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Summary: The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is the most commonly injured knee ligament. Currently there are two commonly used surgical procedures: middle third patellar tendon grafts (bone-patellar tendon-bone: BTB) and semitendinosus autografts or semitendinosus combined with gracilis tendon autografts (ST/G). Purpose. The aim of this study is to compare the rehabilitation results over time of amateur sportsmen who have undergone anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction surgery by means of one of the two most commonly used procedures: middle third patellar tendon grafts (bone-patellar tendon-bone: BTB) and semitendinosus and gracilis tendon autografts (ST/G). Method. 30 subjects divided into two groups, (15 BTB and 15 ST / G), were evaluated during rehabilitation and at three follow-up periods (16 weeks, 24 weeks, 2 years). Evaluation involved clinical examination, isokinetic tests, and functional rating scales: Lysholm and IKDC. Results. The clinical evaluation resulted in the following mean values: the value of the Lysholm score was 78 in both group at 16 weeks, 91 in group A and 94 in group B at 24 weeks, 98 in group A and 99 in group B at 2 years; the value of the IKDC score was 14 in group A and 15 in group B at 16 weeks, 12 in group A and 14 in group B at 24 weeks, 14 in group A and 15 in group B at 2 years. No major complications occurred during rehabilatation Conclusions. Subjects in both groups showed good neoligament stability up to the 24-week follow up. At the 2-year follow-up the subjects of group B showed poor neoligament stability that prevented the return to the previous level of sporting activity; all the subjects with high intensity sports activity needed a greater muscle strengthening. No statistically significant differences between the two groups are seen., Competing Interests: The authors of this article have no conflict of interests to disclose., (Copyright© by GIMLE.)

Summary: Haemophilia in its most severe clinical form can lead to alterations in the physical and psychosocial state with important repercussions on the quality of life. Purpose. A retrospective study was conducted to highlight the impact of haemophilic arthropathy on quality of life. Materials. We considered 25 patients, with a mean age of 42 years (min 17 - max 71) with haemophilia A, 18 had the severe clinical form (72%). The WFH Physical Examination Score, specific for haemophilia, was used for joint function; the joints examined were: knee, ankle, hip and elbow. To assess the quality of life, two generic self-filling questionnaires were used, SF-36 and the EQ 5D. Results. Significant statistical values have shown that arthropathy affects the SF-36 domain of general health and the subjective well-being EQ-VAS. Conclusions. In the treatment of haemophilic arthropathy, prevention is essential, understood both as a prophylactic medical therapy and as a physiotherapeutic treatment in order to maintain or improve joint function and at the same time play a fundamental role in improving the quality of life of patients., Competing Interests: The authors of this article have no conflict of interests to disclose., (Copyright© by GIMLE.)

Objective: to study determinants of occupational injuries in tunnel construction using data from the surveillance system which had been implemented in order to monitor accidents during the construction of the "high speed train tracks in the Italian Regions Emilia-Romagna and Tuscany., Design: retrospective cohort study., Setting: 16 sites for the construction of 14 tunnels of the high speed railway-tract Bologna-Firenze, in Italy., Participants: 1,602 workers (of 3,000 employed in the underground tunnelling), aged 18 - 67 years, operating during excavation with traditional method in 1999-2002. A total of 549 injuries occurred among 385 workers. The number of worked hours were used as time at risk., Main Outcome Measures: incidence rate ratios (IRR) and 95% confidence intervals for all injuries, serious injuries and first injuries were considered in separate multiple regression analyses (Poisson)., Results: residence, task and working phase were taken into consideration. An increased risk was found for younger workers, for carpenters (IRR "all-events" = 2.33; 95% CI=1.85-2.94; IRR" first-events" = 2.12; 95% CI 1.62-2.77) and miners (IRR "all-events" = 1.76; 95% CI 1.39-2.24; IRR"first-events" = 1.71; 95% CI 1.30-2.24) vs. machinery operators. Construction of inverted arch turns out to have an incidence rate ratio three times higher than digging out (IRR "all-events" = 2.79; 95% CI 2.27-3.43; IRR "firsts-event = 2.98; 95% CI 2.33-3.81). The probability of "serious" injuries (>30 days) is higher for miners (IRR=2.45; 95% CI 1.65-3.64) and for carpenters (IRR=2.31; 95% CI 1.53-3.49)., Conclusion: this study pointed out to indicate some determinants (age, task and work phase) of injuries in tunneling about which little had been published previously. These results are useful for addressing preventive measures, for control and prevention activities and point to the need to explore the effect of experience and to study, through a case crossover design, transient working and individual risk factors for traumatic injury within these working sites.

After graduating from Pavia University in 1935, Vittorio Erspamer (1909-1999) worked in Germany and held chairs in Pharmacology at Bari, Pavia and Rome universities. One of the first researchers to take an interest in neurotransmitters, he isolated enteramine (subsequently named serotonine). He also isolated, in amphibians and mollusks, peptides acting on muscle cells and receptors involved in pain-regulatory mechanisms. The archive contains his laboratory notes, as well as his malacology and amphibian skins collection.

The life and activity of Adriano Buzzati-Traverso are significantly linked to the birth and development of genetics in Italy, as well as to the achievements and the shortcomings of the creation of a 'modern' notion and policy of science in our country. His archive sheds light on public and private aspects of his activity, especially the creation of important research centers.

Aim of this paper is to describe the methodology adopted to build up an epidemiological surveillance system on the reproductive health of women employed by the Regional Health System (Hospital Division). The implementation of this system required the set up of a relational database, with personal and health data collected from the 1st January 1998 to the 31st December 1998. The goals of research were: to describe the phenomenon of unfavorable reproductive events such as: death at birth, low weight at birth, birth defects, spontaneous abortions, voluntary abortions (for reasons linked to the child's and the pregnant woman's health), premature births and post term births; to provide the basis for further analytical studies on working activities with exposures of particular interest (antiblastic drugs, ionizing radiations and ergonomic factors); to contribute to evaluate the state of enforcement of the specific legislation. We computed raw, age-specific and standardized rates of the studied population as far as natality, spontaneous and voluntary abortivity and birth defects are concerned. The results showed an increased number of spontaneous abortions. Investigations are still in progress and an estimate of risks associated with chemical and physical exposures in this sector will be determined.

The Section of History of Medicine of the Department of Experimental Medicine and Pathology of the Rome University "La Sapienza" keeps the Archives of Angelo Celli, Amico and Francesco Bignami, Giuseppe Sanarelli. The Archives, primarily composed by medical notes, note books, correspondence, have been reorganized and an inventory has been made and computerized. The documents of the scientists Celli and Bignami testify their contribution to the study of malaria and of the pathological anatomy of the infection; Sanarelli's notebooks allow to reconstruct his scientific career. During the inventory, various groups of documents belonging to Alessandro Solivetti (1834-1893), Francesco Todaro (1839-1912), Giorgio Roster (1843-1927), Giuklio Bizzozero (1846-1901), Angelo Maffucci (1847-1903), Ettore Marchiafava (1847-1935), Giovanni Battista Grassi (1854-1925), Giovanni Mingazzini (1859-1929), Giuseppe Bastianelli (1862-1959), Vittorio Ascoli (1863-1931), Raffaele Bastianelli (1863-1961), Guiseppe Ovio (1863-1957), Vittorio Puntoni (1887-1970), Pietro Di Mattei (1896) have been found.