‘Women’s Words, Women’s Bodies: Late Nineteenth Century English Feminisms in the ‘Interview’ column of the Women’s Penny Paper/Woman’s Herald (Oct. 27, 1888- Apr. 23, 1892)

Historians have written extensively on early twentieth-century British women’s suffrage, and late nineteenth century feminisms. Nevertheless, there is still an insufficiency in studies that attend to the textual and visual contents of late nineteenth century feminist periodicals. Non-mainstream periodicals produced by women for women allow us to explore distinctive hybrid modes of gender. They also offer us exclusive access into the everyday experiences, and individual thoughts of actual late nineteenth century women. This article focuses on women’s interviews and portraits published in the Women’s Penny Paper/Women’s Herald, demonstrating that they often combined traditional with more radical emergent signifiers of womanhood in written and pictorial form. This is a journey into the verbal and non-verbal messages communicated through women’s words and bodies, expanding our collective archaeological project of reinterpreting the past from women’s point of view, and the manner in which New Women utilised their choice of words and appearance to gain power

Using Active Learning to Teach Critical and Contextual Studies: One Teaching Plan, Two Experiments, Three Videos.

Since the 1970s, art and design education at UK universities has existedas a divided practice; on the one hand applying active learning in thestudio and on the other hand enforcing passive learning in the lecturetheatre. As a result, art and design students are in their vast majorityreluctant about modules that may require them to think, read and writecritically during their academic studies. This article describes, evaluatesand analyses two individual active learning experiments designed todetermine if it is possible to teach CCS modules in a manner thatencourages student participation. The results reveal that opting foractive learning methods improved academic achievement, encouragedcooperation, and enforced an inclusive classroom. Furthermore, andcontrary to wider perception, the article demonstrates that activelearning methods can be equally beneficial for small-size as well aslarge-size groups

The DIANA-mirExTra Web Server: From Gene Expression Data to MicroRNA Function

Background: High-throughput gene expression experiments are widely used to identify the role of genes involved in biological conditions of interest. MicroRNAs (miRNA) are regulatory molecules that have been functionally associated with several developmental programs and their deregulation with diverse diseases including cancer. Methodology/Principal Findings: Although miRNA expression levels may not be routinely measured in high-throughput experiments, a possible involvement of miRNAs in the deregulation of gene expression can be computationally predicted and quantified through analysis of overrepresented motifs in the deregulated genes 39 untranslated region (39UTR) sequences. Here, we introduce a user-friendly web-server, DIANA-mirExTra (www.microrna.gr/mirextra) that allows the comparison of frequencies of miRNA associated motifs between sets of genes that can lead to the identification of miRNAs responsible for the deregulation of large numbers of genes. To this end, we have investigated different approaches and measures, and have practically implemented them on experimental data. Conclusions/Significance: On several datasets of miRNA overexpression and repression experiments, our proposed approaches have successfully identified the deregulated miRNA. Beyond the prediction of miRNAs responsible for the deregulation of transcripts, the web-server provides extensive links to DIANA-mirPath, a functional analysis tool incorporating miRNA targets in biological pathways. Additionally, in case information about miRNA expression changes i

TarBase 6.0: capturing the exponential growth of miRNA targets with experimental support

As the relevant literature and the number of experiments increase at a super linear rate, databases that curate and collect experimentally verified microRNA (miRNA) targets have gradually emerged. These databases attempt to provide efficient access to this wealth of experimental data, which is scattered in thousands of manuscripts. Aim of TarBase 6.0 (http://www.microrna.gr/tarbase) is to face this challenge by providing a significant increase of available miRNA targets derived from all contemporary experimental techniques (gene specific and high-throughput), while incorporating a powerful set of tools in a user-friendly interface. TarBase 6.0 hosts detailed information for each miRNA–gene interaction, ranging from miRNA- and gene-related facts to information specific to their interaction, the experimental validation methodologies and their outcomes. All database entries are enriched with function-related data, as well as general information derived from external databases such as UniProt, Ensembl and RefSeq. DIANA microT miRNA target prediction scores and the relevant prediction details are available for each interaction. TarBase 6.0 hosts the largest collection of manually curated experimentally validated miRNA–gene interactions (more than 65 000 targets), presenting a 16.5–175-fold increase over other available manually curated databases

DIANA-miRGen v4 : indexing promoters and regulators for more than 1500 microRNAs

Deregulation of microRNA (miRNA) expression plays a critical role in the transition from a physiological to a pathological state. The accurate miRNA promoter identification in multiple cell types is a fundamental endeavor towards understanding and characterizing the underlying mechanisms of both physiological as well as pathological conditions. DIANA-miRGen v4 (www.microrna.gr/mirgenv4) provides cell type specific miRNA transcription start sites (TSSs) for over 1500 miRNAs retrieved from the analysis of >1000 cap analysis of gene expression (CAGE) samples corresponding to 133 tissues, cell lines and primary cells available in FANTOM repository. MiRNA TSS locations were associated with transcription factor binding site (TFBSs) annotation, for >280 TFs, derived from analyzing the majority of ENCODE ChIP-Seq datasets. For the first time, clusters of cell types having common miRNA TSSs are characterized and provided through a user friendly interface with multiple layers of customization. DIANA-miRGen v4 significantly improves our understanding of miRNA biogenesis regulation at the transcriptional level by providing a unique integration of high-quality annotations for hundreds of cell specific miRNA promoters with experimentally derived TFBSs.peer-reviewe

miRGen 2.0: a database of microRNA genomic information and regulation

MicroRNAs are small, non-protein coding RNA molecules known to regulate the expression of genes by binding to the 3′UTR region of mRNAs. MicroRNAs are produced from longer transcripts which can code for more than one mature miRNAs. miRGen 2.0 is a database that aims to provide comprehensive information about the position of human and mouse microRNA coding transcripts and their regulation by transcription factors, including a unique compilation of both predicted and experimentally supported data. Expression profiles of microRNAs in several tissues and cell lines, single nucleotide polymorphism locations, microRNA target prediction on protein coding genes and mapping of miRNA targets of co-regulated miRNAs on biological pathways are also integrated into the database and user interface. The miRGen database will be continuously maintained and freely available at http://www.microrna.gr/mirgen/

Accurate microRNA target prediction correlates with protein repression levels

MicroRNAs are small endogenously expressed non-coding RNA molecules that regulate target gene expression through translation repression or messenger RNA degradation. MicroRNA regulation is performed through pairing of the microRNA to sites in the messenger RNA of protein coding genes. Since experimental identification of miRNA target genes poses difficulties, computational microRNA target prediction is one of the key means in deciphering the role of microRNAs in development and diseas

Graphic design, media, and gender politics: the paratext in the late 19th century feminist periodical (Britain, c. 1888 - 1899). A transdisciplinary holistic approach

In recent years, we have seen an increase in feminist media studies, yet the vast majority of communication, media, and design historical studies seem to focus on the canon of media ecology, following a heroic approach analysis, whilst appearing disjointed, and departmentalized. This thesis argues ‘against the personality cult, pointing to the collective and cumulative dimension present in most, if not all, design’, and by adopting an inclusive approach to the study of the periodical demonstrates that a transdisciplinary holistic approach is plausible, though certainly more challenging.1 This thesis applies an original modified version of Gérard Genette’s theory of the paratext, and offers an interdisciplinary discussion of gender representation by interpreting late nineteenth century periodical paratexts. More specifically, it examines: to what extent the gendered conventions of late nineteenth century Britain influenced the editorial design identity of the general feminist weekly periodical; and whether emerging hybrid paradigms of late nineteenth century New Womanhood in any way challenged the established patriarchal ideals, through the editorial design identity of the general feminist weekly periodical. Herein lies a set of carefully considered and thoroughly detailed case studies that follow a newly modified Genettean model of analysis that: a. considers the designed as well as the visual and textual elements of the periodical; b. respects all the specificities of the periodicals under investigation; c. acknowledges the different people taking part in the design production and consumption of the late nineteenth century feminist periodical, as well as the role and input of the men and especially women involved. In general, the thesis demonstrates that general feminist periodicals projected a voice that was critical of any established gendered norms, which manifested not only through the textual, and visual content, but also the design identity of these periodicals. In particular, the findings reveal that the Women’s Penny Paper, Woman’s Herald, and Woman’s Signal centered their editorial design identity on specific hybrid paradigms of New Womanhood, such as: the non-partisan New Woman with a universal outlook; the Liberal New Woman; the New Woman Gospel temperance supporter; and the New Woman that espoused bourgeois propriety, whilst supporting women’s suffrage. This thesis positions the periodical, its designed, visual and textual features, its producers and consumers, and its conditions of production and consumption at the very centre of the investigation, hoping to encourage the conception of further new (trans)methodological models for use in periodical studies, or other areas of research enquiry

Using Active Learning to Teach Critical and Contextual Studies: One Teaching Plan, Two Experiments, Three Videos

[EN] Since the 1970s, art and design education at UK universities has existedas a divided practice; on the one hand applying active learning in thestudio and on the other hand enforcing passive learning in the lecturetheatre. As a result, art and design students are in their vast majorityreluctant about modules that may require them to think, read and writecritically during their academic studies. This article describes, evaluatesand analyses two individual active learning experiments designed todetermine if it is possible to teach CCS modules in a manner thatencourages student participation. The results reveal that opting foractive learning methods improved academic achievement, encouragedcooperation, and enforced an inclusive classroom. Furthermore, andcontrary to wider perception, the article demonstrates that activelearning methods can be equally beneficial for small-size as well aslarge-size groups.Alexiou, A. (2022). Using Active Learning to Teach Critical and Contextual Studies: One Teaching Plan, Two Experiments, Three Videos. En 8th International Conference on Higher Education Advances (HEAd'22). Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 619-627. https://doi.org/10.4995/HEAd22.2022.1486361962