Information on nosocomial infections in the mainstream media: an opinion document.

This paper seeks to explore the reasons for the low impact of nosocomial infection in the mainstream media and the responsibilities of physicians and journalists in terms of this situation. To this end, a small group of 13 experts met for round-table discussions, including physicians with expertise in nosocomial infection, medical lawsuits and ethics, as well as journalists from major mainstream Spanish media outlets. The various participants were asked a series of questions prior to the meeting, which were answered in writing by one of the speakers and discussed during the meeting by the whole group, the aim being to obtain consensual conclusions for each of them. The document was subsequently reviewed, edited and forwarded to all co-authors for their agreement. The opinions expressed are the personal opinions of the participants and not necessarily those of the institutions in which they work or with which they collaborate.

Contribuição ao estudo anatômico do caule de Himatanthus sucuuba (Spruce ex Müll. Arg.) Woodson, Apocynaceae / Contribution to the anatomical study of the stem of Himatanthus sucuuba (Spruce ex Müll. Arg.) Woodson, Apocynaceae

Himatanthus sucuuba (Spruce ex Müll. Arg.) Woodson, Apocynaceae, denominada comumente de sucuuba ou janaguba, é uma espécie arbórea, latescente, da região amazônica, cujo tronco é ereto e a casca rugosa. As atividades antiinflamatória e analgésica e a baixa toxicidade foram estabelecidas em diferentes pesquisas. Com o objetivo de estabelecer caracteres anatômicos aplicáveis à identificação da planta e da droga vegetal, analisou-se o caule em estrutura secundária, que consiste da casca e da região caulinar mais interna. A primeira periderme é observada nas camadas subepidérmicas e o córtex constitui-se de numerosos laticíferos ramificados, idioblastos com cristais de oxalato de cálcio e células parenquimáticas contendo amiloplastos. Uma bainha esclerenquimática descontínua de fibras com paredes espessadas circunda o sistema vascular, cuja organização é bicolateral. As células do parênquima medular apresentam as mesmas características do córtex. Em níveis mais inferiores, a região cortical se reduz e numerosas fibras e células pétreas localizam-se no floema externo.

Himatanthus sucuuba (Spruce ex Müll. Arg.) Woodson, Apocynaceae, popularly known as sucuuba and janaguba, is a laticiferous woody species from the Amazonian region. The stem is upright and the bark is rugous. Different investigations have confirmed its anti-inflammatory and analgesic activities as well as low toxicity. Aiming to establish anatomical characters for the plant and drug identification, the stem in secondary growth, consisting of the bark and the most internal region, has been analysed. The first periderm is observed in the sub-epidermal layers and the cortex is composed of several branched laticifers, idioblasts containing calcium oxalate crystals and parenchymatic cells having amiloplasts. A non-continuous sclerenchymatic sheath with thick cell-walled fibres encircles the vascular system, whose organization is bicollateral. The pith cells are similar to the cortex ones. On lower caulinar levels, the cortical region is reduced and numerous fibres and stone cells occur in the external phloem.