WASHINGTON, DC—A report released last month by a nonprofit organization calls for increased education efforts to encourage flu vaccination, especially among minority groups.

WASHINGTON, DC—The Military Operational Medicine Research Program (MOMRP) has announced that it has established a new $17 million Military Suicide Research Consortium (MSRC).

NEW YORK CITY, NY—The student sitting across from you is withdrawn, a little hostile, and tired all the time. He has missed assignments, been repeatedly absent, and when he does show up for class, he sometimes falls asleep mid-lecture. If you begin the conversation from a place of compassion and concern, you will eventually be able to convince him to go see someone at the counseling center on campus. If you aggressively confront him about his grades, he will shut down and the session will end with the student no better off.

This scenario is part of a training simulation called At-Risk®, designed by Kognito Interactive, and it is played out on a computer using avatars. In the simulation, you play the part of the professor, with the goal of recognizing students who are suffering from psychological distress and directing the simulated conversation in such a way that they agree to seek help.

WASHINGTON, DC—Military and civilian researchers are embarking on efforts to develop regenerative therapies that could help injured servicemembers who survived the battlefield, but have sustained serious facial injuries.

WASHINGTON, DC—Not all pain is gain. Unmanaged chronic pain in injured servicemembers and veterans can lead to negative health effects that can last a lifetime, speakers said at an educational forum on pain management held at Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC).

WASHINGTON, DC—A joint project between Wilford Hall Medical Center (WHMC) and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) has made a positive difference in diabetes care for military patients, dependents, and retirees, according to Maj Brian Allenbrand, an endocrinology flight commander at WHMC.

Clevidipine for Vasoreactivity Evaluation of the Pulmonary Arterial Bed (CARVE)

Purpose: The CARVE study assesses the effect of Clevidipine, an ultra-short acting vasoselective calcium antagonist, on pulmonary vascular resistance and its utility for pulmonary vasoreactivity testing during right heart catheterization of patients with pulmonary hypertension.

Studying Genes, Environment, and Prostate Cancer Risk

Objective: The study has four objectives: to evaluate the evidence of familial aggregation for prostate cancer and identify a homogenous subgroup of families with elevated likelihood of aggressive disease using a family case-control design;

WASHINGTON, DC—The 40-year decline in tobacco use in the US has stalled, according to CDC. A new CDC report states that the number of adult smokers dropped between 2000 and 2005, but smoking has remained at about 20% to 21% since 2005.

WASHINGTON, DC—Seventy-five percent of babies born in the United States in 2007 started life breastfeeding, meeting the nation’s Healthy People 2010 goal, according to CDC.