Akira Kurosawa's Hakuchi (The Idiot) as a dialogue with Dostoevsky on existence, moral beauty and trauma

Akira Kurosawa's Hakuchi ("The Idiot", 1951), based on F. Dostoevsky's eponymous novel, is one of the most complex and ambitious films of the Japanese master. Deeply impressed by Russian literature, and namely by the work of Dostoevsky, Kurosawa demonstrates a will to adapt not only the plot and themes from the novel but also some particular features of its narrative construction. At the same time, the film is conceived as a free rewriting of the Russian source based on the Japanese cultural and historical framework of the traumatic post-war era. In doing that, Kurosawa made possible to develop Dostoevsky's reflections on the nature of Love and Evil according to philosophical categories of the Japanese culture \u2013 in particular by approaching the questions posed by the Russian writer under a non-Christian, but rather Zen-Buddhist point of view

Complicated and Necessary: Reading Dostoevsky in a Time of Trouble

Prefazione al fascicolo della rivista "Dostoevsky Studies

Unpaid work, the household and the value of time. An analysis of the effects of the unequal distribution of unpaid care and domestic work within the household and beyond

This thesis is comprised of four parts, among which there are two empirical analyses. The first chapter of this thesis provides the reader with the theoretical background that can be employed for positioning this thesis with regards to the economic theory. In the measurement and evaluation of unpaid care and domestic work, time is a fundamental variable. A large part of chapter 2 is devoted to presenting the time-use surveys and the methodologies used for giving a monetary value to unpaid care and domestic work. In the first empirical analysis (chapter 3), I employ the most advanced measure of time and income poverty developed by the Levy Economics Institute – the LIMTIP – for analysing the Italian case and exploring the linkages between gendered time allocation, employment patterns and wellbeing. In the second empirical analysis (chapter 4), we look at the effects that the fiscal consolidation measures, together with the public reforms and the austerity measures adopted by European countries to avoid the risk of a sovereign debt crisis, may have had on women through their impact on unpaid care and domestic work

Nerve growth factor: basic findings and clinical trials

The nerve growth factor is the first-discovered and best-characterized member of the family of neurotrophins. In the introduction of this article we present a brief biographic view of past and present studies of Rita Levi-Montalcini on nerve growth factor: Further, the article focuses on pleiotropic activities of nerve growth factor, exerting on various cell types, including cells of nervous, immune and endocrine system. Implications of these actions of nerve growth factor in the pathogenesis of neurological diseases, autoimmune-inflammatory diseases, allergic diseases, lymphoproliferative diseases, atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, and neurotrophic corneal ulcers are outlined.Biomedical Reviews 1999; 10: 3-14

Submandibular glands, nerve growth factor and neuroinflammatory responses in rodents

Structural, biochemical, and pharmacological studies have provided numerous insights into the role of rodent submandibular glands in a variety of physiopathological functions. In this review we briefly highlight past and present findings published by our group and others regarding the role of rodent submandibular glands and nerve growth factor in inflammatory events. Accordingly, the role of mouse salivary glands and nerve growth factor in neuroinflammatory responses, body temperature and parasitic infection are discussed, and potential future lines of studies aimed at elucidating their physiopathological roles are suggested.Biomedical Reviews 1998; 9: 93-99

Effect of Quinoline Amide Substituents on the Luminescence and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Properties of Bimodal Europium (III) Complexes

Surgical intervention is often necessary in the management of cancer; however, sufficient tumor resection is reliant on adequate discrimination between malignant and healthy tissues. A dual-modality imaging agent with Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Optical Imaging capabilities has the potential to improve tumor visualization before and during surgery. Administration of the agent would provide preoperative MR images that localize the bulk of the tumor and intraoperative fluorescence imaging would elucidate tumor margins. Macrocyclic lanthanide complexes possess long-lived luminescent lifetimes, making them ideal candidates for this class of imaging probe; however, the use of high energy lasers to directly excite these ions could potentially be damaging to biological tissue. To address this issue, organic chromophores such as quinolines can be used to absorb the incident light and transfer it to a nearby lanthanide ion. This intramolecular energy transfer results in the indirect sensitization of the lanthanide ion luminescence. The goal of this project is to investigate the effect of different quinoline amide substituents on lanthanide sensitization and the resulting optical imaging and MRI properties of bimodal europium (III) complexes. To date, a library of europium (III) complexes comprised of an octadentate chelating ligand with an appended quinoline antenna has been synthesized. Upon spectroscopic analysis of these complexes, indirect sensitization of the europium (III) luminescence by the quinoline pendant arm was observed for all complexes in the library, the magnitude of which was found to be dependent on the position of the amide substituent. Using phosphorescence lifetime measurements in D2O and H2O, the majority of complexes have been estimated to possess one bound water molecule, which is necessary for MR agents to produce a contrast signal. Future work will include evaluation of the MRI properties of these complexes to better understand the effect of the different quinoline substituents on water exchange rates

Assessing frequency correlation through a distinguishability measurement

The simplicity of a question such as wondering if correlations characterize or not a certain system collides with the experimental difficulty of accessing such information. Here we present a low demanding experimental approach which refers to the use of a metrology scheme to obtain a conservative estimate of the strength of frequency correlations. Our testbed is the widespread case of a photon pair produced per downconversion. The theoretical architecture used to put the correlation degree on a quantitative ground is also described

Rita Levi-Montalcini and the nerve growth factor

With this special volume of Biomedical Reviews we bring to you an update of Nerve Growth Factor in Health and Disease.Biomedical Reviews 1999; 10: 1-2

Neurolipidology: interactions of nerves, neurotrophic factors, and lipids

Here we highlight current data of the involvement of cholesterol, lipoproteins and lipoprotein receptors in the neuronal development and of neurotrophic factors in the lipid and glucose metabolism. We term these interactions neurolipidology. And argue that in addition to its implication in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer`s disease, neurolipidology may have wide-ranging potential within a variety of nonneuronal fields, including cardiovascular disease, particularly, atherosclerosis and related disorders.Biomedical Reviews 1999; 10: 111-113