This manuscript reports a study of the capacity of polymer composites to increase flexural strength in concrete. The polymer composites reinforced with carbon fiber and bonded with epoxy adhesive were used in prismatic test specimens of mass concrete corresponding to two different morphologies. The aim was to simulate the restoration of deteriorating concrete agricultural structures in order to explore the viability of this alternative against replacing them. An increase was found in the strength of the elements tested, with a higher strength being observed in those test specimens presenting a modified geometry. The passage of time, the weather conditions, and the action of various forces contribute to the degradation and loss of function of civil infrastructures and structures. There are two possible approaches to address this problem: The defective element can be replaced by a new one or it can be restored by incorporating some kind of reinforcement, so that the element remains functional. Given the current economic situation, the second option is preferable since it represents a cheaper and faster solution. However, the reinforcement requires a new knowledge about the materials needed to carry out the effective restoration properly.The search for alternative techniques and new materials in this field has attracted the attention of many researchers and organizations interested in restoring damaged and defective structures. One of the most popular techniques used to improve the behavior of reinforced concrete elements has been the use of steel plates bonded with epoxy to the outer surfaces of beams and slabs. This technique is simple and effective in terms of cost and mechanical efficiency, but it has several disadvantages such as the corrosion of the steel plates with the consequent deterioration of the bond, the difficulty in handling heavy steel plates in construction works with restricted space, as well as limitations regarding the available length of the plate, which results in the need for joints ,2. AnothIn an attempt to improve on the aforementioned techniques, it is proposed to substitute the reinforcing materials cited above for fiber-reinforced polymer composites (FRP) as externally bonded (EB) laminate or as near surface-mounted (NSM) strip embedded into an indentation in the element. These composites have interesting structural characteristics, including immunity to corrosion, low weight , high voltage resistance, rigidity (which can be adapted to the design requirements), and a large deformation capacity. They are also available in a virtually unlimited range of sizes and geometries. Perhaps the greatest advantage of FRP is their adaptability. Depending on the specific load conditions of each element to be treated, the polymer can be positioned and applied in the most appropriate way to optimize performance . NeverthThe practice of strengthening concrete structures by bonding polymeric composites began in the 1990s in some Western European countries and in the USA. ,4,5,6. IThere are three main types of fibers used to strengthen civil engineering structures. These are glass, aramid, and carbon fibers. It should be noted that their physical and mechanical properties vary greatly from one type of fiber to another . These cIn the last decades, various aspects of the laminated carbon fiber as a mean to retrofit concrete elements  have been studied ,29,30,31One of the most common examples of buildings subjected to high levels of deterioration during their lifespan, especially from corrosion, are agricultural buildings. In most cases, these buildings are made of reinforced concrete and formed by frame structures of pillars and beams . UsuallyConcrete is unquestionably one of the most frequently used material for agricultural buildings, floors, and manure and silage storage structures . In agriThe aim of this study is to determine whether the use of reinforcement composites based on carbon fiber is a suitable alternative for restoration of concrete bars presenting structural damage, caused by a mixture of corrosion, and bending originated by asymmetrical forces, which are common occurring conditions in agricultural settings. For these cases, the proposed restoration method can be an effective, inexpensive, and fast approach to solve the problem .2. The proportions of the components were as follows in The mix design for the concrete used in the tests was based on a soft consistency concrete with a characteristic compressive strength of 30 N/mmThe strength, W/C ratio, and the rest of components were selected according to the Spanish Code on Structural Concrete  for an eReinforcement of the prismatic test specimens was carried out using two products from the Sika Company . Specifically, the fibers used were Sika Wrap-230 c/45 and the impregnation material used was Sikadur 330, whose mechanical properties can be seen in the As indicated in the manufacturer’s specifications, an important aspect that influences the effectiveness of the products is the absence of sharp edges on the substrate to receive the application, and, thus, it is recommended that the corners of the structure are rounded to a radius of at least 10 mm. Consequently, test specimens with blunt (chamfered) corners and test specimens with sharp edges were used in this study; firstly, to comply with the fiber application requirement and also to assess the differences in the fiber performance. Moreover, most of precast concrete pieces use chamfer strips to obtain chamfered corners; so, this point is studied in this work.Following the protocol described in , two batOnce the test specimens had been made and following 28 days of curing in water at 20 ± 2 °C, they were reinforced with SikaWrap-230 c/45 and Sikadur 330. As mentioned beforehand, when applying laminated fiber reinforcement, the pre-treatment of the element to be reinforced is of great importance in the effectiveness of both the adhesive and the bond formed with the CFRP sheet. Consequently, preparation of the test specimens included the drying of the concrete (moisture content less than 4 wt %) and sanding the rough surface with an angle grinder.Regarding the preparation of the products themselves, the SikaWrap-230 c/45 fabric was cut to the desired size with scissors, taking care not to fold it as this would damage its properties. The resin and hardener (the two Sikadur-330 adhesive components) were initially stirred separately. They were mixed together in the proportions indicated (4:1) and stirred for 3 min until a uniform grey color was obtained. Then, the mixture was stirred slowly for an additional minute to remove any excess air.The Sikadur-330 resin mixture was applied differently depending on whether standard prismatic or modified prismatic test specimens were being used. In the first case, the fiber was placed on the surface of the lower face, whereas in the second case, the fiber was placed on the lower face and continued over the blunt corners to end halfway up the lateral faces of both sides .2 of resin was applied to the concrete test specimens with a spatula until all empty spaces and uneven areas were filled. Subsequently, the SikaWrap-230 c/45 fabric was placed over the resin in the correct direction . Lastly, in order to achieve a homogeneous surface, approximately 0.5 kg/m2 of resin applied as an additional and final coating. Depending on the roughness of the substrate, between 0.7 to 1.2 kg/mCuring was completed within a week since the process was carried out at a temperature above 23 °C. However, the test specimens were not subjected to loads until nine days after the CFRP application. It should be noted that, even so, there was an appreciable degree of adhesion on contact with the bare hands.In order to characterize the concrete used in the subsequent flexural tests, compression tests were initially conducted in order to verify that the concrete had reached the required strength in accordance with EN 12390-3:2009+AC:2011 [Two types of carbon-fiber-reinforced test specimens were subjected to flexural tests: The 100 × 100 × 400 mm standard prismatic specimens and the 100 × 100 × 400 mm modified prismatic specimens with longitudinal chamfered corners. Half of the specimens tested from each batch were coated with the CFRP whereas the other half remained uncoated and were used as control specimens.In order to carry out the three point flexural test, the EN 12390-5:2009  standardSeveral studies show the direct effect between a good concrete/CFRP bond and the increase of resistance of the repaired element ,12,15. TIn order to make a statistical analysis of the data, the results obtained in the flexural test of all specimens were gathered in four clusters bearing in mind the geometry and the presence/lack of reinforcement: Standard specimen without reinforcement (cluster 1), modified specimen without reinforcement (cluster 2), standard specimen with reinforcement (cluster 3), and modified specimen with reinforcement (cluster 4). As seen in Though, to date, very little amount of research has focused on the effect of this type of reinforcement in pillars under flexure efforts, some studies ,41 have The different increase in the effectiveness of the reinforcement for both geometries tested is due to the better adhesion of the sheet in the chamfered edges of the modified specimens, which allowed the effective application of a greater amount of CFRP sheet.However, despite the greater effectiveness of the reinforcement in the modified specimens, the statistical analysis showed that the final resistance values achieved were significantly similar for all the reinforced specimens. That said, there is no need to modify the edges of an existing structure in order to achieve better reinforcement results.Although it had not been studied in the present article, the added effect that the use of CFRP laminates presents against corrosion should also be taken into account. For instance, the work conducted by Soudki and Sherwood  demonstrIn view of the previous results, the following conclusions can be drawn.The rehabilitation method proposed in this paper is based on the reinforcement of concrete structures using carbon fiber sheets, which involves a resistance improvement from 379% to 670% depending on the type of edges presented by the element treated.Reinforcement with carbon fiber sheets (SikaWrap 230 c/45 and Sikadur 330) provides improved flexural strength in prismatic test specimens.It is of great importance to apply the CFRP sheets to the surface of the reinforced element correctly, since poor adhesion of the fiber will lead to a defective fracture. As the results obtained indicate, the desired level of reinforcement will not be achieved if there is a poor bond, due to the incomplete transfer of stress from the fiber sheet to the concrete. The results obtained in this article show a great improvement in the efficiency of the reinforcement, almost doubled, when applied on elements with chamfered edges instead of sharp edges.The manufacturer’s recommendation to round the edges of the element to be treated before the application of the product could be disregarded since the increase of resistance achieved with a better concrete–CFRP bonding would have been previously decreased as a result of the reduction in the dimensions of the modified element.The corrosion protection provided by this type of reinforcement is another positive aspect that renders it even more advisable in the retrofitting of damaged concrete structures, especially in agricultural environments.


In addition, slag is an industrial by-product that must be land-filled if not re-used. Therefore, it has been studied by many investigators as environmentally friendly replacement of OPC. In addition to recycling, AAS offers favorable properties to concrete such as rapid development of compressive strength and high resistance to sulfate attack. Some of the potential shortcomings of AAS include high shrinkage, short setting time, and high rate of carbonation. Using ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) as an alternative to OPC requires its activation with high alkalinity compounds such as sodium hydroxide (NaOH), sodium sulfate (Na2SO3), sodium carbonate (Na2CO3), or combination of these compounds such as NaOH and Na2SO3. The mechanism of alkali-activation is still not fully understood and further research is required. This paper overviews the properties, advantages, and potential shortcomings of AAS concrete.Alkali-activated slag (AAS) is a promising alternative to ordinary Portland cement (OPC) as sole binder for reinforced concrete structures. OPC is reportedly responsible for over 5% of the global CO In contract, topotactic growth of needle-like C-S-H is predominant during OPC hydration, which occurs at relatively lower silicate concentration .2O3)/SiO2 and chemical modulus ((CaO + MgO)/SiO2). In addition, the presence of calcium sulfate in GGBS contributes to activation of GGBS [6Al2(SO4)3(OH)12·26H2O).Hydration of GGBS produces C-S-H even without adding alkaline activators, although at a slow rate depending on physical and chemical properties. ASTM C 989 classifies GGBS into grade 80, 100, or 120 based on the slag activity index. Amongst the chemical properties affecting hydraulic reactivity of GGBS are the basicity (CaO + MgO + Al of GGBS . GGBS wi2SO3). However, decrease in compressive strength of AAS mortars was observed at higher dosages of alkaline solution [2O of the weight of GGBS up to 8%, but then decreases with increase in percentage Na2O to 10% and 12%. This was the case for AAS samples under hydrothermal curing at temperatures of 25 °C as well as 200 °C. The optimum percentage of Na2O then shifts to 4% for hydrothermal curing under temperature 400 °C and 600 °C. The optimum Na2O percentage shifts for water-cared samples. Bondar et al. [2O is key parameter to achieving desired workability and compressive strength, in addition to the silicate modulus and paste content.Compressive strength of AAS mortars after 28 days of curing increases with dosages of NaOH alkaline solution from 4% to 8% . Aliabdosolution . For thesolution . Nasr etsolution  indicater et al.  tested ARapid strength development of AAS mortars from 7 to 28 days in comparison to OPC mortars is attributed to the very thin protective layer around the unhydrated GGBS grains systems. Such layer around unhydrated OPC grains is much thicker leading to slower strength development in OPC mortars .Puertas et al.  noted th2O values of 7%, 8%, and 9% by weight of slag. However, the ratio of SiO2/Na2O was kept constant at 1.0 for all mixes. Compressive strength was determined on 100 × 100 × 100 mm3 cubes and splitting tensile strength was measured by testing 100 mm in diameter by 200 mm in height cylindrical samples. The w/b ratios ranged from 0.33 to 0.37 and the corresponding compressive strengths of cubes after 28 days of curing ranged from 71.3 to 80.1 MPa.Manjunath and Narasimhan  studied 2. Mortar sample that contained 15% silica fume developed higher compressive strength and elastic modulus compared to mortars that contained only slag after 1, 3, 7, 14, 28, 56, and 91 days of curing. The highest strength occurred after 7 days of curing with limited increase from 14 to 91 days. In experimental studies of binary (OPC–silica fume) concrete, where OPC was partially replaced with 5%, 10%, 15%, or 20% silica fume, it was found that compressive strength after 3, 7, and 28 days of curing increased with increase in silica fume quantity up to an optimum ratio of 15%, followed by a drop in compressive strength when 20% of OPC was replaced with silica fume [2/kg for silica fume compared 500 m2/kg for OPC). This contributes to the high pozzolanic reactivity and pore filling and densification of microstructure through production of additional hydration reactions, which leads to higher compressive strength.Partial replacement of GGBS in AAS concrete/mortar with silica fume imparts favorable properties, especially if optimum amounts of GGBS and silica fume are selected. There is a striking similarity between the effect of silica fume on OPC concrete and the effect of AAS concrete in terms of enhancing compressive strength up an optimum percentage of silica fume. Kwon et al.  tested m2SiO3). Sodium hydroxide solution was prepared by dissolving pellets with 98% purity in water. The sodium silicate solution used has the ratio of SiO2/Na2O = 2.35 . The authors noted that 28-day compressive strength increased increasing the percentage replacement of slag with silica fume from 5% to 15%.Rostami and Behfarnia  studied Puertas et al.  studied Degree of fineness of GGBS affects the flow rate of AAS mortars. The higher the degree of fineness the slower the flow rate but the higher the 28-day compressive strength . The enh2O and activator modulus (SiO2/Na2O) affects the microstructure and mechanical properties of AAS concrete. Al-Otaibi [2/Na2O = 1.0, increasing the dosage of Na2O decreases the porosity, while at modulus of 1.65, increasing the dosage of Na2O increases the porosity.The dosage of Nal-Otaibi  noted th2O and silicate modulus of the activator solution also affect the flowability of AAS. As shown in The dosage of NaIn general, flowability of self-consolidating concrete that contains large amounts of GGBS and fly ash is affected by aggregate density. Valizadeh et al.  demonstrThe relatively faster setting time of AAS concrete activated using water glass is a shortcoming that may hamper its commercial utilization compared to OPC concrete. However, Palacios et al.  demonstr2O from 2% by weight of GGBS increases the compressive strength up to an optimum value that depends on the curing method and curing temperature, then further increase in Na2O decreases the compressive strength. For example, for hydrothermal curing the optimum value of Na2O is 8% for curing temperatures of 25 and 200 °C. However, the optimum value of Na2O for hydrothermal curing is 4% when the curing temperatures are 400 °C and 600 °C.El-Hassan et al.  studied 2O by weight of GGBS. The typical range of Na2O examined is 4–10% by weight of GGBS. Up to curing temperature as high as 800 °C, increase in Na2O from 4% to 6% is accompanied by significant increase in compressive strength [In order to study the effect of alkaline content on durability and mechanical properties, it is common to look at the percentage of Nastrength . Howeverstrength  reported2+ ions available in GGBS to the silicates available in water glass [The short setting time that adversely affect the utilization of AAS activated using certain alkaline activators such as water glass is attributed to fast formation of C-H-S caused by binding at early age of Caer glass . Silane er glass . Water-ter glass ,40.Curing of AAS concrete at temperature between 7 °C to 15 °C delays setting time to match concrete made with OPC . Curing 2SiO3. Sodium silicate solution consisted of SiO2 = % 36.5, Na2O = % 15.5, H2O = % 48 (Na2O/SiO2 = 2.35). Sodium hydroxide solution was prepared by dissolving solid NaOH to form 4 M solution. The ratio of sodium hydroxide to sodium silicate was 3.Rostami and Behfarnia  noted thAlthough moderate temperature increase contributes to faster hydration reaction, very high temperature from 200 to 800 °C decreases tensile strength compared to control unheated samples. Tests by Behfarnia and Shahbaz  showed t2O) of the alkaline activator solution on residual compressive strength of 40 mm × 40 mm ×160 mm AAS mortar samples. 2O.Tran and Kwon  studied It is recognized that for a specific silicate modulus, there is an optimum sodium oxide dosage that produces the highest compressive strength. Tests by Nasr et al.  indicate2O + K2O), Ca(OH)2 under favorable humidity conditions. ASR may cause concrete expansion and cracking of concrete along with significant reduction in compressive strength in the long term [In ordinary Portland cement (OPC) mortar and concrete, the alkali–silica reaction (ASR) takes place between potentially reactive aggregates and the alkalis present in cements  was proposed by Plum and Poulsen  to descr2). Therefore, the absence of portlandite (Ca(OH)2) in AAS pastes reduces the potential for ASR. However, the high concentration of alkalis in AAS pastes remains a concern as they can still react with reactive silica in aggregates.For the reaction to proceed in OPC pastes, the presence of free calcium ions  plastic shrinkage, (2) autogenous shrinkage, (3) drying shrinkage, and (4) carbonation shrinkage. Plastic shrinkage occurs if the top surface of the element dries before concrete sets. If surface drying occurs faster than the rate that bleeding water migrates to the top, shrinkage cracking is likely to occur. Autogenous shrinkage in OPC concrete occurs due to cement hydration and may occur due to the combined effect of reduction of volume of hydrated system compared to the volume of the original water and cement, and self-dessication caused by consumption of water during the hydration process. In OPC concrete, autogenous shrinkage occurs during the first 24 h, most dominantly in high strength concrete where w/b ratio is less than 0.4. However, in AAS concrete, autogenous shrinkage was shown to continue until 91 days . This isIt is convenient to classify pore sizes within a concrete system into micropores, mesopores, and macropores, using the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) system for classification of pore sizes, shown in The capillary pores comprise both the mesopores and macropores, and together they constitute the water filled space existing between original cement grains . MicropoCollins and Sanjayan  conducte2) to AAS concrete decreases the amount of mesopores along with autogenous and drying shrinkage. However, calcium hydroxide increases plastic shrinkage as it accelerates hydration reaction during the first 120 h.Zhu et al.  demonstr2 to AAS concrete to assess the effect on shrinkage characteristics. The authors investigated plastic shrinkage, autogenous shrinkage, and drying shrinkage. Five and 10% of the slag content was replaced with Ca(OH)2 which resulted in increased plastic shrinkage but reduced autogenous and drying shrinkage. Ca(OH)2 increased hydration at early age, up to 120 h, which contributed to increased plastic shrinkage. Mesopores, which are typically linked to autogenous and drying shrinkage, decreased by adding Ca(OH)2 to mixes that contained water-to-binder ratio (w/b) of 0.45. Decreased mesopores (2 to 50 nm) contributed to reduction in autogenous and drying shrinkage. The Ca/Si ratio in the C-S-H gel of samples containing Ca(OH)2 increased to 1.4 in 28 days, which the authors believed contributed to decrease of autogenous and drying shrinkage.Experimental studies by Collins and Sanjayan  shows th2). They concluded that drying shrinkage is much higher in AAS paste compared to equivalent OPC paste. This higher drying shrinkage is associated with higher percentage of mesopores (2 to 50 nm) in AAS paste compared to OPC. The pores in the macro range are significantly fewer in AAS paste compared to OPC paste, therefore, drying of water from mesopores affects AAS more than OPC paste. The higher drying shrinkage in AAS pastes is due for the most part to the capillary tensile forces developing during drying, more than the loss of moisture. The parameter rs, defined as the radius of pores where the meniscus form, such that the pores whose radii are smaller than rs are assumed to be filled with liquid water while pores larger than this are dry [s would decrease. It is assumed by researchers that the smaller the parameter rs the larger the capillary tensile forces set up at the meniscus (the interface between water and air), hence the higher the resulting shrinkage [Collins and Sanjayan , studied are dry . As the hrinkage . Ye and hrinkage  attributhrinkage .Generally speaking, weight loss during drying is higher in OPC concrete compared to AAS concrete samples, yet drying shrinkage is higher in AAS samples compared to OPC samples. Therefore, drying shrinkage is not entirely due to weight loss of weight from concrete . Figure 2 exhibited reduced drying and autogenous shrinkage when cured at elevated temperature of 60 °C for 91 days compared to mortar samples cured at 20 °C. Similarly, when 15% of GGBS is replaced with silica fume and curated at elevated temperature, shrinkage with decreased even further compared to samples without silica fume [Mortars prepared using GGBS activated with Ca(OH)ica fume .Drying shrinkage in AAS concrete may be reduced through partial replacement of GGBS with silica fume . PartialAydin  also fouBílek et al.  demonstrIn binary OPC + GGBS concrete, the resistance to chloride penetration increases with increase in GGBS content. Concrete in which 80% of OPC was replaced with GGBS experienced very low passing charge in chloride penetration test, even after one day of curing .Rostami and Behfarnia  noted th2SO4 solution) attack compared concrete with a binder of blend of OPC + slag. The enhanced resistance to sulfates is attributed to the lack of reactants such as portlandite , and the fact that aluminum is mainly present in C-A-S-H and hydrotalcite gels. Similarly, AAS mortar developed higher strength and demonstrated higher when exposed to acetic acid compared to control OPC samples of the same grade [Komljenovic et al.  concludeme grade .2 in the atmosphere diffuses into the pore structure of concrete which contains moisture and together they form carbonic acid. Carbonic acid then reacts more readily with calcium hydroxide, but also with calcium silicate hydrate, calcium aluminate hydrate and ettrignite. The result is the formation of various forms of calcium carbonate [passivity layer of oxide around reinforcing steel. Once the protective oxide layer is compromised, susceptibility of reinforcing steel bars to corrosion increases. Reduction in alkalinity associated with carbonation is believed to be the leading cause of decalcification in calcium aluminate hydrates such as C-(A)-S-H phase, katoite (C3AH6), and strätlingite (C2ASH8) formed in alkali-activated slag mortars or concretes [2), leaving an alumina-containing remnant siliceous gel in addition to CaCO3. When subjected to the same carbonation environment, concrete pastes made of the popular alkaline solution consisting of NaOH and water glass experienced higher carbonation levels compared to similar AAS paste samples activated using NaOH alone [Carbonation begins when COarbonate . Carbonaoncretes . TherefoOH alone . This re2 concentration of 20% [The carbonation depth in AAS concrete increases with increase of temperature (from 10 °C to 30 °C) and relative humidity (RH), up to relative RH of 70% when the test was conducted at COn of 20% . As carbn of 20% ,61.2CO3), and potassium hydroxide (KOH). The mortar samples were subject to either atmospheric conditions or nitrogen environment. The investigators noted that AAS samples undergo expansion and disintegration under atmospheric conditions. Potassium ions (K++) can enter the interlayer space of calcium-alumina-silicate-hydrate (C-A-S-H) and make AAS vulnerable to carbonation. The authors argue that the high alkali content in AAS systems contribute to poor volumetric stability associated with carbonation.Ye and Radlinska  studied 2O by mass of slag. Samples prepared with AAS activated with alkaline solutions having different moduli were stored in carbonation chamber for 56 days. They noted that alkali-activated slag mortars are more susceptible to carbonation under accelerated carbonation condition compared to the Portland cement mortar. However, it may exhibit higher carbonation resistance under natural conditions, especially when AAS is activated with water glass having high modulus. AAS mortars with high alkali content and high silicate modulus have reduced total porosity and average pore size. This results in increased carbonation resistance and compressive strength. 2O is lower than AAS mortars made with 6% Na2O.Shi et al.  studied 3AH6 phase leads to increase of the molar volume of solids, reduces total porosity and average pore size of the NaOH activated slag mortars, and contributes to increase of compressive strength as well. In fact, decrease in porosity of AAS concrete was shown to increase compressive strength, tensile strength, and modulus of elasticity for mixes of various molarities of NaOH (from 10 M to 14 M) in alkaline activator solution consisting of NaOH + Na2SO3 [Carbonation of the C-(A)-S-H phase leads to reduction in the molar volume of solids, which leads to increase in total porosity and average pore size, and subsequently reduction in compressive strength. However, carbonation of the C+ Na2SO3 . Figure 2 and CaSO4·2H2O each decreased carbonation depth in AAS concrete. 2 on carbonation depth after various ages of carbonation. When 5% Ca(OH)2 is mixed with AAS concrete, carbonation depths at carbonation age of 3, 7, 14, and 28 days are reduced by 33%, 36%, 41%, and 45% respectively. Similarly, when 2% CaSO4·2H2O is mixed with AAS concrete, a reduction rate of carbonation depth are 25%, 14%, 24%, and 35%, respectively. The investigators used industrial water glass as activator with the solution modulus adjusted to 1.2 by adding NaOH solution. When Ca(OH)2 is added to AAS concrete, it will bind CO2 and form CaCO3 to decrease decalcification of the C-A-S-H gel.He et al.  reported2 levels. This is done in order to make the naturally slow carbonation process observable in the laboratory. These accelerated tests are extremely aggressively and unlikely represent realistic service conditions. As a result, current accelerated carbonation tests may overestimate the risk of carbonation under realistic service conditions [2 exposure conditions, the excess alkalis present in the pore solution of an alkali-activated binder may potentially maintain the internal pH at a level which is sufficiently high to protect steel in a passive state.It is important to note that currently implemented carbonation testing methods are accelerated under elevated COnditions . FurtherCyclic freezing and thawing of concrete could induce serious damage, especially in the case of prolonged exposure. It was shown that concrete can lose up to 45% of its compressive strength after 50 years of exposure to freezing and thawing . Interco2 emissions and industrial production energy. The following conclusions are made regarding strength and durability of alkali-activated slag concrete and mortar:The main hydration product of alkali-activated slag is C-S-H in addition to (1) the hydrotalcite-like phase that produces less porous structure and higher compressive strength, and (2) the aluminate-ferrite-mono (sulphate) (AFm) hydrate phase. The high pH of the alkaline activator promotes dissolution of GGBS which drives chemical reaction and strength development.2O) as a percentage of the weight of GGBS up to an optimum value that depends on curing temperature, then decreases with further increase in the percentage of Na2O. The most commonly studied sodium oxide contents include 4%, 6%, 8%, 10%, and 12%.Compressive strength of concrete/mortar prepared using alkali-activated slag increases with increase in molarity of the alkaline activator solution. Similarly, compressive strength increases with increase in the content of sodium oxide (Na2O on compressive strength also depends on the silicate modulus of the activator solution SiO2/Na2O.The effect of NaThe higher the degree of fineness of GGBS used in alkali-activated slag concrete/mortar, the higher the 28-day compressive strength. However, high degree of fineness decreases the flowability of fresh concrete.The lower the curing temperature, the lower the compressive strength in the short term. However, the long-term compressive is not adversely affected by low curing temperature. Similarly, water curing of alkali-activated slag concrete produces higher compressive strength compared to curing under plastic cover.Compared to OPC concrete, alkali-activated slag concrete demonstrates generally better resistance to chloride penetration, sulfate attack, freeze–thaw cycles, and alkali–aggregate reaction.Autogenous shrinkage is higher in alkali-activated slag concrete compared to OPC concrete, and continues for a longer time. Replacement up to 15% of GGBS in alkali-activated slag with silica fume decreases autogenous shrinkage. Some studies reported that drying shrinkage is also higher in alkali-activated slag concrete compared to OPC concrete, largely due to the higher percentage of mesopores in alkali-activated concrete.Carbonation of alkali-activated concrete/mortar is typically higher than OPC-based concrete/mortar and may lead to decalcification of C-S-H and subsequent loss in compressive strength. Carbonation in alkali-activated concrete is also affected by temperature and type of alkaline activator used.Replacement of ordinary Portland cement with ground granulated blast furnace slag offers significant environmental benefits in terms of CO


Associations between Shannon indices for c-MYC CNV in pre- and post-neoadjuvant chemotherapy breast cancer samples and clinicopathologic features of tumors as well as patient survival were analyzed in 144 patients. A change in c-MYC amplification and copy number gain status was found in 14.3% and 33.6% with most cases showing positive to negative conversion. The chemo-sensitive group showed a significant decrease in Shannon index after neoadjuvant chemotherapy. However, there was no difference in diversity indices between pre- and post-neoadjuvant chemotherapy specimens in the chemo-resistant group. In survival analyses, high Shannon indices for c-MYC CNV in post-neoadjuvant chemotherapy samples as well as those in pre-neoadjuvant chemotherapy samples were revealed as independent prognostic factors for poor disease-free survival not only in the whole group but also in the chemo-resistant subgroup. These findings suggest that a change in Shannon index for c-MYC CNV after neoadjuvant chemotherapy reflects chemo-responsiveness and that Shannon indices after neoadjuvant chemotherapy have a prognostic value in breast cancer patients who receive neoadjuvant chemotherapy.Chemotherapy can alter the makeup of a tumor cell population by exerting selection pressure. We examined the change in Shannon index, a mathematical diversity measure used in ecology, for  With recent technical advances including next generation sequencing, large amounts of data on intratumoral heterogeneity have accumulated, and our understanding of intratumoral heterogeneity and tumor evolution has increased. Most studies thus far have confirmed that intratumoral heterogeneity exists in many tumors, revealing driver genetic events and evolutionary mechanisms8. However, only a few have investigated the impact of intratumoral heterogeneity on treatment response or clinical outcome10, partly due to the difficulties with quantifying intratumoral heterogeneity via bioinformatics approach. Besides a whole genomic approach, a diversity index calculation-based approach using copy numbers of specific genetic loci is also promising in measuring intratumoral heterogeneity and correlating it with tumor progression13. Recently, we examined c-MYC copy number variation (CNV) in two cohorts of invasive breast cancer patients using an ecological diversity index, the Shannon index, and we found that a high Shannon index for c-MYC was a significant poor prognostic factor, which suggests that a diversity index of even a single gene can be a measure of intratumoral heterogeneity and can be used as a prognostic indicator14.Intratumoral heterogeneity refers to the presence of phenotypically and/or genetically distinct tumor cell populations within a tumor that may result in tumor progression15. It has been suggested that chemotherapy imposes a bottleneck effect in the process of tumor progression16, which in turn, leads to a different composition of tumor cell populations in residual tumors after chemotherapy compared to those prior to treatment. However, comparative analyses of intratumoral heterogeneity in pre- and post-chemotherapy samples remain scarce in breast cancers. Previously, Almendro et al. analyzed cellular heterogeneity with genetic and phenotypic features as well as the spatial distribution of tumor cells in pre- and post-neoadjuvant chemotherapy breast cancer17. They reported that there was no change in genetic diversity after chemotherapy, contradicting the general concept that chemo-sensitive subclones regress and resistant ones persist after chemotherapy, thereby leading to decreased genetic diversity after treatment. Although it was a comprehensive study incorporating genetic and phenotypic diversity in breast cancer pre- and post-neoadjuvant chemotherapy, patient survival in relation to cellular diversity after chemotherapy was not evaluated.Intratumoral clonal heterogeneity can be altered when tumor cells undergo selection pressure driven by chemotherapy, the immune system, hypoxia, nutrient deprivation, or geographic isolation; the most potent selection pressure may be attributed to chemotherapyc-MYC which is located at one of the most unstable chromosomal regions (8q24) and frequently harbors copy number gain or amplification in breast cancer regardless of subtype20, in an attempt to find the clinicopathologic significance of post-treatment genetic diversity.Here, we focused on the relationship between chemo-responsiveness and the changes in diversity index during chemotherapy using Of the 144 patients, estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) were positive in 107 (74.3%), 90 (62.5%), and 31 (21.5%) patients, respectively. Luminal B subtype was the largest subtype comprising 44.4% of the cases. As for the chemotherapeutic regimen, 42 (29.2%) patients received the ‘AC’ regimen consisting of doxorubicin and cyclophophamide for 4 to 6 cycles, 70 (48.6%) patients received the ‘ACT’ regimen of 4 cycles of AC followed by 4 cycles of docetaxel, and lastly, the remaining 32 (22.2%) patients were treated with the ‘AD’ regimen of doxorubicin and docetaxel 3 to 6 cycles. Table c-MYC CNV was possible in 119 cases. c-MYC amplification was present in 18 (15.1%) cases while c-MYC copy number gain was present in 64 (53.8%) cases. Of the 144 post-neoadjuvant chemotherapy samples, c-MYC amplification and copy number gain were detected in 11 (7.6%) and 58 (40.3%) cases, showing decreased frequencies in post-neoadjuvant chemotherapy samples compared to pre-neoadjuvant chemotherapy samples . None of the cases showed c-MYC copy number loss in pre- and post-neoadjuvant chemotherapy samples.In pre-neoadjuvant chemotherapy biopsy specimens, evaluation of c-MYC CNV before and after neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Among the 119 patients in whom comparison between pre- and post-neoadjuvant chemotherapy samples was possible, a change in c-MYC amplification and copy number gain status between pre- and post-neoadjuvant chemotherapy specimens was found in 17 (14.3%) and 40 (33.6%) cases, respectively. Of the 17 patients with altered c-MYC amplification status, 13 showed conversion from amplified to non-amplified status, and 4 revealed conversion from non-amplified to amplified status . Of the 40 patients with alterations in c-MYC copy number gain status, 30 showed changes from a positive to negative status, and 10 revealed changes from a negative to positive status.Table c-MYC CNV ranged from 0.786 to 2.496 (median 1.340) in pre-neoadjuvant chemotherapy samples, and it ranged from 0.120 to 2.772 (median 1.231) in post-neoadjuvant chemotherapy samples. Shannon indices in pre- and post-ST samples showed a weak positive correlation .Shannon index calculated with c-MYC CNV and clinicopathological characteristics of tumors before and after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (Supplementary Tables c-MYC copy number gain was associated with high histologic grade (adj. P = 0.016), high Ki-67 index (adj. P = 0.004), and p53 overexpression (adj. P = 0.016). High Shannon index for c-MYC CNV (above median) in pre-neoadjuvant chemotherapy specimens was associated with high histologic grade (adj. P = 0.008), high Ki-67 index (adj. P = 0.016), and p53 overexpression (adj. P = 0.032). However, c-MYC amplification in pre-neoadjuvant chemotherapy samples was not associated with any of the clinicopathologic characteristics.We also evaluated the association between c-MYC amplification was associated with high yp T stage (adj. P = 0.027). c-MYC copy number gain in post-neoadjuvant chemotherapy specimens was associated with high histologic grade (adj. P < 0.001) and high Ki-67 index (adj. P = 0.009). High Shannon index (above median) in post-neoadjuvant chemotherapy specimens showed a significant association with high histologic grade (adj. P = 0.009) and high Ki-67 index (adj. P = 0.027).In post-neoadjuvant chemotherapy specimens, c-MYC CNV before and after neoadjuvant chemotherapy are shown in Fig. c-MYC amplification and copy number gain were not associated with disease-free survival of the patients , and a high Shannon index using a cutoff value obtained by ROC analyses was significantly associated with poor disease-free survival . In post-neoadjuvant chemotherapy specimens, a high Shannon index showed a significant association with poor disease-free survival  and c-MYC amplification and copy number gain were not associated with disease-free survival of the patients .Most of the patients were treated according to standard guidelines and were followed up regularly. One hundred and nineteen (82.6%) patients received radiation therapy, and 105 (72.9%) received endocrine therapy following surgery. The Kaplan-Meier plots for disease-free survival according to P = 0.004, P = 0.027, respectively; Fig. P = 0.961, P = 0.411, respectively; Fig. P = 0.012) in luminal B subtype, but those in post-neoadjuvant chemotherapy samples did not show an association with survival of the patients in any subtypes.Upon subgroup analysis according to hormone receptor status, high Shannon indices before and after neoadjuvant chemotherapy was associated with adverse clinical outcome only in hormone receptor-positive group  with most cases showing positive to negative conversion. Therefore, it is probable that only the tumor cell populations with c-MYC amplification or copy number gain underwent complete response to chemotherapy, and the residual tumor showed no amplification or copy number gain. However, there were some cases that showed negative to positive conversion as well. Interestingly, all the cases that changed from a non-amplified to amplified status belonged to the chemo-resistant group, and c-MYC amplification after neoadjuvant chemotherapy was associated with high ypT stage. It is impossible for a tumor to have acquired c-MYC amplification or copy number gain during neoadjuvant chemotherapy if it responded to treatment. However, if the tumor were resistant to chemotherapy, it may be possible to acquire c-MYC amplification or copy number gain during neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Also, re-diversification may have occurred during the period from the end of neoadjuvant chemotherapy to surgery. Perhaps a more likely explanation may be that there existed primary intratumoral heterogeneity in c-MYC amplification or copy number gain in the treatment-naïve tumors, and sampling bias of the pre-neoadjuvant chemotherapy biopsy specimens caused the negative to positive conversion after neoadjuvant chemotherapy.In paired analyses of pre- and post-neoadjuvant chemotherapy breast cancer samples, a significant number of cases showed alterations in c-MYC CNV decreased after neoadjuvant chemotherapy especially in the chemo-sensitive group, and a post-treatment high Shannon index was found to be an independent poor prognostic indicator, suggesting that the change in Shannon index after neoadjuvant chemotherapy reflects chemo-responsiveness and that Shannon index after neoadjuvant chemotherapy can be used as a prognostic factor in patients with breast cancer who receive neoadjuvant chemotherapy.In conclusion, Shannon index for n = 65) or III (n = 79) breast cancer. The patients received breast conserving surgery/mastectomy at Seoul National University Bundang Hospital between October 2004 and December 2012 following anthracycline/anthracycline and taxane-based neoadjuvant chemotherapy and had residual disease in the surgical resection specimen. Pre-chemotherapeutic core needle biopsy was performed prior to neoadjuvant chemotherapy, and all cases were diagnosed with invasive breast cancer. Surgery was performed 3–4 weeks after the last cycle of chemotherapy. For each patient, a pair of formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded tumor samples from a pre-chemotherapy biopsy specimen and a post-chemotherapy resection specimen was retrieved. Pre-neoadjuvant chemotherapy biopsy specimen was not available in 25 patients whose biopsy was performed at an outside hospital or whose samples were too small for further study. As a result, comparison of pre- and post-neoadjuvant chemotherapy samples was performed in 119 patients. Clinicopathologic information including age, sex, initial clinical T stage and N stage, chemotherapeutic regimen, number of neoadjuvant chemotherapy cycles, pathologic T stage and N stage after neoadjuvant chemotherapy, histologic subtype, histologic grade, and lymphovascular invasion was obtained from the medical records and H&E-stained sections. Pathologic response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy was evaluated by Miller-Payne regression grading system24. Of the 144 post-neoadjuvant chemotherapy samples, 12 (8.3%) cases belonged to Miller-Payne regression grade 1, 39 (27.1%) to grade 2, 91 (63.2%) to grade 3, and the rest 2 (1.4%) to grade 4. Miller-Payne regression grades 1 and 2 were regarded as chemo-resistant, non-responder group, and Miller-Payne regression grades 3 and 4 were regarded as chemo-sensitive, responder group. The study was approved by the institutional review board of Seoul National University Bundang Hospital (protocol # B-1601/332-304), which waived the requirement for informed consent. All procedures performed in this study were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.This study was a retrospective one that included 144 patients with clinical stage II (c-MYC SpectrumOrange probe (8q24.12-q24.13)  was used for fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) of c-MYC. 4-μm-thick deparaffinized tumor tissue sections were incubated in pretreatment solution (Abbott Molecular) at 80 °C for 30 min first then in protease solution (Abbott Molecular) for 20 min at 37 °C. tDen-Hyb-2 hybridization buffer  was used for dilution of the probes. DNA denaturation was achieved by incubating the probes and the tissue sections in HYBriteTM (Abbott Molecular) for 5 min at 73 °C and hybridization at 37 °C for 16 hours. Post-hybridization washes were performed as per manufacturer’s instructions. Slides were mounted in 40, 6-diamidino-2-phenylindole/anti-fade, and a fluorescence microscope was used to view them.Commercially available LSI c-MYC signals per cell was counted in 100 tumor cells. c-MYC copy number gain was defined as an average copy number ≥3.0, c-MYC amplification as a copy number ≥6.0, and c-MYC copy number loss as a copy number < 1.6. To express diversity in c-MYC copy number per cell as a numerical value, we adopted the Shannon index, a diversity measure used in ecology, which estimates the number and distribution of species in a population. It is calculated as H’ = −∑ pi ln(pi), where pi equals the frequency of species i in the population30. A species, in this study, represents the tumor cells with the same copy number of c-MYC and pi represents the proportion of tumor cells with the same copy number of c-MYC. The Shannon index appears as any non-negative value with a high value indicating high diversity.The number of Expression of ER, PR, HER2, Ki-67, and p53 was evaluated at the time of diagnosis or during the study by immunohistochemistry (IHC). For ER and PR, positive expression was defined as nuclear staining in 1% or more tumor cells, and the expression level was recorded in 10% increments. HER2 considered positive when IHC revealed strong positive expression of 3+ or when gene amplification was observed in FISH for HER2 IHC 2+ cases. P53 overexpression was defined as positive staining in 10% or more tumor cells. Positive staining in 20% or more tumor cells was considered to have high Ki-67 proliferation index.31: luminal A , luminal B , HER2 + , and triple-negative subtype .Classification of breast cancer subtypes was done in accordance with the 2011 St. Gallen Expert ConsensusP values were presented. P values less than 0.05 were considered significant with all reported P values being two-sided.Statistical package, SPSS version 21.0 for Windows  was used for statistical analysis. Pearson’s chi-square test was used to compare categorical variables between two groups. Continuous variables between two independent groups were compared with independent sample t-test. Paired sample t-test was used to compare continuous variables between pre- and post-neoadjuvant chemotherapy samples. Cut-off values for Shannon index that maximized the sum of sensitivity and specificity in outcome prediction were determined from receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. Kaplan-Meier survival curves were drawn for survival analysis, and the difference was analyzed by log rank test. Multivariate analysis was performed using the Cox proportional hazards regression model with a backward stepwise selection method. Hazard ratios (HR) as well as 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated for the statistically significant variables. When needed, corrections for multiple testing were performed with Bonferroni method and adjusted (adj.) Supplementary Figure S1Supplementary tables S1-S3


The long-term use of opioids leads alternations in both innate-adaptive immune systems and other diagnostic hematologic cells. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the alterations of these parameters in patients with heroin/opioid addictions. Adults, meeting the Fifth Edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) criteria of the American Psychiatric Association regarding opioid use disorder  and healthy controls , were included in the study. All hematological parameters, inflammation indexes (neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio and platelet-lymphocyte ratio), and iron panel were compared with the controls. Mean corpuscular volume, red blood cell distribution width, mean corpuscular hemoglobin content, unsaturated iron-binding capacity, and total iron-binding capacity were significantly higher in HG compared to CG, while red blood cell count, hemoglobin, hematocrit, and serum iron levels were significantly lower. Additionally, platelet and platelet distribution width were significantly high while mean platelet volume was low in HG. Regarding the parameters related to immunity, white blood cell, neutrophil count, and neutrophil percentage were significantly high while lymphocyte percentage and basophils count were significantly low. Besides, inflammatory indexes were significantly higher in HG compared to CG. Intravenous administration of heroin resulted in lower levels of hemoglobin, hematocrit, and mean corpuscular volume than inhalation and intranasal administration. Our data demonstrated that chronic use of opioids is related to all of the hematologic series. The chronic use of opioid alters the immunologic balance in favor of innate immunity cells and changes the hematometric/morphometric characteristics of erythrocytes. What is more, the route of heroin administration should be taken into consideration as well. This study may lead to a better understanding of the hematological effects of heroin/opioid use in patients with relevant addictions. Heroin is a powerful opioid analgesic and it is metabolized from the active form of morphine and a less active form of mono-acetyl morphine in 15-20 minutes. Due to the fact that it is more lipophilic, it passes the blood-brain barrier (BBB) more easily, and it is more potent than morphine –5. In soThe immune system is important for opioid users because the individuals with heroin use are in a high-risk group for the development of infectious diseases such as HIV and Hepatitis B and C as much as this addiction itself is a chronic disease causing numerous complications including alterations in immune responses , 10. TheChronic use of opioids alters the blood homeostasis via effects on the hematologic series. There are previous studies, which have shown that heroin addicts had significantly increased neutrophil count (NEUn), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), and hematocrit (HCT), while they had a significant reduction in lymphocytes (LYMn) and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC) . It is aThe inflammatory indexes  have been shown to be related to chronic diseases and psychiatric disorders in recent studies –19. NeutThe immunological and hematological effects of opioids have been investigated in various studies, yet, there have been no studies known on the inflammatory indexes of patients with heroin/opioid use disorder. The aim of the present study, therefore, is to assess the effects of heroin addiction on hematological factors, specifically considering the inflammatory indexes in heroin/opioid-addicted patients.This is a cross-sectional study which was conducted at Alcohol and Substance Treatment and Training Centre inpatient clinic (SEAH-AMATEM) of Training and Research Hospital, Sakarya University, Turkey. The heroin/opioid-addicted group was constituted by the individuals, who have been using opioid and/or heroin for more than one year. Patients were interviewed by an experienced psychiatrist and were evaluated according to the DSM-5 criteria (opioid use disorders are not classified according to the opioid type in DSM-5) for heroin/opioid use disorder . All patOn the first day of their hospitalization, ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) blood samples  were collected from each patient at the time of admission and hemogram parameters were measured using aperture impedance technology. Moreover, the inflammation indexes (NLR and PLR) of the two groups were compared. NLR is the calculated ratio of the blood neutrophil to lymphocyte count, and PLR is calculated by dividing the absolute platelet count by the absolute lymphocyte count. Iron panels  were also measured. All hematological parameters, iron panel, and inflammatory indexes were compared to each other.Cloned Enzyme Donor Immunoassay (CEDIA) was used as the immunoassay method during the analysis of the urine tests. The multiplex assay consists of multiple labels for the detection of amphetamine, benzodiazepine, barbiturate, opioids, MDMA , synthetic cannabinoids, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), and buprenorphine for identifying the consumption of drugs; and ethyl glucuronide for the consumption of alcohol.We used the cut-off levels in workplace drug tests, which are the recognized values for groups using drugs, to determine whether a sample is positive or negative for that group. Cut-off level for opioid is 300 ng/ml. Any result below the cut off is reported as negative, and results above the cut-off are reported as either nonnegative (for screening tests) or positive (for confirmed positive results). All of the patients had positive scores for 6 acetyl morphine and/or opioids in urine screening.Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22 for Windows  was used for all statistical analyses. Quantitative data were expressed as Mean ± Standard Deviation (Mean ± Sd) for parametric analyses and Median ± Interquartile (Med ± IR) ranges for nonparametric analyses. Data were tested for normality, and the appropriate nonparametric or parametric statistics were used. The normality of distribution was checked initially by “One Sample Kolmogorov Smirnov Test”. Student's t-test was used to compare the linear variables and Levene's test was used for equality of the variances. Furthermore, Mann–Whitney U test was used to compare the linear variables which did not have the normal distribution. Any p-value less than 0.05 was accepted as significant.A total of 51 patients with heroin/opioid use disorder that comprise the heroin group (HG), and 50 healthy individuals that comprise the control group (CG) were involved in the study. Heroin group consisted of 49 men and 2 women, and the control group consisted of 48 men and 2 women. The average age of HG was 33.25 ± 8.79 years and the average age of CG was 30.84 ± 5.81; there was no statistically significant difference between the sexes as well as the ages of the groups.The hematological parameters of HG and CG have been indicated as the mean and standard deviation values in Tables Parameters related to immune system cells and platelets of both groups are presented in  intravenous and other . When comparing two groups according to hematological parameters it is seen that HGB, HTC, and MPV are lower in the intravenous administration group than the other group  has been the subject of research for many years. One of the known mechanisms of hyperalgesia is the activation of peripheral nerves in the brain or spinal cord dorsal horn after the release of soluble signaling molecules of immune cells stimulates signals of the formation of hyperalgesia . In our ralgesia . The relralgesia  A limitaIn the present study, another result, which can be interpreted as a marker related to inflammatory processes, is the changes in the platelets. MPV has been shown to be a useful marker in the assessment of systemic inflammation and has been investigated in various inflammatory diseases, which also indicates disease activity , 37. MPVOne of the strengths of this study is that the route of administration of heroin/opiate has been evaluated as well. A significant difference was found between the groups, but there might be many reasons for this. The decrease in HGB and HTC values in patients using intravenous route may be caused by the bleeding during chronic use. In a study, white matter loss and hemoglobin and mean platelet volume decrease were found to be correlated with each other as a symptom of microvascular insufficiency and tissue hypoxia in sickle cell disease patients . The assα production, and chemokinesis that occur in in vivo opioids exposure [Results of this study have revealed that there is an increase in inflammatory indexes of heroin addicts. However, previous studies stated that opioids have an immunosuppressive effect and lead to an exacerbation of immunological vulnerability in opioid users . This amexposure . Besidesexposure . These rexposure . Moreoveexposure , 44. Henexposure , has shoexposure . These pNonetheless, the current study also has several limitations. First of all, this not a prospective study, where the parameters were evaluated in a cross-sectional way by comparing with the control group. The study group consists of a small female sample size because heroin addiction is rarely seen in women in Turkey. Not being able to make a comparison between male and female in this study is also a limitation of the study. It has been hard to find initial hematological parameters of heroin addicts before the onset of their heroin use. It is well known that street heroin  have a little active substance and large quantities of other chemical compounds . Thus itOn the other hand, this study has strong results because it has diagnosed the heroin users both with clinical evaluation and laboratory urine screening tests. In addition, differently from the previous studies in this area, both of the groups were smokers, so the probable confounding effect of smoking was eliminated.The final results of this study might be expressed as hematological changes claimed malnutrition, and changes in the inflammatory indexes claimed inflammatory induction in heroin users. New studies including replication of this study and adding other inflammatory parameters will be beneficial for a better understanding of the subject.Our findings show the negative effects of chronic opiate use on hematometric/morphometric characteristics of blood cells. Opiate users have an inflammatory condition compared to the control group. Inflammatory indexes and innate immunity cells are significantly increased in the heroin group in comparison to the control groups. These allostatic changes in the immune system of heroin addicts suggest scanning and researching these patients for immune system related to other medical results and disorders. Intravenous administration of heroin was related to lower levels of HGB, HTC, and MPV than inhalation and intranasal administration. As a result, it can be said that the route of administration of heroin should be taken into consideration in the relevant studies and in routine clinical assessments.In addition, threshold/subclinical megaloblastic anemia with iron deficiency should be considered while the treatment of these patients is being planned. Discovering the impacts of opioids on hematological parameters may be beneficial for defining the homeostasis condition of the body, which leads to indications for treatment approaches.


Myxofibrosarcoma (MFS) is one of the most common soft tissue sarcomas. Previous studies have shown that MET protein overexpressed in MFS patients and can serve as a prognostic factor. The reasons for MET protein overexpression include amplification of the MET gene, which is located on chromosome 7q. Triggered by an index case harboring chromosome 7 polysomy rather than MET gene amplification in myxofibrosarcoma, we investigated chromosome 7 polysomy in more cases.Immunohistochemistry and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) were performed in 30 MFS cases (including 2 epithelioid variant) to detect the expression of MET protein and gene status.Met and more than 3 signals (Mean: 4.6) of centromere 7q (CEP7q). The MET/CEP7 ratio was about 0.65 on average, suggesting that chromosome 7 polysomy, rather than Met gene amplification, leading to the overexpression of MET protein in MFS. MET overexpression and chromosome 7 polysomy are positively correlated with higher Ki-67 index and higher grade and might have a high risk of local recurrence and metastasis.MET was overexpressed in 14 cases out of 30, while thirteen cases were in higher FNCLCC grades (Grade 2–3). FISH showed that 11 cases having 3 signals on average of It might reveals another explain of MET overexpression in myxofibrosarcoma, providing a clue for the therapy of MFS. Myxofibrosarcoma (MFS) is one of the most aggressive types of soft tissue neoplasm. It generally occurs in elderly patients and has a predilection for the limbs. Histologically, MFS features a multinodular growth pattern of spindle to polygonal sarcoma cells within variably myxoid stroma containing long curvilinear vessels . EpithelMet gene on chromosome 7q31, has been found to be overexpressed in many cancers [Met gene [MET and MFS, especially the epithelioid variant, we used immunohistochemistry and FISH to detect the MET expression and gene status in 30 MFS, including 2 epithelioid variants, and reviewed clinical and pathologic features as well as clinical outcomes.MET, a member of the receptor tyrosine kinase family, is encoded by the  cancers  and some cancers , includi cancers . MET ove cancers . RegardiMet gene –12. OtheMet gene  and primMet gene . In thisA total of 30 patients were identified and retrieved from several pathological centers: Xijing Hospital , Xihua Hospital , Hubei Provincial Cancer Hospital (11 cases), Affiliated Foshan Hospital, Sun Yet-sen University (6 cases). The 30 patients included 16 males and 14 females with a mean age of 56 years (range: 21–87 years) Table , and 12 v/v) hydrogen peroxide to block endogenous peroxidase activity. They were heated in a microwave for antigen retrieval in 0.01 M citrate buffer at pH 6.0 for 15 min, followed by incubation in 10% normal goat serum for 30 min to block the nonspecific antibody-binding sites. The sections were then incubated overnight at 4 °C with a primary antibody against total MET . Then a standard rapid EnVision technique  was used to detect the protein conjugates and develop the color. Finally, the sections were counterstained with hematoxylin and visualized. Serial sections were run in parallel with serum in which the primary antibody had been replaced with PBS and rabbit IgG as blank and negative controls, respectively.Paraffin-embedded sections 4 μm in thickness were deparaffinized and treated with 3%  and the percentage of cells stained, according to the previous studies of MET IHC scoring criteria , 14 as fFISH was performed on formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue sections in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions. Unstained 4 μm sections were placed on electrostatically charged slides and then evaluated using MET (7q31) probe and centromere 7q (CEP7q) dual-color probe . The hybridized slides were reviewed on an Olympus IX-50 microscope  at 100× magnification with oil immersion using a DAPI/Green/Red triple band pass filter set. The tissues were scored by evaluating a minimum of 40 tumor nuclei per sample. The amplification of MET was defined as 2 ≦ MET gene (red)/CEP7q (green) per cell on average. We defined polysomy of chromosome 7 as three or more signals on average of CEP7 (green) per cell , 13. To P-values < 0.05 were considered significant.Statistical analyses were performed using the Statistical Program for Social Sciences (SPSS) software . Chi-square tests were used to assess the differences and correlations between the expression of MET and the clinicopathological features of patients. Both univariate and multivariate survival analyses were performed. The survival analysis was performed using the Kaplan-Meier method. All tests were two-sided. For immunohistochemistry, MET overexpression was observed in 14 cases (including 1 case of epithelioid variant) of 30 cases  of CEP7. However, the MET/CEP7 was about 0.65 on average. This is suggested that chromosome 7 polysomy, rather than MET amplification, led to the overexpression of MET protein. Among the 11 cases, chromosome 7 polysomy was preferentially detected in cases with higher FNCLCC grade, for 2 of the 11 cases that were classified as grade 2 . In contrast, MET overexpression and chromosome 7 polysomy were almost absent from grade 1 tumors in our study. The 11 positive cases were also positively correlated with higher mitotic rate (P = 0.029), but it was not related to age, gender, or location.As shown in Table P = 0.010), which indicated that MFS patients with MET overexpression or chromosome 7 polysomy might have a high risk of local recurrence and metastasis. However, Log-rank test showed there to be no significant relationship between MET overexpression and chromosome 7 polysomy patients and the survival time of MFS patients after surgery (P = 0.317).Except for one censored case, 15 patients were followed up for survival. One patient died of metastasis seven months after surgery. There were 7 cases had local recurrence, of which one had metastasis to axillary  had recurrence and 2 cases had metastasis. Moreover, one patient died of metastasis seven months after surgery. All 8 recurrent cases were of higher FNCLCC grade (grade 2–3). All these findings were consistent with previous studies. However, the mean age of the patients in our study was 56 years, which was younger than that of previous studies 60 years.MFS is one of the most aggressive types of soft tissue neoplasm. MFS generally occur in elderly patients and has a predilection for the limbs. Clinically, MFS is tend to recur persistently, even after wide resection –18. AccoMet gene, mapped to chromosome 7q, encodes a proto-oncogene, regulating both cell motility and cell growth to allow stem cells and progenitor cells to grow invasively [There have been relatively few studies of cytogenetic and molecular genetics of MFS. Willems et al. proposed the concept of progression of MFS as a multistep genetic process ruled by genetic instability. It has been reported that MFS harbors complex karyotypes but without specific structural aberrations. Chromosome 7 is involved in the only recurrent gain , 23. Thevasively . The genvasively , lung [2vasively , gastricvasively , and colvasively . Its ovevasively .P = 0.004). MET overexpression is also positively correlated with higher Ki-67 index (P = 0.011). However, there was no relationship with age, gender, nor tumor location in MFS patients. Also, MET overexpression usually predicted high risk of local recurrence and metastasis (P = 0.010). These results were consistent with those reported by Lee [In our study, immunohistochemical results indicated that MET was over-expressed in 14 out of 30 MFS cases, especially in cases with higher FNCLCC grades and the epithelioid variant , is reported to be a tyrosine kinase receptor in epithelial cells. Through combination with HGF, Met could activate RAS-MAPK or PI3K-Akt signaling pathway to promote cell motility and proliferation [feration . MET is MET gene amplification. For this reason, we also tested the MET gene status by FISH with the probe MET/CEP7, and the results showed that five cases which have 3 signals on average of MET but more than 3 signals  of CEP7. The MET/CEP7 was about 0.65 on average, suggesting that chromosome 7 polysomy, rather than MET gene amplification, led to overexpression of MET protein in MFS. However, the mechanisms underlying the action of chromosome 7 polysomy in MFS need further study.In previous studies, MET overexpression is considered the result of MET gene regional amplification, might account for the overexpression of MET protein in MFS, which could shed a light on the therapies for MFS.Our work confirmed that MET overexpression was more frequently found in high grade MFS and the epithelioid variant. Chromosome 7 polysomy, rather than


We propose a double projection algorithm for solving variational inequality problems in Banach spaces. We establish the strong convergence of the whole sequence generated by the proposed method under the quasimonotone and uniform continuity on bounded sets, which are weaker conditions than those used in existing projection-type methods for solving variational inequality problems in Banach spaces. We consider the following variational inequality problem, denoted by C is a nonempty closed convex subset of Let S be the solution set of T is continuous and C is convex, then we haveC, we obtainT we obtainLet T on C in the sense of Karamardian [T is said to be pseudomonotone on C if for all T is said to be quasimonotone on C if for all The variational inequality problem was first introduced by Hartman and Stampacchia  in 1966.amardian ; T is saRecently, in the literature , 15,an ientclass1pt{minimaOn the other hand, recently, in –16 an exined. In  a doubleInspired by the works mentioned, in this paper, by Bregman projection we extend a double projection algorithm proposed by Solodov and Svaiter  for solvented in –17.In this section, we recall some useful definitions and results. First, we state some properties of the Bregman distance taken from .(i)g is the function The Bregman distance with respect to (ii)g at the point The modulus of total convexity of (iii)g is said to be totally convex if A function (iv)g is said to be a strongly convex function if there exists Let g is a linear functional on g is strictly convex or strongly convex on It should be noted that g is a strongly convex function, then g is a totally convex function.Clearly, if If g, which are important for the feasibility and the convergence analysis of our algorithm. The level sets of g is strongly convex on We present some conditions on an auxiliary function, called On the feasibility of the assumptions (H1)–(H5), see , 19, 20 We recall the definition of the Bregman projection and some useful results.Assume thatis a Banach space, Cis a nonempty, closed, and convex subset of is a totally convex function onsatisfying (H1). Then there exists uniquesuch thatx̂is called the Bregman projection ofx̄ontoCand is denoted byandif and only ifor, equivalently, ifandSee p. 70 of . □Assume that (H2) is satisfied. Letandbe two sequences of such that at least one of them is bounded. IfthenSee Proposition 5 of . □Letbe a nonempty, closed, and convex subset, letUbe a bounded subset of and letbe a totally convex and Fréchet-differentiable function. If (H1) and (H3) hold, thenmapsUinto a bounded subset ofC.See Proposition 2.10 of . □Letandbe Banach spaces. LetUbe a bounded subset of Ifis uniformly continuous on bounded subsets ofthenTis bounded onU.LetTbe a continuous and quasimonotone operator, and letIf for somewe havethen at least one of the following must hold:See Lemma 3.1 of . □If either(i)Tis pseudomonotone onC, and(ii)Tis the gradient ofG, whereGis a differentiable quasiconvex function on an open setand attains its global minimum onC;(iii)Tis quasimonotone onC, andCis bounded;(iv)Tis quasimonotone onC, and there exists a positive numberrsuch that, for everywiththere existssuch thatand(v)Tis quasimonotone onC, intCis nonempty, and there existssuch thatthenSee Proposition 2.1 of . □(i)x if for strongly continuous at a point (ii)x if for continuous at a point (iii)K of uniformly continuous on a subset (iv)T is (strongly) continuous at each point of (strongly) continuous on We can see that the strong continuity and the uniformly continuity are two different concepts, and they both contain the continuity, whereas the converse implications are not true. Under the assumptions of the strong continuity and pseudomonotonicity, in  the convStep 1.ComputeStep 2.ComputeStep 3.ComputeStep 4.Let Choose The feasibilities of Step 1 and Step 2 of the Algorithm Ifsatisfies (H1)–(H4), then Step 1 and Step 2 of Algorithmare well defined.m, we haveT we obtain thatg is strongly convex, which implies that For given The following lemma shows that Step 3 of Algorithm For allwe haveSee Lemma 2.5 of . □We apply Lemma Assume thatis nonempty andis generated by AlgorithmThenandApplying Remark For all Clearly, IfthenSince LetCbe a closed convex subset ofand letgbe a continuously differentiable function satisfying (H1) and (H2). Definebyfor any givenand takeIfandis Lipschitz continuous with respect to the first variable onCwith modulusthenh is continuous, we conclude that C, we obtaing is strongly convex, there exists First, we prove that, for all Assume thatis a nonempty set, is uniformly continuous on bounded subsets of andsatisfies (H1)–(H5). If Cis a closed and convex subset ofBandis an infinite sequence generated by Algorithmthen(i)(ii)is a bounded subset ofC;(iii)(iv)(i) Applying the definition of (ii) It follows from k)≥0 and  that the(iii) Using , we obtaT is uniformly continuous on bounded subsets of T, we obtain that L such thatC. Combining Lemma (iv) By (ii) the sequence y (H3), H, and LemAssume thatis a nonempty set, is uniformly continuous on bounded subset of andsatisfies (H1)–(H5). If Cis a closed and convex subset ofBandis an infinite sequence generated by Algorithmthen each weak accumulation point ofis a solution of Applying Theorem Then we prove that Case 1: If i, we have N, such that, for T and the boundedness of e, using , we obtaCase 2: If T on bounded sets of Now we can state and prove our main convergence result.Assume thatis a nonempty set, is uniformly continuous on bounded subset of andsatisfies (H1)–(H5). LetCis a closed and convex subset ofB. Then any infinite sequencegenerated by Algorithmstrongly converges to a solutionx̂of x̂ be any weak accumulation point of x̂ is a solution of x̂. Indeed, since g is strongly convex, we haveg is lower semicontinuous and convex and, thus, weakly lower semicontinuous. Henceg and Let In this paper, by the Bregman projection we extend a double projection algorithm proposed by Solodov and Svaiter  for solvented in –17.


B could be substituted for Δf to evaluate the degree of the structural EPS concrete eroded by sulfate attack. The study focuses on the fatigue performance and sulfate resistance of structural EPS concrete and is of important engineering value for promoting practical long-term operations.The fatigue and durability characteristics of structural expanded polystyrene concrete (EPS) are especially important when it was applied for structural elements in long-term service. In order to study the fatigue and durability behavior of structural EPS concrete, the long-term cyclic loading experiments and wetting–drying (W-D) cyclic experiments were conducted, respectively. The structural EPS concrete was found to have a relatively large damping and a fairly low dynamic elastic modulus under long-term cyclic load, which illustrated that it had a better energy absorption effect and toughness than plain concrete of the same strength level. Even if fine cracks appeared during the cyclic loading process, the relevant dynamic performance remained stable, which indicated that the structural EPS concrete had superior fatigue stability. In W-D cyclic experiments, the structural EPS concrete exhibited superior sulfate resistance. During the erosion test process, there was a positive correlation between the mass change and the evolution of the compressive strength of the structural EPS concrete, which indicated that Δm EPS concrete has been widely used in civil engineering structures for insulating layers or blocks , semi-stResearches on the dynamic properties of EPS concrete were mainly focused on dynamic compressive/tensile performance ,11 and e3A [Durability is another factor influencing the long-term service of EPS concretes, while a limited number of studies concerning the durability of EPS concrete have been reported currently. It seemed that a dispute does exist over the durability of EPS concretes. Owing to the micro-cracks formed by the shrinkage of EPS aggregate, EPS concrete containing higher volumes of EPS aggregate was reported to present higher moisture migration and absorption capacity , which c3A , as well3A , silica 3A ,21, and 3A , are mor3A . Hence, In this study, structural EPS concretes with a constant mixture proportion and EPS incorporation ratio were prepared to ensure the workability and strength. The long-term cyclic loadings with different frequencies  and amplitudes of the bias force  in a total of 22,000,000 vibration times were conducted by a MTS 810 universal testing machine. The fatigue behavior, including dynamic stress–strain hysteresis curves, corresponding damping ratio, and dynamic elastic modulus at different cyclic numbers, was then analyzed. Also, the sulfate resistance of structural EPS concretes was investigated by W-D cyclic experiments. The compressive strength and mass of structural EPS concrete during the whole experiment were recorded and the level of sulfate resistance was evaluated. Finally, the mechanisms of variations of mass and compressive strength were analyzed, and a positive correlation was found between the mass change and the evolution of compressive strength of the structural EPS concrete.3A and C4AF + 2C3A contents were 1.81% and 15.87%, respectively, well below the 5% and 25% limits of ASTM C150/C150M. The properties of the fly ash are given in Concretes were prepared using 42.5 Portland Cement (similar to type V in ASTM C150/C150M ) and fly3 and a solid content of 22% was used to improve the fluidity of the mix. Also, a commercial powdery viscosity-modifying admixture (VMA) and another commercial admixture polymer emulsion (PE) were employed to increase the viscosity of the cement paste and the hydrophilicity of the EPS beads, respectively.Crushed basalt gravel, with two different sizes labeled type A and B, was used as coarse aggregate. The particle size distribution of type A and B ranged from 5 to 15 mm and 15 to 25 mm, respectively. Yangtze River sand, with a specific gravity of 2.59 and water absorption of 0.6%, was used as fine aggregate. In addition, the commercially available EPS beads, with a particle size ranging from 2 to 3 mm, were used as lightweight aggregates. A commercial high-performance polycarboxylic-based superplasticizer (SP) with a density of 1080 kg/mThe mixture proportion is listed in The concrete mixtures were mixed in a recommended subsequence , and theAfter curing for 28 days, the long-term cyclic loading test was carried out on the specimens by the material test system (MTS) 810 , as shown in The loading frequencies of the cyclic loading were set at 5 and 10 Hz, and the amplitudes of the bias force were taken as 30 and 40 kN, respectively, to model the dynamic load action on the upper surface of the ballast bed . The cumThe long-term cyclic loading test underwent four stages as tabulated in To verify whether the variations of the damping ratio and dynamic elastic modulus during the long-term cyclic loading test were caused by the differences of the frequencies and loading amplitudes instead of the loading history, additional cyclic loading experiments were also conducted on another two specimens with the same mixture proportion. This experiment also consisted of four stages, and each stage had 100,000 vibration times to exclude the possibility of fine cracks as observed in the first long-term cyclic loading experiments. During the additional loading experiments, the first three stages had the same amplitudes of the bias force and loading frequency of stage Ⅰ to Ⅲ in The W-D cyclic sulfate attack was relatively severe compared to other sulfate attack conditions, because phase changes between the nardite and mirabilite were triggered . The W-DAll samples were cured in the standard curing room until the W-D cyclic experiments were conducted. The procedure of the W-D cyclic experiment is shown in Two days before the 28-day curing age, the specimens for the W-D cyclic experiment were removed from the standard curing room. The surface moisture of the tested specimen was firstly wiped, then the specimen was placed into an oven and baked at 80 ± 5 °C for 48 h. After drying, the specimens were cooled to room temperature in a dry environment.When the pre-drying work was finished, the specimens were put into a covered box made of salt corrosion resistant material. A 20-mm spacing was maintained between adjacent specimens, and the distance between the specimen and the side wall should also be at least 20 mm. Then, the prepared 5% sodium sulfate solution was poured into the box quickly, with the final liquid level more than 20 mm above the surface of the uppermost specimen. The time for the injecting process and total immersion duration should not exceed 30 min and 15 h, respectively. The sodium sulfate solution was replaced each month to keep the pH value of the solution between 6 and 8 . Also, tAfter being immersed for 15 h, the solution was drained in 30 min; subsequently, the sample was air dried for 30 min. The temperature in the box was increased to 80 °C immediately after the air-drying process, and the heating process should be completed within 30 min. When the temperature reached 80 °C, it should be maintained at 80 ± 5 °C for 6 h. After the drying process, the specimens should be cooled promptly, and the surface temperature of the specimen should be cooled to 25 to 30 °C in 2 h. The total time for each W-D cycle was 24 h. If the designed cycle times were not reached, the samples were re-immersed in the sulfate solution and a new cycle from immersion to cooling continued.According to the specification , structuWhen corresponding W-D cycles were finished, the compressive strength and mass of structural EPS concretes of group B and group C were measured for compressive strength simultaneously. The average weight of all specimens was measured and calculated before the compressive strength experiment.The sulfate-resistant coefficient of compressive strength for structural EPS concrete was calculated as follows:fK, was reduced to no less than 75%. For example, if fK for the 60th W-D cycle was more than 75%, and that for 90th W-D cycle was less than 75%, then the sulfate resistance level would be KS60. Because the sulfate resistance level of the structural EPS concrete was uncertain, fK was measured every 30 W-D cycles until fK was below 75% from the 30th cycle. Six sulfate resistance levels, including KS30, KS60, KS90, KS120, KS150, and above KS150 [Owing to a large amount of data, 10 groups of hysteresis curve data were selected and averaged every 400,000 vibrations before further processing. In the course of 22,000,000 times of cyclic loading, the corresponding stress levels and frequencies were not the same. Therefore, the dynamic stress–strain hysteresis curves were drawn by stages for analysis. The dynamic stress–strain hysteretic curves of 0–2,500,000, 2,500,000–3,500,000, 3,500,000–16,350,000, and 16,350,000–22,000,000 times are respectively shown in From It can be seen from The damping ratio, as one of the dynamic characteristics of the structure, is an important indicator that could reflect the damping capacity. The damping ratio often means the ability to absorb and attenuate vibrational energy. The damping ratio of structural EPS concrete could be calculated by the dynamic stress–strain hysteresis curve, and the corresponding damping characteristics could then be analyzed.OAB, so the damping ratio could be calculated as follows:A0 is the area of the hysteresis loop, and TA is the area of the triangle, OAB.TA could be obtained according to Equation (3):maxε, maxσ, minε, and minσ are the dynamic strains and dynamic stresses at points A and E in The area of the triangle A0 could be obtained by substituting the 25 data points in each cycle subsequently in the clockwise direction into Equation (4), and the damping ratio could be further calculated:i, respectively.In a two-dimensional surface, the area of the triangle pinched by two vectors is equal to half of the vector module of the cross product. Therefore, the area of hysteresis loop In the additional loading experiments, the calculated damping ratios of stage four and one were both around 0.0200, which indicated that the damping ratio and dynamic elastic modulus of structural EPS concrete remained nearly invariable after a long time of the cyclic loading process. Hence, further analysis could be carried out on the variation trends of dynamic properties with the change of the loading frequency and amplitude.The dynamic stress–strain hysteresis curve of structural EPS concrete every 400,000 vibrations was processed and the corresponding damping ratio was obtained. As shown in The whole structural EPS concrete could be viewed as a kind of material, then the mechanism of forming damping under dynamic loading mainly included three aspects: The damping part of the concrete itself; the damping part of the polystyrene material; the structural damping part of the interface of the concrete chamber and polystyrene particles. The last two parts were also the reasons why the damping mechanism of the structural EPS concrete differed from that of ordinary concrete.It was found that the larger the vibration load is, the greater the damping ratio of EPS concrete will be . CompareUnder cyclic loading, the chamber of the concrete specimen where the polystyrene particles resided was repeatedly compressed and expanded, causing repeated friction between the particles and the concrete chamber, as well as friction in the chamber itself. When the cyclic load amplitude was relatively large, the friction between the components was relatively strong, resulting in an increase in energy consumption; also, the particles corresponding to the larger cyclic loads were more deformed, and the polystyrene particles could not be timely adjusted to the original size, making the friction with the concrete chamber more severe . TherefoAlthough the load and frequency were not the same in different stages, the damping ratio was approximately stable at 0.0205 for structural EPS concrete with an EPS incorporation ratio of 30%. The damping ratio of ordinary concrete with a strength grade of C30 was approximately 0.0090 to 0.0147 . It was To study the mechanical response under dynamic load, apart from factors under static action, the time, size, frequency, and repetition effects of the load should also be considered, which made the dynamic response have a certain stress dependence . CorrespIn cyclic loading tests, the dynamic elastic modulus of each hysteresis loop was the slope value of the vertex connection, which can be calculated according to Equation (5):Similar to the processing method of the damping ratio, the dynamic elastic modulus of different vibration times is shown in From Comparing the cyclic loading of 0–2.5 million times (stage Ⅰ) with 2.5–3.5 million cycles (stage Ⅱ), given the same frequency, the increase of the load amplitude led to a slight decrease in the dynamic elastic modulus. To the contrary, the increment of frequency from 5 Hz (stage Ⅱ) to 10 Hz (stage Ⅲ) induced growth of the dynamic elastic modulus. This was due to the fact that with the increase of the load amplitude, new cracks would be generated inside the EPS concrete, and the original micro-cracks would expand, then the deformation would increase and the corresponding dynamic elastic modulus would decrease.From 3.5 million cycles to 16.35 million cycles, it was found that even with the same load and frequency, the dynamic elastic modulus of structural EPS concrete had an explicit tendency of gradually decreasing with the accumulated cycles. Accompanied by the propagation of micro-cracks and the generation or pooling of new cracks, an increase in deformation and a decrease in the dynamic elastic modulus were thus monitored. In particular, micro-cracks appeared on the face of the specimen near the 15.7 million cycles, and the value of the dynamic elastic modulus oscillated, but then gradually stabilized. After 15.7 million cycles, the dynamic elastic modulus only slightly decreased to a value between 0.944 and 0.992 GPa.The variation of compressive strengths and mass during the whole process of sulfate attack were investigated to evaluate the sulfate resistance of structural EPS concrete.Bnf and Cnf measured at every 30 cycles ate tabulated in fK was also calculated in accordance with Equation (1). The values fK was 94.1% when the cyclic number reached 150, which meant that the sulfate resistance level of structural EPS concrete was over KS150, the maximum sulfate resistance level regulated by the specification [fK was not below 75% until the 210th W-D cycle came, so the sulfate attack experiment was carried out to the cyclic number of 210.It was found that fication . Kf was m) was defined according to Equation (6):n W-D cycles or average weight of EPS concrete of group C at the time of n cycles. All dimensions are in grams.The variation of mass  and mirabilite (Na2SO4⋅10H2O) [Besides hydration reactions, the weight of structural EPS concrete of group B was also influenced by sulfate attack. Sulfate attack could be primarily classified into two modes: The physical attack and chemical attack. The physical attack was owing to cycles of conversion between thenardite (Na4⋅10H2O) , and the4⋅10H2O) , arising4⋅10H2O) ,39, whicAs depicted in To verify the reasons for the variation of the mass of structural EPS concrete, XRD analysis was carried out on the structural EPS concrete subjected to different exposure conditions for 90 days. As shown in The surfaces of structural EPS concrete of group B after 90, 120, and 150 W-D cycles are illustrated in The evolution of the compressive strength of structural EPS concrete is depicted in After 28-day age, hydration reactions went on slowly inside the concrete specimens, which enhanced the cementation effect between mortar and EPS particles, as well as making the interior space of the specimen denser, contributing to the continued strong growth of samples of group C. It was also found that the compressive strength of samples of group C tended to be stable at the corresponding time of the 120th W-D cycle, which meant that the hydration reaction was nearly completed.As for the structural EPS concrete of group B, both the hydration reaction and sulfate attack had an effect on the compressive strength. At an early age, products of both the hydration reaction and sulfate attack made the samples denser, resulting in an increase of the compressive strength. However, the hydration reaction approximately finished later, while products of the sulfate attack began making the concrete specimen disintegrate, which led to the decrease in compressive strength.The level of sulfate resistance of structural EPS concretes prepared in this study was over KS150, which was the highest level regulated in GB/T 50082 . CompareAddition of fly ash could improve the compactness and thus reduced the permeability of the concretes. In addition, the fly ash could alleviate damage from the sulfate attack by improving the interfacial transition zone characteristics .It was pointed out that there was a ‘‘safe zone’’ for concrete with a w/c ratio lower than 0.45 when suffering from sulfate attack . AccordiIncorporation of EPS beads was the largest difference of structural EPS concrete from plain concrete. It is well known that EPS beads have a superior deformation performance, which could make the concrete capable of bearing greater amounts of products of multiple reactions in both physical and chemical attacks. This effect and the influence of the other factors mentioned before made the sulfate resistance of structural EPS concrete more outstanding than normal plain concrete, though higher moisture migration and absorption capacity might be induced by the incorporation of EPS beads .f, was defined to describe the evolution of compressive strength:N times W-D cycles. All dimensions are in MPa.Both the variation of compressive strength and mass of structural EPS concretes under sulfate attack were related to the compactness in the concrete. The dimensionless parameter, Δf and ΔBm was studied. The relationship between ΔR2 = 0.93, and their correlation could be expressed as follows:m) of EPS concrete of group B experiencing n W-D cycles.As illustrated in n W-D cycles could be predicted by the variation of the mass and initial compressive strength of structural EPS concrete, and no excessive damage would happen to the EPS concrete when measuring the mass variation. The linear relationship between Δf and ΔBm also indicated that ΔBm could be substituted for Δf to evaluate the damage degree of structural EPS concrete under sulfate attack because the acquiring method of the indicator, ΔBm, was more convenient and did not damage the specimen when measuring.By Equations (7) and (8), the actual compressive strength of structural EPS concrete under (1)Based on the dynamic stress–strain hysteresis curve of structural EPS concrete under long-term cyclic loading, the dynamic stress–strain curve of structural EPS concrete basically overlapped with each other under the same load and frequency, which indicated that the structural EPS concrete had good stability under a dynamic load.(2)Compared with plain concretes of the same strength level, the damping ratio of structural EPS concrete was larger, and the dynamic elastic modulus was smaller, which indicated that structural EPS concrete had a superior performance of vibration attenuation, toughness.(3)A slight crack occurred on the surface of the concrete specimen at about the cyclic number of 15.7 million. However, the relevant dynamic properties could remain stable, which proved the fatigue stability of the structural EPS concrete.(4)The sulfate resistance of structural EPS concrete was evaluated as the highest level regulated by GB/T 50082  owing to(5)f and ΔBm were presented to evaluate the variation of compressive strength and mass of structural EPS concretes, which could be used to describe the damage extent of structural EPS concrete under sulfate attack. XRD analysis illustrated that the products generated in the specimens were the reasons for the evolution of the compressive strength and mass. There was an approximately linear relationship between these two indices, which indicated that ΔBm could be substituted for Δf to evaluate the degree of structural EPS concrete damage under sulfate attack for a more convenient acquiring method and no damage when measuring.The indices ΔThis paper aimed to explore the fatigue performance and sulfate resistance of structural EPS concrete for long-term service. Thus, long-term cyclic loading and W-D cyclic sulfate attack experiments were conducted on structural EPS concretes with a constant mixture proportion and EPS incorporation ratio. From the experiment results and comparison with the previous literature, the following conclusions can be drawn:As an exploratory study on the properties of structural EPS concretes for long-term service, the type of structural EPS concretes specimens prepared for long-term cyclic loading and W-D cyclic sulfate attack experiments was limited. Further experiments could be carried out to study the influence of mixture proportions and EPS incorporation ratio on the fatigue and durability behavior of structural EPS concretes.