BackgroundCardiovascular diseases and especially Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS) constitute a major health issue impacting millions of patients worldwide. Being a leading cause of death and hospital... Show moreBackgroundCardiovascular diseases and especially Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS) constitute a major health issue impacting millions of patients worldwide. Being a leading cause of death and hospital admissions in many European countries including Spain, it accounts for enormous amounts of healthcare expenditures for its management. Clopidogrel is one of the oldest antiplatelet medications used as standard of care in ACS.MethodsIn this study, we performed an economic evaluation study to estimate whether a genome-guided clopidogrel treatment is cost-effective compared to conventional one in a large cohort of 243 individuals of Spanish origin suffering from ACS and treated with clopidogrel. Data were derived from the U-PGx PREPARE clinical trial. Effectiveness was measured as survival of individuals while study data on safety and efficacy, as well as on resource utilization associated with each adverse drug reaction were used to measure costs to treat these adverse drug reactions. A generalized linear regression model was used to estimate cost differences for both study groups.ResultsBased on our findings, PGx-guided treatment group is cost-effective. PGx-guided treatment demonstrated to have 50% less hospital admissions, reduced emergency visits and almost 13% less ADRs compared to the non-PGx approach with mean QALY 1.07 (95% CI, 1.04-1.10) versus 1.06 (95% CI, 1.03-1.09) for the control group, while life years for both groups were 1.24 (95% CI, 1.20-1.26) and 1.23 (95% CI, 1.19-1.26), respectively. The mean total cost of PGx-guided treatment was 50% less expensive than conventional therapy with clopidogrel [euro883 (95% UI, euro316-euro1582), compared to euro1,755 (95% UI, euro765-euro2949)].ConclusionThese findings suggest that PGx-guided clopidogrel treatment represents a cost-effective option for patients suffering from ACS in the Spanish healthcare setting. Show less
Public knowledge of both the mission and the powers of the National Intelligence Centre (CNI) are studied in this paper through a survey of 2888 students from 30 universities in Spain. The results... Show morePublic knowledge of both the mission and the powers of the National Intelligence Centre (CNI) are studied in this paper through a survey of 2888 students from 30 universities in Spain. The results confirmed that university students were unaware of the CNI’s mission and powers and that their vision of the CNI was of a Law Enforcement Agency with mainly counter-terrorism functions. Their knowledge differed according to their sociodemographic background and political variables. Both the implications for further scientific debate and the policies of intelligence agencies toward openness are discussed. Show less
This article investigates the position of the Dutch consuls in the diplomatic network of the Dutch Republic as defenders of the interests of Dutch merchants and as quasi-public officials. Although... Show moreThis article investigates the position of the Dutch consuls in the diplomatic network of the Dutch Republic as defenders of the interests of Dutch merchants and as quasi-public officials. Although consuls did not enjoy diplomatic status, Dutch consular practice in Spain between the Peace of Munster (1648) and 1661 shows that they were more than suppliers of economic, political, and military intelligence. Consuls were a vital connecting element in Dutch diplomacy and could affect the States General’s policy by exerting influence on politicians at home and on Dutch diplomats abroad. Provisional research on Dutch consuls in more European countries indicates that the Spanish case was no exception. Show less
The Revolt in the Low Countries against the Spanish monarch received a lot of international attention in the seventeenth century. In Italy too, the events in the Low Countries were closely followed... Show moreThe Revolt in the Low Countries against the Spanish monarch received a lot of international attention in the seventeenth century. In Italy too, the events in the Low Countries were closely followed. This apparent from the large number of Italian historical works on the war. Using a variety of texts, this research focuses on different aspects of early modern Italian historiography on the conflict in the Low Countries. The first question of this thesis has sought to address is how we can explain the great historiographical interest in Italy for the military, religious and political complications during the Revolt. This research shows that some Italian texts about the Revolt have their origins in a local context, such as political debates in Italian cities. The second part of this study concerns the impact of the transnational historiography on political opinions, in particular the question of the implications of the Italian histories of the Revolt for the political debates in Italy and in the Republic of the United Provinces. How were those Italian publications received and what can we learn from them when it comes to the influence of transnational works on the writing of history and on political debates, both in the Republic and in Italy? This study aims to contribute to a greater knowledge of the international attention for the Revolt and to our contemporary view on the conflict in the Low Countries. Show less
At the turn of the century, writings on globalization were rife with worry that transnational integration will strip states of the ability to direct industrial development. More recent literature... Show moreAt the turn of the century, writings on globalization were rife with worry that transnational integration will strip states of the ability to direct industrial development. More recent literature suggests that industrial policy is alive and well, if thoroughly reshaped by the changes in the organisation as well as regulation of the economy. This paper contributes to this burgeoning body of research by examining the transformation of industrial policy toward automotive industry in Spain from the start of its integration into the European Economic Community in the 1970s until today. It argues, first, that the claims about globalization restricting the ‘policy space’ of individual states tend to understate the extent to which policy decisions of developing countries had always been restricted by the international environment. Second, it shows how transnational integration not only takes away certain tools but also helps development of others. To make use of them, however, countries have to restructure their systems of industrial governance to make space for a more regionalized, collaborative, and competence-based instead of firm-based policy. Show less
Travel narratives are a historical source full of pitfalls. Nevertheless, these stories do provide much historical information, not just about the country visited and its people, but about the... Show moreTravel narratives are a historical source full of pitfalls. Nevertheless, these stories do provide much historical information, not just about the country visited and its people, but about the traveller as well. Texts of this genre in particular tell us much about the traveller’s perceptions of the other. At the same time, the self-image vis-à-vis the other will be reconsidered on the basis of the visit to the other’s country, and will be adjusted or reconfirmed with old and new arguments. This rarely leads to a completely new image; rather, there will be adjustments within the framework of existing perceptions. All of this applies to Lodewijck Huygens (son of Constantijn) and his Spanish Journal (1660–1661), where the Spaniard gets a new position within the prevalent perceptions and opinions about relations between Spain and the Dutch Republic after the Eighty Years’ War. The ordinary Spaniard is no longer perceived as the enemy; instead, like the Dutch in the sixteenth century, he, too, is a victim of Spanish tyranny and of the Roman Catholic Church. The author’s self-image is also reconsidered; in this particular case it leads to a confirmation of his identity and a justification of the emancipation of his fatherland as an independent free nation because, if the Dutch Revolt had not succeeded, the Netherlanders might have been living in the same miserable conditions as the Spaniards. Show less
La nacionalización del hogar en España es un tema todavía sin estudiar. Recientemente ha aumentado el interés por el estudio del nacionalismo banal y el impacto del nacionalismo en la vida... Show moreLa nacionalización del hogar en España es un tema todavía sin estudiar. Recientemente ha aumentado el interés por el estudio del nacionalismo banal y el impacto del nacionalismo en la vida cotidiana, sobre todo durante el franquismo y la democracia. Sin embargo, sus origines no están nada claras. Analizando la arquitectura doméstica, la decoración interior, e incluso la jardinería se pone de manifiesto que el espacio doméstico se nacionalizó durante las tres primeras décadas del siglo XX. La arquitectura regionalista se puso de moda para las villas y casas de campo y los muebles se inspiraron cada vez más en la artesanía tradicional. Lo mismo ocurrió con prácticas domésticas como la cocina, el consumo, y la limpieza. De este modo se “inventaron” la cocina española y los platos regionales. A partir de fuentes heterogéneas como la prensa, manuales, y discursos, esbozamos la nacionalización del hogar en España en su fase inicial, contribuyendo de esta manera a la historia del nacionalismo, los estudios de género, la historia de la arquitectura, y los estudios de la alimentación, que por centrarse tanto en los procesos de modernización ignoraron casi por completo esta nacionalización de la esfera privada.The nationalization of the domestic sphere in Spain is a topic that has been largely ignored. Recently, the interest in the study of banal nationalism and the impact of nationalism on everyday life has been on the rise, particularly for the Francoist and democratic era; however, its origins are not clear at all. An examination of developments in domestic architecture, interior decoration, and even gardening shows that the domestic sphere was nationalized during the first three decades of the twentieth century. Regionalist architecture was in vogue for villas and country-houses and furniture was increasingly modeled after local artisanal traditions. Domestic practices such as cooking, consuming, and cleaning were also increasingly connected with supposedly “national” traditions. During this period Spanish cuisine and many of its regional dishes were “invented”. The first phase of the nationalization of the domestic sphere in Spain is analyzed using a wide array of primary sources (press, manuals, speeches, etc.), thus contributing to the history of nationalism, gender studies, the history of architecture, and food studies, which by focusing on modernization processes largely disregarded this profound nationalization of the private sphere. Show less
The presence of tens of thousands of Moroccan soldiers in Spain during its Civil War was an encounter between two culturally different people. This thesis researches the impact of the racial... Show moreThe presence of tens of thousands of Moroccan soldiers in Spain during its Civil War was an encounter between two culturally different people. This thesis researches the impact of the racial stereotypes the Spaniards had about the Moroccans on how the Moroccans were treated in the Spanish Army, how their interaction with the Spanish civilian society was regulated, and how far the agency of the Moroccan soldiers themselves determined their own position within the army and within their Spanish cultural surroundings. It appears that rather than passive players in the Spanish conflict, the Moroccans did exercise no little amount of control of their own affairs and on how they interacted with the Spaniards (both military and civilian) in a way that often went beyond what Spanish stereotypes and policies allowed for. The presence of tens of thousands of Moroccan soldiers in Spain during its Civil War was an encounter between two culturally different people. This thesis researches the impact of the racial stereotypes the Spaniards had about the Moroccans on how the Moroccans were treated in the Spanish Army, how their interaction with the Spanish civilian society was regulated, and how far the agency of the Moroccan soldiers themselves determined their own position within the army and within their Spanish cultural surroundings. It appears that rather than passive players in the Spanish conflict, the Moroccans did exercise no little amount of control of their own affairs and on how they interacted with the Spaniards (both military and civilian) in a way that often went beyond what Spanish stereotypes and policies allowed for. Show less
This dissertation focused on the prolific early European trade and consumption of three Asian manufactured goods: Chinese silk and porcelain, and Japanese lacquer in the sixteenth and early... Show moreThis dissertation focused on the prolific early European trade and consumption of three Asian manufactured goods: Chinese silk and porcelain, and Japanese lacquer in the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, and has shown how the material cultures of late Ming China and Momoyama/early Edo Japan became inextricably linked with the West. Multiple sources provided new and unexpected documentary and material evidence of this trade by the Iberian Kingdoms of Portugal and Spain, and the trading companies formed in the Northern Netherlands/Dutch Republic and England. They also informed us about the commercial networks through which these Asian goods circulated, and the way in which they were acquired, used and appreciated in the Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch and English societies in Western Europe, and in the multi-ethnic societies of the colonies in the New World. Some new finds relate to the use of porcelain in Western Europe in the sixteenth century, the terminology employed in northwestern Europe to refer to Kraak porcelain, and the Japanese lacquer objects made in European shapes for the Dutch and English trading companies earlier than in Chinese porcelain. This study provides a better understanding of the intercultural exchanges that occurred between the East and West at the time. Show less
Methodological nationalism is still dominant in nationalism studies. When studying the construction of national identities, scholars generally limit their study to the borders of one nation-state,... Show moreMethodological nationalism is still dominant in nationalism studies. When studying the construction of national identities, scholars generally limit their study to the borders of one nation-state, while only paying attention to members of that particular nation. Implicitly, foreign actors and influences are left out of the picture. I will challenge this methodological nationalism with a case study, which demonstrates that the place of Toledo within the Spanish national imagination, and more particularly that of El Greco, the most important representative of the city's artistic heritage, was largely determined by foreigners. During the nineteenth century, El Greco was rediscovered primarily by foreign scholars and artists. Moreover, it would be the rise of international tourism in the early twentieth century that convinced Toledans to adopt El Greco as the city's main artistic icon. This case, thus, clearly shows that in nationalism studies methodological nationalism can be avoided by also including foreign actors. Show less
Methodological nationalism is still dominant in nationalism studies. When studying the construction of national identities, scholars generally limit their study to the borders of one nation-state,... Show moreMethodological nationalism is still dominant in nationalism studies. When studying the construction of national identities, scholars generally limit their study to the borders of one nation-state, while only paying attention to members of that particular nation. Implicitly, foreign actors and influences are left out of the picture. I will challenge this methodological nationalism with a case study, which demonstrates that the place of Toledo within the Spanish national imagination, and more particularly that of El Greco, the most important representative of the city's artistic heritage, was largely determined by foreigners. During the nineteenth century, El Greco was rediscovered primarily by foreign scholars and artists. Moreover, it would be the rise of international tourism in the early twentieth century that convinced Toledans to adopt El Greco as the city's main artistic icon. This case, thus, clearly shows that in nationalism studies methodological nationalism can be avoided by also including foreign actors. Show less
The reception of Chinese and Japanese export porcelain in Europe and the Americas has been the subject of much research, many publications and a number of exhibitions. The scholars and researchers... Show moreThe reception of Chinese and Japanese export porcelain in Europe and the Americas has been the subject of much research, many publications and a number of exhibitions. The scholars and researchers involved could base themselves on a solid corpus of data, gathered in the past from a miscellany of sources. Although Spain was one of the most important commercial and colonial powers in the East during the 16th and 17th centuries, its role in the porcelain trade was far from clear, mainly due to the lack of research in the relevant primary sources. In fact, Spain was more or less a blank spot on the Western map relating to imports of Oriental porcelain.1 This thesis aims to make a modest start to rectify this situation, offering an eclectic survey of hitherto unknown or unused sources, as well as a large collection of new data. Show less
Ever since the legal recognition of Islam in Spain Muslim associations have been increasing in number. The March 11 bombing attacks of 2004 brought to the fore a new group consisting largely of... Show moreEver since the legal recognition of Islam in Spain Muslim associations have been increasing in number. The March 11 bombing attacks of 2004 brought to the fore a new group consisting largely of young Muslims born in Spain who are engaged in social participation through the creation of social and cultural associations. Show less
