Jezebel This Week in Tabloids: Look Inside Amanda Bynes' Weird-Ass 'Drug Den' | io9 9 Reasons Green Lanterns Are the Universe's Worst Protectors | Deadspin How To Be Completely Useless In A Medical Emergency | Gizmodo How We Imagined the Internet Before the Internet Even Existed
Source: http://lauren.kinja.com/jezebel-this-week-in-tabloids-look-inside-amanda-bynes-509384673
Dana Vollmer Ryan Dempster Phelps NBC Olympics Live Olympic medal count Medal Count 2012 London 2012 Fencing
'Heart Attack' singer tells stars like Fifth Harmony to never let go of their 'refreshing' energy.
By Emilee Lindner, with reporting by Christina Garibaldi
Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1707708/demi-lovato-ariana-grande-zendaya-coleman-advice.jhtml
cherry blossom festival nc state erika van pelt pat robertson hunger games trailer hunger games trailer in plain sight
3 hours ago
@BryanSinger/twitter
Jennifer Lawrence in costume as Mystique for the "X-Men: Days of Future Past."
Baby, it's cold outside. Well, maybe, but that's not why Jennifer Lawrence is sporting a full-on blue-skinned look. The "Hunger Games" star, 22, is taking a break from playing Katniss to step back into the skin of Mystique from the "X-Men" series.
Director Bryan Singer tweeted a photo of Lawrence in Mystique's blue skin, yellow eyes and red hair, taken during the filming of 2014's "X-Men: Days of Future Past."
Singer tagged his photo, "First look: #JenniferLawrence as a vengeful #Mystique. #XMen #DaysOfFuturePast."
Lawrence is reprising the role she played in 2011's "X-Men: First Class."
The film is a sequel to both that 2011 film and to the 2006 film "X-Men: The Last Stand," in which Rebecca Romijn played Mystique.
Both Romijn and Lawrence had to be in tip-top shape for the films, as nothing is hidden. An early interview with Romijn back when she played the role reveals that Mystique wears only prosthetics designed to cover certain area for modesty and practicality purposes -- though it's hard to use the word "modesty" in connection with so little clothing.
Peter Dinklage, Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman and Halle Berry also have roles in the film, which is scheduled for release July 18, 2014.
chuck colson ufc 145 results orrin hatch marlon byrd charles colson humber raffi torres
Samsung didn't stray far from its comfort zone when designing the Galaxy S 4, and now a leaked build of Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean for the S III makes it even harder to distinguish the older flagship from the newer one. The folks at SamMobile got their mitts on a test firmware build and, better yet, have combed through it to see what's new. As you may know, the S 4 ships with 4.2.2 under a TouchWiz layer, so it's not surprising to hear most of the features new to this S III build are on the S 4 already: an updated version of S Voice, more lock screen options / unlock effects, new display modes, a redesigned settings interface, voice control, and more. SamMobile has put together a video walkthrough of the build (embedded below), and you'll find an expanded changelog and software screenshots at the source link. Apparently, the firmware "works perfectly," so if you'd rather not wait through the (often lengthy) carrier approval process, you can download it for your S III right now (flashing required, of course).
Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile, Samsung, Google
Via: Sammy Hub
Source: SamMobile
matt jones whitney houston in casket photo resolute national enquirer whitney houston casket photo jk rowling qnexa kingdom of heaven
May 20, 2013 ? A new computer model could help scientists predict when a particular strain of avian influenza might become infectious from bird to human, according to a report to be published in the International Journal Data Mining and Bioinformatics.
Chuang Ma of the University of Arizona, Tucson, and colleagues at the Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan and the Wuhan Institute of Virology, explain that since 1997 several strains of avian influenza A virus (AIV), commonly known as "bird flu" have infected people directly from their natural bird hosts leading to numerous deaths. The most recent outbreak is "H7N9" bird flu, which emerged in China in February 2013. The team has now developed a computational technique that allows them to predict whether or not a given strain of bird flu has the potential to infect people. Such a tool would allow the health authorities to monitor specific strains in among wild and domestic birds and so predict with more certainty whether or not that strain is likely to cause a global pandemic of influenza in people.
The method is based on analyzing ninety signature positions in the inner protein sequences of different strains of the virus, the researchers explain. These positions are then correlated with more than 500 different physical and chemical characteristics of the virus. The researchers then use data mining techniques to match up specific physicochemical characteristics with bird to human infectivity. This can then be tracked back to the presence of mutations in the proteins of emerging strains. The team has successfully validated their system, which they refer to simply as "A2H," against known strains of bird flu and those that are infectious to people.
"A2H might be useful in the early warning of interspecies transmission of AIV, which is beneficial to public health," the team says. "It will be further validated and upgraded when more virus strains become available," they add. A similar approach might also one day be extended to other viruses that emerge from non-human hosts and become infectious to people.
Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:
Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:
Story Source:
The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Inderscience Publishers, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/dDEzWCBlffU/130520104930.htm
nina dobrev HLN Charles Ramsey Mike Jeffries Farrah Abraham Video Michelle Knight Saul Bass
NASA's Mars rover Curiosity has broken out its trusty drill again, pulling samples from deep within a Red Planet rock for the second time ever.
The 1-ton Curiosity rover bored 2.6 inches (6.6 centimeters) into a rock dubbed "Cumberland" on Sunday (May 19), NASA officials said. The resulting powdered sample will be delivered to the robot's onboard science instruments in the coming days.
Curiosity first used its drill to collect samples back in February, boring into a nearby rock called "John Klein." That operation revealed that ancient Mars was likely capable of supporting microbial life ? a groundbreaking discovery that the mission team wants to confirm.
"The science team expects to use analysis of material from Cumberland to check findings from John Klein," NASA officials wrote in a mission update Monday (May 20).
Curiosity touched down inside Mars' huge Gale Crater last August, kicking off a two-year surface mission to investigate the Red Planet's past and present habitability. It has spent the time since then close to its landing site, putting just 2,300 feet (700 meters) on its odometer thus far.
But the six-wheeled robot will soon start making some serious tracks. Curiosity's ultimate destination is the base of Mount Sharp, a mysterious mountain that rises 3.4 miles (5.5 kilometers) into the Martian sky from Gale Crater's center.
Mount Sharp's foothills show signs of past exposure to liquid water. Further, mission scientists want Curiosity to read Mars' changing environmental history like a book as it climbs through the many layers comprising the mountain's lower reaches.
Curiosity will likely start heading to Mount Sharp's base after it finishes analyzing the Cumberland samples and wraps up a few other high-priority science operations in the area, NASA officials said. The 5-mile (8 km) journey is expected the take months, as Curiosity's top speed across hard, flat ground is about 0.09 mph (0.14 km/h).
Follow Mike Wall on Twitter?@michaeldwall?and?Google+.?Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook?or Google+. Originally published on?SPACE.com.
Copyright 2013 SPACE.com, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Source: http://news.yahoo.com/nasas-curiosity-rover-drills-2nd-mars-rock-200539662.html
Watertown Boston npr Oblivion Hemlock Grove Boston Bomber Death Photo Fox Boston Bomber
45 mice, 15 newts, eight gerbils and a handful of snails returned to Earth today after a month in space in a Russian capsule. The Bion-M completed a parachute-assisted landing about 750 miles southeast of Moscow, and researchers immediately set up a mobile lab near the capsule to begin tests on the animals.
     |
les miserables jennifer lawrence Oscar Winners 2013 quentin tarantino jessica chastain jessica chastain oscars
Cash! The WSJ says "the Yahoo board has approved a deal" to make this happen, and it's hard to imagine Tumblr turning this down. One of the most unpopular
A billion dollars for a company with a massive, young, ad-averse, GIF-swapping user base and an open disdain for revenue?Yahoo's shareholders are probably a little puzzled, if they aren't prima facie dazzled by how often Tumblr is characterized as "cool" and "young"?that demographic elixer Yahoo will now try to vampire-suck out of Tumblr. Cool, cool, cool, young, young, so young.
Tumblr's investors won't be so dazzled, as they were hoping for a hell of a lot more than a billion dollars. Then again, these same investors poured millions into a company that, as mentioned, never made making money a priority?Tumblr should consider itself lucky to have this deus ex Marissa Mayer, the ultimate bail-out.
So, it's not ideal for either party, but that's Yahoo in 2013. It's a little sad and a little confusing, but the two deserve each other?and as AllThingsD's Kara Swisher reports, "There were no other competing bids." This is the internet acquisition equivalent of two tired, slightly desperate lovers exchanging leers from opposite sides of the bar, shrugging, and going home together. This is a Sure, why not, deal.
Still, no clues for the following questions:
A) What is Yahoo going to do with Tumblr in a way that justifies that giant price tag?
B) Will Tumblr have to start making money now?
C) What will Yahoo do with all of the porn and cutting
D) Is this the end of the road for unpopular boy king David Karp, who for the first time in his career will have to be accountable
We'll be at Yahoo's Manhattan announcement on Monday, but don't expect any big answers to the above?we don't suspect Yahoo even has them. The last we heard, Tumblr's employees will be called to hastily scheduled meetings Monday morning?rooms filled with dread and relief.
Source: http://valleywag.gawker.com/its-mostly-official-yahoo-buying-tumblr-for-1-1-bill-508716117
st patrick s day parade duke invisible children garbage pail kids st bonaventure ncaa tournament 2012 peyton manning 49ers
By James Mackenzie
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel met Pope Francis on Saturday and, apparently responding to his criticism of a heartless "dictatorship of the economy", called for stronger regulation of financial markets.
On Thursday, Francis appealed in a speech for world financial reform, saying the global economic crisis had made life worse for millions in rich and poor countries.
Merkel visited Rome for a few hours specifically to meet the pontiff and spoke with him privately in his library for 45 minutes, unusually long for a private papal audience.
She told reporters afterwards that the scandals and excesses criticized by Francis earlier in the week showed that vital checks and balances had not been functioning properly.
"Crises have blown up because the rules of the social market have not been observed," she said, adding that tightening financial market regulation would be a main objective of the meeting of leaders of Group of 20 economic powers in September.
"We have made progress but we are nowhere near a point where we could say that the kind of derailment that leads to market crises could not happen again and so the issue will again play a central role at the G20 meeting this year," she said.
"It is true that economies are there to serve people and that has by no means always been the case in recent years."
Merkel, the daughter of a Lutheran minister, said she and Francis had spoken mainly about globalization, the European Union and the role of Europe in the world.
"Pope Francis made it clear that we need a strong, fair Europe and I found the message very encouraging," said Merkel, head of the Christian Democratic Union, which has a strong Catholic component.
In his first major speech about finance since his election in March, Francis had also urged states to take greater control of their economies and protect the weakest.
Merkel, who grew up in communist East Germany before the country was re-unified, said both she and Francis had "lived under dictatorships", referring to the military junta that ruled the pope's native Argentina from 1976 to 1983.
Merkel gave Francis, who lived briefly in Germany when he was a Jesuit priest, three volumes of poetry by Friedrich H?lderlin and 107 CDs of music by German conductor and composer Wilhelm Furtwaengler.
"I don't know if you will have the time to listen to all of them," she joked as she gave him the music.
(Additional reporting By Philip Pullella)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/germanys-merkel-visits-pope-urges-tougher-market-controls-124120055.html
gillian anderson jessie j jessie j florida lotto Wade Robson powerball numbers American Idol 2013
A derailed Metro-North rail car is hoisted back on to the tracks in Bridgeport. Conn. on Sunday, May 19, 2013. Crews will spend days rebuilding 2,000 feet of track, overhead wires and signals following the collision between two trains Friday evening that injured 72 people, Metro-North President Howard Permut said Sunday. (AP Photo/The Connecticut Post,Brian A. Pounds ) MANDATORY CREDIT
A derailed Metro-North rail car is hoisted back on to the tracks in Bridgeport. Conn. on Sunday, May 19, 2013. Crews will spend days rebuilding 2,000 feet of track, overhead wires and signals following the collision between two trains Friday evening that injured 72 people, Metro-North President Howard Permut said Sunday. (AP Photo/The Connecticut Post,Brian A. Pounds ) MANDATORY CREDIT
Metro-North employees work at the site of Friday's train derailment in Bridgeport. Conn. on Sunday, May 19, 2013. Crews will spend days rebuilding 2,000 feet of track, overhead wires and signals following the collision between two trains Friday evening that injured 72 people, Metro-North President Howard Permut said Sunday. (AP Photo/The Connecticut Post,Brian A. Pounds ) MANDATORY CREDIT
Map locates Bridgeport, Conn
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) ? Traffic in southwest Connecticut could be a mess for as much as a week until service is restored to the commuter rail line affected by a derailment that injured scores of passengers, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy warned Sunday.
Malloy used dire language to describe traffic troubles for the work week ahead in an area that even in normal times is a pain for motorists. And the governor warned that the weather will not cooperate as rainy weather forecast will make driving a bit more treacherous.
Malloy even urged commuters to stay out of the state if possible.
"Tomorrow's commute will be extremely challenging," he said at a brief news conference in Hartford. "Residents should plan for a week's worth of disruptions."
If all 30,000 affected commuters took to the highways to get to work, "we would literally have a parking lot," the governor said. If a substantial number of affected consumers hit the roads, traffic will be "greatly slowed," he said.
The state will dispatch more state troopers and tow trucks to respond to car accidents that could come with crowded roads and slipper conditions, he said.
"If you are going to New York and you get to New York or you're transporting yourself to New York you may decide that perhaps you should stay there for the duration of this disturbance," Malloy said.
Crews will spend days rebuilding 2,000 feet of track, overhead wires and signals following the collision between two trains Friday evening that injured 72 people. Nine remained hospitalized, with one critically.
"This amounts to the wholesale reconstruction of a two-track electrified railroad," he said.
Several days of around-the-clock work will be required, including inspections and testing of the newly rebuilt system, Metro-North President Howard Permut said. The damaged rail cars were removed from the tracks on Sunday, the first step toward making the repairs.
Starting with the Monday morning rush-hour, a shuttle train will operate about every 20 minutes between New Haven and Bridgeport and two shuttle buses will run between Bridgeport and Stamford stations, state transportation officials said.
For morning and evening peak commutes, limited train service will operate between Grand Central Terminal and Westport.
State officials said travel times will be significantly longer than normal and trains will be crowded. Commuters are advised to use the Harlem line in New York.
Amtrak service between New York and New Haven was also suspended and there was no estimate on service restoration. Limited service was available between New Haven and Boston.
Jim Cameron, chairman of the Connecticut Rail Commuter Council, said he's asked officials in numerous towns to suspend parking rules to accommodate what could be tens of thousands of motorists driving to unaffected train stations. Twelve stations are affected by the shutdown.
But Cameron said he doubts many commuters will use three modes of transportation to get to work: driving their cars to catch a bus to get to a train station for the final leg.
He suggested that local and regional officials post highway signs directing motorists to available parking so motorists "don't get off the highway and drive in circles looking for where to dump their cars."
About 700 people were on board the trains Friday evening when one heading east from New York City's Grand Central Terminal to New Haven derailed just outside Bridgeport. It was hit by a train heading west from New Haven.
Dan Solomon, a trauma surgeon who lives in Westport and was headed to work at Yale-New Haven Hospital in New Haven, was on the train that derailed. He said he treated several injured passengers, including a woman with severely broken ankles.
He said he was in a front car that was not as badly affected as cars in the rear of the train.
"I hardly lost my iced tea," Solomon said in an interview.
Solomon said walls were torn off both trains and he quickly checked injured passengers to separate the most badly injured from others.
"When the EMS arrived, I was covered in everyone's blood," he said.
Investigators are looking at a broken section of rail to see if it is connected to the derailment and collision. Officials said it wasn't clear if the rail was broken in the crash or earlier.
NTSB investigators arrived Saturday and are expected to be on site for seven to 10 days. They will look at the brakes and performance of the trains, the condition of the tracks, crew performance and train signal information, among other things.
The MTA operates the Metro-North Railroad, the second-largest commuter railroad in the nation. The Metro-North main lines - the Hudson, Harlem, and New Haven - run northward from New York City's Grand Central Terminal into suburban New York and Connecticut.
The last significant train collision involving Metro-North occurred in 1988 when a train engineer was killed in Mount Vernon, N.Y., when one train empty of passengers rear-ended another, railroad officials said.
Associated Pressshaka smart hungergames bagpipes aspirin aspirin 21 jump street illinois primary results
May 15 (Reuters) - Post positions for the 138th running of the Preakness Stakes, to be run at Pimlico on Saturday (Post Position, Horse, Jockey, Trainer, Odds) 1. Orb, Joel Rosario, Shug McGaughey, even 2. Goldencents, Kevin Krigger, Doug O'Neill, 8-1 3. Titletown Five, Julien Leparoux, D. Wayne Lukas, 30-1 4. Departing, Brian Hernandez, Al Stall, 6-1 5. Mylute, Rosie Napravnik, Tom Amoss, 5-1 6. Oxbow, Gary Stevens, D. Wayne Lukas, 15-1 7. Will Take Charge, Mike Smith, D. Wayne Lukas, 12-1 8. Govenor Charlie, Martin Garcia, Bob Baffert, 12-1 9. ...
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/birth-anteater-conn-zoo-staff-puzzled-124718912.html
secret service fenway park philadelphia flyers student loan forgiveness ufc 145 weigh ins record store day 2012 detroit red wings
Thursday President Obama stood before the nation declaring that "the IRS has to operate with absolute integrity." Will the words Internal Revenue Service and integrity ever be synonymous? Integrity means consistency in actions and values. It means an agency that acts in accordance with the principles it is meant to embody. Integrity means honesty. As with the integrity of a person, the integrity of the IRS is measured by human accounts -- the experiences people have when interacting with the agency. On a more scientific scale, it means the agency's results need to meet the nation's expectations.
There is far more that needs to be fixed for the IRS to bask in an aura of integrity. This latest scandal examining whether IRS employees had a political bias when scrutinizing applications for tax-exempt status is merely the tipping point. The scandal draws attention to a larger problem -- death and taxes should not be the only certainties in life. In the same vein, dealing with the IRS should not instill the fear and frustration in taxpayers that it often does.
The agency's powers must be checked. Neither the IRS, nor credit card companies, nor student loan lenders, nor any other collector should have the ability to make an American citizen feel like his or her life will fall to ruins. According to former IRS employees, the harassment that those groups applying for tax-exempt status say they experienced, is not unlike the harassment that everyday taxpayers experience on a regular basis when dealing with the IRS in a variety of circumstances. In a 2002 speech at a Washington, D.C. 'Truth in Taxation' hearing, one former IRS agent, who was imprisoned for refusing to file tax returns said, "In my tenure as an IRS agent, I personally saw marriages broken, families torn apart, homes confiscated and businesses destroyed...without the proper authority." Prior to 1998, the IRS used to be allowed to seize homes for outstanding tax bills that amounted to less than $5,000.
A new law in 1998 changed that. The law blossomed out of Congressional hearings in 1996 and 1997. The entire nation watched as the testimony of former IRS employees exposed the widespread abuse practiced by IRS agents against taxpayers. Taxpayers who challenged the IRS and the tax system back then were labeled "illegal tax protesters." One former IRS employee testified that in addition to its unscrupulous practices, the agency destroyed its paper trails. Following the explosive hearings, President Clinton joined Republicans and enacted "The Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998." The law banned the term "illegal tax protester," it created a taxpayer advocate and an oversight board to monitor taxpayer interaction with IRS employees. It also broadened the protections for innocent spouses, meaning spouses shocked to learn of enormous tax liability as a result of filing a joint return. In short, the law contained more than 70 provisions intended to protect taxpayers and revamp, even moralize the Agency's operations.
Today, 15 years later, the IRS and its operations are before Congress once again. It is surprising that it took 15 years for the IRS to come back under the microscope. Congress is charged with overseeing the IRS. Under the Sixteenth Amendment, Congress is responsible for levying taxes. Congress must write and reform the tax code. The IRS interprets and enforces the Code. But, the Constitution did not give those powers to the IRS, Congress did. Allocated power must be regulated. It is Congress's job to ensure that IRS enforcement complies with the purpose and meaning of the tax laws. Congress, increasing its regulation of the IRS, would be one step toward integrity.
The Congressional hearings of 1996 and 1997 bear great significance as we look ahead toward an IRS with integrity. There is much to be learned from them. The most glaring point being that one new law, one new reform, one new Commissioner will not fix the problems inherent within. The IRS when left to its devices will find ways around the ethical enforcement of the Code, because ultimately its goal is to collect. We have seen this happen before, for example, with the evolution of the statute of limitations law. A statute of limitations governs how long the IRS can hunt down a taxpayer. It is a vital part of tax law, because it sets a limit on collection efforts. It creates a light at the end of the tunnel. If a taxpayer truly does not have the income or assets to pay his or her entire tax liability, often times compounded by interest and penalties, the statute of limitations allows that taxpayer to one day move on with life.
The present statute of limitations only allows tax collection for ten years from the date of tax assessment. Before 1998, the IRS used to "coerce" taxpayers to waive the statute of limitations. Some taxpayers signed waivers agreeing to let the IRS pursue them for an additional 20 even 30 years in exchange for leniency in immediate tax collection. One man agreed to waive the statute of limitations beyond his life expectancy so that the IRS would not levy his military retirement benefits. The 1998 law banned such waivers. It recognized the injustice. The parties were not operating on a level playing field given the sweeping powers of the IRS. It wasn't a fair quid pro quo under the law.
Today the IRS is STILL getting taxpayers to agree to extend the statute in exchange for workout plans. If a taxpayer agrees to a monthly payment plan called an "installment plan," he or she must also agree to toll the statute. If a taxpayer makes an "offer in compromise" to settle a debt for less than what is owed, the IRS can wait two years before deciding whether to accept or reject the offer. During those two years, the statute is tolled. Workout plans are designed to extend a helping hand. Participation often evidences a willing and cooperative taxpayer who sometimes just can't keep up with mounting interest and penalties. Yet, a good faith effort to resolve the debt results in a longer collection period. The statute is also tolled in other instances like during bankruptcy proceedings. At one point in 2000, one law repealed the IRS's ability to suspend the statute of limitations but less than two years later, the power was re-established by another law. Exceptions like this, that still exist today, and contradict the purpose of the 1998 revisions, show that one new law, one new reform, one new Commissioner will not fix the problems inherent within.
In 1998, when the sweeping IRS reform law passed, then Senate Finance Committee Chairman William Roth, Jr. said, "Today marks the dawning of a new era for the IRS, the way it does business, its service orientation, its efficiency and mission." The question is, will today mark the dawning of another new era? Or will Congress miss the opportunity to examine the problems within the agency that extend beyond this one scandal?
?
Follow Amy Dardashtian on Twitter: www.twitter.com/AmyDardashtian
"; var coords = [-5, -72]; // display fb-bubble FloatingPrompt.embed(this, html, undefined, 'top', {fp_intersects:1, timeout_remove:2000,ignore_arrow: true, width:236, add_xy:coords, class_name: 'clear-overlay'}); });
Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/amy-dardashtian/an-irs-with-integrity-wil_b_3294731.html
indonesia quake stephen strasburg shabazz legion baby found alive in morgue rockies second degree murders
This map shows methane measurements Ira Leifer took as he drove in his RV around the Los Angeles basin. Notice the pronounced spike in levels of methane around the La Brea Tar Pits in the center of the image. Geological faults here allow "natural" methane to escape. The redder the color, the more methane was detected.
Courtesy of Ira Leifer and Paige Farrell, et. al./Published in Atmospheric EnvironmentThis map shows methane measurements Ira Leifer took as he drove in his RV around the Los Angeles basin. Notice the pronounced spike in levels of methane around the La Brea Tar Pits in the center of the image. Geological faults here allow "natural" methane to escape. The redder the color, the more methane was detected.
Courtesy of Ira Leifer and Paige Farrell, et. al./Published in Atmospheric EnvironmentIf you're driving down the road someday and you come across a camper with a 50-foot periscope sticking up into the sky, you just might have crossed paths with Ira Leifer. His quirky vehicle is on a serious mission. It's sniffing the air for methane, a gas that contributes to global warming.
Leifer is an atmospheric scientist at the University of California, Santa Barbara. But you'll more often find him off campus, in a garage, next to a string of auto body shops near the airport.
Ira Leifer, at his garage-turned-lab in Santa Barbara, has been studying the levels of methane in the atmosphere.
Richard Harris/NPRIra Leifer, at his garage-turned-lab in Santa Barbara, has been studying the levels of methane in the atmosphere.
Richard Harris/NPRThe converted garage is jammed with computer workstations and a bunch of high tech gear, including a rack full of gas chromatographs ? instruments that analyze air samples.
Leifer's machines are tuned to look for hydrocarbons, especially methane. It's the main ingredient of natural gas. Methane is also much more potent than carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas, trapping heat in the atmosphere. So it's important to know how much is in the atmosphere and where it's coming from.
Back in 2010, Leifer headed to the Gulf of Mexico to measure methane that bubbled into the water during the Deepwater Horizon blowout. He needed to take his gas chromatographs with him to do these studies.
"And the standard way scientists usually deal with this is they pack everything up in a box and they ship it, but that means you have to trust that FedEx or whoever is taking it won't accidentally drop it," Leifer says. "So I thought, 'Why don't I drive it down?' "
He rented a camper for the trip. And after his research cruise ended, Leifer thought, "Why not sample the air on the way back home?" So he jury-rigged a setup for these delicate instruments in the back.
"It involved a lot of work with an air mattress folded in half, a giant tarp filled with Styrofoam peanuts, bungees holding things to the wall and so on," Leifer says. "It really looked like a Rube Goldberg kind of weird device in the back with this gas chromatograph sitting in the middle of it."
Leifer stands atop his roving chemistry lab. He and his team took 6,600 methane readings on the cross-country drive from Florida to California.
Richard Harris/NPRLeifer stands atop his roving chemistry lab. He and his team took 6,600 methane readings on the cross-country drive from Florida to California.
Richard Harris/NPRStarting in Florida, Leifer and a couple of assistants took 6,600 methane measurements as they drove west. He says the measurements steadily increased as the RV approached Houston, which is home to hundreds of petrochemical plants. Driving around the plants and natural-gas pumping stations, he often found spikes of methane.
"And after we left the Houston area, we then continued westward, and the methane levels decreased and decreased and continued doing so all the way to the Mojave Desert," he says.
The highest readings turned out to be in the Los Angeles area, specifically around the La Brea Tar Pits. These are areas of "natural" methane seepage, Leifer says. "Oil, tar and methane seep up to the surface and fill the pits." The preserved bodies of Ice Age animals have been retrieved from the sticky muck.
Leifer qualifies the word "natural" because some of the leaks probably aren't natural at all. They're instead from old oil wells that were drilled in the early 20th century, and tapped into those same natural reservoirs of hydrocarbons. Back then folks weren't so careful with their wells.
"When the company went bankrupt, they wouldn't seal them up very well," Leifer says. "They might just stuff trees and stones and rags in them. Literally."
Methane also contributes to smog, so Los Angeles is very interested to figure out where its methane comes from.
Air mattresses and bungees actually aren't required for this kind of research. A new type of chromatograph can withstand the bumps and bruises of the road. So, since Leifer's road trip in the rented camper in 2010, there have been lots of similar methane studies by others.
But he says his was the first cross-country observation. It's being published in the journal Atmospheric Environment.
Leifer was so intrigued by the possibilities here, he bought his own 37-foot diesel RV, and he's souped it up to be a rolling chemistry lab, complete with a hydraulic lift to get all his gear into the back of the vehicle. It also has a mast that rises up five stories, like a periscope.
? This is one of those perhaps rare cases in which doing the right thing leads to a win-win situation for the shareholders [and] the economy, as well as the environment.
"Scientists are known to like cool stuff," he says with a laugh. Of course, the mast is only up when the camper is parked.
Over the course of his expedition, Leifer says he not only learned that he really, really wanted a new RV to study pollution, but also got a firsthand sense of just how much methane gas simply leaks out of refineries, pipes and wells before it can get to would-be customers.
"We're talking several hundred billion dollars of profit that's just being lost," he says. "It's causing a lot of environmental damage. And this is one of those perhaps rare cases in which doing the right thing leads to a win-win situation for the shareholders [and] the economy, as well as the environment."
The challenge now is for those companies to track down all those leaks, among half a million gas wells and hundreds of thousands of miles of pipeline. Sealing those leaks won't always repay those companies in cash, but it will provide rewards to the planet in the form of less rapid global warming.
day light savings time peter paul and mary edgar rice burroughs dallas clark litter marinol flight attendant
By Jana J. Pruet
GRANBURY, Texas (Reuters) - Six people were dead and seven missing after a powerful tornado ripped through a neighborhood that included housing for the poor in the north Texas town of Granbury, marking the deadliest severe storm outbreak in the United States so far this year.
Authorities were assessing damage and searching through rubble on Thursday afternoon, hoping to find survivors among the twisted metal and splintered wood of flattened homes.
"This tornado was a monster," said Hood County Commissioner Steve Berry. "It's just devastating."
The tornado, which brought winds of 166-200 miles per hour, was rated an EF4 by the National Weather Service (NWS), the second-most powerful level for such a storm, said NWS meteorologist Mark Wiley.
EF4 tornadoes are rare and can blow away a well constructed wood or brick home, according to weather service ratings.
Granbury, a town of 8,000 people about 35 miles southwest of Dallas-Fort Worth, took the hardest hit.
Officials counted six dead in Hood County, where Granbury is located, said county spokesman, Tye Bell. Another seven were missing and at least 45 people were injured, with most of the victims coming from the Rancho Brazos subdivision of approximately 110 mostly single-family homes.
HID IN CLOSET
Ronna Cotten, 38, was home with three of her four children when the sirens went off. She and the children, ages 14, 12 and 8, hid in a hallway closet as the twister ripped the roof off their home. When she emerged with her children after the storm passed, Cotten saw "bodies everywhere," she said.
"We're trying to figure out what to do one step at a time," she said.
Frank Gamez, a construction worker in Granbury, said he found the body of a friend as he and other people searched the neighborhood after the tornado hit Wednesday evening.
"We lost one of our friends. We found him laying on the ground," Gamez said.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry issued a statement saying he was "deeply saddened" by the deaths, and that state officials were assisting with local needs.
"The thoughts of 26 million Texans are with those suffering today," Perry said.
The area hit included 61 homes built by Habitat for Humanity, the charity said on its website. Habitat for Humanity uses volunteers to build and repair homes for low-income residents.
Gamez said one Habitat for Humanity home that was to be officially presented to a poor family this weekend, was completely destroyed.
"There's nothing there but concrete slabs," he said.
Angela Jackson, 47, said her home, which was built by Habitat for Humanity 11 years ago, suffered roof damage and broken windows but was still standing.
"We've had high winds before and hail but nothing like this," Jackson said. "It was a freak storm."
In nearby Parker County, about 14 homes and farms had severe roof damage and other structural damage and a few buildings were destroyed, said Parker County Judge Mark Riley. No injuries or deaths were reported.
Preliminary reports showed that the National Weather Service issued a tornado warning for Granbury 26 minutes before the twister struck, according to Wiley. That is an unusually long lead time as the average warning time is 10 to 12 minutes, he said.
Until Wednesday, the tornado season had been unusually mild so far in 2013 after two years of intense activity. Only three people have died in tornadoes so far in 2013, according to weather service statistics.
The deadliest tornado year in decades was 2011 when 553 people were killed, including 161 from a massive tornado that struck Joplin, Missouri in May that year.
In March 2012, at least 39 people were killed in a chain of tornadoes from the Midwest to the Gulf of Mexico. A total of 70 people were killed in tornadoes last year.
The tornado season in the United States typically starts in the Gulf Coast states in the late winter, and then moves north with the warming weather, peaking around May and trailing off by July.
More stormy weather is expected later on Thursday in northeast Texas, southern Arkansas and northern Louisiana, but not in the area of Texas hit by tornadoes on Wednesday, the weather service said.
(Additional reporting by Ian Simpson, Barbara Goldberg, Paul Thomasch, Corrie MacLaggan, Lisa Maria Garza and Marice Richter; Writing by Carey Gillam; Editing by Greg McCune and Sofina Mirza-Reid)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/monster-texas-tornado-kills-six-seven-people-missing-064601088.html
lil boosie bobbi kristina brown new edition austerity rihanna and chris brown back together pebble beach cause of whitney houston death
io9 How Humans Will Evolve Over the Next Million Years | Jezebel Your Favorite Stores Aren't Signing the Bangladesh Safety Act | Deadspin UFC Fighter Uses Homophobic Slur, Manager Offers Moronic Defense | Kotaku Nintendo Re-Writes Rules of E3, Letting the Public Play...At Best Buy
| |
Jessica Lange NFL scores week 3 kat dennings Steve Sabol Yom Kippur 2012 Aaron Paul packers
![[ Back to EurekAlert! ]](http://www.eurekalert.org/images/back2e.gif){kind=small}
Public release date: 17-May-2013
Share ] Contact: Molly J. Dannenmaier
mjdannen@utmb.edu
409-771-5105
University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston
Many women in Texas who are found to have an abnormality on routine mammogram or discover a lump in one of their breasts end up having an old-fashioned surgical biopsy to find out whether the breast abnormality is malignant. Since 2001, national expert panels have recommended that the first course of action for women with breast lumps or masses should be minimally invasive biopsy.
Minimally invasive biopsies are most commonly done under ultrasonographic or X-ray guidance, with either a fine needle or preferably a "core tissue extraction" needle. They do not require surgery or anesthesia and leave little to no scarring. Most importantly, a diagnosis of benign (non-cancerous) or malignant (cancerous) breast mass can be determined before any decisions about treatment are made.
In spite of these benefits, new research from the University of Texas Medical Branch published in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons shows that expensive, invasive surgical breast biopsies remained the first diagnostic step for 35 percent of women diagnosed with a breast mass between 2000 and 2008 in Texas. The investigators performed an exhaustive analysis of Texas Medicare data from 2000 to 2008, including more than 87,000 breast biopsies.
The traditional method of removing the mass through surgery to obtain a definitive diagnosis has a number of negative consequences. If the mass is benign, then the woman had surgery unnecessarily; in fact, only 40 percent of the women studied ended up having breast malignancies. Simply put, thousands of women throughout Texas underwent surgery just to find out they did not have cancer.
On the other hand, if the mass is malignant, more surgery will probably be required to remove more tissue, so the patient will end up having to have multiple surgeries instead of only one. Surgery is far more expensive than needle biopsy, so for the Medicare patients in this study who underwent biopsy surgery, the government had to pay a much steeper tab.
"There is no benefit to the patient in having an expensive, invasive surgical procedure instead of a needle biopsy," said senior author Dr. Taylor Riall, UTMB associate professor of surgery and a lead investigator for the study. "We need to get the word out to women across the state that surgery is not the procedure of choice for definitive diagnosis of a breast mass."
The American Society of Breast Surgeons, the American College of Radiology and the National Cancer Center Network have all endorsed minimally invasive breast biopsy as providing results that are as accurate as surgical biopsies.
"At UTMB, minimally invasive biopsies are our diagnostic procedure of choice. We do them more than 98 percent of the time," said Riall.
The National Cancer Center Network is trying to find out what barriers stand in the way of reaching a 90 percent rate of minimally invasive breast biopsies nationwide. The study is a step in providing crucial information that will help in the national effort.
###
This research, which was supported by the Comparative Effectiveness Research on Cancer in Texas research project, also examined the time trends, racial/ethnic variation and geographic variation in the use of biopsy techniques. It is the most detailed study of breast biopsy patterns undertaken in the United States and was funded by the National Institutes of Health and the Cancer Prevention Research Institute of Texas.
Co-authors are Christopher Zimmermann, Kristin Sheffield, Dr. Casey Duncan, Yimei Han, Catherine Cooksley and Dr. Courtney Townsend.
[ | E-mail | Share ] ?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Public release date: 17-May-2013 Share ] Contact: Molly J. Dannenmaier
mjdannen@utmb.edu
409-771-5105
University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston
Many women in Texas who are found to have an abnormality on routine mammogram or discover a lump in one of their breasts end up having an old-fashioned surgical biopsy to find out whether the breast abnormality is malignant. Since 2001, national expert panels have recommended that the first course of action for women with breast lumps or masses should be minimally invasive biopsy.
Minimally invasive biopsies are most commonly done under ultrasonographic or X-ray guidance, with either a fine needle or preferably a "core tissue extraction" needle. They do not require surgery or anesthesia and leave little to no scarring. Most importantly, a diagnosis of benign (non-cancerous) or malignant (cancerous) breast mass can be determined before any decisions about treatment are made.
In spite of these benefits, new research from the University of Texas Medical Branch published in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons shows that expensive, invasive surgical breast biopsies remained the first diagnostic step for 35 percent of women diagnosed with a breast mass between 2000 and 2008 in Texas. The investigators performed an exhaustive analysis of Texas Medicare data from 2000 to 2008, including more than 87,000 breast biopsies.
The traditional method of removing the mass through surgery to obtain a definitive diagnosis has a number of negative consequences. If the mass is benign, then the woman had surgery unnecessarily; in fact, only 40 percent of the women studied ended up having breast malignancies. Simply put, thousands of women throughout Texas underwent surgery just to find out they did not have cancer.
On the other hand, if the mass is malignant, more surgery will probably be required to remove more tissue, so the patient will end up having to have multiple surgeries instead of only one. Surgery is far more expensive than needle biopsy, so for the Medicare patients in this study who underwent biopsy surgery, the government had to pay a much steeper tab.
"There is no benefit to the patient in having an expensive, invasive surgical procedure instead of a needle biopsy," said senior author Dr. Taylor Riall, UTMB associate professor of surgery and a lead investigator for the study. "We need to get the word out to women across the state that surgery is not the procedure of choice for definitive diagnosis of a breast mass."
The American Society of Breast Surgeons, the American College of Radiology and the National Cancer Center Network have all endorsed minimally invasive breast biopsy as providing results that are as accurate as surgical biopsies.
"At UTMB, minimally invasive biopsies are our diagnostic procedure of choice. We do them more than 98 percent of the time," said Riall.
The National Cancer Center Network is trying to find out what barriers stand in the way of reaching a 90 percent rate of minimally invasive breast biopsies nationwide. The study is a step in providing crucial information that will help in the national effort.
###
This research, which was supported by the Comparative Effectiveness Research on Cancer in Texas research project, also examined the time trends, racial/ethnic variation and geographic variation in the use of biopsy techniques. It is the most detailed study of breast biopsy patterns undertaken in the United States and was funded by the National Institutes of Health and the Cancer Prevention Research Institute of Texas.
Co-authors are Christopher Zimmermann, Kristin Sheffield, Dr. Casey Duncan, Yimei Han, Catherine Cooksley and Dr. Courtney Townsend.
[ | E-mail | Share ] ?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-05/uotm-mto051713.php
gonzaga lyme disease temple university palm sunday Kids Choice Awards 2013 Joe Weider Florida Gulf Coast
May 15, 2013 ? A comprehensive analysis of peer-reviewed articles on the topic of global warming and climate change has revealed an overwhelming consensus among scientists that recent warming is human-caused.
The study is the most comprehensive yet and identified 4000 summaries, otherwise known as abstracts, from papers published in the past 21 years that stated a position on the cause of recent global warming -- 97 per cent of these endorsed the consensus that we are seeing human-made, or anthropogenic, global warming (AGW)
Led by John Cook at the University of Queensland, the study has been published 16 May, in IOP Publishing's journal Environmental Research Letters.
The study went one step further, asking the authors of these papers to rate their entire paper using the same criteria. Over 2000 papers were rated and among those that discussed the cause of recent global warming, 97 per cent endorsed the consensus that it is caused by humans.
The findings are in stark contrast to the public's position on global warming; a 2012 poll* revealed that more than half of Americans either disagree, or are unaware, that scientists overwhelmingly agree that Earth is warming because of human activity.
John Cook said: "Our findings prove that there is a strong scientific agreement about the cause of climate change, despite public perceptions to the contrary.
"There is a gaping chasm between the actual consensus and the public perception. It's staggering given the evidence for consensus that less than half of the general public think scientists agree that humans are causing global warming.
"This is significant because when people understand that scientists agree on global warming, they're more likely to support policies that take action on it."
In March 2012, the researchers used the ISI Web of Science database to search for peer-reviewed academic articles published between 1991 and 2011 using two topic searches: "global warming" and "global climate change."
After limiting the selection to peer-reviewed climate science, the study considered 11 994 papers written by 29 083 authors in 1980 different scientific journals.
The abstracts from these papers were randomly distributed between a team of 24 volunteers recruited through the "myth-busting" website? skepticalscience.com, who used set criteria to determine the level to which the abstracts endorsed that humans are the primary cause of global warming. Each abstract was analyzed by two independent, anonymous raters.
From the 11,994 papers, 32.6 per cent endorsed AGW, 66.4 per cent stated no position on AGW, 0.7 per cent rejected AGW and in 0.3 per cent of papers, the authors said the cause of global warming was uncertain.
Co-author of the study Mark Richardson, from the University of Reading, said: "We want our scientists to answer questions for us, and there are lots of exciting questions in climate science. One of them is: are we causing global warming? We found over 4000 studies written by 10 000 scientists that stated a position on this, and 97 per cent said that recent warming is mostly man made."
*http://www.pewresearch.org/2013/04/02/climate-change-key-data-points-from-pew-research/
Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/LZYOoMnialg/130515203048.htm
2012 ncaa basketball tournament walt what time is it current time a thousand words my sisters keeper kirby
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) ? So you didn't win Wednesday's $360 million Powerball jackpot? Make that you and everyone else.
A message early Thursday on the multistate lottery's website said the jackpot has soared to $475 million after none of the ticket sold matched all the winning numbers in Wednesday night's drawing: 2, 11, 26, 34, 41 and a Powerball of 32.
The next drawing will be held Saturday.
A jackpot of $475 million ranks as the second largest in Powerball history and third biggest overall.
Lottery officials expect jackpot totals of this size to continue to climb in shorter amounts of time, thanks in part to a game redesign in January 2012 that increased the odds of winning some kind of prize, but also lowered the possible number combinations to win the Powerball.
There's also "cross-selling" of Powerball and Mega Millions tickets ? states being able to sell both Powerball tickets and Mega Millions tickets ? that began in January 2010. As a result, large jackpots will continue to surpass all-time jackpot records set years ago, said Mary Neubauer, spokeswoman for the Iowa Lottery. Iowa is one of the founding Powerball states.
"It usually took a handful of months, if not several months, for a jackpot to reach this large amount," she said. "Now it's achieving that within a handful of weeks. I think the redesign is achieving exactly what we had wanted it to achieve, which is the bigger, faster-growing jackpot."
The redesign means players don't necessarily have to strike big to get lucky. A $1 increase and new $1 million and $2 million prizes means the odds of winning something have increased. Just last Saturday, there was no Powerball jackpot winner, but more than a dozen tickets won $1 million prizes in 10 states.
In fact, more than half of the all-time jackpot records have been reached in the last three years. The top two all-time jackpots ? $656 million from a Mega Millions jackpot and $587.5 million from a Powerball jackpot ? were achieved in 2012.
The last major jackpot win came when a New Jersey man won a $338.3 million jackpot on March 23. It is now considered the fourth largest Powerball jackpot in history.
Players aren't complaining about the large sums. That just gets them thinking.
"I'd hire someone to tell me what to do with the money," said R.J. Konyek, 36, an engineer for Union Pacific in Omaha, Neb. "I'd definitely be up for the challenge (of spending the jackpot)."
Insurance agent Joe Williams, of Middleton, Wis., is trying like so many others to get lucky with Powerball. He won $500 several years ago and now wants to score a little higher. Williams doesn't necessarily spend more when the prize is high. But his $4 investment in the quick-pick option means he does spend.
"I know rationally it makes no sense," he said. "But at the same time, without a ticket, I have zero chance."
Ervin Torok, a truck driver from Sioux Falls, S.D., also is looking for his second chance. He won a $500 prize a few years back.
"You never know," Torok, 52, said while checking some lottery tickets from a gas station. "Maybe one day you'll get lucky and win."
Tom Powers, 52, a janitor from Omaha, Neb., bought several tickets Tuesday from a convenience store. He said he would definitely walk away from work if he won the jackpot, but he's not sure how he would spend all the winnings.
"It's really unfathomable the amount of money this is putting out," Powers said.
___
Associated Press writers Kevin Wang in Madison, Wis., Kristi Eaton in Sioux Falls, S.D., and Josh Funk in Omaha, Neb., contributed to this report.
___
Follow Barbara Rodriguez at http://twitter.com/bcrodriguez
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/no-powerball-winner-jackpot-soars-475-million-054312711.html
dark knight trailer dallas mavericks washington capitals delmon young amare stoudemire tallest building in the world the pitch
Public release date: 16-May-2013 Share ] Contact: John Paul Gutierrez
jpgutierrez@icahdq.org
International Communication Association
Washington, DC (May 13, 2013) A recent study by a team of researchers at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas found that risky sexual behavior can be predicted by cultural, socioeconomic and individual mores in conjunction with how one views themselves.
Katherine Hertlein of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas will present her team's findings at the 63rd annual International Communication Association conference in London. Hertlein and colleagues surveyed over 800 participants and evaluated elements of the likelihood of one's engagement in high-risk sexual behavior. Approximately 120 variables were designed to give information on each area of focus socio/demographic, active sanctions, cultural, relational and individual factors. The data supports the contention that the sexual script, or how groups are "supposed" at act regarding sex, has a significant impact on the likelihood of engaging in high-risk sexual behavior. The cultural factor, which included gender stereotyping, sexual fantasy, sexual conservatism and pornography usage, proved the most reliable on predicting high-risk sexual behavior.
Individuals who engage in high-risk sexual behavior (HRSB) expose themselves to multiple risks, including those that are social, emotional, and physical in nature. Such risks can include effects to interpersonal relationships, self-esteem and overall well-being and health. With such important effects of engagement, it is imperative that a variety of healthcare providers understand an individual's decision-making process as a way to prevent unnecessary and adverse health, social, and behavioral consequences.
Researchers have limited themselves to testing how specific elements in isolation impact decision-making rather than examining the combined influence of multiple variables on the decision making process. This is problematic because variables such as substance use, relationship exclusivity, moral development, religiosity, and sensation-seeking have been found, in some cases, to mediate the sexual decision-making process. No study to date has included all of these variables in one coherent model. This study was the first of its kind to include a cluster of variables identified in the literature that was included in testing a model of sexual decision-making in cases of high-risk sexual behavior.
"This research can provide information that will inform health educators, public health nurses, HIV/AIDS programs and other community resources as to the motivations and contributing factors inherent in decision-making around engagement in risky sexual practices," said Hertlein. "Further, research findings may contribute to improved outreach, education, preventive efforts, and treatments to help control the spread of sexually transmitted infections."
###
"Testing a Model Predicting Risky Sexual Behavior," by Katherine Hertlein,Tara Emmers-Sommer, and Alexis Kennedy; To be presented at the 63rd Annual Conference of the International Communication Association, London, England, June 17-21.
Contact: To schedule an interview with the author or a copy of the research, please contact John Paul Gutierrez, jpgutierrez@icahdq.org.
About ICA
The International Communication Association is an academic association for scholars interested in the study, teaching, and application of all aspects of human and mediated communication. With more than 4,300 members in 80 countries, ICA includes 26 divisions and interest groups and publishes the Communication Yearbook and five major, peer-reviewed journals: Journal of Communication, Communication Theory, Human Communication Research, Communication, Culture & Critique, and the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication. For more information, visit http://www.icahdq.org.
[ | E-mail | Share ] ?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Public release date: 16-May-2013 Share ] Contact: John Paul Gutierrez
jpgutierrez@icahdq.org
International Communication Association
Washington, DC (May 13, 2013) A recent study by a team of researchers at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas found that risky sexual behavior can be predicted by cultural, socioeconomic and individual mores in conjunction with how one views themselves.
Katherine Hertlein of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas will present her team's findings at the 63rd annual International Communication Association conference in London. Hertlein and colleagues surveyed over 800 participants and evaluated elements of the likelihood of one's engagement in high-risk sexual behavior. Approximately 120 variables were designed to give information on each area of focus socio/demographic, active sanctions, cultural, relational and individual factors. The data supports the contention that the sexual script, or how groups are "supposed" at act regarding sex, has a significant impact on the likelihood of engaging in high-risk sexual behavior. The cultural factor, which included gender stereotyping, sexual fantasy, sexual conservatism and pornography usage, proved the most reliable on predicting high-risk sexual behavior.
Individuals who engage in high-risk sexual behavior (HRSB) expose themselves to multiple risks, including those that are social, emotional, and physical in nature. Such risks can include effects to interpersonal relationships, self-esteem and overall well-being and health. With such important effects of engagement, it is imperative that a variety of healthcare providers understand an individual's decision-making process as a way to prevent unnecessary and adverse health, social, and behavioral consequences.
Researchers have limited themselves to testing how specific elements in isolation impact decision-making rather than examining the combined influence of multiple variables on the decision making process. This is problematic because variables such as substance use, relationship exclusivity, moral development, religiosity, and sensation-seeking have been found, in some cases, to mediate the sexual decision-making process. No study to date has included all of these variables in one coherent model. This study was the first of its kind to include a cluster of variables identified in the literature that was included in testing a model of sexual decision-making in cases of high-risk sexual behavior.
"This research can provide information that will inform health educators, public health nurses, HIV/AIDS programs and other community resources as to the motivations and contributing factors inherent in decision-making around engagement in risky sexual practices," said Hertlein. "Further, research findings may contribute to improved outreach, education, preventive efforts, and treatments to help control the spread of sexually transmitted infections."
###
"Testing a Model Predicting Risky Sexual Behavior," by Katherine Hertlein,Tara Emmers-Sommer, and Alexis Kennedy; To be presented at the 63rd Annual Conference of the International Communication Association, London, England, June 17-21.
Contact: To schedule an interview with the author or a copy of the research, please contact John Paul Gutierrez, jpgutierrez@icahdq.org.
About ICA
The International Communication Association is an academic association for scholars interested in the study, teaching, and application of all aspects of human and mediated communication. With more than 4,300 members in 80 countries, ICA includes 26 divisions and interest groups and publishes the Communication Yearbook and five major, peer-reviewed journals: Journal of Communication, Communication Theory, Human Communication Research, Communication, Culture & Critique, and the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication. For more information, visit http://www.icahdq.org.
[ | E-mail | Share ] ?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-05/ica-prs051313.php
sports illustrated westminster dog show 2012 words with friends words with friends phlebotomy dog show best in show
