La vita è ingiusta : il doloroso darwinismo di Primo Levi

A partire dall’incontro con l’opera di Darwin agli inizi degli anni Trenta, Primo Levi eleverà le scienze naturali a incrollabile a priori ontologico della sua riflessione etica e politica. Ciò che si intende mostrare è quanto una solida e consapevole conoscenza del darwinismo abbia costituito il “filtro di lettura” principale della riflessione su Auschwitz compiuta in Se questo è un uomo. È in quest’ottica che il binomio sommersi-salvati, vero e proprio nucleo del pensiero di Levi, rivela tutta la sua portata concettuale. Quest’ultimo rappresenta infatti la risultante socio-antropologica delle leggi inegualitarie della vita, in opposizione alle quali Levi concepisce la disperata necessità della lotta umana contro i limiti dolorosi della materia vivente. Nelle opere della maturità, il naturalismo continuerà a fornire a Levi gli strumenti di base per l’elaborazione di originali soluzioni concettuali a problemi filosofici cruciali come l’origine della aggressività umana, la natura del male politico, il rapporto umano-animale e il nesso natura-civiltà

Genealogia delle società segrete: Tra inchiesta e finzione in un manoscritto toscano, 1800-1819

The essay investigates a Tuscan manuscript dedicated to unraveling the intricate genealogy of secret societies in the Italian states during the first twenty years of the XIX century. Authored by an unknown writer, believed to be a spy of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, the political discourse of the manuscript strategically places itself at the core of discussions surrounding internal security and covert political associations. The unnamed author creatively reshapes cultural references and stereotypes extracted from informants and European reactionary literature about conspiracy. What sets this narrative apart is the adept use of knowledge about clandestine organizations to construct a cohesive storyline that not only describes but also actively justifies police repression against these secretive groups. The manuscript unfolds as a dynamic exploration of how ideas and ideologies infiltrate societal consciousness through the written words. It stands as a testament to the anonymous author’s ability to blend seemingly disparate elements — cultural references, stereotypes, and informed insights into clandestine organizations — into a political statement. In fact, the essay underscores the author’s capacity not only to contribute to the ongoing discourse on internal security but also to actively shape it by framing the narrative in a way that justifies authoritative actions

Riconciliare le voci di autorità in SBN con Wikidata : progressi e prospettive dopo un decennio di lavoro (2013-2023)

L’articolo intende ripercorrere in diacronia la storia della riconciliazione delle voci di autorità dell’Opac SBN con Wiki-data, dalla prospettiva del lavoro svolto su Wikidata; vengono quindi trattate la nascita della proprietà usata da Wikidata per connettersi con l’authority file dei nomi dell’Opac SBN (P396), la crescita progressiva del numero di valori di P396 in Wikidata (comparata con quella degli identificativi di altri authority file europei), le strategie di riconciliazione adottate e le principali difficoltà che hanno rallentato questo processo, infine le importanti novità arrecate prima dall’adozione del nuovo Opac SBN e poi dalle recenti decisioni dell’ICCU volte a favorire una maggiore apertura dei dati di autorità.The article retraces diachronically the history of the reconciliation of Opac SBN’s authority records with Wikidata, from the perspective of the editing activity on Wikidata; the article deals with the creation of the property used in Wikidata to connect to Opac SBN’s name authority file (P396), the progressive growth of the number of values of P396 in Wikidata (compared with the identifiers of other European authority files), the reconciliation strategies that have been adopted and the main difficulties which have slowed down this process, and finally the relevant novelties brought firstly by the adoption of the new Opac SBN and secondly by the recent decisions taken by ICCU in order to promote a greater data openness

Cryo-EM sheds light on membrane-associated NAPE-PLD

The membrane-associated enzyme, N-acyl phosphatidylethanolamine phospholipase D (NAPE-PLD), generates bioactive signaling molecules and has a pivotal player in various physiological and cellular pathways crucial for organismal protection. We recently reported the crystal structure of NAPE-PLD revealing details of its dimeric structure, enzymatic catalysis, and interaction with bile acid molecules. Despite its key role, a nanometer view of the association of NAPE-PLD to membranes remains elusive. This makes it hard to understand the functional role of its unusual internal dimeric channel and the physiological link between bioactive lipid amide signaling and bile acid signaling. Within my doctoral thesis scope, the research focused on the intricate interaction between NAPE-PLD, bile acid molecules and membrane lipids, using nanodisc technology and sp cryo-EM. We showed that NAPE-PLD, with its internal channel, can create membrane-pores as dynamic conductive pathways through which the charged essential cell cofactor pyridoxal phosphate, PLP, can diffuse through cell membranes, a key physiological process poorly understood in mammalian cells. We investigated the process characterizing the affinity and binding kinetics of PLP and other ligands that bind the PLP-binding site. The crystal structure of the complex between NAPE-PLD and PLP contributes to define the membrane transport mechanism at atomic resolution

Radical Left Parties and National Identity in Spain, Italy and Portugal Rejecting or Reclaiming the Nation

This book investigates how the radical left navigates the terrain of nationalism. Traversing Spain, Italy and Portugal, this in-depth study examines how radical left parties either embrace, rebuff or reshape nationalistic sentiments. From Spain’s Podemos grappling with Franco’s legacy, Italy’s radical left switching from anti-fascist patriotism to cosmopolitanism, to Portugal’s revolutionary echoes in left-leaning banal nationalism, the book offers comprehensive insight into the often-overlooked relationship between radical left politics and national identity. Through discourse analysis, interviews and participant observation, it delves into the reasons behind certain political positions and how they manifest discursively. A must-read for those eager to decipher the crossroads of national identity and left-wing politics in contemporary Europe

Cold dust and low [O iii]/[C ii] ratios: an evolved star-forming population at redshift 7

We present new ALMA Band 8 (rest-frame 90 μm) continuum observations of three massive (M⋆ ≈ 1010 M⊙) galaxies at z ≈ 7 previously detected in [C II]158 μm and underlying dust continuum emission in the Reionization Era Bright Emission Line Survey (REBELS). We detect dust emission from two of our targets in Band 8 (REBELS-25 and REBELS-38), while REBELS-12 remains undetected. Through optically thin modified blackbody fitting, we determine dust temperatures of Tdust ≈ 30 − 35 K in both of the dual-band detected targets, indicating they are colder than most known galaxies at z ∼ 7. Moreover, their inferred dust masses are large (Mdust ≈ 108 M⊙), albeit still consistent with models of high-redshift dust production. We furthermore target and detect [O III]88 μm emission in both REBELS-12 and REBELS-25, and find L[O III]/L[C II] ≈ 1 − 1.5 – low compared to the L[O III]/L[C II] ≳ 2 − 10 observed in the known z ≳ 6 population thus far. We argue the lower line ratios are due to a comparatively weaker ionizing radiation field resulting from the less starbursty nature of our targets, although the possibility of REBELS-12 being a merger of an [O III]-bright and [O III]-faint component prevents the unambiguous interpretation of its [O III]/[C II] ratio. Nevertheless, a low burstiness forms a natural explanation for the cold dust temperatures and low [O III]λλ4959, 5007 + Hβ equivalent widths of REBELS-25 and REBELS-38. Overall, these observations provide evidence for the existence of a massive, dust-rich galaxy population at z ≈ 7 which has previously experienced vigorous star formation, but is currently forming stars in a steady, as opposed to bursty, manner