Do we need entire training data for adversarial training?

Deep Neural Networks (DNNs) are being used to solve a wide range of problems in many domains including safety-critical domains like self-driving cars and medical imagery. DNNs suffer from vulnerability against adversarial attacks. In the past few years, numerous approaches have been proposed to tackle this problem by training networks using adversarial training. Almost all the approaches generate adversarial examples for the entire training dataset, thus increasing the training time drastically. We show that we can decrease the training time for any adversarial training algorithm by using only a subset of training data for adversarial training. To select the subset, we filter the adversarially-prone samples from the training data. We perform a simple adversarial attack on all training examples to filter this subset. In this attack, we add a small perturbation to each pixel and a few grid lines to the input image. We perform adversarial training on the adversarially-prone subset and mix it with vanilla training performed on the entire dataset. Our results show that when our method-agnostic approach is plugged into FGSM, we achieve a speedup of 3.52x on MNIST and 1.98x on the CIFAR-10 dataset with comparable robust accuracy. We also test our approach on state-of-the-art Free adversarial training and achieve a speedup of 1.2x in training time with a marginal drop in robust accuracy on the ImageNet dataset.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure

Fetomaternal outcome in caesarean section at full dilatation

Background: To study indications, intraoperative and postoperative complications and fetomaternal outcome in cesarean sections done at full dilatation.Methods: This is a prospective cross-sectional study which was conducted in the department of obstetrics and gynecology, RNT medical college, Udaipur from November 2018 to April 2019. 100 cases of caesarean sections at full dilatation which were performed during this period were analyzed for indications and maternal and fetal morbidity.Results: Among these 100 cesarean sections, majority of cases were in the age group of 21-30 years (46%), booked and  Primigravida(81%).Most common indications were cephalo-pelvic disproportion (27%) and fetal distress (21%). Most commonly baby was delivered either by vertex (44%) or by Patwardhan (31%). Intraoperative complications were higher in terms of hematuria in 41%, Atonic PPH in 35%, uterine incision extension in 28% of cases. In one case bladder injury was noticed. Increased incidence of post-operative febrile illness and wound infection were noted. 44% baby’s required nursery admission, most commonly due to birth asphyxia (16%) and RDS (11%).Conclusions: Cesarean section in the 2nd stage of labor is associated with significantly increased maternal morbidity, Neonatal morbidity and mortality. So proper monitoring during labor and involvement of skilled obstetrician in decision making and delivery is crucial to minimize fetomaternal complications

Redefining Smart Cities – Tradition versus Branding – a Tale of Varanasi

“Smart city is a liveable city to the people with required amenities." The paper attempts to understand the intrinsic nature of the trending Smart City concept as a solution to the urban problems in Indian context.Smart city concept makes use of technology and ensures the Right to Developemnt and the Right to Equality. The paper questions if the concept imposes the right to compromise a City’s identity as well. The paper highligthts the importance of preserving a city’s identity.The paper analysis if the still evolving concept of smart city aims to preserve the spirit of the city or is an another tech based approach with profit making agenda. The paper discusses about the most promising project of the Indian Governement. A case study of Varanasi, how the city flaunts its own diverse and rich cultural heritage.Mark Twain rigthly said, “Varanasi is older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend, and looks twice as old as all of them put together.” Varanasi - the ancient surviving city continues to fascinate the world with its history, hymns, rituals,mythology and spirituality. The crescent-moon shaped Ganga Ghats of Varanasi are the abode of divinity have lives and voices of their own.The people of Varanasi start their morning with chanting of prayers along the ghats and take a dip in the holy Ganga to redeem themselves.On one hand where the Ganga ghats are the lifeblood for the people, on the other hand, the liberation from the cycle of life and death along the ghats defines another character of the city. Varanasi, also known as the city of salvation motivates the devout to go to Varanasi in their last days. The city is also well-known for its rich literature, music, art & handcrafts and production of fine silk ‘Banarasi saari’.Organic growth pattern of this densely populated ancient town along the river and its rich cultural heritage pose a unique challenge for urban planners. The paper explains why the cultural aspects need to be considered during the application of the smart city proposals. In oder to keep up with urbanisation and the advancement in technology it is neither desirable nor an option for Varanasi to be a closed system pretending to preserve its originality. Considering the urban challenges the Government of India has decided to replicate the Kyoto model.Kyoto too is a city of pilgrimage and planned along the riverside identical to Varanasi.Every city has its own character and challenges pertaining to it.The aspirations of achieving the components of Smart city should not overlook the vibrant spirit of the city.An understanding of the significance of preserving a city’s identity is imperative to urban planning.The paper explains why the Kyoto smart city model cannot be replicated blindly to transform Varanasi as ‘Kyoto-style smart city’. Lastly,the paper attempts to define the concept of smart city without losing the identity of a city

Visual inspection with acetic acid for cervical cancer screening in a tertiary health care centre

Background: Cervical cancer is one of the most prevalent malignant neoplasms among women in developing countries. Invasive cervical cancer is preceded by a long premalignant phase known as cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN). The goal of cervical cancer screening is the detection and treatment of precancereous lesions before cancer develops. The objective of the study was to assess visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA) as a screening tool for use in a well-equipped health center , to evaluate VIA as an alternative or adjunct to the Papanicolaou (Pap) smear, and to determine if VIA can play a role in settings other than low resource ones.Methods: This was a prospective study of 1520 asymptomatic women, carried out in 2014-2015. The study was performed at a tertiary care center equipped with the latest-generation technology and highly trained oncologists. The women underwent a complete clinical evaluation, including a Pap smear and VIA. Participants with any positive test were referred for colposcopy and biopsy.Results: More women tested positive by VIA than on the Pap smear (6.9% vs. 4.2%; P =0.0001). There were 27 women with histologic cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 1 (CIN1); of these, 12 were detected by Pap and 15 by VIA (P = 0.4). A diagnosis of CIN 2 or 3 (CIN2–3) was confirmed in a total of 11 cases; Pap detected 4 of the cases and VIA 9 of the cases (P = 0.06). The positive predictive value for detection of CIN 2+ was 8.5% for VIA and 6.2% for Pap (P = 0.5). Most importantly, while only 2.8% of patients with a positive VIA were lost to follow-up before colposcopy that was true for 26.5% of the women with a positive Pap smear (P < 0.0001).Conclusions: VIA is useful for detection of precursor lesions of cervical cancer not only in low-resource settings but also in well-equipped health centers and cancer centers. In these non low-resource settings, VIA has a positive predictive value comparable to the conventional Pap smear, but it is more likely to achieve earlier diagnosis, follow-up, and treatment than cytology based screening

A rare case of spontaneous expulsion of a very large fibroid

Leiomyomas are the most common benign tumour of uterus and affect 5-20% of females. Approximately 5% of leiomyomas are of submucous types. Usually they are asymptomatic. Symptomatic leiomyomas are managed with either medical therapy or surgical management in the form of myomectomy or hysterectomy. We are reporting an interesting and rare case of a large submucous fibroid which was spontaneously expelled per vaginally during clinical examination

Prophylaxis of post-operative nausea and vomiting in major obstetrics surgeries: a comparative study between palanosetron and neit guam point stimulation

Background: Post-operative nausea and vomiting (PONV) prophylaxis is an important component in providing safe anesthesia in antenatal women. Pharmaceutical interventions like metoclopramide and 5-HT3 antagonists are the current treatment of choice for PONV prophylaxis. However newer drugs are less easily available and more expensive and there is always a concern regarding the effects on fetus. The objective of the study was to evaluate and compare efficacy and safety of antiemetic effects of stimulation of neitguam point stimulation with palonosetron for PONV prevention in obstetric surgeries.Methods: A randomized control trial was done on 150 patients with ASA grade I-II, between ages of 18-45 undergoing obstetric surgery under spinal anesthesia at a tertiary care center. The patients were randomly allocated into two groups using a random sequence. In group I, 76 patients received 75μg palonosetron IV 5 minutes prior to induction. Group II contained 74 patients in which neitguam point stimulation was done by acupressure (wrist band) . All patients were followed till 24 hours post-surgery and incidence of PONV was recorded intra-operative and till 30 minutes, at 2 hours, 6 hours and 24 hours post-surgery. The results were analyzed using SPSS software and chi square test.Results: Both neit guam point stimulation and palanosetron were effective in prevention of PONV (p=0.32). neit guam point stimulation can be considered as effective as palonosetron in prevention of nausea. The cost analysis signifies the advantage of neit guam point stimulation.Conclusions: Neit guam point stimulation is a safe and highly effective method to prevent PONV. It can help in bringing down cost and can be easily made at the small primary healthcare centers and trained midwives

A comparison of visual analog scale and Wong Baker facial pain scale for pain measurement in post lower caesarean section case

Background: There is various pain measurement tools commonly used to measure pain intensity. However, no single standard exists for quantifying pain in post caesarean section. In our study, we have divided two groups according to use of pain scales and found one scale is more useful than the other in the post caesarean cases.Methods: The study has been conducted in upper India Sugar Exchange Maternity Hospital department of obstetrics and gynaecology, GSVM Medical College, Kanpur for the duration of 18 months starting from February 2014 to August 2015 on 100 women who were operated for lower caesarean section (LSCS) under spinal anesthesia. Women were divided into two groups according to pain scales visual analog scale (VAS) and Wong Baker facial pain scale (WBFPS). All these selected women were studied in details with regards to clinical history, general examination and local examination. Women from respective group were asked to rate their pain intensity on these pain scales. SPSS was used to analyze the data statistically.Results: Using analysis of variance, we found that there is significant relationship within the groups having different parameters at different time interval at different probability level. There is a mutual relationship between the groups at different probability level.Conclusions: The study shows that VAS is the most sensitive and reliable tool to measure post LSCS pain as compared to WBFPS and minimum consumption of rescue analgesia in VAS group to maintain minimum pain score to keep the patient pain free

To study the painless labour by epidural analgesia and its effects on cardiotocographic parameters and labour

Background: Epidural analgesia is a central nerve block technique achieved by injection of a local anesthetic close to the nerves that transmit pain and is widely used as a form of pain relief in labor. The objective was to study the effect of epidural analgesia on cardiotocographic parameters and relief of pain, effect on course of labor and its outcome in terms of duration, any complications and mode of delivery.Methods: A prospective observational study was done on 100 subjects. They were randomly divided into study and control groups, study group (50) were given epidural analgesia after 3cm dilatation while control group (50) did not receive any analgesic. NST was taken before and after analgesia, course of labor, duration of labor, mode of delivery.Results: The study shows no significant effect of epidural analgesia on the duration of labor, mode of delivery, and CTG parameters.Conclusion: Epidural analgesia group shows better pain relief. It favors normal course of labor, no effect on cardiotocographic parameters. Subjects in study group were more satisfied

Studying the Reverse Auction Bidding Game for the Role Variants of Guardians in the Facilities Management Industry

Reverse Auction Bidding (RAB) study into the construction industry commenced at Texas AandM (TAMU) University in 2004 from the work of a graduate student who was interested in the reasons for RAB being considered unethical by some. This thesis is the eleventh study into Reverse Auction Bidding building on the work of the previous researchers. Previous case studies investigated a number of different competitive situations ranging from three to ten players. In the last few studies, the bidding behavior and performance of participants in the RAB process is being observed with respect to their personality. Personality for each player is tested using the Keirsey Temperament Sorter (KTS) test. The KTS describes four major personalities and four role variants in each of the personalities, summing up to sixteen role variants. There appears at this stage a strong correlation between personality type and game performance. This study extends the work on the Guardian personality type to investigate the four sub-types of this personality. This study builds on the previous work by analyzing the four different Guardian role variants being Provider, Protector, Inspector and Supervisor. The aim of the research is to investigate whether there is a difference in game returns between the personality type from within this group. The study involves a game scenario involving a facility manager hiring the contractors who submit the lowest bid for the assumed renovation project. The study also gives the contractor a modified KTS questionnaire that can be used by them for hiring an individual for the position of an estimator with a competent personality. The individuals were selected from undergraduate Construction Science students with limited experience. The game lasted for nine rounds, with the statistical results of the bidding and contract data showing patterns similar to the previous studies. The results show us that the individuals with a role variant of Providers provided the highest return in this case study, although a single case study is insufficient to draw formal conclusions on this matter, the result points to future research

Role of actin dependent nuclear deformation in regulating early gene expression

The nucleus of a living cell is constantly undergoing changes in shape and size as a result of various mechanical forces in physiology. These changes correlate with alterations in gene expression, however it is unclear whether nuclear deformation alone is sufficient to elicit these alterations. We used T-cell activation as a model system to test the coupling between nuclear deformation (elongation) and gene expression. Naïve T-cell activation with surrogate antigens resulted in actin dependent nuclear elongation. This was accompanied with Erk and NF-κB signaling to the nucleus to induce CD69 expression. Importantly, inhibiting actin polymerization abolished both nuclear elongation and CD69 expression, while inhibiting Erk, NF-κB or microtubule depolymerization only abolished expression but not elongation. Immobilization of antigen-coated beads, under conditions where actin polymerization was inhibited, rescued both nuclear elongation and CD69 expression. In addition, fibroblast cells plated on fibronectin micropatterns of different sizes showed correlation between nuclear shape index and tenascin C expression. Upon inhibiting the signaling intermediate Erk, tenascin C expression was down regulated although the nuclear shape index remained unaltered. Our results highlight the importance of specific signaling intermediates accompanied with nuclear deformation in the modulation of cellular genomic programs