Mapping Cities: the Bologna Self-Mapping Project

Today, great transformations involve maps of cities and urban spaces. Everybody knows that "mapping", as a practice, has considerably evolved and represents now a universally shared and global experience, belonging, in everyday life, to the vast domain of popular culture (from Google maps, to gps and gis use in sports, holidays etc.). Based on these considerations, we would like to present the results of the first part of the Self-mapping project, a research project initiated thanks to the University of Bo-logna's public competition "topic ISA-2010". The project was designed to create a methodology for the analysis of urban space, attempting to include Gps tracking and ethno-semiotic methodologies. It regards the mapping of territories, intended to start in Bologna, with the idea of extending the research to other urban situations, including post conflict situation, such as in Kosovo and Bosnia. The overall intention is to study the crossing of urban space by its inhabitants, fo-cusing on the comparison of maps, as potential tools for urban policy regarding new forms of knowledge, marketing of the city and territory, as well as a possible means of "good practices"

Prijedor, Bosnia. Making Sense of Emptiness. Un workshop, e una prima analisi etnosemiotica, negli spazi urbani del post-conflitto

Presentazione di analisi e osservazione etno-semiotica svolta sul campo, in occasione di un workshop organizzato presso la città di Prijedor, in Bosnia; sul tema della memoria e del post-conflitto

Bone bruise in anterior cruciate ligament rupture entails a more severe joint damage affecting joint degenerative progression

Purpose: During anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury, the large external forces responsible for ligament rupture cause a violent impact between tibial and femoral articular cartilage, which is transferred to bone resulting in bone bruise detectable at MRI. Several aspects remain controversial and await evidence on how this MRI finding should be managed while addressing the ligament lesion. Thus, the aim of the present review was to document the evidence of all available literature on the role of bone bruise associated with ACL lesions. Methods: A systematic review of the literature was performed on bone bruise associated with ACL injury. The search was conducted in September 2017 on three medical electronic databases: PubMed, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Collaboration. Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis (PRISMA) guidelines were used. Relevant articles were studied to investigate three main aspects: prevalence and progression of bone bruise associated with ACL lesions, its impact on the knee in terms of lesion severity and joint degeneration progression over time and, finally, the influence of bone bruise on patient prognosis in terms of clinical outcome. Results: The search identified 415 records and, after an initial screening according to the inclusion/exclusion criteria, 83 papers were used for analysis, involving a total of 10,047 patients. Bone bruise has a high prevalence (78% in the most recent papers), with distinct patterns related to the mechanism of injury. This MRI finding is detectable only in a minority of cases the first few months after trauma, but its presence and persistence have been correlated to a more severe joint damage that may affect the degenerative progression of the entire joint, with recent evidence suggesting possible effects on long-term clinical outcome. Conclusion: This systematic review of the literature documented a growing interest on bone bruise associated with ACL injury, highlighting aspects which could provide to orthopaedic surgeons evidence-based suggestions in terms of clinical relevance when dealing with patients affected by bone bruise following ACL injury. However, prospective long-term studies are needed to better understand the natural history of bone bruise, identifying prognostic factors and targets of specific treatments that should be developed in light of the overall joint derangements accompanying ACL lesions. Levels of evidence: IV, Systematic review of level I–IV studies

Pain Trajectories in Knee Osteoarthritis-A Systematic Review and Best Evidence Synthesis on Pain Predictors

Different profiles of pain progression have been reported in patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA), but the determinants of this heterogeneity are still to be sought. The aim of this systematic review was to analyze all studies providing information about knee OA pain trajectories to delineate, according to patients' characteristics, an evidence-based evolution pattern of this disabling disease, which is key for a more personalized and effective management of knee OA. A literature search was performed on PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and grey literature databases. The Cochrane Collaboration's tool for assessing risk of bias was used, and a best-evidence synthesis was performed to define the predictors of pain evolution. Seven articles on 7747 patients affected by knee OA (mainly early/moderate) were included. Daily knee OA pain trajectories were unstable in almost half of the patients. In the mid-term, knee OA had a steady pain trajectory in 85% of the patients, 8% experienced pain reduction, while 7% experienced pain worsening. Low education, comorbidities, and depression were patient-related predictors of severe/worsening knee OA pain. Conversely, age, alcohol, smoking, pain coping strategies, and medications were unrelated to pain evolution. Conflicting/no evidence was found for all joint-related factors, such as baseline radiographic severity

The reimbursement system can influence the treatment choice and favor joint replacement versus other less invasive solutions in patients affected by osteoarthritis

Abstract Purpose The aim of this study was to assess how physicians perceive the role of the reimbursement system and its potential influence in affecting their treatment choice in the management of patients affected by osteoarthritis (OA). Methods A survey was administered to 283 members of SIAGASCOT (Italian Society of Arthroscopy, Knee, Upper Limb, Sport, Cartilage and Orthopaedic Technologies), a National scientific orthopaedic society. The survey presented multiple choice questions on the access allowed by the current Diagnosis‐Related Groups (DRG) system to all necessary options to treat patients affected by OA and on the influence toward prosthetic solutions versus other less invasive options. Results Almost 70% of the participants consider that the current DRG system does not allow access to all necessary options to best treat patients affected by OA. More than half of the participants thought that the current DRG system favors the choice of prosthetic solutions (55%) and that it can contribute to the increase in prosthetic implantation at the expense of less invasive solutions (54%). The sub‐analyses based on different age groups, professional roles, and places of work allowed to evaluate the response in each specific category, confirming the findings for all investigated aspects. Conclusions This survey documented that the majority of physicians consider that the reimbursement system can influence the treatment choice when managing OA patients. The current DRG system was perceived as unbalanced in favor of the choice of the prosthetic solution, which could contribute to the increase in prosthetic implantation at the expense of other less invasive options for OA management