The OECD’s Brain and Learning project (2002) emphasized that many misconceptions about the brain exist among professionals in the field of education. Though these so-called “neuromyths” are loosely based on scientific facts, they may have adverse effects on educational practice. The present study investigated the prevalence and predictors of neuromyths among teachers in selected regions in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. A large observational survey design was used to assess general knowledge of the brain and neuromyths. The sample comprised 242 primary and secondary school teachers who were interested in the neuroscience of learning. It would be of concern if neuromyths were found in this sample, as these teachers may want to use these incorrect interpretations of neuroscience findings in their teaching practice. Participants completed an online survey containing 32 statements about the brain and its influence on learning, of which 15 were neuromyths. Additional data was collected regarding background variables (e.g., age, sex, school type). Results showed that on average, teachers believed 49% of the neuromyths, particularly myths related to commercialized educational programs. Around 70% of the general knowledge statements were answered correctly. Teachers who read popular science magazines achieved higher scores on general knowledge questions. More general knowledge also predicted an increased belief in neuromyths. These findings suggest that teachers who are enthusiastic about the possible application of neuroscience findings in the classroom find it difficult to distinguish pseudoscience from scientific facts. Possessing greater general knowledge about the brain does not appear to protect teachers from believing in neuromyths. This demonstrates the need for enhanced interdisciplinary communication to reduce such misunderstandings in the future and establish a successful collaboration between neuroscience and education.

The beneficial roles of probiotics in lowering the gastrointestinal inflammation and preventing colorectal cancer have been frequently demonstrated, but their immunomodulatory effects and mechanism in suppressing the growth of extraintestinal tumors remain unexplored. Here, we adopted a mouse model and metagenome sequencing to investigate the efficacy of probiotic feeding in controlling s.c. hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and the underlying mechanism suppressing the tumor progression. Our result demonstrated that Prohep, a novel probiotic mixture, slows down the tumor growth significantly and reduces the tumor size and weight by 40% compared with the control. From a mechanistic point of view the down-regulated IL-17 cytokine and its major producer Th17 cells, whose levels decreased drastically, played critical roles in tumor reduction upon probiotics feeding. Cell staining illustrated that the reduced Th17 cells in the tumor of the probiotictreated group is mainly caused by the reduced frequency of migratory Th17 cells from the intestine and peripheral blood. In addition, shotgun-metagenome sequencing revealed the crosstalk between gut microbial metabolites and the HCC development. Probiotics shifted the gut microbial community toward certain beneficial bacteria, including Prevotella and Oscillibacter, that are known producers of antiinflammatory metabolites, which subsequently reduced the Th17 polarization and promoted the differentiation of antiinflammatory Treg/Tr1 cells in the gut. Overall, our study offers novel insights into the mechanism by which probiotic treatment modulates the microbiota and influences the regulation of the T-cell differentiation in the gut, which in turn alters the level of the proinflammatory cytokines in the extraintestinal tumor microenvironment.H epatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common cancers, the sixth most common neoplasm, and the second most deadly type of cancer worldwide (1). The traditional HCC treatment, including surgical treatment, local ablation therapy, and chemotherapy, could offer potential cure, yet patients are facing many limitations including the poor hepatic reserve. HCC is clearly a disease for which alternative therapeutic strategies must be developed. A better understanding of the interactions between cancer cells and stromal components in the tumorassociated proinflammatory microenvironment would be important for the management of this disease.The tumor microenvironment is infiltrated with various immune cells such as T cells, macrophages, neutrophils, natural killer (NK) cells, and myeloid-derived suppressor cells. Inflammation is known to play a pivotal role in tumor development by escalating tumor angiogenesis and cell growth. Once a solid tumor is formed, inflammation arises in the tumor-promoting direction. At the same time, new vasculature is needed in the tumor to provide nutrients and oxygen to support the growth of cancer cells, and this process plays a critical role in HCC, a highly vascularized tumor (2). Inflammation and angiogene...

The Amsterdam Executive Function Inventory (AEFI) is a newly developed brief self-report questionnaire to assess three important components of the executive aspects of daily-life behavior--that is, Attention, Self-Control and Self-Monitoring, and Planning and Initiative. In a population-based study, the AEFI was administered to N = 6,730 Dutch adolescents aged between 15 and 18 years. Psychometric analyses showed that the construct validity and the reliability of the AEFI were adequate. Educational level and gender affected the different AEFI scale scores. Regression-based normative data that took these demographic influences into account were established, so that the AEFI can be used by clinicians and researchers who need to assess executive aspects of daily-life behavior.

The question of how learners’ motivation influences their academic achievement and vice versa has been the subject of intensive research due to its theoretical relevance and important implications for the field of education. Here, we present our understanding of how influential theories of academic motivation have conceptualized reciprocal interactions between motivation and achievement and the kinds of evidence that support this reciprocity. While the reciprocal nature of the relationship between motivation and academic achievement has been established in the literature, further insights into several features of this relationship are still lacking. We therefore present a research agenda where we identify theoretical and methodological challenges that could inspire further understanding of the reciprocal relationship between motivation and achievement as well as inform future interventions. Specifically, the research agenda includes the recommendation that future research considers (1) multiple motivation constructs, (2) behavioral mediators, (3) a network approach, (4) alignment of intervals of measurement and the short vs. long time scales of motivation constructs, (5) designs that meet the criteria for making causal, reciprocal inferences, (6) appropriate statistical models, (7) alternatives to self-reports, (8) different ways of measuring achievement, and (9) generalizability of the reciprocal relations to various developmental, ethnic, and sociocultural groups.