Native Language Identification on Text and Speech

This paper presents an ensemble system combining the output of multiple SVM classifiers to native language identification (NLI). The system was submitted to the NLI Shared Task 2017 fusion track which featured students essays and spoken responses in form of audio transcriptions and iVectors by non-native English speakers of eleven native languages. Our system competed in the challenge under the team name ZCD and was based on an ensemble of SVM classifiers trained on character n-grams achieving 83.58% accuracy and ranking 3rd in the shared task.Comment: Proceedings of the Workshop on Innovative Use of NLP for Building Educational Applications (BEA

Water pollution with fluoride in the republic of moldova and its impact on oral health

Calitatea apei, în special calitatea apei potabile, este una dintre cele mai esențiale cerințe pentru supraviețuirea nu numai a omenirii, ci și a întregii vieți terestre de pe Pământ. Ca factor determinant al sănătății, calitatea apei potabile trebuie să corespundă reglementărilor sanitare, iar încălcarea regimului de protecție a apei are ca rezultat poluare. Poluarea apei este una dintre amenințările majore la adresa sănătății publice din Republica Moldova. Potrivit datelor compilate de Centrul Yale pentru Drept și Politică de Mediu, la nivel global, Republica Moldova s-a clasat pe locul 83 din 180 de țări în ceea ce privește calitatea apei potabile, primul loc fiind ocupat de țările cu cea mai înaltă calitate a apei potabile. „Anii de viață standardizați în funcție de vârstă pierduți la 100.000 de oameni din cauza expunerii la apă potabilă nesigură (Rata zilnică)” este o măsură utilizată pentru a evalua calitatea apei. Scorul Daly pentru Republica Moldova în 2022 a fost de 50,0. Republica Moldova este considerată zonă biogeochimică în ceea ce privește unele elemente chimice din mediu, inclusiv conținutul de fluor din apele subterane, sol și, ulterior, în produsele alimentare. Analiza probelor de apă prelevate de Centrul Național de Sănătate Publică din Republica Moldova a demonstrat că în 90% din cazuri, sursele de apă supuse investigațiilor de laborator pentru parametrii microbiologici și chimici (bor, fluor și nitrați) nu îndeplinesc cerințele. Prezentul studiu a fost unul prospectiv, observațional, al cărui obiectiv principal a fost evaluarea caracteristicilor epidemiologice dentare ale copiilor din zona fluoroz-endemică a Republicii Moldova. Studiul a vizat 520 de copii de 12 și 15 ani din raionul Fălești, unde concentrația de fluor în apa potabilă depășește de 16 ori norma admisă de 16,2 ppm/l. Astfel, prevalența fluorozei dentare în această localitate (indice Dean ≥1) a fost de 98,7 pentru copiii de 12 ani și de 100% pentru adolescenții de 15 ani. Prevalența cariei dentare a fost de 51,2% cu o intensitate de 2,1 la copiii de 12 ani, iar la copiii de 15 ani, prevalența a fost de 67,1% cu o intensitate de 3,5. Vârsta copiilor și severitatea fluorozei dentare au fost predictori independenți ai intensității cariilor dentare. Astfel, s-a stabilit o corelație pozitivă între severitatea fluorozei dentare și intensitatea cariilor dentare în ambele loturi de studiu și la toate loturile de dinți. Procentul copiilor cu un indice COAD (dinți cariați, obturați sau absenți) ≥1 a fost mai mare la cei al căror indice Dean a fost ≥ 5 la molarul doi comparativ cu alte grupe de dinți. Concluzie. Fluoroza dentară rămâne cea mai frecventă boală dentară în zonele endemice cu fluoroză, iar severitatea fluorozei crește odată cu creșterea concentrației de fluor în apa de băut. Spre deosebire de opinia stabilită anterior, cariile dentare se dezvoltă și la copiii din zone endemice de fluoroză, iar frecvența și intensitatea acesteia sunt direct corelate cu concentrația de fluor din apa de băut. Cu cât concentrația de fluor este mai mare, cu atât sunt mai mari valorile indicilor de prevalență și intensitatea cariilor dentare. Republica Moldova performează suboptim în prevenirea bolilor orale la populația pediatrică, iar implementarea programelor de prevenire a bolilor dentare ar avea implicații majore pentru îmbunătățirea morbidității dentare.Water quality, especially drinking water quality, is one of the most essential requirements for the survival of not only mankind but all terrestrial life on Earth. As a determining factor of health, the quality of drinking water must correspond to sanitary regulations, and the violation of the water protection regime results in pollution. Water pollution is one of the major threats to public health in the Republic of Moldova. According to data compiled by the Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy, globally, the Republic of Moldova was placed 83rd out of 180 countries in terms of drinking water quality, the first place being occupied by the countries with the highest drinking water quality. The „age-standardized life-years lost per 100,000 people due to exposure to unsafe drinking water (Daily rate)” is a measure used to evaluate the quality of water. The Daly score for the Republic of Moldova in 2022 was 50.0. The Republic of Moldova is considered a biogeochemical zone with regard to some chemical elements in the environment, including the content of fluorine in groundwater, soil, and subsequently in food products. The analysis of water samples taken by the National Public Health Center of the Republic of Moldova demonstrated that in 90% of cases, water sources subjected to laboratory investigations for microbiological and chemical parameters (boron, fluorine, and nitrates) do not meet the requirements. The present study was a prospective, observational one, the main objective of which was to evaluate the epidemiological dental characteristics of children from the fluorosis-endemic area of the Republic of Moldova. The study targeted 520 12- and 15-year-old children from Fălești district, where the fluoride concentration in drinking water exceeds 16 times the permissible norm of 16.2 ppm/l. Thus, the prevalence of dental fluorosis in this locality (Dean index ≥1) was 98.7 for 12-year-old children and 100% for 15-year-old adolescents. The prevalence of dental caries was 51.2% with an intensity of 2.1 for 12-year-old children, and for 15-year-old children, the prevalence was 67.1% with an intensity of 3.5. Children’s age and severity of dental fluorosis were independent predictors of dental caries intensity. Thus, a positive correlation was established between the severity of dental fluorosis and the intensity of dental caries in both study groups and in all groups of teeth. The percentage of children with a COAD index (decayed, filled, or absent teeth) ≥1 was higher in those whose Dean index was ≥ 5 in the second molar compared to other groups of teeth. Conclusion. Dental fluorosis remains the most common dental disease in fluorosis-endemic areas, and the severity of fluorosis increases with increasing fluoride concentrations in drinking water. Contrary to the previously established opinion, tooth decay also develops in children from endemic areas of fluorosis, and its frequency and intensity are directly correlated with the concentration of fluoride in drinking water. The higher the concentration of fluoride, the higher the values of the prevalence indices and intensity of dental caries. Republic of Moldova performs suboptimally in the prevention of oral diseases in the pediatric population, and the implementation of dental disease prevention programs would have major implications for improving dental morbidity

Risk of vertical transmission of chronic viral infections after invasive prenatal procedures

Objectives: Invasive prenatal procedures including amniocentesis, chorionic villus sampling (CVS) can be prenatally indicated for diagnostic purposes. Chronic viral infections with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), hepatitis B virus (HBV) are not uncommon in women of reproductive age. The aim of this narrative literature review is to provide guidance on the best clinical practice in antenatal invasive testing and fetal surveillance in pregnancies with HIV, HCV, HBV and treponema pallidum infected women. Material and methods: A review of the literature was conducted in the database of PubMed to select full-length articles published in peer-reviewed journals between 1990 and 2020. The keywords along with respective combinations included in the search strategy were invasive testing, prenatal diagnosis, amniocentesis, chorionic villus sampling, cordocentesis, fetoscopy, chronic viral infections, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, HIV, treponema pallidum, syphilis, vertical transmission, MTCT. Results: For patients with hepatitis B infection, it is important to assess the HBeAg status and HBV DNA levels and for those patients with high viral load, antiviral therapy (Tenofovir) for a few weeks may be needed to reduce the viral load prior to the invasive procedure. In women positive for HCV, the viral load and HIV status should be assessed to establish the risk of vertical transmission; while for patients with HIV, highly active antiretroviral therapy administration and low viral load are predictive for reduced vertical transmission even after performing an invasive procedure. In all cases invasive procedure should be replaced by non-invasive prenatal testing if this is a feasible alternative and when invasive testing is indeed required, transplacental passage should be avoided.