A qualitative study exploring the effect of communicating with partially intelligible speech.

Few studies have investigated how individuals with partially intelligible speech choose to communicate, including how, when, and why they might use a speech-generating device (SGD). This study aimed to add to the literature by exploring how this group of individuals use different communication strategies. Qualitative interviews were carried out with 10 participants with partially intelligible speech with the aim of investigating participants' perceptions of modes of communication and communication strategies. Transcripts were analyzed using Framework Analysis to investigate the role of SGDs alongside other communication strategies. Factors that influence why, when, and how a person chooses to communicate were identified and these were interpreted as an explanatory model of communication with partially intelligible speech. Participants described how they made the decision whether to attempt to communicate at all and then which communication method to use. Decision-making was influenced by the importance of the message, how much time is available, past experience, and the communication partner. Each communication attempt adds to an individuals' experience of communicating and influences subsequent decisions. This study suggests that individuals with partially intelligible speech are at risk of reduced communication environments and networks and that current SGDs may not be designed in a way that recognizes their particular needs.

Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation slowdown cooled the subtropical ocean.

[1] Observations show that the upper 2 km of the subtropical North Atlantic Ocean cooled throughout 2010 and remained cold until at least December 2011. We show that these cold anomalies are partly driven by anomalous air-sea exchange during the cold winters of 2009/2010 and 2010/2011 and, more surprisingly, by extreme interannual variability in the ocean's northward heat transport at 26.5°N. This cooling driven by the ocean's meridional heat transport affects deeper layers isolated from the atmosphere on annual timescales and water that is entrained into the winter mixed layer thus lowering winter sea surface temperatures. Here we connect, for the first time, variability in the northward heat transport carried by the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation to widespread sustained cooling of the subtropical North Atlantic, challenging the prevailing view that the ocean plays a passive role in the coupled ocean-atmosphere system on monthly-to-seasonal timescales.

The Dysarthric Expressed Emotional Database (DEED): An audio-visual database in British English.

The Dysarthric Expressed Emotional Database (DEED) is a novel, parallel multimodal (audio-visual) database of dysarthric and typical emotional speech in British English which is a first of its kind. It is an induced (elicited) emotional database that includes speech recorded in the six basic emotions: "happiness", "sadness", "anger", "surprise", "fear", and "disgust". A "neutral" state has also been recorded as a baseline condition. The dysarthric speech part includes recordings from 4 speakers: one female speaker with dysarthria due to cerebral palsy and 3 speakers with dysarthria due to Parkinson's disease (2 female and 1 male). The typical speech part includes recordings from 21 typical speakers (9 female and 12 male). This paper describes the collection of the database, covering its design, development, technical information related to the data capture, and description of the data files and presents the validation methodology. The database was validated subjectively (human performance) and objectively (automatic recognition). The achieved results demonstrated that this database will be a valuable resource for understanding emotion communication by people with dysarthria and useful in the research field of dysarthric emotion classification. The database is freely available for research purposes under a Creative Commons licence at: https://sites.google.com/sheffield.ac.uk/deed.

Seasonality of the Meridional Overturning Circulation in the subpolar North Atlantic.

Understanding the variability of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation is essential for better predictions of our changing climate. Here we present an updated time series (August 2014 to June 2020) from the Overturning in the Subpolar North Atlantic Program. The 6-year time series allows us to observe the seasonality of the subpolar overturning and meridional heat and freshwater transports. The overturning peaks in late spring and reaches a minimum in early winter, with a peak-to-trough range of 9.0 Sv. The overturning seasonal timing can be explained by winter transformation and the export of dense water, modulated by a seasonally varying Ekman transport. Furthermore, over 55% of the total meridional freshwater transport variability can be explained by its seasonality, largely owing to overturning dynamics. Our results provide the first observational analysis of seasonality in the subpolar North Atlantic overturning and highlight its important contribution to the total overturning variability observed to date.

Slowing of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation at 25 degrees N.

The Atlantic meridional overturning circulation carries warm upper waters into far-northern latitudes and returns cold deep waters southward across the Equator. Its heat transport makes a substantial contribution to the moderate climate of maritime and continental Europe, and any slowdown in the overturning circulation would have profound implications for climate change. A transatlantic section along latitude 25 degrees N has been used as a baseline for estimating the overturning circulation and associated heat transport. Here we analyse a new 25 degrees N transatlantic section and compare it with four previous sections taken over the past five decades. The comparison suggests that the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation has slowed by about 30 per cent between 1957 and 2004. Whereas the northward transport in the Gulf Stream across 25 degrees N has remained nearly constant, the slowing is evident both in a 50 per cent larger southward-moving mid-ocean recirculation of thermocline waters, and also in a 50 per cent decrease in the southward transport of lower North Atlantic Deep Water between 3,000 and 5,000 m in depth. In 2004, more of the northward Gulf Stream flow was recirculating back southward in the thermocline within the subtropical gyre, and less was returning southward at depth.

Reconstructing the voice of an individual following laryngectomy.

This case study describes the generation of a synthetic voice resembling that of an individual before she underwent a laryngectomy. Recordings of this person (6-7 min) speaking prior to the operation were used to create the voice. Synthesis was based on statistical speech models and this method allows models pre-trained on many speakers to be adapted to resemble an individual voice. The results of a listening test in which participants were asked to judge the similarity of the synthetic voice to the pre-operation (target) voice are reported. Members of the patient's family were asked to make a similar judgment. These experiments show that, for most listeners, the voice is quite convincing despite the low quality and small quantity of adaptation data.

Robot companion cats for people at home with dementia: A qualitative case study on companotics.

The use of robot companion pets for people in care homes has been extensively studied. The results are largely positive and suggest that they are valuable in enhancing wellbeing, communication and behavioural aspects. However, there has been little research in people's own homes, possibly due to the cost and complexity of some of the robot pets currently available. As dementia affects people in different ways, this study explores the effects of a robot cat for people in their own homes, without specifically investigating the effects on a particular symptom. We utilised a case study design to investigate the proposition that various factors influence the impact of a robot cat on the person living with dementia and their carer, including acceptability of the robot pet and acceptance of dementia and its symptoms. The qualitative analysis explores the similarities and differences within the data which were gathered during interviews with people with dementia and their families. This analysis revealed four themes: Distraction, Communication, Acceptance and rejection, and Connecting with the cat and connecting with others. These themes were synthesised into two overarching themes: the effect of the cat on mood and behaviour, and The interaction with the cat. We present the acceptability and impact of the robot cat on symptoms of dementia, with data presented across and within the group of participants. Our analysis suggests that benefits of the robot pet were evident, and although this was a small-scale study, where they were accepted, robot pets provided positive outcomes for the participants and their families.

Larval behaviour, dispersal and population connectivity in the deep sea.

Ecosystem connectivity is an essential consideration for marine spatial planning of competing interests in the deep sea. Immobile, adult communities are connected through freely floating larvae, depending on new recruits for their health and to adapt to external pressures. We hypothesize that the vertical swimming ability of deep-sea larvae, before they permanently settle at the bottom, is one way larvae can control dispersal. We test this hypothesis with more than [Formula: see text] simulated particles with a range of active swimming behaviours embedded within the currents of a high-resolution ocean model. Despite much stronger horizontal ocean currents, vertical swimming of simulated larvae can have an order of magnitude impact on dispersal. These strong relationships between larval dispersal, pathways, and active swimming demonstrate that lack of data on larval behaviour traits is a serious impediment to modelling deep-sea ecosystem connectivity; this uncertainty greatly limits our ability to develop ecologically coherent marine protected area networks.

Ocean circulation causes the largest freshening event for 120 years in eastern subpolar North Atlantic.

The Atlantic Ocean overturning circulation is important to the climate system because it carries heat and carbon northward, and from the surface to the deep ocean. The high salinity of the subpolar North Atlantic is a prerequisite for overturning circulation, and strong freshening could herald a slowdown. We show that the eastern subpolar North Atlantic underwent extreme freshening during 2012 to 2016, with a magnitude never seen before in 120 years of measurements. The cause was unusual winter wind patterns driving major changes in ocean circulation, including slowing of the North Atlantic Current and diversion of Arctic freshwater from the western boundary into the eastern basins. We find that wind-driven routing of Arctic-origin freshwater intimately links conditions on the North West Atlantic shelf and slope region with the eastern subpolar basins. This reveals the importance of atmospheric forcing of intra-basin circulation in determining the salinity of the subpolar North Atlantic.

Assessing Wellbeing in People Living with Dementia Using Reminiscence Music with a Mobile App (Memory Tracks): A Mixed Methods Cohort Study.

The number of people living with dementia is growing, leading to increasing pressure upon care providers. The mechanisms to reduce symptoms of dementia can take many forms and have the aim of improving the wellbeing and quality of life of the person living with dementia and those who care for them. Besides the person who has dementia, the condition has a profound impact upon their loved ones and carers. One therapeutic approach is the use of music, an area recognised as having potential benefit, but requiring further research. The present paper reports upon a mixed methods cohort study that examines the use of a musical mobile app as a way to promote song-task association in people living with dementia. The study took place in care home environments in the UK. A total of fourteen participants (N = 14) were recruited. Quantitative measurements were taken on a daily basis prior to, and during, use of the mobile app over several weeks. Metrics came from the complete Self-Assessment Manikin scale (arousal, valence, and dominance), and a subset of three from the Quality of Life in Alzheimer's Disease questionnaire (physical health, memory, and life as a whole). Subsequently, semistructured interviews were conducted with staff at the care home to assess the impact of the app upon their role and the residents they care for. No significant differences were found in the combined quantitative measures for the ten (n = 10) sets of responses sufficient to be analysed. However, the qualitative results suggest that use of the mobile app produced positive changes in terms of behaviour, ability, and routine in the life of residents living with dementia. These findings contribute to the growing body of evidence-based research in the field of musical therapies for reducing symptoms of dementia and highlight elements where further study is warranted.

Analyses of Sustained Vowels in Down Syndrome (DS): A Case Study Using Spectrograms and Perturbation Data to Investigate Voice Quality in Four Adults With DS.

OBJECTIVES: Automatic acoustic measures of voice quality in people with Down syndrome (DS) do not reliably reflect perceived voice qualities. This study used acoustic data and visual spectral data to investigate the relationship between perceived voice qualities and acoustic measures. STUDY DESIGN: Participants were four young adults (two males, two females; mean age 23.8 years) with DS and severe learning disabilities, at least one of whom had a hearing impairment. METHODS: Participants imitated sustained /i/, /u/, and /a/ vowels at predetermined target pitches within their vocal range. Medial portions of vowels were analyzed, using Praat, for fundamental frequency, harmonics-to-noise ratio, jitter, and shimmer. Spectrograms were used to identify the presence and the duration of subharmonics at onset and offset, and mid-vowel. The presence of diplophonia was assessed by auditory evaluation. RESULTS: Perturbation data were highest for /a/ vowels and lowest for /u/ vowels. Intermittent productions of subharmonics were evident in spectrograms, some of which coincided with perceived diplophonia. The incidence, location, duration, and intensity of subharmonics differed between the four participants. CONCLUSIONS: Although the acoustic data do not clearly indicate atypical phonation, diplophonia and subharmonics reflect nonmodal phonation. The findings suggest that these may contribute to different perceived voice qualities in the study group and that these qualities may result from intermittent involvement of supraglottal structures. Further research is required to confirm the findings in the wider DS population, and to assess the relationships between voice quality, vowel type, and physiological measures.

A speech-controlled environmental control system for people with severe dysarthria.

Automatic speech recognition (ASR) can provide a rapid means of controlling electronic assistive technology. Off-the-shelf ASR systems function poorly for users with severe dysarthria because of the increased variability of their articulations. We have developed a limited vocabulary speaker dependent speech recognition application which has greater tolerance to variability of speech, coupled with a computerised training package which assists dysarthric speakers to improve the consistency of their vocalisations and provides more data for recogniser training. These applications, and their implementation as the interface for a speech-controlled environmental control system (ECS), are described. The results of field trials to evaluate the training program and the speech-controlled ECS are presented. The user-training phase increased the recognition rate from 88.5% to 95.4% (p<0.001). Recognition rates were good for people with even the most severe dysarthria in everyday usage in the home (mean word recognition rate 86.9%). Speech-controlled ECS were less accurate (mean task completion accuracy 78.6% versus 94.8%) but were faster to use than switch-scanning systems, even taking into account the need to repeat unsuccessful operations (mean task completion time 7.7s versus 16.9s, p<0.001). It is concluded that a speech-controlled ECS is a viable alternative to switch-scanning systems for some people with severe dysarthria and would lead, in many cases, to more efficient control of the home.

Cloud-Based Speech Technology for Assistive Technology Applications (CloudCAST).

The CloudCAST platform provides a series of speech recognition services that can be integrated into assistive technology applications. The platform and the services provided by the public API are described. Several exemplar applications have been developed to demonstrate the platform to potential developers and users.

What is the potential for context aware communication aids?

Use of voice output communication aids (VOCAs) can be a very effective strategy to assist people with speech impairments in communicating. Despite this, people who use communication aids often express frustration with VOCAs-desiring devices that are simpler, quicker and more effective to use. Whilst it is not possible to resolve all these issues with technology, it is argued that significant progress can be made. The use of contextual information is one development that could improve the simplicity and effectiveness of communication aid design. Improving the effectiveness of communication aids, including through the use of context support, is a goal of the NIHR Devices for Dignity Assistive Technology Theme. This discussion paper examines the potential for creating 'context aware' communication aids. Three projects in which the authors have been involved are described to illustrate different approaches to the use of contextual information.

A voice-input voice-output communication aid for people with severe speech impairment.

A new form of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) device for people with severe speech impairment-the voice-input voice-output communication aid (VIVOCA)-is described. The VIVOCA recognizes the disordered speech of the user and builds messages, which are converted into synthetic speech. System development was carried out employing user-centered design and development methods, which identified and refined key requirements for the device. A novel methodology for building small vocabulary, speaker-dependent automatic speech recognizers with reduced amounts of training data, was applied. Experiments showed that this method is successful in generating good recognition performance (mean accuracy 96%) on highly disordered speech, even when recognition perplexity is increased. The selected message-building technique traded off various factors including speed of message construction and range of available message outputs. The VIVOCA was evaluated in a field trial by individuals with moderate to severe dysarthria and confirmed that they can make use of the device to produce intelligible speech output from disordered speech input. The trial highlighted some issues which limit the performance and usability of the device when applied in real usage situations, with mean recognition accuracy of 67% in these circumstances. These limitations will be addressed in future work.

Observed flow compensation associated with the MOC at 26.5 degrees N in the Atlantic.

The Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (MOC), which provides one-quarter of the global meridional heat transport, is composed of a number of separate flow components. How changes in the strength of each of those components may affect that of the others has been unclear because of a lack of adequate data. We continuously observed the MOC at 26.5 degrees N for 1 year using end-point measurements of density, bottom pressure, and ocean currents; cable measurements across the Straits of Florida; and wind stress. The different transport components largely compensate for each other, thus confirming the validity of our monitoring approach. The MOC varied over the period of observation by +/-5.7 x 10(6) cubic meters per second, with density-inferred and wind-driven transports contributing equally to it. We find evidence for depth-independent compensation for the wind-driven surface flow.

Temporal variability of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation at 26.5 degrees N.

The vigor of Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (MOC) is thought to be vulnerable to global warming, but its short-term temporal variability is unknown so changes inferred from sparse observations on the decadal time scale of recent climate change are uncertain. We combine continuous measurements of the MOC (beginning in 2004) using the purposefully designed transatlantic Rapid Climate Change array of moored instruments deployed along 26.5 degrees N, with time series of Gulf Stream transport and surface-layer Ekman transport to quantify its intra-annual variability. The year-long average overturning is 18.7 +/- 5.6 sverdrups (Sv) (range: 4.0 to 34.9 Sv, where 1 Sv = a flow of ocean water of 10(6) cubic meters per second). Interannual changes in the overturning can be monitored with a resolution of 1.5 Sv.

An audio-visual corpus for speech perception and automatic speech recognition.

An audio-visual corpus has been collected to support the use of common material in speech perception and automatic speech recognition studies. The corpus consists of high-quality audio and video recordings of 1000 sentences spoken by each of 34 talkers. Sentences are simple, syntactically identical phrases such as "place green at B 4 now". Intelligibility tests using the audio signals suggest that the material is easily identifiable in quiet and low levels of stationary noise. The annotated corpus is available on the web for research use.

Automatic speech recognition and training for severely dysarthric users of assistive technology: the STARDUST project.

The STARDUST project developed robust computer speech recognizers for use by eight people with severe dysarthria and concomitant physical disability to access assistive technologies. Independent computer speech recognizers trained with normal speech are of limited functional use by those with severe dysarthria due to limited and inconsistent proximity to "normal" articulatory patterns. Severe dysarthric output may also be characterized by a small mass of distinguishable phonetic tokens making the acoustic differentiation of target words difficult. Speaker dependent computer speech recognition using Hidden Markov Models was achieved by the identification of robust phonetic elements within the individual speaker output patterns. A new system of speech training using computer generated visual and auditory feedback reduced the inconsistent production of key phonetic tokens over time.