The Italy-Libya Memorandum: stripping away the right of asylum in the Italian legal system

On the 2nd of November 2022, the Italy-Libya Memorandum on migration was renewed for the following 3 years, giving continuity to the close collaboration between the two countries to stem the flow of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers onto the Italian territory. Libya, in fact, is the main point of departure for migrants and refugees wishing to reach the Italian shores. This paper argues that, with the Memorandum, Italy adopts a ’pullbacks’ strategy which essentially translates into the practice of collective expulsion and refoulment. Nevertheless, it is in the prohibition of such practices that lies the indispensable premises to guarantee the effectiveness of the protection of the right to asylum, as safeguarded by international, European and national legislation. In fact, the Memorandum externalises the border across the Mediterranean and empties the right to asylum of its meaning, since it is structured in such a way as to make it impossible for people to reach European territory. It also denies the reality of mixed migration flows, precluding, a priori, the possibility for some migrants to be recognised as beneficiaries of international protection, while relying on the actions of a country, Libya, which has not signed the 1951 Geneva Convention on the Status of Refugees, has no functioning national asylum system and cannot be considered a ‘Place of Safety’ due to proven human rights violations perpetrated in its migrant detention centres. This paper further argues that the Italy Libya Memorandum is in line with the securitarian migration policies and the strategy of borders’ externalisation by the European Union (EU), which entrenches itself in a fortress on whose borders violence is carried out. In this context, bilateral agreements such as the Memorandum risk creating legal black holes whose purpose seems to be to circumvent the responsibilities stipulated at different levels of legislation. The jurisprudence of the Italian legislative system and of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) seems to be paving the way for a more conscious approach to migrants and might fill in the void created by the solidarity crisis of the European approach to immigration, but not without the support of a policy approach focused on restoring the Italian constitutional structure of the right to asylum

The crisis of the common European asylum system: rethinking solidarity in light of human rights

In 2015, the unprecedented arrival of refugees and irregular migrants in the European Union (EU) put a strain on the Common European Asylum System (CEAS), thus exposing a number of deficiencies in EU external border, asylum and migration policy. The need to reform the system became urgent and the EU was presented with both a challenge and an opportunity to further advance towards a much-needed consensual and long-term solution for the harmonisation of the asylum system, standing on the basis of solidarity and responsibility-sharing. This paper argues that the new comprehensive approach to migration and asylum praised by the European Commission (EC) is still missing in the recent Pact on Migration and Asylum of 2020, which represents more a missed opportunity than the real reform that the CEAS needs. The chosen legislative path, the dualistic understanding concerning the approach to migrants, and the new solidarity mechanism envisioned in the Pact show how the lack of consensus among Member States, the tendency towards the creation of a “Fortress Europe”, and an asymmetric idea of inter-state solidarity prevail, preventing the development of a common European framework for migration management that is both effective and in line with the EU’s values and objectives. This paper further argues that, if the EU fails to shift the paradigm of solidarity, the system is at risk of remaining fractured and incapable of withstanding the future challenges of migration. A new framework must be grounded on the principle of solidarity, as defined in the Article 80 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) which, in turn, needs to move from a state-centred approach to a concept of solidarity based on affected individuals, thus setting its foundations on a human rights basis. The EU needs, in fact, to strongly step up as a humanitarian actor and place protection and responsibility-sharing at the centre of its agenda: the protection of fundamental human rights in its territory and beyond is at stake.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The crisis of the Common European Asylum System: rethinking solidarity in light of Human Rights

In 2015, the unprecedented arrival of refugees and irregular migrants in the European Union (EU) put a strain on the Common European Asylum System (CEAS), thus exposing a number of deficiencies in EU external border, asylum and migration policy. The need to reform the system became urgent and the EU was presented with both a challenge and an opportunity to further advance towards a much-needed consensual and long-term solution for the harmonisation of the asylum system, standing on the basis of solidarity and responsibility-sharing. This paper argues that the new comprehensive approach to migration and asylum praised by the European Commission (EC) is still missing in the recent Pact on Migration and Asylum of 2020, which represents more a missed opportunity than the real reform that the CEAS needs. The chosen legislative path, the dualistic understanding concerning the approach to migrants, and the new solidarity mechanism envisioned in the Pact show how the lack of consensus among Member States, the tendency towards the creation of a “Fortress Europe”, and an asymmetric idea of inter-state solidarity prevail, preventing the development of a common European framework for migration management that is both effective and in line with the EU’s values and objectives. This paper further argues that, if the EU fails to shift the paradigm of solidarity, the system is at risk of remaining fractured and incapable of withstanding the future challenges of migration. A new framework must be grounded on the principle of solidarity, as defined in the Article 80 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) which, in turn, needs to move from a state-centred approach to a concept of solidarity based on affected individuals, thus setting its foundations on a human rights basis. The EU needs, in fact, to strongly step up as a humanitarian actor and place protection and responsibility-sharing at the centre of its agenda: the protection of fundamental human rights in its territory and beyond is at stake

Empathy and perceived burden in caregivers of patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders

Background Caregivers of patients load different kinds of burdens, including emotional distress. Aims of this study were to evaluate both burden and empathy of caregivers who assist patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Methods We selected a sample of 60 caregivers (34 women and 26 men), who assisted patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders treated in our local Community Mental Health Center for a 1-year minimum period. We administered two scales to our sample, Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI) and Balanced Emotional Empathy Scale (BEES), and collected data of caregivers and their assisted patients in a 3-month period. Data were statistically analyzed. Results We reported a mean ZBI score of 49.68 (±15.03 SD) and a mean BEES score of 14.35 (±9.05 SD), indicating the perception of moderate-severe burden and low level of empathy, respectively. The analysis of internal consistency confirmed the good reliability of both ZBI (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.90) and BEES (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.77). The correlation between the two scales was not statistically significant at Spearman test. At our multiple linear regression, many variables of both caregiver and patient showed a significant correlation with the ZBI score. In particular, not living with the assisted patient and female gender of caregiver potentially decreased the burden, whereas clinical severity of assisted patient and two caregiver conditions, middle school education and spouse relationship with patient, could worsen the burden. We highlighted two positive statistically significant correlations between the total score of BEES and caregiver characteristics: being spouse and not living with assisted patient. Conclusions Our study highlights that the caregiver burden of patients with severe psychiatric disorders is high and is associated with low emotional empathy experienced by caregivers, probably due to a defensive psychological mechanism. The conditions of spouse and cohabitation can concomitantly increase both empathy and burden in caregivers

PTP4A1 promotes TGFβ signaling and fibrosis in systemic sclerosis.

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is an autoimmune disease characterized by fibrosis of skin and internal organs. Protein tyrosine phosphatases have received little attention in the study of SSc or fibrosis. Here, we show that the tyrosine phosphatase PTP4A1 is highly expressed in fibroblasts from patients with SSc. PTP4A1 and its close homolog PTP4A2 are critical promoters of TGFβ signaling in primary dermal fibroblasts and of bleomycin-induced fibrosis in vivo. PTP4A1 promotes TGFβ signaling in human fibroblasts through enhancement of ERK activity, which stimulates SMAD3 expression and nuclear translocation. Upstream from ERK, we show that PTP4A1 directly interacts with SRC and inhibits SRC basal activation independently of its phosphatase activity. Unexpectedly, PTP4A2 minimally interacts with SRC and does not promote the SRC-ERK-SMAD3 pathway. Thus, in addition to defining PTP4A1 as a molecule of interest for TGFβ-dependent fibrosis, our study provides information regarding the functional specificity of different members of the PTP4A subclass of phosphatases

From BEXUS to HEMERA: The application of lessons learned on the development and manufacturing of stratospheric payloads at S5Lab

In the last years the S5Lab (Sapienza Space Systems and Space Surveillance Laboratory) from Sapienza University of Rome has given to the students the opportunity to gather knowledge on stratospheric payloads by supporting the design and development of two experiments selected for the participation in the REXUS/BEXUS educational Programme, managed by three european space institutions. The insights and lessons learned gathered during the participations in the REXUS/BEXUS educational programme gave the possibility to the student to take part in the development of a third experiment in the frame of the professional research programme HEMERA and complete it successfully. STRATONAV (STRATOspheric NAVigation experiment) was a stratospheric experiment based on Software Defined Radios (SDRs) technology whose aim was the testing of the VOR (VHF Omnidirectional Range) navigation system, evaluating its performance above the standard service volume, which was launched on BEXUS 22 in October 2016. TARDIS (Tracking and Attitude Radio-based Determination In Stratosphere) was developed as a follow up of STRATONAV between 2018 and 2019. Similarly to its predecessor TARDIS was a stratospheric experiment aimed at exploiting the VOR signal, with the aid of SDRs, to perform in-flight attitude and position determination, and was launched on BEXUS 28 in October 2019. After the launch of TARDIS, a team composed both by former STRATONAV and TARDIS students was formed for the development of a third stratospheric experiment going by the name of STRAINS (Stratospheric Tracking Innovative Systems), conceived by Sapienza University of Rome and ALTEC and supported by ASI. STRAINS main objective was the proof of concept of the possibility of achieving the Time Difference of Arrival (TDOA) and the Frequency Difference of Arrival (FDOA) for navigation purposes with the aid of SDRs. The experiment was developed between 2020 and 2021 exploiting the lessons learned from the former team members of the two BEXUS campaigns and was launched on board of the Hemera H2020 stratospheric balloon in September 2021 from Esrange Space Center, Kiruna, Sweden. After a brief description of the stratospheric payloads design and manufacturing, the paper will present the major lessons learned from the previous stratospheric experiments, STRATONAV and TARDIS, and their application to the development and manufacturing of the latest launched stratospheric experiment STRAINS, as well as their educational return to the students involved in the projects

Strutture e funzioni di una piattaforma online per gli attori della sicurezza

La presente pubblicazione riassume i risultati emersi nell’ambito del progetto di ricerca ID 19 “RLS OnLine e Picasso: la Rete per il Lavoro Sicuro italiano. Apertura al pubblico nazionale degli RLS della piattaforma informatica collaborativa per la salute e sicurezza sul lavoro per la generazione e lo scambio di nuove pratiche in materia di SSL, con l’apporto delle confederazioni comparativamente più rappresentative” finanziato dall’INAIL (Bando Bric 2019) e realizzato dall’Università degli Studi di Perugia, dall’Università degli Studi di Cagliari, dalla Fondazione Giuseppe Di Vittorio e da IAL Nazionale - Innovazione Apprendimento Lavoro s.r.l., con la partecipazione delle Organizzazioni Sindacali. Il lavoro, frutto del lavoro condiviso dell’ente finanziatore INAIL, della Fondazione Giuseppe Di Vittorio, di IAL Nazionale - Innovazione Apprendimento Lavoro s.r.l., di CGIL - Confederazione Generale Italiana del Lavoro, di CISL - Confederazione Italiana Sindacati Lavoratori, di UIL - Unione Italiana del Lavoro, e del Dipartimento di Giurisprudenza dell’Università degli Studi di Perugia, illustra la metodologia utilizzata nel corso della ricerca nonché i risultati emersi dalla stessa con particolare attenzione alle nuove esigenze degli attori della prevenzione

Segmental transverse colectomy. Minimally invasive versus open approach: results from a multicenter collaborative study

none65noThe role of minimally invasive surgery in the treatment of transverse colon cancer is still controversial. The aim of this study is to investigate the advantages of a totally laparoscopic technique comparing open versus laparoscopic/robotic approach. Three hundred and eighty-eight patients with transverse colon cancer, treated with a segmental colon resection, were retrospectively analyzed. Demographic data, tumor stage, operative time, intraoperative complications, number of harvested lymph nodes and recovery outcomes were recorded. Recurrences and death were also evaluated during the follow-up. No differences were found between conventional and minimally invasive surgery, both for oncological long-term outcomes (recurrence rate p = 0.28; mortality p = 0.62) and postoperative complications (overall rate p = 0.43; anemia p = 0.78; nausea p = 0.68; infections p = 0.91; bleeding p = 0.62; anastomotic leak p = 0.55; ileus p = 0.75). Nevertheless, recovery outcomes showed statistically significant differences in favor of minimally invasive surgery in terms of time to first flatus (p = 0.001), tolerance to solid diet (p = 0.017), time to first mobilization (p = 0.001) and hospital stay (p = 0.004). Compared with laparoscopic approach, robotic surgery showed significantly better results for time to first flatus (p = 0.001), to first mobilization (p = 0.005) and tolerance to solid diet (p = 0.001). Finally, anastomosis evaluation confirmed the superiority of intracorporeal approach which showed significantly better results for time to first flatus (p = 0.001), to first mobilization (p = 0.003) and tolerance to solid diet (p = 0.001); moreover, we recorded a statistical difference in favor of intracorporeal approach for infection rate (p = 0.04), bleeding (p = 0.001) and anastomotic leak (p = 0.03). Minimally invasive approach is safe and effective as the conventional open surgery, with comparable oncological results but not negligible advantages in terms of recovery outcomes. Moreover, we demonstrated that robotic approach may be considered a valid option and an intracorporeal anastomosis should always be preferred.noneMilone, Marco; Degiuli, Maurizio; Velotti, Nunzio; Manigrasso, Michele; Vertaldi, Sara; D'Ugo, Domenico; De Palma, Giovanni Domenico; Dario Bruzzese, Giuseppe Servillo, Giuseppe De Simone, Katia Di Lauro, Silvia Sofia, Marco Ettore Allaix, Mario Morino, Rossella Reddavid, Carlo Alberto Ammirati, Stefano Scabini, Gabriele Anania, Cristina Bombardini, Andrea Barberis, Roberta Longhin, Andrea Belli, Francesco Bianco, Giampaolo Formisano, Giuseppe Giuliani, Paolo Pietro Bianchi, Davide Cavaliere, Leonardo Solaini, Claudio Coco, Gianluca Rizzo, Andrea Coratti, Raffaele De Luca, Michele Simone, Alberto Di Leo, Giovanni De Manzoni, Paola De Nardi, Ugo Elmore, Riccardo Rosati, Andrea Vignali, Paolo Delrio, Ugo Pace, Daniela Rega, Antonio Di Cataldo, Giovanni Li Destri, Annibale Donini, Luigina Graziosi, Andrea Fontana, Michela Mineccia, Sergio Gentilli, Manuela Monni, Mario Guerrieri, Monica Ortenzi, Francesca Pecchini, Micaela Piccoli, Italy. Corrado Pedrazzani, Giulia Turri, Sara Pollesel, Franco Roviello, Marco Rigamonti, Michele Zuolo, Mauro Santarelli, Federica Saraceno, Pierpaolo Sileri Giuseppe Sigismondo Sica, Luigi Siragusa Salvatore Pucciarelli, Matteo ZuinMilone, Marco; Degiuli, Maurizio; Velotti, Nunzio; Manigrasso, Michele; Vertaldi, Sara; D'Ugo, Domenico; De Palma, Giovanni Domenico; Dario Bruzzese, Giuseppe Servillo, Giuseppe De Simone, Katia Di Lauro, Silvia Sofia, Marco Ettore Allaix, Mario Morino, Rossella Reddavid, Carlo Alberto Ammirati, Stefano Scabini, Gabriele Anania, Cristina Bombardini, Andrea Barberis, Roberta Longhin, Andrea Belli, Francesco Bianco, Giampaolo Formisano, Giuseppe Giuliani, Paolo Pietro Bianchi, Davide Cavaliere, Leonardo Solaini, Claudio Coco, Gianluca Rizzo, Andrea Coratti, Raffaele De Luca, Michele Simone, Alberto Di Leo, Giovanni De Manzoni, Paola De Nardi, Ugo Elmore, Riccardo Rosati, Andrea Vignali, Paolo Delrio, Ugo Pace, Daniela Rega, Antonio Di Cataldo, Giovanni Li Destri, Annibale Donini, Luigina Graziosi, Andrea Fontana, Michela Mineccia, Sergio Gentilli, Manuela Monni, Mario Guerrieri, Monica Ortenzi, Francesca Pecchini, Micaela Piccoli, Italy. Corrado Pedrazzani, Giulia Turri, Sara Pollesel, Franco Roviello, Marco Rigamonti, Michele Zuolo, Mauro Santarelli, Federica Saraceno, Pierpaolo Sileri Giuseppe Sigismondo Sica, Luigi Siragusa Salvatore Pucciarelli, Matteo Zui