The dataset includes search queries that can be used to identify scientific publications related to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We propose a new approach to mitigate the polysemy of terms as much as possible by targeting the most relevant subject areas for each SDG. In addition, we also used a text-mining tool to identify as many relevant phrases as possible. Publications identified through this process cannot be considered as evidence of the commitment of authors and their institutions to actions towards the targets established by the UN. However, they can be an accurate indicator of which research is relevant to the issues addressed by the SDGs, whether or not it is a direct contribution. They address the global challenges we face, including poverty, inequality, climate change, environmental degradation, peace and justice”; Table 1In 2017, the UN defined specific targets and indicators for each goal This is the reason why there have been several attempts to automatically identify scientific outputs related to these SDGs: they are based on rather complex Boolean queries combining keywords and phrases that are typical of the goals and targets defined by the United Nations policy text Nevertheless, they have been inspiring, especially those shared by Jayabalasingham et al. The dataset we share includes Boolean queries inserted in a conditional function . We have developed them with the aim of annotating structured corpora of scientific publications. They are therefore intended to be used directly in a tool such as Tableau Software. But as they are shared in txt format, they can be simply adapted for direct use in bibliographic databases such as the Web of Science, Scopus, Dimensions, or Lens.The dataset contains one query per SDG. The function indicates that if the stated condition(s) is/are true then the SDG is assigned to the publication; otherwise the result is 0. Conditions are Boolean combinations of subject areas (ASJC codes) and terms.Queries are proposed for SDGs 1 to 16. As We would like to warn that publications identified through this process cannot be considered as evidence of the commitment of authors and their institutions to actions towards the targets established by the UN. However, they can be an accurate indicator of which research is relevant to the issues addressed by the SDGs, whether or not it is a direct contribution.22.11.We review and test the query proposed by the Elsevier team 2.With the query or a slightly updated version, we retrieve the 20,000 most recent publications from Scopus to build a reference corpus.3.We use the All Science Journal Classification scheme  to enrich each publication with the field(s) and subfield(s) assigned to the source it has been published in.4.At the same time, thanks to Elsevier's API, we retrieve from Scopus the number of publications published between 2016 and 2020 in each ASJC subfield. Indeed, the number of documents varies a lot from one subfield to another 5.To identify the most relevant subfields, we divide the number of publications in our reference corpus by the number of publications in Scopus (2016–2020). This normalization process allows us to determine in which subfields the publications are relatively more frequent and to consider whether they should be used in the query.6.With CorTexT,7.We elaborate a new query combining ASJC subfield codes and extracted terms.8.The positive results returned by the query (first version) are tested through a survey among researchers (see details below).9.We propose an updated version of the search string, either confirming the first version or with improvements thanks to the survey participants' feedback.Each search string has been designed separately but according to the same basic principles presented in While the survey we conducted helped to identify problems and to make an initial assessment of precision, it did not allow us to assess recall. In our survey, we found that some respondents were incorrect because they were unaware of all the targets related to a SDG. The title of the SDG and the brief description we provided could not be sufficient. Therefore, we think the recall can only be assessed by SDG experts.road, which is found in many other words and in particular all those derived from broad for example, or flake in snowflake and cornflake, or sea in disease, nausea or research. To mitigate the problem and have simple queries, we use spaces and punctuation marks in our search strings.If, depending on the tool, regular expressions cannot be used, attention should be paid to rather short words that can be found within others and thus generate unwanted hits. This is the case of (1)least developed countries, landlocked country, developing country, landlocked countries, developing countries, small island developing States, AfricaIn an effort not to overcomplicate the queries and to allow adjustments from other researchers, we have set aside lists of words and included them in variables. For example, some SDGs explicitly target developing countries by mentioning them in a very generic way:But these phrases are not satisfactory if the authors of a publication explicitly mention the name of the country. We, therefore, take advantage of a previous study We have also created a variable named [Astronomy] with a list of words referring to planets in order to more easily exclude works in astronomy. This list can definitely be enriched.Finally, in the same way, we have introduced a variable named [Infra] listing words referring to infrastructures, a list resulting from a text-mining operation we carried out in previous work 2.2The All Science Journal Classification is a subject classification system elaborated by Elsevier to categorize journals . It includes 27 fields and 334 subfields. They are all assigned a unique and permanent 4-digit code that we use in the queries proposed in this article. The nomenclature itself is stable with no new subject area since 2011. Nevertheless, the subjects assigned to the sources are regularly updated to stay in line with editorial changes in journals. The list of sources and subfield(s) assigned to them can be freely downloaded as an Excel file from Scopus database or Elsevier's website.2.3n = 81, invited by mail) in order to confirm whether they are true or false positives. This online survey was used to test 99 sets of Title-Abstract-Keywords . For each set of title-abstract-keywords, the researcher was asked if the proposed SDG(s) (returned by the query under scrutiny) was/were relevant or irrelevant with the following question: “Do you think the following publication can be considered as a contribution to achieving the goals suggested below?”. The participant could also decide not to answer, and to choose “;I don't know”;.As we stated earlier, the positive results returned by the first version of each query have been tested through a survey among researchers from Ecole des Ponts -Economics, Econometrics and Finance.We identify the most frequent subfields in the reference corpus; they are part of the 2 following fields:poor on its own because it is an adjective that is also frequently used to describe the poor quality of something.(1)poor population, the rural poor, urban poor area, rural poor area, poor children, poorer children, poorest children, poor women, poor and needy, poor borrower, poor workmanship, poor worker, poor working families…They prove to be the most relevant for the topic, they are therefore fully included in the query and combined only with terms expressing poverty or referring to poor people (2)(2). We rule out the word food insecurity, income inequality or labor market).These same words referring to the poor (2) are combined with a few specific phrases that could not be used on their own to return alone documents relevant for SDG 1  of respondents confirmed that the publications retrieved with this search query correctly reflect the topics of this SDG.2.5Agronomy and Crop Science and Food Science seem to be relevant for this SDG. After several tests, we found that the subfield of Soil science is too broad, encompassing, for example, geotechnical research (which we think is more related to SDG 9), or urban runoff studies (which are more related to SDG 6). Then we combine polysemic expressions (e.g.: food insecurity) with the other subfields except medicine (which brings up too many publications about nutrition and dietetics), and finally we use a list of expressions that explicitly refer to the fight against hunger. 70% of the respondents confirmed the publications returned by this query are related to this SDG. Despite this consensus many respondents have erroneously considered works about climate extreme events as irrelevant. However, the United Nations do mention disasters as negative consequences on soil quality or food production.All publications from sources in 2.6aids, which was intended to retrieve works related to the fight against AIDS but which, in reality, also retrieved publications containing the verb to aid in the third person (3) or the noun aid in the plural (4).(1)Also a microscopic examination of fungal culture aids in the identification.(2)Representation of speech with high spectral resolution finds applications in the design of digital hearing aids and cochlear implants for people with hearing disability.Before reusing the terms extracted by CorTexT, we modified Elsevier's initial query by removing Engineering, as can be seen in Elsevier's report coronavirus and covid-19. On the other hand, the query relies on subfields belonging to the fields of Medicine  or Psychology, and to the Health subfield of the Social sciences field. In addition, we dedicate a segment of the query to the medical system by intersecting the Economics, Econometrics and Finance field with some key expressions such as hospitals or healthcare.This problem resulted in too many unwanted publications in A large majority (71%) of respondents confirmed that the publications retrieved by this query do reflect the theme of the SDG.3.7Education, Developmental and Educational Psychology, Life-span and Life-course Studies, Cultural Studies. Therefore, they are included in the query so that all publications from the sources belonging to them are associated with this SDG. The subfield of Sociology and Political Science also appears to be frequent, in order to better target the relevant publications, we simply combine it with the word education. Finally, CorText provides us with a list of unambiguous expressions to extend the query to other domains. 82% of respondents agreed that the proposed publications were related to this SDG.Subfields related to education exist in the ASJC scheme and they emerge as the most relevant thanks to our normalization operation: 3.8Gender studies subfield has the highest number of publications: 9% of the corpus of references in this SDG are related to it. But a closer look shows that including all publications from sources in this subfield would result in the inclusion of psychology studies that are out of the scope of this SDG. Therefore, the final search string is based on a list of phrases from Elsevier's query enriched by those found by CorTexT. 89% of respondents agreed that the proposed publications were related to this SDG.At first glance, the 3.9(1)management of the water, water pollutant, polluted water, pollutants in water, pollutants from water, pollution of water, pollution in water, pollution water, pollution in the water, water and pollution, pollutants water, water by pollutants, water from pollutants, water purification, purification of water, water quality, quality of water, water recycling, recycling water, recycle water, water reuseThere is a great amount of papers about water-related issues, in many disciplines. Mining the text of the reference corpus has enabled the identification of unambiguous expressions:quality or pollution are combined with water or sanitation. And of course all publications of sources in the subfield of Water Science and Technology are associated with SDG 6.Other terms, such as monograms like 65% of respondents agreed that the proposed publications were related to this SDG but they did not perceive that publications dealing with groundwater pollution were indeed related to this SDG.3.10solar energy returns too many hits related to astronomy. They also show that it is too risky to use renewable alone which is an adjective that can be applied to many other things than energy:(1)renewable neural implant, renewable material, renewable mandatesThe initial trials with Elsevier's query show that the phrase energy, alone or in a phrase, can be polysemic:(2)It is possible that a low energy diet could ameliorate the unfavorable effects of G allele of HSP70.(3)Thus, the essential proteins associated with physiological activities were significantly upregulated, while those related to energy production were significantly downregulated.(4)The unit energy consumption was predicted by artificial neural network (ANN), and the recovered moisture adsorption of activated alumina was measured by the dynamic adsorption test.On the other hand, subfields related to medicine and life sciences have been excluded because the word life cycle assessment in the search string for SDG 7. It seems to be more relevant for SDG 12 dedicated to responsible consumption and production. The main difficulty here lies in publications in chemistry, which we finally decided to include, since they encompass, for example, works on lithium-ion batteries, which are consistent with SDG 7 targets.We disagree with energy conservation leads to the retrieval of many false positives, mainly publications in mathematics mentioning a concept called energy conservation but irrelevant for SDG 7 targets. Therefore, rather than setting aside all publications in mathematics, we try to exclude those that mention both energy conservation and other terms that are strong signals that the topic is not related to energy storage:(5)dissipative, dissipation, energy variable, energy–momentum conservation, pseudo-energyDespite these adjustments, only 49% of participants agreed to say publications submitted to them matched the SDG. Indeed, the bi-gram 3.11Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management and the 4 subfields included in economics , Economics and Econometrics) and combine them with words like sustainable or sustainability. We have chosen not to take all of the research in economics so as not to automatically include research about finance or marketing that is not related to sustainability nor is it related to decent work.We first take all publications from Development with work-related expressions such as:(1)worker, workfare, employment, profession, employee, human resource, work participation, recruitment, workplace, careerAnother part of the query is constructed by intersecting the subfield of The other part of the query is a list of unambiguous phrases directly related to SDG 8.67% of respondents agreed that the publications retrieved with this query were related to this SDG.3.12Development subfield, which appears first in terms of percentage of publications in the reference corpus (after our standardization operation).(1)innovation, industrial, industrialization, industrialization, industry, industries, manufacturing, infrastructure, enterprise, entrepreneur, [Infra]For this query, we target works on infrastructure, innovation and industry using monograms in (12) combined with the Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering, Management of Technology and Innovation and Computer Networks and Communications. Furthermore, we take advantage of the following subfields to access the scientific outputs dedicated to infrastructure: Civil and Structural Engineering, Building and Construction, Architecture, Transportation, Safety, Risk, Reliability and Quality, Geotechnical Engineering and Engineering Geology. In order to limit unwanted hits, we combine them with terms referring to infrastructure ([Infra] variable).We also target the publications from the following relevant subfields: traffic congestion which overwrites all the results even though it is not central in the SDG.Then, with CorTexT we find expressions that can enrich the original list from Elsevier. Finally, we remove the expression 72% of the participants confirmed that the publications returned by this query are relevant for this SDG.3.13migration, immigration, emigration, and migrant which may have other meanings as examples in (13)(13) show:(1)atom migration, migrant mesozooplankton, credit risk migration, migrant birdsThis SDG is clearly cross-cutting, as indicated by the sentence that describes it in the UN's description: “;Reducing inequalities and ensuring no one is left behind are integral to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.”; We therefore chose to keep close to the UN presentation text. Nevertheless, we pay particular attention to the words Economics, Econometrics and Finance and the subfields of Sociology and Political Science, Demography, Geography, Planning and Development, Political Science and International Relations. The remaining part of the query is based on unambiguous expressions related to the SDG.To avoid out of the scope results, we cautiously combine those words with all subfields in 75% of the participants classified the publications we submitted to them as relevant.3.14Urban studies subfield. For the subfields of Waste Management and Disposal, Transportation and Geography, Planning and Development, we combine them with words that restrict the topic of “;city”;:(1)city, cities, human settlement, human settlements, urban, metropolitan, metropole, town, municipal, municipality, municipalitiesWe use the entire We use these same words combined with others for the rest of the query which is based on a list of non-polysemic phrases.A large majority (80%) of respondents confirms the query returns relevant publications for this SDG.3.15Environmental Chemistry, Environmental Engineering, and Waste management and disposal must all be considered for this SDG. Then to avoid out-of-scope results, we target the field of Environmental Science for the part of the query based on consumer behavior and behavioural economics. Lastly, the remaining part of the query is a list of unambiguous expressions related to SDG 12.We rapidly identify that publications from sources within the fields of 74% of respondents agreed that the publications we submitted to them do relate to this SDG.3.16Atmospheric science and Global and planetary change are relevant to SDG 13. Then to target the issues of climate change within the publications from sources in the 13 subfields of the field of Environmental science, we apply to these subfields a weak constraint with the variants designating climate and atmosphere. Lastly, the query is completed by a list of unambiguous expressions on the topic. We considered it inappropriate to set aside the publications in Paleontology as the works in this field also contribute to research on current climate problems.To begin with, all publications from sources related to the subfields of 65% of respondents confirmed the publications we associated to this SDG are indeed relevant to its targets.3.17Oceanography and Aquatic Science as the most relevant and set up the search string to retrieve all publications related to them.We identify the subfields of lakes, rivers, mangroves, deltas etc. are also concerned even if the description of the SDG focuses on seas and oceans. But we are comforted in this choice by a UN publication on Lake Tanganyika highlighted on one of the SDG 14 web pages.We take the position that n-grams, and more polysemic ones that we combine with the “;below water vocabulary”; 0 and exclude the fields of health and medicine.(1)marine, submarine, maritime, ocean, sea, lake, delta, wetland, river, mangrove, estuaryWe also include in the query unambiguous 57% of respondents agreed that the selected publications were related to this SDG. Some of the publications they rejected were about the study of waves. We admit that we do not have any certainty on this issue, in any case it must depend on the related topics dealt with in these papers.3.18Astronomy and Astrophysics. Then, we target publications from sources associated with the following subfields: Nature and Landscape Conservation, Forestry, Earth-Surface Processes, Soil Science, Animal Science and Zoology, Insect Science but we exclude publications mentioning the “;below water vocabulary”; of SDG 14 (15).First we rule out the specific subfield of Then we develop a list of unambiguous expressions that we look for in all subfields except medicine and health. Some phrases could also apply to SDG 14, thus, in order to avoid unwanted results, we combine them with words expressing life on land.forest or forestry. They have a very common meaning in computer science. As a consequence, we have improved the query by adding a list of words to be excluded:(1)tree set, tree set, magnetic resonance, wireless sensor, tree graph, stack tree, decision tree, poset, operad, algebra, tree-wise, tree wise, tree of shapes, mathematics, tree structured data, tree-structured data54% of the participants reported that the publications we had suggested for this SDG did not match. This allowed us to identify a very difficult problem to deal with regarding the words 3.19: Health , Law, Safety Research, Sociology and Political Science, Political Science and International Relations, Public Administration.For this query, we select all publications related to the following subfields that have been identified as the most relevantIn the second part of the query, we enumerate a range of specific expressions and combine them with all the fields that are not related to medicine.Sociology and Political Science subfield. More data should to be collected to make a more refined assessment in order to measure the benefits and drawbacks of including this field. We can suggest to adjust the query according to the corpus of publications being reviewed.This SDG was very problematic as 55% of the respondents rejected our proposals. These rejections are mainly due to the inclusion of the The recruitment of participants was carried out via the internal mail servers of Ecole des Ponts without any specific targeting other than the researchers of the institution. Moreover, access to the questionnaire was via a unique independent URL (i.e.: no token was used and therefore there is no possibility to link the participant to his/her set of answers in LimeSurvey). Respondents’ involvement was completely anonymous and voluntary; they had to give their informed consent for inclusion before they could participate in the survey. They were informed that the survey was anonymous and that no personal data was collected. Only the answers to the questions were collected.The author declares that she has no known competing financial interests or personal relationships, which have, or could be perceived to have, influenced the work reported in this article.


Phenomena occurring during the curing of concrete can decrease its mechanical properties, specifically strength, and serviceability, even before it is placed. This is due to excessive stresses caused by temperature gradients, moisture changes, and chemical processes arising during the concreting and in hardened concrete. At stress concentration sites, microcracks form in the interfacial transition zones (ITZ) in the early phase and propagate deeper into the cement paste or to the surface of the element. Microcracks can contribute to the development of larger cracks, reduce the durability of structures, limit their serviceability, and, in rare cases, lead to their failure. It is thus important to search for a tool that allows objective assessment of damage initiation and development in concrete. Objectivity of the assessment lies in it being independent of the constituents and additives used in the concrete or of external influences. The acoustic emission-based method presented in this paper allows damage detection and identification in the early age concrete (before loading) for different concrete compositions, curing conditions, temperature variations, and in reinforced concrete. As such, this method is an objective and effective tool for damage processes detection. All engineering projects encounter a range of challenges associated with the most widely used building material, concrete. Being a major problem in current concrete construction, concrete cracking or damage requires a continuous search for new methods and improvement of the existing concrete assessment techniques. This is especially important for fresh concrete, which affects the behavior of concrete under load.Due to the multilevel nature of concrete, with qualitatively distinct mechanisms taking place during the formation of the concrete, the interaction of various parameters must be considered and the ways to study these relationships and effects have to be found to detect damage. Concrete deterioration occurs primarily through technological cracks (microcracks) and different interfacial properties (cracks) formed at various structural levels, which propagate and initiate operational cracks affecting the usability and strength of concrete elements. The composition of the concrete largely affects its properties. Concrete has high compressive strength and is durable. It can be formed into virtually any shape. Weak points of this material include low tensile strength, shrinkage during the hardening process, and susceptibility to external influences, such as moisture , temperaParticularly important for concrete elements is the early period accompanied by a number of phenomena related to cement hydration ,5,6.Chemical reactions occurring in the cement paste during the hydration process, drying out (water evaporation), the cement paste properties themselves , as well as volumetric changes due to external factors (temperature and air humidity) cause swelling and chemical, plastic, autogenous, and drying shrinkage. These volume changes of hardening concrete generate natural stress, including “micro” stress. Stresses occur most often in the interfacial transition zones (ITZ) between the grains of aggregate and cement paste and decide on the mechanical properties of these zones and their microcracking. At stress concentrations exceeding the tensile strength of concrete, the microcracks may propagate into the deeper layer of the cement paste or to the surface of the element. Examples of damages in the concrete elements shown in To mitigate microcracking in concrete, an addition of fly ash, an application of the blast-furnace slag cement or low density aggregate is good practice, as demonstrated in . HoweverObjective assessment of damage formation and development in concrete, which is independent of the components, additives, and external impacts is essential.Various non-destructive methods have been used for this purpose ,15,16. AThe research analyzing stress in concrete is especially related to the acoustic emission phenomenon. The acoustic emission method enables the determination of basic parameters of fracture mechanics necessary to analyze the course of stress affecting concrete destruction. Depending on the grade of concrete tested, the criteria for the estimation of the level of stress were established ,36. AnotProgressive damage of structural elements (Reinforced Concrete beams—RC beams) under bending is assessed using the Keiser effect by monitoring AE activity during cyclic loading . The KeiThe methods performed on concrete subjected to compression and bending do not consider an influence of internal stress on concrete strength. At the initial stage of concrete setting, the cement paste shrinks and meets the resistance of aggregate grains that do not shrink. A self-balancing state of compressive and tensile stress arises. If the tensile stresses in the cement paste exceed the tensile strength, microdefects occur. These defects may form in the matrix and in the interfacial transition zone (ITZ) around the aggregate   presented in ,43,44 haThe study presented in this paper demonstrates that this method is of a general nature and allows observation and identification of destruction processes regardless of the aggregate used, cement types, admixtures added, hardening conditions, temperature, or the presence of reinforcement. It also enables quantitative assessment of destructive processes, which can be important when assessing the strength properties of concrete.The method can thus be applied to diagnosing elements made of reinforced concrete, controlling the concrete hardening stage, and supporting decision making , thereby ensuring the reliability of the structure.A total of 30 samples  were tested.Twenty-one samples (W2–W8) were made of C30/37 concrete, six samples  were made of C40/50 concrete and three (W2) of C25/30 concrete. Except for sample W2 (100 mm × 100 mm × 500 mm), all samples had square cross-sections with 150 mm on each side and the length of 600 mm. Samples B2 were made with chemical admixtures (plasticizer and air entraining agent), other samples without admixtures. Samples denoted by “W” were made with limestone aggregate from the Trzuskawica quarry, while these marked with “B” with basalt aggregate from Górażdże quarry. All samples were made with cement CEMI 42,5N—MSR/NA from the Warta cement plant  . The chemical compositions of the cements are compiled in Three samples B4 were made with basalt aggregate, blast furnace slag, and cement CEM III without any additions.The W3 and W4 samples after fabrication were cured in water for 10 days and then tested for 58 days under cyclic temperature variations . AdditioThe samples in series W7 were tested for 58 days without water curing at a constant temperature (+22 ± 2 °C).Before the test, the AE (Acoustic Emission) sensors were attached to one side of each sample b,c.To provide appropriate conditions, the test stand was developed, comprising of a thermally and acoustically insulated chamber. A list of samples examined is shown in AE signals were recorded for 58 days in 12-h stages.The proposed identification of active damage processes (IADP) method was presented in ,21,24 anThen the modified version of this method was applied to detect damage in young concrete ,42.The IADP method outline is shown in The preliminary reference signal database was developed based on 12 parameters of the AE signal: counts, counts to the peak, amplitude signal duration, signal rise time, signal amplitude, signal energy, signal strength average, effective voltage, absolute energy, average frequency, reverberation frequency, and initiation frequency. There are four destructive processes, described in ,4,7, whiThe method of assessing the quality of early-age concrete must enable identification of internal defects, regardless of the components used for its manufacture or the conditions under which the structure of hardened concrete forms. The potential of the IADP method was analyzed in this context. Damage processes were identified based on the assessment of signal classes recorded during the test.The AE signals were recorded for 12 h on days: 1–8, 12, 16, 20, 24, 28, 38, 46, and 57 using MISTRAS software. Then the proposed IADP method was used to analyze the signals (hits). The signals from the tests were compared by 12 AE parameters with signals from the database and assigned to particular classes. The reference database was first developed using K-means clustering and then verified in .An analysis was performed on averaged results of the number of recorded signals (hits) with respect to destructive processes assigned to them. Concrete of each series was investigated by 6 sensors  in a given series). All signals recorded by these 6 sensors capturing the processes were averaged for each series. The number of signals recorded on average by one sensor was analyzed.The development of damage processes in series W3, W4, W6, and W7 and B2, B3, and B4 is shown in Figures 5, 7, 9, 10, 12, and 13. Corresponding images of side surface cracks  are presented in Figures 6, 8, and 11, except W6 and B2-B4 samples, because no cracks were observed on their surfaces.Twenty-three hits assigned to surface microcrack formation (destructive process III) were captured in samples A, B, and C .Ten signals assigned to destructive process III (surface microcracks formation) were detected in samples A, B, and C  until daClass III signals were not captured in the test and no microcracks at the surface of the samples were observed.A few signals Class III assigned to the formation of surface microcracks were recorded in W7 samples. A single surface microcracks were detected on the sides of the samples .Class III signals were not captured in the test and no microcracks at the surface of the samples were observed.Class III signals were not captured in the test and no microcracks at the surface of the samples were observed.The analysis of the destructive processes confirmed that the internal structure of the concrete was affected by a range of factors such as aggregate and cement type, curing conditions  that influence cement hydration, dimensions of the tested element as well as reinforcing bars embedded in the samples.The identified processes, number of signals and curing conditions are shown in Analysis of the results shows that Class 1 signals were recorded most often in the test. These signals correspond to internal microcrack formation. Most damage processes I were observed during the first week. Their number decreased over time but they did not fade out during 56 days.The number of Class 2 signals assigned to damage process II  was almost an order of magnitude smaller.Class 3 signals were not recorded in  concrete samples cured after demolding during 10 days and then hardened at constant temperature (22 ± 2 °C). This indicates that destructive processes III (surface microcrack formation) did not occur, which was confirmed by the observation of the sample.In addition to tracking the growth of individual destructive processes in time, the number of destructive processes recorded at any given time interval can be also analyzed. Several analyses based on this precise information about damage and damage development in early age concrete were performed.The results selected for W3 and W4 concrete samples  show thaIn The presented results for concrete tested under different curing conditions, hardening temperature, aggregate type, concrete strength, dimensions of the sample, presence of the admixtures, and presence of reinforcement show that the proposed AE method is the general method that allows for early age damage identification, damage tracking, and location.In each of the analyzed cases, it was possible to select damage classes. The emergence of class 1 and class 2 signals does not represent direct effects on the strength level.Evaluation of concrete strength based on the presented AE method has a qualitative nature. Therefore, it seems expedient to look for a correlation between the intensity of destructive processes and the strength of the concrete obtained.In the case of hardening at varied temperature, class II damage  increases but class III (surface microcracks) decreases in reinforced concrete, which confirms that the reinforcement restricts most dangerous class III damage ,All damage processes increase in the case of hardening at variable temperature .The data obtained can also be used in several analyses of practical significance such as:


The use of recycled masonry aggregate for concrete is mostly limited by the worse properties in comparison with natural aggregate. For these reasons it is necessary to find ways to improve the quality of recycled masonry aggregate concrete and make it more durable. One possibility is utilization of crystalline admixture which was verified in this study by laboratory measurements of key material properties and durability. The positive influence of mineral admixture was proved for freeze-thaw resistance. The positive impact to carbonation resistance was not unambiguous. In conclusion, the laboratory evaluation shows how to improve the durability of recycled masonry aggregate concrete, however, it is necessary to investigate more about this topic. The main advantages and disadvantages related to recycled aggregate (RA) used as aggregate for concrete are generally known and have been described many times. On the one hand, the replacement of natural aggregate (NA) leads to the reduction of primary source consumption. On the other hand, the utilization of recycled aggregate mostly negatively affects the properties of concrete, especially its water absorption, mechanical properties and durability. For this reason, the utilization of RA from construction and demolition waste (CDW) as aggregate for concrete has limited structural applications worldwide. Furthermore, the possible utilization of RA depends on its quality, composition, and properties. Generally, there are three basic types of RA known: recycled concrete aggregate (RCA), masonry aggregate (RMA), and mixed recycled aggregate (MRA) ,2. Each The RCA mostly contains natural aggregate with attached mortar, unbound natural aggregate, and cement paste. The attached mortar causes two main problems related with RCA utilization as aggregate for concrete: (1) transition zones between old and new mortar which negatively influence the mechanical properties of recycled aggregate concrete (RAC) ,4,5,6; , with a high content of waste masonry such as red bricks, calcium silicate bricks, ceramic blocks, aerated concrete, plaster, etc., and mixed recycled aggregate (MRA) which combines RMA and RCA, has not found satisfactory use yet. According to the Czech standards , the RA In the case of RMA, higher porosity and water absorption are caused by porous materials contained in RMA, such as red bricks, ceramic blocks, aerated concrete, and concrete particles with adhered mortar. It follows that the consequences of high porosity and water absorption of RMAC are slightly different than that of RAC; however, the impact on the mechanical properties and durability is similar. For better properties of fresh and hardened concrete, the additional water compensating water absorbability of RMA needs to be added to the concrete mixture during mixing  or the R2 to form an additional C–S–H gel to increase the density and strength of concrete. Secondly, it was found [Durability of concrete is the ability of concrete to resist various types of effects during its service period of exposure to its surrounding environment. The durability of RMAC is usually weaker than NAC and RAC due to its higher porosity and water absorption. In previous studies, the possibilities of durability improvement were verified. At first, there were few verified possible ways to improve the freeze-thaw resistance of RAC. When RCA is presoaked during the two-stage mixing approach  and the as found  that theas found  such as as found . On the as found . Finallyas found .The main aim of this study is the improvement of the RMAC mixture durability by the crystalline admixture. This approach is completely new due to the fact that there are no studies where the durability properties of RMAC concrete were improved and furthermore, no studies where the properties of concrete with RA are improved by crystalline admixture. The combination of these two topics is the main aim of this study. The verification of improvement in RMAC properties was proven by the laboratory measurements of the physical and mechanical properties and durability performance, especially freeze-thaw resistance and carbonation resistance.In total, 8 concrete mixtures were prepared and tested to verify the possibility of improvement of the RMAC properties by crystalline admixture. Crystalline admixtures (CA) are permeability reducing admixtures, which are inherently hydrophilic due to their easy reaction with water. The chemical reaction between the crystalline admixture with cement and water leads to the increasing density of calcium silicate hydrate (CSH) and resistance of water penetration. The proper function of the waterproofing effect of crystalline material in concrete is achieved by the reaction of various chemical components necessary when the porous system of concrete reaches a sufficient level of moisture . It was There were two types of NAC mixtures—one was a reference mixture with a natural aggregate without crystalline admixture, and the other mixtures contained two types of RMA as a full replacement of NA and different amounts of crystalline admixture. The durability properties were tested in two steps. The first four mixtures (NAC 1 and RMACs 1) were tested at age 28 days. The second four mixtures (NAC 2 and RMACs 2) were tested at age 60 days to show the influence of the crystalline admixture over time ,76.3 and fine RMA between 2000 and 2500 kg/m3, which is generally lower than natural gravel and sand [In the previous studies, it was found that the dry density of coarse RMA ranges between 1800 and 2700 kg/mand sand ,49,52,53and sand ,40,49,52and sand ,52,57.In this study, one type of NA and two types of RMA were used. Both types of RMA were prepared from construction and demolition waste by a Czech recycling center, which were separated into fractions of 0–4, 4–8, and 8–16 mm see . Both tySelected properties of RMA were tested according to the requirements of Czech European standards . The pro3. The mixtures were optimized using the Bolomey particle size distribution curve. The additional water was calculated for RMAC mixtures according to the water absorption capacity of RMA and moreover the higher effective w/c ratio 0.65 positively influenced the effect of the crystalline admixture. Two mixtures of conventional concrete (NAC 1 C0 and NAC 2 C0) of strength class C25/30 only with NA of particle size up to 16 mm and without crystalline admixture was manufactured as a reference to compare with the other mixtures in which NA was fully replaced by RMA. Two mixtures of RMA concrete (RMAC 1 C0 and RMAC 2 C0) were prepared without the crystalline admixture. In the other four mixtures, the crystalline admixture was added to improve the properties of RMAC. Mixture RMAC C1 contains 1.5% (of cement weight) of crystalline admixture and mixture RMAC C3 contains 3% (of cement weight) of crystalline admixture  and 60 days (NAC 2 and RMAC 2) according to valid Czech standards. Samples of dimensions 100 × 100 × 400 mm3 and other properties were tested on prismatic specimens 100 × 100 × 400 mm3.The mechanical properties were tested on Controls MCC8 50-C8422/M  according to the following standards to obtain the target values: compressive strength EN 12390-3 (2003); flexural strength EN 12390-5 (2009); static modulus of elasticity EN 12390-13 (2014); dynamic modulus of elasticity EN 12504-4 (2005). Samples for testing of mechanical properties were stored and cured in a stable laboratory environment during solidification and maturation, and after 28 and 60 days were determined by laboratory tests. Compressive strength was tested on cubic specimens 150 × 150 × 150 mm3. Specimens were treated by water, and after stabilization of weight, dried in an oven at a temperature of 105 ± 2 °C until stabilization of weight. The saturated surface-dried density and dry density were measured on these samples. Samples NAC 1 and RMAC 1 for testing were stored and cured in a stable laboratory environment, and samples NAC 2 and RMAC 2 were stored and cured in water during solidification and maturation for 60 days to verify the influence of activation of the crystalline admixture by water. Capillary water absorption was determined by measuring the rate of water absorption by the capillaries. The ends of the fractured prismatic specimens of 100 × 100 × approx. 150 mm3, which were tested after the flexural strength test, were immersed in water up to a maximum height of 5 mm and measured by periodically weighing the surface-dried sample until their weight stabilized.Water absorption capacity by immersion was tested on cubic specimens 100 × 100 × 100 mm3 for examination of thefreeze-thaw resistance were stored and cured in water during solidification and maturation for 28 and 60 days. Subsequently, the samples were placed in freezing-thawing equipment KD 20 developed by the Ecofrost company  for testing frost resistance according to the Czech standard CSN 73 1322 (1969). Test specimens occurred in freezing cycles in which the temperature of the freezer must be between −15 °C and +20 °C. One freezing cycle consists of four hours of freezing and two hours of thawing. During freezing, the test specimens are stored in water of +20 °C. At the end of each freezing stage (25 cycles), one set of surface-dried test beams (3 pieces) shall be tested to determine their dimensions, weight, bulk density, and dynamic modulus of elasticity according to EN 12504-4 (2005). After the frost resistance test , the test beams are tested for flexural strength according to EN 12390-5 (2009).Prismatic specimens 100 × 100 × 400 mm3 for examination of the carbonation resistance of mixtures NAC 1 and RMAC 1 were stored and cured in a stable laboratory environment, and samples NAC 2 and RMAC 2 were stored and cured in water during solidification and maturation for 60 days to verify the influence of activation of the crystalline admixture by water. Afterwards, the specimens were stored in a laboratory incubator with air circulation with CO2 atmosphere CO2CELL . Samples were placed in the environment with 3.0 ± 0.2% CO2 concentration for 28 days, which was inspired by the Standard CSN EN 12390-12. However, the evaluating of the carbonation resistance was modified to compare the influence of the same environment to the different mixtures with different amounts of the crystalline admixture. Furthermore, the flexural strength and carbonation depth were measured. The carbonation depth was evaluated on the prismatic specimens split in halves by the use of the phenolphthalein indication method, due to the reduction of pH in concrete by the effect of CO2. The solution of 0.8 g of phenolphthalein powder was dissolved in a solution of 70 mL ethanol and 30 mL of deionized water.Prismatic specimens 100 × 100 × 400 mmThe water absorption of concrete influences its durability ,79. The The compressive and flexural strength and static and dynamic modulus of elasticity were tested for all concrete mixtures due to the knowledge of the material properties before durability examination see . The comThe durability of concrete is essential due to the desire to maintain performance of concrete throughout the service life of a structure. This study deals with two durability properties in which the positive influence of the addition of crystalline admixture was predicted. The evaluated properties were freeze-thaw resistance, which is essential for future utilization in the outdoor environment, and carbonation depth, which it is necessary to know due to the reinforcement design.Freezing and thawing are often used as one possible way to evaluate concrete durability. The freeze-thaw resistance of concrete is mostly evaluated by measuring the dynamic elastic modulus, weight loss rate, and flexural strength loss rate after exposure to freeze-thaw cycles. Generally, this property is mainly affected by porosity, water content, environmental conditions, and aggregate types .Two properties were evaluated for samples exposed to freezing and thawing cycles: dynamic modulus of elasticity and flexural strength. The dynamic modulus of elasticity was evaluated after 0, 25, 50, 75, and 100 cycles  The resuThe results of the dynamic modulus of elasticity tested during the freezing and thawing cycles by the ultrasonic method show a significant influence of crystalline admixture. All four mixtures without crystalline admixture have the lowest freeze-thaw resistance according to the frost resistance coefficient determined from the dynamic modulus of elasticity, which means that the frost resistance coefficient was lower than 0.75. Three mixtures  was not frost resistant at all. Mixture RMAC 1 C0 was frost resistant until 50 cycles. On the contrary, the majority of mixtures with crystalline admixture were frost resistant for the whole test period, which was 100 cycles. Only the mixture RMAC 1 C3 was frost resistant until 75 cycles. Furthermore, the results of freeze-thaw resistance of concrete mixtures with crystalline admixture determined from the dynamic modulus of elasticity verify the positive impact of crystalline admixture in time due to the testing age of the mixtures, when the mixtures RMAC 2 were stored in the freezing-thawing chamber at age 60 days, unlike mixtures RMAC 1, which were stored in the freezing-thawing chamber at age 28 days.The second possibility of evaluating the frost resistance according to the Czech standard is the frost resistance coefficient determined from flexural strength. This test could be measured only on samples which were not damaged during freeze-thaw cycles. In the case of this study, the flexural strength could be tested after 100 freeze-thaw cycles for the majority of concrete mixtures, however, the mixture NAC 2 C0 was tested after only 50 cycles and for mixture RMAC 1 C0 stayed testable in only one sample after 100 cycles. In general, the results of the flexural strength correspond with the results of dynamic modulus of elasticity and show a significant influence of crystalline admixture see . All fou2), which promotes the reduction of pH in concrete. There are many studies about the positive or negative influence of CO2 to the microstructure and properties of concrete. On one hand, carbonation can cause important changes in porosity, pore size distribution, connectivity, specific surface and also significant changes in transport properties, including water permeability, capillary retention, ion and gas diffusion. Furthermore, the decalcification of the C-S-H phase was found [2 forms carbonic acid, which reacts with calcium hydroxide (Ca (OH)2) to form calcium carbonate (CaCO3) and can slightly increase strength and reduce permeability due to the deposition of CaCO3 in the cavities of the cement matrix [Carbonation of concrete can be described as a physicochemical process in which a number of chemical reactions take place in the presence of carbon dioxide , the carbonation depth was clearly improved by the crystalline admixture.In this study, the experimental verification of the improvement of the physical, mechanical and durability properties of concrete containing recycled masonry aggregate by crystalline admixture was examined and discussed. It is generally known that the mechanical properties and durability decrease with the replacement of natural aggregate by recycled aggregate. The durability of recycled masonry aggregate concrete is negatively influenced by higher porosity and water absorption of concrete, which could be improved by adding suitable admixture. In the previous studies, a few possibilities of improvement of properties using admixtures have been tested. In this case, the improvement of the durability of recycled masonry aggregate concrete by the crystalline admixture was verified, which has been carried out for the first time in this study. The final conclusions that have been reached can be summarized in the following points:The novelty of this study was the utilization of crystalline admixture to improve the durability of concrete. It was predicted that this admixture could fill the pores due to its reaction with water, which is contained in recycled masonry aggregate. The positive impact of crystalline admixture is not clearly shown for water absorption capacity of recycled masonry aggregate concrete due to different results of water absorption by immersion and capillary water absorption. However, there are clear benefits of crystalline admixture utilization on the durability, especially on freeze-thaw resistance. Although the laboratory measurements have been done with emphasis on different types of curing and concrete ages, the goal of further laboratory measurements will be confirmation of these results.


The overuse of antibiotics has been a major public health problem worldwide, especially in low- and middle- income countries (LMIC). However, there are few policies specific to antibiotic stewardship in primary care and their effectiveness are still unclear. A restrictive-prescribing stewardship targeting antibiotic use in primary care has been implemented since December 2014 in Hubei Province, China. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of the restrictive-prescribing stewardship on antibiotic consumption in primary care so as to provide evidence-based suggestions for prudent use of antibiotics.Monthly antibiotic consumption data were extracted from Hubei Medical Procurement Administrative Agency (HMPA) system from Sept 1, 2012, to Aug 31, 2017. Quality Indictors of European Surveillance of Antimicrobial Consumption (ESAC QIs) combined with Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) classification codes and DDD per 1000 inhabitants per day (DID) methodology were applied to measure antibiotic consumption. An interrupted time series analysis was performed to evaluate the effects of restrictive-prescribing stewardship on antibiotic consumption.P = 0.005) and showed a downward trend . Specifically, the use of penicillins, cephalosporins and macrolides/lincosamides/streptogramins showed declined trends after intervention . An immediate decline was also found in the contribution of β-lactamase-sensitive penicillins to total antibiotic use . However, an immediate increase in the contribution of third and fourth-generation cephalosporins  and an ascending trend in the contribution of fluoroquinolones  were observed after intervention. The stewardship led to an immediate increase in the ratio between broad- and narrow-spectrum antibiotic use  though they both had a significant downward trend . An immediate decline  and a downward trend  were also found in the oral antibiotic use after intervention, but no significant changes were observed in the parenteral antibiotic use.Over the entire study period, a significant reduction (32.58% decrease) was observed in total antibiotic consumption, which declined immediately after intervention (coefficient = − 2.4518, Restrictive-prescribing stewardship in primary care was effective in reducing total antibiotic consumption, especially the use of penicillins, cephalosporins and macrolides/lincosamides/streptogramins. However, the intervention effects were limited regarding the use of combinations of penicillins with ß-lactamase inhibitors, the third and fourth-generation cephalosporins, fluoroquinolones and parenteral antibiotics. Stronger administrative regulations focusing on specific targeted antibiotics, especially the use of broad-spectrum antibiotics and parenteral antibiotics, are in urgent need in the future. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has been increasingly concerned as a major public health problem worldwide, leading to longer hospital stays, higher medical costs and increased mortality , 2. It wThe intensive use of antibiotics has been regarded as a main driver of AMR and the unnecessary use further worsened such situation , 6. The There are few policies specific to antibiotic stewardship in primary care and little is known about the practical effectiveness. Although previous studies have conducted some small-sale interventions to regulate antibiotic overuse in primary care, but the effects are mixed and confused. As examples, online evidence-based feedbacks effectively reduced antibiotic prescribing from 37.4 to 28.1% in patients with suspected respiratory tract infections (RTIs) attending primary care . SimilarPrevious antibiotic stewardship programs in China mainly focus on secondary and tertiary hospitals, which have achieved significant improvements . HoweverA restrictive-prescribing stewardship with specified administrative regulation was issued in 2014 in Hubei province of China, aiming at further promoting prudent use of antibiotics . This ad2. Its per capita gross domestic product (GDP) is 60,198.68 yuan ($8915.95 USD), ranking in the middle range of all provinces. The disposable income for rural residents and urban residents is 13,812.09 yuan ($2059.38 USD) and 31,889.42 yuan ($4754.71 USD) respectively (2017). There are 36,323 healthcare institutions in Hubei, among which 34,742 are primary care institutions, including state-owned community or township centers [This study was conducted in Hubei province, central China. Hubei has a population of over 61 million and covers an area of 185,900 kmtively 20. There aData used in this study were extracted from the Hubei Medical Procurement Administrative Agency (HMPA) system, which provided a specialized and reliable source on the medicine consumption, including antibiotics . The datIn November 2014, a restrictive-prescribing stewardship specific to antibiotics was developed and has been formally implemented since December 2014 across the entire Hubei province. This restrictive intervention put forward strict administrative rules on the antibiotic grades, varieties, prescribing rate and route of administration in primary care. Four major requirements were involved as follows.Firstly, all primary care institutions should comply with the requirements on using non-restricted and restricted antibiotics; only physicians with corresponding prescribing privileges are qualified to prescribe relevant grades of antibiotics; Secondly, the number of antibiotic varieties should be strictly controlled within 30 in primary care and 15 for village clinics; Thirdly, the prescribing rate of antibiotics should not exceed 20% for outpatients in rural township health centers, 40% for emergency patient, and 60% for inpatients; the Antibiotics Use Density (AUD) should not exceed 40 DDDs per 1000 inhabitants per day, and etc.; Fourthly, the route of administration of antibiotics in primary care should be mainly oral or intramuscular injection; intravenous infusion or intravenous bolus injection should be restricted to inpatient departments or outpatient observation rooms; intravenous infusion in clinics  should be approved by local health bureau.Under the administrative power, a good policy implementation was guaranteed. Specifically, local healthcare institutions strictly execute the above four restrictive regulations by establishing and implementing antibiotic classification management system, strengthening the monitoring and management of clinical use, and enhancing the training and assessment on prescribers. Physicians follow the principles of safety, effectiveness and economy to prescribe antibiotics rationally, and only those who have received adequate training and passed assessment are granted with corresponding antibiotic prescribing privileges. Local health bureau as well as provincial health bureau are responsible for managing, supervising and evaluating the use of antibiotics. Additionally, performance appraisal are linked with rewards , and penalties are also executed for violations of the regulations .The Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) classification codes were used to categorize medicines, and procurement records of J01 (antibiotics for systemic use) were extracted for the purpose of this study . DefinedTo provide drug-specific insight in measuring antibiotic consumption and trigger action to improve antibiotic use, quality indictors (QIs) proposed by European Surveillance of Antimicrobial Consumption (ESAC) were used to measure antibiotic use, which has become an internationally comparable methodology , 22. In Regular, evenly spaced intervals are appropriate for a segmented regression analysis to evaluate the effect of intervention . In thisTo estimate the effect of restrictive prescribing stewardship on antibiotic use, the following segmented linear regression model was applied :\documeAs two key parameters in the segmented linear regression, level and trend define each segment of a time series. The level is the value of the series at the beginning of a given time interval, while the trend is the rate of change of the intervention measure.Yt is the average number of antibiotic use in month t; Time is a continuous variable indicating time in months at time t from the start of observation; intervention is an indicator for Timet occurring before (intervention = 0) or after (intervention = 1) the cap, which was implemented at month 28  in the series; and Time after interventiont is a continuous variable counting the number of months after the intervention at time t, coded 0 before the cap and added by 1 continuously after the cap. The coefficients β0 and β1 respectively estimate the baseline level of outcome at time zero, and the change that occurs with each month before the intervention; β2 and β3 respectively estimate the level change in the average monthly number of antibiotic use immediately after the intervention, and the trend change of indicators after the cap, compared with the monthly trend before the cap; The sum of β1 + β3 is the post intervention slope. β4 and β5 were used to adjust for a potential seasonality effect [εt represents the random variable not explained by the model at time t. Considering autocorrelation may underestimate standard errors and overestimate significance of the intervention effects, it is necessary to correct for the possibility of autocorrelation [Here, y effect . The errrelation . The mosrelation –33. ValuP < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.All statistical analyses above were performed using STATA version 12.0  and Over the entire study period, the total antibiotic consumption in primary care in Hubei province declined from 11.02 DID to 7.43 DID (32.58% decrease). For penicillins and cephalosporins, the consumption respectively decreased from 5.01 DID to 2.64 DID (47.31% decrease) and 3.08 DID to 2.54 DID (17.53% decrease). For quinolones and macrolides/lincosamides/streptogramines, the consumption declined from 1.05 DID to 0.71 DID (32.38% decrease) and 1.03 DID to 0.82 DID (20.39% decrease) respectively . However, the relative contributions of penicillins with ß-lactamase inhibitors, third and fourth generation cephalosporins and fluoroquinolones to total antibiotic use respectively increased from 3.08 to 6.19%, 14.43 to 18.13%, and 9.51 to 9.56%   and 1.51 DID to 0.68 DID (54.97% decrease). However, the ratio between broad- and narrow-spectrum antibiotic consumption increased from 2.51 to 5.09 , and 5.18 DID to 4.09 DID (21.04% decrease). The average decline of oral antibiotic consumption was greater than that of parenteral antibiotics over the entire study period , while the consumption declined immediately after intervention  and had a significant downward trend . The consumption of penicillins, macrolides/lincosamides/streptogramins, quinolones declined immediately after intervention , and the consumption of penicillins, cephalosporins and macrolides/lincosamides/streptogramins showed declined trends after intervention .As shown in Table P = 0.001). However, an immediate increase was observed in the contribution of third and fourth-generation cephalosporins to total antibiotic use , and an ascending trend was found in the contribution of fluoroquinolones to total antibiotic use  after intervention.The restrictive-prescribing stewardship was associated with an immediate decline in the contribution of β-lactamase-sensitive penicillins to total antibiotic use  though they both had a significant downward trend .The stewardship also led to an immediate increase in the ratio between broad- and narrow-spectrum antibiotic use  and a continuous downward trend . However, no significant changes were found in the consumption of parenteral antibiotics after intervention  combined with an interrupted time series design and DID methodology.There are several limitations in this study. First, not all antibiotics consumed in primary care institutions were included in this study. The data of non-prescribed antibiotic use (e.g. self-medication at home or over-the-counter) and prescriptions in private primary care facilities were not available in the present study. Second, the data used in this study were procurement data instead of directly extracting from the actual medicine use in each institution. However, the procurement data were based on the current practical consumption, which was approximately equivalent to the actual medicine use. Third, we are not able to assess the rationale of the cut-off value made by the government since the relevant process were not made public. Finally, clinical outcomes were not involved in this study as relevant data were not available. Future studies should focus on the safety of restrictive-prescribing stewardship  if clinical-related data are available.This study confirmed that the restrictive-prescribing stewardship was associated with a significant reduction in total antibiotic consumption, indicating that the stewardship achieved success to a large extent. As pointed out by Coenen S et al. , “total With regard to the use of penicillins, it was recommended that the use of cephalosporins, macrolides/lincosamides/streptogramins, quinolones should be assessed together . Along wOf note, the contribution of β-lactamase-sensitive penicillins to total antibiotic use showed an immediate decline after intervention, while an increase was observed in the contribution of combinations of penicillins with ß-lactamase inhibitors though there was no statistical significance, which was similar with the phenomenon in European countries that a shift from the use of narrow-spectrum antibiotics towards combinations of penicillins with ß-lactamase inhibitors .In addition, similar to the declined cephalosporin use in our study, Borde JP et al.  found thRegarding the use of quinolones, it was worth noting that fluoroquinolone was the only quinolone product used in primary care of Hubei Province. In this study, though fluoroquinolone use showed an absolute decrease, the subsequent downward trend was nonsignificant, and an ascending trend was found in the contribution of fluoroquinolones, illustrating that the regulatory control on fluoroquinolone use need to be further strengthened. Consistent with our findings, Rodrigues AT et al.  found thAnother interesting finding in this study was that along with the reduction of total antibiotic use, an increase of the ratio between broad- and narrow-spectrum antibiotic use was observed after intervention, though there was a significant downward trend respectively in the use of broad- and narrow-spectrum antibiotics. This finding was consistent with a previous study by Li H et al.  that theMoreover, the stewardship failed to make significant progress in regulating parenteral antibiotic use, though significant decline were found in oral antibiotic use. Contrast with our findings, Hersh AL et al.  found a It is a well-known fact that the overuse of antibiotics is increasingly regarded as a main pressure driving resistance, resulting in a cost to human lives and healthcare resources , 2. RestRestrictive-prescribing stewardship in primary care achieved significant effects in reducing total antibiotic consumption, indicating a major success of the intervention to a large extent. Practice regarding the use of penicillins, cephalosporins, macrolides/lincosamides/streptogramins are getting better overall, whereas the intervention effects on combinations of penicillins with ß-lactamase inhibitors, the third and fourth-generation cephalosporins, fluoroquinolones and parenteral antibiotics were limited. Stronger regulation with a multidisciplinary approach should be strengthened to focus on the use of targeted antibiotics, especially broad-spectrum antibiotics and parenteral antibiotics. Future studies are warranted to explore the potential influencing factors of limited effects on those antibiotics and accordingly design a stronger and more targeted antibiotic stewardship strategy.


The spacing factor, in turn, was below 0.200 mm (L = 0.185 mm). The example of the A6 motorway renewal project served to demonstrate that reclaimed concrete aggregate, obtained by crushing the entire pavement, can be used for production of the new pavement courses.This article presents the results of fatigue testing and assessment of the mechanical and physical properties of the concrete pavement of the A6 motorway, which was put in service in 1938. After 82 years of operation under heavy traffic loading conditions, the pavement was fully recycled by crushing of the existing concrete and reuse of the reclaimed material in the new courses of pavement placed as part of the motorway renewal project. The main objective of this research was to determine the properties of the tested concrete, including compressive strength, water absorption and freeze-thaw resistance after 150 cycles of alternate freezing and thawing. The resistance of the concrete to the action of de-icing products was also checked. The article also presents the results of petrographic analysis of the aggregates. Additionally, concrete sampled from the pavement was evaluated for freeze-thaw resistance in relation to the determined porosity characteristics. The tested concrete, which was subjected to over 80 years of traffic loading on the A6 motorway, was found to meet the highest requirements as currently applied for the extra heavy-duty pavements. With a compressive strength value in excess of 50 MPa, the tested concrete can be rated at least CC40, according to EN 13877-2:2013-08. The samples were found to satisfy the freeze-thaw resistance requirements of an F150 rating. The air void analysis showed that the analyzed concrete contained 1.6% of micropores, i.e., air voids smaller than 300 μm (A Recycling offers several ways to utilize the qualities of old concrete. As one of the available options, recycled concrete materials can be used for production of new concrete ,2,3. So In comparison to other modern concrete recycling methods , this mainly avoids the additional costs associated with separating the aggregate from the adjacent hardened cement slurry (paste). In addition, there is no problem in the management of small fractions of concrete debris that are a by-product of these technologies and contain a significant amount of hardened cement slurry (paste).2 emission and, besides, reduces the cost of the road construction works. In the authors’ opinion, the material obtained from the analyzed over 80-year-old pavement features very good strength properties, which are accompanied by an adequate freeze-thaw resistance and homogeneity.The objective of this research is to evaluate the properties of the over 80-year-old concrete pavement and to confirm the possibility of reusing the recycled material as a quality aggregate for new built or renewal projects. The in-place recycling of the concrete pavement to obtain a quality aggregate brings major environmental benefits, including reduced extraction of natural aggregates and reduction of COThe analyzed section of the concrete pavement between the interchanges Szczecin Dąbie and Rzęśnica was built in 1938 as part of the Reichsautobahn (RAB) No. 4 motorway expansion scheme of the pre-war Germany, which was planned to connect, in the final layout, Berlin in the west with Gdańsk in the east, reaching up to Kaliningrad (Königsberg). Currently, it is part of the A6 motorway on the European route E28, linking the north-western part of the Polish road network with the German road network. In addition, it serves also as the southern by-pass of Szczecin. On this section, the A6 route coincides with the route of the S3 expressway (trunk road) heading to Świnoujście, Poland. It is worth mentioning that the operated section of the A6 motorway is at present the only concrete paved road section among the national highways in the Western Pomerania region of Poland.During the over 80 years of operation no renewals were carried out on the analyzed section. Up to the early 1990s hardly any repairs were done either. Later on, the scope of maintenance was limited to making good the distressed concrete slabs, including transverse and longitudinal cracks. The condition of the motorway before the renewal project is shown in the picture below .The cause of cracks and other distress was the specific composition and the high volume of traffic of as much as 31,384 vehicles/day, as counted at the traffic count station No. 60713 during the survey in 2015. A point must be made that the volume of traffic has been increasing over many years. For example, in the period 2000–2015 it increased on the analyzed section by 140% . In 2015The assessment of the concrete pavement was related to the A6 renewal project with the planned full recycling of the pavement structure on the section under analysis.As part of this research, cores were cut from the existing concrete pavement in order to assess the main fatigue life parameters . In addi—Obtain a simplified petrographic description according to EN 932-3:1999/A1:2004 ,—Determine the compressive strength of concrete according to EN 12390-3:2019 , —Determine the density of concrete according to EN 12390-7:2011 ,—Determine the water absorption of concrete according to the Polish Standard No. PN-B-06250:1988 ,—Determine the F150 freeze-thaw resistance of concrete according to the Polish Standard No. PN-B-06250 [—Determine the porosity characteristics in hardened concrete according to EN 480-11:2008 ,—Determine the freeze-thaw resistance with de-icing salts according to EN 1340:2004/AC:2007 .As part of condition assessment of the concrete pavement the test specimens were prepared for tests carried out to:—Determination of resistance to fragmentation by the Los Angeles test method according to EN 1097-2:2010 ,—Determination of water absorption of analysed aggregates according to EN 1097-6:2013-11 ,—Determination of aggregate resistance to cycling action of freezing and thawing according to EN 1367-1:2007 [—Determination of California bearing ratio (CBR) according to 13286-47:2012 .Then, in order to assess the suitability of aggregate obtained from the concrete recycling, its physical and mechanical properties were determined by carrying out basic laboratory tests, which covered the following scope:In practice, the properties listed above decide on the acceptance or rejection of material for use in individual layers of the pavement structure and the reinforced (improved) soil.The article also presents the results of laboratory tests carried out by the GDDKiA’s road testing laboratory of Olsztyn  on the concrete cores cut from the pavement of the S22 expressway during the renewal of the section between the city of Elbląg, Poland and the state border of Poland. The method and the time of construction of this pavement were the same as of the pavement of the analyzed section of the A6 motorway. The compressive strength, freeze-thaw resistance and water absorption tests were carried out, plus determinations of tensile splitting strength according to EN 12390-6:2019 [Visual examinations of the cores cut from the A6 motorway showed that the concrete pavement of ca. 21 cm total thickness was placed in two lifts applied with the wet-on-wet method . The uppIn the core shown in the picture below  one can All the cores cut from the A6 pavement were conditioned in accordance with the standard procedure and polished when used for measurement of the mechanical properties.The main component of the upper layer mix was a crushed igneous rock, namely basalt  basalto.In the lower layer , the mai3 for the upper layer and 2404 kg/m3 for the lower layer. All the test results are compiled in The density of concrete was determined on the total number of six cores cut from the pavement, three from each of the two layers. The test procedure of EN 12390-7:2011  was usedThe compressive strength of concrete was determined on the total number of six cores, three from each of the two layers. The test procedure of EN 12390-3:2019  was usedThe strength of the upper layer concrete was higher than the strength of the lower layer concrete by ca. 28%). The strength test procedure according to EN 13791:2008 [%. The stReuse of Recycled Materials, it needs to be pointed out that in terms of the compressive strength the concrete obtained from recycling of the A6 motorway pavement satisfies the requirements specified for concrete that after crushing could be used for unbound sub-base and treated subgrade layers and also for road base layer construction, i.e., it can be rated in classes CC20 and CC30 respectively.Considering the recommendations  regardinAbsorption, defined as an increase of weight of concrete due to uptake of water, was determined according to the Polish Standard No. PN-B-06250:1988  on a totIt is worthwhile to note that the obtained absorption values are much lower than the limit of less than 5% as specified for concrete exposed to direct environmental actions according to PN-B-06250:1988 .g—for the upper layer and d—for the lower layer), which following the tests were subjected to 150 freeze-thaw cycles while the remaining samples were kept immersed in water. After 150 cycles the samples were subjected to visual examination. The samples showed neither surface distress nor cracking. Next, the samples were weighed and subjected to the compressive strength test. The test results are compiled below in EN 206:2014-04  does notFrom these results it transpires that after 150 freeze-thaw cycles at the test temperatures of −20 °C for freezing and +20 °C for thawing the tested concrete featured very good fatigue resistance, which allows us to conclude that the exposure to heavy traffic and de-icing salts used as winter maintenance agents (the motorway runs through an area with frequent daily freeze-thaw events) had not caused deterioration of the pavement. The average loss of weight in the tested samples was 0.15%. The decrease of compressive strength was less than 20%, viz. 16.2% for the upper layer concrete and 6.1% for the lower layer concrete. These values satisfy the freeze-thaw resistance requirement.Resistance to the action of de-icing products was determined with the method used for the rating of precast concrete units, such as curbs and pavers. The freeze-thaw resistance in the presence of de-icing salts was tested according to the procedure of EN 1340:2004/AC:2007  concrete2. The mean mass loss after 28 and 56 freeze-thaw cycles was below 1.0 kg/m2. The obtained values of freeze-thaw resistance in the presence of de-icing salts satisfy the requirements of FT2 freeze-thaw category, as defined in EN 13877-2:2013-08 [In each case the mass loss from a single sample was below 1.5 kg/m:2013-08 .The same kind of testing was simultaneously carried out at the GDDKiA’s road testing laboratory of Olsztyn for the concrete pavement of the Elbląg-Kaliningrad road constructed in 1938 using the cores obtained during renewal of the section between the city of Elbląg, Poland and the state border of Poland. The tests were carried out on nine 100 mm cores and three 150 mm cores. The test results are compiled in The compressive strength, absorption and freeze-thaw resistance data obtained for the concrete of the S22 pavement are very close to the values obtained for the A6 pavement. In addition, the tests carried out at the GDDKiA’s road testing laboratory of Olsztyn revealed a very tight structure of the tested concrete, as confirmed by low water penetration. The tensile splitting strength values satisfy the requirements of the assumed tensile splitting strength class SC 5.0 according to EN 13877-2:2013-08 .—A%,Total air content —α mm−1,Specific surface of the air void system —L mm,Spacing factor —300A%,Micro air void content (amount of air voids below 0.3 mm in size) —R%. Paste-air ratio The air void size distribution was determined according to EN 480-11:2008 . The anaA computer image analysis method was used to evaluate the microstructure of concretes and the parameters of pore structure were calculated; these parameters included relative volume fraction, relative specific surface area, and pore arrangement ratios . The samThe results of metallurgic examination of the four samples are presented in An image of sample 1.1 taken from the lower layer of pavement during examination is shown in The air void size distributions determined during examination of samples are presented in A ranged from 5.4% to 6.1%, the specific surface α ranged from 23.1 to 26.0 mm−1 and the paste/air ratio R ranged from 4.2 to 4.8. Most important for the freeze-thaw resistance evaluation are, however, the values of the spacing factor L and the micro-air content 300A, which were in the ranges of 0.17 to 0.20 mm and 1.51–1.86% respectively.The air void distribution parameters determined according to EN 480-11:2008  in the lThe concrete slabs of the A6 motorway pavement, which were planned to be recycled to provide reclaimed aggregate, featured very good physical and mechanical properties, as confirmed by the test results presented in 3.2 and 3.3 above. In the authors’ opinion, the above-described reclaimed material can, following appropriate processing, be used to substitute some of the new aggregate in concrete mixes for paving applications, even for the lower layers of pavement. Unfortunately, the Polish guidelines and specification do not provide for the use of aggregate reclaimed from concrete pavements for production of new PCC pavement mixes. Therefore, it was decided to use all the reclaimed material for construction of the road base layer, the foundation of the new pavement. The concrete pavement crushing process produced a 0/31.5 mm continuously graded material which, in relation to the on-going A6 renewal project, was subjected to the essential quality control tests at the GDDKiA’s road testing laboratory of Szczecin, Poland. The tested parameters included grain size distribution according to EN 933-1:2012  and CBR The grading curve of the 0/31.5 mm mixture containing reclaimed aggregate obtained from recycled pavement slabs of the A6 motorway fell within the grading envelope. The amount of particles smaller than 0.063 mm was 3% (m/m), which is less than the maximum allowed. The tested 0/31.5 mm mixture, compacted in a laboratory at optimum moisture content, featured a very high value of CBR (ca. 160%) . The req4 category, confirm the suitability of this material for the construction of the road base and sub-base layers and for subgrade treatment as well. A very good crushing value (LA35) of the reclaimed material is also worthwhile noting.The crushing value, absorption and freeze-thaw resistance of the reclaimed concrete aggregate were also determined . AccordiThe tests indicated very good physical and mechanical properties of the concrete under analysis. The strength properties satisfy at least the requirements for class C40/50 according to EN 206:2014-04  or CC40 The freeze-thaw resistance values after 150 cycles of alternate freezing and thawing testify to a very high quality and durability of the concrete in question. Furthermore, the experimentally determined freeze-thaw resistance in the presence of rock salt (NaCl) testify to its resistance also to the combined frost and de-icing salt exposure. The top layer concrete can be classified in the FT2 freeze-thaw resistance category. The air void analyses of the samples of the over 80-year-old concrete of the A6 motorway pavement showed that the concrete satisfies the contemporary requirements specified for PCC pavements, which confirms the long-lasting, perpetual character of pavements of this kind. The reclaimed aggregate obtained from crushing the entire pavement of the A6 motorway satisfies the requirements of  code of (1)The test of compressive strength was 65.8 MPa for the upper layer and 51.2 MPa for the lower layer. With the compressive strength value in excess of 50 MPa, the tested concrete can be rated as at least CC40.(2)The freeze-thaw resistance values after 150 cycles of alternate freezing and thawing testify to a very high quality and durability of the concrete in question.(3)300), the spacing factor, in turn, was below 0.200 mm (L = 0.185 mm). The air void analyses of the samples of the over 80-year-old concrete of the A6 motorway pavement showed that the concrete satisfies the contemporary requirements specified for PCC pavements, which confirms the long-lasting, perpetual character of pavements of this kind.The air void analysis showed that the analyzed concrete contained 1.6% of micropores, i.e., air voids smaller than 300 μm (A(4)The example of the A6 motorway renewal project served to demonstrate that reclaimed concrete aggregate, obtained by crushing the entire pavement, can be used for production of the new pavement courses.The following conclusions can be drawn on the basis of the authors’ testing and analyses of the test data:Furthermore, the results of the tests carried out at the GDDKiA’s laboratory of Szczecin as part of the on-going quality control in relation to the A6 renewal project confirm satisfaction of the grading and CBR value requirements.


The patient recovered from respiratory failure even after a 10‐month observational period.Immunoglobulin G4 (IgG4)‐related disease (IgG4‐RD) is a systemic immune‐mediated, fibroinflammatory disorder categorized as proliferative or fibrotic depending on the responsiveness of corticosteroid treatment. IgG4‐related lung disease (IgG4‐RLD) accounts for 13–14% of IgG4‐RD cases, but respiratory failure is quite rare. A 71‐year‐old man diagnosed with interstitial lung disease was referred to our department after a 10‐month observational period. He presented with respiratory failure at the first visit, with significant elevations in serum IgG4 levels and histopathological findings meeting the criteria of IgG4‐positive plasma cells and IgG4/IgG‐positive plasma cell ratio in transbronchial lung biopsy and inguinal lymph node biopsy, resulting in a diagnosis of IgG4‐RD. Systemic corticosteroid treatment promptly ameliorated the respiratory failure.  18F‐fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography/CT showed significant FDG accumulation in the lung fields, indicating the proliferative and reversible status of immunoglobulin G4‐related lung disease (IgG4‐RLD).Chest computed tomography (CT) showed non‐segmental reticular shadow and ground‐glass opacity predominantly spreading over the lymphatic tract, including the centrilobular and perilymphatic areas.  Immunoglobulin G4 (IgG4)‐related disease (IgG4‐RD) is a systemic immune‐mediated, fibroinflammatory, and multi‐organ disorder characterized by similar histopathological features to a dense infiltration of IgG4‐positive plasma cells in the affected organs . An elev2) and partial pressure of arterial oxygen (PaO2) at rest in room air scoring 89% and 59.5 mmHg, respectively. Chest CT showed progression of a non‐segmental reticular shadow and ground‐glass opacity (GGO) over 10 months, which predominantly spread over the lymphatic tract, including the centrilobular and perilymphatic areas  3.13 L (FEV1%: 81.73%), diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide (DLCO) 7.65 mL/min/mmHg (%DLCO: 38.0%), and DLCO/alveolar volume (VA) 1.75 mL/min/mmHg/L (%DLCO/VA: 40.1%). 18F‐fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET)/CT showed significant FDG accumulation in the lung fields  scans was referred to our department after a 10‐month observational period starting from the first consultation with the previous attending physician. Although the patient did not complain of dyspnoea, hypoxaemia was observed at the first consultation to our department, with peripheral capillary oxygen saturation (SpOeas Fig. , and enleas Fig. . CT findlds Fig. , the syslds Fig. , includilds Fig. . Broncholds Fig. . Inguinalds Fig. . Systemiows Fig.  and shriows Fig.  without ows Fig. . The corIgG4‐RD was proposed as a novel clinical disease entity in 2011 , and comIgG4‐RD has become widely recognized as a systemic inflammatory disease that affects multiple organs, including lacrimal glands, salivary glands, thyroid glands, pancreas, bile ducts, lungs, kidneys, aorta, and retroperitoneum , 8, 9. WIgG4‐RLD affects the interstitium, mediastinum, airway, and pleura , with itThe long‐term outcomes of corticosteroid treatment in IgG4‐RD with the proliferative subtypes  such as 18F‐FDG PET/CT has been reported in the assessment of inflammatory disorder [18F‐FDG PET/CT reflects inflammation, the accumulation of FDG could suggest the proliferative and reversible status of IgG4‐RLD. Therefore, the FDG accumulation could be a predictive biomarker of steroid responsiveness.The usefulness of disorder , includidisorder . As 18F‐In the current case, FDG accumulation was observed in the lung fields, which could be the reason why these affected organs showed good response to systemic corticosteroid treatment even after a 10‐month observational period, showing reversibility in hypoxia. Although IgG4‐RLD progressing to respiratory failure is rare, accurate diagnosis of it as well as its detailed evaluation of reversibility and the responsiveness to corticosteroid are quite important. Appropriate early diagnoses and corticosteroid treatment are required in such case.Appropriate written informed consent was obtained for publication of this case report and accompanying images.


The test specimens are cubes with each dimension given as 100 × 100 × 285 mm for shrinkage tests and cylinders with 150 mm diameter and 300 mm height for compressive strength tests. The calcium stearate with fractions of 0, 0.1, 0.2, and 0.3% from the weight of cement are used in the tests. The results showed that the shrinkage occurred in amounts of 0.079, 0.062, 0.065, and 0.060 mm for the specimens containing calcium stearate of 0, 0.1, 0.2, and 0.3%, respectively. Moreover, we also perform shrinkage modelling to explore a possibility to incorporate the calcium stearate fraction into the standard concrete shrinkage model. There are three well-known shrinkage models used here, i.e., the Sakata, the Japan Standard and the Bazant-Baweja models, where only the latter one is capable to capture our experimental results very well for different fractions of calcium stearate.This work investigates the effect of calcium stearate (Ca(C Concrete is artificial rock composed from cement, crushed stone, sand, water, and some additional materials with minor fraction. The hydration reaction process between cement and water takes place continuously over time. Although generally the compressive strength of concrete at 28 days is used, in fact the strength beyond 28 days continues to develop. During the hardening of the concrete, some of the water from the concrete evaporates and affects the reduction of the hard concrete volume. This reduction in concrete volume over time is called concrete shrinkage.The shrinkage can occur before the initial setting time of concrete production and is often called plastic shrinkage. On the other hand, for the shrinkage after the initial setting time, one calls it drying shrinkage. If the initial setting time is exceeded, the concrete will enter the hardening process, where the water in concrete capillaries will evaporate and induce shrinkage. The process will generate induced tensile stress field in concrete. Hence, cracks will be formed due to low tensile strength capacity of concrete.Moreover, many factors can affect the level of shrinkage, which include environmental conditions, the exposed surface area of the concrete, the amount of concrete constituent material, the physical properties of the concrete constituent aggregate, and the water-cement ratio . Some adAs we mentioned before, any existing cracks due to shrinkage can affect the carrying capacity of reinforced concrete. Tiny cracks that arise during plastic shrinkage will propagate during the concrete hardening phase and reduce the bond between steel bars and concrete. As a result, reinforced concrete cannot work comprehensively in supporting the external load. In addition, if reinforced concrete is located in a corrosive environment, infiltration of chloride ions, sulfates or other corrosive material can occur through this very small crack width. The reinforcing steel bar will corrode and cause the spalling of a concrete cover . Then, tThe effect of calcium stearate in the concrete has been studied intensively by some researchers, e.g., to reduce the permeability , to act Additionally, we perform concrete shrinkage modelling to incorporate the influence of calcium stearate into the standard model of concrete shrinkage models. To the best of our knowledge, there are still no standard shrinkage models related directly to the influence of calcium stearate. However, according to our hypothesis, the calcium stearate in concrete may strongly contribute to the concrete actual water content before shrinkage occurs. Hence, we may use shrinkage models, which depend explicitly on water content as a variable. For this reason, we choose in this work the Sakata , the JapOur test was done in our own laboratory with controlled air temperature and humidity. The materials used included OPC type cement, crushed stone, sand, water, and calcium stearate. The equipment used consisted of a concrete mixer, slump test equipment, oven, sieve analyzer, balance, cylinder molding diameter 150 mm and height 300 mm, tamping rod, beam molding for shrinkage specimens 100 × 100 × 285 mm, and a set of devices to conduct the shrinkage. The test set-up is shown in We define some dimensional variables in In Furthermore, the digital micro indicator can be set on a zero setting at any point. The on/off button means multiple functions, i.e., data hold function, fast display, and tracing of maximum or minimum value. The metric/inch system can be interchanged at any position. When the on/off switch is pressed, 000 mm will appear on the display. This means that the indicator is now ready to be used for measurements.Preliminary testing was done to find out the initial data of constituent material of concrete in order to achieve concrete mix designs for 20 MPa concrete quality. The preliminary tests on sand and crushed stone consist of the fineness modulus, fill weight, specific gravity, and clay content . In addiIn the 3. The content of free lime, insoluble parts and alkalis are 1.53, 0.71 and 0.44%. Two test pieces are taken for each specimen code.There are four types of specimens, namely concrete with calcium stearate contents of 0, 0.1, 0.2, and 0.3% by weight of cement. Compressive strength specimens were only taken for the control specimen of concrete with 0% calcium stearate content. The chemical content tests, as shown in In this work, we conduct tests on the influence of the calcium stearate to the shrinkage property of concrete. The test is done with standard shrinkage test according to ASTM C 157/ C 157M . Based oFresh concrete is produced by mixing cement, crushed stone, sand, water, and calcium stearate together. The first step is to put the cement and sand into a concrete mixer and to mix it until it is uniformly mixed to form homogeneous material. The concrete mixer is then stopped and the crushed stone is added for the second mixing process. The last step is to add water according to the mix design. The concrete mixer is rotated again to form homogeneous fresh concrete.Meanwhile, slump testing is performed to determine the workability of the fresh concrete. After the target of concrete workability is achieved, calcium stearate is added to the concrete mixer and the fresh concrete is rotated again. After the fresh concrete is quite mature and homogeneous, it is cast in the molding cylinder for the compressive strength specimens and into the beam with dimensions 100 × 100 × 285 mm for the shrinkage test.Cylinder and beam test specimens are treated by covering them with a wet mattress. Curing is carried out once the specimen is 1–2 h old and the fresh concrete gradually becomes hard. The test object is removed from the mold when it has reached 24 h of age. The dimensions of the shrinkage specimens are measured to determine the length and height at three different places. In addition to measuring the dimensions, the shrinkage specimen is also weighted with a digital scale. According to our knowledge, a direct influence of calcium stearate to existing standard shrinkage models has not been studied before. In this work, we use the Sakata , the Jap3 of concrete.Concrete compressive strength testing was conducted when the concrete was at the age of 28 days. The results of the compressive strength of the two test specimens of concrete with OPC as a binder are 21.94 and 21.50 MPa, corresponding to an average compressive strength of 21.22 MPa. This shows that the mix proportion designed has fulfilled the 20 MPa concrete compressive strength plan. It is worth noting here that the effect of calcium stearate on compressive strength of self-compacting concrete (SCC) has been studied in [The results of the measurement of the average length, width, height, and weight of each shrinkage test specimen are shown in In Additionally, the density and drying shrinkage in the concrete at 90 days age are shown in The result of shrinkage value by experiment and models of the Sakata , the JapThe results in The Sakata model  is formuThe Japan Standards model  is formuThe Bazant–Baweja model  is formuAs we assume that the correlation between the fraction of calcium stearate and the water content Based on the mix proportion of concete in Based on Recalling again Calcium silicate hydrateCalcium hydroxide(lime) + stearate → insoluble calcium stearate + waterThe smaller shrinkage of concrete with calcium stearate is also supported by Quraishi et. al.  researchMeanwhile, from the shrinkage modeling, we find that the cement shrinkage can be proportional to the water content in the concrete as shown in The shrinkage of concrete has the same trend both by experiment and modeling due to the addition of calcium stearate. It shows that the Bazan–Baweja model can predict experimental results on the shrinkage of concrete with calcium stearate very well. The next study should investigate the shrinkage of concrete with a binder of Ordinary Portland Cement and fly ash. It will be interesting because the setting time of concrete is usually slower due to the addition of fly ash in concrete.18H35O2)2, reacts with cement and water to form a hydrophobic layer on the surface of pores and promotes a wax-like (Ca+COOR−) microstructure. The compound has a lighter and more stable volume compared to calcium silicate hydrate/tobermorite (C-S-H). The reaction influences cement shrinkage behavior, which depends on the fraction of calcium stearate with respect to the cement weight.Calcium stearate, Ca(COur experimental works show that the higher concentration of calcium stearate produces a smaller value of concrete shrinkage. It means that the additional calcium stearate in concrete reduces the shrinkage as well.Finally, from the shrinkage modelling, we find that the cement shrinkage can be proportional to the water content in the concrete. This finding is particularly very clear in the case of using the Bazant–Baweja model. Because of this, the Bazant–Baweja model can be applied to predict the shrinkage of concrete with calcium stearate at any dosages and age of concrete.