The qualification of collective absolutes and the individuality of persons and events in mid-nineteenth-century Spain

This article argues, on the basis of intellectual, literary, and art history, against the view that mid-nineteenth-century notions of individuality in Spain were products of a social structure based around a bourgeoisie, or, in other accounts, based around a failed effort to establish a bourgeoisie. Instead, it argues that an emphasis on individuality could take radically different forms, that there was no core shared idea of 'individuality'. The article argues that the key motivating factor in these varying notions of individuality was a conflict between and concerning different factions within an oligarchic elite over the future of that elite

The Rise and Fall of "Respectable" Spanish Liberalism, 1808-1923: An Explanatory Framework

The article focuses on the reasons behind both the consolidation of what I have termed “respectable” liberalism between the 1830s and the 1840s and its subsequent decline and fall between 1900 and 1923. In understanding both processes I study the links established between “respectable” liberals and propertied elites, the monarchy, and the Church. In the first phase these links served to consolidate the liberal polity. However, they also meant that many tenets of liberal ideology were compromised. Free elections were undermined by the operation of caciquismo, monarchs established a powerful position, and despite the Church hierarchy working with liberalism, the doctrine espoused by much of the Church was still shaped by the Counter-Reformation. Hence, “respectable” liberalism failed to achieve a popular social base. And the liberal order was increasingly denigrated as part of the corrupt “oligarchy” that ruled Spain. Worse still, between 1916 and 1923 the Church, monarch, and the propertied elite increasingly abandoned the liberal Monarchist Restoration. Hence when General Primo de Rivera launched his coup the rug was pulled from under the liberals’ feet and there was no one to cushion the fall

Some cultural consequences in Spain of the Spanish Invasion of Morocco 1859-60

This article argues is a contribution to the study of interrelationships between colonialism, art, and literature in the nineteenth century. The article argues that the Spanish invasion of Morocco in 1859 led to contradictions and tensions within liberal nationalism, not least because of concerns about the tensions between the need for military reassertion of Spain and the respect for the independence of nations. This led to some reconfiguration of Spanish intellectuals' already complex relationship with North Africa and Islam. A major, perhaps surprising consequence of this reconfiguration, was some equation of Moroccan identity with a monotonous surface that was resistant to the gaze. In consequence, the Catalan painter Fortuny's crucial experience of Morocco led him to value near blank surfaces, and thus to make a major contribution to the origins of modern art

A model to investigate drug-tolerant persister and resistant cells in melanoma targeted with MAPK inhibitors

2 p.Introduction The BRAFV600E mutation in melanoma is generally associated with activation of the MAPK/ERK signaling pathway, leading to tumor cell proliferation. Targeted therapy with combined BRAFV600E and MEK inhibitors has improved patient survival, but resistance to this treatment is very frequent and represents a serious clinical challenge. Resistance can be intrinsic or can be based on newly-acquired genetic alterations. Moreover, drug tolerant/persister (DTP) clones arising without genetic changes from tumor cells that adapt and survive the initial phases of therapy, can be another source of resistance. The aim of our study is to characterize the mechanisms of resistance to MAPK-targeted therapy in melanoma.Material and Methods We have used the mouse melanoma YUMM cell model to in vitro and in vivo (C57BL/6 mice) generate cells resistant to combined BRAF and MEK inhibitors. Both putative DTP and resistant cell populations have been selected from the in vitro and in vivo platforms, and cell survival and proliferation, and cell signaling and function are being investigated.Results and Discussions DTP and resistant cells display significant changes in growth and in several signaling properties and transition markers, and potential gene differences are currently examined byRNAseq and their functional implications investigated.Conclusion Our in vitro and in vivo models represent useful platforms to mechanistically study drug adaptation and resistance mechanisms in DTP and resistant melanoma cell populations, as well as a system to assess new inhibitors targeting these populations.Peer reviewe