Collaboration between kindergarten teachers and researchers in practice research : The role of graduate students <Collaboration with the local community>

The aim of this study was to examine how the role of graduate students differs when university professors participate in collaborative research. The study method involved the researcher interviewing three kindergarten teachers who had participated in various forms of practice research. The teachers were aware of four roles of graduate students. The following was shown as four roles. (1) Graduate students sympathize with teachers, and give them a boost by acting in an approving manner towards the teachers’ practice. (2) Graduate students supplement and explain the words of the university professors, leading them to act as intermediaries. (3) Graduate students give their opinions to teachers in a positive way. (4) Graduate students also take on a guidance role by supporting teachers. When university professors participated in the research, the graduate students took on an intermediary role between the university professors and the kindergarten teachers. However, the students tended to take on a stronger guidance role when the university professors were not present. In other words, the role of the graduate students changed in the presence of university professors. Therefore, the various roles adopted by the graduate students contributed to the success of collaborative research between teachers and researchers

Collaboration between kindergarten teachers and researchers in practice research : Difference in recognition of practice research <Collaboration with the local community>

In practice research on early childhood care and education, collaboration between practitioners and researchers has been actively implemented. However, such partnerships have not always been successful. In such cases, it is necessary to consider the possibility of a difference in the recognition of practice research between the two parties. The purpose of this study was to clarify such recognition differences between kindergarten teachers and researchers. Interviews with kindergarten teachers and researchers who collaborated in performing practice research were qualitatively analyzed. Results showed that recognition of five items of research － research themes, scope, duration, results, and application possibilities － differed between researchers and kindergarten teachers. Teachers, being more practice oriented, prefer more concrete research themes and scope, whereas researchers lean more toward abstract themes and scope. In addition, teachers give little consideration to research duration, whereas researchers focus on the need to gather and analyze the data within the determined period. Moreover, neither of the parties is fully aware of these differences. Consequently, interaction in the collaboration may come to resemble a “tug-of-war” with both partners asserting their own viewpoints

Piezo1-pannexin-1-P2X3 axis in odontoblasts and neurons mediates sensory transduction in dentinal sensitivity

According to the “hydrodynamic theory,” dentinal pain or sensitivity is caused by dentinal fluid movement following the application of various stimuli to the dentin surface. Recent convergent evidence in Vitro has shown that plasma membrane deformation, mimicking dentinal fluid movement, activates mechanosensitive transient receptor potential (TRP)/Piezo channels in odontoblasts, with the Ca2+ signal eliciting the release of ATP from pannexin-1 (PANX-1). The released ATP activates the P2X3 receptor, which generates and propagates action potentials in the intradental Aδ afferent neurons. Thus, odontoblasts act as sensory receptor cells, and odontoblast-neuron signal communication established by the TRP/Piezo channel-PANX-1-P2X3 receptor complex may describe the mechanism of the sensory transduction sequence for dentinal sensitivity. To determine whether odontoblast-neuron communication and odontoblasts acting as sensory receptors are essential for generating dentinal pain, we evaluated nociceptive scores by analyzing behaviors evoked by dentinal sensitivity in conscious Wistar rats and Cre-mediated transgenic mouse models. In the dentin-exposed group, treatment with a bonding agent on the dentin surface, as well as systemic administration of A-317491 (P2X3 receptor antagonist), mefloquine and 10PANX (non-selective and selective PANX-1 antagonists), GsMTx-4 (selective Piezo1 channel antagonist), and HC-030031 (selective TRPA1 channel antagonist), but not HC-070 (selective TRPC5 channel antagonist), significantly reduced nociceptive scores following cold water (0.1 ml) stimulation of the exposed dentin surface of the incisors compared to the scores of rats without local or systemic treatment. When we applied cold water stimulation to the exposed dentin surface of the lower first molar, nociceptive scores in the rats with systemic administration of A-317491, 10PANX, and GsMTx-4 were significantly reduced compared to those in the rats without systemic treatment. Dentin-exposed mice, with somatic odontoblast-specific depletion, also showed significant reduction in the nociceptive scores compared to those of Cre-mediated transgenic mice, which did not show any type of cell deletion, including odontoblasts. In the odontoblast-eliminated mice, P2X3 receptor-positive A-neurons were morphologically intact. These results indicate that neurotransmission between odontoblasts and neurons mediated by the Piezo1/TRPA1-pannexin-1-P2X3 receptor axis is necessary for the development of dentinal pain. In addition, odontoblasts are necessary for sensory transduction to generate dentinal sensitivity as mechanosensory receptor cells