Portorož welcomed back the PT/EQA community

Accreditation and Quality Assurance -     

Manifolds homotopy equivalent to P n # P n

We classify, up to homeomorphism, all closed manifolds having the homotopy type of a connected sum of two copies of real projective n-space. Partially supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation.     

Proficiency testing in analytical chemistry, microbiology and laboratory medicine: working discussions on current practice and future directions

A summary of the working group (WG) discussions on proficiency testing (PT) and external quality assessment (EQA) held at the Eurachem Workshop, Rome, 5–7 October 2008 is provided. The eight WG’s covered a range of issues concerned with current practice and future directions; how frequently should laboratories participate in PT/EQA? (WG1); developments in PT/EQA within the EU—what is required in future? (WG2); what issues do developing countries face with regards to PT/EQA? (WG3), what issues are specific to microbiology PT/EQA? (WG4); what new fields are emerging for PT/EQA? (WG5); what will be the impact of the new ISO/IEC 17043 standard? (WG6); do current PT/EQA schemes meet the needs of participants? (WG7); and what are the issues that affect the quality of proficiency test items? (WG8). Delegates with different backgrounds were on each WG in order to capture a range of views and experience from a number of different sectors. Working group representatives included PT/EQA providers, participants in PT/EQA schemes and end users of PT results such as accreditation bodies and regulatory authorities, from countries around the world.     

Proficiency testing in analytical chemistry, microbiology and laboratory medicine: working discussions on current practice and future directions

A summary of the working group (WG) discussions on proficiency testing (PT) and external quality assessment (EQA) held at the EURACHEM Workshop, Istanbul, 3?C6 October 2011, is provided. The six WGs covered a range of issues concerned with current practice and future directions; implementing the requirements of ISO/IEC 17043 by PT/EQA providers (WG1); accrediting PT/EQA providers to ISO/IEC 17043 (WG2); pre- and post-analytical aspects in PT/EQA (WG3); evaluating participant performance in qualitative PT/EQA schemes (WG4); establishing PT/EQA schemes in developing countries (WG5); and establishing acceptability criteria in microbiology PT/EQA schemes (WG6). Delegates with different backgrounds were on each WG in order to capture a range of views and experience from a number of different sectors. Working group representatives included PT/EQA providers, participants in PT/EQA schemes and end-users of PT results such as accreditation bodies and regulatory authorities, from countries around the world.