Ministry of Justice

Objective: To characterize the clinical and forensic features of individuals with bipolar disorder who committed homicide and to examine factors associated with prior criminal history. Methods: This retrospective, single-center study included 62 individuals with bipolar disorder who underwent criminal responsibility evaluation for homicide at the First Board of the Council of Forensic Medicine in Türkiye (2021–2025). Sociodemographic, clinical, and criminological variables were extracted from forensic psychiatric records. Participants with and without prior criminal history were compared using appropriate statistical tests. Results: The sample was predominantly male (88.7%) and showed a high prevalence of lifetime psychotic symptoms (91.9%), most commonly paranoid or persecutory delusions. At the time of the offense, residual or subthreshold psychopathological features were frequently documented; however, a causal link with the homicidal act was not established in most cases in terms of criminal responsibility. Most homicides were impulsive in nature (72.6%) and involved victims known to the offender. Alcohol or substance use at the time of the offense was documented in 17.7% of cases (alcohol: 12.9%; substance: 4.8%) and was not a predominant feature of the sample. A history of prior criminal offenses was observed in more than half of the cases (58.1%). Compared with participants without prior criminal history, those with prior criminal history more frequently exhibited a history of manic episodes, self-harm behavior, comorbid personality disorder, and a higher number of psychiatric hospitalizations, whereas sociodemographic characteristics and treatment adherence were broadly similar between groups. Conclusion: Homicidal behavior in bipolar disorder appears to be more closely associated with impulsivity and interpersonal or situational stressors than with severe, responsibility-abolishing psychopathology. Recurrent offending was linked to markers of illness severity, underscoring the need for sustained psychiatric follow-up and continuity of care in forensic populations. Cite this article as: Aslıyüksek H, Yılmaz ME, .zbakır SD, et al. Clinical and forensic characteristics of homicide offenders with bipolar disorder: A retrospective study from a national forensic psychiatry center. Neuropsychiatr Invest. 2026, 64, 0084, doi: 10.5152/NeuropsychiatricInvest.2026.25084.

Children and young people with a parent in contact with the justice system rarely receive the support they need; many are judged and stigmatised. Child Impact Assessments were developed by the Prison Reform Trust in collaboration with 28 children and young people from across the United Kingdom with experience of parental imprisonment, who said in interviews, focus groups, and an online survey that they want to be seen, listened to, and considered at all stages of a parent’s journey through the justice system: arrest, court, and sentencing, prison or community sentence, and prior to a parent’s release. They want to be supported, and they want to be included in decisions about that support. This paper lays out why Child Impact Assessments are needed; what they are; and crucially how they can be used in practice to ensure the right support is offered to meet a child’s needs at the earliest opportunity. The paper will provide evidence of how Child Impact Assessments can improve children’s wellbeing and will give an overview of recent developments to the resources. The authors will also explore future developments, including adapting the resources to understand the impact on unborn babies, babies, and very young children (the first 1001 days) when a pregnant woman or mother is in contact with the justice system.

Objective: In recent years, targeted therapies and immune checkpoint inhibitors have provided significant gains in survival and quality of life compared to conventional chemotherapies. However, due to biomarker-based selectivity, high cost, and reimbursement restrictions, the concepts of “necessity” and “indication appropriateness” have become controversial from a medicolegal perspective. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical and forensic aspects of innovative cancer drug use by reviewing court case files.Methods: A total of 455 case files submitted between January 1, 2022 and May 31, 2025, were retrospectively analyzed. Demographic data, cancer type and stage, histological subtype, performance status, previous treatments, innovative drug active agents, licensing and indication status, therapeutic intent, and council and board decisions were recorded. Data were evaluated using descriptive statistics.Results: Of the cases, 53.6% were female and 46.4% male; the most common age group was ≥65 years. The most frequent malignancies were lung (35.2%) and breast (20.0%) cancers, and 69.5% of the patients were in stage IV disease. The most frequently used drugs were pembrolizumab (29.7%), nivolumab (16.0%), and atezolizumab (12.5%). Of all uses, 99.1% were licensed and 85.1% were indication-appropriate. Treatment intent was adjuvant in 48.6%, neoadjuvant in 10.1%, and post-progression in 41.1% of the cases. Multidisciplinary council decisions were documented in 47.3% of files, and the Forensic Board concluded that treatment use was “appropriate” in 97.6% of cases.Conclusion: The findings indicate that innovative cancer drugs in Türkiye are mostly used within licensed and guideline-concordant indications. However, the lack of biomarker data and multidisciplinary council documentation constitutes an important limitation in medicolegal evaluations. Addressing these deficiencies would make therapeutic decisions more defensible both clinically and legally.

High-strength straight anchor bolts materials require longer embedment lengths in the concrete so the headed bars are employed to significantly reduce the required embedment length of these bars. But they impose concentrated stress on a small concrete surface under the head. In this study, behavior of headed bolts was numerically studied using 3D finite element method (FEM). First, an experimental program consists of four concrete specimens with variations only in head diameter was conducted. Second, FEM program consists of 22 concrete specimens was conducted. The effect of concrete cover thickness around the head was ranging from 85mm to 510mm. This variation resulted in a broad range of concrete cover-to-stud diameter ratios from 5 to 30. Additionally, studying the impact of head geometry (hexagonal, square, circular, and pentagonal) was performed. The effect of head diameter from 12mm up to 50mm was examined. This study also assessed the effect of using high strength concrete under the head region. The results showed that all specimens exhibited localized compressive failure of the concrete beneath the headed bars. Due to its increased number of sides, the hexagonal head performed better than the square head. When compared to a headed bar with a diameter of 12mm, the ultimate local pressure of headed bars with diameters of 15, 17, 20, 25, 30, 40, and 50mm dropped by 53, 60, 68, 76, 78, 87, and 90%, respectively. When the concrete cover-to-stud diameter increased from 5 to 30, there was a noticeable improvement in the final local pressure and the related slip under the rebar head. Overall performance of the bars improved with increase of the members number of the head. When high strength concrete was used under the head, the ultimate local pressure of headed bars increased by 29-152%. Many new formulas were proposed for estimating ultimate local pressure of headed bars.

Objective: Within the scope of medical services provided during disasters, the aim is to reduce fatalities as much as possible. Therefore, it is crucial to assess, through pre-disaster training for volunteers currently involved or with high potential for involvement, their willingness to volunteer in disaster situations and their sense of preparedness for emergencies. This study investigates the disaster awareness level, perceived preparedness for disaster events, thoughts on the safety of their living environments against disasters, reasons for willingness or unwillingness to volunteer in disasters, and the level of disaster preparedness among healthcare personnel working in emergency medicine clinics of public hospitals on the European side of Istanbul, who are either currently involved or have high potential for involvement in disasters. Methods: The study included personnel working in emergency medicine clinics of public hospitals affiliated with the Istanbul European Side Public Hospitals Association. Personnel working in the emergency medicine clinics of these hospitals were asked to voluntarily answer the questionnaire provided in Appendix 1. The data obtained were recorded in an Excel file. Results: Of the 338 participants, 196 (58%) were male and 142 (42%) were female, with a mean age of 29.49 ± 8.11 years. 185 participants (54.7%) were single. Participants informed about the hospital disaster plan had greater belief that the hospital's disaster response plan administrators could report to their posts very quickly. Those who had previously lost a close relative had received disaster training at a higher rate. It was found that those who had received training before had a stronger belief in their own adequacy. Conclusion: Recent pre-disaster training programs have shown an increase in the willingness to volunteer during disasters and the sense of preparedness for emergencies. Our study predicts that the level of disaster awareness and preparedness is directly proportional to the willingness to volunteer during disasters. bunu tıbbı dılde turlceye cevır

İmar mevzuatı ile yerleşim yerleri ile bu yerlerde inşa edilecek yapıların imar planları ile fen, sağlık ve çevre şartlarına uygun olarak teşekkül ettirilmesi amaçlanır. Düzenli, sağlıklı ve estetik şehirleşmeyi amaçlayan vasıtaların başında imar planları gelir. Planlar ile düzenli ve sağlıklı şehirler vücuda getirilmesi hedeflenir. İmar mevzuatı ile imar planlarına uygun olarak inşa edilmeyen yapılar için kanun koyucu birtakım yaptırımlar öngörmüştür. Bu yaptırımların başında yıkım ve imar para cezası gelir. Yıkım yaptırımı İmar Kanunu’nun 32. maddesinde, imar para cezası yaptırımı ise söz konusu Kanun’un 42. maddesinde düzenlenmiştir. İmar para cezasının nasıl hesaplanacağı, hesaplanan temel para cezasının artırım/indirim ve iptal sebepleri İmar Kanunu’nun 42. maddesinde ayrıntılı olarak düzenlenmiştir. Bunların yanında söz konusu maddenin ikinci fıkrasının (ç) bendine 25 Mart 2020 tarihinde eklenen düzenleme ile bir artırım sebebi daha eklenmiştir. Bu artırım sebebi de emlak vergisi değeridir. Söz konusu yeni düzenleme ile birlikte imar para cezası verilmesini gerektiren aykırılığa konu alanın m2 olarak belirlenebilir olduğu durumlarda 42. maddenin ikinci fıkrasının (a) bendi uyarınca hesaplanan ve (c) bendi uyarınca da artırım uygulanan imar para cezasına, aykırılığa konu alan ile arsa veya arazinin emlak vergisine esas asgari metrekare birim değerinin çarpımı sonucu bulunan bedel de ilave edilir. Böylelikle de imar mevzuatına aykırı yapı hakkında verilecek toplam imar para cezası bulunur.