The ERS Research Agency: the beginning.

There is at the current time a significant opportunity for the ERS to leverage its experience and reputation as an international umbrella organisation to promote high-quality, multinational respiratory research with the goal of improving the health of respiratory patients. This editorial proposes a model for the role and structure of an ERS Research Agency. It is based upon research, implicit knowledge and explicit feedback from ERS members and selected external individuals and organisations.

Cardiovascular scientific production in Spain and in the European and global context (2003-2007).

Introduction And Objectives: The publication of research articles has increased considerably in recent years in all biomedical fields. The present study examines the position of Spanish quality research in cardiology in the European and world context, and its evolution during the 5-year period 2003-2007.

Methods: Using the Science Citation Index Expanded of Thomson Reuters as data source, we compared Spanish cardiovascular scientific production with that of the rest of countries in the European Union and of the most important countries worldwide, along with relative productivity as per number of inhabitants and Gross Domestic Product, and the number of citations in the journals of the <> area of the Journal Citation Reports (CCS-JCR).

[Spanish Society of Cardiology ethical framework (executive summary)].

The Spanish Society of Cardiology (SEC) has produced an Ethical Framework Document. This document is divided into two distinct parts that deal, respectively, with the responsibilities of the SEC as an organization and the responsibilities of its professional members. The SEC makes recommendations on how its members should carry out their daily clinical practice, provides a professional perspective on public commitments as a scientific association, and aims to ensure that any views, recommendations, and advice expressed provide the basis for an informed debate on ethical problems in our field of work.