La distancia entre la mesa del café Gijón y los retretes

Conocí a Manuel Vicent a bordo de uno de aquellos tranvías donde viajaba una chica que se llamaba Marisa y a ratos Juliette y otros ratos simplemente Julieta. Allí la cabellera de la joven perseguida por los ojos encendidos de un escritor que no ha dejado nunca de saber dónde está la materia mejor para la invención de sus historias. Lo decía Dashiell Hammett y después Blanchot: “contamos nuestros sueños por una necesidad oscura: para hacerlos más reales”.Centro de Estudios de Teoría y Crítica Literari

Chemotherapy or allogeneic transplantation in high-risk Philadelphia chromosome–negative adult lymphoblastic leukemia

The need for allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) in adults with Philadelphia chromosome–negative (Ph−) acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) with high-risk (HR) features and adequate measurable residual disease (MRD) clearance remains unclear. The aim of the ALL-HR-11 trial was to evaluate the outcomes of HR Ph− adult ALL patients following chemotherapy or allo-HSCT administered based on end-induction and consolidation MRD levels. Patients aged 15 to 60 years with HR-ALL in complete response (CR) and MRD levels (centrally assessed by 8-color flow cytometry) <0.1% after induction and <0.01% after early consolidation were assigned to receive delayed consolidation and maintenance therapy up to 2 years in CR. The remaining patients were allocated to allo-HSCT. CR was attained in 315/348 patients (91%), with MRD <0.1% after induction in 220/289 patients (76%). By intention-to-treat, 218 patients were assigned to chemotherapy and 106 to allo-HSCT. The 5-year (±95% confidence interval) cumulative incidence of relapse (CIR), overall survival (OS), and event-free survival probabilities for the whole series were 43% ± 7%, 49% ± 7%, and 40% ± 6%, respectively, with CIR and OS rates of 45% ± 8% and 59% ± 9% for patients assigned to chemotherapy and of 40% ± 12% and 38% ± 11% for those assigned to allo-HSCT, respectively. Our results show that avoiding allo-HSCT does not hamper the outcomes of HR Ph− adult ALL patients up to 60 years with adequate MRD response after induction and consolidation. Better postremission alternative therapies are especially needed for patients with poor MRD clearance

Emerging trends in reassessing translation, conflict, and memory

New Approaches on Translation, Conflict, and Memory: Narratives of the Spanish Civil War and the Dictatorship is a collection of essays that endeavours to establish a new dialogue between translation, conflict, and memory studies. Focusing on cultural representations of the Spanish Civil War and the Franco Dictatorship, it explores the significance and the effect of translation within Spain and beyond. Drawing on fictional and non-fictional texts, reports from war zones, and audiovisual productions, the contributors to this volume examine the scope of translation in transmitting the conflict and the dictatorship from a contemporary perspective. Narratives produced during and after the Civil War and the dictatorship both in Spain and abroad have led to new debates arising from the reassessment of a conflict that continues to resonate

Por el mar corren las liebres, Por el monte las sardinas, tralará...

Cuando miramos lo que puede haber en el fondo de un pozo, sentimos una especie de extraña aprensión. Como si en las aguas turbias de ese fondo habitara un bicho nauseabundo que sólo con mirarlo —como pasaba en Axolotl el magnífico cuento de Cortázar portador siempre de una desasosegante zozobra—, nos condujera a la más exacta de las identificaciones. Y con ella, a una terrorífica conclusión: el monstruo y nosotros somos lo mismo.Ese instante de aprensión sirve para que reflexionemos sin pérd..

Alfons Cervera y la construcción de sus personajes (entrevista)

International audienceIn the opening discussion of the "Portrait and self-portrait in contemporary Spanish fiction" study day, Valencian author Alfons Cervera shares his thoughts with Marie Gourgues on the construction of characters in his works.En la charla inaugural de la jornada de estudios « Retrato y autorretrato en la ficción española contemporánea », el autor valenciano Alfons Cervera comparte con Marie Gourgues sus reflexiones acerca de la construcción de los personajes en sus obras.Lors de la discussion inaugurale de la journée d'études « Portrait et autoportrait dans la fiction espagnole contemporaine », l'auteur valencien Alfons Cervera partage avec Marie Gourgues ses réflexions au sujet de la construction des personnages dans ses œuvres

Characterisation of regenerants obtained under selective conditions after Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of citrus explants reveals production of silenced and chimeric plants at unexpected high frequencies

Genetic transformation has been achieved for several citrus genotypes. However, regeneration of escapes at high frequency is a major problem, making the available procedures rather inefficient. Attempts to improve selection by increasing the concentration of kanamycin, used as the selective agent, or substituting it by geneticin have been unsuccessful. Here, we have critically assessed the actual frequency and origin of escapes in citrus by using visual screening with beta-glucuronidase (gusA) and green fluorescent protein (gfp) markers, by studying the persistence of engineered Agrobacterium in the explants, and by characterising through Southern blot analysis all the regenerants obtained under kanamycin selection. Our results show that inefficient selection could be attributed to the protection of the non-transformed cells from the selective agent by the surrounding transformed cells, and to the persistence of kanamycin-resistance Agrobacterium in explant tissues over long periods of time after co-cultivation. This also explained the high frequency (12%) of chimeric shoots that were commonly recovered. High frequency regeneration of chimeras that resulted from the fusion of different transformation events is reported for the first time. On the other hand, molecular analysis of all the regenerants reveals that transformation frequency is underestimated when based on the expression of a screenable marker gene, and that low expressors and silenced lines could account for at least 25% of those plants considered escapes based on selectable and screenable marker analysis. Consequences of these results at the practical level are also discussed