Large-scale subjective evaluations of speech rate control methods for HMM-based speech synthesizers

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tsuneo Kato ◽  
Makoto Yamada ◽  
Nobuyuki Nishizawa ◽  
Keiichiro Oura ◽  
Keiichi Tokuda
Keyword(s):  
Rate Control ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Speech Rate ◽  
Control Methods ◽  
Subjective Evaluations

Optimizing Heart Rate and Controlling Symptoms in Atrial Fibrillation

2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 26
Author(s):  
Pragnesh Parikh ◽  
◽  
KL Venkatachalam ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Atrial Fibrillation ◽  
Rate Control ◽  
Stroke Risk ◽  
Symptom Control ◽  
Review Article ◽  
Rhythm Control ◽  
Ventricular Rate ◽  
Control Methods ◽  
Novel Approaches

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common arrhythmia noted in clinical practice and its incidence and prevalence are on the rise. The single most important intervention is the evaluation and treatment of stroke risk. Once the risk for stroke has been minimized, controlling the ventricular rate and treating symptoms become relevant. In this review article, we emphasize the importance of confirming and treating the appropriate arrhythmia and correlating symptoms with rhythm changes. Furthermore, we evaluate some of the risk factors for AF that independently result in symptoms, underlining the need to treat these risk factors as part of symptom control. We then discuss existing and novel approaches to rate control in AF and briefly cover rhythm control methods.

Expanding a Large Inclusive Study of Human Listening Rates

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-26
Author(s):  
Danielle Bragg ◽  
Katharina Reinecke ◽  
Richard E. Ladner
Keyword(s):  
Speech Synthesis ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Speech Rate ◽  
Synthetic Speech ◽  
Conversational Agents ◽  
Screen Reader ◽  
Audio Cues ◽  
Agent Interaction ◽  
Personal Devices ◽  
Answering Questions

As conversational agents and digital assistants become increasingly pervasive, understanding their synthetic speech becomes increasingly important. Simultaneously, speech synthesis is becoming more sophisticated and manipulable, providing the opportunity to optimize speech rate to save users time. However, little is known about people’s abilities to understand fast speech. In this work, we provide an extension of the first large-scale study on human listening rates, enlarging the prior study run with 453 participants to 1,409 participants and adding new analyses on this larger group. Run on LabintheWild, it used volunteer participants, was screen reader accessible, and measured listening rate by accuracy at answering questions spoken by a screen reader at various rates. Our results show that people who are visually impaired, who often rely on audio cues and access text aurally, generally have higher listening rates than sighted people. The findings also suggest a need to expand the range of rates available on personal devices. These results demonstrate the potential for users to learn to listen to faster rates, expanding the possibilities for human-conversational agent interaction.

Vibration suppression for large-scale flexible structures based on cable-driven parallel robots

2020 ◽  
pp. 107754632096194
Author(s):  
Haining Sun ◽  
Xiaoqiang Tang ◽  
Senhao Hou ◽  
Xiaoyu Wang
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Vibration Suppression ◽  
Control Method ◽  
External Disturbance ◽  
Flexible Structures ◽  
Parallel Robot ◽  
Parallel Robots ◽  
Lyapunov Theory ◽  
Normal Operation ◽  
Control Methods

Specific satellites with ultralong wings play a crucial role in many fields. However, external disturbance and self-rotation could result in undesired vibrations of the flexible wings, which affect the normal operation of the satellites. In severe cases, the satellites would be damaged. Therefore, it is imperative to conduct vibration suppression for these flexible structures. Utilizing fuzzy-proportional integral derivative control and deep reinforcement learning (DRL), two active control methods are proposed in this article to rapidly suppress the vibration of flexible structures with quite small controllable force based on a cable-driven parallel robot. Inspired by the output law of DRL, a new control method named Tang and Sun control is innovatively presented based on the Lyapunov theory. To verify the effectiveness of these three control methods, three groups of simulations with different initial disturbances are implemented for each method. Besides, to enhance the contrast, a passive pretightening scheme is also tested. First, the dynamic model of the cable-driven parallel robot which comprises four cables and a flexible structure is established using the finite element method. Then, the dynamic behavior of the model under the controllable cable force is analyzed by the Newmark-ß method. Finally, these control methods are implemented by numerical simulations to evaluate their performance, and the results are satisfactory, which validates the controllers’ ability to suppress vibrations.

Use of Chemical and Nonchemical Methods for the Control of Varroa destructor (Acari: Varroidae) and Associated Winter Colony Losses in U.S. Beekeeping Operations

2019 ◽  
Vol 112 (4) ◽  
pp. 1509-1525 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ariela I Haber ◽  
Nathalie A Steinhauer ◽  
Dennis vanEngelsdorp
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Varroa Destructor ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
The United States ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Control Methods ◽  
Colony Losses ◽  
Potential Control ◽  
Winter Losses ◽  
Varroa Control

Abstract The parasitic mite Varroa destructor (Acari: Varroidae) is a major cause of overwintering honey bee (Apis mellifera) colony losses in the United States, suggesting that beekeepers must control Varroa populations to maintain viable colonies. Beekeepers have access to several chemical varroacides and nonchemical practices to control Varroa populations. However, no studies have examined large-scale patterns in Varroa control methods in the United States. Here we used responses from 4 yr of annual surveys of beekeepers representing all regions and operation sizes across the United States to investigate use of Varroa control methods and winter colony losses associated with use of different methods. We focused on seven varroacide products (amitraz, coumaphos, fluvalinate, hop oil, oxalic acid, formic acid, and thymol) and six nonchemical practices (drone brood removal, small-cell comb, screened bottom boards, powdered sugar, mite-resistant bees, and splitting colonies) suggested to aid in Varroa control. We found that nearly all large-scale beekeepers used at least one varroacide, whereas small-scale beekeepers were more likely to use only nonchemical practices or not use any Varroa control. Use of varroacides was consistently associated with the lowest winter losses, with amitraz being associated with lower losses than any other varroacide product. Among nonchemical practices, splitting colonies was associated with the lowest winter losses, although losses associated with sole use of nonchemical practices were high overall. Our results suggest potential control methods that are effective or preferred by beekeepers and should therefore inform experiments that directly test the efficacy of different control methods. This will allow beekeepers to incorporate Varroa control methods into management plans that improve the overwintering success of their colonies.

Acoustic correlates of rhythm in New Zealand English: A diachronic study

2012 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacqui Nokes ◽  
Jennifer Hay
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Speech Rate ◽  
Intensity Variation ◽  
Acoustic Correlates ◽  
Syllable Duration ◽  
Diachronic Study ◽  
Variability Index ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Vowel Shift

AbstractThis paper reports on a large-scale diachronic investigation into the timing of New Zealand English (NZE), which points to changes in its rhythmic structure. The Pairwise Variability Index (PVI) was used to measure the mean variation in duration, intensity, and pitch of successive vowels in the speech of over 500 New Zealanders, born between 1851 and 1988. Normalized vocalic PVIs for duration have reduced over time, after allowing for changes in speech rate, supporting existing findings that stressed and unstressed vowels are less differentiated by duration in modern NZE than in other varieties of English. Rhythmically, syllable duration may be playing a reduced role in signalling prominence in NZE. This is supported by the finding that there have been contemporaneous changes in pitch and intensity variation. We discuss external and internal influences on the timing of NZE, including contact with Māori, the emergence of Māori English, and diachronic vowel shift.

scholarly journals Chemical and mechanical control of the invasive shrub Cytisus scoparius in forest clearings in western Washington, USA

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 30-36
Author(s):  
Karen A. Haubensak ◽  
Sara Grove ◽  
Jeffrey Foster ◽  
Ingrid M. Parker
Keyword(s):  
Seed Germination ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Soil Surface ◽  
Soil Disturbance ◽  
Percent Cover ◽  
Control Methods ◽  
Cytisus Scoparius ◽  
Invasive Shrub ◽  
Soil Scarification ◽  
Western Washington

AbstractWe conducted a large-scale, multiple-year study in harvested areas of Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii [Mirbel] Franco) forests in western Washington, examining the effectiveness of control methods on the widespread invasive shrub Scotch broom [Cytisus scoparius (L.) Link]. We tested both chemical and physical control methods, using three different approaches that are management relevant: (1) triclopyr, a POST herbicide, at different times of year and on different-sized plants; (2) cutting (or brushcutting) of mature individuals; and (3) scarification of soil surface to remove seedlings once versus multiple times. We measured initial mortality, seed germination, and percent cover of C. scoparius in plots for 3 yr following treatments. Triclopyr treatment resulted in greater mortality and reduced percent cover compared with all other treatments with the effect persisting for 2 yr after spraying. Further, triclopyr had the same effect on C. scoparius cover and mortality irrespective of time of year applied. Similar to soil scarification, triclopyr treatments resulted in a flush of seedlings, suggesting that removal of conspecific competitors and not soil disturbance per se promotes seed germination. Brushcutting was generally effective in reducing C. scoparius cover in the short term, but effects did not persist as long as triclopyr treatments, in part due to large differences in stump resprouting rates across sites. Soil scarification to remove seedlings, even over multiple years, did not result in reduced C. scoparius cover. Triclopyr is an effective approach for controlling both emerging and established stands of C. scoparius.

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