The addition of bilateral salpingectomy to TLH for prevention of ovarian cancer in women who do not carry a BRCA1/2 mutations do not show negative effects on the ovarian function. In addition, no perioperative complications are related to the salpingectomy step in TLH.

No abstract

Circulating endothelial cells (CEC) represent a restricted peripheral blood (PB) cell subpopulation with high potential diagnostic value in many endothelium-involving diseases. However, whereas the interest in CEC studies has grown, the standardization level of their detection has not. Here, we undertook the task to align CEC phenotypes and counts, by standardizing a novel flow cytometry approach, within a network of six laboratories. CEC were identified as alive/nucleated/CD45negative/CD34bright/CD146positive events and enumerated in 269 healthy PB samples. Standardization was demonstrated by the achievement of low inter-laboratory Coefficients of Variation (CVL), calculated on the basis of Median Fluorescence Intensity values of the most stable antigens that allowed CEC identification and count (CVL of CD34bright on CEC ~ 30%; CVL of CD45 on Lymphocytes ~ 20%). By aggregating data acquired from all sites, CEC numbers in the healthy population were captured (medianfemale = 9.31 CEC/mL; medianmale = 11.55 CEC/mL). CEC count biological variability and method specificity were finally assessed. Results, obtained on a large population of donors, demonstrate that the established procedure might be adopted as standardized method for CEC analysis in clinical and in research settings, providing a CEC physiological baseline range, useful as starting point for their clinical monitoring in endothelial dysfunctions.

The geological map of Piemonte Region (Italy) is a graphic representation of the geology of the region, grounded on a large geodatabase, that can be also browsed as an interactive scalable map (GeoPiemonte Map) using a WebGIS application. The Map, produced at 1:250,000 scale, is the first original release of the 'GeoPiemonte Map' project. The geological data represented on the map derive from a thorough revision of available geological maps and literature, integrated with unpublished original data. The revision and harmonisation of existing and new data have been based on explicit criteria used for the classification of geologic units and their representation on the Map. These criteria firstly aimed at providing a lithostratigraphic, hierarchic subdivision of Piemonte geologic units and describing them using shared concepts and vocabularies, consistent with IUGS Descriptive Standards for the Geosciences. ARTICLE HISTORY

A uniform treatment for PCOS patients does not exist. Clinicians should perform an accurate evaluation of patients' characteristics, identifying the phenotypic target and, subsequently, the best-tailored treatment to manage one or more clinical issues. Lifestyle intervention should always be the first recommended approach unless other issues indicate that drug or hormonal interventions are superior.