Yelling into the Silence and its Echos. Czech Shoah Poetry Written till 1960s and its Reception

The literary reflection of the Shoah in Czech war and post-war poetry is very limited. Only a few non-Jewish poets have ever returned to thistheme (e.g. František Halas,Jiří Kolář,Jaroslav Seifert, Jan Skácel, Karel Křepelka, Radek Malý). Additionally, literary “testaments” of Jewish authors (Karel Fleischmann, Pavel Friedmann etc.) resulted in only two collections of poems entirely dedicated to the suffering of the Jews during the Nazi oppression (Ota Reich and Michal Flach). On the other hand, there are several books of poetry about Lidice and suffering of the Czech people during the World War II by Viktor Fischl, Karel Šiktanc, Libuše Hájková, Miloš Vacík and others. After the war there were only Jaroslav Seifert and Jiří Kolář among well-known poets who refered to the Shoah in a more significant way. Seifert created a figure of a Jewish girl, Hendele, in his collection of poems Koncert na ostrově (Concert on the Island), which develops the literary narration of the Shoah. Jiří Kolář referred to the Shoah repeatedly, however, he only had a limited chance to publish his work. As a result of this fact, the reception of Czech post-war poetry about the Shoah is almost absent. In my article, I concentrated on some reviewers’ remarks that have already been published since the war-time and other reflections of this kind such as editions of books by Jiří Orten, Hanuš Bonn, Jiří Daniel. A hypothetical reaction on the Shoah verses by Pick’s cabaret audience or Halas’s anonymous poetic obituary paying tribute to Jiří Orten are rather specific sorts of reception. The critical reflection of Kolář’s work in the context of the mass murder commited during the WW II is exceptional. However, the specific motifs of the Shoah were significantly focused on only in recent years by three foreign reviewers (Leszek Engelking, Hanna Marciniak and Anja Golebiowski). Czech Shoah poems printed or reprinted in Jewish periodicals (e.g. annual “Židovská ročenka”, published since 1954) represent a commemorative function, even though sometimes with informative commentaries. They miss any analytical aspect.

Bacterial 2,4-Dioxygenases: New Members of the α/β Hydrolase-Fold Superfamily of Enzymes Functionally Related to Serine Hydrolases

ABSTRACT 1H-3-hydroxy-4-oxoquinoline 2,4-dioxygenase (Qdo) fromPseudomonas putida 33/1 and 1H-3-hydroxy-4-oxoquinaldine 2,4-dioxygenase (Hod) fromArthrobacter ilicis Rü61a catalyze an N-heterocyclic-ring cleavage reaction, generatingN-formylanthranilate and N-acetylanthranilate, respectively, and carbon monoxide. Amino acid sequence comparisons between Qdo, Hod, and a number of proteins belonging to the α/β hydrolase-fold superfamily of enzymes and analysis of the similarity between the predicted secondary structures of the 2,4-dioxygenases and the known secondary structure of haloalkane dehalogenase fromXanthobacter autotrophicus GJ10 strongly suggested that Qdo and Hod are structurally related to the α/β hydrolase-fold enzymes. The residues S95 and H244 of Qdo were found to be arranged like the catalytic nucleophilic residue and the catalytic histidine, respectively, of the α/β hydrolase-fold enzymes. Investigation of the potential functional significance of these and other residues of Qdo through site-directed mutagenesis supported the hypothesis that Qdo is structurally as well as functionally related to serine hydrolases, with S95 being a possible catalytic nucleophile and H244 being a possible catalytic base. A hypothetical reaction mechanism for Qdo-catalyzed 2,4-dioxygenolysis, involving formation of an ester bond between the catalytic serine residue and the carbonyl carbon of the substrate and subsequent dioxygenolysis of the covalently bound anionic intermediate, is discussed.

Heuristic Considerations Suggesting a Role for Electron Pairing in Thermodynamically Consistent Pathways of Enzyme Catalysis

Nuclear motions accompanying enzyme catalysis are described in terms of a hypothetical reaction mechanism in which instabilities of electronic structure arise from short-lived pairing resonances of parallel spin electrons. A pairing interaction is proposed which has its basis in confinement constraints imposed by complex formation.

The photolysis of ozone by ultraviolet radiation III. The photolysis of dry ozone/oxygen mixtures at low pressures in a flow system

The photolysis at λ = 254 nm of dry ozone + oxygen mixtures (90, 50 and 10% O 3 ) has been studied for partial pressures of ozone between 5 x 10 -2 and 2 Torr. A flow technique was employed, and the extent of ozone decomposition was followed absorptiometrically. Over the pressure range investigated, the quantum yield was virtually independent of ozone pressure for any ozone + oxygen mixture, and increasing dilution of the mixture from 90 to 10% ozone only slightly reduced the observed quantum yield. All quantum yields were near 4. The results are interpreted in terms of the formation of singlet molecular and atomic oxygen in the primary photochemical step; kinetic analysis of a hypothetical reaction scheme predicts quantum yields consistent with those observed.

Anion Requirements for Gastric Acid Secretion

The rate of hydrochloric acid production by isolated, bullfrog gastric mucosae depends critically on the supply of chloride ion to the serosal surface. Secretion of acid is negligible if chloride is completely replaced by glucuronate and gluconate ion. The experimental evidence indicates that the rate of acid secretion may be regarded as a reaction velocity, depending on chloride concentration in a manner closely resembling Michaelis-Menten kinetics. Bromide and iodide ions substitute, in varying degree, for chloride as substrate. A familiar inhibitor of gastric acid production, thiocyanate ion, appears to act by competition with chloride in a reaction leading to the formation of acid. This reaction is included in a hypothetical reaction cycle, generalized from the redox model for gastric acid production. Under certain conditions, the model predicts a dependence of secretion rate on chloride supply of the Michaelis-Menten type, as was observed.