Enhancing the Prediction of Emotional Experience in Movies using Deep Neural Networks: The Significance of Audio and Language

Our paper focuses on making use of deep neural network models to accurately predict the range of human emotions experienced during watching movies. In this certain setup, there exist three clear-cut input modalities that considerably influence the experienced emotions: visual cues derived from RGB video frames, auditory components encompassing sounds, speech, and music, and linguistic elements encompassing actors' dialogues. Emotions are commonly described using a two-factor model including valence (ranging from happy to sad) and arousal (indicating the intensity of the emotion). In this regard, a Plethora of works have presented a multitude of models aiming to predict valence and arousal from video content. However, non of these models contain all three modalities, with language being consistently eliminated across all of them. In this study, we comprehensively combine all modalities and conduct an analysis to ascertain the importance of each in predicting valence and arousal. Making use of pre-trained neural networks, we represent each input modality in our study. In order to process visual input, we employ pre-trained convolutional neural networks to recognize scenes[1], objects[2], and actions[3,4]. For audio processing, we utilize a specialized neural network designed for handling sound-related tasks, namely SoundNet[5]. Finally, Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers (BERT) models are used to extract linguistic features[6] in our analysis. We report results on the COGNIMUSE dataset[7], where our proposed model outperforms the current state-of-the-art approaches. Surprisingly, our findings reveal that language significantly influences the experienced arousal, while sound emerges as the primary determinant for predicting valence. In contrast, the visual modality exhibits the least impact among all modalities in predicting emotions

Studying Bankruptcy of Companies Falling into the Liquidity Trap in Tehran Stock Exchange

Improper working capital policies may put companies in a situation where they may have difficulty securing their cash resources; in the financial sector, this is called a liquidity trap. The liquidity trap implies the inability of companies to provide cash resources due to inappropriate working capital policies. Theoretically speaking, companies falling into the liquidity trap have difficulty in fulfilling their obligations and paying off debts, due to applying proper liquidity policies; resulting from lack of cash flows or cash outflows, due to the internal or external factors, they are subject to financial limitations and ultimately bankruptcy. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether the companies listed in the Tehran Stock Exchange that have been fallen in the liquidity trap, eventually go bankrupt; using the data of 206 companies in the period of 2008-2017 and based on the liquidity trap prediction model of Vakili Fard et al., the financial limitation prediction models of Kaplan and Zingales, Witedo and modified Kaplan and Zingales, as well as modified Altman bankruptcy prediction models and genetic algorithm, we examined this hypothesis. Confirming the research hypothesis, it was concluded that companies with liquidity trap go bankrupt, unless they reform or change their working capital policies

Efficiency of Different Anti-Dust Agents in Reducing Dust Emission from Forest Road and Deposition on Leaf Surface

Dust is often generated from the dry surfaces of unpaved forest roads as a result of vehicular traffic. Dust particles can negatively affect vegetative growth, water quality and road traffic quality. In this study, some environmental friendly anti-dust agents including sugar cane molasses, polyacrylamide (PAM) and bentonite were used to control dust emission from the road surface under three different concentrations within the 3, 9, 27 and 81 day timeframe. Rear-mounted spray system and dustometer devices were used for implementation of treatments and dust emission recording, respectively. Leaf samples were collected from trees adjacent to road to measure the dust deposited on the leaves by centrifuging dust solution. The results showed that molasses achieved higher efficiencies in term of dust reduction and cost effectiveness than those of PAM and bentonite in Loveh forest, where high levels of fines are present in the road surface materials. 2% and 4% PAM were the most efficient dosages in terms of dust control and cost effectiveness in Shastkalateh and Kouhmian forests, respectively. It was detected that in all sites most of the dust emitted from the road surface was deposited on the leaves of Carpinus betulus L. and Alnus subcordata L., while smooth surface of the leaves retained lower amount of dust in Parrotia persica CAM. It is concluded that the amount of fine aggregates in surfacing materials, type and dosage of anti-dust agent play an important role in the effectiveness and longevity of treatment

Altered Immune Responses in Mice After Receiving Nicotine-pulsed Mesenchymal Stem Cell-conditioned Medium

Introduction: Previous investigations have documented that nicotine-pulsed mesenchymalstem cells (MSCs) can induce an anti-inflammatory phenotype in some immune cells in vitro.This study aimed to assess the effects of nicotine-pulsed MSCS in the function of immunecells, macrophages, and lymphocytes of mice receiving these cels.Materials and Methods: Bone marrow-derived MSCs (1.5×106) were seeded in a T75flaskand incubated with 0, .1, .5, or 1 μM nicotine until the cells reached 90% confluency.Afterwards, immunophenotyping change, vitality, concentration of TGF-β, IL-10, and IDOlevels of the MSC-conditioned medium were examined. Correspondent to in vitro results, theC57BL/6 mice intravenously received 400 μL of the conditioned medium of MSCs (CM),conditioned medium of nicotine (.5 μM)-pulsed MSCs (CMN), or medium. After 12 h, thelymphocytes, neutrophils, and peritoneal macrophages of the mice were isolated and theirfunction was evaluated ex vivo.Results: The least effective dose concentration of nicotine that led to an anti-inflammatoryenvironment by the MSC-conditioned medium was 0.5 μM. Nicotine at this concentrationprompted a higher level of TGF-β, IDO concentration in the conditioned medium. However,this concentration did not affect the MScs’ markers expressions or MScs’ vitality. T lymphocytesisolated from the mice receiving CMN showed a significant decrease in proliferation rate. Theratio of the IFN-γ gene expression to IL-4 gene expression in splenocytes was significantlyreduced in the mice receiving CMN compared to the mice receiving CM. The neutral reduptake, respiratory burst, and nitric oxide production of the peritoneal macrophage onlydecreased in the mice treated with CMN. These factors also decreased in neutrophils isolatedfrom mice receiving CM or CMN. However, these decreases were more prominent in the micetreated with CMN.Conclusion: Treatment of MSCs by nicotine may be a promising strategy to enhance theimmunomodulatory properties of these cells

Is arthrocentesis of temporomandibular joint with corticosteroids beneficial? A systematic review

Temporomandibular disorders (TMDs) are musculoskeletal conditions that can inhibit the normal function of temporomandibular joints (TMJs) and affect the patient?s quality of life, negatively. Arthrocentesis (AC) is a minimally invasive surgical procedure used for treating TMDs. The aim of present paper is to evaluate the advantages of administrating corticosteroid (CS) during AC by reviewing high quality released articles. After initial search, a total of 2067 articles were included into the study. Finally, 7 studies were reliable enough in methodology and randomization to be included into the study. All of the observed studies showed improvements in jaw functions and pain relief with no statistical differences in both AC and control groups. One study reported painless maximum incisal opening in CS group than the control group. Based on available RCTs, the AC of TMJ with CS seems to result in similar findings to other therapeutic drugs, with no significant differences

Molecular Characterization of Mitochondrial Cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (Cox1) gene from Trichostrongylus Species (Nematoda: Trichostrongylidae) in Northern Iran

Objective: The objective of the present study was to identify Trichostrongylus species by molecular analysis and also phylogenetic relationships of Trichostrongylus species by mitochondrial Cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (Cox1) gene in Guilan province, northern Iran. Methods: Abomasum and duodenum contents of 144 livestock were collected from sheep, goats, and cattle in Guilan province. Morphological survey was performed for initial screening. Total DNA was extracted, and the partial region of Cox1 gene was amplified and sequenced. Genetic diversity was calculated and phylogenetic analysis of the data on nucleotide sequence was conducted by MEGA7 software. Results: Three species of Trichostrongylus including T. colubriformis, T. vitrinus, and T. axei were identified by morphological characteristics. The genetic divergence within the species in the present study was observed for T. axei (0-2.5%), T. colubriformis (0.77%), and T. vitrinus (0%). The mean inter-species difference between the three species of Trichostrongylus obtained in this study was 14.4-15.4%. Conclusion: The Cox1 sequences of the members of Trichostrongylus spp. were highly variable and this could be used as a valuable measure to achieve a proper assessment on biodiversity. Sequence data generation from other species of Trichostrongylus will be needed to reconstruct the phylogenetic relationships of this genus of nematodes. Keywords: Trichostrongylus spp., ruminants, Cox1, phylogenetic analysis, Ira