Filled Pauses Produced by Autistic Adults Differ in Prosodic Realisation, but not Rate or Lexical Type

We examined the use of filled pauses in conversations between homogeneous pairs of autistic and non-autistic adults. A corpus of semi-spontaneous speech was used to analyse the rate, lexical type (nasal "uhm" or non-nasal "uh"), and prosodic realisation (rising, level or falling) of filled pauses. We used Bayesian modelling for statistical analysis. We found an identical rate of filled pauses and an equivalent preference of "uhm" over "uh" across groups, but also a robust group-level difference regarding the intonational realisation of filled pauses: non-autistic controls produced a considerably higher proportion of filled pause tokens realised with the canonical level pitch contour than autistic speakers. Despite the fact that filled pauses are a frequent and impactful part of speech, previous work on their conversational use in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is limited. Our account is the first to analyse the intonational realisation of filled pauses in ASD and the first to investigate conversations between autistic adults in this context. Our results on rate and lexical type can help to contextualise previous research, while the novel findings on intonational realisation set the stage for future investigations.

Time-series data prediction problem analysis through multilayered intuitionistic fuzzy sets

For several years, time-series prediction seems to have been a popular research topic. Sales plans, ECG forecasts, meteorological circumstances, and even COVID-19 spreading projections are among its uses. These implementations have inspired several scientists to develop an optimum forecasting method; however, the modeling method varies as the implementation domain evolves. Telemetry data prediction is an important component of networking and information center control software. As a generalization of such a fuzzy system, the concept of an intuitionistic fuzzified set was created, which has proven to become a highly valuable tool in dealing with indeterminacy (hesitation) as in-network. Indeterminacy is frequently overlooked in applying fuzzified time-series prediction for no obvious cause. We introduce the concept of intuitionistic fuzzified time series within a current study to deal with non-determinism with time-series prediction. Also, it seems to be an intuitionistic fuzzified time-series prediction framework. Using time-series information, the suggested intuitionistic fuzzified time-series predicting approach employs intuitionistic fuzzified logical relationships. The suggested method's effectiveness is tested using two-time sequence data sets. By contrasting the predicted result with some other intuitionistic timing series predicting techniques utilizing root-mean-square inaccuracy and averaged predicting errors, the usefulness of the suggested intuitionistic fuzzified time-series predicting approach is demonstrated.

The light is red: Uncertainty behaviours displayed by pedestrians during illegal road crossing

Road accidents involving pedestrians are a reality of urban life. Pedestrian risk is now well known and documented from the perspective of drivers. However, pedestrian behaviour plays a central role in road accidents, notably in terms of illegal road crossing at signalized intersections. This study focuses on pedestrians crossing illegally at a signal light, and specifically investigates uncertainty behaviour, also referred to as hesitation, which occurs when a pedestrian slows down or stops his/her crossing movement then (1) abandons the crossing by returning to the kerb or (2) accelerates to cross the road more quickly. We sought to understand the causes of this behaviour in France and Japan, two countries where interesting differences have already been demonstrated in the way pedestrians behave. The results show a longer period of uncertainty for pedestrians in Japan compared to France. Japanese pedestrians also hesitated longer when they were alone. This study demonstrates a tendency to speed up if there are a number of pedestrians already crossing the road, but abandoning behaviours were more frequently observed than acceleration. This study confirms that pedestrians may misevaluate the moment to cross and hesitate when they realise that they have made a mistake, thus increasing the risk of an accident. These results could help to find solutions that prevent illegal and dangerous road-crossing behaviours.

Clinical Characteristics and Lesions Responsible for Swallowing Hesitation After Acute Cerebral Infarction

Some stroke patients with a unilateral lesion demonstrate acute dysphagia characterized by a markedly prolonged swallowing time, making us think they are reluctant to swallow. In order to clarify the clinical characteristics and causative lesions of delayed swallowing, we conducted a retrospective analysis of 20 right-handed patients without a history of swallowing dysfunction who underwent videofluorography on suspicion of dysphagia after a first ischemic stroke. The oral processing time plus the postfaucial aggregation time required to swallow jelly for patients classified as having delayed swallowing was over 10 s. The time required for swallowing jelly was significantly longer than that without the hesitation (median value, 24.1 vs. 8.9 s, P < 0.001). The oral processing time plus the postfaucial aggregation time required for patients with delayed swallowing to swallow thickened water was largely over 5 s and significantly longer than that of patients without swallowing hesitation (median value, 10.2 vs. 3.3 s, P < 0.001). Swallowing hesitation caused by acute unilateral infarction could be separated into two different patterns. Because four of the five patients with a rippling tongue movement in the swallowing hesitation pattern had a lesion in the left primary motor cortex, which induces some kinds of apraxia, swallowing hesitation with a rippling tongue movement seems to be a representative characteristic of apraxia. The patients with swallowing hesitation with a temporary stasis of the tongue in this study tended to have broad lesions in the frontal lobe, especially in the middle frontal gyrus, which is thought to be involved in higher cognition.

Hesitation and error: Does product placement in an emergency department influence hand hygiene performance?

BACKGROUND

Existing research has consistently demonstrated poor compliance by health care workers with hand hygiene standards. This study examined the extent to which incorrect hand hygiene occurred as a result of the inability to easily distinguish between different hand hygiene solutions placed at washbasins.

METHODS

A direct observational method was used using ceiling-mounted, motion-activated video camera surveillance in a tertiary referral emergency department in Australia. Data from a 24-hour period on day 10 of the recordings were collected into the Hand Hygiene-Technique Observation Tool based on Feldman's criteria as modified by Larson and Lusk.

RESULTS

A total of 459 episodes of hand hygiene were recorded by 6 video cameras in the 24-hour period. The observed overall rate of error in this study was 6.2% (27 episodes). In addition an overall rate of hesitation was 5.8% (26 episodes). There was no statistically significant difference in error rates with the 2 hand washbasin configurations.

CONCLUSION

The amelioration of causes of error and hesitation by standardization of the appearance and relative positioning of hand hygiene solutions at washbasins may translate in to improved hand hygiene behaviors. Placement of moisturizer at the washbasin may not be essential.