Freedom starts as early as childhood. Scandinavian children\u2019s (female) writers\u2019 impact on Italian children\u2019s literature before and after the Second World War

Scandinavian countries are still popular in Italy for their children\u2019s books, nowadays likely the second point of literary interest after detective stories and a sort of avant-garde children\u2019s literature which testifies Nordic culture vitality and its attention to the new trends and topics; but there was a period when some children\u2019s writers, the most famous of which were women, really contributed to the renewal of Italian children\u2019s literature, set a trend and, at the same time, indirectly reinforced the stereotype of Nordic countries as lands of freedom, opportunities and utopias. This was possible thanks to some Italian writers and editors who gave a crucial input to the development of the national children\u2019s literature from the late 1950s, while acknowledging the importance of Scandinavian works in their education and considering the mediation of Nordic literature in Italy as a fundamental part of their contribution. We may say that this phenomenon began with Karin Micha\ueblis\u2019 series (1929-1939) on Bibi \u2013 a young girl who is unusually free to travel around Denmark and abroad \u2013 which was early translated into Italian, with some adaptations but on the whole overcoming the fascist censorship. Later on, Astrid Lindgren\u2019s adventures about Pippi Longstocking (1945-1948, collected in 1952) played a revolutionary (as well as much discussed) role when it appeared as one of the first titles in the new editorial series for youth \u201cIl Martin Pescatore\u201d by Vallecchi in 1958. Tove Jansson\u2019s Mumin-series (1945-1970) is to be mentioned, too, as a source of inspiration for some authors through a peculiar (quite Nordic) view of the world in a very fantastic setting. My paper is meant to briefly reconstruct the status of Italian children\u2019s literature in that period and define the Scandinavian influence with the help of statements by Italian children\u2019s writers and descriptions taken from histories of children\u2019s literature and handbooks of that time. As mentioned, this topic will be thereafter useful to assess what image of the Nordic culture emerges from the Italian perspective in relation to this seminal experience

Bibi de Karin Michaëlis et sa rencontre avec la réalité : Hygge lifestyle expérimenté par les enfants ?

Le mot danois hygge, dont la définition a fait l’objet d’articles scientifiques et d’ouvrages de diffusion, est aujourd’hui l’un des termes qui caractérisent le plus fréquemment la culture et la perspective danoises sur ce monde. Dans de nombreux livres et articles (de plus en plus au cours des dernières années), ce mot est utilisé pour désigner un système de valeurs impliquant tout aspect de la vie quotidienne. Il est présenté comme étant le secret du bonheur danois, un état de bien-être confirmé par les enquêtes internationales depuis les années 1970. Dans The Danish Way of Parenting* (2014), Jessica Alexander et Iben Sandahl examinent les différents aspects de ce mode de vie dans l’éducation des enfants. Les mots-clés utilisés par les auteurs et leurs champs d’application trouvent plusieurs correspondances significatives dans la vie quotidienne de Bibi, l’héroïne de Karin Michaëlis. La différence réside dans l’attention aux expériences de la jeune fille dans la série de Michaëlis (premier livre de 1927, 1929). Cette contribution vise à évaluer dans quelle mesure Bibi illustre un mode de vie et un système de valeurs qui ont été formalisés par la suite dans le style de vie du hygge danois (ou mieux, dans la manière de devenir parents). On offrira ainsi une nouvelle perspective pour considérer Michaëlis comme le plaidoyer des droits de l’enfance et de ses espaces dans ses œuvres littéraires. * Jessica Joelle Alexander, Iben Dissing Sandahl, The Danish Way of Parenting. What the Happiest People in the World Know about Raising Confident, Capable Kids, London, Piatkus, 2016 [2014].The Danish word hygge, whose definition is the subject of scientific papers and dissemination works, is nowadays one of the terms that most frequently characterize Danish culture and world view. In many books and articles (more and more in the last few years), this word is used to label a value system involving any aspect of daily life, and is presented as the secret of Danish happiness, a state of wellness which international surveys have confirmed at least since 1970’s. In The Danish Way of Parenting* (2014), Jessica Alexander and Iben Sandahl investigate the different aspects of this way of living when upbringing children. The key words the authors use and their fields of application find several meaningful correspondences in Karin Michaëlis’ Bibi’s daily life, with the substantial difference that in Michaëlis’ series (first book in 1927, 1929), the focus lies on the girl herself, who often reports her experiences. My contribution aims to assess to what extent Bibi exemplifies a way of life and a value system which later has been formalized in the nowadays worldwide discussed Danish hygge lifestyle (or, better, in its way of parenting), in this way offering a new perspective to consider Michaëlis’ plea for children’s rights and spaces in her literary. * Jessica Joelle Alexander, Iben Dissing Sandahl, The Danish Way of Parenting. What the Happiest People in the World Know about Raising Confident, Capable Kids, London, Piatkus, 2016 [2014]

Periferie esistenziali nella Copenaghen di fine millennio: Radiator (1997) di Jan Sonnergaard

Il concetto di periferia pu\uf2 riferirsi a una o pi\uf9 zone di una citt\ue0, ma pu\uf2 anche avere una valenza non strettamente geografica, bens\uec sociale, psicologica, esistenziale, nutrita da un profondo disagio e da un odio verso le classi considerate privilegiate tale da portare al cinismo e al nichilismo. I protagonisti dei dieci racconti riuniti in Radiator, esordio letterario di Jan Sonnergaard (1963-2016), esprimono diverse sfumature di questa condizione comune: giovani, ventenni o trentenni, raccontano dei loro incontri nella capitale, degli approcci sentimentali e sessuali, degli scherzi anche feroci giocati ai pi\uf9 vulnerabili, fino a una serie di furti in parte pianificati in parte frutto dell\u2019ebbrezza del momento. Le loro azioni sono scandite da un linguaggio scarno, spesso brutale, ma a volte sono accompagnate da monologhi e sfoghi contro le istituzioni che dovrebbero garantire a tutti dignit\ue0 e opportunit\ue0 e invece perpetuano ingiustizie, svelando l\u2019aspetto oscuro dello stato sociale danese contemporaneo. Il lettore si trova di fronte a diversi paradossi, primo fra tutti il fatto che i protagonisti non paiono essere essenzialmente degli emarginati, anzi, hanno le risorse per condurre una vita accettabile, e tuttavia lo sono sostanzialmente, in un sistema marginalizzante al quale si ribellano quando non sono costretti a rassegnarsi. Il contributo si propone di analizzare la costruzione del concetto di periferia, con particolare riguardo alle immagini della citt\ue0, ricorrenti in alcuni racconti, e al loro ruolo nella drammatizzazione e nella visione del mondo dei personaggi. Nell\u2019analisi si cercher\ue0 anche di collocare l\u2019opera di Sonnergaard non solo nel contesto della letteratura postmoderna e minimalista, ma anche in una prospettiva diacronica, considerando alcune delle principali rappresentazioni di Copenaghen nella letteratura danese dell\u2019ultimo secolo

Determination of Plasma Antioxidant Power in Capillary Blood through the Innovative system PAT (Plasma Antioxidant Test)

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COVID-19 Case Fatality Ratio of Latino America Countries with Temperate Climate Partially Follows European and Oceania Trends According to Seasonal Change

The objective of our study is, therefore, to verify whether the trend of the pandemic regarding the lethality of the virus is similar in Argentina and Chile to that which emerged in the temperate countries of Europe and Oceania. The CFRs were derived from the John Hopkins University database. To check the trend of the Case Fatality Ratio and Argentina, Chile we calculated this index on the same dates in which it was calculated for comparison in European countries and in Australia and New Zealand: i.e., May 6th and from May 6th to the September 21st. We continued comparing the other countries of the southern hemisphere, recalculating the CFR as of 11th November. For comparing a period of year homogeneous, late spring, we calculate the change if CFR from 20th March to 15th April in the North Hemisphere. Our study's results seem to confirm in Latin America a possible influence of the climate and the changing of the seasons in the lethality of the virus. For the same exceptions, it is evident that the study shows that this factor is not the only one nor probably the most important. The obvious exception concerns Argentina, which does not show any summer improvement of the CFR, unfortunately; for this, nation-specific data are not available to verify if the trend is homogeneous in the different climates that the vast territory presents. Other very important factors come into play, among which the diffusivity of the virus also seems to play a role

High Prevalence of Long COVID in Common Variable Immunodeficiency:An Italian Multicentric Study

The long-term effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection represent a relevant global health problem. Long COVID (LC) is defined as a complex of signs and symptoms developed during or after SARS-CoV-2 infection and lasting &gt; 12 weeks. In common variable immunodeficiency (CVID) patients, we previously reported higher risk of hospitalization and death during SARS-CoV-2 infection, as well as prolonged swab positivity and frequent reinfections. The aim of the present study was to assess the risk of LC in an Italian cohort of CVID patients. We used a translated version of the survey proposed by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to collect data on LC. In the enrolled cohort of 175 CVID patients, we found a high prevalence of LC (65.7%). The most frequent LC symptoms were fatigue (75.7%), arthralgia/myalgia (48.7%), and dyspnea (41.7%). The majority of patients (60%) experienced prolonged symptoms, for at least 6 months after infection. In a multivariate analysis, the presence of complicated phenotype (OR 2.44, 95% CI 1.88-5.03; p = 0.015), obesity (OR 11.17, 95% CI 1.37-90.95; p = 0.024), and female sex (OR 2.06, 95% CI 1.09-3.89; p = 0.024) significantly correlated with the development of LC. In conclusion, in this multicenter observational cohort study, we demonstrated that CVID patients present an increased prevalence of LC when compared to the general population. Improved awareness on the risk of LC in CVID patients could optimize management of this new and alarming complication of SARS-CoV-2 infection.</p

High Prevalence of Long COVID in Common Variable Immunodeficiency:An Italian Multicentric Study

The long-term effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection represent a relevant global health problem. Long COVID (LC) is defined as a complex of signs and symptoms developed during or after SARS-CoV-2 infection and lasting &gt; 12 weeks. In common variable immunodeficiency (CVID) patients, we previously reported higher risk of hospitalization and death during SARS-CoV-2 infection, as well as prolonged swab positivity and frequent reinfections. The aim of the present study was to assess the risk of LC in an Italian cohort of CVID patients. We used a translated version of the survey proposed by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to collect data on LC. In the enrolled cohort of 175 CVID patients, we found a high prevalence of LC (65.7%). The most frequent LC symptoms were fatigue (75.7%), arthralgia/myalgia (48.7%), and dyspnea (41.7%). The majority of patients (60%) experienced prolonged symptoms, for at least 6 months after infection. In a multivariate analysis, the presence of complicated phenotype (OR 2.44, 95% CI 1.88-5.03; p = 0.015), obesity (OR 11.17, 95% CI 1.37-90.95; p = 0.024), and female sex (OR 2.06, 95% CI 1.09-3.89; p = 0.024) significantly correlated with the development of LC. In conclusion, in this multicenter observational cohort study, we demonstrated that CVID patients present an increased prevalence of LC when compared to the general population. Improved awareness on the risk of LC in CVID patients could optimize management of this new and alarming complication of SARS-CoV-2 infection.</p