Germline founder variant c.1998delinsTTCT in the RET oncogene: a cohort study in 15 Belgian families.

Objective: The c.1998delinsTTCT variant in the RET gene (codon 666) is linked to medullary thyroid carcinoma in Belgium. We aimed to study the clinical phenotype and the age-dependent penetrance in predictive variant carriers.

First year nursing students use of social media within education: Results of a survey.

Introduction: Social media rapidly disseminates information but is a controversial learning platform in nurse education. This study aimed to explore how students viewed the use of Twitter, and other social media, in their first year of a nursing degree.

Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate first year student nurses' use of social media, before and after commencing a pre-registration programme, where Twitter was used in a module.

Experiences of service users involved in recruitment for nursing courses: A phenomenological research study.

The aim of this study was to gain insight into service users' experiences of participating in recruitment for Adult, Mental Health and Child nursing studies at the authors' university; to establish potential motivations behind such participation; and to make suggestions for improved future practice. The involvement of service users in nurse education and recruitment has for some years been required by the Nursing and Midwifery Council, but there is a dearth of publications on the meaning of that involvement to participating service users. It is hoped that this study will contribute to this body of knowledge.

Assessment of a study day to recognise the value of mentors.

An acute trust has developed a successful one-day programme for nurse and midwife mentors to acknowledge the importance of their role and recognise their worth to the organisation. The programme content and its usefulness for practice were evaluated using a short questionnaire. Results showed that attendees valued sessions on the importance of mentoring, learning styles, managing difficult students and managing time.

[Increased risk of death from coronary heart disease in men with low blood concentration of total cholesterol and low density lipoprotein cholesterol according to data from a prospective epidemiologic study in Moscow and Leningrad within the framework of Soviet-American cooperation].

The authors provide the results of a prospective study carried out for almost 10 years among men who underwent screenings in 1975-1977 at an age of 40-59 years in Moscow and Leningrad (overall 6431 persons) with a purpose of analyzing potential causes of high risk of death from coronary heart disease in a group of subjects with hypocholesterolemia. Based on a mathematical-statistical analysis, variants of the interpretations of the indicated fact are presented.