Seminal fluid is the secretion from many glands comprised of several organic and inorganic compounds including free amino acids, proteins, fructose, glucosidase, zinc, and other scavenging elements like Mg 2+ , Ca 2+ , K + , and Na + . Therefore, in the view of development of novel approaches and proper diagnosis to male infertility, overall understanding of the biochemical and molecular composition and its role in regulation of sperm quality is highly desirable. Perhaps this can be achieved through artificial intelligence. This study was aimed to elucidate and predict various biochemical markers present in human seminal plasma with three different neural network models. A total of 177 semen samples were collected for this research (both fertile and infertile samples) and immediately processed to prepare a semen analysis report, based on the protocol of the World Health Organization (WHO [2010]). The semen samples were then categorized into oligoasthenospermia (n=35), asthenospermia (n=35), azoospermia (n=22), normospermia (n=34), oligospermia (n=34), and control (n=17). The major biochemical parameters like total protein content, fructose, glucosidase, and zinc content were elucidated by standard protocols. All the biochemical markers were predicted by using three different artificial neural network (ANN) models with semen parameters as inputs. Of the three models, the back propagation neural network model (BPNN) yielded the best results with mean absolute error 0.025, -0.080, 0.166, and -0.057 for protein, fructose, glucosidase, and zinc, respectively. This suggests that BPNN can be used to predict biochemical parameters for the proper diagnosis of male infertility in assisted reproductive technology (ART) centres.

A 25 years old woman with Down syndrome (DS) presented at 9 weeks gestational age. She belonged to a very supportive family. She was married to a person with normal karyotype and conceived within 3 months of marriage. Her antenatal period was uneventful, except for mild IUGR and oligohydroamnios 32 weeks onwards. At 38 weeks, she underwent induction of labor. She tolerated labor pains well but because of failure to progress, cesarean section was performed. She delivered a 2 kg male baby, who was phenotypically and genotypically normal. Screening for trisomy 21 should be offered to all women as part of routine antenatal care. This offer should include detailed counseling about the implications and limitations of the test used in the screening program. The available second trimester screening tests are the double, triple and quadruple tests. Children with Down syndrome may benefit from speech therapy, physical therapy and occupational therapy. They may receive special education and assistance in school. Full potential of Down patients can be utilized only with complete support of family and society.