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Sensor technology developed by Southwest Research Institute has been named one of the 100 most significant technological achievements by R&D Magazine.

Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) created an underwater cave-mapping sensor that has the capability of traveling down a cave to gauge the path, dimensions and morphology of the tunnel. SwRI officials say these remote neutrally buoyant sensors work by injecting a dye in the water that can be used to determine the path and travel time of water through caves. The sensors are designed to float through the cave or conduit to measure the path by using an array of ultrasound sensors.

Local scientists say cave diving is extremely dangerous and is limited to large passageways, relatively shallow caves and limited distances.

“The information captured from these sensors is critically important for water-resource management and geotechnical risk assessment,” says Ronald Green, a scientist in the geosciences and engineering division at SwRI and a principal developer of the sensor paperless payday loans. “Adequate management of karst aquifers requires knowledge of water flow through caves and conduits, including location, size and morphology of the complex interconnected voids.”

SwRI officials say there could be applications in pipelines or sanitary sewers. Also, there could be future applications in flooded underground mines, tunnels or conduits that are not safe for manned entry.

San Antonio-based SwRI is an independent, nonprofit applied research and development organization. It has more than 3,200 employees and an annual research volume of more than $564 million. The institute has won 35 R&D 100 Awards since 1971. SwRI will accept its 2010 R&D Award Nov. 11 in Orlando.

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Research in Motion Ltd. is reportedly working on a touchscreen Blackberry smartphone with a slide-out keyboard and a tablet computing rival to Apple Inc.'s iPad.

The Wall Street Journal cited unnamed sources in a report Tuesday on RIM's (NASDAQ:RIMM) attempts to develop new products to compete with Apple's (NASDAQ:AAPL) popular lines.

The new smartphone runs on a new version of the BlackBerry operating system, the Journal reported, includes the ability to read finger gestures to expand and contract images and move through screens low fee payday loans.

The new tablet device connects to cellular networks via a BlackBerry phone, the paper reported, and could come out by the end of the year.

RIM's North American smartphone market share plunged to 38 percent in the March quarter from 54 percent a year earlier, while Apple's share grew to 23 percent from 18 percent.

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Janet and John Beardsley could retain ownership of the Historic U.S. National Bank Block under a bankruptcy plan slated for approval in August.

The Beardsleys placed the property in bankruptcy on Oct. 9, 2009 in the face of mounting debts over the downtown Portland building, 321 S.W. Sixth Ave. The Chapter 11 reorganization case was filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for Oregon.

An amended reorganization plan was filed June 2 and approved by the court June 9. A confirmation hearing is set for Aug. 4, at which point the property would exit bankruptcy.

The reorganization plan anticipates that creditors will be repaid within seven years, if not earlier. The plan claims the property is appraised at $27.9 million. It would need to sell for a minimum of $22.5 million to net enough money to repay creditors at the $20.92 million owed under the plan.

John Beardsley and Janet Beardsley each own 50 percent of the company. They will retain ownership but could be required to invest an unspecified amount of new equity to retain their position bad credit payday advance. The reorganization also would allow them to draw up to $12,000 per month to pay “reasonable” living expenses, including income taxes.

Beardsley filed a separate Chapter 11 case covering other real estate assets. The Fountain Village Development case is pending. A reorganization plan was filed March 19, 2010 but has not been confirmed.

The Fountain Village case covers the Fountain Village block at Southwest Second Avenue near Burnside, the New Market Theater Block at Southwest First Avenue and Ankeny Street, the Loyalty Building, 317 S.W. Alder St., the Hamilton Building, 500 block of Southwest Third Avenue, other buildings in downtown and an airplane hangar in Juneau, Alaska.

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Interior Secretary Ken Salazar reiterated Wednesday that the U.S. government is doing all it can to put an end to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and to enforce ethics requirements in the federal agency responsible for inspecting oil wells.

He also reiterated that the oil spill is causing President Obama to consider adjustments to his plan to open exploration wells for drilling in the Arctic.

The Interior Department faced criticism in a hearing before Congress Wednesday, two days after an inspector general report showed Minerals Management Service (MMS) inspectors took gifts from big oil companies, watched pornography and used crystal meth at work.

But in the hearing before the House Natural Resources Committee, Salazar said he believes most of the bureau’s 1,700 employees are "good public servants" and abide by ethics requirements put in place by the Obama administration. He said the department has "zero tolerance" for the ethical lapses, which he also called "reprehensible" and even "criminal."

"I would say, there are bad apples and those bad apples will be rooted out with every power that we have," he said.

Salazar’s testimony occurred hours before BP (BP), the company responsible for the spill, attempted what it called a "top kill" procedure aimed at plugging the 37-day-old leak.

The hearing was the first of seven by the House Natural Resources Committee investigating the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion and examining the future of America’s offshore oil and gas policy. The committee oversees the country’s offshore drilling policy and MMS, which collects about $13.7 billion per year in revenue from federal offshore and onshore drilling leases.

The discussion at the hearing bounced around as lawmakers questioned why the Interior Department wasn’t better prepared for the Gulf Coast oil spill, and Salazar repeatedly criticized the previous administration of President George W payday advances. Bush for not keeping oil companies at a proper "arms length" from federal regulators.

"We’ve done a lot to clean the house at MMS," he said. "Unlike the prior administration, this is not the candy store of the oil and gas kingdom."

Salazar reiterated a proposal to break up MMS into three divisions, separating the agency’s revenue collectors from the leasing and enforcement functions of the organization.

Asked several times whether the Gulf Coast oil spill will be a "game changer" for President Obama’s plan to open new areas to offshore drilling, particularly off the coast of Alaska, Salazar said more questions need to be answered first, and lawmakers should "stay tuned" for the Interior Department’s safety review he will deliver to the president on Thursday.

"There will be a series of decisions that will be made with respect to whatever adjustments need to be made," Salazar said. "And so stay tuned on your question relative to this specifics on the exploration wells approved in the Arctic."

In March, Obama announced plans to open up a few new areas for drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, off the East Coast and in Alaska. But the Interior Department suspended new applications for drilling permits after the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig led to an environmental disaster. 

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Five college students were awarded a total of $15,000 Wednesday for having the top business plans at the first annual Mason Wells BizStarts Collegiate Business Plan Competition, BizStarts Milwaukee announced in a news release Thursday.

BizStarts Milwaukee is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting entrepreneurship in the Milwaukee area.

Fourteen student plans were entered by eight participating colleges. Judges read the top five plans and listened to presentations by the finalists Wednesday to determine the final ranking.

Winners were:

1st place, $5,000: Gabriel Wahab, US Combat Sports — a website where fans of Ultimate Fighting Championship and other combat sports can find fighting dates and locations, player statistics and related information.

2nd place, $4,000: Tyler Sailsbery, Nomoredorms.com — a website for college students seeking off-campus housing.

3rd place, $3,000: Trevor Whately, 5tooltee — a new product designed for use by baseball players that combines different styles of batting tees into a single, easy-to-use tee.

4th place, $2,000: Hugh Morris, Proximity LLC — a marketing alert system that uses the technology of smart phones to forward special coupons, messages or deals to users whenever they are in the proximity of their favorite stores.

5th place, $1,000: Vince Anewenter, Eco-Disk — a company that creates disc golf putters and drivers made from recycled plastic and resin.

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The University of Wisconsin-Madison was awarded five federal grants worth $3,682,798 to work on projects to advance nuclear energy research and development, the U.S. Department of Energy announced Thursday.

U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu announced the selection of 42 university-led projects for awards totaling $38 million to be funded over three to four years through the department’s Nuclear Energy University Program.

“We are taking action to restart the nuclear industry as part of a broad approach to cut carbon pollution and create new clean energy jobs,” said Chu in a press release.

UW-Madison’s five awards include one grant of $616,073 to research and demonstrate technologies that will enable the safe and cost-effective management of the used fuel, focused on developing novel technology options to improve used fuel storage, recycling and disposal.

Three grants totaling $2.5 million were awarded to UW for research and development of the next generation of nuclear reactors that will produce more energy and create less waste with a focus on developing new reactor technologies with higher safety, economic and sustainability performance.

The final grant of $538,032 is for research focusing on creative, innovative and “blue sky” research in the fields of nuclear science and engineering.

“These projects will help us develop the nuclear technologies of the future and move our domestic nuclear industry forward,” Chu said.

Actual project funding will be established during the contract negotiation phase of the projects.

A list of selected projects can be found at: http://nuclear.gov/pdfFiles/NEUP_FY10_RDAwards.pdf.

Additional information on the Nuclear Energy University Program is available at www.ne-up.org.

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In a move aimed at combating the spread of diabetes, insurer UnitedHealth Group is launching a new program that will pay for lifestyle coaching at YMCA facilities.

Under the proposal announced Wednesday, the insurer will cover 16-week programs at the YMCA that discuss changes in eating, exercise and other lifestyle habits.

As part of the program, UnitedHealth will also pay incentives to Walgreens’ pharmacists to teach people how to better manage the disease.

Insurers such as UnitedHealth may start rolling out more such preventative care programs as the government’s health care overhaul forces insurers to cover patients regardless of medical condition.

UnitedHealth said it will pay YMCA lifestyle coaches based on performance, so coaches get paid more for recruiting more participants into the program, and for helping those participants achieve greater weight loss.

The company said studies funded by the government show that pre-diabetes patients can prevent or delay the disease by 58% simply by meeting in group coaching sessions, changing eating and exercise habits, and losing about 5% of their body weight faxless pay day loans.

UnitedHealth claims its program marks the first time a health insurer will cover "evidence-based" preventative diabetes care.

"The pilot data showed that paying for these services works — people get and stay healthier, leading to dramatically lower health care costs for employers and the health care system," Tom Beauregard, executive vice president of UnitedHealth Group, said in a statement.

UnitedHealth will first roll out the program in 7 cities, including 3 in Ohio: Cincinnati, Columbus and Dayton. The other cities are Indianapolis, Minneapolis, Phoenix and Tucson, Ariz.

The program is free to people enrolled in UnitedHealth care plans through their employers. 

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A little more than a year after the Phoenix Business Journal reported that DeVry University was looking to open a campus in the West Valley, the school has chosen a spot in Glendale’s Westgate City Center.

DeVry will begin offering classes in July in about 18,000 square feet at 6751 N. Sunset Blvd., Glendale. This will be DeVry’s 95th location in 26 states and Canada, and its fourth in Arizona.

Plans call for offering undergraduate degree programs through its colleges of Business & Management and Engineering & Information Sciences.

DeVry’s Keller Graduate School of Management also will offer a number of master’s degree programs in business and technology in Glendale.

DeVry is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools.

Jeff Blake, who served most recently as dean of Keller’s Phoenix campus and dean of graduate studies for the Phoenix metropolitan area, has been named dean of the Glendale campus. Before joining DeVry in January 2003, he was director of organizational development for Schwab University in Phoenix.

For more: www.devry.edu.

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American taxpayers, if you believe in stereotypes, are scurrying around this time of year, rummaging shoeboxes for receipts and other paperwork to support itemized tax-deduction claims.

In reality, most taxpayers, including me, don’t bother itemizing deductions, which must be reported on a tax form called "Schedule A" and require proof in case of an audit. We don’t bother because the basic standard deduction, which is free for the taking, is higher than all the itemized deductions most of us can legitimately claim. The basic standard deduction requires no documentation and is entered on the main 1040 tax form.

For 2009 returns, thanks to what Congress enacted as temporary measures, the standard deduction will be even higher for many Americans who meet qualifications. The higher the standard deduction is, the lower the taxable income and tax bill are.

The downside is increased complexity, including a new tax form to fill out called Schedule L.

"The standard deduction isn’t so standard anymore," said Mark Luscombe, principal federal tax analyst for tax publisher CCH, a Wolters Kluwer business. "For some people, filling out this schedule will probably entail as much figuring as taking a few itemized deductions on Schedule A."

For a little bit of work, though, the tax savings can be significant.

For the 2009 tax year, the basic standard deduction is $5,700 for singles and $11,400 for joint filers. Blind people and those 65 years old or older as of Jan. 1, 2010, can claim an additional $1,100 standard deduction for 2009. (Therefore, a couple filing jointly, both 65 or older and blind, would take an additional $4,400 deduction). Higher deductions for seniors and the blind have been part of the tax code for years and are not likely to be discontinued, Luscombe said.

In addition, in what are supposed to be temporary measures to boost housing and the economy:

— Non-itemizers can claim an additional standard deduction for state and local property taxes paid in 2009, up to $500 for single taxpayers and $1,000 for joint filers.

This extra deduction, first available for 2008 returns and later extended for 2009, was part of a legislative package aimed at boosting a sagging real estate market. "Much of the package rewarded people for buying homes," Luscombe said, and the extra deduction benefits people who have no mortgage (like me) or don’t pay enough interest on it to be able to itemize. The deduction expired at the end of 2009 but is likely to be extended to 2010, Luscombe believes.

— Another provision effective since 2008 allows taxpayers who have experienced casualty losses in areas the U.S. president has declared disaster areas to take those losses as an additional standard deduction.

"This is especially valuable to people who may experience a few thousand dollars in losses that they can ill afford, but whose losses are not large enough" to itemize (because the basic standard deduction would be larger), Luscombe said.

This deduction is not available to taxpayers in the Midwest Disaster Area of 2008, for whom different rules apply.

— Subject to income limits, non-itemizers who bought a new car in 2009 on or after Feb. 17 can add to their standard deduction the state and local sales and excise taxes they paid for the vehicle. Eligibility for this tax break phases out for single filers with modified adjusted gross income between $125,000 and $135,000 (joint filers, $250,000 to $260,000), and the deduction is limited to taxes paid on up to $49,500 of the purchase price.

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Driven by growth in insurance services, outpatient medical care and physician services, operating income rose 13 percent or $130 million for the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center for the six-month period ending December 31, the hospital network announced on Friday.

During the same period, operating revenue rose $216 million to $4.062 billion for a 5.6 percent increase, while the operating margin for the health insurance and medical giant improved to 3.2 percent from 3 percent.

The system’s earnings before interest, depreciation and amortization were $326 million for the first half of the fiscal year, up from $292 million for the same period a year ago and on target to exceed $600 million for fiscal 2010.

The results were released during a difficult period for health care providers and as UPMC’s cost of providing free care and contributions to the community rise, said CFO Robert DeMichiei. UPMC’s cost of charity care rose 16 percent to $518 million from 2007 to 2008, the most recent period data were available.

Key metrics for the six-month period include insurance services, up 8 percent to more than 1.4 million members; outpatient revenue, up 5 percent; and physician services, up 11 percent. During the same period, UPMC’s $3 billion investment portfolio gained $228 million, for a return of 11.8 percent, said Treasurer C. Talbot Heppenstall. UPMC reported a loss of $786 million for the same period a year ago.

Separately, UPMC’s pending $1.175 billion bond refinancing will be used to substitute fixed for variable rate debt and lower interest costs, Heppenstall said. Allegheny County Councilman Charles McCullough has been in court seeking to stop the refinancing because of UPMC’s decision to close Braddock Hospital Jan. 31, but Heppenstall predicted the litigation would not be a factor.

The biggest challenges may be ahead for UPMC and other hospitals, according to Moody’s Investors Service.

In a report released last month, Moody’s maintained its negative outlook for the nonprofit health care industry overall. The outlook was revised to negative from stable in Nov. 2008 based on credit market problems.

“Over the next 12 to 18 months, we believe the relative abilities of different not-for-profit hospital management and governance teams will become more apparent as they face one of the toughest environments in decades,” the report stated.

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