Interview with Leoda Starnes

In her May 26, 2017 interview with Alex Windham, Leoda Starnes detailed her thoughts and memories of his time at the Rock Hill Printing and Finishing Company referred to locals as the Bleachery. Starnes spoke of the time period of the 1940s through 2017 and on the follow topics: race relations, day to day job responsibilities and actions, technology changes, worker attitudes, the decline of the Bleachery, family, her other occupations up until the year 2017. Zeiders also offered her opinions on the Bleachery compared to other textile jobs.https://digitalcommons.winthrop.edu/oralhistoryprogram/1623/thumbnail.jp

Neurodevelopmental and Epilepsy Phenotypes in Individuals With Missense Variants in the Voltage-Sensing and Pore Domains of KCNH5

Background and Objectives KCNH5 encodes the voltage-gated potassium channel EAG2/Kv10.2. We aimed to delineate the neurodevelopmental and epilepsy phenotypic spectrum associated with de novo KCNH5 variants.Methods We screened 893 individuals with developmental and epileptic encephalopathies for KCNH5 variants using targeted or exome sequencing. Additional individuals with KCNH5 variants were identified through an international collaboration. Clinical history, EEG, and imaging data were analyzed; seizure types and epilepsy syndromes were classified. We included 3 previously published individuals including additional phenotypic details.Results We report a cohort of 17 patients, including 9 with a recurrent de novo missense variant p.Arg327His, 4 with a recurrent missense variant p.Arg333His, and 4 additional novel missense variants. All variants were located in or near the functionally critical voltage-sensing or pore domains, absent in the general population, and classified as pathogenic or likely pathogenic using the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics criteria. All individuals presented with epilepsy with a median seizure onset at 6 months. They had a wide range of seizure types, including focal and generalized seizures. Cognitive outcomes ranged from normal intellect to profound impairment. Individuals with the recurrent p.Arg333His variant had a self-limited drug-responsive focal or generalized epilepsy and normal intellect, whereas the recurrent p.Arg327His variant was associated with infantile-onset DEE. Two individuals with variants in the pore domain were more severely affected, with a neonatal-onset movement disorder, early-infantile DEE, profound disability, and childhood death.Discussion We describe a cohort of 17 individuals with pathogenic or likely pathogenic missense variants in the voltage-sensing and pore domains of Kv10.2, including 14 previously unreported individuals. We present evidence for a putative emerging genotype-phenotype correlation with a spectrum of epilepsy and cognitive outcomes. Overall, we expand the role of EAG proteins in human disease and establish KCNH5 as implicated in a spectrum of neurodevelopmental disorders and epilepsy.</p

A Review of Neurostimulation for Epilepsy in Pediatrics

Neurostimulation for epilepsy refers to the application of electricity to affect the central nervous system, with the goal of reducing seizure frequency and severity. We review the available evidence for the use of neurostimulation to treat pediatric epilepsy, including vagus nerve stimulation (VNS), responsive neurostimulation (RNS), deep brain stimulation (DBS), chronic subthreshold cortical stimulation (CSCS), transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). We consider possible mechanisms of action and safety concerns, and we propose a methodology for selecting between available options. In general, we find neurostimulation is safe and effective, although any high quality evidence applying neurostimulation to pediatrics is lacking. Further research is needed to understand neuromodulatory systems, and to identify biomarkers of response in order to establish optimal stimulation paradigms

STEM and LIteraCy in Education (SLICE)

The vision of this project, Science and LIteraCy in Education (SLICE) seeks to enable grades 4-12 STEM and Literacy teachers to reach for excellence in elementary, middle and high school STEM and Literacy education through Hands-on, Standards-based, Project-based and Technology-based (HSPT-based) learning environments. The outlined project assists region-wide elementary, middle and high school teachers to (1) gain a deeper understanding of the subject matter, (2) connect Practices between Common Core State Standards in Literacy and Math, and Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), and (3) utilize cross-cutting concepts promoted in NGSS to integrate the disciplines of STEM and Literacy. The project represents a partnership among 120 Grades 4-12 STEM and Literacy teachers from fifteen school districts in Tennessee: Hawkins (Lead), Bristol, Carter, Cocke, Elizabethton, Greene, Greeneville, Johnson City, Johnson County, Newport, Kingsport, Rogersville, Sullivan, Unicoi and Washington; six business partners (Ballad Health, Cooper Standard, Domtar, Eastman, Nuclear Fuel Services and ZF-TRW); ETSU Colleges of Arts and Sciences and Education, School of Graduate Studies and Northeast Tennessee Innovation STEM Hub. This opportunity provides a chance for teachers from surrounding districts to join with STEM and Literacy faculty and professionals to form a strong professional learning community focused on the integration of STEM and Literacy