SC regulators delay Duke Energy-Progress Energy deal

The $26 billion Duke Energy-Progress Energy merger will not happen Sunday, as the companies hoped. The S.C. Public Service Commission has decided to hold a special meeting on Monday to act on the part of the merger it must approve.

The companies have said from the outset that South Carolina has no statutory authority to accept or reject the merger. But the state must approve a proposal that the power plants of Duke Energy Carolinas and Progress Energy Carolinas will operate as a single fleet.

The S.C. commission has questioned the power companies' reading of their authority. But if the companies are right, then they could go ahead and close the deal Sunday. But Progress spokesman Mike Hughes says the companies have no intention of doing so.

"Assuming a favorable vote by the commission, we plan to close the merger Monday afternoon," he says.

Public notice

The companies had hoped to close the deal before the end of last year. That fell through when federal regulators raised objections. Those were finally resolved just three weeks ago.

The clerk of the S.C. commission posted notice today that the board would meet at 11:30 a.m. Monday at its office in Columbia to discuss the companies' proposal to jointly operate their two utility fleets. The commission was under no obligation to act before the power companies' July 1 target date for closing the deal.

The N.C. Utilities Commission approved the merger earlier today.

Delaying the deal by one day is not a major issue for the companies. But they had hoped to be able to merge at the start of the third quarter for accounting reasons. It would simply be easier for earnings reports to have the two companies combined as the quarter started July 1.

John Downey covers the energy industry and public companies for the Charlotte Business Journal.

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Where Should I Invest My 401k? | WiseStockBuyer

401k retirement savings plans are terrific ways to save for retirement. They use the power of investment and compound interest to deliver tremendous returns based on how much you put in each year. By the time you are able to withdraw your funds without penalty ? at the age of 59 ? ? the percentage of your total amount that was accumulated by your investments absolutely dwarfs the amount you put into it out of your monthly salary.

In other words, you?ll make far more for retirement with a 401k than you would simply by saving your money and putting it into a low-yield savings account. Plus, the fact that you gain access to free money through employer contributions is a huge bonus.

Still, having a 401k means you have to make certain decisions involving your investment allocations. Where should you put your money? What are the pros and cons of the options available to you? There are nearly two dozen investment options; which is the best for you? Here, I?ll cover the main five ? stocks, bonds, mutual funds, certificates of deposit, and money market accounts ? and give you an overview for each one.

Money Market Accounts

I?ll start with money market accounts, because they are generally the safest option available. A money market account works by paying interest on your money when it is placed into money markets, or markets that buy and sell Treasury bills, bank certificates of deposits, federal funds, commercial paper, and the like. It?s a short-term market, not a long-term market like bonds and stocks.

Money market accounts deliver lower rates than other options, but they beat the return you?d get by having your money sit in a savings account or checking account. The advantage is that they are generally viewed as safe places to put your money because they are insured by the FDIC and aren?t very volatile.

Pros: Low volatility and risk; insured by FDIC

Cons: Lowest rate of return

Certificates of Deposit

You can also allocate your money into certificates of deposit, which are financial products that give you a certain rate of return if you keep your money in them for a certain period of time (called a fixed term). You can find CDs that have terms of one month, three months, six months, one year, or more ? up to five years, in most cases. They deliver a predictable rate of return that can be higher than what you receive with a money market account if you go for longer maturities.

The downside, again, is that they do not offer nearly as high a rate of return as some other options. Additionally, CDs are susceptible to inflation because they are not very liquid if you go for bigger returns through longer terms. Rising inflation can eat into and even vanish your gains.

Pros: Low risk; insured by FDIC

Cons: Not as profitable as most options; susceptible to inflation for long terms

Bonds

Bonds as an asset class offer a step up from either of the two mentioned above. Heading into this territory can be a bit tricky, though, because there are several types of bonds out there. In general, there are three types most 401k participants use: municipal bonds; Treasury bonds; and corporate bonds.

Treasury bonds (T-Bonds) are issued by the U.S. Treasury and are viewed as the safest investments in the world because they?re backed by the U.S. government. They come in three flavors, depending on their maturity: T-Bills (mature in one year or less); T-Notes (mature in 2-10 years); and T-Bonds (mature in 20-30 years). T-Bonds and T-Notes both pay what is called a coupon payment every six months; this amount is a percentage of the note?s value paid to you. Collectively, all three of these are called Treasurys.

Rates of return (called ?yields?) for these vary; historically, they have underperformed stocks (except from 2002 to 2011, when they actually outperformed stocks by a significant amount).

Municipal bonds are similar to T-Bonds in that they are issued by a government agency and come with a term, a maturity, and a fluctuating interest rate. Most municipal bonds are considered quite safe and generate decent returns, but they vary considerably because not all cities and local governments are created equal. These generally return lower rates than all other bond types. But ? and this is a big but ? these are usually exempt from federal, state, and local taxes.

Corporate bonds offer the largest rates of return, typically, and are issued by corporations as a way to finance their operations. They are similar to the other two bond types, but have a higher risk of default than either. Of course, that?s why they also offer better returns.

Pros: T-Bonds are the safest investments you can make; less risk than stocks; predictable returns

Cons: Less liquid than the above assets; outperformed in most years by stocks; subject to some volatility; default wipes out value

Mutual Fund

A mutual fund is a collection of assets that you can own under the umbrella of the fund. Most are managed professionally, either actively ? a fund manager trades assets regularly for maximum return ? or passively ? they are tied to an index or have some automated way to change asset allocation. You can find mutual funds for virtually every asset class, including bonds, money markets, and stocks. Your average investor pictures stock-based (or equity) mutual funds when they think of the term.

Mutual funds typically offer better returns than bonds, CDs, or money market accounts but smaller returns than investing in a pure stock portfolio. They are safer than stocks, though, and also give you the chance to easily diversify your portfolio, which insulates you a bit from downturns in the market.

Mutual funds, though, come with fees that are paid regardless of if the fund performs well. Plus, you don?t have control of what assets the fund owns.

Pros: Better return than bonds and the other above asset classes; diversification; safer than stocks

Cons: Lower returns, on average, than stocks; subject to volatility and risk

Stocks

Finally, we are at the main asset most people think when they picture using their 401k assets to invest: stocks.

Stocks typically offer a far greater return than any other asset class and are very flexible. From 2006 to 2011, stocks routinely topped the charts of the annual returns of several benchmark asset classes, bested usually only by gold. You can buy shares of stock in thousands of companies across the world, and this stock can be sold quickly and easily for cash, making it a very liquid asset.

The disadvantages of stocks, though, are considerable. For starters, it takes some experience and knowledge to pick the right stocks. You can remedy this somewhat by choosing an exchange-traded fund that is traded like a stock but covers several different assets. Also, stocks are volatile and generally the riskiest assets, with the possible exception of credit default swaps, high-yield ?junk? bonds, and other similar assets. You can lose far more, on average, with stocks than you can with bonds, mutual funds, or any other asset class.

Choosing stocks is for people who want more of an aggressive strategy in their 401k portfolio.

Pros: Usually offer the highest rates of return; liquid; provide thousands of choices

Cons: Volatile; riskier than the other major asset classes; harder to invest in successfully

Which One Should You Pick?

Ideally, you should have a well-rounded, balanced, and diversified portfolio with a little bit of everything thrown in. Bonds and money market accounts and certificates of deposits provide some balance against a turbulent stock market and give you a safe harbor for your money; stocks give you the earning power that can turn your contributions into a sizable nest egg.

You need a little of all to truly make your portfolio successful. But, the degree to which you choose one asset over the other is largely dependent on your risk profile.

Related posts:

1. Can You Invest in Both an IRA and 401k at the Same Time?

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A new energy in Poland

Jan Cienski in Warsaw


June 27, 2012

When the last football fans decamp from Poland at the end of June, there are fears that the investment boom that they helped cause ? Poland's five-year rush to build highways and airports in time for the Euro 2012 tournament ? will fade, dragging down the economy with it. While indications are that the peak of the transport building frenzy have passed, the economy's salvation could lie in the forthcoming wave of investments in power generation.

Mateusz Morawiecki, CEO of Poland's Bank Zachodni WBK, a unit of Spain's Santander, estimates that Poland will need to invest as much as ?41bn in energy over the next six or seven years. "The wave of investment could act as a cyclical buffer for the economy," he says, calculating that energy investments could make up for a predicted coming slump in consumption ? one of the main drivers of the Polish economy in recent years ? as well as a fall off in public investments in transport infrastructure.

The scale of Poland's future needs is vast. Most current generating capacity was still built in communist times, and is largely fired by black or brown coal ? providing more than 90% of Poland's electricity. Fitch, the ratings agency, estimates that Poland's three largest power companies will need to find funding of about ?9bn by 2015. In all, Poland is expected to need about ?50bn in energy investments until 2025 as old coal-fired plants are phased out and replaced with modern ones, as well as gas and nuclear plants, all while overall energy generating capacity is built up to accommodate Poland's growing economy.

Cleaning up

Poland has committed to generating more than 15% of its power from clean energy by 2020 ? part of the EU's pledge to reduce CO2 emissions ? creating a quickly growing new market. Wojciech Hann, a partner at Deloitte, the consultancy, estimates that coal's slice of the energy pie will shrink to about 55% by 2030, with the rest being taken up by renewable, natural gas and nuclear.

Although new coal plants are much less polluting than those built decades ago, there is little indication that hopes of turning coal into a true clean fuel through the use of techniques such as carbon sequestration are feasible.

PGE, the country's largest utility, recently backed out of a pilot plant being built in central Poland, that is supposed to investigate whether there is an economic case for pumping carbon underground. PGE decided that with the cost of carbon emissions credits in the EU Emissions Trading System hovering at about ?6 a tonne, while carbon sequestration costs 10 times as much, the scheme currently does not make much sense.

That leaves scope for a stronger focus on renewables. "Poland is facing an explosion in renewable energy investments," says Hann. "This is proof that regulatory systems can create miracles."

Renewables already make up just over 10% of Poland's energy production, however a significant portion comes from the questionable practice of dumping biomass ? largely wood and straw ? into coal-fired boilers to make them greener. The other main source of renewable power is wind, currently located mainly along the Baltic coast and with increasing interest in building offshore power stations. PGE has committed to spending more than ?3bn on offshore wind farms, which it hopes will replace part of its existing coal capacity.

Poland is also going to build up its natural gas generating capacity. Currently, almost no gas is used for power, with most of the 17bn cubic metres (cm) used by the country going to homes and industrial users. However, with Poland potentially sitting on large deposits of shale gas, the growth of gas in the energy mix is expected to increase, says PWC, the consultancy.

Nuclear controversy

Finally, Poland, like almost every other country in Central Europe, is looking at building up its nuclear power capacity. Poland was one of the few Soviet satellites that did not build a power plant in communist times, but the government is committed to opening two nuclear power stations by 2035.

The issue has divided Poland from Germany, where opposition to nuclear power is strong in the wake of the Japanese disaster at the Fukushima plant, but Warsaw is determined to go ahead despite the cost of about ?25bn. "There is no retreat from nuclear energy," insists Hann.

PGE will formally open a tender for technology suppliers later this year, and the contract has attracted interest from the US-Japanese group GE Hitachi, France's Areva and Westinghouse, a unit of Japan's Toshiba.

Power projects may also provide a new lifeline for Poland's troubled construction companies. Three large firms declared bankruptcy in recent months because they underbid for big highway projects and were then surprised by rising fuel, asphalt and steel prices. "This sector could occupy the space left from falling numbers of transport infrastructure projects following Euro 2012," writes Peter Attard Montalto, an analyst with Nomura.

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Spain tops Portugal in shootout to make Euro final

DONETSK, Ukraine (AP) ? Still not pretty to watch, still just as effective.

Spain again failed to dazzle at the European Championship yet still advanced to its third straight major championship final, beating Portugal 4-2 in a penalty shootout Wednesday following a scoreless draw after extra time.

"We're playing better in defense than what the characteristics of our players would suggest," Spain coach Vicente del Bosque said. "That's what earns victories."

After earning plaudits for the eye-catching one-touch passing that helped Spain win titles at Euro 2008 and the 2010 World Cup, this year's team is struggling to create chances. Against Portugal, the defending champions managed only one quality shot in regulation time.

It didn't matter, though, because the Spanish still came through when it mattered. Cesc Fabregas, who came on as a substitute in the second half, scored the deciding penalty after Bruno Alves hit the crossbar for Portugal moments earlier.

"I played poorly, but the team worked really hard," Fabregas said. "I had this intuition that we could advance if we went to penalties and that's what we did."

Spain will next face either Germany or Italy on Sunday in Kiev.

"Being in another final is a miracle," Fabregas said. "It's really incredible."

Cristiano Ronaldo had several chances for Portugal, but he sent three shots well over the crossbar as his team held its own for the entire match. The Real Madrid star, who came alive with three goals in his last two matches at the tournament, did not take a penalty in the shootout. He had been slated to take the fifth one, but it never got that far.

"Our players trained and were prepared for a situation like this," Portugal coach Paulo Bento said. "We didn't have much luck."

After an often dour opening 90 minutes, the match livened up in the 30 minutes of extra time.

Spain midfielder Andres Iniesta forced Portugal goalkeeper Rui Patricio into a superb reflex save in the 103rd minute. Iniesta ghosted into the penalty area then held his head in disbelief as Rui Patricio reacted brilliantly to get a strong hand on his shot after Jordi Alba cut the ball back toward the penalty spot.

Rui Patricio made another fine save to deny substitute Jesus Navas in the 111th.

"Both teams were stronger in defense in the first 90 minutes, but that balance was broken in extra time," Spain coach Vicente del Bosque said.

Tempers frayed at times, with Portugal center half Pepe getting a yellow card for a challenge on Xabi Alonso as they went for a high ball. Ronaldo also received some heavy challenges late in the match.

In the shootout, Xabi had the first attempt saved by Rui Patricio before Spain goalkeeper Iker Casillas saved Joao Moutinho's shot. Iniesta, Gerard Pique and Sergio Ramos then all scored for Spain, while Pepe and Nani answered for Portugal.

"The first one wasn't so lucky, and then we scored the rest of them," Casillas said. "Yes, we really were lucky. Everything is about luck sometimes."

Del Bosque ditched his unorthodox 4-6-0 formation for Wednesday's match and opted for a traditional striker ? but not the one many expected. Instead of Fernando Torres, it was Alvaro Negredo that got the start up front. But 10 minutes into the second half, Del Bosque replaced him with Fabregas.

Although Negredo worked hard, his lack of movement made him easy to mark. Spain improved as Fabregas made clever runs to stretch the defense and the defending champions dominated most of extra time with the substitution of Pedro Rodriguez for midfielder Xavi Hernandez late in the match.

"I think we were better in the first 90 minutes. Then in extra time we were less efficient," Bento said. "When we couldn't take advantage of our opportunities, Spain got stronger."

Rui Patricio was a big help in goal for Portugal, but much more was expected from Ronaldo. The winger had a chance, albeit a difficult one, to win the game in the 90th minute when Portugal poured forward after clearing a free kick. But Raul Meireles' pass was fractionally behind Ronaldo and, with momentum lost, he had to check his run and sent his shot high and wide.

Ronaldo briefly threatened early in the first half, whipping over a cross from the left wing that Casillas grabbed before Nani could head it in. He also sent a free kick into the wall after too easily tumbling under a challenge.

Working as a unit, Portugal started to gain the upper hand midway through the first half. Moutinho flicked the ball into the path of Ronaldo, whose wild shot flew over the net.

"Everyone helped to control Ronaldo," Del Bosque said.

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Spice Girls power up for stage musical

By Pete Jeary , NBC News

The iconic songs of Girl Power will be back on stage this Christmas, when "Viva Forever!" takes to the stage at London?s Piccadilly Theater.

This new musical features many of the songs made famous by Victoria Beckham, Melanie Brown, Emma Bunton, Melanie Chisholm and Geri Halliwell -- corporately better known as the Spice Girls.

And in a rare show of public unity, the five Spice Girls appeared together, briefly,?on Tuesday to launch the show -- which is produced by Judy Cramer, the lady behind the Abba musical "Mamma Mia!"

Geri Halliwell (the original Ginger Spice) said, ?Years ago we thought -- wouldn?t it be a great idea to turn all this into musical. And all these years later Girl Power is still going strong -- it?s living proof to follow your dreams.?

The musical has been written by British comedian Jennifer Saunders, who has woven Spice Girls songs into a story of talent, fame and the pressures of celebrity on the relationships that really matter.

Emma Bunton (Baby Spice, in her former life) described the transformation from page to stage as an incredible creative process. ?It?s a great story,? Bunton said. ?The words and the music work so well together, it?s very moving.?

"Viva Forever!" profiles the life of Viva, a talented girl and her best friends, who get swept up in today?s obsession with celebrity culture and talent shows.

?It?s a story that clearly refers back to the early days of the Spice Girls,? writer Jennifer Saunders said, ?But it?s as contemporary as the next series of 'The X Factor.'?

As the latest in a series of so-called Jukebox musicals, everyone behind "Viva Forever!" hopes it will introduce a new generation of audiences to the phenomenon that was Girl Power.

Also in MSNBC Entertainment:

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Helping Victims of Torture (Voice Of America)

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Minka Kelly Is Maroon 5's Latest Video Vixen

'Minka was kind enough to make an appearance,' Adam Levine says during the 'MTV First' premiere of 'One More Night.'
By Kara Warner, with reporting by James Montgomery

Adam Levine and Minka Kelly in Maroon 5's "One More Night' music video
Photo:

Have you seen Maroon 5's newest video for "One More Night" yet? MTV News was lucky to have frontman Adam Levine and lead guitarist James Valentine stop by to premiere the clip on MTV during "MTV First: Maroon 5" on Monday, during which we learned that, from the band's point of view, love is battlefield. Or a boxing match, rather.

The concept for "One More Night" was dreamed up by Levine and directed by "Friday Night Lights" and "Battleship" director Peter Berg. It revolves around a boxer dealing with the pressures of providing for and being there for his young wife and baby. The young wife in this case is played by the lovely Minka Kelly, who worked with Berg on "Friday Night Lights." Although Levine and Kelly look every bit a happy couple at the beginning of the video, their romance is not of the fairy-tale variety.

"Minka was kind enough to make an appearance. That was pretty sweet," Levine said of the actress' involvement. "She plays my wife who leaves me." Spoiler alert, Adam! Luckily for everyone involved, the story behind getting Kelly to sign onto the project was a much happier tale than that of the two characters Levine and Kelly play in the video. It was as easy as picking up the phone and making a call.

"She's great," Levine said of Kelly. "The [story behind her involvement] was Pete reaching out to her and saying, 'Hey, do you want to do this?' and her saying 'Yes,' and us saying, 'Thank you!' " Levine explained, before giving her a full-on shout-out. "Thank you, Minka Kelly, for doing our video!"

In addition to her work in the cult hit "Friday Night Lights," Kelly has continued to appear on TV and in film with roles on "Parenthood" and the rebooted "Charlie's Angels," as well as on the big screen in "The Roommate" and a bit part in "(500) Days of Summer." Next up for Kelly is the rumored role of a young Jackie Kennedy in the upcoming ensemble "The Butler" alongside Forest Whitaker, Oprah Winfrey, Matthew McConaughey, John Cusack, Alan Rickman, Jane Fonda, Cuba Gooding Jr. and Lenny Kravitz.

Stick with MTV News for more from our exclusive interview with Maroon 5!

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• MTV First: Maroon 5

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How Real Estate Agent Become Helpful When You Sell Or Buy ...

Real estate business deals with leasing, renting, selling and purchasing of buildings including offices, hotels, restaurants and residences. Finding a property on rent or for purchase is never easy in the big cities. Every individual has his or her own priorities depending upon his or her choice and requirements of a building and budget. To find a property which meets both the demands is a tough task for any individual, but the real estate agencies are the places where you can seek help in this regard. People who are looking forward to sell their property or give it on rent, the interested people can get in touch with these real estate agencies and tell about their requirements and budget limits. These agents will provide you with a list of a range of available buildings which are fulfilling your requirements. You may visit a few of them and finalize one which appeals you most.

In this way, you do not have to run here and there to find the property and the end result would be a waste of lots of precious time with no results.

Dubai is a famous place in the UAE where people from all over the world come for a variety of purposes. Whatever their purpose is, they have to find a place to live or work. Finding a property in Dubai for a foreigner would have been hell of a task if there had not been any real estate agents. In Dubai, there are huge numbers of building projects offering residences, working places, hotel or restaurants. A real estate agent can easily find you a place of your choice and requirement. If you are on a short trip to Dubai and planning to stay at any of Dubai hotel apartments, your real estate agent can arrange a suitable apartment and when you arrive at Dubai, you can directly go to your hotel apartment which has already been booked by your agent.

Since Dubai Authorities have given the foreigners rights to own a freehold property back in 2002, its attraction for the investors has risen to the highest peak.

Being an investor, everyone wishes to invest the money in this part of the world in order to get the most excellent rewards. Now if you want to buy Dubai property, you need not to visit this place for selecting a property, but you can select your property while sitting out of Dubai with the help of online facility provided by the real estate agents in Dubai. Some real estate agents also provide you with the facility to do online purchasing. The real estate agent?s role does not end at this point, but he/she will keep an eye on the market trends and will guide you about the most excellent time to sell property in Dubai. So in this way, you will be able to get the best prices and the highest profit against your invested amount. The services of real estate agents are remarkable and very efficient as Dubai Authorities have developed a strict regulation to ensure the transparent working of these agents.

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Turning Young Girls Into Future Coding Superstars | Co.Exist: World ...

Somewhere in Queens, New York City, there is a young Latina high school girl who likes to take apart computers in her spare time. She doesn?t yet realize that this is a marketable skill, something that could easily lead to future job opportunities. That?s about to change, thanks to an eight-week intensive summer program--dubbed "Girls Who Code"--aimed at turning promising high school girls into tomorrow?s engineering and technology superstars.

Reshma Saujani

Picture a typical computer programmer and a "brogrammer"--described by one Quora user as involving "Lots of red meat, push-ups on one hand, while coding on the other, sunglasses at all times, a tan is important, popped collar is a must. It?s important that you can squash anyone who might call you 'geek? or 'nerd? and that you can pick up girls, but also equally important that you know the Star Wars movies by heart, and understand programming ideas, like recursion and inheritance"--might come to mind. It?s a fraternity-like culture that has sprung up largely because of the dearth of female programmers.

Women earn the majority of bachelor degrees in the U.S., but only 24% of females work in technical fields. "Girls and boys at 12 or 13 like math and science the same, but then something shifts. There?s a cultural perception that a coder or engineer looks like a white male," says Reshma Saujani, founder of Girls Who Code and former New York City Deputy Public Advocate.

We wanted to focus on girls who didn?t have a lot of access at home or schools that were passionate about technology.

So she founded Girls Who Code, a summer program with backing from Twitter, General Electric, Google, and eBay that wants to help close the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) gap by giving high school girls (ages 13 to 17) the opportunity to learn more about what engineering and technology careers have to offer--and by giving them the confidence to pursue their goals.

The New York City program, which kicks off this summer, will have 20 participants, representing all of the city?s boroughs and 12 different ethnicities. "We wanted to focus on girls who didn?t have a lot of access at home or schools that were passionate about technology," says Saujani.

Some--but not all--of the girls, selected from over 100 applicants, have science and technology experience. Many of them already know they want to pursue technical careers, but they don?t realize that they have options beyond being a doctor or a forensic scientist (an oddly popular choice on Girls Who Code applications, probably because of all the forensic scientists seen on shows like CSI: Crime Scene Investigation).

In fact, argues Saujani, these girls can have just as much of an impact by becoming programmers: "Many women don?t pick a job to make money. They pick a job to make a difference. [They should know that] being a coder can help improve water scarcity, or help bring democracy to a country in the Middle East."

"Many women don?t pick a job to make money. They pick a job to make a difference.

The Girls Who Code participants will have a jam-packed summer schedule, with activities planned Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Every week will have a different theme (mobile apps, robotics, entrepreneurship, etc.) and speakers will come talk to the girls every day. Already, Girls Who Code has lecturers like General Electric CMO Beth Comstock, Twitter CEO Dick Costolo, and Gilt Groupe founder Alexis Maybank lined up. Once or twice a week, the participants will take field trips to various tech startups and established companies, including Twitter, Google, Facebook, and General Assembly.

During the final two weeks, the girls will work on their final projects, which will ask them to solve problems using tools they?ve learned during the summer. One example: The girls might be asked identify a challenge in their neighborhood, and develop something--a video game, say, or a mobile app-- to address it. The girls will receive feedback and help from their mentors teachers, and at the end of the program, they?ll have the opportunity to showcase their ideas to a group of entrepreneurs and engineers.

This is just the beginning for Girls Who Code. In 2013, Saujani plans to roll out the program in seven to 10 cities in the U.S. "This summer is about perfecting the curriculum, going to funders and saying here?s what works," she says.

Girls Who Code starts with its first class of 20 to 22 participants on July 9th--including the girl from Queens who likes to tear down computers.

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Bob Cashell: Super-Bowl Comes to Reno

When people think of Nevada, often times the first thing that comes to mind is Las Vegas -- and for good reason. It's the Entertainment Capital of the World and home to the best casinos, restaurants and hotels that you'll find anywhere. But Nevada is a land of many incredible treasures and among them is the great city of Reno, the "Biggest Little City in the World."

Later this month, Bowling's U.S. Women's Open will come to Reno, bringing together two of our country's great treasures -- and two classic American comeback stories.

I see a fascinating parallel between Reno and bowling. Bowling is a sport that some thought had seen its heyday. After explosive growth during the 1950s and 60s, the bowling industry cooled off during the late 1980s and early 90s and some thought that it was a pastime whose time had passed. Boy were they wrong. In recent years, bowling has seen an incredible resurgence, fueled by the emergence of entertainment bowling centers that offer a more upscale experience including lounge areas and restaurant quality food. Bowling is now the nation's number one participatory sport with more than 71 million people taking to the lanes annually (more than 832 million games played every year) and the sport is seeing surging popularity among female and youth audiences. In fact, bowling now competes with hockey as one of the nation's fastest growing high school sports.

Similarly, the city of Reno is an incredible turnaround story. Reno had a series of ups and downs in the early 20th century and after gas explosions rocked the city in the late 1950s, Reno went through some tough times. However, years of hard work and investment have paid off and today Reno is flourishing. With a population of more than 225,000, Reno is the largest city in Northern Nevada and home to a growing economy and rapidly developing cultural center. There is now just so much going on in Reno... the River Walk District, Nevada Museum of Art, the Triple A Reno Aces, the Reno Championship Air Races... not to mention breathtaking views of the majestic Sierra Nevada mountains and easy access to Lake Tahoe, one of the most gorgeous places on the planet.

In just a few short weeks, the finals of the Bowling's U.S. Women's Open will be played underneath the iconic Reno arch on Virginia Street nearby the Eldorado Hotel Casino. It will be an incredible outdoor sports experience that will break new ground for bowling. More than 300 competitors from over 16 countries will compete with a chance to win a million dollars if a perfect 300 is rolled in the finalist competition, which will be aired on ESPN2.

I'll be candid -- bowling is good business. The economic benefit of hosting the U.S. Women's Open in Reno is significant. It's estimated that the event will bring several thousand tourists to the area and create a groundswell of national publicity for Reno. And I'm just so glad that Reno was selected as the host city for this spectacular sporting event.

Like bowling, Reno is a great American comeback story that deserves to be told. On the eve of June 27th, as the finals of Bowling's U.S. Women's Open will be played under the Reno Arch, two of America's great treasures will be brought together for an incredible sports viewing experience. Talk about a win-win.

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Analysis: Kuwait to weather crisis but faces long-run instability

(Reuters) - Kuwait is likely to face more instability in the long run even when it emerges from its latest crisis, as its opposition pushes for more say in governing the major oil exporter and U.S. ally.

The Gulf state has escaped the kind of mass popular protests that forced four Arab dictators out of office in 18 months. But the success of those uprisings has heightened opposition calls for a full parliamentary democracy in Kuwait in which governments are chosen by elected majority blocs.

The Gulf state's cabinet resigned on Monday, days after a top court annulled a February election that gave the Islamist-led opposition a majority. It ruled that a previous assembly friendly to the government should replace it instead.

Most parliamentarians and analysts expect that Kuwait's 83-year-old emir, who has the last say in politics, will dissolve the reinstated parliament soon, triggering elections some time after the holy month of Ramadan which starts around July 19.

Last week, politicians from the outgoing assembly raised the stakes in their standoff with the government, when they said that a "full parliamentary system" had become a necessity.

"The basis of this crisis is the same as all the others...it is a deep political crisis and relates to the chiefdom mentality of the powers which is not allowing Kuwait to develop into the modern and democratic state," said Ahmad al-Deyain, a member of Kuwait's leftist "Progressive Current".

"Kuwaiti opposition is now much more widespread and the population is a lot more aware."

Kuwait was buffeted by regular demonstrations in 2011, including one in November in which hundreds of angry men stormed parliament to press for the sacking of the premier at that time.

Politicians from the previous parliament have now called for protests against the annulment of the February election result.

"The Arab Spring may have exacerbated existing tensions that were already there," said Sam Wilkin, associate analyst at Control Risks in Dubai. "That may have played a role in the limited amount of popular protest that did occur in Kuwait."

While the latest turn of political events came as a surprise, some said it would give Kuwait the chance to wipe the slate clean, at least in the short-term.

"My understanding is that this crisis will pass smoothly," Ghanim al-Najjar, professor of political science at Kuwait University, said. "The parliament might meet once then it will be dissolved as it should then fresh elections will be called for and we will move on."

Political turmoil is not new in Kuwait, which has ushered in four parliaments in six years.

One of the world's wealthiest countries per capita, the OPEC member state has struggled with a corruption scandal implicating political figures and poor parliament-government relations that have hampered policymaking.

LIMITED DEMOCRACY

Although Kuwait has one of the most democratic systems in a Gulf region ruled by autocrats, political parties are banned so politicians tend to form blocs based on religious and tribal ties. This has complicated Kuwait's political scene and at times aggravated underlying sectarian tensions between majority Sunni Muslims and Shi'ite Muslims, who include some vocal politicians.

The current crisis is different to the one that engulfed the country late last year, Najjar said, because the unpopular prime minister, a nephew of the emir, has been removed.

Sheikh Nasser al-Mohammad al-Sabah's government resigned last year after some opposition lawmakers accused it of having made a series of illegal financial transfers via Kuwait's overseas embassies.

A judicial tribunal cleared him of any wrongdoing but the suspicions against him and other political figures helped Kuwait's mainly Islamist opposition make gains in February's election when they campaigned on an anti-corruption platform.

Opposition lawmakers failed to strike a deal with the ruling family in February for a significant share of cabinet posts. They were offered four out of a possible 16 following the election, but they held out for nine, scuttling any deal.

Since then, the emboldened opposition has sought to question cabinet ministers in parliament and forced the resignation of two, including the finance minister.

INFIGHTING HAMPERS DEVELOPMENT

The infighting has distracted lawmakers from legislation and threatened the timetable of Kuwait's 30 billion dinar ($107 billion) economic development plan that includes major infrastructure projects supposed to draw in foreign investment.

The next parliamentary election might bring in a more government-friendly assembly, Wilkin from Control Risks said, as the aftermath of the corruption scandal runs its course.

Opposition parliamentarians came in on an anti-graft platform but then pushed for Islamist legislation instead, he said, instead of sticking strictly to their manifestos.

"Since being elected they have pursued Islamist legislation to a degree not representative of Kuwait's population, which is relatively secular in outlook," he said, citing a push to make Islamic law the main source of all legislation and efforts to bring in the death penalty for blasphemy.

Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah blocked both proposals, according to MPs.

But governance in the state of 3.6 million people is complicated by its ungainly political structure.

Kuwait's hereditary emir picks the prime minister, who selects 15 ministers to join his cabinet, usually with members of the Sunni ruling family in senior posts.

This cabinet has to work with an elected parliament of 50 lawmakers and relations have been fraught. The emir also has the power to dissolve the assembly as many times as he pleases.

He has often exercised this power when fighting between the parliament and cabinet peaked and when senior government ministers are under pressure.

"The emir remains determined to prevent the opposition from challenging the regime's structural pillars," analyst Ayham Kamel from Eurasia group wrote in a note last week.

"Many within the ruling family have come to believe that the emir's accommodation of opposition demands have weakened the al-Sabah family and the foundations of the political system."

(Additional reporting by Layla Maghribi in Dubai; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

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Seeing inside tissue for no-cut surgeries: Researchers develop technique to focus light inside biological tissue

ScienceDaily (June 26, 2012) ? Imagine if doctors could perform surgery without ever having to cut through your skin. Or if they could diagnose cancer by seeing tumors inside the body with a procedure that is as simple as an ultrasound. Thanks to a technique developed by engineers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), all of that may be possible in the not-so-distant future.

The new method enables researchers to focus light efficiently inside biological tissue. While the previous limit for how deep light could be focused was only about one millimeter, the Caltech team is now able to reach two and a half millimeters. And, in principle, their technique could focus light as much as a few inches into tissue. The technique is used much like a flashlight shining on the body's interior, and may eventually provide researchers and doctors with a host of possible biomedical applications, such as a less invasive way of diagnosing and treating diseases.

If you crank up the power of light, you might even be able to do away with a traditional scalpel. "It enables the possibilities of doing incision-less surgery," says Changhuei Yang, a professor of electrical engineering and bioengineering at Caltech and a senior author on the new study. "By generating a tight laser-focus spot deep in tissue, we can potentially use that as a laser scalpel that leaves the skin unharmed."

Ying Min Wang, a graduate student in electrical engineering, and Benjamin Judkewitz, a postdoctoral scholar, are the lead authors on the paper, which was published in the June 26 issue of the journal Nature Communications.

The new work builds on a previous technique that Yang and his colleagues developed to see through a layer of biological tissue, which is opaque because it scatters light. In the previous work, the researchers shined light through the tissue and then recorded the resulting scattered light on a holographic plate. The recording contained all the information about how the light beam scattered, zigzagging through the tissue. By playing the recording in reverse, the researchers were able to essentially send the light back through to the other side of the tissue, retracing its path to the original source. In this way, they could send light through a layer of tissue without the blurring effect of scattering.

But to make images of what is inside tissue -- to get a picture of cells or molecules that are embedded inside, say, a muscle -- the researchers would have to be able to focus a light beam into the tissue. "For biologists, it's most important to know what's happening inside the tissue," Wang says.

To focus light into tissue, the researchers expanded on the recent work of Lihong Wang's group at Washington University in St. Louis (WUSTL); they had developed a method to focus light using the high-frequency vibrations of ultrasound. The WUSTL group took advantage of two properties of ultrasound. First, the high-frequency sound waves are not scattered by tissue, which is why it is great for taking images of fetuses in utero. Second, ultrasonic vibrations interact with light in such a way that they shift the light's frequency ever so slightly. As a result of this so-called acousto-optic effect, any light that has interacted with ultrasound changes into a slightly different color.

In both the WUSTL and Caltech experiments, the teams focused ultrasound waves into a small region inside a tissue sample. They then shined light into the sample, which, in turn, scattered the light. Because of the acousto-optic effect, any of the scattered light that passes through the region with the focused ultrasound will change to a slightly different color. The researchers can pick out this color-shifted light and record it. By employing the same playback technique as in the earlier Caltech work, they then send the light back, having only the color-shifted bits retrace their path to the small region where the ultrasound was focused -- which means that the light itself is focused on that area, allowing an image to be created. The researchers can control where they want to focus the light simply by moving the ultrasound focus.

The WUSTL experiment was limited, however, because only a very small amount of light could be focused. The Caltech engineers' new method, on the other hand, allows them to fire a beam of light with as much power as they want -- which is essential for potential applications.

The team demonstrated how the new method could be used with fluorescence imaging -- a powerful technique used in a wide range of biological and biomedical research. The researchers embedded a patch of gel with a fluorescent pattern that spelled out "CIT" inside a tissue sample. Then, they scanned the sample with focused light beams. The focused light hit and excited the fluorescent pattern, resulting in the glowing letters "CIT" emanating from inside the tissue. The team also demonstrated their technique by taking images of tumors tagged with fluorescent dyes.

"This demonstration that we can focus significant optical power deep within tissues opens up significant possibilities in optical imaging," Yang says. By tagging cells or molecules that are markers for disease with fluorescent dyes, doctors can use this technique to make diagnoses noninvasively, much as if they were doing an ultrasound procedure.

Doctors might also use this process to treat cancer with photodynamic therapy. In this procedure, a drug that contains light-sensitive, cancer-killing compounds is injected into a patient. Cancer cells absorb those compounds preferentially, so that the compounds kill the cells when light shines on them. Photodynamic therapy is now only used at tissue surfaces, because of the way light is easily scattered. The new technique should allow doctors to reach cancer cells deeper inside tissue.

The team has been able to more than double the current limit for how far light can be focused into tissue. With future improvements on the optoelectronic hardware used to record and play back light, the engineers say, they may be able to reach 10 centimeters (almost 4 inches) -- the depth limit of ultrasound -- within a few years.

Still, the researchers say, their demonstration shows they have overcome the main conceptual hurdle for effectively focusing light deep inside tissue. "This is a big breakthrough, and we're excited about the potential," Judkewitz says. Adds Caltech's Wang, "It's a very new way to image into tissue, which could lead to a lot of promising applications."

The Nature Communications paper is titled "Deep-tissue focal fluorescence imaging with digitally time-reversed ultrasound-encoded light." In addition to Wang, Judkewitz, and Yang, the other author on the paper is Charles DiMarzio of Northeastern University. This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the Sir Henry Wellcome Postdoctoral Fellowship from the Wellcome Trust, and the National Science Scholarship from the Agency for Science, Technology, and Research in Singapore.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by California Institute of Technology. The original article was written by Marcus Woo.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. Ying Min Wang, Benjamin Judkewitz, Charles A. DiMarzio, Changhuei Yang. Deep-tissue focal fluorescence imaging with digitally time-reversed ultrasound-encoded light. Nature Communications, 2012; 3: 928 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms1925

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.

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Egypt president-elect starts consultations on team

CAIRO (AP) ? Egypt's new president-elect, Islamist Mohammed Morsi, moved into the office once occupied by ousted leader Hosni Mubarak and started consultations Monday on forming his team and a new government, an aide said.

Morsi was declared on Sunday the winner of Egypt's first free presidential election in its modern history, following a tight race with Mubarak's last Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq.

The campaign had deeply polarized the country, pitting a former regime official and former military man? feared to be a continuation of Mubarak's autocratic rule but viewed by some as an agent of stability? against an Islamist.

Many supported Morsi as a representative of the uprising that toppled the old regime and a chance to challenge the military. But Morsi was equally feared among youth groups behind the uprising, which campaigned for a secular democratic state, and among many of the country's Christian minority. Almost half of the voters boycotted the runoff vote last weekend.

The victory of Morsi, the first civilian president to take over the country's top job, is a stunning achievement for the Islamist group that remained for most of its eight decades a shadowy organization targeted by successive regimes. He pledged he will be a "president for all Egyptians."

Now, Morsi faces a daunting struggle for power with the country's still-dominant military rulers who took over after Mubarak's ouster in the uprising.

Just days before a winner was announced, the ruling generals made a series of decisions that gave them sweeping powers, undercutting the authorities of the president, including passing the state budget __ and granted military police broad powers to detain civilians.

The generals, who promised to transfer power to an elected leader by July 1, say the moves were designed to fill a power vacuum and to ensure that no one person monopolizes decision-making until a new constitution is drafted.

Two days before the runoff, a decision by a top Egyptian court packed with former regime appointees also dissolved the country's first freely elected parliament, dominated by Islamists, including Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood. This left the military council also in charge of legislating duties.

With the parliament dissolved, it is not clear where Morsi will be sworn in. Authorities say he could be sworn before the country's highest court, but his group and supporters are pressing for the parliament to be reinstated, arguing that the court decision only disputed a third of the house's seats.

Thousands of Morsi supporters, backed by some liberal and secular youth groups who were behind the uprising, vowed to press on with their protest in Cairo's Tahrir Square to pressure the ruling generals to rescind their decrees and reinstate the parliament.

Tens of thousands had spent the night in Tahrir in joyous celebration of Morsi's win. By Monday morning, few had stayed in the square, which after nearly a week of a sit-ins, was reopened for traffic but a protesters' tent camp remained in place. Brotherhood officials said the protests will continue until the military responds to their demands.

On Sunday, President Barack Obama telephoned the U.S.-educated Morsi to congratulate him on his victory and offer continued support for Egypt's transition to democracy. The White House said Morsi expressed appreciation for Obama's call and "welcomed U.S. support for Egypt's transition."

Ali said the 60-year-old Morsi arrived at the presidential office on Monday for official meetings and consultations. He said his priority is to form a working presidential team until he finishes consultation over nominating vice presidents.

"His priority is the stability on the political scene," said Yasser Ali, a spokesman for Morsi's presidential campaign.

In an effort to rally support and heal national divisions, Morsi vowed to appoint diverse deputies, including a woman and a Christian. He also has reached out to other presidential hopefuls, who garnered popular support in the first round of elections.

Ali , the spokesman, said there were also consultations to form a national coalition government. The military-backed government is expected to resign later Monday, according to legal tradition after a new president is announced. Ali said he anticipates the government, headed by Kamal el-Ganzouri, would remain in a caretaker role because forming a new one "will take time."

Morsi faces enormous challenges of improving the economy and maintaining law and order ? both of which deteriorated in the post-Mubarak period. He has also promised he would nominate a non-Brotherhood member to head the government.

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New Greek govt hit by yet another resignation

FILE - In this Tuesday, May 22, 2012 file photo shows Yannis Stournaras leaves from Premier's office at Maximos Mansion. Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras has named prominent economist Yannis Stournaras as the country's new finance minister on Tuesday, June 26, 2012. (AP Photo/Eurokinissi, Giannis Panagopoulos,File)

FILE - In this Tuesday, May 22, 2012 file photo shows Yannis Stournaras leaves from Premier's office at Maximos Mansion. Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras has named prominent economist Yannis Stournaras as the country's new finance minister on Tuesday, June 26, 2012. (AP Photo/Eurokinissi, Giannis Panagopoulos,File)

FILE - In this Tuesday, May 22, 2012 file photo shows Yannis Stournaras as he leaves from Premier's office at Maximos Mansion. Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras has named prominent economist Yannis Stournaras as the country's new finance minister on Tuesday, June 26, 2012. (AP Photo/Eurokinissi, Giannis Panagopoulos,File)

FILE - In this Tuesday, May 24, 2011 file photo shows Yannis Stournaras is seen at the Greek Parliament. Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras has named prominent economist Yannis Stournaras as the country's new finance minister on Tuesday, June 26, 2012. (AP Photo/Eurokinissi, Giannis Panagopoulos,File)

FILE - This is a Thursday, June 21 2012 file photo of prominent banker Vassilis Rapanos as he looks on during his meeting with New Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras and the heads of the two minority coalition partners, Evangelos Venizelos from the Greek Socialist PASOK party and the smaller Democratic Left's Fotis Kouvelis, in Athens. The prime minister's office said Monday June 25, 2012 that Greece's designated finance minister, Vassilis Rapanos who was rushed to hospital on Friday, has resigned. (AP Photo/Kostas Tsironis, File)

ATHENS, Greece (AP) ? Can there be one day without bad news for the new Greek government?

Perhaps, but not Tuesday. The coalition government suffered another setback as a second Cabinet member quit in two days over what critics called a conflict of interest. The departure of Giorgos Venicos was hardly earthshattering ? he was the deputy at the merchant marine ministry ? but it was the latest in a litany of missteps and bad luck that have halted the government's ability to regain control of Greece's austerity program.

Prime Minister Antonis Samaras' new conservative-led government was sworn in last week, ending months of political deadlock. But in the last week alone it has suffered a string of casualties.

? The designated finance minister resigned Monday due to illness after being hospitalized the day he was to have been sworn in.

? Samaras himself is recovering at home from a serious eye operation and will be unable to attend a European Union leaders' summit later this week.

? The two health problems delayed a visit to Athens by international debt inspectors, which in turn delayed their report on Greek debt for EU leaders.

? The latest casualty, Vernicos, did not immediately give a reason for his departure Tuesday. But the main opposition Syriza party had accused him of maintaining an offshore company in what appeared to be a conflict of interest.

? On the positive side, prominent economist Yannis Stournaras was named as Greece's new finance minister Tuesday. Stournaras, 55, was involved in the country's negotiations to join the euro and was head of the Foundation for Economic and Industrial Research, a think tank and research body.

Shares on the Athens Stock Exchange rose on the news of his appointment, closing up 1.59 percent at 575.83.

Greece has been surviving on ?240 billion ($300 billion) in rescue loans from other EU countries and the International Monetary Fund since May 2010. Samaras' government has promised to push for a break from the harsh austerity measures demanded by creditors as Greece struggles through a fifth year of recession.

Samaras' office said he spoke on the telephone Tuesday with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and eurogroup head Jean-Claude Juncker, after talking on the phone with President Barack Obama.

Ben May, economist at Capital Economics, estimates Greece should have enough money to get it through the end of July. He expects some form of negotiations to take place this week on Greece's bailout terms, even if the prime minister can't be in Brussels in person.

May said the delay of the debt inspectors' visit to Athens "could be a problem" and will make debt negotiations all the more urgent.

"Time will be tight. They won't want to take negotiations to the wire," he said of Greek politicians.

Stournaras, the new finance minister, has publicly criticized Greece's avoidance of carrying out broader structural reforms to cut costs, arguing that successive tax hikes to try and improve public finances will ultimately fail.

"I do think we have the ability to get past this problem. But we must be realistic," Stournaras said about Greece's financial crisis. "We have a difficult road ahead of us, an uphill road ... but Greece is a country with great potential."

The salary cuts and tax increases that Greece has imposed have sent unemployment spiraling to above 22 percent.

Backed by conservatives, socialists and a small left-wing party, the new government has said it wants to lower some taxes, freeze public sector layoffs and extend by two years the mid-2014 deadline for the austerity measures.

European countries appear cool to the idea, however. Germany, the largest single contributor to the rescue loans, has insisted repeatedly that Athens stick to its commitments.

Many financial experts, however, think the current terms of Greece's bailout are not sustainable, and something needs to be done if Greece is going to be able to stay in the 17-nation eurozone.

Socialist leader Evangelos Venizelos said Greece remains committed to the EU and to the joint euro currency.

"The message is that we respect our institutional relationship with our partners," he said. "Greece will not take unilateral actions ... but is asking for an organized review of the (bailout) agreement."

___

Carlo Piovano contributed from London.

Associated Press

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Teens compete in high school theater awards

NEW YORK (AP) ? Sixty high school students with a song in their hearts will be competing Monday night for top honors and scholarships at the National High School Musical Theater Awards.

The show will kick off at the Minskoff Theatre on Broadway with a medley of Broadway songs and then six teens will be asked to sing solos. A seven-judge panel that includes Tony Award nominee Montego Glover will choose a male and female winner.

The competition caps a months-long winnowing process that began with 50,000 students from 1,000 schools. The 60 finalists were invited to New York to compete for the title, nicknamed the Jimmy Awards after theater owner James Nederlander.

The night's hosts are Constantine Maroulis and Deborah Cox, stars of the upcoming revival of "Jekyll & Hyde."

___

Online:

http://www.nhsmta.com

Associated Press

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Roderick Lawrence signs with Miami University's basketball team

OXFORD, OH (FOX19) - Miami University men's basketball?head coach John Cooper?announced on Friday that 6-foot-4, 180-pound guard Roderick Lawrence?has signed with the team.

?We are excited to have Roderick join the family,? remarked Cooper. ?Our staff is very familiar with him through the recruiting process last year. He decided to sign with Morehead State, but after they went through a coaching change and he re-opened his recruiting we were able to get involved. It came down to us and Penn State, and we?re fortunate to have Roderick come to us from Orlando, Florida. He?s a terrific kid who has really continued to improve, and I think that improvement will flourish as he gets stronger and continues to increase his weight. He has some good skills and with some of the things we want to do he?ll certainly fit in well, and he?ll fit in well as a person because he?s a classy kid.?

Lawrence averaged 16.3 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 2.0 spg and 3.1 apg for Dr. Phillips High School as a senior last season as the Panthers amassed a 23-6 record and a 7-0 league mark while advancing the regional semifinals.

The team was ranked as high as No. 3 in the state in 2011-12. During his sophomore and junior campaigns, the Panthers compiled 28-7 records each year, while earning No. 2 rankings in the state and advancing to the Class 6A State Championship game both seasons.

During Lawrence?s three seasons on the varsity team, Dr. Phillips went undefeated in league action each season, compiling a combined 23-0 league record while posting 79 overall wins.

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Microcirculation imaging

Public release date: 25-Jun-2012
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Contact: Michelle Martella
mmartella@wiley.com
781-388-8577
Wiley-Blackwell

The ultimate handbook on microcirculation imaging techniques

Microcirculation Imaging is the first handbook of its kind, introducing many different technical approaches for the visualization of microcirculation. Clearly structured throughout, this book is a must for every clinician and researcher relying on microcirculation imaging.

Author Professor Martin J. Leahy from the National University of Ireland, Galway, explores everything from basic research to medical applications. Microcirculation Imaging adopts a multidisciplinary approach drawing input from physicists, researchers and medical professionals.

Laser Doppler and laser Speckle, optical coherence tomography and photo-acoustic tomography are introduced as examples of technical approaches for the visualization of microcirculation included in Microcirculation Imaging.

###

Download the Microcirculation Imaging Table of Contents here. This title is available in all ebook formats at: www.wiley.com/buy/978-3-527-65121-4

If you would like to see a review copy or sample chapters of Microcirculation Imaging, please contact Michelle Martella at mmartella@wiley.com

About the Author:

Martin J. Leahy is scientific director of the National Biophotonics and Imaging Platform Ireland. From 1995 he had various research and teaching posts at the University of Oxford. He has secured 5.8M in external R&D funding since 2003. He is adjunct professor at the Royal College of Surgeons and Fellow of the Royal Academy of Medicine in Ireland.

About Wiley-Blackwell:

Wiley-Blackwell is the international scientific, technical, medical, and scholarly publishing business of John Wiley & Sons, with strengths in every major academic and professional field and partnerships with many of the world's leading societies. Wiley-Blackwell publishes nearly 1,500 peer-reviewed journals and 1,500+ new books annually in print and online, as well as databases, major reference works and laboratory protocols. For more information, please visit www.wileyblackwell.com or our online platform, Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com), one of the world's most extensive multidisciplinary collections of online resources, covering life, health, social and physical sciences, and humanities.

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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: 25-Jun-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Michelle Martella
mmartella@wiley.com
781-388-8577
Wiley-Blackwell

The ultimate handbook on microcirculation imaging techniques

Microcirculation Imaging is the first handbook of its kind, introducing many different technical approaches for the visualization of microcirculation. Clearly structured throughout, this book is a must for every clinician and researcher relying on microcirculation imaging.

Author Professor Martin J. Leahy from the National University of Ireland, Galway, explores everything from basic research to medical applications. Microcirculation Imaging adopts a multidisciplinary approach drawing input from physicists, researchers and medical professionals.

Laser Doppler and laser Speckle, optical coherence tomography and photo-acoustic tomography are introduced as examples of technical approaches for the visualization of microcirculation included in Microcirculation Imaging.

###

Download the Microcirculation Imaging Table of Contents here. This title is available in all ebook formats at: www.wiley.com/buy/978-3-527-65121-4

If you would like to see a review copy or sample chapters of Microcirculation Imaging, please contact Michelle Martella at mmartella@wiley.com

About the Author:

Martin J. Leahy is scientific director of the National Biophotonics and Imaging Platform Ireland. From 1995 he had various research and teaching posts at the University of Oxford. He has secured 5.8M in external R&D funding since 2003. He is adjunct professor at the Royal College of Surgeons and Fellow of the Royal Academy of Medicine in Ireland.

About Wiley-Blackwell:

Wiley-Blackwell is the international scientific, technical, medical, and scholarly publishing business of John Wiley & Sons, with strengths in every major academic and professional field and partnerships with many of the world's leading societies. Wiley-Blackwell publishes nearly 1,500 peer-reviewed journals and 1,500+ new books annually in print and online, as well as databases, major reference works and laboratory protocols. For more information, please visit www.wileyblackwell.com or our online platform, Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com), one of the world's most extensive multidisciplinary collections of online resources, covering life, health, social and physical sciences, and humanities.

---

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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.

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Better looking birds have more help at home with their chicks

Public release date: 24-Jun-2012
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Contact: Hilary Glover
hilary.glover@biomedcentral.com
44-020-319-22370
BioMed Central

In choosing a mate both males and females rely on visual cues to determine which potential partner will supply the best genes, best nesting site, best territory, and best parenting skills. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal Frontiers in Zoology shows that male blue tits' (Cyanistes caeruleus) parental behavior is determined by female ornamentation (ultraviolet coloration of the crown), as predicted by the differential allocation hypothesis (DAH).

DAH makes the assumption that aesthetic traits indicate quality and arises from the needs of a parent's current need to ensure current reproductive success and the reproductive success of their offspring. Ornamentation and its maintenance is a cost which reduces energy available for reproduction, but without the ornamentation an individual may not be able to secure a mate. Ornamentation also plays a role in competition between males and between females, as well as signaling potential reproductive success.

But reproductive success does not only depend on the best genes and the best nest, it also depends on parenting skills. Researchers from Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology, supported by the "Sparkling-Science" Program, investigated the effect of female ornamentation on the chick-rearing behavior of their mates. Both males and female blue tits have feathers on the top of their heads which reflect UV light. After their chicks had hatched, female blue tits were captured and their crowns smeared with either duck preen gland oil containing UV-blocking chemicals or the oil alone.

Although the UV-blocking chemicals did not alter the behavior of the females, their mates made fewer hunting trips to feed their brood. However the males made the same effort to protect their nest and defend their chicks as males with oil-only treated females.

Dr Matteo Griggio, co-author of this study, commented, "This is the first study to show that male blue tit behavior depends on female ornamentation. Even though our experiment was minimally invasive to avoid partners not being able to recognize each other, the behavior of male blue tits in this study matched the DAH. DAH also predicts that less attractive females should increase their parental investment but we found no compensatory female behavior."

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Media Contact

Dr Hilary Glover
Scientific Press Officer, BioMed Central
Tel: +44 (0) 20 3192 2370
Mob: +44 (0) 778 698 1967
Email: hilary.glover@biomedcentral.com

Notes to Editors

1. Female attractiveness affects paternal investment: experimental evidence for male differential allocation in blue tits Katharina Mahr, Matteo Griggio, Michela Granatiero and Herbert Hoi Frontiers in Zoology (in press)

Please name the journal in any story you write. If you are writing for the web, please link to the article. All articles are available free of charge, according to BioMed Central's open access policy.

Article citation and URL available on request on the day of publication.

2. Frontiers in Zoology is an open access, peer-reviewed online journal publishing high quality research articles and reviews on all aspects of animal life.

3. BioMed Central (http://www.biomedcentral.com/) is an STM (Science, Technology and Medicine) publisher which has pioneered the open access publishing model. All peer-reviewed research articles published by BioMed Central are made immediately and freely accessible online, and are licensed to allow redistribution and reuse. BioMed Central is part of Springer Science+Business Media, a leading global publisher in the STM sector.

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Public release date: 24-Jun-2012
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Contact: Hilary Glover
hilary.glover@biomedcentral.com
44-020-319-22370
BioMed Central

In choosing a mate both males and females rely on visual cues to determine which potential partner will supply the best genes, best nesting site, best territory, and best parenting skills. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal Frontiers in Zoology shows that male blue tits' (Cyanistes caeruleus) parental behavior is determined by female ornamentation (ultraviolet coloration of the crown), as predicted by the differential allocation hypothesis (DAH).

DAH makes the assumption that aesthetic traits indicate quality and arises from the needs of a parent's current need to ensure current reproductive success and the reproductive success of their offspring. Ornamentation and its maintenance is a cost which reduces energy available for reproduction, but without the ornamentation an individual may not be able to secure a mate. Ornamentation also plays a role in competition between males and between females, as well as signaling potential reproductive success.

But reproductive success does not only depend on the best genes and the best nest, it also depends on parenting skills. Researchers from Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology, supported by the "Sparkling-Science" Program, investigated the effect of female ornamentation on the chick-rearing behavior of their mates. Both males and female blue tits have feathers on the top of their heads which reflect UV light. After their chicks had hatched, female blue tits were captured and their crowns smeared with either duck preen gland oil containing UV-blocking chemicals or the oil alone.

Although the UV-blocking chemicals did not alter the behavior of the females, their mates made fewer hunting trips to feed their brood. However the males made the same effort to protect their nest and defend their chicks as males with oil-only treated females.

Dr Matteo Griggio, co-author of this study, commented, "This is the first study to show that male blue tit behavior depends on female ornamentation. Even though our experiment was minimally invasive to avoid partners not being able to recognize each other, the behavior of male blue tits in this study matched the DAH. DAH also predicts that less attractive females should increase their parental investment but we found no compensatory female behavior."

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Media Contact

Dr Hilary Glover
Scientific Press Officer, BioMed Central
Tel: +44 (0) 20 3192 2370
Mob: +44 (0) 778 698 1967
Email: hilary.glover@biomedcentral.com

Notes to Editors

1. Female attractiveness affects paternal investment: experimental evidence for male differential allocation in blue tits Katharina Mahr, Matteo Griggio, Michela Granatiero and Herbert Hoi Frontiers in Zoology (in press)

Please name the journal in any story you write. If you are writing for the web, please link to the article. All articles are available free of charge, according to BioMed Central's open access policy.

Article citation and URL available on request on the day of publication.

2. Frontiers in Zoology is an open access, peer-reviewed online journal publishing high quality research articles and reviews on all aspects of animal life.

3. BioMed Central (http://www.biomedcentral.com/) is an STM (Science, Technology and Medicine) publisher which has pioneered the open access publishing model. All peer-reviewed research articles published by BioMed Central are made immediately and freely accessible online, and are licensed to allow redistribution and reuse. BioMed Central is part of Springer Science+Business Media, a leading global publisher in the STM sector.

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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.

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