The aim of this experimental work was to study the porous structure of Ultra-High-Performance Fibre-Reinforced Concretes (UH) made with different fibre volume contents  under several curing conditions , comparing the results with those recorded for ordinary, high strength and very high strength concretes. Scanning electron microscopy, mercury intrusion porosimetry, thermogravimetry, water absorption and oxygen permeability tests were carried out. The results showed a low portlandite content in UH (in the order of 75% lower than in concrete C50) and a low degree of hydration, but they rise with curing temperature. These concretes have a very fine porous structure, with a high concentration of pores on the nanoscale level, below 0.05 µm. Their porosity accessible to water is consequently around 7-fold lower than in conventional (C30), 6-fold lower than in high-strength (C50) and 4-fold lower than in very high-strength (C90) concretes. Their oxygen permeability is at least one order of magnitude lower than in C90, two orders of magnitude lower than in C50 and three orders of magnitude lower than in C30. The percentage of added steel fibre does not affect the UH porous structure. Efficient resource management is one of the goals pursued by today’s society. Enhancing the sustainability and streamlining of using construction materials entails prolonging structures’ service life. Ultra-high performance fibre reinforced concrete (UHPFRC) may be an alternative for some structure types, especially in very aggressive environments, because it draws from the latest concrete industry developments to deliver high strength and durability. Although such concretes require large amounts of cement, according to some studies  they areThe French design manual “Bétons fibres à ultra-hautes performances”  defines UHPFRC is made with very low water/binder (w/b) ratios, no coarse aggregate and very high cement, superplasticizer and additional  contents ,11,12 toIn addition to a compressive strength of over 120–150 MPa, such concretes have a modulus of elasticity above 46 GPa, a tensile strength higher than 5 MPa and lower creep than conventional concrete . DynamicTo date, much research into this material has analysed its mechanical properties, and only a few studies on its microstructure or durability have been published. All the authors have observed lower porosity and water and gas permeability than in conventional concrete ,38,39,40Concrete durability depends on its porous structure and, hence, its water and gas permeability. This is because most of the deterioration processes are linked to the aggressive agents transport through the concrete, and they modify its strength, stiffness and appearance. Therefore, it is important to know the microstructure and the transfer properties  in UHPFRCs. These properties are not yet well investigated in these concretes, and the few results available in literature are disparate. In addition, this research aims to add information of the response of UHs cured at air and high temperatures in contrast to the more typical standard curing at 20 °C and steam curing. Consequently, the objective of this experimental work is to study the porous structure of ultra-high performance concretes characterised by compressive strength at the low end of the range normally defined for this material, i.e., from 120 MPa to 150 MPa. In this way, the obtained characteristics can be deemed to correspond approximately to the minimum characteristics expected for this concrete type. The effect of a number of parameters, such as steel fibre content or curing conditions , was analysed by comparing the results to the values observed in ordinary, high strength and very high strength concrete.Six ultra-high-performance concretes  were made with three different fibre volume contents  and four distinct curing conditions . Conventional (C30), high-strength (C50) and very high-strength (C90) concretes were also made and cured for 28 days in a climate chamber at 20 °C and 95% RH. Three batches were prepared from each mix.UHs were designed to the minimum compressive strength defined for such concretes when made without fibres and cured at 20 °C, i.e., from 120 MPa to 150 MPa. To simulate uncontrolled curing, the specimens cast with one of the UHs were allowed to be air-dried in the laboratory environment. The 60 °C and 90 °C concretes were stored at these temperatures and 100% RH for 48 h. They were subsequently cured at 20 °C and 95% RH through day 28, while the 20 °C concrete was cured under these conditions from the outset. The binder used in all four concretes was CEM I 42.5 R to which silica fume containing more than 90% silica was added. Two siliceous sand types, fine (0/0.5) and medium (0.6/1.2), were used as aggregate, together with silica flour with a similar particle size distribution to that of cement. Sika ViscoCrete 20 HE, the applied admixture, was batched to produce concretes with similar fluidity to that of self-compacting concrete. 2, were also added to five of the six studied UHs , mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP), thermogravimetry (TGA/DTG), water absorption and oxygen permeability. Compressive strength at 28 days was also determined from each mix in 100 mm diameter and 200 mm high cylindrical specimens . Three bAt 28 days, samples were taken from inside the 100 mm cubic specimens to study concrete microstructure. Samples were carbon-coated to favour electrical conductivity. Materials were studied under a JEOL JSM6300 scanning electron microscope and a Zeiss Ultra 55 field emission scanning electron microscope fitted with an energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectrometer  for phase composition analyses.3 cubic specimens were crushed. Then the coarse aggregate was removed and samples were ground. Measurements were taken immediately after sampling. The material was tested at a heating rate of 10 °C/min from 25 °C to 1205 °C, under nitrogen flowing atmosphere at 75 mL/min.TGA was carried out with a Mettler TGA/SDTA 851e  instrument to quantity the bound water and portlandite contents in concretes. The 50 mg samples taken from the 100 × 100 × 100 mm3 cubic specimens. After oven-drying at 105 °C, samples were submerged in mercury and subjected to steadily increasing pressure. Total porosity was calculated by likening pore accesses to cylindrical capillaries whose radii, further to the Washburn-Laplace equation, were deemed inversely proportional to the applied pressure.At 28 days, pore size distribution was determined by a Micromeritics AutoPore IV-9500 mercury porosimeter . The test was carried out on small drilled cores weighing approximately 6 g. The cored samples were obtained from the 100 × 100 × 100 mm3 prismatic specimens oven-dried at 105 °C to constant weight (Mdry). They were subsequently soaked in water for 72 h and then vacuum-dried in a chamber at a pressure lower than or equaling 20 mbar (hyd) and post-vacuum saturated (Msat) mass were found. These data were used to determine open porosity from the formula: 100 × (Msat − Mdry)/(Msat − Mhyd). Three batches were made from each mix and three samples were analysed per batch. The result of each mix was taken to be the arithmetic mean of the recorded nine values.At 28 days, porosity accessible to water was found as specified in Spanish standard UNE 83980:2014  on the 1 20 mbar . Two houp), as recommended in Spanish standard UNE 83981:2008 [−6 m3, 25 × 10−6 m3 or 100·× 10−6 m3). Three batches were made from each mix and three samples were analysed per batch. The result of each mix was taken to be the arithmetic mean of the recorded nine values.This method determines gas penetrability in hardened concrete by determining the gas permeability coefficient  exhibited very similar microstructures, with a very dense matrix . WhereasThe energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis of the binder phases showed that the hydration products in UHs comprised essentially calcium silicate hydrates. These silicates, the grey areas in the back-scattered micrographs , were si3S and C2S, i.e., anhydrous cement grains, were also detected in significant amounts in the UHs  curves determined by means of TGA are plotted in 3, sourced from the limestone aggregate used in their manufacture, unlike the siliceous aggregates bearing UHs. Although tests were run up to 1200 °C, the curves plotted in The very significant (32% to 38%) mass loss recorded in concretes C30, C50 and C90 at 700 °C to 900 °C was attributable primarily to calcium carbonate decarbonation. These concretes contained large amounts of CaCOCH is portlandite content, H is the water loss associated with portlandite decomposition, Hm is molecular water mass and CHm is the portlandite molecular mass.The bound water and portlandite contents estimated from the TGA findings are found in As shown in 2 content was 30% lower in UH-2F-20 than in C90 and 75% lower than in C50 . In these concretes, the maximum pore concentration tended to be around smaller pore sizes, thus reducing the volume of larger capillary pores and increasing that of smaller capillary pores. For instance, in UHs the maximum pore concentration occurred for a pore size of 0.015–0.03 μm compared to 0.045 µm in C90, 0.05 µm in C50 and 0.10 µm in C30. 3/g [3/g . Here thA comparison was made of the concrete cured in a climate chamber at 20 °C and 95% RH (UH-2F-20) to the concrete cured in a laboratory atmosphere (UH-2F-air). It revealed a number of differences in both total pore volume  and poroAs shown in As this parameter is closely related to concretes’ resistance to aggressive agent ingress, it provides an indirect durability measure. The porosity values based on the water absorption test at 28 days are shown in The observed values lay within the ranges reported earlier by some authors . As FiguFor the influence of fibres on the water porosity of ultra-high performance concretes, no statistically significant differences were observed between concretes UH-0F-20, UH-1F-20 and UH-2F-20. That is, corroborating the MIP findings, the use of 0%, 1% or 2% fibre did not affect water permeability in these concretes.A comparison of the climate chamber-cured concrete  to the concrete exposed to a laboratory environment (UH-2F-air) revealed significant differences, with porosity around 2-fold higher in the latter.As observed in the MIP and TGA analyses, curing temperature was found to affect material properties, although the differences between 20 °C (UH-2F-20) and 60 °C (UH-2F-60) curing were not statistically significant. p) values obtained from the gas permeability tests. This parameter is also a good indirect indicator of concrete durability, because it provides information on material porosity. Moreover, the reinforcement corrosion rate and onset time are associated with O2 and CO2 gas penetration across the concrete cover. As the Kp coefficient could not be measured in the ultra-high-performance concretes , the possible effect of fibre content or curing conditions and temperature on material permeability could not be analysed. The findings inferred that, given the applied pressure and specimen thickness, the Kp coefficient in these concretes was under 10−19 m2. Despite such measuring limitations, clear differences were observed between the ultra-high-performance concretes and concretes C30, C50 and C90, denoting much greater durability in the former, even for concrete UH-2F-air, which was cured under uncontrolled laboratory conditions. Oxygen permeability was, for instance, at least one order of magnitude lower in concrete UH-2F-20 than in C90, two orders of magnitude lower than in C50 and three orders of magnitude lower than in C30.SEM imaging reveals certain morphological and compositional differences between the ultra-high performance (UH) and the other analysed concretes. The high compacity of UH explains their high mechanical strength (128 MPa to 150 MPa at 28 days). With respect to the UH composition obtained with EDX analysis, the high amount of anhydrous cement grains indicates that cement hydration is incomplete. This incomplete hydration is caused by its low w/b ratio (0.19), typical for these concrete types, which denotes that the amount of water is not enough to react with all the binder.The UHs analysed are characterised by a very low portlandite content, nearly 30% lower than in concrete C90 and 75% than in C50. The lower portlandite content in the UHs is due to the low w/b ratio, but also to the calcium hydroxide consumption during the pozzolanic reaction between silica fume and portlandite. Some authors also point out that portlandite content decreases as the w/b ratio lowers because the transport of involved ions in the formation of new hydrates is hindered by the paucity liquid phase . 2 content is not desirable, since it produces a subsequent decrease in the pH value, which can alter the stability of the passive oxide layer that protects rebars, leading inevitably to corrosion onset. However, the results of SEM analysis indicate that UHs contain large amounts of anhydrous cement particles, and thus, they have a large alkaline reserve and a latent Ca(OH)2 reserve which can be generated in the presence of water. Furthermore, UHs highly dense microstructure produces high resistivity matrices due to their low porosity . Due to their low porosity, the dissolved ions cannot circulate easily through the pore solution, and thus, these matrices have extremely reduced ionic current. This property adds an additional intrinsic protection from corrosion when using UHs, which is an extra benefit from other concrete types.From the durability point of view, a decrease in the Ca(OH)In addition, the porous structure of UHs is very fine, with a high concentration of pores on the nanoscale level, which also justifies the excellent durability performance of this family of concretes, since it is difficult for water and gases to penetrate the gel pores. The highest fineness of the porous structure of UHs, particularly compared to C30 and C50, is due to a number of factors, including: (1) the higher coarse aggregate content in concretes C30, C50 and C90 as porosity is higher and capillary pore size is larger in the aggregate-paste interfacial transition zone (ITZ) than in cement paste ; (2) theAs result of these microstructural characteristics, the transport properties differ greatly in the concrete types studied in this research. These differences can be seen directly through porosity accessible to water and oxygen permeability, which are indirect indicators of the material durability. The porosity accessible to water in UHs at 28 days is 7-fold lower than in C30, 6-fold than in C50 and 4-fold than in C90. The oxygen permeability is three orders of magnitude lower than in C30, two orders of magnitude lower than in C50 and one order of magnitude lower than in C90. This result adds relevant information on the potential durability of a structure made with the different concrete qualities.The volumetric content of fibres in UH  does not affect the total pore volume, the pore size distribution, nor the water permeability. This result contrasts to other research published in which the content of fibres was reported to be influential due to the potentially larger ITZs . This su2 content in the UH cured at 60 °C and 90 °C is 14% higher than in the UH cured at 20 °C. This fact is an outcome of the higher degree of cement hydration in the concretes cured at higher temperatures.The curing conditions in UHs affect greatly their microstructure. At 90 °C there is a 40% decrease in total pore volume and the porous structure is much finer, giving rise to a denser cementitious matrix. In addition to expediting hydration reactions, a temperature of 90 °C induces higher water vapour pressure, favouring easier and faster gas penetration through the porous network and with it both cement hydration and the silica fume pozzolanic reaction. Likewise, curing UH at temperatures of 60 °C and 90 °C induces a higher bound water content and, consequently, greater cement hydration, which would explain the higher compressive strength in concretes UH-2F-60 and UH-2F-90 than in UH-2F-20. The portlandite formation is also influenced by the curing temperature. The Ca(OH)As result of a higher cement hydration, a smaller pore volume and a finer porous structure, concrete cured at 90 °C is substantially less permeable to water than concrete cured at 20 °C, being the porosity accessible to water around half (0.9% compared to 2.1% at the age of 28 days).The lack of curing in UH also generates an 50% increase in the total porosity and a coarser porous structure, giving rise to a porosity accessible to water 2-fold higher than in UH cured in a climate chamber at 20 °C and 95% RH. However, concrete compressive strength was not affected by lack of curing , which sThe conclusions drawn from the analyses conducted to determine the microstructure and permeability of the UHs prepared with different steel fibre contents and under distinct curing conditions and temperatures are set out below. UHs were designed to the minimum compressive strength defined for such concretes when made without fibres and were cured at 20 °C, i.e., from 120 MPa to 150 MPa. In this way, the obtained performance can be deemed to correspond approximately to the minimum performance expected for this concrete types.The analysed UHs are characterised by a very low portlandite content, nearly 30% lower than in concrete C90 and 75% lower than in C50. However, they contain large amounts of anhydrous cement grains, which provides them a large alkaline reserve and, consequently, a good protection against carbonation-induced corrosion. UHs have also a very dense microstructure, with a total porosity 30%, 45% and 60% lower than in concretes C90, C50 and C30, respectively. This low porosity adds an additional protection from corrosion because pore connectivity diminishes and, therefore, the ionic current through the dissolved ions in the pore solution is hindered. In addition, the porous structure of UH is very fine, with a high concentration of pores on the nanoscale level, which also justifies the excellent durability performance of these concretes, since it is difficult for water and gases to penetrate the gel pores.As result of these microstructural characteristics, the transport properties differ greatly in the concrete types studied in this work. The porosity accessible to water in UHs at 28 days is 7-fold lower than in C30, 6-fold than in C50 and 4-fold than in C90, and the oxygen permeability is three orders of magnitude lower than in C30, two orders of magnitude lower than in C50 and one order of magnitude lower than in C90. This result adds relevant information on the potential durability of a structure made with the different concrete qualities.The use of different fibres contents in UH  does not affect the total pore volume, the pore size distribution, nor the water permeability. This result contrasts to other research published in which the content of fibres was reported to be influential due to the potentially larger ITZs. This suggests that an appropriate particle size distribution of the mix and a homogeneous distribution of the fibres during the mixing may be enough to ensure that the presence of the fibres does not increase the porosity of the UHs. The curing conditions in UHs affect greatly their microstructure and consequently their permeability. The degree of cement hydration rises with curing temperature (20 °C to 60 °C to 90 °C), inducing a rise in portlandite content. The total pore volume is around 40% lower in UH cured at 90 °C than in UH cured at 20 °C. Likewise, the porosity accessible to water is around half the value observed for the 20 °C concrete. On the other hand, the lack of curing in UH generates an 50% increase in the total porosity and a coarser porous structure, giving rise to a porosity accessible to water 2-fold higher than in UH cured in a climate chamber at 20 °C and 95% RH. Notwithstanding, the water porosity is lower than in concrete C90.


In order to enhance the corrosion resistance of concrete to chloride salt, 5% NaCl solution was used to corrode ordinary concrete (OC) and rubber concrete (RC) with 5%, 10%, and 15% rubber content, respectively. By testing the compressive strength, mass, chloride ion concentration at different depths and relative dynamic elastic modulus, the erosion mechanism was analyzed by means of SEM scanning and EDS patterns, and the mechanical properties and deterioration degree of ordinary concrete (OC) and rubber concrete (RC) under the corrosion environment of chloride salt were studied. The results show that: the quality of rubber mixed into concrete increases first and then decreases, and rubber can increase the compressive strength of concrete, improve its internal structure. At the same time, the mechanical properties of concrete in the corrosion environment of chloride salt are improved to a certain extent, and the deterioration degree is reduced. Considering the comprehensive performance of OC and RC in the dry–wet alternation mechanism under chloride salt corrosion, the best content of rubber is 10%. In the production and use of concrete, sustainability is a crucial issue, mainly including durability, mechanical properties, ecology and economics, etc. . Jorge dThe durability of concrete in the marine environment is an important hidden danger to the safety of concrete structures. Among them, chloride ion penetration is one of the main reasons for the durability of concrete, and the effect of dry–wet alternation greatly accelerates the penetration of corrosive ions, and the tidal range area becomes the most serious area for concrete structure corrosion ,4,5,6,7.In recent years, with the rapid development of the economy and society, the global annual sales of automobiles have increased rapidly, resulting in a sharp increase in the number of waste rubber tires each year. Because waste tires are solid wastes that are not easily degraded, the current treatment methods for waste tires are still mainly combustion, landfill and other methods, which cause serious pollution to the environment ,13. I.M.Based on the serious durability deterioration of concrete caused by chloride ion penetration in ocean engineering and the current application of rubber in the field of civil engineering, this paper designed and applied 5% NaCl solution under the action of dry–wet alternation to simulate the ocean tidal environment. The compressive strength, mass, chloride ion concentration at different depths and relative dynamic elastic modulus of rubber concrete with different contents were tested, and SEM and EDS tests were carried out to analyze the difference of chloride ion permeability resistance between ordinary concrete and rubber concrete under dry–wet alternation action, in order to provide a reference for relevant engineering practices.3. For NaCl, analytical reagent type anhydrous sodium chloride was selected. A high-performance water reducer (HPWR) with a water-reducing rate of 37% is employed to guarantee fluidity and water retention.The cement used in the test is P·O42.5 grade ordinary Portland cement, and the performance indicators are shown in Specification for mix proportion design of ordinary concrete to design the mix proportion of ordinary concrete (OC) and rubber concrete (RC) in this paper. In this test, four gradients of rubber content are 0%, 5%, 10%, and 15% of the mass of fine aggregate are used, and the water reducer dosage is determined according to the working ability. The specific mix proportions of OC and RC are shown in We refer to the relevant regulations in JGJ 55-2011 We use a single-shaft horizontal concrete mixer to make specimens. First, pour the weighed stones and sand into the mixer and dry mix for 1 min, then pour in rubber and cement and continue dry mix for 1 min, and finally add weighed water dissolved with water reducer and stir for 3 min. Then the mixed concrete is put into the concrete mold and vibrated on the vibrating platform. After 24 h, the mold was removed, and OC and RC were made. After the completion of the specimen, indoor standard curing was carried out under natural conditions for 28d. The curing temperature range was 16–24 °C, and the humidity was more than 95%. The compressive strength was tested with the size of 100 mm × 100 mm × 100 mm, and dynamic compression performance tests used cylindrical specimens with a diameter of 74 mm and a height of 38 mm.The chloride salt corrosion test program is carried out in accordance with the relevant regulations in the National Standard of the People’s Republic of China GB/T 50082-2009 Standard for test methods of long-term performance and durability of ordinary concrete. The concentration of the NaCl solution is 5%. Put the specimens cured for 28 days into the prepared NaCl solution. The distance between adjacent specimens during erosion should not be less than 20 mm, and the solution should exceed the upper surface of the uppermost specimen by at least 20 mm, so that the specimens can be fully eroded. The drying temperature is 85 °C, the dry–wet alternate time is 72 h, and the dry–wet ratio is 3:1. The dynamic modulus of elasticity, compressive strength, chloride ion concentration at different depths and mass of the specimens of each group were tested, respectively, at 0, 15, 30, 45, 60, 75 and 90 times of dry–wet alternation.ccf is the cubic compressive strength of the specimen (MPa); F is the failure load of the specimen (N); A is the pressure-bearing area of the specimen (mm2).In accordance with the relevant regulations in the National Standard of the People’s Republic of China GB/T 50081-2019 Standard for test methods for concrete physical and mechanical properties, the WAW-2000D electro-hydraulic servo universal testing machine is used to carry out the cubic compressive strength test and the calculation method of compressive strength value is shown in formula (1).W is the mass loss rate (%) of the i-th concrete specimen after the dry–wet alternation test; 0iW is the mass of the i-th concrete specimen before the dry–wet alternation test (kg); niW is the mass of the i-th concrete specimen after n times of dry–wet alternation test (kg).Measure the mass of OC and RC specimens and calculate the mass loss rate in accordance with the relevant regulations in the National Standard of the People’s Republic of China GB/T 50082-2009 Standard for test methods of long-term performance and durability of ordinary concrete. The calculation method is shown in formula (2).The HDM-1A concrete grinder was used to stratified sampling the chloride salt corroded concrete specimens under different dry–wet alternations. The powders with different grinding depths were collected and passed through a 0.16 mm square hole sieve. The collection depths were 0–6 mm, 6–12 mm, 12–18 mm, 18–24 mm and 24–30 mm, respectively. The free chloride ion concentration of concrete adopts the water-soluble extraction method [The test of the dynamic elastic modulus of concrete is carried out in accordance with relevant regulations in the National Standard of the People’s Republic of China GB/T 50082-2009 Standard for test methods of long-term performance and durability of ordinary concrete, using the DT-W18 dynamic modulus of elasticity tester for testing.dE is the dynamic elastic modulus of the specimen (MPa); a is the side length of the section of the cube specimen (mm); L is the length of the specimen (mm); W is the mass of the specimen (kg), accurate to 0.01 kg; f is the fundamental vibration frequency of the specimen when it transverse vibration (Hz).First, measure the mass and size of the specimen to ensure that the connections and relative positions of the components of the dynamic modulus of elasticity tester meet the requirements of the specification. Then, adjust the tester to make the specimen reach resonance state, and use the resonance frequency displayed at this time as the specimen fundamental frequency vibration frequency. The calculation formula of dynamic elastic modulus is shown in formula (3).E is the relative dynamic elastic modulus of the specimen; diE is the dynamic elastic modulus of the i-th concrete specimen after the dry–wet alternation test (MPa); 0iE is the dynamic elastic modulus of the i-th concrete specimen before the dry–wet alternation test (MPa).The relative dynamic elastic modulus calculation formula is shown in formula (4).In summary, it can be seen that: on the one hand, under the action of dry–wet alternation in the corrosion environment of chloride salt, RC compressive strength and corrosion resistance coefficient of compressive strength are better than OC, which shows that the incorporation of rubber into concrete can improve the compressive strength of concrete in the environment of chloride salt erosion. On the other hand, the RC-2 group can better delay the decrease in the concrete compressive strength than the R-1 group and the R-3 group, and at the same time, the corrosion resistance coefficient of compressive strength is higher. If only from the perspective of improving the compressive strength and the corrosion resistance coefficient of compressive strength of concrete in the chloride salt erosion environment under the action of dry–wet alternation, it is recommended that the rubber content should be 10%.2O3 and 4CaO·Al2O3·Fe2O3 inside the concrete to form Friedel‘s salt (3CaO AlO3·CaCl2·10H2O) and calcium oxide, which quickly fill the pores on the surface of the concrete. The mass of OC and RC increased rapidly, and the mass-loss rate decreased rapidly. When the dry–wet alternation to 30 times, the mass of OC group, RC-1 group and RC-3 group appeared “inflection point”. At this time, the mass of three groups of concrete was 2.263 kg, 2.271 kg and 2.243 kg, and the mass-loss rates were −3.53%, −4.03% and −3.13%. When the dry–wet alternation to 45 times, the mass of RC-2 group appeared “inflection point”, the mass and mass-loss rates were 2.326 kg and −6.75%. After that, due to the intensification of hydration reaction and the reaction between Cl− and calcium hydroxide in the pores, a large number of expansive compound salt CaCl2·Ca(OH)2·H2O is generated, which will cause the expansion pores in the concrete, resulting in cracks on the surface of concrete and long cracks. At the same time, salt crystallization will also precipitate under the action of high-temperature drying. The generated expansion pressure makes the concrete crack produce microcracks, resulting in the slow decline of the mass of OC and RC, and the slow increase in the mass-loss rate. Finally, it reaches a stable stage after 75 times of dry–wet alternation. When the dry–wet alternation was at 90 times, the mass of OC, RC-1, RC-2 and RC-3 groups was 2.2 kg, 2.208 kg, 2.249 kg and 2.194 kg, and the mass loss rates were −0.64%, −1.15%, −3.21% and −0.87%.The free chloride ion concentrations of OC and RC at different depths are shown in It can be seen from The relative dynamic elastic modulus of OC and RC under the dry–wet alternation action in chloride erosion environment is shown in It can be seen from The EDS patterns of the specimens in the OC group and the RC-2 group are shown in (1)The compressive strength and relative dynamic elastic modulus of OC and RC both increase first and then decrease with the increase in dry–wet alternation times. The “inflection point” of compressive strength and corrosion resistance coefficient of OC, RC-1, RC-2, and RC-3 groups is 15 times, 30 times, 45 times, and 30 times dry–wet alternation times, respectively. At this time, the corrosion resistance coefficient of compressive strength of OC, RC-1, RC-2, and RC-3 groups is increased to 107.24%, 109.96%, 111.66%, 104.94%, respectively. The addition of rubber into concrete is beneficial to improve the compressive strength of concrete and the compactness of concrete in a chloride salt corroded environment.(2)The mass changes of the OC and RC groups are mainly divided into the rapid rising stage, slow rising stage, slow declining stage and continuous stable stage. When the dry–wet alternation reaches 30 times and 45 times, the mass of OC group, RC-1 group, RC-3 group and R-2 group appears as an “inflection point”. Under the combined action of the crystallization pressure and the swelling stress, the pores rapidly expand and form micro-cracks.(3)Adding rubber into concrete can effectively improve the resistance of concrete to chloride erosion and delay the erosion effect of chloride ions on specimens. When the rubber content is 10% of fine aggregate, it has the most obvious improvement effect on the resistance to chloride erosion of concrete. Comprehensive SEM and EDS analyses show that rubber can effectively reduce the porosity of concrete, improve the bonding ability of chloride ions, and reduce the influence of chloride erosion on concrete.


Evidence is lacking on how to implement effective and sustainable antibiotic stewardship strategies. The Antibiotic Self-Stewardship Time Out Program (SSTOP) evaluated the implementation at VAMCs of an “Antibiotic Timeout” 3 days after the initiation of antibiotics to encourage providers to review continued use of broad-spectrum antibiotics. Sites launched the SSTOP note templates in a rolling fashion from June 2019-March 2020. Clinical pharmacists largely drove the implementation. The vancomycin note template was implemented at 6 of 8 sites and the antipseudomonal note template across 4 of 8 sites. Two sites were unable to launch the note templates due to lack of resources, however they utilized SSTOP principles/guided tools. From Sept 2019-Nov 2020 we conducted post-launch qualitative interviews with Antibiotic Stewardship Program (ASP) champions involved in implementation across the 8 VAMCs. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed for thematic content.Feedback from ASP providers suggests prescribers had mixed reviews on the note template, but overall liked the process and deemed it to be straightforward. Many valued the algorithm, indicating it was helpful in both thinking about antibiotics prior to initiation, and identification of appropriate antibiotics. Barriers included staffing , surgery service, information technology (IT) support, COVID-19, and the need to remind providers to use the template. Facilitators consisted of strong stewardship, local champions , medicine service, and SSTOP data feedback reports. Recommendations largely centered on improvements to the note template usability and to SSTOP feedback reports .Overall, the SSTOP note templates were considered acceptable and straightforward. By guiding providers to prescribe more appropriate antibiotics, they act as influencers for practice change, and may strengthen provider/ASP relations. Plans for continued utilization of the note templates after the project concludes suggest SSTOP may serve as a way to achieve sustainable promotion of antibiotic use improvements. Matthew B. Goetz, MD, Nothing to disclose


Complicated urinary tract infections (cUTI) are one of the most common bacterial infections and represent substantial burden to the health care system. Here, we examine the epidemiology and treatment patterns associated with cUTI in a large US database containing longitudinal inpatient (IP) and outpatient (OP) patient-level data.We conducted a retrospective cohort study of adult patients in the IBM MarketScan® Commercial or Medicare Supplemental Databases with at least 1 IP or non-diagnostic OP claim with a diagnosis for cUTI between January 1, 2017 and June 30, 2019. Patients meeting the following criteria were included for analysis: (1) ≥18 years of age on the index date, (2) ≥6 months of continuous enrollment (CE) with medical and pharmacy benefits prior to the index date, (3) ≥12 months of CE following the index date or evidence of death, and (4) no evidence of a prior cUTI during the 6-month baseline period. Demographics and clinical characteristics were quantified. Patients were classified as IP if they were hospitalized during 30-day post index date; remaining patients were classified as OP. Antibiotics received in the OP setting in the 12-months post index date were examined. 95,423 patients met study criteria. Most (86.4%) patients were Commercially insured, mean (SD) age was 53.6 (18.1) and 70.4% were female. Mean baseline Charlson Comorbidity Index was 0.77. During the 30-day post index date, 22.2% were treated as IP and 77.8% were strictly treated as OP. In the 12-month OP follow-up period among index IP, 78.2% required ≥ 2 antibiotics, 38.2% required ≥4 antibiotics, and 41.6% received an IV antibiotic. In the 12-month OP follow-up period among index OP, 81.8% required ≥2 antibiotics, 38.2% required ≥4 antibiotics, and 46.8% received an IV antibiotic. For both IP and OP, fluoroquinolones were the most common oral antibiotic class (57.7%), followed by cephalosporins (39.2%), penicillins (30.3%), trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (29.8%), and nitrofurantoin (25.2%). Cephalosporins were the most common IV antibiotic class (38.5%).Regardless of index treatment setting, approximately 40% of all cUTI patients required ≥4 antibiotic therapy and almost half with receive an IV antibiotic in the outpatient setting in the 12-months post index date.Thomas Lodise, Jr., PharmD, PhD, Astra-Zeneca (Consultant)Bayer (Consultant)DoseMe ferring (Consultant)genentech (Consultant)GSK (Consultant)Melinta (Consultant)merck nabriva (Consultant)paratek shionogi Spero (Consultant)tetraphase (Consultant)Venatrox (Consultant) Thomas Lodise, Jr., PharmD, PhD, Melinta Therapeutics  Involved: Self): Consultant; Merck  Involved: Self): Consultant, Scientific Research Study Investigator; Paratek  Involved: Self): Consultant; Shionogi  Involved: Self): Consultant, Speakers’ bureau; Spero  Involved: Self): Consultant; Tetraphase Pharmaceuticals Inc.  Involved: Self): Consultant Janna Manjelievskaia, PhD, MPH, IBM Watson Health (Employee)Spero Therapeutics (Consultant) Matthew Brouillette, MPH, Spero Therapeutics, Inc.  Kate Sulham, MPH, Spero Therapeutics (Consultant)


Ensuring appropriate animal welfare to promote wildlife conservation is a top priority of modern zoos, leading to greater effort to improve welfare monitoring approaches. However, more traditional procedures can present some limitations, while the implementation of technology might become an extra tool to comply with the need of a more efficient welfare assessment. This study aimed to summarise the available body of research on technologies used for the assessment of animal welfare in zoos. The results revealed that the majority of publications were published from 2015 onwards suggesting that this research field is still young. So far, the use of technology to assess zoo animal welfare has focused mainly on large mammals likely due to the emotional impact and interest that they have on the public and media worldwide. In addition, despite the employment of both detached and wearable sensors to assess animal welfare in zoos, implementation of algorithms to enable real-time monitoring of the animals is still scarce compared to research on farm animals. Greater application of technologies in zoo research and on more taxa should be the focus of future studies, so that another effective welfare assessment approach can be used together with more traditional procedures to improve zoo animal welfare and ultimately promote wildlife conservation.A top priority of modern zoos is to ensure good animal welfare (AW), thus, efforts towards improving AW monitoring are increasing. Welfare assessments are performed through more traditional approaches by employing direct observations and time-consuming data collection that require trained specialists. These limitations may be overcome through automated monitoring using wearable or remotely placed sensors. However, in this fast-developing field, the level of automated AW monitoring used in zoos is unclear. Hence, the aim of this systematic literature review was to investigate research conducted on the use of technology for AW assessment in zoos with a focus on real-time automated monitoring systems. The search led to 19 publications with 18 of them published in the last six years. Studies focused on mammals (89.5%) with elephant as the most studied species followed by primates. The most used technologies were camera (52.6%) and wearable sensors (31.6%) mainly used to measure behaviour, while the use of algorithms was reported in two publications only. This research area is still young in zoos and mainly focused on large mammals. Despite an increase in publications employing automated AW monitoring in the last years, the potential for this to become an extra useful tool needs further research. Nowadays, one of the top priorities that modern zoos and aquaria have to fulfill is to ensure high standards of animal welfare to support and promote wildlife conservation ,2. In thTo date, the variety of valuable methods used for the assessment of animal welfare ranges from monitoring physiological indicators, such as non-invasive measurement of hormones, to recording health indicators or environmental parameters and performing direct behavioural observations ,5,6. HowTursiops truncatus)  added to each keyword because the more generic field Textwords [tw] brought up too many false results. The second systematic search was conducted in the database “Web of Science” using the fields Title only [TI] and Abstract only [AB] placed before the list of all keywords associated with each concept because the more generic field Topic [TS] brought up too many false results. The two lists were, then, combined by the Boolean “OR”. For both systematic searches, each keyword within each concept of the map was separated by the Boolean “OR” while the concepts were separated by the Boolean “AND”.Prior to the start of the technical search, a concept map and the associated keywords, presented in Publications obtained from the systematic literature search were imported to Mendeley  to systematically perform the selection of relevant papers. In order to finalise the number of publications to be used for the systematic review, the following steps were applied by a single researcher according to the PRISMA guidelines : First, Finally, the full text of all publications considered relevant for the systematic literature analysis were screened by two researchers (A.D. and M.S.) independently. Then, the two independent analyses were compared and if there were uncertainties during the screening process, the publications were further checked by the two researchers in order to reach an agreement. For each publication, the following information was noted: (1) title; (2) journal; (3) year of publication; (4) animal species studied; (5) country where the study was conducted; (6) country of the affiliation(s) of the first author; (7) type of technology used to measure the parameters classified as wearable sensors , camera, microphone, and other ; 8) type of parameters measured . The raw data are available as The systematic search strategy led to 753 publications from the database “PubMed” and 1353 publications from the database “Web of Science” for a total of 2106 publications. Out of these, 595 publications were duplicates. The abstracts of the 1511 remaining publications were screened for eligibility according to the exclusion criteria and of those, 19 publications were considered to be of relevance for the systematic review. Out of these publications, 2 were reviews and 17 were research studies. Of those, 1 publication was a retrospective study, 1 publication was a case study, and 15 publications were experimental studies.Zoo Biology (31.5%) and Animals (26.1%), representing together more than half of the total publications. The most represented country of the study and first author main affiliation was USA (63.1%) followed by Australia (10.5%).The most studied animal species was elephant (36.8%) followed by primate species  with 21% of the publications investigating more than one species. Specifically, mammals – class: Mammalia – was the group mainly represented in the publications (89.5%) followed by birds – class: Aves (21%). The leading peer-reviewed journals with the highest percentage of publications were n = 17) used technology to measure behavioural (63.1%) and physical/physiological (31.6%) parameters, while only 3 publications used and/or reviewed sensor technology to measure environmental parameters such as water/air temperature and sound/noise level. Three publications measured more than one type of parameter. Fifty-two percent of the publications used a camera as the technology to assess animal welfare, followed by wearable sensors (31.6%) such as accelerometers, GPS, and RFID tags. There were only 2 publications that reported the use and/or development of an algorithm to monitor animal welfare.An overview of sensor technologies applied to measure animal-based and environmental parameters to assess animal welfare in zoo animals can be found in n = 19), which compared to some reviews on farm species such as pigs (n = 101) [n = 264) [The aim of this systematic review was to provide an overview of the current state of research on the use of technology to monitor animal welfare in zoo animals, and specifically, on technologies used to automatically and continuously monitor animal-based or environmental parameters in real-time. This search is fundamental to evaluate the progress of this fast-developing field since little information is available on animals hosted in zoos compared to their counterparts kept on-farms. The small number of publications identified through the systematic search (n = 101)  and pouln = 264)  are miniA trend towards English-speaking countries as the main location and first author’s institution of the study emerged from the data, in particular, more than half of the studies were carried out in the US. It is important to note that only papers published in English, the most used language in peer-reviewed journals, were included in this systematic review, thus, it is likely that inclusion of non-English speaker publications, especially with regards to the variety of languages spoken in the EU, may have led to different results. In addition, when considering the single country, the US holds the most numerous accredited zoos worldwide ,52 whichMammals were the most studied group of animals with Asian/African elephants as the main species investigated followed by primates. This result is expected because large mammals are among the most studied animals in zoos not only for their biological importance but also because of the emotional impact and interest that they have on the public and media worldwide ,55,56. TZoo Biology, Journal of Zoo and Aquarium Research, and Animals and all with an open-access publication option. The latter is specifically of great importance because it can contribute to easily disseminate the findings of this novel field in the zoo setting. However, the employment of more technology field-specific journals is still limited , likelyIndividual-level sensors  were used to monitor animal welfare in zoos as much as those employed for a group-level monitoring approach . This is in contrast with the trend reported in farm research. For instance, Larsen et al. , in theiThe potential to advance the monitoring of zoo animal welfare by the use of technology was reported throughout the papers included in the current review. Although technology can integrate the current approaches applied in zoos for animal welfare monitoring and assessment, scientists are still far from taking full advantage of it . For insAnother comparison worthy to note is the increased use of automated monitoring systems of animals under natural field conditions as a valuable method to investigate their movements and behaviour without interference ,64. The Nevertheless, in spite of the aforesaid potential benefits that technology and automated monitoring systems can add to the assessment of zoo animal welfare, there are also some disadvantages that should not be underestimated. Among others, there is the cost factor that, although more affordable than in the past years , may stiA potential limitation of this study can be related to the search methodology and the associated final number of publications. We are aware that not all publications in-line with the objective of the current work were likely identified by the systematic literature search. For instance, publications published in journals that were not peer-reviewed or those not included in PubMed and Web of Science . Indeed,Although several review papers clearly stated the need for improvement in the use of automated monitoring technology as an additional tool to advance animal welfare in zoos ,76, spec


What makes written text appealing? In this registered report protocol, we propose to study the linguistic characteristics of news headline success using a large-scale dataset of field experiments (A/B tests) conducted on the popular website Upworthy comparing multiple headline variants for the same news articles. This unique setup allows us to control for factors that can have crucial confounding effects on headline success. Based on prior literature and a pilot partition of the data, we formulate hypotheses about the linguistic features that are associated with statistically superior headlines. We will test our hypotheses on a much larger partition of the data that will become available after the publication of this registered report protocol. Our results will contribute to resolving competing hypotheses about the linguistic features that affect the success of text and will provide avenues for research into the psychological mechanisms that are activated by those features. The spread of news and other important information has changed significantly in the age of online social media. As readers increasingly obtain their news over social media ,2, publiNew York Times articles that were heavily shared, identifying that articles that express positive or high-arousal emotions have a higher likelihood of becoming popular. A broad literature focuses on predicting success in news by various means ), recall was 55.31%, precision was 55.22%. We conclude with the prediction that our model will identify the better headline from pairs in the Confirmatory Dataset significantly better compared to a random baseline.Our first hypothesis posits that our model can predict headline success from linguistic features. Using our regression model, with 0.5 decision threshold on the predicted value, prediction accuracy on the pilot data was 55.23% (The remaining hypotheses are assessed from inspecting the fitted regression coefficients (depicted in


Endometrial cancer is the most common gynecological cancer in developed countries. At initial diagnosis, extra-uterine spread is observed in about 25% of patients. Chemotherapy is the suggested mode of treatment for patients with extra-uterine metastasis; however, the 5-year overall survival rate of these patients remains poor. The development of new therapeutic strategies to improve the poor clinical outcome of patients with advanced endometrial cancer is still in great demand. In this study, we aim to understand the genomic landscape of advanced endometrial cancer and identify new therapeutic targets. Integrated genomic, pathological, and clinical data are analyzed to identify the survival-associated genomic alterations. In addition, the impacts of the genomic alterations are examined in silico, in vitro, and in vivo. The results of this study may aid in developing biomarker-guided treatments for patients with advanced endometrial cancer.MET, U2AF1, BCL9, PPP2R1A, IDH2, CBL, BTK, and CHEK2 were positively correlated with poor clinical outcomes. MET mutations occurred in 30% of the patients who presented with poor overall survival . Concurrent MET and KRAS mutations presented with the worst outcomes. MET mutations in hepatocyte growth factor (HGF)-binding (58.1%) or kinase (16.2%) domains resulted in differential HGF-induced c-MET phosphorylation. Different types of MET mutations differentially affected tumor growth and displayed different sensitivities to cisplatin and tyrosine kinase inhibitors. MET N375S mutation is a germline variant that causes chemoresistance to cisplatin, with a high incidence in Eastern Asia. This study highlights the ethnic differences in the biology of the disease, which can influence treatment recommendations and the genome-guided clinical trials of advanced endometrial cancer.An optimal therapeutic regimen for endometrial cancer with extra-uterine metastasis is unavailable. This study aims to improve our understanding of the genomic landscape of advanced endometrial cancer and identify potential therapeutic targets. The clinical and genomic profiles of 81 patients with stage III or IV endometrial cancer were integrated. To identify genomic aberrations associated with clinical outcomes, Cox proportional hazard regression was used. The impacts of the genomic aberrations were validated in vitro and in vivo. The mutation status of  Endometrial cancer, the most common gynecological cancer in developed countries, is broadly classified into two types (type I and type II) based on its histology and the presence or absence of a hormone receptor . Type I POLE) somatic mutations and the corresponding ‘ultramutated’ phenotype exhibit a favorable prognosis, while the other distinct subgroups, which include tumors with microsatellite instability, low copy number, and high copy number, consist mainly of cases diagnosed as high-grade serous tumors with poor outcome. Systemic chemotherapy is the main treatment for patients with metastatic disease. Carboplatin plus paclitaxel is the preferred regimen for the majority of patients [The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) Research Network has produced a vast amount of data on the genomic landscape of endometrial cancer . The genpatients . Hormonepatients , and immpatients ,8. HowevThis study aims to identify the survival-associated molecular pathways in advanced endometrial cancer via integrated genomic characterization. Study cohort. Patients with endometrial cancer were consecutively recruited at the National Cheng Kung University Hospital Taiwan from July 2006 to January 2017. About 900 patients with endometrial cancer were enrolled, and 20% of cases were diagnosed with advanced-stage cancer (FIGO stage III or IV). The patients received staging surgery or diagnostic dilation and curettage at initial diagnosis. Platinum plus paclitaxel were the standard regimens used as postoperative chemotherapy for patients with FIGO stage III and IV. The patients were recruited as an NCKUH cohort using the following inclusion criteria: (i) FIGO stage III or IV; (ii) surgery performed at NCKUH; and (iii) adequate and qualified specimens for genetic analysis. The exclusion criteria were as follows: (i) unavailable clinical information; (ii) death unrelated to cancer; and (iii) poor quality of specimens. This study was approved by the institutional review board of NCKUH . Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) data of 499 normal Taiwanese individuals were provided by the Taiwan Biobank as a genome reference.Next-generation sequencing. Genomic analysis was performed on formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tumor tissues using Oncomine Comprehensive Assay™ v1  . HematoxPOLE gene panels were designed and ordered at AmpliSeq.com to identify the pathogenic mutations in the gene. POLE gene libraries were prepared using the Ion AmpliSeq™ Kit for Chef DL8 with the Ion Chef™ System. Template preparation, chip loading, and sequencing were carried out on the Ion Chef™ System and the Ion S5 XL sequencing system using the Ion 510 & Ion 520 & Ion 530 Kit-Chef Kit (Thermo Fisher Scientific). The sequencing reads were aligned to the reference genome (hg19), and variant calling and annotation were conducted using Ion Reporter Version 5.6. Next, ® 2500 and Ion TorrenTM systems, respectively. NGS library preparation was carried out using the TruSeq PCR-Free DNA HT Library Prep Kit . The size and concentration of the DNA library were measured using an Agilent 2100 bioanalyzer  and Qubit fluorometer . WGS and WES were performed with a minimum median coverage of 30× and 100×, respectively. FastQC was used to check the quality of the reads, which were aligned to the hg19 reference genome using the BWA-MEM algorithm. GATK Best Practices was used for base quality score recalibration, small insertion and deletion (INDEL) realignment, and duplicate removal [To detect the germline genetic variant, DNA was isolated from the peripheral blood of 13 patients and adjacent non-tumor specimens of 25 patients. WGS and whole exome sequencing (WES) of the blood and tissue samples were performed using the Illumina HiSeq removal ,12. Mant removal . To stud removal . The seqMET. The pCMV6-MET mutant (N375S) plasmid was purchased from ORIGENE (#RC400336). The construction of mutated derivatives of c-MET, including the G1085R and G1087E, was performed using the QuikChange site-directed mutagenesis kit (Agilent Technologies). Mutations for target nucleotide were introduced using the designed oligonucleotides and pCMV6-MET  as a template. The PCR products were added to the DpnI enzyme for 5 min at 37 °C to destroy the parental plasmid DNA and then transformed into E. coli. All mutated constructs were confirmed by sequencing.Site-directed mutagenesis of MET, including N375S, G1085R, and G1087E, for functional assays. Cell functions on proliferation, migration, and invasion were performed as previously described. Briefly, the RL95-2 and KLE cell lines, transfected with wild-type and mutant MET, were seeded into 96-well plates (5 × 103/well) with 100 μL of culture medium and incubated at 37 °C with 5% CO2. Cell proliferation was evaluated at 0, 24, 48, and 72 h after seeding using the Alamar Blue assay (Invitrogen). Next, a transwell assay was used to evaluate the migration and invasion abilities of the transfected cells. For the invasion assay, 100 μL of matrigel  was added to the bottom of the transwell insert. Next, 3 × 104 transfected cells were seeded onto the transwell insert along with 300 μL of medium containing 5% FBS; 1 mL of medium with 10% FBS was added to the lower part of the 24-well plate. The cells were allowed to invade or migrate for 24 h at 37 °C with 5% CO2. All the cells from the underside of the transwell inserts were stained by crystal violet. Images of each transwell insert were taken to count the number of cells. All experiments were performed with mycoplasma-free cells.Cell culture and functional assays. In April 2017, authenticated endometrial cancer cell lines, RL95-2 (RRID: CVCL_0505) and KLE (RRID: CVCL_1329), were purchased from the American Type Culture Collection. All cell lines have been authenticated using short tandem repeat profiling within the last three years. The RL95-2 and KLE cell lines were transfected with wild-type and mutant c-MET phosphorylation. The cells were washed with phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) and lysed in cell lysis buffer , 0.5% deoxycholic acid, and 0.1% SDS) containing freshly added Protease Inhibitor Cocktail  and 1 mM phenylmethanesulfonylfluoride (PMSF). The protein concentration of the cell lysate was determined using the DC Protein Assay . Equal amounts of lysate protein (30 µg) from each cell lysate were loaded onto 4–15% SDS-polyacrylamide gel (Bio-Rad) and separated by electrophoresis. The separated proteins were electroblotted onto a nitrocellulose membrane  and incubated in blocking solution  for 1 h at room temperature. The membranes were incubated with the following dilutions of the primary antibody at 40 °C overnight: anti-phospho-c-MET, 1:1000 ; anti-c-MET, 1:2000 ; and anti-α-tubulin, 1:5000 . After multiple washes with PBS containing 0.1% Tween-20 (PBST), the membranes were incubated with horseradish peroxidase-conjugated secondary antibody  for 1 h at room temperature. After further washes with PBST, the membranes were processed using the enhanced chemiluminescence method . Protein bands were visualized by autoradiography, and the signal intensities were quantified by using NIH ImageJ software.MET was compared with those in tumors carrying various MET mutations.Immunohistochemical staining. FFPE endometrial cancer tissues from surgical specimens were used to determine the expression of c-MET protein. Tissue sections were cut from the paraffin block , deparaffinized in xylene, and rehydrated with decreasing grades of ethanol. Immunohistochemical staining for the c-MET protein was performed using the anti-c-MET rabbit polyclonal antibody . The expression level of c-MET in tumors with wild-type In silico analysis. To predict the effect of variants on the function of c-MET protein, differences in free energy between mutant and wild-type c-MET were calculated using Calculate Mutation Energy . For thescid/JNarl, NOD/SCID) mice. The posterior flank of the NOD-SCID mouse was subcutaneously inoculated with 1 × 106 endometrial cancer RL95-2 cells, expressing either wild-type or mutant MET . The mice were randomly divided into four groups (at least four mice in each group) and treated with cisplatin, crizotinib (a multiple tyrosine kinase inhibitor), SU11274 (a specific c-MET inhibitor), or none of the aforementioned drugs; the treatments were initiated 1 week after tumor inoculation. Cisplatin (1 mg/kg) and SU11274 (6 mg/kg) were administered twice a week via intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection for 5 weeks. Crizotinib (25 mg/kg), prepared with 0.5% hydroxypropylmethylcellulose, was administered by oral gavage twice a week for 5 weeks. Both tumor size and body weight were measured twice a week, and tumor volume was determined via caliper measurements of the tumor length (L) and width (W) according to the following formula: LW2/2. The mice were sacrificed at day 40, and the tumors were excised and weighed. Animal Study. All animal experiments were approved by the Laboratory Animal Care and Use Committee of the NCKU. The xenograft procedures were performed on 6–8-week-old, female, severe combined immunodeficient  method. The cutoff for the FDR adjusted p-value was 0.1. Progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were calculated from the date of surgery to recurrence and death, respectively. Kaplan–Meier curves and log-rank tests were used to estimate the survival functions and compare the differences between groups. A p-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant.Statistics. Chi-square tests, Fisher’s exact test, and unpaired Eighty-one patients with stage III and IV cancer were consecutively recruited based on the inclusion criteria. Based on the histology, 80% and 20% of the patients presented with type I (mainly endometrioid) and type II (non-endometrioid) tumors, respectively. The patients were grouped based on the clinical outcome, as follows: no evidence of disease and progressive disease (PD). The clinical characteristics of the patients in the two groups are shown in p-value < 0.1, are shown in MET, U2AF1, BCL9, PPP2R1A, IDH2, CBL, BTK, and CHEK2) were positively correlated with poor PFS and OS. In contrast, IFITM1 and DNMT3A mutations were associated with better clinical outcomes. MET was selected for further studies because the adjusted p-value was the smallest, and the frequency of mutation was not low.The Oncomine Comprehensive Assay v1, a targeted NGS assay, was applied to the FFPE tumor samples to detect the presence of mutations across 143 genes. Associations between the individual mutated gene and the clinical outcome, with FDR-adjusted MET mutation, and potential factors, including age, staging, histology, grading, and treatments, were compared between these two groups. As shown in To eliminate the potential confounding effects, patients were stratified into groups of patients with and without MET mutation is a poor clinical marker  expressed on the cell surface [MET mutation was associated with poor survival independent of EGFR mutation , depending on the type of MET mutation.To test whether the c-MET signaling pathway was a therapeutic target, we subcutaneously inoculated the SCID mice with RL95-2 cells carrying various type MET . Althougferation D, an incmutation A,B. Nextutations C,D. Howetype MET E,F. SU11 in vivo G,H. ThesMET mutations was 75%; however, that value significantly decreased to 50% in patients with MET N375S (p = 0.043). Furthermore, an analysis of 35 paired tissues revealed that the MET N375S mutation was a germline variant (MET N375S variant (c.1124 A > G) was 8.5% and 5.8% in all the patients enrolled in the present study and the Taiwan Biobank, respectively. A similar allele frequency (5~8%) was observed in the population from South and East Asia  in the TCGA endometrial cancer cohort were identified, and the genomic backgrounds between the NCKUH and TCGA cohorts were compared. No significant differences in age distribution at initial diagnosis, FIGO stage, histology, and clinical outcome were observed between the two cohorts . To obtact on OS .POLE mutations in the TCGA cohort [POLE mutations accompanied by an ultra-tumor mutation burden present favorable clinical outcomes [POLE gene. However, no association between the POLE mutation and the histology of the specimens was observed in the current study cohort . The KRAS mutation has been shown to be one of the resistant mechanisms in MET-mutant non-small cell lung cancer patients receiving the c-MET tyrosine kinase inhibitor [MET and PIK3CA or KRAS mutations might also mediate the resistance to c-MET inhibitors when targeting the MET mutation in endometrial cancer. In this study, co-occurrence of the l cancer ,29. The  outcome D. FurthePOLE-mutant endometrial cancers were typically high-grade or poorly differentiated [POLE mutations accompanied by an ultra-tumor mutation burden presented with a favorable clinical outcome [POLE mutation, histologic subtype, and clinical outcome. A discrepancy in the genetic aberration in terms of the severity of the effect of the mutation on genomic functions was observed between the current study cohort and the TCGA cohort. In the TCGA cohort, entiated . POLE mu outcome . ConversPOLE gene and microsatellite instability were not included in this assay, and the data of copy number alterations were only available for 26 genes. Although the mutations in the POLE gene could be analyzed in 74 patients who had adequate tumor samples, stratification of these 81 endometrial cancer patients into 4 groups by POLE mutation, MSI status, and copy number cluster based on TCGA’s classification still could not be achieved. Therefore, the impact of MET mutations in the four subgroups remains unclear. The mutational analysis in this study was performed by a deep targeted gene sequencing assay, the Oncomine Comprehensive Assay version 1, instead of whole exome (WES) or whole-genome sequencing (WGS). The analyses of the MET mutations in advanced endometrial cancers.This integrated genomic and mechanistic study provides insights into the biological and diagnostic classification of advanced endometrial cancer, which might result in a direct effect on treatment recommendations for patients with this disease. Furthermore, this information provides opportunities for additional genome-guided clinical trials and drug development. Since several c-MET inhibitors are FDA-approved drugs and in the late phases of the clinical trials, the next step is to launch a clinical trial targeting


To solve the problem of black ice, many studies are being carried out. The key in recent days is enhancing the thermal conductivity of concrete. In this study, to improve the thermal conductivity, silicon carbide was used to substitute 50% and 100% of the fine aggregate. In addition, steel fiber is not only for enhancing the mechanical properties but could enhance thermal conductive material. Hence, the arched-type steel fiber was used up to a 1% volume fraction in this study. Furthermore, graphite was used for 5% of the volume fraction for enhancing the thermal conductivity. However, thermal damage would occur due to the difference in thermal conductivity between materials. Therefore, the thermal durability must be verified first. The target application of the concrete in this study was its use as road paving material. To evaluate the thermal durability, freeze–thaw and rapid cyclic thermal attacks were performed. The thermal conductivity of the specimens was increased with the increase in thermal conductive materials. Graphite has already been reported to have a negative effect on mechanical properties, and the results showed that this was the case. However, the steel fiber compensated for the negative effect of graphite, and the silicon carbide provided a filler effect. Graphite also had a negative effect on the freeze–thaw and rapid cyclic thermal attack, but the steel fiber compensated for the reduction in thermal durability. The silicon carbide also helped to improve the thermal durability in the same way as steel fiber. Comprehensively, the steel fiber enhanced all of the properties of the tests. Using 100% silicon carbide was considered the acceptable range, but 50% of silicon carbide was the best. Graphite decreased all the properties except for the thermal conductivity. Therefore, the content of graphite or using other conductive materials used should be carefully considered in further studies. One is black ice and the other is pot-holes caused by the freeze–thaw cycle. Black ice makes the surface of the road slippery and causes traffic accidents . To prev2 ,4. Howev2 ,6,7. The2 ,6,7. To 2 ,11,12,132 ,11,12,132 .Graphite has good thermal conductivity because graphite is a kind of carbon material and has been extensively investigated by researchers ,15,16. HIn this study, SiC was substituted for 50% and 100% of fine aggregate in order to improve the thermal conductivity. In addition, graphite was used at 5% of volume for enhancing the thermal conductivity, and the arched-type steel fiber was used for compensating the reduction in mechanical properties by the graphite ,25,26,27The concrete introduced in this study was intended for use as road pavement, which meant it was necessary for the thermal durability performance in conditions such as freeze–thaw to be verified. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to assess the thermal durability of the concrete with thermal conductive materials. To assess the thermal durability, two main experiments were performed: freeze–thaw (FT) and rapid cyclic thermal attack (RCTA). The concrete used in this study was made for application as road paving material, therefore, the FT resistance was important. In addition, cold regions usually change the air temperature very rapidly. Therefore, the RCTA test was essential for assessing the thermal durability of concrete.In this study, Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) , graphit3 and the coarse aggregate was 2.71 ton/m3. Except for the OPC, graphite, SiC, the fine aggregate, and the coarse aggregate have their own particle size distribution (PSD). The PSD properties of each material are important to investigate how the concrete is made well. The PSDs of graphite, SiC, the fine aggregate, and the coarse aggregate are indicated in The fine and coarse aggregates used natural sand and crushed stone, respectively. The specific gravity of the fine aggregate was 2.62 ton/mA total 6 cases of concrete specimens were cast. The specimens were cured for one day in air and demolded after one day of curing. After demolding, the specimens were immersed in the water at 25 ℃ for 27 days . The mixing properties of the specimens are summarized in The main experiments were the FT cycle test and RCTA and the supporting experiment was strength test and thermal properties. The detail of the research flow is indicated in According to E is the elastic modulus (MPa), S0.4 is the stress corresponding to 40% of ultimate stress (MPa), S0.4, and The compressive strength was measured at 3, 7, and 28 days of curing. In addition, the stress–strain curve was measured at 28 days of curing in each specimen. Test procedure followed ASTM standard . When meThe flexural strength was measured at the same curing ages as the compressive strength. The load–deflection curve was measured at 28 days of curing in each specimen and followed the test method of ASTM . In thisThe flexural test was conducted in the case of the 4-point bending test and the spans (L) were 300 mm in this experiment. Therefore, the checking points of net deflection in Thermal conductive materials were used in this study. Therefore, the thermal conductivity was measured. Before considering the thermal conductivity of the specimens, the dry density has to be considered because the thermal conductivity is sensitive to the density of materials. There is a simple standard for measuring the dry density and water absorption following standard . The sizIt is important to measure the thermal conductivity because thermal conductive materials were used in this study. There are many methods used to measure the thermal conductivity of cement composites . HoweverThe concrete made with thermal conductive materials was intended for use as concrete pavement on the road. Therefore, freeze–thaw resistance is an important factor for road users. The temperature cycle has to meet the condition that the core temperature of the specimens should repeat −18 ± 2 ℃ to 6 ± 2 ℃ for 4 h in one cycle. The cycle was repeated a total of 300 times and the Relative Dynamic Modulus (RDM) was measured every 30 cycles. In addition, mass loss was measured every 30 cycles. The test method followed the ASTM standard  and follDue to the difference in the thermal conductivity of each material, it is impossible to neglect the effect of thermal damage. This test is similar to the FT test, but the applied conditions and the concept were different. The purpose of this test is to show how well the specimens resist harsh thermal conditions. The test concept is indicated in The compressive strength results are indicated in The flexural strength results are indicated in The Thermal conductivity is sensitive to the porosity of materials  and the S0-G5-SF1 showed the highest value of water absorption. This is because using fibers in concrete makes microcracks between cement matrix and the fibers . In addiThe thermal conductivity results are indicated in In S50-G5-SF1 and S100-G5-SF1, the thermal conductivity was increased to a large gap in comparison to other specimens. In the aspect of concrete volume, the fine aggregate occupies 30% of concrete volume . S50-G5-The results of RDM are indicated in Using SiC has many benefits for concrete such as improving the durability of the cement composites via a filler effect and improving the thermal attack resistance. Although using 100% of SiC as a fine aggregate led to a decrease in mechanical properties , the benThe effect of RCTA was observed by comparing the compressive strength. The results are indicated in SiC also improves the thermal attack resistance . S50-G5-Arched type steel fiber improves the mechanical properties of concrete due to the anchorage effect. On the contrary, it was demonstrated that using graphite brought about a negative effect on the mechanical properties. However, graphite is a good material for improving the thermal conductivity of concrete. Therefore, the decrease in mechanical properties caused by using graphite could be compensated by using arched type steel fiber.SiC is able to be used as fine aggregate and has sufficient thermal conductivity. In addition, it was demonstrated that the steel fiber could be used as a thermal conductive material through the thermal conductivity results. The combination of SiC and steel fiber maximized the improvement in the thermal conductivity of concrete. Adding graphite also brought about an increase in thermal conductivity.It was demonstrated that using graphite is not suitable for FT and RCTA resistance through the results of the FT test and RCTA test. However, the arched type steel fiber showed a remarkable improvement of the FT resistance and RCTA. In addition, SiC compensated for the negative effect of graphite on the FT and RCTA.This study focused on the effect of thermal conductive materials on the FT resistance of concrete. The effect of thermal conductive materials on concrete was confirmed by various experiments. The comprehensive conclusions of this study are as follows:


Heterodera glycines), while long-term continuous planting reduced these numbers. There were less soybean cyst nematodes in the rhizosphere of the tolerant genotypes than sensitive genotypes. In addition, continuous cropping significantly increased the potential beneficial bacterial populations, such as Pseudoxanthomonas, Nitrospira, and Streptomyces compared to rotation and short-term continuous cropping, suggesting that long-term continuous cropping of soybean shifts the microbial community toward a healthy crop rotation system. Soybean genotypes that are tolerant to soybean might recruit some microorganisms that enhance the resistance of soybeans to long-term continuous cropping. Moreover, the network of the two genotypes responded differently to continuous cropping. The tolerant genotype responded positively to continuous cropping, while for the sensitive genotype, topology analyses on the instability of microbial community in the rhizosphere suggested that short periods of continuous planting can have a detrimental effect on microbial community stability, although this effect could be alleviated with increasing periods of continuous planting.The continuous planting of soybeans leads to soil acidification, aggravation of soil-borne diseases, reduction in soil enzyme activity, and accumulation of toxins in the soil. Microorganisms in the rhizosphere play a very important role in maintaining the sustainability of the soil ecosystem and plant health. In this study, two soybean genotypes, one bred for continuous cropping and the other not, were grown in a Mollisol in northeast China under continuous cropping for 7 and 36years in comparison with soybean–maize rotation, and microbial communities in the rhizosphere composition were assessed using high-throughput sequencing technology. The results showed that short- or long-term continuous cropping had no significant effect on the rhizosphere soil bacterial alpha diversity. Short-term continuous planting increased the number of soybean cyst nematode ( Glycine max (L.) Merrill] is one of the most important food crops in the world, providing a large amount of oil and protein for humans and animals  soybean genotypes to continuous cropping, we hypothesized that (1) the bacterial diversity in the rhizosphere of CC-T genotypes would be higher than that of continuous cropping-sensitive (CC-S) genotypes and that (2) the response of bacterial community structure to continuous cropping between CC-T and CC-S soybean genotypes would be different. CC-T may recruit beneficial microbial species to alleviate the occurrence of soil-borne diseases.To assess the responses of continuous cropping-tolerant and cropping-sensitive soybean genotypes soil used in this study was a Mollisol, according to USDA soil taxonomy. Soybeans used in the experiment included Qinong1 and Qinong5, which were continuous cropping-tolerant (CCT), and Heihe43 and Henong76, which were continuous cropping-sensitive (CCS).Heterodera glycines) and nodules from the roots were counted after removal from the root system. In brief, after the soybean cyst nematode growth broke through the root surface of soybean (35days after seedling), 10 soybean plants were randomly selected for the soybean cyst nematodes counting. The yield per square meter was measured after soybean maturity.Continuous cropping of two soybean genotypes for 7 and 36years, as well as treatment of soybean-corn rotations for 10years, were selected for this study. The total area of the experimental field  was 2ha, including 1.3ha of 36-year continuous cropping and 0.3ha each of 7-year continuous and rotation cropping . A totalIn total, 72 rhizosphere soil samples were used for sequencing. Soil total DNA was extracted using the Fast DNA SPIN Kit for Soil . Primer sequences of 341F/805R were used to amplify the V4 (V3–V4) hypervariable regions of the 16S rRNA. The PCR products were purified and then sequenced using the MiSeq Illumina platform  at Icongene (Wuhan) Gene Technology Co., Ltd. . All sequences were deposited into the GenBank short-read archive PRJNA732989.After sequencing, the raw FASTQ files were processed using QIIME Pipeline Version 1.19.1. Briefly, all sequence reads were assigned to each sample based on the barcodes. Sequences with low quality  were removed before further analysis. The chimera of trimmed sequences was detected and removed using the UCHIME algorithm . The seqp<0.05 and Spearman’s correlation coefficient of more than 0.8  affected by cropping systems. In addition, they were significantly (p<0.05) affected by cropping systems, soybean genotypes, and their interaction (p<0.05) affected by cropping systems, soybean genotypes, and their interaction, respectively , OTU6911 (norank_Sphingomonadaceae), OTU8585 (norank_Sphingomonadaceae), OTU9044 (norank_Erythrobacteraceae), OTU9116 (norank_Methylophilaceae), OTU9219 (Agrobacterium), OTU4334 (Nitrospira), OTU6274 (norank_Chitinophagaceae), OTU6533 (Flavisolibacter), OTU10447 (Renibacterium), OTU4280 (norank_ii1-15), OTU4827 (norank_Ellin6075), OTU8697 (norank_RB41), and OTU10068  was the core species specific to the sensitive genotypes , OTU6533 (Flavisolibacter), OTU1003 (Chitinophagaceae), OTU4362 (norank_RB41), OTU881 , and OTU3461 (norank_Ellin6075) were identified as keystone species for the two genotypes grown in the different cropping systems. Using NetShift analysis, the common sub-network plot showed the “driver microbes” were OTU2820 (Unclassified Chitinophagaceae), OTU881 (Unclassified oc28), and OTU3463 (Unclassified Acidobacteria-6) for the network between rotations and 7years continuous cropping system, and OTU881 (Unclassified oc28), OTU3487 (Unclassified Gemm-1), OTU9219 (Agrobacterium), and OTU3461 (Unclassified Ellin6075) for the network between rotations and 7years continuous cropping system. For the sensitive soybean genotype, the “drivers microbes” were OTU2166 (Unclassified Piscirickettsiaceae) and OTU9044 (Unclassified Erythrobacteraceae) for the network between rotations and 7years continuous cropping system, and OTU4813 (Unclassified Saprospiraceae), OTU3714 , OTU4607 (Unclassified Cytophagaceae), OTU3463 (Unclassified Acidobacteria-6), and OTU3416 (Unclassified OPB35) for the network between rotations and 7years continuous cropping system . This result is consistent with the results reported by In the present study, we found that there was no significant difference in bacterial community diversity among the treatments. Previous studies have shown that an increase in crop type could lead to an increase in soil microbial diversity. Pseudomonas, Streptomyces, and Bacillus decreased in the 7-year continuous cropping field but increased in the 36-year continuous cropping field, with a higher relative abundance in the sensitive genotypes. Pseudomonas can improve the solubilization of fixed soil phosphorus and applied phosphates, resulting in higher crop yields , OTU751 (Pseudoxanthomonas), and OTU10218 (Streptomyces) showed higher relative abundances in the continuous cropping system than in the rotation cropping system in the present study  can be found in the article/TL, HN, and MY designed the research. MY, KY, LW, DH, and SW performed the research. TY, QS, HX, and RW analyzed the data. MY and TL analyzed the data and wrote the manuscript. All authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version.This work was supported by China Agriculture Research System of MOF and MARA (CARS-04), and the Laboratory independent research projects (SKLCUSA-a201913).The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.