, and GAS5 are possibly involved in the pathogenesis of IS. Meanwhile, lots of miRNAs contribute in this process. Differential expression of lncRNAs and miRNAs in the sera of IS patients versus unaffected individuals has endowed these transcripts the aptitude to distinguish at risk patients. Despite conduction of comprehensive assays for evaluation of the influence of lncRNAs/miRNAs in the pathogenesis of IS, therapeutic impacts of these transcripts in IS have not been clarified. In the present paper, we review the impact of lncRNAs/miRNAs in the pathobiology of IS through assessment of evidence provided by human and animal studies.

Accident Compensation in Swiss and New Zealand Law: Some Selected Issues That Undermine the Purpose in Both Schemes

<p>This dissertation analyses selected issues that undermine the coherence and the purposes of the Swiss and New Zealand accident compensation schemes. Unlike other European states the Swiss accident compensation provides cover for non-work related accidental injury, which makes it a useful subject of comparison with the New Zealand accident compensation scheme which provides a comprehensive, no fault compensation scheme for personal injury. In undertaking a largely comparative approach the paper argues that both schemes have drifted away considerably from the original underlying purpose to provide compensation for work incapacity and, on the other hand, to restore the claimant to a level of work capacity as soon as possible. This thesis is illustrated by examining the vulnerability of the schemes to political change, the arbitrary dichotomy between incapacity to work caused by accidental injury and incapacity caused by sickness, the definitions of an accident in both schemes and the assessment of evidence. The paper finds that both schemes should be amended and suggests alternative approaches for each issue.</p>

Accident Compensation in Swiss and New Zealand Law: Some Selected Issues That Undermine the Purpose in Both Schemes

<p>This dissertation analyses selected issues that undermine the coherence and the purposes of the Swiss and New Zealand accident compensation schemes. Unlike other European states the Swiss accident compensation provides cover for non-work related accidental injury, which makes it a useful subject of comparison with the New Zealand accident compensation scheme which provides a comprehensive, no fault compensation scheme for personal injury. In undertaking a largely comparative approach the paper argues that both schemes have drifted away considerably from the original underlying purpose to provide compensation for work incapacity and, on the other hand, to restore the claimant to a level of work capacity as soon as possible. This thesis is illustrated by examining the vulnerability of the schemes to political change, the arbitrary dichotomy between incapacity to work caused by accidental injury and incapacity caused by sickness, the definitions of an accident in both schemes and the assessment of evidence. The paper finds that both schemes should be amended and suggests alternative approaches for each issue.</p>

Assessment of evidence in adopting decisions to put a criminal case

The criminal process manifests a staged character and each of the phases of the process aims at solving certain issues and ends with the adoption of appropriate solutions. The phase of preparing the criminal case for trial is a relevant example. Assessing the evidence until the decision to prosecute is adopted is like a „filter” that prevents the passage of the criminal case to the next stage if circumstances are discovered in it. The assessment of the evidence at the stage of putting the criminal case on the register shows interest because here the bases of the activity of the court for the next stage – of the trial of the case on the merits are laid.

Metformin in the management of antipsychotic-induced weight gain in adults with psychosis: development of the first evidence-based guideline using GRADE methodology

BackgroundAdjunctive metformin is the most well-studied intervention in the pharmacological management of antipsychotic-induced weight gain (AIWG). Although a relatively unaddressed area, among guidelines recommending consideration of metformin, prescribing information that would facilitate its applied use by clinicians, for example, provision of a dose titration schedule is absent. Moreover, recommendations differ regarding metformin’s place in the hierarchy of management options. Both represent significant barriers to the applied, evidence-based use of metformin for this indication.ObjectiveTo produce a guideline solely dedicated to the optimised use of metformin in AIWG management, using internationally endorsed guideline methodology.MethodsA list of guideline key health questions (KHQs) was produced. It was agreed that individual recommendations would be ‘adopted or adapted’ from current guidelines and/or developed de novo, in the case of unanswered questions. A systematic literature review (2008–2020) was undertaken to identify published guidelines and supporting (or more recent) research evidence. Quality appraisal was undertaken using the Appraisal of Guidelines Research and Evaluation II tool, A Measurement Tool to Assess Systematic Reviews (AMSTAR) assessment,and the Cochrane Risk of Bias 2 tool, where appropriate. Assessment of evidence certainty and recommendation development was undertaken using Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) methodology.FindingsWe confirmed that no published guideline—of appropriate quality, solely dedicated to the use of metformin to manage AIWG was available. Recommendations located within other guidelines inadequately addressed our KHQs.ConclusionAll 11 recommendations and 7 supporting good practice developed here were formulated de novo.Clinical implicationsThese recommendations build on the number and quality of recommendations in this area, and facilitate the optimised use of metformin when managing AIWG.

Climate change adaptation in conflict-affected countries: A systematic assessment of evidence

People affected by conflict are particularly vulnerable to climate shocks and climate change, yet little is known about climate change adaptation in fragile contexts. While climate events are one of the many contributing drivers of conflict, feedback from conflict increases vulnerability, thereby creating conditions for a vicious cycle of conflict. In this study, we carry out a systematic review of peer-reviewed literature, taking from the Global Adaptation Mapping Initiative (GAMI) dataset to documenting climate change adaptation occurring in 15 conflict-affected countries and compare the findings with records of climate adaptation finance flows and climate-related disasters in each country. Academic literature is sparse for most conflict-affected countries, and available studies tend to have a narrow focus, particularly on agriculture-related adaptation in rural contexts and adaptation by low-income actors. In contrast, multilateral and bilateral funding for climate change adaptation addresses a greater diversity of adaptation needs, including water systems, humanitarian programming, and urban areas. Even among the conflict-affected countries selected, we find disparity, with several countries being the focus of substantial research and funding, and others seeing little to none. Results indicate that people in conflict-affected contexts are adapting to climate change, but there is a pressing need for diverse scholarship across various sectors that documents a broader range of adaptation types and their results.

When fixed and random effects mismatch: Implications for model comparisons

Mixed-effects models containing both fixed and random effects have become widely used in the cognitive sciences, as they are particularly appropriate for the analysis of clustered data. However, testing hypotheses in the presence of random effects is not completely straightforward, and a set of best practices for statistical inference in mixed-effects models is still lacking. Van Doorn et al. (2021) investigated how Bayesian hypothesis testing in mixed-effects models is impacted by particular model specifications. Here, we extend their work to the more complex case of models with three-level factorial predictors and, more generally, with multiple correlated predictors. We show how non-maximal models with correlated predictors contain 'mismatches' between fixed and random effects, in which the same predictor can refer to different effects in the fixed and random parts of a model. We then demonstrate though a series of Bayesian model comparisons that such mismatches can lead to inaccurate estimations of random variance, and in turn to biases in the assessment of evidence for the effect of interest. We present specific recommendations for how researchers can resolve mismatches or avoid them altogether: by fitting maximal models, eliminating correlations between predictors, or by residualising the random effects. Our results reinforce the observation that model comparisons with mixed-effects models can be surprisingly intricate and highlight that researchers should carefully and explicitly consider which hypotheses are being tested by each model comparison. Data and code are publicly available in an OSF repository at https://osf.io/njaup.