Un manifesto per chiedere la libertà dei prigionieri politici catalani e il ritorno alla normalità democratica in Spagna sta raccogliendo centinaia di adesioni. Promosso da una quarantina di intellettuali e politici italiani, è stato pubblicato dal sito internet Left.it

A Madrid, nel cuore dell’Europa occidentale, dodici esponenti della politica e della società civile catalana sono in questi giorni sotto processo. Nove di essi si trovano in regime di detenzione preventiva, in molti casi da ben oltre un anno. I capi di imputazione sono gravissimi, con richieste di pena da parte della pubblica accusa che arrivano sino a 25 anni.

Tra i reati contestati vi è la “ribellione”: si tratta della figura criminosa utilizzata per chi, nel 1981, entrò con le armi in parlamento e portò in strada i carri armati. Il codice penale spagnolo, in effetti, richiede, nella tipizzazione del reato, l'elemento della "rivolta violenta". L’unica violenza finora certa, per le innumerevoli immagini che la mostrano e che hanno fatto il giro del mondo, è però quella messa in atto dalle forze dell'ordine spagnole: che partono da ogni angolo del Paese per la Catalogna al grido minaccioso di "a por ellos!" (“a prenderli!”; “dategli addosso!”); che picchiano votanti e manifestanti – anche non indipendentisti – intenti a resistere pacificamente, con le braccia alzate, in difesa dei seggi; che sparano proiettili di gomma sui cittadini, nonostante il loro utilizzo sia vietato in Catalogna.

Ma la vicenda giudiziaria non si esaurisce a Madrid, innanzi al Tribunal Supremo. Altri imputati verranno giudicati (per disobbedienza e ulteriori reati) da Tribunali in Catalogna; centinaia i sindaci, gli attivisti sociali, gli artisti indagati (e in alcuni casi condannati) per aver contribuito in qualche modo alla preparazione del referendum o per aver semplicemente manifestato le loro idee (eloquente, in tal senso, l’Amnesty International Report 2017/18, pp. 339-341). Vi sono, poi, i sette politici, sia parlamentari che componenti del precedente governo catalano rifugiatisi in Belgio, Scozia e Svizzera per sfuggire all’arresto e continuare a condurre la propria azione politica dall’estero. Sono liberi cittadini in tutta Europa, visto che, anche a seguito della decisione del tribunale tedesco nel caso Puigdemont, l’autorità giudiziaria spagnola ha ritirato tutti gli ordini d’arresto europeo a loro carico. Al di là delle anomalie tecniche dei procedimenti giudiziari (evidenziate da diversi osservatori internazionali), è evidente ciò che sta accadendo: si discute, nelle aule dei tribunali, di una questione eminentemente politica, che dal campo della politica non sarebbe mai dovuta uscire. Si criminalizza un’intera classe politica, la cui responsabilità è quella di aver cercato di smuovere le istituzioni spagnole da posizioni di radicale chiusura al dialogo. Si dimentica che oltre due milioni di cittadini catalani chiedono da anni, in maniera civile e pacifica, di potersi esprimere liberamente e democraticamente sull’assetto della relazione tra la Spagna e la Catalogna.

Solo da una posizione di intransigente nazionalismo si può continuare a ritenere la questione dell’indipendenza catalana un tema su cui non può neanche essere aperta una discussione democratica; solo da una posizione illiberale si può ritenere preferibile a quella prospettiva la compressione di fondamentali diritti civili e politici.

Il silenzio dell’Europa, che liquida la vicenda come affare interno alla Spagna, è deprecabile e pericoloso. Si tratta di un segno di debolezza delle istituzioni europee, non di forza, e contribuisce alla radicalizzazione del conflitto anziché alla sua risoluzione. Se la UE accetta la criminalizzazione della protesta pacifica e della disobbedienza civile in un Paese membro della rilevanza della Spagna, ad essere minacciati sono i diritti democratici non solo dei catalani, ma degli spagnoli e degli europei tutti. E quel silenzio diviene imbarazzante allorquando il Parlamento europeo vieta ai politici catalani rifugiati all’estero di partecipare ad una conferenza organizzata nei suoi locali mentre consente, quasi contestualmente, un dibattito anti-catalanista promosso dal partito spagnolo di estrema destra Vox, dichiaratamente e programmaticamente omofobo, maschilista, xenofobo.

Preoccupa anche la scarsa attenzione di parte della stampa, dell’opinione e degli intellettuali del nostro Paese. Nello scenario descritto, crediamo invece siano necessari l’impegno e il controllo vigile di tutti coloro che hanno a cuore la protezione dei diritti, dei valori democratici e dei principi sanciti dagli stessi Trattati UE.

Chiediamo, come cittadini europei, la scarcerazione dei prigionieri catalani, il ritorno ad una situazione di normalità democratica e l’apertura di un dialogo politico sulla questione, unica strada che possa condurre ad una risoluzione della stessa coerente con i valori della democrazia.

Il destino della Catalogna è anche il nostro destino, e il destino dell’Europa intera.

PRIMI FIRMATARI
 

Maurizio Acerbo, segretario nazionale PRC-Sinistra Europea, Roma

Luigi Agostini, saggista, Roma

Matteo Angioli, Partito Radicale, Roma

Vando Borghi, Università di Bologna

Bojan Brezigar, giornalista, Trieste

Luca Cassiani, Consigliere PD Regione Piemonte, Torino

Luciano Caveri, giornalista e politico, Aosta

Lluís Cabasés, giornalista, Alba

Massimo Cacciari, filosofo, Venezia

Duccio Campagnoli, ex Assessore Emilia-Romagna, Bologna

Elisa Castellano, Fondazione Di Vittorio, Roma

Pietro Cataldi, Rettore dell’Università per stranieri di Siena

Nancy de Benedetto, Presidente Associazione italiana di studi catalani, Università di Bari

Luigi de Magistris, sindaco di Napoli

Piero Di Siena, giornalista, Roma

Fausto Durante, Resp. politiche internazionali ed europee Cgil, Roma

Paolo Ferrero, vice presidente del Partito della Sinistra Europea, Torino

Gennaro Ferraiuolo, Università di Napoli Federico II

Luigi Foffani, Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia

Eleonora Forenza, Parlamentare europea GUE/Ngl, Rifondazione comunista, Bari

Laura Harth, Rappresentante alle Nazioni Unite del Partito Radicale, Roma

Rafael Hidalgo, insegnante, Ràdio Catalunya Itàlia, Roma

Andrea Maestri, Avvocato per i diritti umani, Ravenna

Fabio Marcelli, ISGI CNR, Associazione giuristi democratici, Roma

Maria Grazia Meriggi, Università di Bergamo

Sandro Mezzadra, Università di Bologna

Cesare Minghini, sindacalista CGIL, Bologna

Tomaso Montanari, Università di Siena, Firenze

Simone Oggionni, Responsabile Forum Europa MDP-Articolo 1, Roma

Fiorella Prodi, segreteria regionale Cgil Emilia-Romagna, Modena

Roberto Rampi, senatore PD, Vimercate (MB)

Patrizio Rigobon, Università Ca’ Foscari di Venezia

Simonetta Rubinato, avvocato, ex senatrice e deputata, Treviso

Emilio Santoro, Università di Firenze, Centro di documentazione “L’altro diritto”

Rossella Selmini, Università del Minnesota, Minneapolis-Bologna

Barbara Spinelli, giornalista e Parlamentare europea GUE/Ngl, Roma

Massimo Torelli, coordinatore nazionale di Altra Europa Con Tsipras, Firenze

Gianni Vernetti, ex senatore e sottosegretario agli Affari esteri, Torino

Walter Vitali, Direttore esecutivo Urban@it – Centro nazionale studi politiche urbane, Bologna
 

SOTTOSCRIVONO:

Cristina Accardi, studentessa, Salemi (TP)

Carla Acocella, Università Suor Orsola Benincasa di Napoli

Ivana Aiello, avvocato, Avellino

Rosalba Altopiedi, Università del Piemonte Orientale

Anna Amat, CNR Perugia

Umberto Amato, IMM CNR Napoli

Luciana Ambrosino, copywriter, Napoli

Giso Amendola, Università di Salerno

Virginia Amorosi, avvocato, Lecce.

Daniele Amoroso, Università di Cagliari

Giorgio Andreoli, psicologo, Milano

Simona Anichini, traduttrice, Firenze

Sara Antoniazzi, Università Ca’ Foscari di Venezia

Francesco Ardolino, Universitat de Barcelona

Gennaro Avallone, Università di Salerno

Edoardo Balletta, Università di Bologna.

Danilo Barbi, sindacalista Cgil, Bologna

Giuliano Barbolini, ex senatore PD, Modena

Albert Barreda, pittore, Savona

Ursula Bedogni, traduttrice, Barcelona

Marzia Bertazzoni, impiegata, Parma

Gabriele Bettelli, responsabile MDP, Modena

Imma Boixadós, agente immobiliare, Bra (CN)

Mirka Bonomi, pensionata, Ostia (Roma)

Enric Bou, Università Ca’ Foscari di Venezia

Mario Bravi, presidente IRES Umbria, Terni

Stefania Buosi Moncunill, insegnante, Trieste

Rosa Maria Caballé, dipendente pubblico, Bologna

Marco Calaresu, Università di Sassari

Domenico Caminiti, ingegnere, Torino

Stefano Campus, funzionario amministrativo, Presidente Òmnium Cultural de L'Alguer

Fulvio Capitanio, economista, Aiguafreda (Barcellona)

Flora Cappelluti, giornalista, Milano

Lìdia Carol, Università di Verona

Maria Carreras Goicochea, Università di Catania

Imma Caruso, Napoli, ISSM-CNR

Sergio Caserta, attivista e blogger, Bologna

Giovanni Castagno, insegnante, Roma

Giovanni C. Cattini, Università di Barcellona

Ivan Cecchini, dirigente pubblico, Bellaria-Igea Marina

Giulio Ceci, libero professionista, Roma

Giovanni Cherubini, ingegnere, Gilching (Germania)

Federico Chicchi, Università di Bologna

Claudia Ciavatta, dipendente pubblico, Roma

Adriano Cirulli, Università La Sapienza di Roma

Elena Coccia, Napoli, consigliere comunale Napoli, Sinistra in comune

Maria Teresa Colarossi, insegnante, Tivoli (Roma)

Gemma Teresa Colesanti, ISEM CNR Napoli

Maria Cristina Coliva, pensionata, Bologna

Mauro Colombarini, sindacalista Spi-CGIL, Bologna

Anna Maria Compagna, Università di Napoli Federico II

Michele Conia, Sindaco di Cinquefrondi (RC)

Roberto Cornelli, Università di Milano Bicocca

Giacomo Comincini, studente, Pavia

Enrico Curti, imprenditore, Riomaggiore (SP)

Salvatore D'Acunto, Seconda Università di Napoli.

Ettore D’Agostino, insegnante, Torino

Francesco D’Agresta, coordinatore provinciale MDP Pescara

Patrizia D'Antonio, insegnante, Roma

Elisa D’Ugo, studentessa, Roma

Pasquale D'Ugo, agente di commercio, Roma

Gaspare Dalia, Università di Salerno

Gaetano

It won’t search for life, but rather determine whether conditions there could support it.

The post NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft will scour Jupiter moon for the ingredients for life appeared first on Boston.com.

Too late Group E, Dinamo Moskva 6 games, six victories, 18 points, 9 goals scored, 3 against, passes through to the next round of the Europa League together with PSV Eindhoven (Netherlands). In Group H, Krasnodar had the first victory, away at Everton in the UK (city of Liverpool) but too late. Qualified for the next round: Borussia Mönchengladbach, Villarreal, Club Brugge, Torino, Besiktas, Tottenham, Red Bull Salzburg, Celtic, Inter, Dnipro, Feyenoord, Sevilla, Everton, Wolfsburg, Napoli, Young Boys, Dinamo Kiev, Steaua Bucuresti, Fiorentina, Guingamp, Legia Warsaw, Trabzonspor Played Won Drawn Lost Goals For Against Goal Difference Points

Scientists are keen to explore beneath Europa’s thick blanket of ice, and they can do so indirectly by hunting for evidence of activity emanating from below. A new study published in the AGU journal Geophysical Research Letters, did exactly this.

The post New evidence of watery plumes on Jupiter’s moon Europa appeared first on GeoSpace.

Resulta que somos el país con mayor gasto por preso de Europa. Gastamos  25.000 euros preso/año, según datos de la Asociación Profesional de Funcionarios de Prisiones. Así llegamos a la circunstancia de que el gasto en presos extranjeros asciende a 612.550.000 euros y el total a 1.761.800.000 euros.

El director mexicano estrena 'La cocina', un exuberante retrato en clave musical de la parte de atrás de la emigración legal en Estados Unidos Leer

Muchos clientes no pueden recibir correos electrónicos y también se ha observado un elevado uso de memoria mientras se utiliza el servicio de mensajería Leer

La presión del gobierno comunitario ha obligado a la empresa a cambiar su estrategia y reducir el coste de la suscripción un 40% Leer

Al magnate republicano le vale cualquier acuerdo para Ucrania, pero el líder ruso no quiere renunciar a nada Leer

El presidente francés recibe al secretario general de la OTAN en el Elíseo y ambos insisten en la necesidad de seguir apoyando a Ucrania. Leer

Uno de los implicados se portó extraño en una empresa de paquetería al intentar retirar un paquete que no era suyo, esto levantó sospechas en el personal Leer

La corredora navarra (17 años) se proclama campeona continental de contrarreloj a vencer por sólo un segundo de ventaja a la neerlandesa Knaven Leer

Europa se asoma al abismo y no contamos con líderes a la altura, así que fiémonos de nosotros mismos y tomemos conciencia de mercado. El euro no está perdido.

NASA has just launched a mission to investigate a far-off world that’s full of water. It’s going to Europa, a moon of Jupiter that's made of lots of ice that covers a huge ocean.

NASA's Europa Clipper mission launched Monday, beginning its years-long journey to the distant icy moon it's named after. This mission is designed to tell scientists more about the structure, the interior and the habitability of Europa, one of the four large moons of Jupiter. Host Regina G. Barber talks with astrobiologist and friend of the show Mike Wong about why their mutual love for this fascinating moon and what it means for the search for life outside of Earth. Plus, they talk about other icy moons that may also have the trifecta of ingredients needed to sustain life: liquid water, specific elements and an energy source.

Want to hear more space science? Let your voice be heard by emailing shortwave@npr.org!

Also, if you liked this episode, check out our episodes on NASA's future missions to Uranus and our episode on whether Dune could really exist!

NASA has just launched a mission to Jupiter's icy moon Europa. A NASA scientist answers kid's questions about the mission and its goals.

NASA probe launches aboard SpaceX rocket to search for the building blocks of life on Europa, Jupiter's icy ocean moon.

La neuropatía diabética.

NASA is preparing to launch its flagship mission to explore Jupiter’s moon Europa. Launching sometime in October 2024 and arriving in 2030, the mission will explore the icy world with a subsurface ocean that scientists think could have conditions favorable to life.

For a mission that doesn’t aim to find alien life, Europa Clipper may come surprisingly close.

Europa Clipper will soon head for Jupiter's icy, potentially habitable moon. Without the advocacy efforts of The Planetary Society and our members, the mission may never have been possible.

NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft launched today aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

The cornea is densely innervated, mainly by sensory nerves of the ophthalmic branch of the trigeminal ganglia (TG). These nerves  are important to maintain corneal homeostasis, and nerve damage can lead to a decrease in wound healing, an increase in corneal ulceration and dry eye disease (DED), and neuropathic pain. Pathologies, such as diabetes, aging, viral and bacterial infection, as well as  prolonged use of contact lenses and surgeries to correct vision can produce nerve damage. There are no effective therapies to alleviate DED (a multifunctional disease) and several clinical trials using -3 supplementation show unclear and sometimes negative results. Using animal models of corneal nerve damage, we show that treating corneas with pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF) plus docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) increases nerve regeneration, wound healing, and tear secretion. The mechanism involves the activation of a calcium-independent phospholipase A2 (iPLA2) that releases the incorporated DHA from phospholipids and enhances the synthesis of docosanoids neuroprotectin D1 (NPD1) and a new resolvin stereoisomer  RvD6i. NPD1 stimulates the synthesis of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), nerve growth factor (NGF), and of semaphorin 7A (Sema7A).  RvD6i treatment of injured corneas modulates gene expression in the TG resulting in enhanced neurogenesis; decreased neuropathic pain and increased sensitivity. Taken together, these results represent a promising therapeutic option to re-establish the homeostasis of the cornea.

We recently demonstrated that transient attenuation of Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) in dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons, can both prevent and reverse pain associated with chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN), a severe side effect of cancer chemotherapy, for which treatment options are limited. Given the reduced efficacy of opioid analgesics to treat neuropathic, compared with inflammatory pain, the cross talk between nociceptor TLR4 and mu-opioid receptors (MORs), and that MOR and TLR4 agonists induce hyperalgesic priming (priming), which also occurs in CIPN, we determined, using male rats, whether (1) antisense knockdown of nociceptor MOR attenuates CIPN, (2) and attenuates the priming associated with CIPN, and (3) CIPN also produces opioid-induced hyperalgesia (OIH). We found that intrathecal MOR antisense prevents and reverses hyperalgesia induced by oxaliplatin and paclitaxel, two common clinical chemotherapy agents. Oxaliplatin-induced priming was also markedly attenuated by MOR antisense. Additionally, intradermal morphine, at a dose that does not affect nociceptive threshold in controls, exacerbates mechanical hyperalgesia (OIH) in rats with CIPN, suggesting the presence of OIH. This OIH associated with CIPN is inhibited by interventions that reverse Type II priming [the combination of an inhibitor of Src and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)], an MOR antagonist, as well as a TLR4 antagonist. Our findings support a role of nociceptor MOR in oxaliplatin-induced pain and priming. We propose that priming and OIH are central to the symptom burden in CIPN, contributing to its chronicity and the limited efficacy of opioid analgesics to treat neuropathic pain.

Past observations have indicated that the icy moon of Jupiter has a vast subsurface ocean. Launching in October, NASA’s Europa Clipper will go there in search of evidence that it could support life

Mitochondrial dysfunction is a hallmark of many genetic neurodegenerative diseases, but therapeutic options to reverse mitochondrial dysfunction are limited. While recent studies support the possibility of improving mitochondrial fusion/fission dynamics and motility to correct mitochondrial dysfunction and resulting neurodegeneration in Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT) and other neuropathies, the clinical utility of reported compounds and relevance of preclinical models are uncertain. Here, we describe motor and sensory neuron dysfunction characteristic of clinical CMT type 2 A in a CRISPR/Casp-engineered Mfn2 Thr105Met (T105M) mutant knock-in mouse. We further demonstrate that daily oral treatment with a novel mitofusin activator derived from the natural product piperine can reverse these neurologic phenotypes. Piperine derivative 8015 promoted mitochondrial fusion and motility in Mfn2-deficient cells in a mitofusin-dependent manner and reversed mitochondrial dysfunction in cultured fibroblasts and reprogrammed motor neurons from a human CMT2A patient carrying the MFN2 T105M mutation. Like previous mitofusin activators, 8015 exhibited stereospecific functionality, but the more active stereoisomer, 8015-P2, is unique in that it has subnanomolar potency and undergoes entero-hepatic recirculation which extends its in vivo half-life. Daily administration of 8015-P2 to Mfn2 T105M knock-in mice for 6 weeks normalized neuromuscular and sensory dysfunction and corrected histological/ultrastructural neurodegeneration and neurogenic myoatrophy. These studies describe a more clinically relevant mouse model of CMT2A and an improved mitofusin activator derived from piperine. We posit that 8015-P2 and other piperine derivatives may benefit CMT2A or other neurodegenerative conditions wherein mitochondrial dysdynamism plays a contributory role.

Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) is a common side effect of chemotherapy treatment, routinely manifesting as increased pain sensitivity (allodynia) in distal extremities. Despite its prevalence, effective treatment options are limited. Cannabinoids are increasingly being evaluated for their ability to treat chronic pain conditions, including CIPN. While previous studies have revealed sex differences in cannabinoid-mediated antinociception in acute and chronic pain models, there is a paucity of studies addressing potential sex differences in the response of CIPN to cannabinoid treatment. Therefore, we evaluated the long-term antiallodynic efficacy of cannabinoid receptor type 1 (CB₁)-selective, cannabinoid receptor type 2 (CB₂)-selective, and CB₁/CB₂ mixed agonists in the cisplatin CIPN model, using both male and female mice. CB₁ selective agonism was observed to have sex differences in the development of tolerance to antiallodynic effects, with females developing tolerance more rapidly than males, while the antiallodynic effects of selective CB₂ agonism lacked tolerance development. Compound-specific changes to the female estrous cycle and female plasma estradiol levels were noted, with CB₁ selective agonism decreasing plasma estradiol while CB₂ selective agonism increased plasma estradiol. Chronic administration of a mixed CB₁/CB₂ agonist resulted in increased mRNA expression of proinflammatory cytokines and endocannabinoid regulatory enzymes in female spinal cord tissue. Ovarian tissue was noted to have proinflammatory cytokine mRNA expression following administration of a CB₂ acting compound while selective CB₁ agonism resulted in decreased proinflammatory cytokines and endocannabinoid regulatory enzymes in testes. These results support the need for further investigation into the role of sex and sex hormones signaling in pain and cannabinoid-mediated antinociceptive effects.

Neuropathic pain is a form of chronic pain that develops because of damage to the nervous system. Treatment of neuropathic pain is often incompletely effective, and most available therapeutics have only moderate efficacy and present side effects that limit their use. Opioids are commonly prescribed for the management of neuropathic pain despite equivocal results in clinical studies and significant abuse potential. Thus, neuropathic pain represents an area of critical unmet medical need, and novel classes of therapeutics with improved efficacy and safety profiles are urgently needed. The cannabidiol structural analog and novel antagonist of GPR55, KLS-13019, was screened in rat models of neuropathic pain. Tactile sensitivity associated with chemotherapy exposure was induced in rats with once-daily 1-mg/kg paclitaxel injections for 4 days or 5 mg/kg oxaliplatin every third day for 1 week. Rats were then administered KLS-13019 or comparator drugs on day 7 in an acute dosing paradigm or days 7–10 in a chronic dosing paradigm, and mechanical or cold allodynia was assessed. Allodynia was reversed in a dose-dependent manner in the rats treated with KLS-13019, with the highest dose reverting the response to prepaclitaxel injection baseline levels with both intraperitoneal and oral administration after acute dosing. In the chronic dosing paradigm, four consecutive doses of KLS-13019 completely reversed allodynia for the duration of the phenotype in control animals. Additionally, coadministration of KLS-13019 with paclitaxel prevented the allodynic phenotype from developing. Together, these data suggest that KLS-13019 represents a potential new drug for the treatment of neuropathic pain.

Chronic pain conditions affect nearly 20% of the population in the United States. Current medical interventions, such as opioid drugs, are effective at relieving pain but are accompanied by many undesirable side effects. This is one reason increased numbers of chronic pain patients have been turning to Cannabis for pain management. Cannabis contains many bioactive chemical compounds; however, current research looking into lesser-studied minor cannabinoids in Cannabis lacks uniformity between experimental groups and/or excludes female mice from investigation. This makes it challenging to draw conclusions between experiments done with different minor cannabinoid compounds between laboratories or parse out potential sex differences that could be present. We chose five minor cannabinoids found in lower quantities within Cannabis: cannabinol (CBN), cannabidivarin (CBDV), cannabigerol (CBG), 8-tetrahydrocannabinol (8-THC), and 9-tetrahydrocannabivarin (THCV). These compounds were then tested for their cannabimimetic and pain-relieving behaviors in a cannabinoid tetrad assay and a chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) pain model in male and female CD-1 mice. We found that the minor cannabinoids we tested differed in the cannabimimetic behaviors evoked, as well as the extent. We found that CBN, CBG, and high-dose 8-THC evoked some tetrad behaviors in both sexes, while THCV and low-dose 8-THC exhibited cannabimimetic tetrad behaviors only in females. Only CBN efficaciously relieved CIPN pain, which contrasts with reports from other researchers. Together these findings provide further clarity to the pharmacology of minor cannabinoids and suggest further investigation into their mechanism and therapeutic potential.