Attentiveness in kindergarten accurately predicts the development of “work-oriented” skills in school children, according to a new study published by Dr. Linda Pagani, a professor and researcher at the University of Montreal and CHU Sainte-Justine. Elementary school teachers made observations of attention skills in over a thousand kindergarten children. Then, from grades 1 to 6, homeroom teachers rated how well the children worked both autonomously and with fellow classmates, their levels of self-control and self-confidence, and their ability to follow directions and rules. “For children, the classroom is the workplace, …

According to a new study, oral infections with the human papillomavirus (HPV) are more common in men than women.
The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, said that while the viruses can be found in saliva, HPV appears to be mostly spread through sex.
Study author Maura Gillison, a professor at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center said the virus can cause cancers at the back of the throat, tonsils and base of the tongue.  Patients infected with oral HPV type 16 have a 14 times higher …

There has been a large drop in the rate of leg and foot amputations among Americans aged 40 and over with diagnosed diabetes, according to a new study by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published in the February issue of Diabetes Care. The study reports that between 1996 and 2008 the rate of such amputations fell by 65%.
The authors suggest the most likely reason for this large drop in leg and foot amputations among people with diagnosed diabetes is improvements in blood sugar control, foot care …

Perfluorinated compounds (PFCs), a synthetic class of chemicals which are found in a variety of everyday items, have been found in the human body decades after exposure and are believed to lead to earlier menopause and reduced fertility among women. Some of the products that PFCs are found in include non-stick frying pans, waterproof clothing and fast food wrappers.
A new study is bringing to light clues that high exposure to PFCs in the womb or in childhood could also limit the protection offered by vaccinations to children’s health, reports Nick …

Certain vaccines may not work as well in children who have been exposed to high levels of perfluorinated compounds (PFCs), a family of chemicals used to make everything from microwave popcorn bags and pizza boxes to carpets and nonstick cookware, new research suggests.
In a study published this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers found that the higher the level of PFCs in a child’s blood, the fewer antibodies the child produced after receiving vaccines for diphtheria and tetanus. In addition, kids with higher PFC exposure were …