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Correspondent

23 August 2024 at 9:59:04 pm

Civic Lines

The Eiffel Tower is an unlikely place for a quarrel about religion, gender and multiculturalism. Yet, a private visit by a BAPS delegation has managed to turn one of France’s most recognisable symbols into the setting for one. The controversy deserves neither the reflexive defensiveness of some Indian commentators nor the temptation to turn the conduct of one religious organisation into a verdict on India. During the visit this week by around 100 people associated with BAPS, Eiffel Tower...

Civic Lines

The Eiffel Tower is an unlikely place for a quarrel about religion, gender and multiculturalism. Yet, a private visit by a BAPS delegation has managed to turn one of France’s most recognisable symbols into the setting for one. The controversy deserves neither the reflexive defensiveness of some Indian commentators nor the temptation to turn the conduct of one religious organisation into a verdict on India. During the visit this week by around 100 people associated with BAPS, Eiffel Tower employees claimed their female colleagues were asked to leave their posts or limit their presence as the delegation passed. The tower’s operating company, SETE, subsequently acknowledged that the delegation had requested arrangements limiting interactions with women and admitted that such conditions should not have been accepted. Staff protests then forced the landmark to close temporarily. BAPS, while expressing regret for the distress caused, has said nobody was denied access to the tower. If a religious delegation asks a public institution to remove or conceal female employees because they are women, the request is plainly at odds with the egalitarian principles governing public life in France. BAPS, as an organisation operating in France, has a responsibility to understand that its religious practices cannot automatically be transplanted into every public setting. Private religious observance is one thing; asking a public institution to rearrange its workforce along gender lines is quite another. But the Eiffel Tower management deserves at least as much scrutiny. SETE had the authority to say no. Instead, it accommodated a request that it now concedes should never have been accepted. The subsequent strike was therefore not simply a protest against an awkward religious request. It was also a rebuke to an institution that failed to uphold its own rules and values. This is where the larger argument about multiculturalism becomes relevant. A confident pluralist society does not require every cultural or religious preference to be accommodated. It requires minorities to enjoy freedom of belief while accepting the common civic rules that govern everyone else. At the same time, it would be equally foolish to inflate one extraordinary incident into a judgement on BAPS, Hinduism or India. BAPS operates across several continents, and its women participate in the organisation’s activities, including its international women’s conferences. One controversial request during a half-hour visit cannot erase that broader record any more than the misconduct of a Christian organisation abroad would automatically become a failing of Italy or the Vatican. The Ministry of External Affairs is right to treat the matter as one between the organisations concerned rather than as a diplomatic embarrassment requiring governmental intervention. BAPS France should acknowledge more forthrightly why the request was unacceptable and work to repair the trust it has damaged. The Eiffel Tower management, meanwhile, should explain why it agreed to it in the first place. A pluralist society works only when the boundaries of tolerance apply to institutions as much as to visitors.

AI in Sperm Sorting: An Unbiased Decision for A Better Outcome

Writer: Dr. Ramnath Babu T J
Dr. Ramnath Babu T J
Nov 7, 2024
3 min read

Artificial Intelligence or AI is revolutionising fertility treatments of the future. The inclusion of AI enhances the accuracy, efficiency, and objectivity of sperm selection, hence potentially improving fertility outcomes by leaps and bounds. Traditionally, sperm sorting through manual methods is subjective to judgments. Processes like centrifugation and swim-up methods are used to separate sperm based on motility and morphology. Although they are effective, they have their limitations, leading to human errors that affect the success rates of fertility treatment. For instance, studies have shown that traditional sperm sorting techniques can have variability in success rates, with reported live birth rates ranging between 15 per cent to 25 per cent per cycle depending on the method and quality of sperm. Hence the introduction of AI helps in maintaining consistency in evaluations of sperm, using the same data set for every sample which leads to better judgments.


Automation and Standardisation- Automation of sperm selection and also introduction of AI in the process have improved the results in ART. AI-assisted sperm selection improves the accuracy in choosing high-quality sperm for fertilisation purposes, and also, pregnancy and live birth rates might be improved. Technologies like Intracytoplasmic Morphologically Selected Sperm Injection along with AI ensure the chances of pregnancies increase by about 10-20 per cent compared to the standard procedures. AI and Automation will decrease time taken to analyze sperm and increase opportunities to select better sperm with DNA integrity for better development and higher success rates in embryo selection. These processes ensure that the sperm selection process follows consistent criteria, reducing variability in outcomes caused by human error.


Analysing Complex Data for Better Outcomes- AI plays a crucial in improving IVF outcomes by analysing complex data and providing tailored recommendations. AI-driven tools and models such as those on SpOvum.ai point towards an opportunity to optimise ovarian stimulation decisions by assessing patient characteristics and follicle growth patterns. A study revealed that the use of AI in IVF improved egg yield and reduced medication costs. AI enables fertility specialists to make data-driven choices, improving overall IVF success rates and streamlining treatment processes.


Reducing Human Error- AI models can continuously learn and refine their performance by being trained on newer data. This adaptability ensures the technology remains unbiased and up-to-date with the latest scientific insights into sperm quality and fertility success rates. Studies have shown that AI-driven sperm sorting can decrease human-related errors by up to 25 per cent, improving sperm selection quality in terms of morphology and motility.


Reduction of Sperm Damage- The new AI-driven sperm sorting techniques also include microfluidic systems that are known to exhibit several advantages over the most commonly used conventional method, which is centrifugation. Traditional centrifugation methods, such as density gradient centrifugation, also cause severe oxidative stress and DNA fragmentation of the sperm because of the very high mechanical forces involved. The AI-infused microfluidic sorting minimises this damage significantly by involving gentler processes that mimic the natural pathway of sperm selection. The studies show that the process of microfluidic sorting decreases DNA fragmentation in sperm, which gives improved opportunities for success for IVF. For example, DNA fragmentation is 20 percent lower in sperm sorted using microfluidic processes than in traditional processing methods.


AI is bound to play an increasingly definitive role in fertility treatments, which will improve the outcomes for couples experiencing infertility.


(The author is a Co-Founder & CEO at SpOvum® Technologies. Views personal.)

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