In a recent case, the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii determined the insurer's duty to indemnify was unripe for decision because the underlying litigation was still ongoing in state court. See Western World Ins. Co. v. The County of Hawaii, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 40118 (D. Haw. May 15, 2008).
The Court previously ruled in March that Western World had a duty to defend because there was a possibility of coverage in the underlying state cases. The Court also determined the insurer's duty to indemnify could only be established by the resolution of the issue of liability in the underlying actions.
The insured subsequently filed a Motion for Clarification, essentially arguing the Court should have granted summary judgment on the indemnification issue. The Court disagreed. It was clear that the indemnification issue was not yet ripe. Substantial factual issues needed to be resolved in the underlying actions. A substantive ruling in the coverage case on the indemnification issue would unnecessarily entangle the federal court in an area that was properly being adjudicated in the state court.
Therefore, dismissal without prejudice of Western World's declaratory action on the duty to indemnify was appropriate. Following the resolution of the underlying actions, Western World could re-file its declaratory judgment action on the duty to indemnify should the facts developed in the underlying cases support such a filing.
The Hawaii legislature recently passed HB No. 2224, a bill requiring group health issuers to offer small group health plans to self-employed individuals. The effective date of the bill is September 1, 2008. The bill authorizes the Insurance Commissioner to exempt certain group health plans if the group health issuer does not have the capacity to deliver services adequately to new enrollees given the issuer's obligation to existing employer groups. The bill will be repealed on July 1, 2013.
Although the governor has been busy signing bills, this bill has not yet been signed.
Coverage for an additional insured is typically limited to instances where the insured's negligence causes injury. For example, in First Ins. Co. of Hawaii, Inc. v. State of Hawaii, 66 Haw. 413, 665 P.2d 648 (1983), the state was named as an additional insured in a policy issued to a contractor building a highway for the state. The state was covered "with respect to liability arising out of operations performed for the additional insured by the named insured." An endorsement, however, excluded coverage arising out of any act of the additional insured, "other than general supervision of work performed for the additional insured by the named insured."
When a motorist was killed, the heirs sued both the contractor and the state. The verdict in the underlying suit absolved the contractor, but found the state was 15% negligent. First Insurance refused to indemnify the state. The Supreme Court agreed there was no duty to indemnify because the state was only covered for liability arising from the named insured's negligence or from an act of the state arising from its general supervision of the work performed by the named insured. Since a jury found the named insured was not negligent, the state was not covered. First Ins. Co., 66 Haw. at 424, 665 P.2d at 656.
A similar result was reached in a recent case decided by the New York Court of Appeals. Worth Construction Co., Inc. v. Admiral Insurance Co., No. 52 (N.Y. Ct. App. May 1, 2008) (found here). Worth Construction Co. was hired to construct an apartment complex. Worth subcontracted with Pacific Steel for construction of a staircase and hand railings. Pacific provided a commercial general liability policy naming Worth as an additional insured. The additional insured endorsement provided Worth was an insured, but only with respect to liability arising out of Pacific's operations.
Pacific completed the installation of the staircase and left the job site. Concrete then had to be poured before Pacific could return to install the hand railings. Before Pacific returned, plaintiff was injured when he slipped on a fireproofing installed by another subcontractor. Pacific played no role in contracting for or applying the fireproofing.
The plaintiff sued the owner and Worth. Worth sought a defense and indemnification from Pacific's insurer, Farm Family, but the tender was denied. Worth then filed a third-party complaint against Pacific in the underlying case. Worth also sued Farm Family for declaratory relief.
In the underlying case, Worth eventually conceded that Pacific was not negligent and should be dismissed. Farm Family then moved for summary judgment in the declaratory relief action, asserting that Worth now conceded the underlying plaintiff's injury did not arise out of Pacific's work or operations. The motion was granted.
The Court of Appeal affirmed. Pacific's operations involved only the installation of a staircase and handrails. A separate company was responsible for applying the fireproofing material. At the time of the accident, Pacific was not on the job site. By admitting in the underlying case Pacific was not negligent, Worth could no longer argue in the coverage action that there was any connection between plaintiff's injury and the risk for which coverage was intended. Therefore, the result was similar to that in First Ins. Co.
The Intermediate Court of Appeals recently decided two cases regarding a doctor's billing disputes with Island Insurance Company, Ltd. See Jou v. Schmidt, No. 27369, 2008 Haw. App. LEXIS 213 (Haw. Ct. App. April 29, 2008); Jou v. Schmidt, No. 27370, 2008 Haw. App. LEXIS 215 (Haw. Ct. App. April 30, 2008).
In No. 27369, Island reduced reimbursement claims submitted by the doctor for services rendered to Island's insured, but never provided formal notice pursuant to Haw. Rev. Stat. 431:10C-304 (3)(B). Both the Insurance Commissioner and Circuit Court determined statutory notice was not required for billing disputes on no-fault benefits, only for denial of claims. The ICA reversed, in light of the Supreme Court's decision in Orthopedic Assocs. of Hawaii, Inc. v. Haw'n Ins. & Guar. Co., Ltd, 109 Haw. 185, 124 P.2d 930 (2005). There, the Supreme Court held the notice requirements were applicable to billing disputes. The same result applied here. The statute's notice requirement was triggered by a partial denial of claims in the form of reduced or partial payments by the insurer. Further, the doctor was entitled to interest under Haw. Rev. Stat. 431:10C-304(4) on the balance withheld by Island. The legislative intent behind the interest provision was to encourage insurers to investigate and act on claims promptly. Failure to do so would result in the payment of interest.
The doctor did not do as well in the second case, No. 27370. There, his invoice for reimbursement was also reduced and no notice was provided. The doctor failed, however, to request an administrative hearing for over two years. The ICA determined even though notice should have been sent by Island under Haw. Rev. Stat. 431:10C-304 (3)(B), the applicable two year statute of limitations, Haw. Rev. Stat. 431:10C-315, was not tolled by the failure to provide notice.


Glassfish comes with integrated OSGi support (Apache Felix) but without Blueprint (as far as I know). So putting a Blueprint container into Glassfish became my task.
The nice thing about Glassfish is that it combines Java EE (especially EJBs) and OSGi and that, in contrast to JBoss, it has a nice OSGi web console.
If you want to get to know more about the OSGi-JEE combination the keyword for your favourite search engine is "fighterfish".
Most of the credit goes to Yong Tang and his blog entry. He describes the integration of Aries Application but also describes the basic parts necessary for my task.
So, before we start, what is the problem? If you're familiar with Glassfish you certainly know there is an autodeploy/bundles directory. Why don't I just drop the necessary bundles into the autodeploy/bundles directory?
When using the autodeploy directory Glassfish doesn't start the bundles so you'll have to do it by hand every time you empty the osgi-cache directory and, of course, initially.
But there's a more convenient way.
To make sure all dependencies are there add slf4j api (v1.7.2), logback core(v1.0.13) and logback classic (v1.0.13) (or whichever logging framework you prefer). You don't need any additional configuration because we didn't create a subdirectory.
See, piece of cake. The trick is to find the right directory. Now the Blueprint extender will do its job right after start up.
You don't need to put Blueprints API jar there; Aries Blueprint v1.1.0 already has everything (API, Core and CM).
Besides, you don't have to put all these jars into modules/autostart; only Blueprint jar goes there to be autostarted. Others will be happily resolved by Glassfish from parent (modules) folder.
I am sorry for my late response.
Thank your for your advice. I wasn't aware of the fact that Aries Blueprint includes those three parts.
Do you know if it will make a big difference, if all my mentioned bundles are placed inside autostart or one directory up? I guess they all need to be started due to the imports.


Authors: Hilberg, Thomas; | Gläser, Doreen | Koksch, Mario | Schmidt, Volker | Soßdorf, Maik | Gabriel, Holger H.W.
Note:  Corresponding author: PD Dr. med. Dr. phil. Thomas Hilberg, Department of Sports Medicine, Friedrich‐Schiller‐University Jena, Wöllnitzerstr. 42, D‐07749 Jena, Germany. Tel.: +49 3641 945651; Fax: +49 3641 945652; E‐mail: t.hilberg@ghz.de.
Abstract: Platelet–leukocyte conjugates are increased in cardiovascular disease, but exercise is also able to trigger platelet–leukocyte formation in healthy subjects. The aim was to investigate the heterogeneity of platelet–leukocyte conjugate formations triggered by short term exercise. 18 healthy non‐smokers underwent a 90 second maximal test on a SRM™ cycle ergometry system and a control experiment. Blood samples were taken after 30 min rest, immediately before and after, 15 min and 1 h after exercise. The different platelet–leukocyte conjugates were detected by flow cytometry via CD45, CD14, CD16, CD41, together with CD62P antibodies for the investigation of platelet activation in the conjugates. In addition, a stimulation of conjugate formation in vitro with 8 μM TRAP‐6 was initiated. Immediately after exercise platelet–granulocyte (+24%), and –lymphocyte (+17%) conjugates were increased (p<0.01), while the platelet–monocyte conjugates (+40%) were enhanced (p<0.05) 15 min after exercise. The differentiation after stimulation showed that the regular (CD14+16−; +32%) and mature (CD14+16+; +35%) monocytes were both increased after exercise (p<0.01) but the regular monocytes were preferred (p<0.001) in platelet–monocyte conjugate formation. In addition, these conjugates revealed the highest CD62P expression. Maximal short term exercise is useful for the investigation of platelet–leukocyte formation; e.g., it could be shown, that regular monocytes may be preferred in conjugate formation and that these conjugates revealed the highest CD62P expression.


text:
by Gwydion M. Williams
Rivers of Bloody-Mindedness [Race and Police in Britain]
Legal convolutions [Stephen Lawrence case]
America isn't working [US Race Relations]
Selective Holocaust memories
Police are thugs in the service of the taxpayers.
'Institutionalised Racism' is a piece of sociological gibberish, what does it mean? At best, it is a roundabout way of drawing attention to a racist culture. A culture in which racism is as normal as drinking. Not all policemen drink and not all are racist, but not many of them see it as a problem.
The 'canteen culture' is not wholly a negative. Compared to other police forces around the world, our police are fairly honest and efficient, and not particularly corrupt. If your face fits, they will be reasonable. But not if you had a black face, not even if you were an impeccable middle-class and orderly taxpayer.
Police classed all Afro-Caribbean as Criminal Underclass, and other blacks as unwanted. This was not an unreasonable interpretation of government policy under the Tories. Mrs Thatcher said the right things on occasions, but gave no convincing proof she meant it. Police saw blacks as part of the problem, and not as part of the civilised order they were supposed to be defending.
It is not sensible to randomly attack the 'canteen culture', it would be difficult to uproot, and might be replaced by something much worse if it were uprooted. But it needs to be educated that this is a multiracial society. 'Rivers of blood' are not going to happen, and 'rivers of bloody-mindedness' from the official guardians of the law will just make things worse for everyone.
But how to get this through to the 'canteen culture'? If I was doing it, I would entrust anti-racism to the sort of rough ambitious bastard whose strongest prejudice is in favour of his own career. On no account leave it to liberals.
[Back in 1987, at the time of major riots in Broxton, I said that it would come to nothing much. This proved correct.]
Whatever else they did wrong in the Lawrence murder, the police did find the right people, and try to put them on trial. But the Crown Prosecution Service refused to prosecute, not rating it a good enough prospect for a win in the odd ritualistic world of English law.
In part, this attitude comes from the silly attitude of the press. In most cases – thought not of course the Lawrence murder – if the accused are found Not Guilty, they are then held up as the victims of unjust or silly prosecution.
There used to be a saying that it was better to let ten guilty people go free than to convict one innocent. If you took that literally, you should convict if it is at least 91% likely they did it. Most accused are guilty, but the unofficial rule of thumb is that it should be 10 to 1 probable before they can be condemned and punished.
Of course the law never says anything this rational. It plays the ancient philosophical game of pretending that formal logic will lead you to certainties. The mediaeval world order, which was driven out of science after it was confirmed that the Earth did indeed go round the sun. Discredited in religion, after rival theologians produced contradictory opinions on almost everything. But which lingers almost unchanged at the heart of English philosophy of law.
To anyone not schooled in the Legal Mysteries, it seems like a semi-random process of releasing people who were most likely guilty, and often guiltier than those who do get convicted.
It's semi-random because having a good lawyer definitely helps.
Tony Blair puts us behind the US in the struggle against racism. Like his belief that Europe needs to learn from US economics, throw away the lessons that have almost closed the gap since the 1940s, this opinion is almost entirely fact-free.
On limited issues, black faces in the police and army, there are some points of merit. Merits that are a legacy of 1960s liberalism, when integration was actively pushed and imposed. And it was also the integration of a much older back community, one that has been in North America longer than the ancestors of most of the white populations.
In the USA, the police force integrated. Meaning that mostly that they are part of the pattern of black-on-black killing in a society that remains racist. It remains racist because 1960s liberalism was defeated, first by Nixon and then by Reagan. The Reagan system especially relied on a delicate mix of attracting racist Democrats while not repelling other potential Republicans who would never vote for an openly racist party..
Colin Powell, the US Chief of Staff, is one of the minority of black people who make a nice career our of supporting a party that quite intentionally taps into white racist votes. Colin Powell was also born in the West Indies, where racism was always weaker. More by class than race.
In Britain, the Afro-Caribbean population is mixing in with the general population. Between one third and a half of British-born are married to or living with white Britons. Which is indeed typical of the whole society. Britain has a successful melting-pot. Britain's Jewish population also marrying out and merging. People act as individuals, not members of any particular community.
In the USA, talk of individualism is just talk, and not many can truly function as autonomous humans doing what they see as best. There are just 2% Black-White marriages in the USA, the black middle class remains firmly black and mixture is rare. That battle was fought and lost in the 1960s and 1970s. Formal segregation has ended but popular pressure and popular terrorism keep a strong separation.
[I wasn't aware of how many unarmed blacks the US police were shooting, which has become a major issue in 2014 and 2015.]
For the duration of the Cold War, anti-Fascism was confined to those who had not made a smooth switch over to the Anglo-American side. In principle, anyone associated with what had been a lawful and elected government of Germany was criminal. Though not Tories who supported Hitler much as later Tories supported Pinnochet. Those who cheered Hitler when he was a right-wing racist thug and anti-Semitic tyrant are OK, if they switched when it became clear Hitler threatened British interests. And even those who still supported Hitler when he threatened British interests could be forgiven, if they then opposed the Soviet Union when it too threatened British interests.
Only when the Cold War was well and truly won was the formal position taken seriously. Only then did campaigns begin against people in France, Germany and Switzerland, who had previously assumed that their position on the winning side was secure. Whereas anything that indicates Anglo-American guilt – ignoring or aiding Hitler when he could easily have been stopped – is minimised or ignored.
It is now being assumed that everyone who knew anything about deportation of Jews is criminal. Even French railways who were mealy doing 'business as normal' under enemy occupation – and who did bravely sabotage the network when the Allies landed and resistance became slightly less than suicidal.
It is only vaguely remembered that Britain rounded up and shipped off its own refugee Jews as 'enemy aliens". Few protested, it was well known these were victims and enemies of Hitler, but also they were not wanted. It was also Britain that chose blockade and mass starvation against the Germans and all their subject peoples – and it was obvious that Jews in Europe were going to suffer most. And the possibility that Germany might have been willing to let them go was carefully not explored – to let them go to Palestine would have angered the Arabs, whose position was always uncertain.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Beware: Restaurants are Ripping Off Local Farmers
by misael@abugaber.com
All, Food access and affordability, Social responsibility
Just because you see it on the menu, it doesn't mean it's true.
An article in San Diego Magazine, by Troy Johnson, describes the ongoing corruption of the farm-to-table ideal.
"Like any good movement, farm-to-table has now been severely co-opted. The stories of restaurants deceiving their customers—or flat-out lying to them—have increased," writes Johnson.
Sometimes a restaurant will falsely claim that their ingredients come from a certain farm, hoping the owners of that farm never find out. Other times, restaurants will purchase only a small amount from local farms and then strongly imply that that's where all their produce comes from.
"Sometimes it can be very blatant," says Tom Chino of the famous Chino Farms near San Diego. "Chefs will come look, write down notes, leave without buying anything, and then say they're serving our food at their restaurants."
It's important to note that not all restaurants do this. It's unfortunate that it occurs, however, because genuine farm-to-table has respectable goals. It supports local growers and gives us a connection to the food we eat.
Local produce is not always available because traditional farming is seasonal. The best flavor is found in produce grown traditionally at the peak of the growing season. Fortunately, to paraphrase Alan Jackson, it's always peak season somewhere. That's why, at GoodFarms, we follow the sun to bring to your table the best tasting produce from the best locales at the peak of season. Like your local farmer, we care about you and your family, and we want to make sure you have access to healthy produce grown responsibly every day of the year.
That's why we say, "buy locally when you can; buy responsibly always."
We Throw Away 40% of Our Food
How More Taste and Less Waste Go Together


Devil May Cry 5 is an action-adventure hack and slash video game developed and published by Capcom. It is the fifth installment of the mainline Devil May Cry series, and was released on 8 March 2019. Devil May Cry 5 received a positive reception from critics. The gameplay features the return of Dante and Nero as playable characters, along with a new character, named "V". The gameplay is similar to the other titles in the Devil May Cry series, focusing on fast-paced "stylish action". The player fights off hordes of demons with a variety of attacks and weapons and receives a style-rating in combat based on a number of factors, such as move variety, the length of a combo and dodging attacks. The music in the game will change based on the player's performance in combat.
Choose between fitgirl repack or core pack and download all the parts,put them in one folder and extract the first part with winrar the rest will automatically extract into one folder,open the folder and run the setup to install the game.


Face lift is often referred to as facial rejuvenation method. A facelift is an operation to tighten and lift the skin and soft tissues of your lower face and neck. At Northern Colorado Plastic and Hand Surgery prospective patients of face lift can consult board certified doctor to know more about procedure.
Face lift tightens the muscle and rejuvenate skin to deliver youthful look. Many people are undergoing facelift procedure to revive their appearance. At Plastic Surgery Group we have expert doctor who specializes in face lift.
Regenesis Plastic Surgery and Skin Care Center is a popular choice among masses when it comes to any cosmetic enhancement treatment. A face lift can be a great way to add some more years to your youth and contribute to an ever-lasting self-confidence and personal satisfaction.
Dr Thomas Narsete in Greenwood Village provides facelift treatment which give re-contouring the skin and removing extra fat from your face, neck and head.
Are you looking for a way to reverse the signs of ageing appearing on your face? Contact Fort Collins Skin Clinic today, to find out how Face lift would help you in your route to rejuvenate your youthful look. Our expert face lift surgeon has years of experience in performing this procedure.
Are you concerned about the price and quality of Facelift provided by clinics in Colorado?
www.aboutclinic.com is Medical Procedure Discovery Portal and also the part of Healthcare IT Ecosystem who understand your concerns. We are constantly taking effort to provide quality information on Facelift services in Colorado through Reviews, Question and Answers, surveys, treatment experience feedback, Testimonial and recommendations from patients.
Unsure about how much does Facelift surgery cost in Colorado?


text:
Center Times Plus
Life@UTSW
Howell-Stampley receives Women Who STEAM Award
Published on: August 24, 2020 By: Staff Reports
Dr. Temple Howell-Stampley
Dr. Temple Howell-Stampley will receive a 2020 Women Who STEAM Award from The Dallas (TX) Chapter of The Links Inc.
She was recognized as a phenomenal leader in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics (STEAM), and also for being "committed to educating, volunteering and mentoring to create a pipeline to STEAM education and ultimately STEAM careers for women."
"My love of science began at an early age and was cultivated by my mother, an educator and mentor herself, and dozens of other women, who inspired and encouraged me from childhood into adulthood," said Dr. Howell-Stampley. "These women were instrumental in helping me develop into the leader, educator, and clinician that I am today. As a result of their efforts, I have purposefully dedicated my own life and career in service of others."
Dr. Howell-Stampley is Chair of the Department of Physician Assistant Studies in the School of Health Professions and a Professor of Internal Medicine.
"Taking the lessons I have learned through the years and applying them in ways to inspire other young girls to aim high and to dream big is both exciting and rewarding," said Dr. Howell-Stampley. "My desire is for young girls to know that they too can become whatever they aspire to become and that nothing is too great for them to achieve. My mentorship provides them with the visible proof they need that it can be done."
Dr. Howell-Stampley will be honored by the Dallas (TX) Chapter of The Links Inc. for her outstanding contributions and mentorship at the virtual 2020 Women Who STEAM Awards Luncheon, benefiting the Dallas Links STEAM Academy and Scholarship Program, on Friday, August 28, 2020 at 11:30 CST. Register here to reserve your complimentary virtual seat at this inspiring virtual awards luncheon.
Established in 1946, The Links Inc., is one of the nation's oldest and largest volunteer service organizations. The organization consists of more than 15,000 women with 288 chapters nationally and internationally.
Dr. Howell-Stampley holds the P. Eugene Jones, Ph.D., PA-C Professorship in Physician Assistant Studies.
Send Honors & Awards submissions for consideration to:
centertimes@utsouthwestern.edu
UT Southwestern on Facebook
UT Southwestern on Twitter
UT Southwestern on Instagram
UT Southwestern on YouTube
UT Southwestern on Pinterest
UT Southwestern on LinkedIn


text:
Q: Android Creating Custom Action Bar 3 Items I am new to Android and i need a action bar which have a img button in left , tile in center and a Img button in right.
This is how i want my action bar

A: https://developer.android.com/training/constraint-layout/
You're going to have to learn the basics of how to create a layout in Android. The one you want could be a linear layout, constraint or relative layout. Things shouldn't be nested so the performance implications of which one you choose won't be a big factor. There are tons of tutorials out there if you google any of those or any android tutorials.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Taking a different tack on local social networking, Nextdoor is becoming a hyper-local version of Facebook or LinkedIn. Nextdoor hosts private social networks for neighbors. The result is that content shared on Nextdoor tends to be highly relevant for everyone who sees it. Nextdoor is addressing social network fatigue, the nearly pervasive feeling that social network users are bombarded with information that doesn't interest them. Investors have bet$210 million in funding that Nextdoor is correct that the key to making content more relevant is to make it more local.
Everyone knows the basic axiom of sales: It takes 100 calls to get 10 people on the line and 10 conversations to make a single sale. Adjust the numbers as you see fit. This is the reality of sales, and there's a lot of time wasted during that winnowing process. ConnectAndSell is a tech company that automates as much of the dialing and switchboard navigation process as possible, so that salespeople spend less time dialing numbers, listening to phones ring, getting past gatekeepers, and waiting on hold--and more time speaking to decision-makers on the phone. According to ConnectAndSell's website, the platform has made 65 million dials and delivered over three million conversations to 1,000 customers. Imagine what happens to sales if 100 calls are multiplied by five (the low end of the improvement that ConnectAndSell claims its clients experience).
If you don't know what Wish is yet, the online merchant is willing to spend $100 million to change that. That's how much Wish reportedly spent on Facebook ads in 2015, a figure it intends to match in 2016. In the game of razor-thin online merchandising -- i.e., the game invented and dominated by Amazon -- Wish has forged a new way forward. Instead of relying on local warehouses and two-day shipping, Wish offers bargain basement prices for goods--ranging from clothing to gadgets to jewelry--that can take weeks to arrive. The low prices and long lead times are the result of sourcing many of its products directly from merchants in China, cutting out all middlemen. Wish is long on ambition. Its CEO has reportedly rejected multi-billion-dollar acquisition offers and has thrown around the number $1 trillion as a target for future gross sales.
Another ascendant Amazon challenger, Jet.com lowers prices with a different strategy: by selling all kinds of goods, including home and personal care products, groceries and electronics, in discounted bundles. Rather than take a small cut--as Amazon does--whenever a consumer buys a single low-priced good, Jet.com makes sure that every one of its sales is economic, so that it can offer steeper discounts. Like Wish, Jet.com has recognized that it can't beat Amazon at its own game, so it has a devised a new one that gives it a chance to do business on its own terms. Investors have bought into the rationale, pumping $545 million of funding into the company.
Will there be any end to how much techies track their daily movements? Probably not, because now tracking is in their socks. Sensoria, a startup that has raised almost $6 million in venture funding and Indiegogo contributions, is best known for its smart socks, which measure cadence and speed while running. The company also makes shirts and other apparel full of sensors. Fitness trackers seem to be here to stay and the wearables market is only moving in one direction: up. Look for Sensoria to grow into an expanding market this year.
What's the hottest new cyber security trend? Inviting the hackers over to play. It seems counterintuitive, but companies serious about website and mobile app security are willing to pay hackers to find the flaws. Payments come in the form of bounties: for every vulnerability discovered, the hacker receives a fee. HackerOne is a platform that connects companies and hackers who want to engage in this kind of transaction. As it has become clear that it is almost impossible for cyber security experts to stay ahead of hackers, this method of security has become very popular. HackerOne has raised $34 million in funding.
Professional video gaming is becoming big business. Big enough that the number of viewers of the finals of major tournaments rivals viewership for major American sporting events. A logical offshoot is fantasy leagues based on the professional competitions, which is where Vulcun comes in. Vulcun is a marketplace where video game fans trade skins, a kind of token whose value depends on a pro gamer's (or a pro gaming team's) performance in a competition. Vulcun's investors, who have pumped $13 million into the company, are betting that video game fantasy markets will follow the same trajectory as those of football, which have seen explosive growth in recent years.
Caviar isn't the only app for food delivery. But it has set itself apart by offering consumers custom menus from local restaurants--including high end ones--that don't deliver. The interface is efficient and a delivery's progress is tracked on a live map. The business model consists of private contractors taking on delivery duties with their own vehicles (both bikes and cars are fair game). In a bid to expand its offerings, Square bought Caviar for $90 million in August 2014. Six months later, orders had doubled. In the months since, Caviar has rapidly added staff to keep up with growth. Caviar continues to expand from one major American city to another.
Like any tech startup worth its salt, Shyp is trying to remove the "friction points" from a cumbersome process. In this case, the process is shipping. Shyp takes the packing and dropping off out of the equation. Users simply take a picture of an object and choose a recipient. A little later, a courier shows up with a custom-sized box and whisks the object away. Shyp takes care of the rest: It routes the package from the courier to one of its own warehouses and, eventually, into the hands of a shipping service, such as UPS or FedEx, upon which it is whisked off to the recipient's address. The process could hardly be easier for the users at either end of the shipment. Founded in 2013, the company has gained traction quickly. Shyp has raised $62 million of equity funding and, in October, its CEO told Wired the company was experiencing 20 percent month-over-month growth.
If you know a professional woman in her 20s or 30s, there's a good chance she's one of TheSkimm's more than 1.5 million subscribers. The daily news brief email, which consists of news, quotes, advice/tips and even birthday shout outs, has become something of a media sensation: it's attracted shout outs from Reese Witherspoon and Oprah. It has raised almost $8 million in funding. Now the two founders, former NBC producers, have ambitions beyond running a popular newsletter. Their daily emails' casual, snarky tone has struck a chord with readers and they envision parlaying their success into a wide-ranging media brand. Heading into 2016, momentum is on their side.
AudioBurst wants to become the search engine for non-music audio content. Whether in the form of voice instruction (think Amazon Echo or Waze), podcasts, audiobooks, or talk radio, the spoken content ecosystem is enormous. AudioBurst has developed technology to become an organizing platform for this content, transforming raw streams into searchable and shareable bite-size "bursts." The company's NLP platform currently accommodates talk radio, and will soon expand to podcasts and other mediums. With three million listens, 350,000 social engagements, and 400 publishing partners, AudioBurst has demonstrated success in its first six months--so don't be surprised if you hear more from this audio startup.
Untold millions are spent every year on college application prep. There are interview coaches, online SAT classes, and an entire publishing cottage industry dedicated to test prep books. But one crucial part of college applications has been neglected: the personal essay. Perhaps it's because the essay's impact is hard to quantify, so it's easy for parents, students and college counselors to ignore it. But college admissions officers often cite the essay as the keystone of an application: it's the one place an applicant becomes a person, rather than a series of numbers. Story2 is a SaaS essay-prep tool that guides students through essay writing for their college application. It's based on the idea that essay writing is essentially storytelling, and helps students turn their message into a compelling narrative--not by writing for them, but by arming students with tools and exercises that bring out their own best college essay writing.
When San Francisco and New York tech executives complain that they can't find a good software developer in their backyard, Andela's rely is simple -- there's a whole world out there. Andela runs highly competitive technical leadership programs in Africa and connects the program's graduates with international employers. The result is a new pool of talent at significantly lower cost for growing tech companies and superior employment opportunities for the best and the brightest in countries with few opportunities. Andela launched its first program in Nigeria, followed by Kenya. After raising a $10 million Series A round in June 2015, Andela plans to expand to more countries in its bid to help tech companies integrate great developers at a low cost, while spreading job opportunity around the globe.
Blinklearning is in the business of making education personalized. The edtech company has created a comprehensive platform that allows educators to acquire and personalize content for an individual classroom or student. Its digital textbook repository has a wealth of content from dozens of publishers--including Macmillan, Pearson, and Oxford University Press--and enables teachers to mix and match lessons from various books in order to best suit the needs of their students. Founded in Madrid in 2009, and quickly expanding in the United States and Latin America, Blinklearning, along with the edtech segment in general, shows no signs of slowdown.
uBeam has set its sights on a lofty, hard-to-imagine goal: a world almost entirely devoid of wires. The company's crucial claim has always been that it would develop technology for charging mobile devices wirelessly. But, in the name of protecting trade secrets, uBeam never publicly released much information on how its tech worked. Until recently. Last October, the company finally shed some light on its secrets, which involve beaming energy with ultrasound waves. The data dump has won over some skeptics and helped to explain why venture capital heavy hitters, such as Andreessen Horowitz, have funded uBeam to the tune of $25 million.
Servers.com is a hosting company that boasts super-secure, dedicated, bare-metal servers. Unlike some competitor's products, Servers.com's networks are highly isolated from each other, even within a single data center. This means that clients aren't exposed to all of the risks that come with sharing a hosting facility--such as a massive data breach originating on someone else's network. Last year, Servers.com opened its first US data center in Dallas. It plans to open another on the East Coast, which may put competitors, such as Digital Ocean, on notice that their market is getting hotter.
The name says it all. WeGoLook sends its agents--called Lookers--to inspect almost anything a client wants. It started as a way for people to make sure that items listed on eBay and Craigslist were described accurately. WeGoLook still performs tasks like that for consumers, but it has also evolved into an enterprise-level inspection service for businesses ranging from real estate firms and insurance companies to banks. Whether to inspect a claim, assess damages or condition, or capture any other on-site data point, WeGoLook lets businesses push a button and have a qualified agent fulfill a task anywhere across the country. The company is aiming to bring the "Gig Economy" to the enterprise. WeGoLook has been heralded as a success story in Oklahoma, where it was founded, and has come as a welcome reminder that entrepreneurs don't have to migrate to the coasts to thrive.
We've been hearing about virtual reality for at least two decades, but finally the technology appears ready to make the leap to the mainstream. Irvine, CA-based Oculus is at the forefront of the movement. The company offers a headset that is powered by a Samsung smartphone and another, the Rift, due for release in the first quarter of 2016, which is an advanced self-contained unit. Developers have been invited to create apps for the hardware, and virtual reality films are proliferating. Facebook has been a driving force behind Oculus's development since it paid $2 billion to acquire the company in 2014. Forget 3D; the future may belong to VR.
What tech companies do you have your eye on?


text:
import { Component, Vue, Prop, p } from 'av-ts'

@Component({
  name: 'wt-progress',
})
export default class WtProgress extends Vue {
  @Prop total     = p({ type: Number, required: true })
  @Prop successes = p({ type: Number, required: true })
  @Prop skipped   = p({ type: Number, required: true })
  @Prop failures  = p({ type: Number, required: true })

  get successStyle(): object {
    return { width: `${this.successes / this.total * 100}%` }
  }

  get skippedStyle(): object {
    return { width: `${this.skipped / this.total * 100}%` }
  }

  get failureStyle(): object {
    return { width: `${this.failures / this.total * 100}%` }
  }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
\section{Introduction}
The reconstruction of images from samples located at non-integer positions is an intrinsic step in many common image processing tasks. Such is the case of frame rate up-conversion \cite{FRUC}, depth-based image rendering \cite{Fehn2004}, optical cluster eye \cite{ClusterEye} or fisheye distortion correction \cite{Fisheye}, among many others. All these applications have to deal with pixels located at non-integer positions. In the following, we will refer to these positions as floating mesh. Another example of such an application is super-resolution \cite{Superresolution}, as illustrated in Fig. \ref{fig:definitions}. The pixels from low-resolution input images are registered with sub-pixel shifts onto the high-resolution floating mesh. These registered samples at non-integer positions cannot be directly displayed nor efficiently coded so pixels on the regular grid have to be estimated. Thus, we are facing a reconstruction problem where the unknown pixels on the regular grid are estimated using the available pixels on the floating mesh.

The vast majority of image reconstruction techniques assumes that the input image is already a regular 2D array.
This is the case of backward reconstruction methods \cite{Thevenaz2000,Blu2004} that consider that the available samples lie on the regular grid and pixels on the floating mesh are to be estimated. This inverse approach can be used for invertible pixel mappings such as rotation or zoom. However, it is not applicable in cases where the available samples come from different sources or the mapping is not invertible, as is the case of the aforementioned applications. Nevertheless, there are various reconstruction algorithms that are able to deal with pixels at non-integer positions directly. The most popular methods are based on Delaunay triangulation \cite{Tesselations} followed by different types of interpolations \cite{Griddata}. More complex techniques rely on gaussian kernels \cite{Takeda2007} or distance-based filtering \cite{IDW}. Furthermore, the missing image signal can be also reconstructed using splines \cite{Lee1997}. Although the aforementioned reconstruction algorithms tend to produce acceptable results, visual artefacts, such as blurring or zig-zagging, are usually present.

\begin{figure}[t]
  \begin{center}
    \begin{tikzpicture}
	\node (a) {\includegraphics[width=0.1\linewidth]{foreman_5.png}};
	\node (b) [below left = -0.45cm and -0.95cm of a] {\includegraphics[width=0.1\linewidth]{foreman_4.png}};
	\node (c) [below left = -0.45cm and -0.95cm of b] {\includegraphics[width=0.1\linewidth]{foreman_3.png}};
	\node (d) [below left = -0.45cm and -0.95cm of c] {\includegraphics[width=0.1\linewidth]{foreman_2.png}};
	\node (e) [below left = -0.45cm and -0.95cm of d] {\includegraphics[width=0.1\linewidth]{foreman_1.png}};

	\draw[decoration={brace},decorate] (0.5, 0.4) -- (0.5,-2.5);

	\node (reg) [draw=black, right=0.75cm of c,rotate=90,anchor=north,align=center] {\footnotesize{Registration for} \\ \footnotesize{super-resolution}};

	\node (mesh) [right = 2cm of c] {\includegraphics[width=0.5\linewidth]{definitions_v5.png}};

	\node (anchor) [left = 1.6cm of mesh] {};
	\draw [->] (anchor) -- (reg);
	\draw [->] (reg) -- (mesh);

    \end{tikzpicture}
  \end{center}
  \caption{\small{Example of application that yields pixels at non-integer positions. The regular grid ${\cal G}$, represented by dashed lines, is addressed by integers $(i,j)$. The floating mesh ${\cal M}$ is comprised of available samples (grey dots) at non-integer positions $(x,y)$.}}
  \label{fig:definitions}
\end{figure}

In our previous work, we have developed a reconstruction framework that employs denoising as a tool to reduce the mesh-to-grid reconstruction error \cite{DBR}. This framework assumes a generic initial estimate that is refined by applying an adaptive denoising approach. Although this approach can significantly improve the reconstruction quality, it still suffers from over-smoothing and not all of the reconstruction artefacts are satisfactorily removed. In this paper, we propose a novel reliability parameter that will be employed for controlling the denoising strength. This reliability is estimated using not only the spatial configuration of the available samples but also the visual properties of the surrounding area. We design a reliability-based denoising strength controlling mechanism that aims at maximising the reconstruction quality.

The paper is organised as follows. Section \ref{sec:overview} provides an overview of the denoising-based reconstruction framework. The proposed technique is detailed in Section \ref{sec:refinement}. Simulation results are discussed in Section \ref{sec:results}. The last section is devoted to conclusions.

\section{Overview of the denoising-based reconstruction}
\label{sec:overview}
In this section, the denoising-based reconstruction (DBR) framework \cite{DBR} is briefly summarized.
Let ${\cal G}$ denote the regular grid that represents the desired image and let ${\cal M}$ be the floating mesh that contains available samples at non-integer positions, as shown in Fig. \ref{fig:definitions}. The unknown pixels in ${\cal G}$ are reconstructed using the information provided by the available samples in ${\cal M}$.
It is assumed that the image on the regular grid is estimated by a generic reconstruction algorithm. Since reconstruction errors are present, the estimated image $\tilde{I}$ can be regarded as a noisy version of the original image $I$, i.e.,
\begin{equation}
	\tilde{I}(i,j) = I(i,j) + \eta(i,j) \quad \forall (i,j) \in {\cal G} .
	\label{noisy_pixel}
\end{equation}
This suggests that a denoising procedure can be applied in order to enhance the reconstruction quality. Note that cancelling the noise $\eta$ is equivalent to reducing the reconstruction error.

The objective of DBR is to set the denoising strength according to the reconstruction error, so high reconstruction errors will be denoised strongly while small reconstruction errors will be denoised only slightly or not at all. Since the true reconstruction error cannot be computed, it has been proposed in \cite{DBR} to use the amount of effective data around the missing pixel as an indicator of the expected reconstruction error. This amount, $E$, is computed by placing an exponentially decaying isotropic window centred at the missing pixel and summing the contribution of the surrounding available samples located on the floating mesh, i.e.,
\begin{equation}
	E(i,j) = \sum_{(x,y) \in {\cal M}} \text{e}^{-\sqrt{(i-x)^2 + (j-y)^2}} \quad \forall (i,j) \in {\cal G}.
	\label{effective_data_old}
\end{equation}
Note that unlike the true reconstruction error, the amount of effective data can be computed without any knowledge about the reference image.

Finally, it has been shown in \cite{DBR} that the denoising strength can be linked to the amount of the effective data by means of a sigmoid shaped function that requires training a set of three parameters. Although the DBR framework is applicable to any denoising algorithm, in \cite{DBR} it has been coupled to the block-matching and 3D filtering (BM3D) algorithm \cite{BM3D} since it is one of the most efficient denoising methods \cite{NonGaussianNoise}.

\section{Reliability-based reconstruction}
\label{sec:refinement}
In this section, we introduce a novel approach to control the denoising strength based on pixel reliability. By doing so, we not only take into account the spatial layout of the available samples but also the visual properties of the surrounding area. We first derive a content-adaptive method of estimating the reliability of the initial estimate $\tilde{I}(i,j)$. Second, we develop a procedure to employ the estimated reliability to control the denoising strength in order to improve the reconstruction quality. Both issues are addressed in the next subsections.

\subsection{Reliability of the initial estimate}
DBR uses the amount of effective data as an indicator of the expected reconstruction error so the denoising strength can be set accordingly. Although DBR can significantly improve the resulting quality, it still suffers from two main drawbacks:
\begin{enumerate}
 \item To compute the amount of effective data (see (\ref{effective_data_old})) all samples, surrounding the pixel to be reconstructed, are taken into account regardless of their correlation with the missing pixel or whether they have been used for estimating it. This is especially inconvenient for triangulation-based techniques where only the three available samples of the corresponding triangle are used for reconstruction no matter how close the rest of the available samples is.
 \item DBR controls the denoising strength only according to the spatial layout of the available samples. However, complex image structures, such as edges or textures, are more prone to yield higher reconstruction errors and, therefore, should be subjected to stronger denoising.
\end{enumerate}

In order to reduce the contribution of uncorrelated samples, we propose to limit the computation of the effective data to the involving triangle. Let $\triangle_{i,j}$ denote the Delaunay triangle \cite{Tesselations} enclosing the pixel at position $(i,j)$ of the regular grid so the corresponding amount of effective data is computed as
\begin{equation}
	E_{\triangle}(i,j) = \sum_{(x,y) \in \triangle_{i,j}} \text{e}^{-\sqrt{(i-x)^2 + (j-y)^2}} \quad \forall (i,j) \in {\cal G}.
	\label{effective_data}
\end{equation}
Note that the triangle is the smallest convex structure surrounding a pixel. Therefore, and given the high spatial correlation of natural images \cite{MathAnalysisImages}, the three available samples comprising the triangle are highly relevant for computing the initial estimate even for non-triangulation-based techniques.

On the other hand, complex structures and fine details are generally difficult to accurately reconstruct. Therefore, it is to expect larger reconstruction errors in visually heterogeneous regions. In order to detect whether a pixel belongs to such a region, we propose to use the visual flatness parameter \cite{Koloda2016}. The visual flatness, $F$, of a pixel at position $(i,j)$ is related to the dynamic range of the available samples comprising the corresponding Delaunay triangle $\triangle(i,j)$, i.e.,
\begin{multline}
	F(i,j) = 1 - \Big( \max \left( S(x,y | x,y \in \triangle_{i,j}) \right) \\ -  \min \left( S(x,y | x,y \in \triangle_{i,j}) \right) \Big) \quad \forall (i,j) \in {\cal G}.
	\label{flatness}
\end{multline}
where $S(x,y) \in [0, 1]$ is the value of the sample located at $(x,y) \in {\cal M}$. Completely homogeneous regions yield maximum flatness (equal to 1) and it decreases to zero for strong edges and highly textured areas. Figure \ref{fig:flatness} shows the average reconstruction error as a function of visual flatness for different reconstruction methods using the Tecnick image dataset \cite{Tecnick}. It follows that the visual flatness is a good indicator of the expected reconstruction quality and it can be computed using only the available samples from the floating mesh.

\begin{figure}[t]
	\centering
	\includegraphics[width=1.0\linewidth]{flatness.eps}
	\caption{\small{Average reconstruction error as a function of visual flatness for different reconstruction algorithms: cubic interpolation (CUB) \cite{Griddata}, multilevel B-splines (MBS) \cite{Lee1997} and inverse distance weighting (IDW) \cite{IDW}. Tecnick image dataset is employed.}}
	\label{fig:flatness}
\end{figure}

Finally, we define the reliability of the initial pixel estimate at position $(i,j) \in {\cal G}$ as a weighted combination of the surrounding amount of effective data and the corresponding visual flatness, i.e.,
\begin{equation}
	R_{\lambda}(i,j) = (1 - \lambda) E_{\triangle}(i,j) + \lambda F(i,j)
	\label{reliability}
\end{equation}
where $\lambda \in [0, 1]$ is the balance parameter that controls the contribution of the effective data and the visual flatness, respectively. It follows that highly reliable estimates are achieved for pixels belonging to homogeneous regions and tightly enclosed by the three available samples comprising the corresponding Delaunay triangle. On the other hand, the estimates are regarded as not reliable if they are enclosed by large triangles with disparate sample values.

\subsection{Adaptive denoising strength selection}
\label{subsec:strength_selection}

As shown in the previous section, the reliability of an initial estimate is a suitable indicator of the expected reconstruction error. Therefore, in order to achieve high quality reconstructions, we propose to use the reliability parameter to adjust the denoising strength. In order to do so, we define the gain, $G$, of the denoised image with respect to the initial estimate \cite{DBR},
\begin{equation}
	\begin{array}{l l l}
		G & = & \varepsilon(i,j) - \varepsilon_D(i,j) \\
		  & = & \left( I(i,j) - \tilde{I}(i,j) \right)^2 - \left( I(i,j) - \tilde{I}_{\sigma^2}(i,j) \right)^2 \\
		 & & \forall (i,j) \in {\cal G}.
	\end{array}
\label{gain}
\end{equation}
where $\tilde{I}_{\sigma^2}$ represents the denoised version of the initial estimate $\tilde{I}$. The denoising is carried out by BM3D using $\sigma^2$ as the noise power parameter. Based on (\ref{gain}), we define the average gain per pixel $\bar{G}_{\lambda}(\sigma^2, R_{\lambda})$ as a function of $\sigma^2$ and $R_{\lambda}$. Figure \ref{fig:gain_chart} shows $\bar{G}_{\lambda}(\sigma^2, R_{\lambda})$ for $\lambda = 0.5$. It can be observed that large gains are achieved when low reliability estimates are denoised strongly. On the other hand, high reliability estimates should be denoised only slightly, otherwise no gain or even quality loss can occur. In order to achieve the best quality reconstruction, the path of the maximum accumulated gain $G_A$ has to be followed, where
\begin{equation}
	G_A(\lambda) = \displaystyle{\int \max \left( \bar{G}_{\lambda} (\sigma^2, R_{\lambda}) \right) \text{d}R_{\lambda}}.
	\label{maximum_accumulated_gain}
\end{equation}
This path is also indicated in Fig. \ref{fig:gain_chart}. It follows that for a given $\lambda$ the curve of the maximum gain can be well modelled by a clipped exponential function. Thus, in order to link the best fitting denoising strength $\hat{\sigma}^2$ with the pixel reliability we propose to use the following exponential approximation
\begin{figure}[t]
	\centering
	\includegraphics[width=1.0\linewidth]{gain_chart_thick.eps}
	\caption{\small{Average gain per pixel for different values of $R_{\lambda}$ and $\sigma^2$. In this example, the balance parameter $\lambda$ is set to 0.5. The path of maximum accumulated gain is depicted by red colour. Tecnick image dataset is employed.}}
	\label{fig:gain_chart}
\end{figure}

\begin{equation}
	\hat{\sigma}^2(i,j) = \max \left(0, \; \min \left( \alpha \exp(\beta R_{\lambda}(i,j)), \; \sigma^2_{max} \right) \right)
	\label{sigma}
\end{equation}
where $\hat{\sigma}^2$ saturates to zero for negative outputs and positive outputs are clipped by an upper boundary $\sigma^2_{max}$ that is set to 40 as in \cite{DBR}. It follows that $\hat{\sigma}^2 = \hat{\sigma}^2(\alpha,\beta,\lambda)$ is a function of three parameters. These parameters can be estimated by optimising the reconstruction performance. In order to do so, we propose to maximise the expected accumulated gain $G_E$, which we define as follows
\begin{equation}
	G_E(\alpha, \beta, \lambda) = \displaystyle{\int \bar{G}_{\lambda}\left(\hat{\sigma}^2\left(\alpha, \beta, \lambda \right), R_{\lambda} \right) p(R_{\lambda}) \text{d}R_{\lambda}}
	\label{accumulated_gain}
\end{equation}
where $p(R_{\lambda})$ is the probability of a pixel having the reliability equal to $R_{\lambda}$. Note that from the modelling point of view the gains associated to estimates with uncommon reliabilities are neglected and effectively treated as outliers.
The optimal values for the three parameters are obtained by maximising the expected accumulated gain, i.e.,
\begin{equation}
	(\alpha', \beta', \lambda') = \underset{\alpha, \beta, \lambda}{\text{argmax}} \left( G_E(\alpha, \beta, \lambda) \right).
	\label{optimal_parameters}
\end{equation}
The estimated values are detailed in Section \ref{sec:results}. Finally, the proposed reliability-based mesh-to-grid reconstruction algorithm (RMG) is summarized as follows:
\begin{enumerate}
	\item Obtain an initial image estimate by applying a suitable reconstruction technique.
	\item For every initial estimate on the regular grid, compute the corresponding reliability $R_{\lambda}$ using (\ref{reliability}).
	\item Use $R_{\lambda}$ to estimate the best fitting denoising strength $\hat{\sigma}^2$ according to (\ref{sigma}).
	\item Finally, for every pixel on the regular grid apply BM3D with the noise power parameter set to the corresponding value of $\hat{\sigma}^2$.
\end{enumerate}

\section{Simulation Results}
\label{sec:results}

\begin{table}[b]
	\centering
	\small
	\begin{tabular*}{0.48\textwidth}{l| @{\extracolsep{\fill}} ccccccc}
		\toprule
				 & LIN    & CUB    & NNI    & NNB    & IDW    & BSR    & KER  	\\ \hline
		$\alpha'$        & 214.0  & 298.0  & 185.0  & 133.0  & 216.0  & 318.0  & 394.0  \\
		$\beta'$         & -4.3   & -4.5   & -4.4   & -2.5   & -3.5   & -4.7   & -4.8	\\
		$\lambda'$       & 0.6    & 0.6    & 0.6    & 0.9    & 0.5    & 0.3    & 0.2 	\\
		\bottomrule
	\end{tabular*}
	\vspace{0.25cm}
	\caption{\small{Estimated parameters of $\alpha$, $\beta$ and $\lambda$ for different initial reconstruction algorithms. Tecnick image dataset is employed.}}
	\label{tab:parameters}
\end{table}

\begin{figure}[t]
  \begin{center}
      \begin{tikzpicture}
	\node (a) {\includegraphics[width=0.47\linewidth]{Color.png}};
	\node (b) [right = 0.05cm of a] {\includegraphics[width=0.47\linewidth]{ColorBS.png}};
	\node (c) [below = 0.3cm of a] {\includegraphics[width=0.47\linewidth]{ColorBS_DBR.png}};
	\node (d) [right = 0.05cm of c] {\includegraphics[width=0.47\linewidth]{ColorBS_CADBR.png}};

	\node (a_label) [below = -0.15cm of a] {\small{(a)}};
	\node (b_label) [below = -0.15cm of b] {\small{(b)}};
	\node (c_label) [below = -0.15cm of c] {\small{(c)}};
	\node (d_label) [below = -0.15cm of d] {\small{(d)}};

	\node (b_psnr) [above right = -0.55cm and -1.3cm of b] {\footnotesize{ \color{white}{30.85dB}}};
	\node (c_psnr) [above right = -0.55cm and -1.3cm of c] {\footnotesize{ \color{white}{31.68dB}}};
	\node (d_psnr) [above right = -0.55cm and -1.3cm of d] {\footnotesize{ \color{white}{33.51dB}}};
      \end{tikzpicture}
  \end{center}
  \caption{\small{Subjective comparison of the reconstruction quality using a sample ratio of 50\%. (a) Original image. (b) Initial estimation by MBS. (c) Reconstructed by DBR. (d) Reconstructed by RMG. The corresponding PSNR values (in dB) are also indicated. (Best viewed enlarged on a screen.)}}
  \label{fig:color}
\end{figure}

In order to test the performance, both the reference image (i.e., the regular grid) and the available floating mesh need to be known. However, since to the best of our knowledge, there is no such ground-truth image database available, we have designed in \cite{DBR} a reconstruction framework that consists of utilising a random subset of available samples located at non-integer positions. By doing so, we cover a large variety of applications, such as super-resolution or image rendering. This framework is detailed in \cite{DBR} and we briefly revisit it here. We employ the ARRI image dataset \cite{ARRI} of 11 images with dimensions of 2880$\times$1620 whose pixels are addressed by a pair of integers $(m,n)$. These images are filtered by a low-pass antialiasing filter with the digital cut-off frequency of 1/$\phi$ where $\phi = 5$ as in \cite{DBR}. The floating mesh of pixels at non-integer positions is simulated by assuming that $(x,y) = \left( \nicefrac{m}{\phi}, \nicefrac{n}{\phi} \right)$, where $(x,y) \in {\cal M}$. In the same way, the regular grid (i.e. the reference image) is comprised by all the pixels at positions $(i,j) = \left( \nicefrac{m}{\phi}, \nicefrac{n}{\phi} \right)$ such that $(m,n)$ are both multiples of $\phi$ so $(i,j) \in {\cal G}$ is a pair of integers. Finally, the pixels from the floating mesh ${\cal M}$ are randomly sampled and they are used for reconstructing the pixels on the regular grid ${\cal G}$. For more details please refer to \cite{DBR}.

\begin{figure}[t]
  \begin{center}
      \begin{tikzpicture}
	\node (a) {\includegraphics[width=0.47\linewidth]{Lake1_v3.png}};
	\node (b) [right = 0.05cm of a] {\includegraphics[width=0.47\linewidth]{Lake1_KER_v3.png}};
	\node (c) [below = 0.3cm of a] {\includegraphics[width=0.47\linewidth]{Lake1_KER_DBR_v3.png}};
	\node (d) [right = 0.05cm of c] {\includegraphics[width=0.47\linewidth]{Lake1_KER_CADBR_v3.png}};

	\node (a_label) [below = -0.15cm of a] {\small{(a)}};
	\node (b_label) [below = -0.15cm of b] {\small{ (b)}};
	\node (c_label) [below = -0.15cm of c] {\small{ (c)}};
	\node (d_label) [below = -0.15cm of d] {\small{ (d)}};

	\node (b_psnr) [above right = -0.55cm and -1.3cm of b] {\footnotesize{ \color{black}{22.48dB}}};
	\node (c_psnr) [above right = -0.55cm and -1.3cm of c] {\footnotesize{ \color{black}{23.72dB}}};
	\node (d_psnr) [above right = -0.55cm and -1.3cm of d] {\footnotesize{ \color{black}{23.99dB}}};
      \end{tikzpicture}
  \end{center}
  \caption{\small{Subjective comparison of the reconstruction quality using a sample ratio of 30\%. (a) Original image. (b) Initial estimation by KER. (c) Reconstructed by DBR. (d) Reconstructed by RMG. The corresponding PSNR values (in dB) are also indicated. (Best viewed enlarged on a screen.)}}
  \label{fig:lake}
\end{figure}

Sample ratios from 20\% up to 80\% are used. Sample ratio denotes the ratio between the number of available samples and the total amount of pixels an image is comprised of. The initial estimates are computed using linear interpolation (LIN) \cite{Griddata}, cubic interpolation (CUB) \cite{Griddata},
natural neighbour interpolation (NNI) \cite{NNI}, nearest neighbour approach (NNB) \cite{Griddata}, inverse distance weighting (IDW) \cite{IDW}, multi-level B-spline
reconstruction (MBS) \cite{Lee1997} and kernel-based reconstruction (KER) \cite{Takeda2007}. The parameters $\alpha$, $\beta$ and $\lambda$ are estimated according to (\ref{optimal_parameters}) using the Tecnick database and are summarized in Table \ref{tab:parameters}.
Note that the Tecnick database is independent from the ARRI dataset which is used to test the performance.

\begin{table}[t]
	\centering
	\small
	\begin{tabulary}{0.95\linewidth}{LC|CCCCCCC}
		\toprule
		\multicolumn{1}{p{0.1cm}}{} & \multicolumn{1}{p{0.1cm}}{}  & \multicolumn{7}{c}{Sample ratio} \\
					&	& 20\%       & 30\%       & 40\%       & 50\%       & 60\%       & 70\%       & 80\% 	 	\\ \hline
		\multirow{2}{*}{\parbox{0.4cm}{LIN}} 	& \multicolumn{1}{p{0.2cm}|}{(a)}	& 0.25       & 0.32       & 0.30       & 0.20       & 0.11       & 0.05       & 0.02  	 	\\
							& \multicolumn{1}{p{0.2cm}|}{(b)}	& \bb{0.44}  & \bb{0.49}  & \bb{0.51}  & \bb{0.50}  & \bb{0.47}  & \bb{0.44}  & \bb{0.41}	\\ \hline

		\multirow{2}{*}{\parbox{0.4cm}{CUB}}    & \multicolumn{1}{p{0.2cm}|}{(a)}	& 0.43       & 0.46       & 0.46       & 0.38       & 0.27       & 0.17       & 0.09 	 	\\
							& \multicolumn{1}{p{0.2cm}|}{(b)}	& \bb{0.62}  & \bb{0.67}  & \bb{0.68}  & \bb{0.68}  & \bb{0.64}  & \bb{0.62}  & \bb{0.58}	\\ \hline

		\multirow{2}{*}{\parbox{0.4cm}{NNI}}    & \multicolumn{1}{p{0.2cm}|}{(a)}	& 0.14       & 0.17       & 0.09       & 0.03       & 0.01       & 0.01       & 0.00  	 	\\
							& \multicolumn{1}{p{0.2cm}|}{(b)}	& \bb{0.21}  & \bb{0.27}  & \bb{0.30}  & \bb{0.30}  & \bb{0.29}  & \bb{0.27}  & \bb{0.24}  	\\ \hline

		\multirow{2}{*}{\parbox{0.4cm}{NNB}}    & \multicolumn{1}{p{0.2cm}|}{(a)}	& 1.82       & 1.78       & 1.72       & 1.66       & 1.58       & 1.50       & 1.42  	 	\\
							& \multicolumn{1}{p{0.2cm}|}{(b)}	& \bb{2.12}  & \bb{2.21}  & \bb{2.24}  & \bb{2.24}  & \bb{2.21}  & \bb{2.18}  & \bb{2.16}  	\\ \hline

		\multirow{2}{*}{\parbox{0.4cm}{IDW}}    & \multicolumn{1}{p{0.2cm}|}{(a)}	& 0.36       & 0.27       & 0.26       & 0.27       & 0.29       & 0.29       & 0.29  	 	\\
							& \multicolumn{1}{p{0.2cm}|}{(b)}	& \bb{0.62}  & \bb{0.62}  & \bb{0.64}  & \bb{0.63}  & \bb{0.63}  & \bb{0.61}  & \bb{0.58}  	\\ \hline

		\multirow{2}{*}{\parbox{0.4cm}{MBS}}    & \multicolumn{1}{p{0.2cm}|}{(a)}	& 0.21       & 0.29       & 0.28       & 0.19       & 0.10       & 0.04       & 0.01  	 	\\
							& \multicolumn{1}{p{0.2cm}|}{(b)}	& \bb{0.35}  & \bb{0.41}  & \bb{0.44}  & \bb{0.45}  & \bb{0.45}  & \bb{0.44}  & \bb{0.41}  	\\ \hline

		\multirow{2}{*}{\parbox{0.4cm}{KER}}    & \multicolumn{1}{p{0.2cm}|}{(a)}	& 1.31       & 0.73       & 0.46       & 0.27       & 0.14       & 0.08       & 0.04  	 	\\
							& \multicolumn{1}{p{0.2cm}|}{(b)}	& \bb{1.64}  & \bb{1.00}  & \bb{0.71}  & \bb{0.48}  & \bb{0.32}  & \bb{0.23}  & \bb{0.15}  	\\ \bottomrule

	\end{tabulary}
	\vspace{0.25cm}
	\caption{\small{Average PSNR gains (in dB) for (a) DBR and (b) the proposed RMG. Different reconstruction techniques are used as initial estimates and different sample ratios are employed. The best performances are in bold face. ARRI image dataset is employed.}}
	\label{tab:results}
\end{table}

Since the proposed technique can be considered as a generic posterior refinement procedure over an initial estimate, it makes sense to evaluate the performance in terms of gain. Table \ref{tab:results} shows the average PSNR gain (in dB) of DBR and the proposed RMG with respect to the tested reconstruction techniques. It is observed that the proposed technique can improve the average reconstruction quality by more than 2 dB, depending on the initial estimate. Moreover, average gains of up to 0.7 dB with respect to DBR can be achieved. This improvement is also seen at subjective level, as illustrated in Figs. \ref{fig:color} and \ref{fig:lake}. It is shown that RMG yields sharper results, better defined details and it is able to successfully remove most of the reconstruction artefacts. Finally, note that for higher sample ratios RMG provides considerable gains while DBR gains drop almost to zero in most of the cases.

\section{Conclusion}
In this paper, we consider the problem of image reconstruction from pixels located at non-integer positions, called mesh.
The proposed method assumes that the image on the regular grid is first reconstructed by a generic reconstruction algorithm.
This initial estimate is later refined by a denoising-based procedure that adaptively adjusts the denoising strength according to the reliability of the initial estimate. This reliability takes into account the spatial layout of the available samples as well as the visual properties of the surrounding area. Simulations reveal that PSNR gains of more than \mbox{2 dB} with respect to the initial estimate can be achieved. In addition, our proposal clearly outperforms previous denoising-based refinement both on objective and subjective level.

Ongoing work is focused on testing the proposed algorithm on various image processing applications, e.g., super-resolution.

\section*{Acknowledgment}
This work has been partially supported by the Research Training Group 1773 ''Heterogeneous Image Systems'', funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG).

\bibliographystyle{IEEEbib}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaArXiv


text:
In a few weeks the national register of start-ups "Elevate Greece" will be operational
The mapping of start-ups in Greece will be done through the national register, which will operate within the innovation ecosystem "Elevate Greece", which will be presented in the near future by the Prime Minister and the leadership of the Ministry of Development and Investment.
"We want to gather the innovation ecosystem in a portal and indeed in a few weeks we will present Elevate Greece together with the Prime Minister, which is a digital platform that will also function as a start-up business registry," said Deputy Minister of State for Research and Technology Christos Dimas, speaking at the thematic section "Digital Governance and Start-up Entrepreneurship" of the Thessaloniki Helexpo Forum.
Mr Dimas explained that the criteria for inclusion in the register, according to the recommendation of the experts of ESETEK, are divided into two categories: The first one includes some absolute criteria "i.e. if a company has been operating for more than 8 years it will not be able to enter the register, if it has more than 250 employees or if it is a one-person company it is not a start-up". The second category of criteria relates to qualitative characteristics and "must involve two elements, the first being the element of innovation in the process, in the product produced or the service provided and the second evaluation criterion is the possibility of scalability, i.e. there must be prospects for these ventures beyond the local or national level. Elevate Greece brings together the entire innovation ecosystem, giving the state a valuable tool to be able to give benefits to start-ups, whether they are of a tax nature, or subsidies, or coverage of salary costs, "explained the Deputy Minister.
"New intervention for the simplification of the PEPs"
He further referred to the ministry's initiatives aimed at increasing the flexibility of researchers, such as the provision that exempts from the single salary scale researchers working on projects where the money comes from the private sector and does not burden the state budget "to attract young scientists to return to the country with much more competitive salaries." On the legislative intervention with the Ministry of Education to remove bureaucratic obstacles to Special Research Funding Accounts, he announced a second "much more substantial intervention" in 2020 to further simplify procedures.
Regarding the motivation of companies investing in research, Mr Dimas described as a very important initiative the more than tripling from 1 September 2020 of tax incentives on the excess depreciation of research and development expenditure – from 30% to 100% – in order to increase investment in research and development and "with the impact study we have done, we estimate that in the next 2-3 years, research and development investment will increase by about 300 million euros, so new jobs will be created."
Leonidas Christopoulos, Secretary General for Digital Governance and Simplification of Procedures, referred to the interventions for the adaptation of the public administration to the new digital era, noting that the Digital Governance Code, "the basic legislative text for the country that will lead institutionally to digital transformation, is currently being discussed in Parliament. The digital transformation of the state has a developmental dimension, as it combats bureaucracy, and businesses and citizens can carry out administrative procedures digitally, easily, without hassle, thus constituting a developmental pillar, not only a pillar of transparency," he said.
He noted that the Code under discussion also incorporates the European Commission's new directive on Open Data, "much earlier than foreseen and open data is now the oil of technological development and digital transformation", as "research data is also included and it is a framework for the development of new technologies and start-ups." Christopoulos described the establishment of the Phaistos Fund as a "great innovation at European level", which sets the conditions for the creation of a functional and sustainable ecosystem for the development of 5G applications and services in Greece.
"In the past years, Greece has achieved a leap in innovation indicators," said SYRIZA's Deputy Minister of Research and Technology, Yannis Sarakiotis, referring to the initiatives launched by the SYRIZA government. "The national digital policy 2016-21 was drawn up, a central system for electronic document circulation was created with the interconnection of 21,000 public institutions and digital signature, flagship projects were advanced," he said and expressed "great pleasure that the current minister mentioned that digital projects will not enter the logic of cancelling what has been achieved."
The SYRIZA deputy minister described digital skills as a "major issue". On research and innovation policy, he noted that "a specific and holistic plan is needed and I hope that the increasing trend of spending in the sector will continue under the current government", as "it also involves private investment and the contribution of private companies has increased in previous years, and there has been a focus on strengthening human resources".
Regarding the linking of research, innovation and technology with production and the competitiveness of the economy, he described the ELIDEK as "a typical example", noting that "we will welcome any such similar action by the current leadership of the ministry and we will be supportive of the effort for better jobs and additional incentives".
The president of the SEPE Panagiota Paparidou described as "a happy fact that during the pandemic crisis the country took steps in the development sector which is digital and people realized that digital is not only the phone, smart TV and social media" noting that "when you reach a point where you get momentum you don't stop and now the citizen himself starts and realizes what can be done differently".
The Director of the Institute of Information and Communication Technologies Dimitris Tzovaras stressed that "innovation is the main factor that can lead a business to success, as even businesses that are well established and have products with a large market cannot stand if they do not innovate, if they do not follow technological developments", adding that now "there are incentives for businesses to invest more, there is the human resources to support innovative products and there is research in
"Start-up entrepreneurship is the product of discovery times commercialisation. We need to strengthen these two in young people," said Technopolis Thessaloniki CEO Michael Chavouzis, agreeing with Tzovara that "the demand is much higher than the people the universities are producing" and "if we had as many more people, they would all have jobs." On the mortality of start-ups he pointed out: "In startups, failure is commonplace. In Greece, what is common is the stigmatization of failure. The stigmatisation must be removed and the education we give must be linked to entrepreneurship.


text:
No excuse for not voting in Aug. 7 primary election
July 19, 2018 5:30 am | comments
The recent news that a top voting machine maker finally admitted to Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden it did indeed install remote-access software on U.S. voting machines during the early 2000s, making those machines susceptible to hacking — combined with the recent indictment of 12 Russians accused of manipulating our 2016 presidential election, fishing for access to voting machine manufacturers and actually hacking a state election board website and stealing 500,000 voters' information — got us thinking about how good we have it here in the Pacific Northwest.
Washington followed Oregon's lead in 2012, doing away with voting machines in favor of the much more convenient — and less vulnerable to hacking and manipulation — vote-by-mail system.
Vote-by-mail allows voters to vote from the convenience of their own home, or from their car or a local park or coffee shop. Personally, this editor likes to sit down with a cup of fresh-roasted coffee on a Sunday morning and dig into the voters' pamphlet and local media recommendations before filling in those bubbles and biking her completed (and signed!) ballot to the local library drop box.
The system we have here in Washington and Oregon definitely beats taking a day off work to stand in line for hours, sometimes to be informed — as were countless voters in key states during the 2016 presidential election — that you can't vote at that particular precinct or that your name isn't on the list of registered voters or that you have already voted or whatever excuse helped disenfranchise tens of thousands in November 2016.
With the ease of vote-by-mail, you would think that our voter turnout would blow other states' turnout out of the water. Unfortunately, we still have a long way to go in that arena.
The May primary in Oregon, for instance, had the lowest voter turnout in 16 years. Clark County's numbers aren't so hot, either. In the August 2016 primary, voter turnout in this county was only 30.62 percent. In the August 2014 primary, it was 28.61 percent. Both of these primaries helped choose who would run for Washington's 3rd Congressional District.
The winner in both of the general elections following those low-voter-turnout primaries? Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, a Republican who represents Clark County (where, by the way, Hillary Clinton won the general election), has a lifetime "A" rating from the National Rifle Association and has voted "yes" on Trump-supported policies more than 90 percent of the time.
Studies have shown that low voter turnout increases the chances of an election result not pleasing the majority of the population. When fewer people vote, minority opinions can steamroll those of the majority. We see this time and again with reasonable gun control. A 2018 NPR/Ipsos poll found that three-quarters of those polled, including nearly 60 percent of Republicans, said they wanted stricter gun laws. This support, however, does not translate in the Republican-controlled House or Senate, where many politicians have accepted donations from the gun manufacturing lobby, the National Rifle Association.
We know we need to "get out the vote" to have a more representative democracy and to maintain the checks and balances this country's founders established. But will that happen in the upcoming primary election? Will younger, low-income voters — who tend to vote in much smaller numbers than their older, wealthier neighbors — turn out to cast their vote on Aug. 7? Will they play a part in shaping the ballot in the November general election? There are a few interesting choices on the primary ballot, especially when it comes to the race for that 3rd Congressional District seat, where Herrera Beutler, the incumbent, faces challengers that include everyone from former California professor Earl Bowerman, who identifies as a right-wing Trump supporter, to Iraq war veteran Dorothy Gasque, who identifies as a progressive.
Ballots for the Aug. 7 primary election will be mailed to registered voters on July 20. We recommend heading straight to clark.wa.gov/elections to learn more about the candidates in the voters' pamphlet, filling out your ballot and then walking, biking or driving it to the closest drop box.


Trying to quit smoking? Well try a E-Cig and gently cut your self off of the nicotine. With every Puff you are one step closer to dying. Lets Change those numbers and take back your life!
45 USES $24.99 SUGGESTED RETAIL.
"PERMANENT" WHITE TEETH "ON THE GO"!
FOR MORE INFO. CLICK BUTTON.
 HAVE 24 HOUR GREAT BREATH!
HELPS REPAIR CAVITIES, REBUILD ENAMEL, REMOVE PLAQUE, AND CORRECT GUM PROBLEMS.
WE OFFER A 100% "HAPPINESS GUARANTEE". YOUR MONEY BACK IF NOT HAPPY WITH ANY OF OUR PRODUCTS. SIMPLY RETURN USED OR UNUSED PRODUCT FOR 100% REFUND!


text:
Military Pay and Money
VA eBenefits
Veteran Employment Project
Military Trivia Game
Featured Discounts
Veterans Day Restaurant Discounts
Join the Military Home
Contact a Recruiter
Army Finds Toxic Climate of Mistrust for Fort Carson Wounded Warriors
Soldiers assigned to a Warrior Transition Brigade take part in morning physical training. Army photo
Military.com | By Richard Sisk
The Army's investigation of wounded warrior care at Fort Carson, Colo., last year found allegations of a "toxic environment" that at times pitted the command and staff against the soldiers in treatment and undergoing evaluation.
Fort Carson soldiers who received care at the Evans Army Community Hospital told Army investigators that they also received abuse as staff and unit leaders tried to force them out of the Army.
Meanwhile, doctors at Fort Carson took out extra malpractice insurance to protect themselves against liability and accused soldiers of attempting to game the system to get more benefits, according to the Article 15-6 fact-finding investigation by Army Brig. Gen. John Sullivan, the Chief of Transportation and Transportation School Commandant.
The climate of mutual suspicion was such that the Army staff sergeant whose complaints triggered the investigation secretly recorded his sessions with staff when he was warned by a Fort Carson social worker that he was being set up to be discharged without benefits for misconduct, or "chaptered out."
Army Surgeon General Lt. Gen. Patricia Horoho, who ordered the Fort Carson investigation, said at a meeting with Pentagon reporters last month that the issues were ultimately resolved to the staff sergeant's satisfaction and that the Fort Carson case did not indicate a "systemic" problem with Army care.
However, the Army confirmed earlier this month that a separate Article 15-6 investigation under the Uniform Code of Military justice is currently underway on new allegations of over-medication and harassment by staff at the Fort Hood Warrior Transition Unit in Texas.
Army Secretary John McHugh said earlier this month that he had met recently with Horoho and "we addressed this matter."
"I can tell you she has taken it very, very seriously and has taken multiple steps to ensure we provide the best possible care and the highest level of dignity and respect," McHugh said. "We've had some issues, but if you look across the entire WTU program, they have been relatively isolated. But one case, one failure, for these warriors is one too many."
In the matter of the Fort Carson Article 15-6 investigation, Horoho concurred with all of Sullivan's findings and nearly all of his recommendations. Sullivan was appointed to conduct the investigation on June 9, 2014, and Horoho issued the concurrence on Aug. 18.
The Army made a copy of the investigation available to Military.com. The names of the staff sergeant, the psychiatrist and the social worker were redacted. Military.com is withholding the names of others interviewed by Sullivan.
In his 775-page report, Sullivan relied in part on the recordings which were provided by the staff sergeant, who had two combat tours in Iraq and was being evaluated for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after allegedly making threats against his chain of command.
'Calling me a liar'
Sullivan found that a Carson psychiatrist with the rank of major was "confrontational, demeaning and unprofessional" in a session with the staff sergeant at Carson's Evans Army Community Hospital (EACH).
The major also indicated that he didn't want to waste his time on the staff sergeant.
"I could do a full assessment the way a psychiatrist is supposed to do, but you are going to come up positive for everything," the major said.
The session became so confrontational that the staff sergeant repeatedly apologized for possibly disrespecting the major and at one point asked if he should stand at attention.
The recording showed that both the staff sergeant and the major used profanity. At one point, the staff sergeant asked, "Did you even review my [expletive] sleep study?" The major responded, saying: "I did [expletive] review your sleep study, and there is no need to cuss."
Although the staff sergeant used profanity first, Sullivan found that the major's response was "unprofessional" and his own use of profanity "escalated the confrontational tone of their conversation and detracted from the evaluation."
The major invoked his right to counsel and was not interviewed by Sullivan. Others on the EACH staff told Sullivan that the major tended to be "gruff" and behaved "more like a surgeon than a psychiatrist."
In addition to blaming the staff sergeant for not reporting his problems sooner, the major "also implied that the staff sergeant was only seeking care now due to ongoing disciplinary problems," Sullivan said.
"Even if this were the case, several behavioral health professionals testified that it is not uncommon for soldiers to withhold behavioral health conditions until they are having problems," Sullivan reported.
The staff sergeant testified that he felt the major was "calling me a liar" throughout the interview. "I felt like I had a huge target on my back and asked to be removed from the toxic environment."
He also told Sullivan that "I am not the only one this is happening to" at Fort Carson. "My biggest fear was being kicked out of the Army and end up being that guy living under a bridge."
Others told Sullivan of a "litigious" environment at Fort Carson as soldiers grew concerned about being "chaptered out" without benefits for misconduct, and the staff sought to protect themselves against counter-charges and the possibility of eventual lawsuits.
A civilian psychologist testified that "It seems to be a litigious environment and in my opinion people are out to get people. It has concerned us enough that all of our teams have purchased our own malpractice insurance."
Another psychiatrist, a lieutenant colonel, told Sullivan that he felt pressure to diagnose PTSD coming from the patients.
"Some are upfront with asking for a PTSD diagnosis and a medical board because they feel they deserve the associated benefits for their service. Sometimes it becomes apparent that the soldier just wants the benefits, not the treatment. Once you give them a diagnosis, they drop off from the clinic," the psychiatrist said.
At times, the behavioral health specialists clashed with unit commands on whether soldiers were being singled out to be administratively discharged.
In the case of the staff sergeant, a licensed clinical social worker told him that his command was determined to discharge him for misconduct and used profanity in referring to his battalion commander, a lieutenant colonel.
She told the staff sergeant, according to the recording he made, that the lieutenant colonel "has it out for you. I have talked to the man on the phone and he is an [expletive] but he is also a colonel, so he apparently gets to behave that way for whatever reason. It doesn't really matter. It is what it is. They think you are playing a game."
She also told the staff sergeant that "You can love the Army but the Army isn't going to love you back. If you don't take care of yourself now, they're never really going to. Unfortunately, it is too rare for the Army to take care of its own people."
Sullivan concluded that the social worker gave the advice in an unprofessional attempt to help. "Her intent seems sincere, albeit misguided," he wrote.
The social worker later told Sullivan that she felt betrayed by the staff sergeant for taping her. "I advocated for him. I saw him once a week. For him to record me, it was out of bounds," she said.
Pressure from Unit Leaders
Another social worker interviewed for the investigation told of being pressured by commanders to chapter out soldiers: "I have been screamed at with regard to soldiers not being cleared -- a variety of battalion commanders and a former brigade commander. Based on my experience, it was typical."
Despite the allegations, Sullivan wrote that "I find that the preponderance of evidence shows that the BHPs [Behavioral Health Professionals] at EACH/Fort Carson are not biased, coerced or otherwise influenced to administratively clear soldiers to undergo administrative separation for misconduct."
However, Sullivan added that there were "perceptions of pressure from unit leaders. Providers report varying manifestations of this perceived pressure to include phone calls from unit leaders, visits from first sergeants and one provider recounted being yelled at about policies which prevented soldiers from being cleared."
At a roundtable session with Pentagon reporters last month, Surgeon General Horoho said that the issues at Fort Carson were eventually resolved to the satisfaction of the staff sergeant, who was transferred to the Warrior Transition Unit. She also said that the Fort Carson issues were not indicative of a "systemic" problem in Army behavioral health.
In her concurrence with Sullivan's findings, Horoho ordered a "standdown" at the EACH facility to "address issues of professionalism in the workplace" and "dignity and respect during patient encounters."
Horoho also ordered the EACH commander to "develop an information paper for patients explaining their options if they have concerns about a behavioral health provider."
'The Biggest Lie'
Georg-Andreas Pogany, an advocate for the staff sergeant, disputed Horoho on the case.
"The notion that this is an isolated case -- that is the biggest lie."
The Article 15-6 investigation "was their way of managing this problem," said Pogany, who served in Iraq, was medically discharged as a sergeant first class and now heads the Uniformed Services and Advocacy Group. He charged that the Army had created a narrative in the investigation "and the narrative was that it's an isolated case."
In 2012, the Army's Inspector General investigated the Warrior Transition Unit at Fort Bragg, N.C., amid allegations of a suicide, over-medication, inadequate support and wrongful discharges.
In August 2014, the Pentagon's Inspector General found inconsistencies in selecting and training staff for the Warrior Transition Units which led to disparities in support for patients.
Behavioral health at Fort Carson also was the subject of a series in the Colorado Springs Gazette in 2013 called "Other Than Honorable" on soldiers under treatment being discharged without benefits for misconduct.
The series won the Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting. Sullivan included the reports as an appendix to his investigation.
More than 15 Army staff involved in behavioral health and soldiers who went through the system at a variety of bases nationwide have contacted Military.com and given conflicting views on Army wounded warrior care.
Chaptering Out
Some had high praise for their treatment and the staff; others had a litany of complaints about "burnt out" staff, being pressured to "chapter out," and being dismissed as "slackers."
Adam Kavern came down on both sides of the issue. Kavern said he was reduced in rank from corporal to private for disciplinary problems at the Fort Hood Warrior Transition Unit but medically discharged with his benefits intact.
Kavern said he was in the Fort Hood WTU from 2007-2009 after his leg was crushed in a trailer accident and was sent back again in 2012-2014.
The first time, "it was wonderful. The WTU was amply staffed. You got hurt, you had somebody who cared," Kavern said.
On his second time in the Fort Hood WTU, "the cadre [staff] was burned out and the soldiers were the ones who suffered for it."
Kavern said he was disciplined for speaking up on behalf of fellow soldiers he felt were being mistreated.
At a hearing last month of the House Military Personnel Subcommittee, Col. Chris Toner, head of the Army's Warrior Transition Command, said that there were issues involving allegations of demeaning treatment in the 2009-2013 time period at Fort Hood, and also at Forts Bliss and Sam Houston in Texas.
However, Toner said that current policies and procedures "have the program moving in the right direction."
"We have a robust oversight program that allows us to maintain visibility, and the feedback from the soldiers and family members we receive through the ombudsman program, we get those reports every day and we can rapidly react" to any issues, Toner said.
The issues at the WTUs and Embedded Behavioral Health units have been the subject of numerous investigations by the Army, the Pentagon and outside agencies.
In 2012, the Pentagon's Inspector General found that soldiers and staff in the Fort Drum, N.Y., Warrior Transition Battalion thought of the unit as a "dumping ground" for problem soldiers. The IG's report also raised concerns that physically wounded and mentally impaired soldiers were being over-medicated.
In a lengthy 2013 report, the Institute of Medicine found that although the Defense Department and the Department of Veterans Affairs were "actively trying to address the support needs of current and former service members deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan as well as their families, the response has been slow and has not matched the magnitude of this population's requirements."
Last September, a congressionally mandated Pentagon advisory panel recommended that the military scrap its entire disability evaluation system.
In its final report after four years of work, the Recovering Warrior Task Force said that the Integrated Disability Evaluation System (IDES) was impeding the goals of wounded warrior programs to return soldiers to duty or ease their transition to civilian life.
"The current IDES is fundamentally flawed and DoD should replace it," the task force report said.
-- Richard Sisk can be reached at Richard.Sisk@military.com.
Related Topics: Wounded Warriors Army
© Copyright 2022 Military.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
The evolution reflects the fact that multiple government agencies share responsibility for countering a cyber threat that has...
Feared Increase in Suicides Among Troops After Afghanistan Exit Hasn't Materialized
Preliminary data indicate that fewer military personnel and veterans took their lives than the same time the year before...
New Mexico Considers Sending the Guard to Staff Schools as Governors Face Growing Labor Crisis
Since the pandemic, the National Guard has had to juggle a near-constant barrage of domestic missions and missions abroad.
Pentagon Quietly Looking into How Nonbinary Troops Could Serve Openly
Someone who is nonbinary identifies as neither male nor female, oftening using "they" and "them" as their pronouns.
Military Opinion
My Profile Army Home Page
My Profile Navy Home Page
My Profile Air Force Home Page
My Profile Marines Home Page
My Profile Coast Guard Home Page
My Profile Space Force Home Page
My Profile National Guard Home Page
My Profile Spouse Home Page
My Profile News Home Page
Get the Military Insider Newsletter
Get the latest on pay updates, benefit changes and award-winning military content. Right in your inbox.
By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Notice.
View more newsletters on our Subscriptions page.
Verify your free subscription by following the instructions in the email sent to:
Please enable JavaScript to view this element.
Most Popular Military News
5 More States Make Military Retirement Tax Free
With 26 states now not taxing military retirement income, this may just help you decide where to retire.
A Close Encounter with a Chinese Aircraft Carrier Has Become a Badge of Honor for a US Navy Destroyer Crew
The operation was a testament to the "boldness" and skill of U.S. sailors, Vice Adm. Roy Kitchener said.
Millions of Tricare Beneficiaries Left Out of COVID-19 Test Reimbursement Plan
The military health program will not reimburse for home test kits, but Tricare beneficiaries still will be able to pick up...
Marine Corps Grants Two Religious Exemptions for COVID-19 Vaccine, First for Any Service
The Corps says that, to date, it has received 3,350 requests for religious exemption to the mandate.
How Silicon Valley Is Helping the Pentagon Automate Finding Targets
The contracts with tech companies reveal a desire to increase the fundamental tempo of intelligence collection and, with it...
Contractor Gets Jail After Defrauding Government Out of $346 Million in Contracts Meant for Vets and Minorities
A construction company owner has been sentenced to 28 months in prison for defrauding the government out of $346 million in...
Latest Military Videos
NZ Air Force Flight Assesses Tonga Aftermath
New Zealand carried out military surveillance flights in Tonga where significant damage was being reported days after a huge...
North Korea Fires Short-Range Missiles
North Korean state media released images of the socialist state's latest missile test early on Tuesday. (Associated Press)
Destruction from Saudi-led Coalition Strike in Sanaa
Yemenis on Tuesday continued searching through rubble for survivors in a neighborhood in the capital Sanaa where a Saudi-led...
Music and thoughtful tributes filled a portion of the National WWII Museum where family and friends gathered to remember...
Oldest WWII Veteran to Be Remembered at Museum Service
Family and friends of a New Orleans man who was the oldest World War II veteran when he died earlier in January will gather...
Last of New Class of Navy Warships Departs Shipyard
The ship previously left for sea trials in late August. That was the first time it made it to the Atlantic Ocean.
Navy Helicopter Slams into Woods During Emergency Landing in Virginia
Photos show the aircraft tangled in the woods with its rotor blades twisted and broken and its nose smashed.
35 Incredible Photos from a Chaotic Year for the US Military
From the nation's capital to Afghanistan, service members were asked to defend America, Americans and American ideals around...
F-16XL: Why America Didn't Get the Best F-16
The F-16 Fighting Falcon is a great aircraft. The Air Force almost had an even better version.
Air Force Gives Permission for Use of Gender Pronouns in Email Signatures
The new guidance "promotes greater respect for and recognition of an individual's identity."
Marine Officer Blames Bad Information for Sinking Tragedy
Lt. Col. Michael J. Regner gave his account to a three-officer panel at a Board of Inquiry.
Quantico Rings Up $188 Million Bill for Afghan Refugees Housed in Tents
The cost of the housing effort reported this week by the DoD inspector general is a snapshot of Operation Allies Welcome.
Coast Guard News
Pilot, Passenger Presumed Dead in Louisiana Helicopter Crash
The Coast Guard coordinated the dispatch of an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew and a special-purpose shallow water boat to...
On the Frontline Against China, the US Coast Guard Is Taking on Missions the US Navy Can't Do
Competition with China has drawn more Pentagon resources to the Pacific, but the most visible U.S. military presence there...
Coast Guard Rescues 176 Haitians from Sailboat Off Florida
The crew of the Cutter Paul Clark provided personal flotation devices to those onboard the boat.
Military.com Network
About Military.com
About Us & Press Room