This paper examines the use of multisensory virtual reality (VR) as a novel approach in psychological therapy for autobiographical memory retrieval with benefits for cognitive enhancement, stress reduction, etc. Previous studies demonstrated improved outcomes in treating various psychological conditions (affective disorders and PTSD). Technological advancements in VR, such as olfactory integration, can contribute to the realism and therapeutic potential of these environments. The integration of various physical stimuli with VR holds promising potential for psychological therapies and highlights the need for further interdisciplinary research. In this pilot study, we tested the efficacy of a new system for triggering autobiographical memory retrieval. For this, we used images combined with odors in a congruent manner and offering participants the chance to interact with the VR environment by using two virtual hands. We evaluated the efficacy of this system using qualitative methods, with emphasis on the evaluation of the emotions associated with memory recollection and the ease of triggering memories. All participants in our pilot study experienced intense emotions related to childhood or adolescence, and the pleasant feelings they had during the experiment persisted even after it ended. This is an advancement to what exists currently and provides original research elements for our paper.

In this paper, we describe an actuator-based EMDR (eye movement desensitization and reprocessing) virtual assistant system that can be used for the treatment of participants with traumatic memories. EMDR is a psychological therapy designed to treat emotional distress caused by a traumatic event from the past, most frequently in post-traumatic stress disorder treatment. We implemented a system based on video, tactile, and audio actuators which includes an artificial intelligence chatbot, making the system capable of acting autonomously. We tested the system on a sample of 31 participants. Our results showed the efficiency of the EMDR virtual assistant system in reducing anxiety, distress, and negative cognitions and emotions associated with the traumatic memory. There are no such systems reported in the existing literature. Through the present research, we fill this gap by describing a system that can be used by patients with traumatic memories.

This study explores pollution detection and classification in the Shatt al-Arab River using advanced image processing techniques. Our proposed system integrates Random Forest (RF), Support Vector Machine (SVM), and K-Nearest Neighbor (KNN) algorithms. The Shatt al-Arab River in Basra, Iraq, faces increasing pollution from human activities, including oil spills, debris, and wastewater. We conducted extensive surveys of the river and its tributaries using a DJI Mavic drone, amassing over 1000 images to train machine learning models. The results indicate that RF excels with 94% accuracy for oil spills, 92% for wastewater, and 95% for debris. SVM also performs well, achieving 92%, 88%, and 94% accuracy for the respective pollutants. KNN, though insightful, lags with 85%, 89%, and 86% accuracy. Trained on this novel image dataset, these models show promising accuracy in detecting various pollution types from drone footage.

This paper examines the use of multisensory virtual reality (VR) as a novel approach in psychological therapy for autobiographical memory retrieval with benefits for cognitive enhancement, stress reduction etc. The research in this paper was done under Romanian Arut Research Grant no. 27/09/10/2023 ”Intelligent VR system for treating autobiographical/episodic memory deficits". By simulating realistic multisensory experiences, VR technology offers an immersive environment that surpasses traditional therapeutic methods in effectiveness. Previous studies demonstrate improved outcomes in treating various psychological conditions (affective disorders and PTSD, specific phobias and age-related cognitive decline). Technological advancements in VR, such as olfactory integration cand contribute to the realism and therapeutic potential of these environments, the integration of various physical stimuli with VR holds promising potential psychological therapies and highlighting the need for further interdisciplinary research. In this pilot study we tested the efficacy of a new system for triggering autobiographical memory retrieval. For this we used images combined with odors in a congruent manner and offering participants the chance to interact with the VR environment by using 2 virtual hands. We evaluated the efficacy of this system using qualitative methods with emphasis on the evaluation of the emotions associated with memory recollection and the ease of triggering memories. All participants in our pilot study experienced intense emotions related to childhood or adolescence and the pleasant feelings they had during the experiment persisted even after it ended. This is an advancement to what exists currently and original research elements for our paper.

Introduction: Depression is one of the most common mental disorders and one that has a great potential to affect people mentally, physically, and socially. Unfortunately, a majority of people either do not have access to treatment or avoid seeking help. In this context, many platforms have emerged to provide a space for discussion and support where users can interact anonymously. Methods: This study presents the results of our research on classifying depression in a specific community of religious people by analyzing texts posted on social media using semantic techniques, such as a comparative analysis of texts from users using ontologies. A supporting objective of the research was to create a natural language processing tool for classifying depression to obtain the corpus necessary for ontology creation. Results: The resulting ontologies were analyzed and compared with each other and also with existing ontologies in the literature on general depression. Discussion: The comparison was both qualitative and quantitative, taking into consideration similarity ratios for the quantitative comparison.