"È come sbucciare una cipolla, vi è uno strato dopo l'altro": il chimico e scrittore Levi di fronte a Kafka

Dopo il confronto con il famoso testo kafkiano Il Processo da parte di Alberto Spaini, Ervinio Pocar e Giorgio Zampa, nel 1983 esce nella collana ‘Scrittori tradotti da scrittori’ di Einaudi il Kafka di Primo Levi. È certamente una prova non semplice, sia perché lo scrivere di Kafka è uno scrivere oscuro ed enigmatico sia perché le pagine di Kafka obbligano per chi le traduce a misurarsi e a riflettere su temi quali la colpa, la vergogna e la dignità umana, temi che anche Levi, reduce da Auschwitz, fu costretto ad affrontare. Come sostiene Levi in un articolo pubblicato su «Il Tempo» sempre in quel 1983: «[R]ivisitare Kafka [è] una palinodia del mio ottimismo illuministico, ed un modo singolare di rivivere quella mia lontana stagione». Ma il lavoro sul testo kafkiano, tra avvicinamento e prese di distanza, si dipana anche come processo di riflessione sulla scrittura, in particolare su compiti e responsabilità dello scrivere e del comunicare, e sullo svisceramento di una lingua, il tedesco, che assume un ruolo in molti eventi decisivi della vicenda personale leviana.After Alberto Spaini, Ervino Pocar and Giorgio Zampa’s edition of Kafka’s famous novel The Trial, in 1983 Primo Levi’s translation of the same text was published by Einaudi in the series ‘Scrittori tradotti da scrittori’. The translation of Kafka’s works is certainly not an easy task. Indeed, on the one hand, Kafka’s writing is obscure and enigmatic; on the other hand, it forces the translator to deal with and reflect upon such themes as guilt, shame and human dignity, which Levi, as an Auschwitz survivor, had to tackle as well. In an article published by «Il Tempo» in the same year, Levi claimed that «[R]ivisitare Kafka» was «una palinodia del mio ottimismo illuministico, ed un modo singolare di rivedere quella mia lontana stagione».  Levi’s work on Kafka’s text, oscillating between proximity and distance, also entails a process of reflection on the duties and responsibilities of writing and communicating, as well as on the exploration of German as a language which played an important role in many crucial events of Levi’s life. PAROLE CHIAVE Franz KaFKa; Primo Levi; Auschwitz; Der Prozess; Il processo; colpa; Einaudi; Scrittori tradotti da Scrittori; traduzione; linguaggio dell’assenza. </p

«Meretrici sumptuose», sante, venturiere e cortigiane: Studi sulla rappresentazione della prostituzione dal Medioevo all’età contemporanea

International audienceDespised and mocked, but also idolized in her hieratic function, the prostitute haunts eras and places of history, and has left indelible traces of her existence. Her image emerges in many literary works and in other fields of art, making survive her constant presence, constantly metamorphosed, in the collective memory. This volume, collecting contributions from Italian and foreign researchers, kaleidoscopically reflects with numerous examples, her role and the way in which it was represented. This volume also consider the phenomenon of male prostitutionMéprisée et raillée, mais aussi idolâtrée dans sa fonction hiératique, la prostituée hante les époques et les lieux de l'histoire, et a laissé des traces indélébiles de son existence. Sa figure émerge avec force dans de nombreuses œuvres littéraires et dans d'autres domaines de l'art, faisant survivre dans la mémoire collective sa constante présence, qui se se métamorphose constamment. Ce volume recueillant les contributions de chercheurs italiens et étrangers reflète de manière kaléidoscopique, grâce à de nombreux exemples, son rôle et la façon dont il a été représenté. Ce volume prend également en compte le phénomène de la prostitution masculine.Disprezzata e derisa, ma idolatrata nella sua funzione sacra, la prostituta attraversa epoche e luoghi della storia lasciando tracce indelebili della sua esistenza. La sua figura emerge con forza in molte opere letterarie e altre declinazioni artistiche, facendo sopravvivere, in una continua metamorfosi, la sua costante presenza nella memoria collettiva. Il presente volume, che raccoglie contributi di studiosi italiani e stranieri, riflette in maniera caleidoscopica e con l'aiuto di esempi scelti il suo ruolo e il modo in cui stata rappresentata. L'indagine prende anche in considerazione il fenomeno della prostituzione maschile

«Meretrici sumptuose», sante, venturiere e cortigiane: Studi sulla rappresentazione della prostituzione dal Medioevo all’età contemporanea

International audienceDespised and mocked, but also idolized in her hieratic function, the prostitute haunts eras and places of history, and has left indelible traces of her existence. Her image emerges in many literary works and in other fields of art, making survive her constant presence, constantly metamorphosed, in the collective memory. This volume, collecting contributions from Italian and foreign researchers, kaleidoscopically reflects with numerous examples, her role and the way in which it was represented. This volume also consider the phenomenon of male prostitutionMéprisée et raillée, mais aussi idolâtrée dans sa fonction hiératique, la prostituée hante les époques et les lieux de l'histoire, et a laissé des traces indélébiles de son existence. Sa figure émerge avec force dans de nombreuses œuvres littéraires et dans d'autres domaines de l'art, faisant survivre dans la mémoire collective sa constante présence, qui se se métamorphose constamment. Ce volume recueillant les contributions de chercheurs italiens et étrangers reflète de manière kaléidoscopique, grâce à de nombreux exemples, son rôle et la façon dont il a été représenté. Ce volume prend également en compte le phénomène de la prostitution masculine.Disprezzata e derisa, ma idolatrata nella sua funzione sacra, la prostituta attraversa epoche e luoghi della storia lasciando tracce indelebili della sua esistenza. La sua figura emerge con forza in molte opere letterarie e altre declinazioni artistiche, facendo sopravvivere, in una continua metamorfosi, la sua costante presenza nella memoria collettiva. Il presente volume, che raccoglie contributi di studiosi italiani e stranieri, riflette in maniera caleidoscopica e con l'aiuto di esempi scelti il suo ruolo e il modo in cui stata rappresentata. L'indagine prende anche in considerazione il fenomeno della prostituzione maschile

Kynurenine pathway enzymes in different species of animals

Kynurenine pathway enzyme activities, liver tryptophan 2,3-dioxygenase (TDO), small intestine indole 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO), liver and kidney kynurenine 3-monooxygenase, kynurenine-oxoglutarate transaminase, kynureninase, 3-hydroxyanthranilate 3,4-dioxygenase and aminocarboxymuconate-semialdehyde decarboxylase, were assayed in rabbits, rats, mice and guinea pigs. Their activities varied among species. Especially, TDO was present as both holoenzyme and apoenzyme only in rat, while the other species, rabbit, mouse and guinea pig, only showed holoenzyme activity. Mitochondrial liver and kidney kynurenine 3-monooxygenase activities were much higher in mouse and rat, with rabbit showing the lowest activity. Kynureninase activity showed similar values in both liver and kidney in each species. However, lower activity was present in rabbit. As regards kynurenine-oxoglutarate transaminase, the highest activity appeared in kidney, in all species studied. 3-Hydroxyanthranilate 3,4-dioxygenase activity showed different behaviour in the four species. In rabbit, its activity was higher in kidney than in liver; in rat and mouse, it was viceversa; and in guinea pig, both liver and kidney had similar activity. Instead, the activity of aminocarboxymuconate-semialdehyde decarboxylase was higher in kidney than in liver only in guinea pig. Serum tryptophan concentrations were also determined. Rabbit and guinea pig showed similar values, whereas in rat and mouse, serum tryptophan levels were higher, rat having the highest concentrations. In all species assayed, the free fraction was present as 11-12% of total tryptophan

1-Piperidine Propionic Acid as an Allosteric Inhibitor of Protease Activated Receptor-2

In the last decades, studies on the inflammatory signaling pathways in multiple pathological contexts have revealed new targets for novel therapies. Among the family of G-protein-coupled Proteases Activated Receptors, PAR2 was identified as a driver of the inflammatory cascade in many pathologies, ranging from autoimmune disease to cancer metastasis. For this reason, many efforts have been focused on the development of potential antagonists of PAR2 activity. This work focuses on a small molecule, 1-Piperidine Propionic Acid (1-PPA), previously described to be active against inflammatory processes, but whose target is still unknown. Stabilization effects observed by cellular thermal shift assay coupled to in-silico investigations, including molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations, suggested that 1-PPA binds PAR2 in an allosteric pocket of the receptor inactive conformation. Functional studies revealed the antagonist effects on MAPKs signaling and on platelet aggregation, processes mediated by PAR family members, including PAR2. Since the allosteric pocket binding 1-PPA is highly conserved in all the members of the PAR family, the evidence reported here suggests that 1-PPA could represent a promising new small molecule targeting PARs with antagonistic activity