A survey of clinical laboratory instrument verification in the UK and New Zealand.

Background: Clinical laboratory instrument verification testing is often an accreditation requirement. However, it is not known what verification procedures are in routine use or how often the process identifies problems which need addressing prior to testing clinical samples.

Objective: To investigate which standards are currently being used for laboratory verification in UK and New Zealand (NZ) clinical laboratories and to help establish if the activity justifies the effort required.

Evidence-Based Review of BioBran/MGN-3 Arabinoxylan Compound as a Complementary Therapy for Conventional Cancer Treatment.

Introduction: Conventional cancer treatment, including surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy, may not be sufficient to eradicate all malignant cells and prevent recurrence. Intensive treatment often leads to a depressed immune system, drug resistance, and toxicity, hampering the treatment outcomes. BioBran/MGN-3 Arabinoxylan is a standardized arabinoxylan concentrate which has been proposed as a plant-based immunomodulator that can restore the tumor-induced disturbance of the natural immune system, including natural killer cell activity to fight cancer, complementing conventional therapies.

A nurse working for the Third Reich: Eva Justin, RN, PhD.

Eugenics underpinned the Nazi race theories which saw the murder of over 10 million people from "undesirable" groups, including Sinti (referred to in Nazi times as "Gypsies"), during the Holocaust. Eva Justin, from Dresden, completed a doctoral dissertation which examined a group of Sinti children of St Josef's Home in Mulfingen, Germany. She aimed to prove the racial inferiority of these children; her work was done with no informed consent, and the children were sent to Auschwitz after her experiments.

The Impact of a Participatory Care Model on Work Satisfaction of Care Workers and the Functionality, Connectedness, and Mental Health of Community-Dwelling Older People.

This study describes and evaluates an innovative program designed to reduce functional decline among seniors, using a participatory care approach and integrated health teams. The evaluation provides older people and community support workers (CSWs) with the opportunity to share their experiences of being involved with an innovative program to reduce functional decline (mobility, skin integrity, nutrition, mental health, continence) of older, community dwelling adults implemented by a Nursing Service in a major capital city in Australia. As part of the program, CSWs were trained to provide care that aimed to reduce functional decline, and improve the quality of life for the care recipients.