10 Years After the Directive 2011/36/EU. Lights and shadows in addressing the vulnerability of trafficked and exploited migrants

a formal National Referral Mechanism (NRM) in place to identify and assist victims and support their full social inclusion. Assistance is nearly always dependent on victims’ cooperation with the authorities, in contrast with the principle of unconditional assistance. The non-punishment principle is not implemented or not implemented correctly. Also, trafficked persons are not addressed adequately regarding their vulnerabilities and their gender-related needs. Anti-trafficking institutions and organisations do not receive sufficient resources, and, in many countries, political and legal anti-trafficking measures tend to focus mainly on criminalisation and to conflate with restrictive migration policies, increasing persons’ vulnerability to exploitation. Many EU member states lack National Rapporteurs or fully independent equivalent mechanisms

VULNER POLICY BRIEF: ITALY

EU law requires that the special reception needs of vulnerable asylum seekers be identified and addressed, and that special procedural guarantees be provided. Similarly, the UN Global Compacts for Migration and on Refugees require states to develop their migration and asylum policies in ways that consider the vulnerabilities that migrants and refugees may be facing. To this end, the Italian team of the VULNER project studied how vulnerable asylum seekers (and other vulnerable migrants) are identified, and how their special reception and procedural needs are assessed and addressed by the Italian asylum authorities. They examined legislation, case law, policy documents and administrative guidelines. They conducted 44 interviews with members of international organizations, civil servants and judges in Italy. This Policy Brief explores the findings of this research, highlighting the challenges and the shortcomings observed in Italy, as well as proposing concrete policy recommendations

Vulnerability in the Asylum and Protection System in Italy: Legal and Policy Framework and Implementing Practices

This research report has been published as part of the EU Horizon 2020 research project (www.vulner.eu). The VULNER research project is an international research initiative, the objective of which is to reach a more profound understanding of the experiences of vulnerabilities of migrants applying for asylum and other humanitarian protection statuses, and how they could best be addressed. It therefore makes use of a twofold analysis, which contrasts the study of existing protection mechanisms for vulnerable migrants (such as minors and victims of human trafficking) with the experiences of migrants on the ground. This research report presents some of the intermediate research results of the VULNER project based on the first phase of the project. This phase consisted of mapping out the vulnerability assessment mech- anisms developed by state authorities in Italy, including how they are implemented on the ground through the practices of the public servants in charge

Lipoaspirate Shows In Vitro Potential for Wound Healing

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are a promising therapy in wound healing, although extensive time and manipulation are necessary for their use. In our previous study on cartilage regeneration, we demonstrated that lipoaspirate acts as a natural scaffold for MSCs and gives rise to their spontaneous outgrowth, together with a paracrine effect on resident cells that overcome the limitations connected to MSC use. In this study, we aimed to investigate in vitro whether the microfragmented adipose tissue (lipoaspirate), obtained with Lipogems® technology, could promote and accelerate wound healing. We showed the ability of resident cells to outgrow from the clusters of lipoaspirate encapsulated in a 3D collagen substrate as capability of repopulating a culture of human skin. Moreover, we demonstrated that the in vitro lipoaspirate paracrine effect on fibroblasts and keratinocytes proliferation, migration, and contraction rate is mediated by the release of trophic/reparative proteins. Finally, an analysis of the paracrine antibacterial effect of lipoaspirate proved its ability to secrete antibacterial factors and its ability to modulate their secretion in culture media based on a bacterial stimulus. The results suggest that lipoaspirate may be a promising approach in wound healing showing in vitro regenerative and antibacterial activities that could improve current therapeutic strategies

Graphene-based nanomaterials for peripheral nerve regeneration

Emerging nanotechnologies offer numerous opportunities in the field of regenerative medicine and have been widely explored to design novel scaffolds for the regeneration and stimulation of nerve tissue. In this review, we focus on peripheral nerve regeneration. First, we introduce the biomedical problem and the present status of nerve conduits that can be used to guide, fasten and enhance regeneration. Then, we thoroughly discuss graphene as an emerging candidate in nerve tissue engineering, in light of its chemical, tribological and electrical properties. We introduce the graphene forms commonly used as neural interfaces, briefly review their applications, and discuss their potential toxicity. We then focus on the adoption of graphene in peripheral nervous system applications, a research field that has gained in the last years ever-increasing attention. We discuss the potential integration of graphene in guidance conduits, and critically review graphene interaction not only with peripheral neurons, but also with non-neural cells involved in nerve regeneration; indeed, the latter have recently emerged as central players in modulating the immune and inflammatory response and accelerating the growth of new tissue

A Formal Account of AI Trustworthiness: Connecting Intrinsic and Perceived Trustworthiness

This paper proposes a formal account of AI trustworthiness, connecting both intrinsic and perceived trustworthiness in an operational schematization. We argue that trustworthiness extends beyond the inherent capabilities of an AI system to include significant influences from observers' perceptions, such as perceived transparency, agency locus, and human oversight. While the concept of perceived trustworthiness is discussed in the literature, few attempts have been made to connect it with the intrinsic trustworthiness of AI systems. Our analysis introduces a novel schematization to quantify trustworthiness by assessing the discrepancies between expected and observed behaviors and how these affect perceived uncertainty and trust. The paper provides a formalization for measuring trustworthiness, taking into account both perceived and intrinsic characteristics. By detailing the factors that influence trust, this study aims to foster more ethical and widely accepted AI technologies, ensuring they meet both functional and ethical criteria

Quantum computing algorithms: getting closer to critical problems in computational biology

The recent biotechnological progress has allowed life scientists and physicians to access an unprecedented, massive amount of data at all levels (molecular, supramolecular, cellular and so on) of biological complexity. So far, mostly classical computational efforts have been dedicated to the simulation, prediction or de novo design of biomolecules, in order to improve the understanding of their function or to develop novel therapeutics. At a higher level of complexity, the progress of omics disciplines (genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics and metabolomics) has prompted researchers to develop informatics means to describe and annotate new biomolecules identified with a resolution down to the single cell, but also with a high-throughput speed. Machine learning approaches have been implemented to both the modelling studies and the handling of biomedical data. Quantum computing (QC) approaches hold the promise to resolve, speed up or refine the analysis of a wide range of these computational problems. Here, we review and comment on recently developed QC algorithms for biocomputing, with a particular focus on multi-scale modelling and genomic analyses. Indeed, differently from other computational approaches such as protein structure prediction, these problems have been shown to be adequately mapped onto quantum architectures, the main limit for their immediate use being the number of qubits and decoherence effects in the available quantum machines. Possible advantages over the classical counterparts are highlighted, along with a description of some hybrid classical/quantum approaches, which could be the closest to be realistically applied in biocomputation

HDAC1 interacts with the p50 NF-κB subunit via its nuclear localization sequence to constrain inflammatory gene expression

The NF-κB p50 subunit is an important regulator of inflammation, with recent experimental evidence to support it also having a tumor suppressor role. Classically, p50 functions in heterodimeric form with the RelA (p65) NF-κB subunit to activate inflammatory genes. However, p50 also forms homodimers which actively repress NF-κB-dependent inflammatory gene expression and exert an important brake on the inflammatory process. This repressive activity of p50:p50 is thought to be in part mediated by an interaction with the epigenetic repressor protein Histone Deacetylase 1 (HDAC1). However, neither the interaction of p50 with HDAC1 nor the requirement of HDAC1 for the repressive activities of p50 has been well defined. Here we employed in silico prediction with in vitro assays to map sites of interaction of HDAC1 on the p50 protein. Directed mutagenesis of one such region resulted in almost complete loss of HDAC1 binding to p50. Transfected mutant p50 protein lacking the putative HDAC1 docking motif resulted in enhanced cytokine and chemokine expression when compared with cells expressing a transfected wild type p50. In addition, expression of this mutant p50 was associated with enhanced chemoattraction of neutrophils and acetylation of known inflammatory genes demonstrating the likely importance of the p50:HDAC1 interaction for controlling inflammation. These new insights provide an advance on current knowledge of the mechanisms by which NF-κB-dependent gene transcription are regulated and highlight the potential for manipulation of p50:HDAC1 interactions to bring about experimental modulation of chronic inflammation and pathologies associated with dysregulated neutrophil accumulation and activation

Novel positive allosteric modulators of A2B adenosine receptor acting as bone mineralisation promoters

Small-molecules acting as positive allosteric modulators (PAMs) of the A2B adenosine receptor (A2B AR) could potentially represent a novel therapeutic strategy for pathological conditions characterised by altered bone homeostasis, including osteoporosis. We investigated a library of compounds (4-13) exhibiting different degrees of chemical similarity with three indole derivatives (1-3), which have been recently identified by us as PAMs of the A2B AR able to promote mesenchymal stem cell differentiation and bone formation. Evaluation of mineralisation activity of 4-13 in the presence and in the absence of the agonist BAY60-6583 allowed the identification of lead compounds with therapeutic potential as anti-osteoporosis agents. Further biological characterisation of one of the most performing compounds, the benzofurane derivative 9, confirmed that such a molecule behaves as PAM of the A2B AR

Moderate Exercise Inhibits Age-Related Inflammation, Liver Steatosis, Senescence, and Tumorigenesis

Age-related chronic inflammation promotes cellular senescence, chronic disease, cancer, and reduced lifespan. In this study, we wanted to explore the effects of a moderate exercise regimen on inflammatory liver disease and tumorigenesis. We used an established model of spontaneous inflammaging, steatosis, and cancer (nfkb1−/− mouse) to demonstrate whether 3 mo of moderate aerobic exercise was sufficient to suppress liver disease and cancer development. Interventional exercise when applied at a relatively late disease stage was effective at reducing tissue inflammation (liver, lung, and stomach), oxidative damage, and cellular senescence, and it reversed hepatic steatosis and prevented tumor development. Underlying these benefits were transcriptional changes in enzymes driving the conversion of tryptophan to NAD+, this leading to increased hepatic NAD+ and elevated activity of the NAD+-dependent deacetylase sirtuin. Increased SIRT activity was correlated with enhanced deacetylation of key transcriptional regulators of inflammation and metabolism, NF-κB (p65), and PGC-1α. We propose that moderate exercise can effectively reprogram pre-established inflammatory and metabolic pathologies in aging with the benefit of prevention of disease