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This paper aims at providing a first research on the autobiography of the Venetian farmer Liberale Medici (1922-2016). The Medici’s work crossed the boundaries of private writing by winning the Premio Pieve in 1988, and, consequently, with its first publication, entitled Schola cantorum (Rome: Edizioni Live, 1989). Recently, it has been also comprehended in the anthology La vita è sogno (Milan: il Saggiatore, 2016). After highlighting the main linguistic features of this autobiography, the analysis focuses on its metaphorical devices, in order to survey its figurative language.

Key summary points Aim To evaluate the effects of the COVID-19 emergency lockdown on the psychological outcome in caregivers of patients with dementia and on the loss of welfare services in these patients. Findings Time of isolation, education and gender had a significant effect on anxiety and depression. A marked reduction of health services was observed in all patients with dementia. Message The lockdown registered a particularly negative impact on people with dementia and their caregivers., Purpose The study evaluated the effects of the COVID-19 emergency lockdown on the psychological outcome in caregivers (children or spouses) of patients with dementia and the loss of the welfare services in these patients. Methods Zung’s depression and anxiety assessment scales and the Perceived Stress Scale were administered by a telephone interview or a self-compilation directly on the online platform. Results The sample consisted of 239 participants (men = 124; women = 115) with a mean age of 54.4 years (SD = 12.1). Education was associated with significantly lower overall anxiety and depression scores while days of isolation and female gender were associated with the higher scores. A marked reduction of health services was observed in all patients. Conclusion The lockdown registered a particular impact on people with dementia and their caregivers. Many people with dementia were deprived of care services and time of isolation had a significant negative effect on anxiety and depression in caregivers.

Background and Aims Steroid therapy is efficient in inducing remission of IgA nephropathy (IgAN) and preventing end stage renal disease (ESRD) but there are concerns about their safety. The TESTING trial in particular has been stopped early because of a higher incidence of side effects than conservative treatment thus inducing a conservative therapy with RAAS (renin angiotensin antagonist system) blockers. The aim of this analysis was to evaluate the incidence of adverse events (AE) in a retrospective observational trial on the real clinical practice. Method We evaluated 1209 patients (pz) with IgAN coming from 48 Italian centers: 285 pz in RAAS blockers alone, 732 treated for 6 months with steroid and 192 with a combination of steroid and other immunosuppressants (also with RAAS blockers). The analysis was limited to the 6 months of therapy. Results The basal characteristics of the 3 groups are shown in the table below. The figure shows the frequencies of 69 adverse events related with immunosuppression: the most frequent were infections (23, 2.73% of all patients, 34.3% of all AE), impaired glycemic control (11, 0.91% of patients, 16% of all AE), severe hypertension (6, 8.7% of all AE) and leukopenia (9, 0.80% of patients, 13% of all AE). Infections were observed in 16 (2.19%) pz in steroid therapy and 7 (3.65%) pz in steroid+immunosoppressive treatment. Liver toxicity and and gastrointestinal AE were observed almost in pz receiving steroid+ immunosuppressants [1(0.14%) and 2 (1.04%) pz, respectively]. 7 pz in steroid therapy (0.96%) and 2 in steroid+ immunosuppressants experienced an impaired glycemic control. All the 9 cases of leucopenia were registered in pz in steroid+ immunosuppressants (4.69%). A slightly higher incidence of allergies was observed in the RAAS blocker group (20 cases, 0.7%). The higher rates of infections and leucopenia were observed in pz above 70 years of age (6.12%,p Conclusion the incidence of EA in our observational study is lower than that observed in the TESTING and STOP trials (5.71% vs 14.7% and 40%, respectively). The most frequent AE were almost observed in oldest subjects with impaired renal function on steroid+other immunosuppressants. Though this trial is not randomized nor controlled (RC), it considers a large cohort of pz coming from the real clinical practice of the Italian Nephrology Units and demonstrates that the significantly lower incidence of steroid related AE than that observed in some RC trials doesn’t justify the abstention from steroids in IgAN at risk of progression. Much more attention should be paid in elderly pts with severe renal dysfunction with a closer follow-up, dose adjustments and antibiotic prophilaxis.

Il lavoro che si vuole presentare è frutto del secondo workshop internazionale Maritime Identity and Urban Regeneration for Sustainable Development of SeasideCities, coordinato dal prof. Massimo Clemente - CNR- IRiSS - e dalla prof. Caterina Arcidiacono - Università Federico II di Napoli tenutosi nella sua seconda edizione presso la Stazione Marittima di Napoli dal 9 al 13 novembre. L'esperimento progettuale proposto è il risultato del lavoro di un gruppo di architetti e psicologi di comunità, volto all'individuazione di proposte e azioni che mirano alla rigenerazione integrata dell'isolotto di Nisida, in zona Coroglio a Napoli. Oltre alla rilevante valenza paesaggistica e naturalistica di questo luogo, si è conformato nei secoli il suon carattere di "chiusura" rispetto alla città amplificato dalle diverse Forze Armate che occupano le aree più strategiche del golfo e da un immobilismo politico e istituzionale che lascia l'area in una condizione di sospensione. A partire dalla natura sociale e morfologica dei luoghi, l'obiettivo della proposta è "aprire Nisida alla città e la città a Nisida", attraverso relazioni di mutuo scambio e arricchimento (associazionismo, autoproduzione, valorizzazione turistica) tra gli "abitanti dell'isola" e la città, prevedendo quindi il passaggio graduale da un sistema blindato ad un sistema più permeabile. A supporto, le proposte di intervento architettonico e urbano scandiscono nel tempo il ritmo di apertura dell'isola alla cittadinanza, auspicando la collaborazione delle istituzioni nel processo di graduale avvicinamento della popolazione alle bellezze e alle iniziative sull'isola.