Wheelchair Neuro Fuzzy Control and Tracking System Based on Voice Recognition.

Autonomous wheelchairs are important tools to enhance the mobility of people with disabilities. Advances in computer and wireless communication technologies have contributed to the provision of smart wheelchairs to suit the needs of the disabled person. This research paper presents the design and implementation of a voice controlled electric wheelchair. This design is based on voice recognition algorithms to classify the required commands to drive the wheelchair. An adaptive neuro-fuzzy controller has been used to generate the required real-time control signals for actuating motors of the wheelchair. This controller depends on real data received from obstacle avoidance sensors and a voice recognition classifier. The wheelchair is considered as a node in a wireless sensor network in order to track the position of the wheelchair and for supervisory control. The simulated and running experiments demonstrate that, by combining the concepts of soft-computing and mechatronics, the implemented wheelchair has become more sophisticated and gives people more mobility.

Laparoscopic Transplantation Following Transvaginal Insertion of the Kidney: Description of Technique and Outcome.

Laparoscopic kidney transplantation (LKT) is well accepted modality of treatment for ESRD patients at our center. Usually, the kidney is inserted through small Pfannenstiel incision. With the permission of the Internal Review Board, we carried out LKT in eight female recipients following insertion of the kidney through the vagina. The kidney was procured by the retroperitoneoscopic approach. Antibiotic prophylaxis was given. All cases were carried out successfully with immediate graft function and 100% graft and patient survival at 1 year of follow-up. Estimated glomerular filtration rate at 1 month and 1 year was similar to eight randomly selected female recipients who underwent open kidney transplantation (OKT). No analgesia was required in seven out of eight patients after the 3rd postoperative day. In summary, vaginal insertion of kidney and LKT is safe and feasible in a selected group of patients. It is associated with better analgesia and has similar allograft function as compare to OKT.

Improvement in human semen quality after oral supplementation of vitamin C.

This study was carried out to monitor the effect of oral supplementation of vitamin C on various semen parameters in oligospermic, infertile, otherwise healthy individuals. Various semen parameters, including sperm motility, sperm count, and sperm morphology, were studied before and after the vitamin C treatment. A total of 13 infertile patients were included. Their ages ranged between 25 and 35 years. They had no genital infection or varicocele. Physical examination and other routine laboratory investigations were normal. General semen analysis revealed oligozoospermia (mean sperm count was 14.3 +/- 7.38 x 10(6) sperms/mL, mean sperm with normal morphology was 43 +/- 7.87%, and mean sperm motility was 31.2 +/- 9.61%). Testicular biopsy was not done. These patients received in an open trial of 1,000 mg of vitamin C twice daily for a maximum of 2 months. Results showed that the mean sperm count was increased to 32.8 +/- 10.3 x 10(6) sperms/mL (P < .001) after 2 months of vitamin C intake. The mean sperm motility was increased significantly to 60.1 +/- 8.47% (P < .001), and mean sperms with normal morphology increased significantly to 66.7 +/- 4.77% (P < .001). This study showed that vitamin C supplementation in infertile men might improve sperm count, sperm motility, and sperm morphology and might have a place as an additional supplement to improve the semen quality towards conception.