Identification and correction of speech repairs in the context of an automatic speech recognition system

Recent advances in automatic speech recognition systems for read (dictated) speech have led researchers to confront the problem of recognising more spontaneous speech. A number of problems, such as disfluencies, appear when read speech is replaced with spontaneous speech. In this work we deal specifically with what we class as speech-repairs. Most disfluency processes deal with speech-repairs at the sentence level. This is too late in the process of speech understanding. Speech recognition systems have problems recognising speech containing speech-repairs. The approach taken in this work is to deal with speech-repairs during the recognition process. Through an analysis of spontaneous speech the grammatical structure of speech- repairs was identified as a possible source of information. It is this grammatical structure, along with some pattern matching to eliminate false positives, that is used in the approach taken in this work. These repair structures are identified within a word lattice and when found result in a SKIP being added to the lattice to allow the reparandum of the repair to be ignored during the hypothesis generation process. Word fragment information is included using a sub-word pattern matching process and cue phrases are also identified within the lattice and used in the repair detection process. These simple, yet effective, techniques have proved very successful in identifying and correcting speech-repairs in a number of evaluations performed on a speech recognition system incorporating the repair procedure. On an un-seen spontaneous lecture taken from the Durham corpus, using a dictionary of 2,275 words and phoneme corruption of 15%, the system achieved a correction recall rate of 72% and a correction precision rate of 75%.The achievements of the project include the automatic detection and correction of speech-repairs, including word fragments and cue phrases, in the sub-section of an automatic speech recognition system processing spontaneous speech

A characterization of the problem of new, out-of-vocabulary words in continuous-speech recognition and understanding

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 1995.Includes bibliographical references (p. 167-173).by Irvine Lee Hetherington.Ph.D

A study of the administration of emergency medical services in San Joaquin County : analysis and recommendations

This study examines the administration of emergency medical services (E.M.s.) in San Joaquin County. The analysis proposes to determine whether any serious inadequacies exist with the system as it is administered presently. There were three major sources for this research. The legislations on E.M.S. (federal, state and local), and the writer\u27s personal working participation (as a staff member of the San Joaquin Comprehensive Health Planning Association) in the development of plans in this substantive area, and as a participant observant at the San Joaquin County General Hospital, (with the Social Services Department). The rather limited bibliography on the subject Has consulted and adaptations are made to make this a scholarly exercise. However, because of the nature of the subject, this is an attempt to present a qualitative rather than a quantitative analysis. The discussion is divided in five parts. The first chapter lays out the basic concepts of an Emergency Medical Services System and discusses the most relevant aspects of the federal legislation on E.M.S. and its ramifications on state and local policies. In the second chapter, a policy model is developed, against which the existing system is later tested. This model is based mostly on state (of California) specifications and on the Federal Emergency Medical Service System Act of 1973. The third chapter describes the county from a geographic and socio-economic perspective, and points out emergency medical needs in the county. Chapter four evaluates E.M.S. resources and their use in San Joaquin County, measuring adequacy against the ideal system developed in Chapter two, and identifies problems and states recommendations in each area evaluated. Chapter five discusses methods for future evaluation of the System. The thesis concludes with the writer\u27s personal observations about the system in the county

Albuquerque Evening Citizen, 04-30-1906

https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/abq_citizen_news/4269/thumbnail.jp

Méthodologie pour l'évaluation des signaux émis par les technologies émergentes. : Applications à la compatibilité électromagnétique des systèmes et à l'exposition des personnes.

The knowledge of human exposure, either general public or occupational, to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields, is still incomplete. Two issues are yet to be addressed:•Knowledge of the uses of communicating objects that are ever changing,•The evaluation of the potential impact that these new technologies could have on the environment.This document provides a synthesis of studies conducted to address the issues of electromagnetic compatibility and human exposure. In this context, it was necessary to evaluate, to characterize and to define the most relevant parameters of the radiated signals or the levels of electromagnetic fields emitted by devices that implement these emerging technologies. We additionally examined related issues such as exposure to electromagnetic fields at very low frequencies induced by high-voltage lines or emissions from domestic equipment integrating potentially radiating electronic devices. It also includes a summary of all results obtained from actual case studies, in terms of the knowledge of both the detailed electromagnetic compatibility of new or emerging systems and human exposure. Finally, solutions have been proposed that can help to improve the knowledge of signals and potential impacts, through updates of either current standards by taking into account more relevant new parameters or modification of calibration procedures of the instrumentation employed to characterize the exposure.La connaissance de l’exposition des personnes aux champs électromagnétiques radiofréquences, pour le public ou pour les professionnels, est encore aujourd’hui très parcellaire. Deux problématiques sont encore mal connues:•La connaissance des usages des objets communicants, en évolution constante et rapide,•L'estimation de l'impact potentiel que pourraient avoir ces nouvelles technologies sur l'environnement.Ce document est une synthèse des travaux de recherche conduits pour affiner les questions de compatibilité électromagnétique et d’exposition des personnes. Dans ce contexte, il a fallu évaluer, caractériser et définir les paramètres les plus importants des signaux rayonnés ou des niveaux des champs électromagnétiques émis par les dispositifs mettant en œuvre les technologies émergentes. Dans cette étude, on s’est également intéressé à des problématiques connexes comme l’exposition des personnes aux champs électromagnétiques de très basses fréquences induits par des lignes à très haute tension ou aux émissions rayonnées par des équipements domestiques intégrant des dispositifs électroniques potentiellement rayonnants. Il comprend également, une synthèse de tous les résultats obtenus à partir d'études de cas concrets, tant sur le plan des connaissances détaillées de la compatibilité électromagnétique des systèmes nouveaux ou émergents que sur la problématique de l’exposition des personnes. Enfin, des solutions ont été proposées, pouvant permettre d’améliorer les connaissances des signaux et des impacts potentiels par des modifications de normes, par la prise en compte de nouveaux paramètres plus pertinents, ou par la modification de procédures d’étalonnage de systèmes utilisés pour caractériser l’exposition

Comparative safety respiratory pharmacology : validation of a head-out plethysmograph – pneumotachometer testing device in male Sprague–Dawley rats, Beagle dogs and Cynomolgus monkeys

Le but de cette étude était d’évaluer les qualifications de performance du système FlexiWare® chez le rat male Sprague Dawley et le singe Cynomolgus éveillés, ainsi que chez le chien Beagle éveillé et anesthésié, suite à l’administration de produits ayant une activité pharmacologique connue. Les produits utilisés incluaient l’albutérol administré par inhalation, la méthacholine, et le rémifentanil administrés par voie intraveineuse. Une solution saline administré par voie intraveneuse, a été utilisée comme substance témoin. Différentes variables ont servi à évaluer la réponse des animaux (rats, chien, singe). Ces dernières comprenaient la fréquence respiratoire (RR), le volume courant (TV), la ventilation minute (MV). Des paramètres additionnels ont été évalués chez le rat, soit les temps d’inspiration (IT) et d’expiration (ET), le temps du pic de débit expiratoire, les pics de débits inspiratoire et expiratoire, le ratio inspiratoire:expiratoire (I:E), le ratio inspiratoire sur respiration totale (I:TB), et l’écoulement expiratoire moyen (EF50). Les résultats obtenus ont démontré que le système FlexiWare® était suffisamment sensible et spécifique pour dépister, chez les espèces animales utilisées, les effets bronchodilateur, bronchoconstricteur et dépresseur central des substances testées. Il pourrait faire partie des méthodes (ICH 2000) utilisées en pharmacologie de sécurité lors de l’évaluation de substances pharmacologiques sur le système respiratoire des animaux de laboratoire. Les espèces animales utilisées ont semblé s’adapter aisément aux procédures de contention. Les paramètres évalués, RR, TV et MV ont permis de caractériser la réponse des animaux suite à l’administration de produits pharmacologiques à effets connus, judicieusement complétés par les variables de débit. L’ajout de paramètres du temps n’était pas primordiale pour détecter les effets des drogues, mais offre des outils complémentaires d’interpréter les changements physiologiques. Cependant, chez le rat conscient, la période d’évaluation ne devrait pas s’étendre au-delà d’une période de deux heures post traitement. Ces études constituent une évaluation des qualifications de performance de cet appareil et ont démontré de manière originale, la validation concurrentielle, en terme de précision (sensibilité et spécificité) et fiabilité pour différentes variables et sur différentes espèces.The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance qualifications of the FlexiWare® system in conscious Sprague-Dawley rats, Cynomolgus monkeys, as well as awake and anesthetized Beagle dogs following the administration of pharmacological substances with known effects on the respiratory system. The pharmacological substances included albuterol administered by inhalation; methacholine and remifentanil, both administered intravenously. A preparation of saline solution administered intravenously was used as control. Respiratory monitoring included: respiratory rate (RR), tidal volume (TV), minute ventilation (MV), in rats, dogs and monkeys. Additional time-, flow-, and ratio-derived variables were used in the rat model. Those variables included inspiratory (IT) and expiratory (ET) times, time to peak expiratory flow, peak inspiratory and expiratory flows, mid-tidal expiratory flow (EF50), inspiratory:expiratory (I:E) and inspiratory to total breath (I:TB) ratios. The results of this study have proven that the FlexiWare® was a reliable method and should be considered in the core battery recommended in safety pharmacology studies (ICH 2000) to assess the broncho-dilative, -constrictive, and central depressant effects of drugs on the respiratory system of the common laboratory animal specie. The animals appeared to adapt well to the restraint unit. The variables evaluated, particularly RR, TV and MV, were adequate and allowed to characterize the response of the animals following the administration of the pharmacological substances. They are judiciously completed with flowderived variables. The addition of within-breath time parameters was not primordial to detect drug effects but offered complementary tools to interpret physiological changes. However the evaluation period should be limited to the first 2 hours post treatment. These studies represent a performance qualifications evaluation of the system and have originally demonstrated the precision (sensitivity and specificity) as well as repeatability for different variables and on different specie of interest