Utilizing Speech Emotion Recognition and Recommender Systems for Negative Emotion Handling in Therapy Chatbots

Emotional well-being significantly influences mental health and overall quality of life. As therapy chatbots become increasingly prevalent, their ability to comprehend and respond empathetically to users' emotions remains limited. This paper addresses this limitation by proposing an approach to enhance therapy chatbots with auditory perception, enabling them to understand users' feelings and provide human-like empathy. The proposed method incorporates speech emotion recognition (SER) techniques using Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) models and the ShEMO dataset to accurately detect and classify negative emotions, including anger, fear, and sadness. The SER model achieves a validation accuracy of 88%, demonstrating its effectiveness in recognizing emotional states from speech signals. Furthermore, a recommender system is developed, leveraging the SER model's output to generate personalized recommendations for managing negative emotions, for which a new bilingual dataset was generated as well since there is no such dataset available for this task. The recommender model achieves an accuracy of 98% by employing a combination of global vectors for word representation (GloVe) and LSTM models. To provide a more immersive and empathetic user experience, a text-to-speech model called GlowTTS is integrated, enabling the therapy chatbot to audibly communicate the generated recommendations to users in both English and Persian. The proposed approach offers promising potential to enhance therapy chatbots by providing them with the ability to recognize and respond to users' emotions, ultimately improving the delivery of mental health support for both English and Persian-speaking users.Comment: Accepted at the First National Conference of Artificial Intelligence and Software Engineerin

Diagnostic value of NIPT assay for fetal aneuploidy screening in pregnant women with moderate risk of trisomy in first stage screening

Introduction: Aneuploidies are of the most important fetal abnormalities. Diagnostic value and efficacy of NIPT assay in the groups with abnormal results for first trimester combined screening test is not well defined. Therefore, this study was performed aimed to survey the sensitivity and specificity of NIPT for aneuploidies diagnosis in women with moderate risk for trisomy at first trimester combined screening test. Methods: This prospective cohort study was performed in 2017-2018 on 447 women with singleton pregnancy and gestational age of 11 to 13 weeks and 6 days who had moderate risk for trisomy. NIPT analysis was done in all women with moderate risk (1/250 to 1/1500) and was compared with the results from karyotype and phenotype analysis in neonates. NIPT diagnostic accuracy for chromosomal abnormalities was calculated. Data were analyzed using SPSS statistical software (version 22). Results: Two cases with trisomy 21 (0.06%) and one case with trisomy 18 (0.03%) were diagnosed. These three cases were confirmed with amniocentesis and the pregnancy was ended. The neonates' analysis showed normal phenotype results in all of them and NIPT diagnostic accuracy for trisomy 21 and 18 was calculated 100%. Conclusion: In addition to maintain combined screening test benefits, using NIPT is accompanied by high diagnostic accuracy for fetal chromosomal abnormalities assessment

The effects of Valerian on sleep spindles in a model of neuropathic pain

Introduction: Valeriana officinalis is known to be one of the most famous herbal supplements for the treatment of anxiety and insomnia. Despite its widespread use in most countries all around the world, there is little scientific information and research on how this medication affects sleep patterns, and there are almost no studies on its effects on the characteristics of sleep spindles. Material and Methods: The present study was conducted to investigate the effects of Valerian extract (VAL) on sleep spindles and induced anxiety in chronic neuropathic pain model in rats. 24 male rats were divided into three groups: neuropathic group (n=9) in which the rats underwent chronic constriction injury (CCI), sham group (n=7) in which the sciatic nerves of the animals were exposed without any constriction and also fed with the vehicle, and the third group was under CCI condition and treated with Valerian (n=8). All the rats underwent electrode implant surgery so that we could record electroencephalogram and electromyography waves. In all the three groups, EEG and EMG recordings were recorded three times (150min each time). The initial recording was just prior to the CCI surgery and the rest were 3 and 6 days following CCI surgery. Moreover, cold allodynia and elevated plus maze tests were performed 3 and 6 days following the CCI surgery. Results: Valerian treatment could repair the allodynia induced by neuropathy. On the other hand, by Valerian treatment (400mg/kg) during neuropathy, the REM sleep, decreased and the non-REM sleep increased. Moreover, there was an increment in sleep spindle density and spindle frequency even in neuropathic condition. Discussion: This herbal supplement improves the quality of sleep in neuropathy conditions

The Neuroprotective Effect of Cannabinoid Receptor Agonist (WIN55,212-2) in Paraoxon Induced Neurotoxicity in PC12 Cells and N-methyl-D-aspartate Receptor Interaction

Objective: Considering that cannabinoids protect neurons against neurodegeneration, inthis study, the neuroprotective effect of WIN55,212-2 in paraoxon induced neurotoxicity inPC12 cells and the role of the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor were evaluated.Materials and Methods: In this study PC12 cells were maintained in Dulbecco's modifiedeagle’s medium (DMEM+F12) culture medium supplemented with 10% fetal bovineserum. The cells were treated with paraoxon (200 μM) in the presence or absence ofWIN55,212-2 (0.1 μM), NMDA receptor agonist NMDA (100 μM), cannabinoid receptorantagonist AM251 and NMDA receptor antagonist MK801 (1 μM) at 15 minutes intervals.After 48 hours of exposure, cellular viability and protein expression of the CB1 receptorwere evaluated in PC12 cells.Results: Following the exposure of PC12 cells to paraoxon (200 μM), a reduction in cellsurvival and protein level of the CB1 receptor was observed (p<0.01). Treatment of thecells with WIN55,212-2 (0.1 μM) and NMDA (100 μM) prior to paraoxon exposure significantlyelevated cell survival and protein level of the CB1 receptor (p<0.01). Also, AM251(1μM) did not inhibit the cell survival and protein level of the CB1 receptor increase inducedby WIN55,212-2 (p<0.001). However, MK801 (1 μM) did inhibit cell survival andprotein expression of the CB1 receptor increase induced by NMDA (p<0.001).Conclusion: The results indicate that WIN55,212-2 and NMDA protect PC12 cellsagainst paraoxon induced toxicity. In addition, the neuroprotective effect of WIN55,212-2and NMDA was cannabinoid receptor-independent and NMDA receptor dependent, respectively

Lavender Oil Aromatherapy on Infantile Colic and Maternal Mood: A Double Blind Randomized Clinical Trial

Background: Excessive crying is a self-limiting problem and disappears in a few weeks, however, it can be irritating for the parents, leading to maternal depression or exhaustion, and stress in the parents. The study evaluated the effect of lavender oil inhalation on duration of daily crying in the infants who suffered infantile colic. Methods: In this double blind randomized clinical trial, the main inclusion criteria were: healthy infants, no consumption of any drugs for infantile colic, healthy mothers, having one crying episode ≥ 2 hours per day (prolonged crying). The intervention group received inhalation of lavender oil and the control group received sweet almond oil for seven days. Duration of crying in the four parts of a day (morning, afternoon, evening, and night) was gathered by phone call. Also, maternal mood score was assessed at baseline and 7th day of intervention by the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression scale. Results: At baseline, the two groups were not different in relation to infant’s crying duration. However, they were significantly different after intervention in all seven days of the study (p<0.001). Also, using repeated measures analysis, the difference between the two groups was significant (p<0.001). After intervention, there was fewer prolonged crying in the lavender group compared to the control group. In lavender group, maternal mood score was significantly lower than the control group on the 7th day of intervention (p<0.001). Conclusion: The results suggest that a 1% concentration of the lavender oil can alleviate the colic symptoms and results in maternal mood improvement

Growth, reproduction and feeding biology of an endemic Sucker Catfish, Glyptothorax silviae Coad, 1981 (Actinopterygii: Sisoridae), in the Maroon River, Iran

This study was carried out to provide some information on the biological features of the endemic Sucker Catfish, Glyptothorax silviae, from the Maroon River in the Tigris basin, Iran. Samples were collected at monthly intervals throughout the year and 277 individuals of G. silviae were caught. The mean total length and weight were 8.1 ± 1.7 (±SD) cm and 5.8 ± 3.5 (±SD) g and maximum length and weight were 11.9 cm and 17.4 g, respectively. Length-Weight relationship of the total specimens was calculated as W = 0.006 TL3.205, (R2 = 0.956) indicating allometric growth and was not significantly different between males and females. The overall condition factor was 0.62. The sex-ratio (1.23M:1F) was not significantly different from the expected 1:1 ratio. Glyptothorax silviae reproduces during June-September. Absolute and relative fecundity was 1129 eggs/fish and 105 eggs/g body weight, respectively. The egg size ranged from 0.994 to 1.76 mm with a mean value of 1.29 ± 0.171 (±SD) mm. The highest values of gonadosomatic index were observed in June-July. The gut content analysis revealed that G. silviae feeds only on aquatic insects

Electrophysiological analysis of ENG signals in patients with Covid-19

Background: Currently, there is an increasing number of patients reporting dizziness, which has resulted in a positive COVID-19 PCR test. In this paper, we analyzed the ENG signals recorded from patients with a positive COVID-19 PCR test. Methods: In this paper, both linear and nonlinear analyses of time series were employed to determine the regularity and complexity of a recorded ENG signal. Results: The Wilcoxon rank-sum test indicated that the COVID-19 and non-COVID groups have significant differences based on different extracted features. Various machine learning methods including Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA), Naïve Base (NB), K-nearest Neighbours (KNN), and Support Vector Machines (SVM) were used to classify COVID-19 and non-COVID groups. The best accuracy, precision and FCR achieved by SVM are 86%, 91% and 0.13. Conclusion: In this study, ENG signals were recorded from COVID-19 and control groups. Linear and non-linear features were extracted from the recorded signals to identify significantly different features. Subjects were classified based on SVM and different classifiers. The SVM (polynomial kernel) classifier showed the best result. The proposed method had not been used for the classification of COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 subjects before. This work helps other researchers conduct more research on the development of machine learning methods to diagnose the COVID-19 virus using ENG and other physiological signals

The relationship between perceived stress and pregnancy distress with self‐care of pregnant women: The mediating role of social support—A cross‐sectional study

Abstract Background and Aims Pregnancy is a stressful experience, which can affect different aspects of a woman's life. Yet, women with a supportive network of friends and family may experience lower stress and improved self‐care behavior. The study aimed to investigate the relationship between perceived stress and pregnancy distress with the self‐care of pregnant women, as well as the mediating role of social support. Methods This cross‐sectional study was conducted from February to May 2022 in Babol, Iran. A total of 157 pregnant women participated in the study. The participants completed five questionnaires, including a demographic and obstetric questionnaire, a Self‐care questionnaire, Perceived Social support (PSS), Perceived Stress Inventory (PSI), and Pregnancy Specific Distress. Structural equation modeling was used to test the hypothesis relationships among the variables. Results We found that Perceived stress (β = −0.221, p = 0.012β) and pregnancy distress (β = −0.203, p = 0.002β) had a negative and significant effect on the self‐care of pregnant women. Also, perceived stress (β = −0.429, p < 0.001β) and pregnancy distress (β = −0.381, p < 0.001β) had a negative and significant effect on the social support of pregnant women. The results exhibited a significant specific indirect effect between pregnancy distress, perceived stress, and pregnancy self‐care, with social support as the mediator: standardized indirect effect = −0.068, −0.076, respectively. Conclusion According to the findings, social support plays a direct and mediating role in improving self‐care behaviors among pregnant women. Therefore, providing strategies and measures to improve perceived social support by maternal health professionals may be expected to reduce the impact of stress on pregnant women's self‐care. The implementation of policies and social interventions to improve the social support of pregnant women can be one of the applications of the findings