Semiotica della degustazione. Assiologie e processi gustativi nel caso esemplare della tarte au citron

La tarte au citron meringuée è un dolce classico della pasticceria francese, pur essendo un hapax per la combinazione di dolcezza e acidità che ne tradisce l’origine alloctona. In questo lavoro, proponiamo di analizzare il processo di gusti e sapori a cui la sua degustazione dà luogo a partire da un corpus di ricettari francesi “maggiori”, di assaggi di varianti del dolce in tre sale da té della città di Tolosa e di interviste ai pasticceri degli esercizi scelti. Lo studio ha un duplice obbiettivo: da un lato, analizzare la combinazione percettiva che permette di “normalizzare” l’esperienza percettiva del dolce nel sistema della pasticceria francese “classica”, dal quale si discosta parzialemente per struttura, situandola all’interno di un’assiologia del gusto e descrivendone i processi gustativi; dall’altro, delineare una batterie di categorie analitiche per sviluppare una“semiotica della degustazione”a partire dalle indicazioni dello studio di Floch sull’emblema aromatico di Michel Bras, della divisione tra “gustoso” e “saporito” proposta da Marrone e dalle indicazioni di Fontanille sugli intrecci percettivi realizzati dalle presentazioni dei piatti. A conclusione del percorso, proponiamo un modello della degustazione della tarte au citron, focalizzando sulla funzione che vi svolge la meringa e cercando di organizzare le percezioni gustative in un intreccio di sapori temporalizzato, con particolare attenzione al valore “enunciativo” delle consistenze del dolce.Tarte au citron meringuée is a classic dessert of French pastry, despite being a hapax for the combination of sweetness and acidity that betrays its allochthonous origin. In this work, we propose to analyze the process of tastes and flavors that its tasting gives rise to starting from a corpus of "major" French recipe books, tasting variations of the dessert in three tea rooms in the city of Toulouse and interviews to the pastry chefs of the chosen establishments. The study has a dual objective: on the one hand, to analyze the perceptual combination that allows to "normalize" the perceptual experience of the dessert in the "classic" French pastry system, from which it partially deviates in structure, placing it within 'axiology of taste and describing the gustatory processes; on the other hand, to outline a battery of analytical categories to develop a "semiotics of tasting" starting from the indications of Floch's study on the aromatic emblem of Michel Bras, of the division between "tasty" and "tasty" proposed by Marrone and the indications di Fontanille on the perceptive intertwining created by the presentation of the dishes. At the end of the course, we propose a model of tasting the tarte au citron, focusing on the function that the meringue plays in it and trying to organize the gustatory perceptions in a temporal interweaving of flavors, with particular attention to the "enunciative" value of the consistencies of the dessert

I corpi del virus

In un articolo recentemente uscito in italiano, Bruno Latour spiega che il nuovo coronavirus illustra in modo eclatante come gli attori non umani irrompano nei nostri spazi collettivi esigendo profonde trasformazioni (e invitando a ripensare così noi stessi al loro interno). Al momento è impossibile valutare questi cambiamenti sul lungo periodo. È chiaro però che SARS-CoV-2 ha avuto subito effetti visibilissimi sulle istituzioni che danno forma al nostro universo collettivo: mercati finanziari, filiere produttive, sistemi sanitari, regolamenti, lockdown. Mi sembra che il luogo di convergenza di questi ambiti tematici sia il corpo, figura in cui si incrociano le isotopie mediche, economiche, sociali, mediatiche attraverso le quali il virus circola senza frontiere disciplinari. I pensieri che affido a questo diario vanno quindi al corpo, anzi, a tre dimensioni della corporeità implicate dall'irruzione del virus nel nostro collettivo. La prima di queste dimensioni è quella zoosemiotica; la seconda è quella della disciplina dei corpi individuali; la terza è quella del controllo biopolitico del corpo collettivo.In an article recently published in Italian, Bruno Latour explains that the new coronavirus illustrates in a striking way how non-human actors break into our collective spaces, demanding deep transformations (and inviting us to rethink ourselves within them). It is currently impossible to assess these changes over the long term. It is clear, however, that SARS-CoV-2 has had very visible effects on the institutions that shape our collective universe: financial markets, production chains, health systems, regulations, lockdowns. It seems to me that the place of convergence of these thematic areas is the body, a figure in which the medical, economic, social and media isotopies through which the virus circulates without disciplinary boundaries intersect. The thoughts that I entrust to this diary therefore go to the body, indeed, to the three dimensions of corporeality implied by the irruption of the virus in our collective. The first of these dimensions is the zoosemiotic one; the second is that of the discipline of individual bodies; the third is that of the biopolitical control of the collective body

A case of extramammary inguinal Paget disease in a male patient: surgical treatment with an abdominal advancement cutaneous flap

Extramammary Paget disease (EMPD) is a rare neoplasm. The clinical case of a 55-year-old man with a two-year history of a pruritic, painless erythematous skin rash on the inguinal region and scrotum is described. After a delay due to improper diagnosis and improper treatments, the patient came to the attention of the Division of plastic surgery. He underwent a punch biopsy and the pathology report came back as EMPD. Surgical excision was carried out, and an abdominal advancement cutaneous flap was performed for the defect repair. This is the first description of a reconstruction after surgical removal of inguinal EMPD with a flap of this type and we think that this type of treatment can be useful and reliable for disease localization in the groin area, especially for patients that present an excess of abdominal skin

Centrotemporal spikes during NREM sleep: The promoting action of thalamus revealed by simultaneous EEG and fMRI coregistration

Benign childhood epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes (BECTS) has been investigated through EEG\u2013fMRI with the aim of localizing the generators of the epileptic activity, revealing, in most cases, the activation of the sensory\u2013motor cortex ipsilateral to the centrotemporal spikes (CTS). In this case report, we investigated the brain circuits hemodynamically involved by CTS recorded during wakefulness and sleep in one boy with CTS and a language disorder but without epilepsy. For this purpose, the patient underwent EEG\u2013fMRI coregistration. During the \u201cawake session\u201d, fMRI analysis of right-sided CTS showed increments of BOLD signal in the bilateral sensory\u2013motor cortex. During the \u201csleep session\u201d, BOLD increments related to right-sided CTS were observed in a widespread bilateral cortical\u2013subcortical network involving the thalamus, basal ganglia, sensory\u2013motor cortex, perisylvian cortex, and cerebellum. In this patient, who fulfilled neither the diagnostic criteria for BECTS nor that for electrical status epilepticus in sleep (ESES), the transition from wakefulness to sleep was related to the involvement of a widespread cortical\u2013subcortical network related to CTS. In particular, the involvement of a thalamic\u2013perisylvian neural network similar to the one previously observed in patients with ESES suggests a common sleep-related network dysfunction even in cases with milder phenotypes without seizures. This finding, if confirmed in a larger cohort of patients, could have relevant therapeutic implication

Cytochalasin B Modulates Nanomechanical Patterning and Fate in Human Adipose-Derived Stem Cells

Cytoskeletal proteins provide architectural and signaling cues within cells. They are able to reorganize themselves in response to mechanical forces, converting the stimuli received into specific cellular responses. Thus, the cytoskeleton influences cell shape, proliferation, and even differentiation. In particular, the cytoskeleton affects the fate of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), which are highly attractive candidates for cell therapy approaches due to their capacity for self-renewal and multi-lineage differentiation. Cytochalasin B (CB), a cyto-permeable mycotoxin, is able to inhibit the formation of actin microfilaments, resulting in direct effects on cell biological properties. Here, we investigated for the first time the effects of different concentrations of CB (0.1–10 μM) on human adipose-derived stem cells (hASCs) both after 24 h (h) of CB treatment and 24 h after CB wash-out. CB influenced the metabolism, proliferation, and morphology of hASCs in a dose-dependent manner, in association with progressive disorganization of actin microfilaments. Furthermore, the removal of CB highlighted the ability of cells to restore their cytoskeletal organization. Finally, atomic force microscopy (AFM) revealed that cytoskeletal changes induced by CB modulated the viscoelastic properties of hASCs, influencing their stiffness and viscosity, thereby affecting adipogenic fat

Riarticolare la giustizia. L'impegno semiotico del Giorno della civetta

Lo studio usa strumenti della semiotica strutturale e interpretativa per proporre un close reading del Giorno della civetta. L’analisi così condotta mette in evidenza come il testo s’impegni a ristrutturare la competenza interpretativa del let-tore e, con essa, alcuni valori alla base della sua coscienza civile, con particolareriferimento alla verità e la giustizia. A partire dalla costruzione delle tensioni narrative intorno a questi due valori, si mette in evidenza lo slittamento semanticoche consente di leggere «il primo romanzo di mafia» come «il primo romanzosull’antimafia».The study uses tools of structural and interpretative semiotics to propose a close reading of the Day of the Owl. The analysis thus conducted highlights how the text undertakes to restructure the interpretative competence of the reader and, with it, some values ​​at the basis of his civil conscience, with particular reference to truth and justice. Starting from the construction of the narrative tensions around these two values, the semantic shift is highlighted which allows us to read "the first mafia novel" as "the first anti-mafia novel"

"L'homme-à-fourchette". La construction du convive-modèle à la table de Buckingham Palace

“Every meal is a lesson learned”. The Victorian saying warns of the risk of punishment that every guest constantly incurs. These sanctions often relate to the way in which one approaches, one selects, one handles the cutlery on the table. Indeed, the construction of the ideal guest, of his way of being with others and of behaving in relation to food, often and above all involves being a "model user" of table service. We will analyze this aspect from the images and speeches posted on the Windsors' Twitter account, the official websites of the Royal Family and the manners manuals they sponsor. Each of these supports manifests an aspect of the subjectivity of the ideal guest as a model-user of the cutlery: territorial, rational and temperate, he is a true political model of individuality.« Every meal is a lesson learned ». Le dicton victorien prévient du risque de sanction que tout convive encourt constamment. Ces sanctions portent souvent sur la manière dont on s'approche, on sélectionne, on manie les couverts sur la table. En effet, la construction du convive-idéal, de sa manière d'être avec les autres et de se comporter par rapport aux aliments, passe souvent et surtout par le fait d’être un « usager-modèle » du service de table. Nous analyserons cet aspect à partir des images et des discours diffusées sur le compte Twitter des Windsor, les sites officiels de la famille royale et les manuels des bonnes manières qu’ils sponsorisent. Chacun de ces supports manifeste un aspect de la subjectivité du convive idéal en tant qu’usager-modèle des couverts: territorial, rationnel et tempérant, celui-ci est un véritable modèle politique de l’individualité

L’héritage difficile de l’antimafia : une approche sémiotique du musée No Mafia Memorial de Palerme

The criminal organization Cosa Nostra exists in our society through the signals it leaves in the media, in political discourse and in anti-mafia activism. Which of these signals do we choose to narrate by thinking of them and recoding them as a legacy to be passed on? How do mafia museums become carriers of this project? And how is this dictated by from whom they choose to inherit, and of which memory, and why? And how do they position themselves in the urban and social space, differentiating themselves from the city and other memory actors? This article explores these questions from a semiotic perspective, focusing on the heritage of the memory of the fight against the mafia in the city of Palermo, starting with the recent opening of the No Mafia Memorial Museum.L’organisation criminelle Cosa Nostra existe dans notre société par les signes qu’elle laisse dans la mémoire médiatique, dans le discours politique, dans le militantisme antimafia. Lesquels de ces signes choisissons-nous de raconter en les pensant et en les recodant comme un héritage à transmettre ? Comment les musées sur la mafia deviennent-ils porteurs de ce projet ? En choisissant d’hériter de qui, de quelle mémoire, pourquoi ? Et comment se situent-ils dans l’espace urbain et social, se différenciant de la ville et des autres acteurs de mémoire ? Cet article explore ces questions d’un point de vue sémiotique, se focalisant sur la patrimonialisation de la mémoire de la lutte contre la mafia dans la ville de Palerme à partir de l’ouverture récente du musée No Mafia Memorial.La organización criminal Cosa Nostra existe en nuestra sociedad a través de los signos que deja en la memoria mediática, en el discurso político y en el activismo antimafia. ¿Cuáles de estos signos elegimos contar, pensando en ellos y recodificándolos como un legado que transmitir? ¿Cómo los museos sobre la mafia se convierten en portadores de este proyecto? ¿Al elegir heredar de quién, de qué memoria, por qué? ¿Y cómo se ubican en el espacio urbano y social, diferenciándose de la ciudad y de los otros actores de la memoria? Este artículo explora estas preguntas desde una perspectiva semiótica, enfocándose en la patrimonialización de la memoria de la lucha contra la mafia en la ciudad de Palermo, a partir de la reciente apertura del museo No Mafia Memorial

Un'altra Sicilia. La costruzione turistica del regno antimafia.

Tourism encompasses a variety of semiotic performances overwriting cities’ identity. This paper focuses on the rebranding of Palermo as “the capital of antimafia” through an ethnosemiotic analysis of four tours sponsored by the antimafia association Addiopizzo and its touristic spin-off AddiopizzoTravel. The aim of the work is to underscore how the link between antimafia memory and the genius loci of Sicily is built by AddiopizzoTravel, thus revisiting the critical opposition “tourist” vs “traveler” from an “antimafia” perspective. In order to do so, the paper mobilizes the concepts of rhetoric of space and of enunciative praxis, showing how antimafia guided tours reinterpret the cultural and semantic sedimentation embodied by the cityscape. In particular, the analysis illustrates how AddiopizzoTravel carves out an image of “authentic Sicily” from the cultural backdrop of patrimonialization processes Palermo underwent from the ’90, and from different, conflicting layers of antimafia memory that its narrative tries to reconcile. With all the difficulties this reconciliation entails