naulao

মঙ্গলবার, ২৯ জানুয়ারি, ২০১৩

'First time' may predict lifelong sexual satisfaction

Jan. 28, 2013 ? Research conducted by Matthew Shaffer, a doctoral psychology student at UT and C. Veronica Smith, an assistant psychology professor at the University of Mississippi, reveals that the first sexual experience can set the tone for the rest of one's sexual life.

The study is published in the Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy and is the first to look at whether the circumstances of losing one's virginity have lasting consequences.

"The loss of virginity is often viewed as an important milestone in human development, signifying a transition to adulthood," said Shaffer. "However, it has not been studied in this capacity. We wanted to see the influence it may have related to emotional and physical development."

The researchers examined how first-time sexual satisfaction impacts long-term sexual function as well as how first-time physical and emotional responses affect long-term sexual experiences. They found that positive first-time experiences were predictive of physical and emotional satisfaction. Specifically, those who felt loved and respected by their partner found later encounters more emotionally satisfying.

The researchers asked 331 young men and women about how they lost their virginity. The anonymous participants ranked the experience according to emotions related to anxiety, contentment and regret. They also answered questions about their sex life using scales measuring sense of control, satisfaction and well-being. Finally, the participants filled out a diary for two weeks describing each sexual experience.

A series of analyses revealed those who were most emotionally and physically satisfied the first time found their sex lives the most fulfilling. Those who reported higher levels of anxiety and negativity with the first time reported lower overall sexual functioning.

"While this study doesn't prove that a better first time makes for a better sex life in general, a person's experience of losing their virginity may set the pattern for years to come," said Shaffer.

Shaffer suggests that a first-time sexual experience may create a general pattern of thought and behavior that guides sexual experiences and understanding of information concerning sexuality.

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 University of Tennessee at Knoxville, 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:

C. Veronica Smith, Matthew J. Shaffer. Gone But Not Forgotten: Virginity Loss and Current Sexual Satisfaction. Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, 2013; 39 (2): 96 DOI: 10.1080/0092623X.2012.675023

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/living_well/~3/L5jWJFwKgz0/130128104732.htm

wichita brian wilson storm chasers david blaine gotye divine mercy cabin in the woods

Fragile economy, other global woes dominated Davos

DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) ? The fragile state of the global economy and a host of other woes ? from Syria's escalating war to the rocky fallout from the Arab Spring ? dominated the annual meeting of the global elite at Davos, casting a sense of uncertainty and foreboding over what lies ahead.

Much of the overt glitz and glamor that was long a feature of the World Economic Forum was absent this year, a decision founder Klaus Schwab said reflected the serious issues confronting the planet.

As more than 2,500 global movers and shakers headed home Sunday, there was broad agreement that things are beginning to look up on the economic front ? at least in China, Africa, and emerging markets, but not in Japan, Europe, and the United States.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/fragile-economy-other-global-woes-dominated-davos-154125358--finance.html

rush limbaugh karl rove Election 2012 Results polling place washington post comedy central philadelphia eagles

Dining at Bocca Di Lupo and drinking at the Experimental Cocktail ...

So, I?d been meaning to go to Bocca Di Lupo for a month of Sundays. And FINALLY I went on Thursday of last week and am pleased to say that it was well worth the wait.

I was a little anxious when I was only offered 2 spaces at the bar from 6 till 8, thinking sitting at the bar a little inferior to at a table (the timing didn?t bother me so much ? after all it was a fairly late booking). However, sitting at the bar was actually a really good thing; we felt part of the kitchen with all its? theatre, smells, sights and sounds. Plus, we could interact with the chefs a little which I enjoyed a lot. I may be wrong, but it must be great as a chef to see people eating the food you?ve cooked, rather than being tucked away downstairs never to be seen by the people you?re creating for, albeit potentially a little exposing at times.

After a lengthy discussion with the sommelier we settled on a bottle of Lambrusco, a sparkling bottle of fruity lushness. Full of fruit and dancing bubbles, this was a perfect drink to not only toast good friendship to but also for sharing with a diverse range of dishes which were to come to us over the next couple of hours.

Of course we didn't go straight into that! An aperitif was required first to go alongside the delicious focaccia and olives to nibble; and a few moments later came an ap?rol spritz.

The menu at Bocca is a range of cured meats, pasta dishes, amazing grilled meat and fish as well as some delicious deep fried naughtiness.

Who could resist deep fried buffalo bocconcini; crisp balls hiding an oozing centre of rich yet slightly acidic, fresh pale whiteness. Joining this little nibble were 2 fantastic plates of food; crescentine with capocollo Di Martina Franca and squacquerone and a plate of sea bream carpaccio with raw red prawns and a dressing of blood orange and rosemary. Crescentine are little pillows of dough fried in lard. These were served warm so that the fat in the Capocollo (a delicious home made cured neck of pork), and the squacquerone (a soft, unctuous cows' milk cheese with a taste, in my opinion, of sweet fermenting harvested grass for hay), just started to melt. Simple gorgeous! The carpaccio was also delicious and I loved the addition of blood orange zest to the thinly sliced fish; a perfect compliment.

<a
We then went on to enjoy two plates of pasta (by the way these come in small or large sizes, and we had the small size?moderation is the key?). First we enjoyed pappardelle (which is my favourite pasta) with a ragu of duck pluck (a mix of heart, liver and gizzard). Now I don't normally go for offal if I'm honest. However, I do like gizzards as a result of my year teaching in France where I ate many a 'salade P?rigourdine' with some delicious confit of gizzards mixed in. And I also love liver, so a bit of duck heart was the only thing I'd never eaten before so really this wasn't anything too scary at all. Indeed it was a rich, slow cooked ragu that perfectly coated my favourite ribbons of pasta.

The second plate of pasta was orecchiette with nduja (spicy sausage), red onion, tomato and rocket. Simple but delicious; great ingredients cooked well and served in a matter of moments. I enjoy these little pasta shapes too, with their thicker consistency, they always have a good bite to them, a perfect balance for the soft sauce napping the little ears of pasta.

We were tempted by the slow braised ox cheek in tomato and the mother of all steaks (serving 2 to 10!) that would frequently jump on the grill? (See below)

However, having already consumed a fair amount of food, we opted for the more modest spicy grilled sausage. Although delicious in its own right, I was a little non plussed by this dish? It was good, but just, a bit, well, average after everything else we had eaten. Other than that though, the experience was fantastic and I only wish I?d been sooner. I will certainly be going back. We spent just over ?100 for two which, given the food and alcohol we consumed, felt about right.

After dinner we nipped into Gelupo for some amazing ice cream (i was already a fan) and also to stock up on my favourite little liquorice tronchetinni which you must try if you?ve not yet; little nibs of unsweetened liquorice. Honestly. Try them.

Then off to the Experimental Cocktail Club we went? I love it there. Hidden, in the middle of China Town, it?s notoriously hard to get in and harder to get a table, but we were lucky. My hair must have looked good as they offered us two remaining seats at the bar in an instant?. Incidentally, you can ask for a card which takes you to a bookings page online? I?d suggest using that to avoid disappointment. Or, make sure you?ve done your hair really well.

Over the next couple of hours or so we enjoyed a selection of delicious concoctions. I?ve got into my cocktails over the last couple of years so it?s a real treat to go here. I enjoyed a saint Germain des Pres; a mix of gin, St Germain liqueur, lime juice, elderflower, egg white, a bit of spice and cucumber juice. This was so good, cooling and refreshing but certainly boozy with a hit of spice?

My friend Ellie enjoyed a concoction of beetroot and rum, angostura bitters and lime which was delicious too and then we shared a Stockholm syndrome; vodka infused with cumin and dill, aquavit, lemon juice, sharp and bitters. This was genius. Interestingly, I got the cumin more than the dill, Ellie got the reverse. Either way, a great drink!

These cocktails don?t come cheap at about ?12.50 a pop but they are worth it and it?s not something you do every day. There?s also something really theatrical about cocktails and makes the seem worthwhile.

Source: http://alanrosenthal.wordpress.com/2013/01/27/dining-at-bocca-di-lupo-and-drinking-at-the-experimental-cocktail-club/

rose bowl auld lang syne dick clark Happy new year fiscal cliff Pitbull Hannah Storm

Justin Bieber on Selena Gomez Split: Sad, Looking to Future

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/01/justin-bieber-on-selena-gomez-split-sad-looking-to-future/

unc asheville stephen jackson nba trade deadline ncaa tournament marchmadness mike d antoni nba trade rumors

Chatting with Dr. Sanjay Gupta About His New Hollywood Career!

Does Sanjay Gupta have a clone? That’s what I wrote jokingly on Twitter as I was preparing to interview the multiple Emmy Award-winning chief medical correspondent for CNN who is still a practicing neurosurgeon and who managed to also find time to write three best-selling books. Oh yes, the 43-year-old’s also a father of three who runs triathlons!!! One of his colleagues at CNN joked in a Twitter reply that Sanjay has “Seacrest-like energy” referring to the omnipresent Ryan Seacrest.

Source: http://www.ivillage.com/dr-sanjay-gupta-neurosurgeon-tv-star-now-hollywood-executive-producer/1-a-517461?dst=iv%3AiVillage%3Adr-sanjay-gupta-neurosurgeon-tv-star-now-hollywood-executive-producer-517461

magic johnson jetblue pilot solicitor general neighborhood watch dennis rodman dodgers sale tami roman

French, Malians secure Timbuktu in rebel-held north

BAMAKO/SEVARE, Mali (Reuters) - French and Malian troops were restoring government control over the fabled Saharan trading town of Timbuktu on Sunday, the latest gain in a fast-moving French-led offensive against al Qaeda-allied fighters occupying northern Mali.

The Islamist militant rebels have pulled back northwards to avoid relentless French air strikes that have destroyed their bases, vehicles and weapons, allowing French and Malian troops to advance rapidly with air support and armored vehicles.

A Malian military source said the French and Malian forces reached "the gates of Timbuktu" late on Saturday without meeting resistance from the Islamist insurgents who had held the town since last year.

The French and Malians controlled the airport and were working on securing the town, a UNESCO World Heritage site and labyrinth of ancient mosques and monuments and mud-brick homes, ready to flush out any Islamist fighters still hiding.

"Timbuktu is delicate, you can't just go in like that," the source, who asked not to be named, said.

On Saturday, the French-Malian offensive recaptured Gao, which along with Timbuktu was one of three major northern towns occupied last year by Tuareg and Islamist rebels who included fighters from al Qaeda's North Africa wing AQIM.

The Malian military source, and at least one resident of Gao who travelled south out of the city, said there were still rebel "pockets of resistance" there, and that government troops were carrying out house-to-house searches.

The third town, Kidal, in Mali's rugged and remote northeast, remains in rebel hands.

The United States and Europe are backing the U.N.-mandated Mali operation as a counterstrike against the threat of radical Islamist jihadists using the West African state's inhospitable Sahara desert as a launch pad for international attacks.

One Timbuktu resident now outside the town said a friend inside had sent him SMS messages saying he had seen government troops on the streets, but gave no more details.

Fighters from the Islamist alliance in north Mali, which groups AQIM with Malian Islamist group Ansar Dine and AQIM splinter MUJWA, had destroyed ancient shrines sacred to moderate Sufi Moslems in Timbuktu, provoking international outrage.

They had also imposed severe sharia, Islamic law, including amputations for thieves and stoning of adulterers.

As the French and Malian troops push into northern Mali, African troops from a continental intervention force expected to number 7,700 are being flown into the country, despite delays due to logistical problems and the lack of airlift capacity.

FEARS OF GUERRILLA WAR

France sent warplanes and 2,500 troops to Mali after its government appealed to Paris for help when Islamist rebels early in January launched an offensive south towards the capital Bamako. They seized several towns, since retaken by the French.

In the face of the two-week-old French-Malian counter offensive, the rebels seemed to be pulling back north into the trackless desert wastes and mountain fastnesses of the Sahara.

Military experts fear they could carry on a grueling hit-and-run guerrilla war against the government from there.

A leader of Mali's main Tuareg insurgent movement, MNLA, whose initial separatist rebellion in the north was hijacked by al Qaeda and its local Malian allies, offered help from his group's desert fighters to the French-led offensive.

Speaking from Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso, Ibrahim Ag Mohamed Assaleh said the MNLA was preparing to attack the withdrawing al Qaeda-allied Islamist forces and its leaders, whom he said were hiding in the Tidmane and Tigharghar mountains in the Kidal region that borders with Algeria.

"The MNLA is on maximum alert," Assaleh said.

At Konna, a town 500 km (312 miles) southeast of Gao recaptured from the rebels earlier this month, some people said they were still afraid.

"No-one believes the rebels will give up without resisting. They may be regrouping for an attack, there is fear of a guerrilla war," said Salou Toure, a middle-aged resident of Timbuktu who had fled that town three months ago.

Malian Captain Faran Keita, an army officer in the central Mopti region, said: "We're at war against terrorists, even here someone with an explosive vest could attack."

AFRICA CHIDED FOR SLOW RESPONSE

Malian government control was restored in Gao on Saturday, after French special forces backed by warplanes and helicopters seized the town's airport and a key bridge. Around a dozen "terrorists" were killed in the assault, while French forces suffered no losses or injuries, France's defense ministry said.

Officials said the mayor of Gao, Sadou Diallo, who had taken refuge in Bamako during the Islamist occupation, had been reinstalled at the head of the local administration.

The robust military action by France over the past two weeks in its former Sahel colony has left African leaders embarrassed about the continent's inability to quickly field its own force.

At an African Union summit in Addis Ababa, outgoing AU chairman Thomas Boni Yayi, president of Benin, criticized Africa's slow response to the Islamist insurgency in Mali.

"How could it be that when faced with a danger that threatens its very foundations, Africa, although it had the means to defend itself, continued to wait," Yayi said.

Around 1,900 African troops, including Chadian, have been deployed to Mali so far as part of the planned U.N.-backed African intervention force, known as AFISMA. Burkina Faso, Benin, Nigeria, Senegal, Togo, Niger and Chad are providing troops. Burundi and other nations have pledged to contribute.

OFFERS OF FUNDS, HELP

The United States and Europe, while providing airlift and intelligence support to the anti-militant offensive in Mali, are not planning to send in any combat troops. Washington agreed to fly tankers to refuel French warplanes.

The AU is expected to seek hundreds of millions of dollars in logistical support and funding for the African Mali force at a conference of donors to be held in Addis Ababa on January 29.

European Commissioner for Development Andris Piebalgs told Reuters in Addis Ababa he believed enough funds would be offered to sustain the African troop intervention for a year.

Piebalgs added the latest estimated cost of the operation he had seen was 430 million euros ($579.42 million). The EU had already committed to provide 50 million euros ($67.37 million) to pay the salaries of the non-Malian African troops.

Japan would pledge over $100 million at the donor conference for humanitarian and social development in Mali and the wider Sahel, a Japanese official in Addis Ababa told Reuters.

Iran's Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi also offered in Addis Ababa to work with the African Union to help resolve the crisis in Mali. Salehi said Iran was ready to offer assistance to Mali's tens of thousands of refugees and displaced people. ($1 = 0.7421 euros)

(Reporting by Tiemoko Diallo in Bamako, Richard Valdmanis in Sevare, Mali, Nathalie Prevost in Ouagadougou, Joe Bavier in Abidjan, Richard Lough and Aaron Maasho in Addis Ababa; writing by Pascal Fletcher; editing by Philippa Fletcher)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/french-malian-forces-capture-gao-rebel-stronghold-004512113.html

romney tax return the tree of life movie academy award nominees 2012 2012 oscar nominations kyle williams florida debate rand paul

সোমবার, ২৮ জানুয়ারি, ২০১৩

Climate change impacts to U.S. coasts threaten public health, safety and economy, report finds

Jan. 28, 2013 ? According to a new technical report, the effects of climate change will continue to threaten the health and vitality of U.S. coastal communities' social, economic and natural systems.

The report, Coastal Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerabilities: a technical input to the 2013 National Climate Assessment, authored by leading scientists and experts, emphasizes the need for increased coordination and planning to ensure U.S. coastal communities are resilient against the effects of climate change.

The recently released report examines and describes climate change impacts on coastal ecosystems and human economies and communities, as well as the kinds of scientific data, planning tools and resources that coastal communities and resource managers need to help them adapt to these changes.

"Sandy showed us that coastal states and communities need effective strategies, tools and resources to conserve, protect, and restore coastal habitats and economies at risk from current environmental stresses and a changing climate," said Margaret A. Davidson of NOAA's Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management and co-lead author of the report. "Easing the existing pressures on coastal environments to improve their resiliency is an essential method of coping with the adverse effects of climate change."

A key finding in the report is that all U.S. coasts are highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change such as sea-level rise, erosion, storms and flooding, especially in the more populated low-lying parts of the U.S. coast along the Gulf of Mexico, Mid-Atlantic, northern Alaska, Hawaii, and island territories. Another finding indicated the financial risks associated with both private and public hazard insurance are expected to increase dramatically.

"An increase in the intensity of extreme weather events such as storms like Sandy and Katrina, coupled with sea-level rise and the effects of increased human development along the coasts, could affect the sustainability of many existing coastal communities and natural resources," said Virginia Burkett of the U.S. Geological Survey and co-lead author of the report.

The authors also emphasized that storm surge flooding and sea-level rise pose significant threats to public and private infrastructure that provides energy, sewage treatment, clean water and transportation of people and goods. These factors increase threats to public health, safety, and employment in the coastal zone.

The report's authors noted that the population of the coastal watershed counties of the U.S. and territories, including the Great Lakes, makes up more than 50 percent of the nation's population and contributed more than $8.3 trillion to the 2011 U.S. economy but depend on healthy coastal landforms, water resources, estuaries and other natural resources to sustain them. Climate changes, combined with human development activities, reduce the ability of coasts to provide numerous benefits, including food, clean water, jobs, recreation and protection of communities against storms.

Seventy-nine federal, academic and other scientists, including the lead authors from the NOAA and USGS, authored the report which is being used as a technical input to the third National Climate Assessment -- an interagency report produced for Congress once every four years to summarize the science and impacts of climate change on the United States.

Other key findings of the report include:

Expected public health impacts include a decline in seafood quality, shifts in disease patterns and increases in rates of heat-related morbidity.
Changes in the location and the time of year when storms form can lead to large changes in where storms land and the impacts of storms. Any sea-level rise is virtually certain to exacerbate storm-surge and flooding related hazards.
Because of changes in the hydrological cycle due to warming, precipitation events (rain, snow) will likely be heavier. Combined with sea-level rise and storm surge, this will increase flooding severity in some coastal areas, particularly in the Northeast.
Temperature is primarily driving environmental change in the Alaskan coastal zone. Sea ice and permafrost make northern regions particularly susceptible to temperature change. For example, an increase of two degrees Celsius during the summer could basically transform much of Alaska from frozen to unfrozen, with extensive implications.
As the physical environment changes, the range of a particular ecosystem will expand, contract or migrate in response. The combined influence of many stresses can cause unexpected ecological changes if species, populations or ecosystems are pushed beyond a tipping point.
Although adaptation planning activities in the coastal zone are increasing, they generally occur in an ad-hoc manner and are slow to be implemented. Efficiency of adaptation can be improved through more accurate and timely scientific information, tools, and resources, and by integrating adaptation plans into overall land use planning as well as ocean and coastal management.
An integrated scientific program will reduce uncertainty about the best ways coastal communities can to respond to sea-level rise and other kinds of coastal change. This, in turn, will allow communities to better assess their vulnerability and to identify and implement appropriate adaptation and preparedness options.

This report is available online.