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The challenge for sustainability educational programs lies in how to imbue students with the strong motivation necessary to move the world in a more sustainable direction. Five universities in Japan have mutually collaborated in the design and development of a unique curriculum and education system for sustainability science since 2008. Specifically, they have developed a common and remote lecture system called the “Frontier of sustainability science” (FSS). This paper discusses the concepts and challenges of FSS and how it was organized to teach students to actively learn how to work with people of various disciplines to realize interdisciplinarity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rationale: Istradefylline, an adenosine A receptor antagonist, improves motor function in animal models of Parkinson's disease (PD) and in patients with PD. In addition, some A antagonists exert antidepressant-like activity in rodent models of depression, such as the forced swim and the tail suspension tests. Objective: We have investigated the effect of istradefylline on depression-like behaviors using the rat learned helplessness (LH) model. Results: Acute, as well as chronic, oral administration of istradefylline significantly improved the inescapable shock (IES)-induced escape deficit with a degree of efficacy comparable to chronic treatment with the tricyclic antidepressant desipramine and the selective serotonin (5-HT) reuptake inhibitor, fluoxetine. Both the A/A receptor nonspecific antagonist theophylline and the moderately selective antagonist CGS15943, but not the A selective antagonist DPCPX, ameliorated the IES-induced escape deficit. The enhancement of escape response by istradefylline was reversed by a local injection of the A specific agonist CGS21680 either into the nucleus accumbens, the caudate-putamen, or the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus, but not by the A specific agonist R-PIA into the nucleus accumbens. Moreover, neither the 5-HT receptor antagonist methysergide or the adrenergic α 2 antagonist yohimbine, nor the β-adrenergic antagonist propranolol, affected the improvement of escape response induced by istradefylline. Conclusions: Istradefylline exerts antidepressant-like effects via modulation of A receptor activity which is independent of monoaminergic transmission in the brain. Istradefylline may represent a novel treatment option for depression in PD as well as for the motor symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rationale: Altered cognitive function is a common feature of both the early and later stages of Parkinson’s disease (PD) that involves alterations in cortical dopamine content. Adenosine A 2A antagonists, such as istradefylline, improve motor function in PD, but their effect on cognitive impairment has not been determined. Objective: The present study investigated whether impairment of working memory due to the loss of dopaminergic input into the prefrontal cortex (PFC) is reversed by administration of istradefylline. We also evaluated whether A 2A antagonist administration modulates dopamine levels in the PFC. Methods: Bilateral lesions of the dopaminergic input to the PFC were produced in rats using 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA). Cognitive performance was evaluated using an object recognition task and delayed alternation task. The effects of istradefylline, donepezil and methamphetamine on cognitive performance were examined. In addition, the effect of istradefylline on extracellular dopamine levels in the PFC was studied. Results: PFC dopamine levels and cognitive performance were significantly reduced by 6-OHDA lesioning. Istradefylline, donepezil and methamphetamine improved cognitive performance of PFC-lesioned rats. Istradefylline increased dopamine levels in the PFC in both normal and PFC-lesioned rats. Conclusions: PFC dopaminergic input plays an important role in working memory performance. Blockade of A 2A receptors using istradefylline reverses the changes in cognitive function, and this may be due to an increase in PFC dopamine content. Adenosine A 2A receptor antagonists not only improve motor performance in PD but may also lead to improved cognition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]