Tokushima University i.school : Its Conception, Realization, and Outlook

徳島大学高等教育研究センター学修支援部門創新教育推進班では，2022年4月より日本のイノベーション教育において先駆的な存在であるi.schoolの教育手法を取り入れた教育プログラム「徳島大学i.school」を，i.schoolの運営団体である一般社団法人日本社会イノベーションセンターの支援と正式な認可のもとで開始した。本報告では，そのねらいと経緯について，イノベーション教育に関する歴史的背景を踏まえて紹介する。The Section of Education for Innovation in Research Center for Higher Education of Tokushima University launched an education program called Tokushima University i.school which incorporates education methods and principles of the Japan Social Innovation Center, not only a pioneer of innovation education in Japan but also the governing body of the i.school. In this report, we introduce the aim of the i.school at Tokushima University in the context of the historical background of innovation education

ELF-MF Stimulates Adrenal Steroidogenesis

Extremely low-frequency magnetic fields (ELF-MFs) are generated by power lines and household electrical devices. In the last several decades, some evidence has shown an association between ELF-MF exposure and depression and/or anxiety in epidemiological and animal studies. The mechanism underlying ELF-MF-induced depression is considered to involve adrenal steroidogenesis, which is triggered by ELF-MF exposure. However, how ELF-MFs stimulate adrenal steroidogenesis is controversial. In the current study, we investigated the effect of ELF-MF exposure on the mouse adrenal cortex-derived Y-1 cell line and the human adrenal cortex-derived H295R cell line to clarify whether the ELF-MF stimulates adrenal steroidogenesis directly. ELF-MF exposure was found to significantly stimulate adrenal steroidogenesis (p < 0.01–0.05) and the expression of adrenal steroid synthetic enzymes (p < 0.05) in Y-1 cells, but the effect was weak in H295R cells. Y-1 cells exposed to an ELF-MF showed significant decreases in phosphodiesterase activity (p < 0.05) and intracellular Ca2+ concentration (p < 0.01) and significant increases in intracellular cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) concentration (p < 0.001–0.05) and cAMP response element-binding protein phosphorylation (p < 0.05). The increase in cAMP was not inhibited by treatment with NF449, an inhibitor of the Gs alpha subunit of G protein. Our results suggest that ELF-MF exposure stimulates adrenal steroidogenesis via an increase in intracellular cAMP caused by the inhibition of phosphodiesterase activity in Y-1 cells. The same mechanism may trigger the increase in adrenal steroid secretion in mice observed in our previous study

Anxiety affects the amplitudes of red and green colorelicited flash visual evoked potentials in humans

It has been reported that negative emotional changes and conditions affect the visual faculties of humans at the neural level. On the other hand, the effects of emotion on color perception in particular, which are based on evoked potentials, are unknown. In the present study, we investigated whether different anxiety levels affect the color information processing for each of 3 wavelengths by using flash visual evoked potentials (FVEPs) and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. In results, significant positive correlations were observed between FVEP amplitudes and state or trait anxiety scores in the long (sensed as red) and middle (sensed as green) wavelengths. On the other hand, short-wavelength-evoked FVEPs were not correlated with anxiety level. Our results suggest that negative emotional conditions may affect color sense processing in humans

Exposure to an Extremely-Low-Frequency Magnetic Field Stimulates Adrenal Steroidogenesis via Inhibition of Phosphodiesterase Activity in a Mouse Adrenal Cell Line - Fig 6

<p><b>Signaling pathways regulating adrenal steroidogenesis (A) and the assumed steroidogenic mechanism induced by ELF-MF exposure (B).</b> AC: adenylate cyclase, cAMP: cyclic adenosine monophosphate, CaM: calmodulin, CaMK: calmodulin kinase, CREB: cAMP response element binding protein, DAG: diacylglycerol, GPCR: G protein-coupled receptor, IP3: inositol triphosphate, PDE: phosphodiesterase, PKA: protein kinase A, PKC: protein kinase C, PLC: phospholipase C, 5′ AMP: adenosine 5'-monophosphate.</p