Multiple logistic regressions showed that respondents with at least a bachelor’s degree or higher had better knowledge of antibiotics. Respondents who worked in the profession had better knowledge of antibiotic resistance. Respondents with sufficient incomes were more likely to use antibiotics. Baseline data from the study will be useful in antibiotic stewardship and public health campaigns among Bangkok residents.This study aimed to explore antibiotic knowledge, antibiotic resistance knowledge, and antibiotic use among adults in Bangkok, Thailand. This is a secondary analysis of cross-sectional data generated from a sample of 161 individuals living in Bangkok. Participants completed an online self-administered questionnaire developed by the World Health Organization. Descriptive analysis, the chi-square test, and multiple logistic regression analyses were performed. The sample comprised more females (56.5%) than males (42.2%). The majority of responders (67.7%) were between the ages of 18 and 40. More than half of the respondents mistakenly believed that antibiotics could treat colds and flu . About 54.7% were aware that antibiotic resistance could harm them and their families. The chi-square test results showed that the levels of education were associated with antibiotic knowledge ( Antibiotics are medicines to prevent and treat bacterial infections, reducing morbidity and mortality . DespiteIn Thailand, at least 88,000 infected people are exposed to antibiotic resistance, and approximately 38,000 people die each year . The dirThis study aimed to explore antibiotic knowledge, antibiotic resistance knowledge, and antibiotic use among residents of Bangkok, which is the capital and most populated city of Thailand. To our knowledge, no study has been conducted on antibiotic use since the national strategic plan was announced, especially in the capital city where pharmacies are located everywhere. We expect the findings from this study can provide the future basis for antibiotics stewardship initiatives aligned with residents’ needs in Bangkok.The majority of participants were predominantly female (56.5%), ranged in age between 31 and 40 years (34.2%), and never married (47.8%); 57.1% had a sub-degree or bachelor’s degree. More than half of the participants (57.8%) were individuals who lived in private housing . The demographic characteristics are shown in Bangkok residents have used antibiotics as follows: 37.9% in the last six months, 28% in the last 30 days, and 12.4% in the last year. Only 7.5% of respondents reported never using antibiotics, and 14.3% could not recall when they last used them .p = 0.012; p < 0.001; p = 0.023, respectively). Further, antibiotic use was found to be significantly related to income (p = 0.015). The knowledge about antibiotics as well as antibiotic resistance was associated with occupation . No significant difference was found for gender and age , more than half of the respondents (54.7%) believed that antibiotics can treat colds and flu. Further, nearly half 37.9%) did not know antibiotics could not treat measles. This may indicate that the respondents might not be well informed about antibiotics; they are therefore unable to distinguish between bacterial and viral infections. As found in prior studies, Thais (50.7%) believe antibiotics kill viruses, whereas Malaysians (77.0%), Indians (45.1%), Romanians 39.26%), and Italians (23.6%) believe antibiotics are effective in combating colds and flu 7.9% did ,25,26,27%, and ItRegarding antibiotic resistance knowledge, a majority of respondents (70.0%) misunderstood that antibiotic resistance occurs when the body becomes resistant to antibiotics, and they no longer work. Furthermore, only 45.3% of respondents correctly identified antibiotic resistance as a danger to surgeries, organ transplants, and cancer treatments. In addition, the percentage of those who answered “I do not know” was almost the same as the percentage of those who answered correctly (42.2%). Another finding was that only 36% of respondents correctly stated that antibiotic-resistant bacteria can only be transmitted from person to person. These findings imply that there are some gaps as well as widespread misconceptions about antibiotic resistance. The results of our study are in line with the findings of the WHO survey, which found that 76% of respondents believed antibiotic resistance is caused by body resistance . In addiIn regard to antibiotic use, more than three-quarters (78.3%) of the respondents reported having taken an antibiotic in their lifetime prior to our study. The result showed that the overall antibiotic usage was higher than the global antibiotic consumption (65%); however, the result is in line with LMICs such as Ukraine (80.0%), Egypt (80.0%), Kazakhstan (80.0%), Bosnia (79.0%), and Sudan (73.0%) ,35,36. TFollowing the announcement of Thailand’s national strategic plan, this is the first survey to assess antibiotic knowledge, antibiotic resistance knowledge, and antibiotic usage among Bangkok residents. As a result, its findings provide baseline evidence as well as the need for ongoing political commitment and multisector engagement to address antibiotic resistance.This study has some limitations. First, no causal inference could be drawn due to its cross-sectional study design. Second, self-reporting may lead to under-reporting socially desirable or over-reporting socially undesirable behaviors, resulting in bias. Third, our small sample size may not be representative of the residents in Bangkok, and a larger sample is needed in the future. Finally, this study only included participants who had access to a computer/mobile device and the Internet. Thus, these data may not be generalized to other demographic groups.This study was a secondary analysis of data obtained by a cross-sectional descriptive study entitled “how socioeconomic, health-seeking behaviors and educational factors are affecting the knowledge and use of antibiotics in four different cities in Asia” . The priA sample of 161 participants was enrolled from different districts in Bangkok. Participants could participate in this study if they met the following inclusion criteria: (1) 18–65 years of age, (2) living in Bangkok, (3) having a job, and (4) being able to read, speak, and understand Thai. The survey was designed to gather information about knowledge of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance, and antibiotic use among Bangkok residents. The study protocol was approved by the hospital Institutional Review Board, in Thailand.An estimation of the sample size for logistic regression analysis was based on the formula n = 100 + xi, where x is an integer and i is the number of independent variables . An evenParticipants were invited to complete an internet-based survey between January and August 2021. The invitation explained the study, the principal investigator’s contact, the voluntary nature of the study, and the anonymous distribution of the survey. The participants who agreed to participate in this survey could access the electronic survey; those who did not agree to participate were directed out of the Google Form. All data were kept on a specifically designed data-collection form. Only the principal investigator (PI) could access the participant records.The questionnaire consisted of two sections as follows: (1) sociodemographic characteristics , and (2) Antibiotic Resistance: Multi-Country Public Awareness Survey—the use of antibiotics, antibiotic knowledge, and antibiotic resistance knowledge . These qThe original version of the Antibiotic Resistance Survey was designed in the English language by WHO. Permission to use the scales was obtained from the WHO and the Centre for Health Protection, Hong Kong. The back-translation was changed from English to the Thai language by a translator who is a Thai native speaker and knowledgeable of the English-speaking culture. A target language version was then translated back into the English version by another translator and sent it back to the developer for comprehensiveness, clarity, appropriateness, and/or cultural relevance of the research instrument . ContentData were transferred to Microsoft Excel. The answers for antibiotic knowledge and antibiotic resistance knowledge items were coded as correct and incorrect answers. Each correct answer was assigned a score of “1” and other responses (incorrect or unsure responses) were given a score of “0”. Responses to the use of antibiotics were coded as “1”  and other responses (never use or cannot remember) were coded as “0”. All data were coded, and missing data were checked and saved as a comma-separated values (CSV) file, which was then transferred to R version 3.6.3 for data analysis . We usedIn the present study, we provide valuable baseline data on residents of Bangkok’s knowledge of antibiotics, antibiotic resistance, and antibiotic use, which will help establish public health strategies for raising awareness and promoting appropriate antibiotic use. A collaborative effort between clinicians, pharmacists, other healthcare professionals, drug companies, universities, and public health volunteers is necessary to monitor antibiotic consumption, antibiotic resistance, and prescription policies for antibiotics.


MET amplification (METamp) is a primary driver in ∼1%–2% of non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLCs). Cohort B of the phase 2 VISION trial evaluates tepotinib, an oral MET inhibitor, in patients with advanced NSCLC with high-level METamp who were enrolled by liquid biopsy. While the study was halted before the enrollment of the planned 60 patients, the results of 24 enrolled patients are presented here. The objective response rate (ORR) is 41.7% , and the median duration of response is 14.3 months . In exploratory biomarker analyses, focal METamp, RB1 wild-type, MYC diploidy, low circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) burden at baseline, and early molecular response are associated with better outcomes. Adverse events include edema  and constipation . Tepotinib provides antitumor activity in high-level METamp NSCLC .High-level   •MET amplification (METamp) is a primary driver in ∼1%–2% of NSCLCsHigh-level •METamp NSCLCVISION Cohort B evaluates tepotinib in 24 patients with high-level •Tepotinib shows antitumor activity: ORR is 41.7%, and median DOR is 14.3 months•Safety is manageable, with mostly mild/moderate AEs and no new safety signals MET amplification (METamp) is a primary driver in ∼1%–2% of non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLCs). Le et al. report that tepotinib provides antitumor activity in patients with high-level METamp NSCLC in VISION trial Cohort B. Tepotinib is a promising option for these patients, who urgently require new treatments.High-level  MET amplification.,,MET amplification can be defined as a MET:CEP7 ratio ≥2.0 or ≥2.2, or as a MET gene copy number (GCN) ≥6 or ≥10, as identified by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) or next-generation sequencing (NGS) on tissue biopsies.,,,,MET GCN ≥10 on tissue biopsy selects ∼1%–2% of NSCLCs, which rarely harbor other oncogenic drivers.,,,MET amplification NSCLC induced clinical response,MET amplification is a primary oncogenic driver for these NSCLCs.,,In non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLCs), up to 5% of the tumors harbor MET amplification is an independent poor prognostic factor,,,,,,MET amplification,,,MET amplification NSCLC have an unmet need for better treatment options.MET amplification, MET tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) have demonstrated promising efficacy,,MET exon 14 (METex14) skipping NSCLC,MET amplification, tepotinib induced complete regression of cell-line- and patient-derived xenografts, including after orthotopic implantation in the brain.,EGFR)-mutant NSCLC and MET amplification.,,Although no targeted therapy is approved specifically for metastatic NSCLC with high-level MET amplification as detected by a liquid biopsy assay. The MET GCN cutoff in liquid biopsy was chosen to be ≥2.5, which selects ∼1.5%–2% of NSCLCs, corresponding to the same fraction of patients with high-level MET amplification identified using a MET GCN cutoff of ≥10 in tissue biopsies.,,EGFR, ALK, or METex14 skipping oncogenic alterations were excluded, further ensuring the enrollment of a population with MET amplification as the primary driver. Clinical efficacy, safety, and exploratory biomarker analyses were performed.Cohort B of the phase 2 VISION trial evaluated tepotinib in patients with advanced NSCLC with high-level MET amplification and negative for METex14 skipping  for molecular eligibility, 70/3,205 (2.2%)  were positive for high-level skipping . BaselinThe median age was 63.4 years . Most paThe study was halted early before the enrollment of the planned number of 60 patients because of the high rate of early progression (during the first 3 months of tepotinib treatment) in eight out of the 24 enrolled patients. These early progressions likely reflected the patients’ poor prognosis and the aggressive nature of the disease. However, the halting of the study was to allow for the full analysis of the 24 patients to best identify those patients who were potentially most likely to benefit from tepotinib and to minimize risks.Objective response rate (ORR) by independent review committee (IRC) was 41.7% , and the clinical benefit rate  was 45.8%  . The besMedian follow-up was 26.8 months . Median duration of response (DOR) was 14.3 months  A, and meMedian duration of tepotinib treatment was 3.6 months . Treatment duration was ≥12 months in five patients (20.8%) and ≥24 months in two patients (8.3%), both of whom had treatment ongoing at the data cutoff  was evaluated using the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire Core-30 and Lung Cancer-13 (EORTC QLQ-C30 and QLQ-LC13) and EuroQol 5-dimension 5-level (EQ-5D-5L) questionnaires, which had high completion rates . EQ-5D-5Exploratory analyses were conducted to identify baseline characteristics  and biomEleven patients had clinical benefit, as defined by best overall response by IRC of SD or better . These patients attained a median OS of 24.0 months  B and cliMET mutations , none of which were known to cause oncogenic MET activation or resistance to MET inhibitors. Focal MET amplification was defined by a co-amplification ≤1 of three other chromosome 7 genes . A total of 14 patients (58.3%) had focal MET amplification, which was potentially associated with better ORR and OS than non-focal MET amplification  versus mutant (n = 5) status and in patients with MYC diploidy (n = 18) versus amplification (n = 6)  was collected at baseline, week 6, and end of treatment and analyzed using the Guardant360 assay. We evaluated associations between clinical outcomes and baseline biomarkers and on-treatment early molecular response, along with potential resistance mechanisms. Baseline biomarker profiles, including co-occurring mutations and co-amplified genes, were available for all patients . Five pafication ; Table 4re small . OutcomeMedian baseline ctDNA burden, defined by the maximum baseline variant allele fraction of any cancer-specific alteration, was 10.7% . Low ctDNA burden (whether defined as ≤median or ≤third quartile [Q3]) was associated with greater efficacy . Due to MET amplification 6–8 weeks after tepotinib first dose. Patients with early molecular response had a high clinical response rate , whereas those with MET amplification persistence in ctDNA at 6–8 weeks showed a lack of clinical response. Of nine patients with available end-of-treatment biomarker profiles, two (22.2%) showed emergence of MET kinase domain mutations . Both patients attained PR, with PFS >4 months, and showed re-emergence of MET amplification at the end of treatment.Eighteen patients had matched baseline and on-treatment samples, of whom 14 (77.8%) attained an early molecular response, as defined by undetectable MET amplification detected by liquid biopsy: ORR was 41.7%, CBR was 45.8%, and median DOR was 14.3 months. The Cohort B data provided further evidence to support that high-level MET amplification is an actionable driver in NSCLC. Tepotinib safety was manageable, with mostly mild/moderate AEs and no discontinuations due to TRAEs, and consistent with that seen in patients with METex14 skipping,,,In this study, tepotinib provided antitumor activity in patients with NSCLC with high-level MET amplification NSCLC had rapid progression, underlying that it is an independent poor prognostic factor. The planned sample size for Cohort B of the VISION trial was 60 patients. However, Cohort B was halted early due to the high rate of early progression in these eight patients, leading to the early stopping of enrollment at 24 patients. In Cohort B, 13 molecularly eligible patients had clinical deterioration that prevented enrollment  had poorer baseline prognostic factors than VISION Cohort A and C patients , with higher median tumor load (95.6 versus 68.0 mm) and greater prevalence of ECOG PS 1 (88% versus 76%).,,MET amplification metastatic NSCLC,Eight patients with high-level rollment , and 8 oMET amplification. As the copy number gain of MET gene is a continuous variable, the choice of cutoff is particularly important to identify the appropriate patient population most likely to respond to a MET inhibitor. Using liquid biopsies with a MET GCN ≥2.5, high-level MET amplification was detected in 2.2%  of the patients with NSCLC who were prescreened for VISION Cohort B. This finding corresponds to the reported high-level MET amplification occurrence of ∼1%–2% of NSCLCs using tissue biopsies with a MET GCN ≥10.,MET amplification is an actionable driver in NSCLC and that those tumors respond to a MET inhibitor.The VISION Cohort B was enrolled solely based on liquid biopsy for detecting It has been widely accepted that liquid biopsy is more convenient and less invasive compared with tissue biopsy and that it enables molecular testing even when tumor tissue is unavailable.MET amplification. With the Guardant360 assay, MET plasma GCNs as low as 2.2 were applied to define MET amplification.MET GCN cutoff of ≥2.5 was used to be stringent and to select patients with NSCLC with a high likelihood of deriving benefit from MET inhibition. These differences in defining MET amplification need to be considered when interpreting data from different studies and applying the findings to clinical practice. Second, the detection of cancer-specific alterations in liquid biopsies is less sensitive compared with tissue-based testing.MET amplification detection rate by ctDNA versus tissue samples, screened in the TATTON, SAVANNAH, ORCHARD, and INSIGHT 2 studies.,,,MET amplification detection between tissue and liquid biopsy can vary between 23% and 67% depending on factors such as methods used and the quality of the sample,,,,,,,,,,,,,MET amplification and that those patients could benefit from MET-targeted therapy.While liquid biopsies have many merits for clinical practice, they also present several challenges. Different thresholds were applied in tissue- as well as liquid-biopsy-based assays for claiming the presence of MET amplification by FISH.,MET:CEP7 ratio ≥4.0, of whom three were treatment naive.MET GCN ≥10 in the GEOMETRY mono-1 trial of capmatinib, ORR was 40% in first line (n = 15) with a median DOR of 7.5 months, and in second or later lines (n = 69), the ORR was 29% with a median DOR of 8.3 monthsMET amplification metastatic NSCLC in NCCN Guidelines.The ORR and DOR with tepotinib compare favorably with data from crizotinib and capmatinib trials in NSCLC with high-level MYC diploidy and RB1 wild-type status were associated with better outcomes with tepotinib, which is consistent with the function of MYC and RB1 as signal transducers downstream of MET.MYC alterations in primary or acquired resistance to other MET inhibitors.,,,RB1 loss and MYC copy number gain were also negative clinical predictors for EGFR-mutant NSCLC, both in the adjuvant setting,,MET kinase domain mutations identified in two patients at the end of treatment are known type 1 MET-inhibitor-resistance mechanismsMET amplification NSCLC with MET TKI treatment.With the observation that some patients progressed early and rapidly, but some other patients sustained benefit from tepotinib, we performed exploratory analyses integrating both a tumor’s clinical characteristics and biomarkers. While patient numbers are small, we observed that baseline MET amplification. Tepotinib is a promising option for patients with high-level MET amplification as a primary driver who have exceptionally poor outcomes with current standard-of-care therapiesIn conclusion, tepotinib demonstrated antitumor activity in NSCLC with high-level Study limitations include the halt of enrollment to investigate predictors of tepotinib benefit (which limited the sample size) and lack of histology selection. Furthermore, exploratory biomarker analyses were limited to ctDNA and did not include tumor tissue assessments. Nonetheless, the analyses presented herein provide valuable insights that can inform the development of effective treatment strategies for this population.andreas.johne@emdgroup.com).Further information and requests for resources and reagents should be directed to and will be fulfilled by the lead contact, Andreas Johne  evaluated tepotinib for treatment of advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with MET alterations. We report results from Cohort B, which enrolled 24 patients with high-level MET amplification. Cohorts A and C enrolled patients with MET exon 14 (METex14) skipping, as reported elsewhere.,MET amplification, and 0–2 prior treatment lines. Exclusion criteria were: symptomatic brain metastases with neurologic instability; EGFR, ALK, or METex14 skipping alterations ; unresolved Grade ≥2 toxicity; prior hepatocyte growth factor- or MET-targeted therapy; and inadequate organ function.VISION  from freshly collected plasma samples using a 73-gene NGS-based assay . Guardant360 is a liquid biopsy (ctDNA) method allowing for comprehensive molecular analysis. A list of the 73 genes that Guardant360 analyses is shown in MET gene copy number (GCN) gain was defined as ≥2.2. In the VISION Cohort B, criteria of MET GCN ≥2.5 was used for molecular selection, which represents a highly stringent selection criterion identifying the top 1.5%–2% of MET-amplified NSCLCs.Cohort B was introduced in protocol v5  and used the same liquid biopsy assay and prescreening procedures as Cohort A.The study complied with the Declaration of Helsinki, International Council on Harmonisation Good Clinical Practice, local laws and regulatory requirements. Independent Ethics Committees or Institutional Review Boards approved the protocol. Patients provided written informed consent.VISION is a multicohort, single-arm, phase 2 trial. Patients received tepotinib 500 mg (450 mg active moiety), orally, once daily, until disease progression (PD), intolerable toxicity or consent withdrawal. Tumor assessments were conducted by computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging at baseline, every 6 weeks during the first 9 months, and every 12 weeks thereafter. Response was evaluated by an independent review committee (IRC) and investigators according to Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors v1.1. Objective responses were confirmed ≥4 weeks after response was first observed.Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) was evaluated using the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire Core-30 and Lung Cancer-13 (EORTC QLQ-C30 and QLQ-LC13) and EuroQol 5-dimension 5-level (EQ-5D-5L) questionnaires. Adverse events (AEs) were assessed for severity according to the National Cancer Institute Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events v4.03.The primary endpoint was confirmed objective response by IRC. Secondary endpoints included objective disease control, duration of response (DOR), progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), HRQoL, and safety.MET amplification was defined by co-amplification of ≤1 of three other chromosome 7 genes . ctDNA burden was defined as the maximum baseline variant allele fraction of any cancer-specific alteration among all analyzed genes in each patient and was dichotomized at the median or third quartile (Q3) in separate analyses. Early molecular response was defined as undetectable MET amplification after 6–8 weeks after the first dose of tepotinib .Exploratory biomarker analyses were conducted in blood samples using the Guardant360 assay. Focal The trial targeted an objective response rate (ORR) by IRC of 40%–50%, with a lower limit of the corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI) of >20% across therapy lines. Enrollment of 60 patients would provide a maximum 95% CI width of 26.4% across the target ORR range. The protocol defined an early futility analysis requiring an ORR of ≥25% for continuation. While this target was reached and the trial continued, early discontinuation in a subset of patients prompted a halt of enrollment at 24 patients and longer follow-up to investigate predictors of tepotinib benefit.The data cutoff was August 20, 2021. Efficacy and safety were analyzed descriptively in patients who received ≥1 tepotinib dose. Objective response and disease control were summarized as rates with two-sided exact Clopper–Pearson 95% CIs. Time-dependent endpoints were analyzed using Kaplan–Meier methods. Changes from baseline in HRQoL scores were summarized as empirical means and, in analyses based on an earlier data cutoff , using linear mixed models including a covariate for IRC response. Prespecified subgroup analyses were performed by therapy line. Tumor load was defined as the sum of longest diameters for non-nodal target lesions and short axes for target nodal lesions by IRC. Exploratory analyses evaluated characteristics and outcomes according to clinical benefit .


This study reports an investigation into 19 French farrow-to-finish farms that successfully implemented the porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus type 1 (PRRSV-1) stabilization protocol between 2007 and 2019. One year before (P1) and one year after (P2) the introduction of this protocol, the antibiotic consumptions (expressed in mg/PCU and ALEA) were compared for each farm. The difference between P1 and P2 was also calculated in percentages. The transition from P1 to P2 revealed that the higher the consumption levels were in P1, the greater the antibiotic reduction in P2. These results emphasize how stability against PRRSV-1 seems to reduce antibiotic usage, particularly in farms with a high level of consumption.Infection with the porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus type 1 (PRRSV-1) has serious economic consequences for the pig industry. Swine practitioners and other agricultural advisors often describe an increase in antibiotic use when PRRSV-1 is circulating. Our objective was to assess the impact of PRRSV-1 stabilization programs on reducing antibiotic use in 19 French farrow-to-finish farms that successfully implemented such a protocol between 2007 and 2019. For each farm, we compared the global antibiotic consumption, including all physiological stages (expressed in mg/PCU and ALEA) one year before (P1) and one year after (P2) the implementation of the protocol, and the change between P1 and P2 was calculated in percentages. The data were also analyzed by level of consumption. We showed that antibiotic use decreased significantly between P1 and P2 if expressed in mg/PCU and showed a decreased tendency in terms of exposure (ALEA) after PRRSV-1 stabilization. Concerning the change from P1 to P2, depending on the level of consumption in P1, our results showed that the higher the consumption levels were in P1, the greater the antibiotic reduction in P2. This study highlights the ability of a stabilization protocol against PRRSV-1 to reduce antibiotic use, especially on farms that have high consumption rates. These hopeful results show that further investigations about the relationship between PRRSV-1 and antibiotic usage could be beneficial. Arterivirus and causes enzootic viral disease. In the west of France—and particularly in Brittany, where nearly 70% of French pork production is concentrated—it affects more than 60% of farms, with many respiratory and reproductive problems, and generates serious economic consequences [Arterivirus family, the species Betaarterivirus suid 1 (PRRSV-1) are most widespread in Europe, while the Betaarterivirus suid 2 are mainly present in North America and Asia [Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) is classified within the genus equences ,2,3. Witand Asia ,5. RegarFor several years, PRRSV stabilization protocols have been evaluated and implemented, mainly in North America, using mass vaccination and improvements in biosecurity measures ,9. In FrThe success of such protocols is established by the demonstration of the absence of viral circulation in the breeding herd. Based mainly on blood samples in weaning piglets, sampling protocols are described in the American Association of Swine Veterinarians (AASV) guidelines . This peMeasuring antibiotic use is not an easy task. First, antibiotics can be used in different ways; treatments can be administered individually or, when many animals need to be treated, group treatments are often provided orally via feed or water . All chaIn the global effort to combat antimicrobial resistance, reducing antibiotic use is a key point of improvement on swine farms. Several studies have already shown some useful measures for reducing antibiotic usage, e.g., biosecurity measures . In FranTo the best of our knowledge, no study on the implementation of PRRSV-1 control measures, particularly by way of stabilization programs, has shown an impact on antibiotic use. The aim of our study was to evaluate the impact of PRRSV-1 stabilization protocols on antibiotic usage and to promote these programs with tangible information for practitioners.(i)Farms should have implemented a successful PRRSV-1 stabilization program. This consisted of mass vaccination of sows and their piglets with a MLV vaccine, together with herd closure, unidirectional pig and human flows, and strict internal biosecurity measures. Regarding the vaccination strategy, it was a combination of a mass vaccination of sows, gilts, and piglets with a PRRSV-1-modified live vaccine  followed by batch to batch vaccination of weaning piglets  lasting around 6 months. All steps of the implementation of PRRSV-1 stabilization programs are described in Berton et al., 2017 . Based m(ii)All descriptive data of antibiotics by all administration routes had to be available.(iii)Biomass data should be accessible (for slaughtered pigs and sows).(iv)The prescribing veterinarians and pig farmers had to be the same during both periods (P1 and P2).With the objective of having sufficient farms to perform statistical analysis, our study included 20 farrow-to-finish farms. They were selected on the basis of the following criteria:For one farm, data were not available; therefore, only nineteen farms were included in the study. The data recorded for each farm included: number of animals treated and potentially treated, years of PRRSV-1 stabilization protocol implementation, batch management, health status, etc.All data were collected concerning antibiotic usage one year before the implementation of control measures (P1) and one year following the end of PRRSV-1 monitoring, indicating the success of the plan (P2). The data were recorded from our drug prescription software. These records included the type of drug (antibiotic families and substance administered), number of antibiotic treatments, and routes of administration. The posology (expressed in mg of active ingredient/kg pig weight/day) of each treatment was also recorded to calculate the quantity of antimicrobial active ingredients contained in each treatment. We also recorded whether the administered treatments concerned individual or collective treatment.The high variability of antibiotic usage in P1 led us to assess the impact of the consumption level in P1 on antibiotic usage reduction after the implementation of a stabilization protocol. To this end, three categories of consumption levels were used for ALEA and two levels for mg/PCU .Two indicators were chosen to describe animal exposure to antibiotics and were calculated for each farm. The first one is the ALEA, used by the French authorities to monitor antibiotic sales each year (Formula (1)). It is calculated as follows:Formula (1) considers the number of active substances used (in milligrams), the number of animals treated, the dose, the treatment days, and the current animal weight during therapy (in kilograms). The ALEA value is expressed without a unit. The biomass at risk of being treated is calculated as the number of sows present at the farm and the number of slaughtered pigs produced during both periods multiplied by their theoretical weights. These were calculated using the National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food, and Environment (INRAE) recommendations, namely 105 kg for pigs and 300 kg for sows.The other indicator chosen is the mg/PCU (Formula (2)), the European indicator used to evaluate antibiotic usage. It takes into account a unique standardized biomass. The main advantage of using biomass is that it allows different animal species to be combined within the same population; this is the approach used by the European Surveillance of Veterinary Antimicrobial Consumption (ESVAC) project to compute the Population Correction Unit (PCU) . It is cFormula (2) considers only the number of active substances used (in mg) and the potential animal weight treated. Calculations of biomass were performed using 65 kg for slaughtered pigs and 250 kg for sows.All data were recorded using Excel v.22.10  and calculations were performed with the same software. First, mean comparisons were applied to compare antibiotic usages between P1 and P2 using non-parametric tests  because our data were not normally distributed. Secondly, the change from P1 to P2 was calculated as follows for both indicators (Formula (3)):p ≤ 0.05, with 0.05 < p ≤ 0.10 considered as a tendency. All statistical analysis was performed using R Studio .Formula (3) gives a percentage of change, calculated for each farm. This percentage was compared between each consumer category determined by the level of consumption in P1 . For ALEIn total, 19 farrow-to-finish farms located in Brittany (France) were included in the study . All of Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae and porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV-2). All of the farms purchased their gilts (PRRSV naive) from an external multiplier.On all of the farms, piglets were vaccinated against The records of antibiotic consumption allowed the calculation of two indicators: the Animal Level Exposure of Antimicrobials (ALEA), which is the French exposure indicator, and consumption, measured in mg/PCU, which is the European indicator.The antibiotic classes included fluoroquinolones, aminocyclitols, beta-lactams, trimethoprim and sulphonamides, macrolides, tiamulin and lincomycin, florfenicol, colistin, quinolones, and tetracyclines. Their distribution is described in The antibiotic treatment data were divided between two periods: one period (P1) one year before the implementation of PRRSV-1 control measures, and a second period of the year following the end of PRRSV-1 monitoring, as an indicator of the success of the stabilization protocol (P2). The data concerned a constant number of sows in both periods and, respectively, 110,319 and 116,364 slaughtered pigs in P1 and P2. Considering all of the treatments, a total of 624 g of antibiotics were administered in P1 compared to 607 g in P2, corresponding to a total volume of 1231 g antibiotics. In terms of the absolute quantity used, collective treatments represented almost 30 times that of individual treatments .The total consumptions per farm were obtained by summing all of the ALEA per treatment. The same was conducted for mg/PCU. Eleven farms out of 19 had reduced their consumption between P1 and P2 when measured as mg/PCU, and eight when measured as ALEA . On averThe levels of consumption in P1 seemed to impact the change in usage, both for ALEA and for mg/PCU; the higher the level of consumption in P1, the greater the reduction in antibiotic use in P2 . Indeed,When considering the low levels of consumption in P1, as illustrated in p = 0.006). To a lesser extent, between medium and high consumers, the antibiotic use tended to decrease (p = 0.08). However, no significant difference was found between the low and medium consumers (p = 0.25). For mg/PCU, farms with a high level of consumption in P1 tended to have a greater reduction in consumption than farms with a low level of consumption in P1 (p = 0.07).Regarding the change in antibiotic consumption (Formula (3), see In this study, we recorded longitudinal data on antibiotic usages from different farms before and after the implementation of a successful PRRSV-1 stabilization protocol. The PRRSV-1 stabilization programs on our selected farms were implemented between 2007 and 2019. We analyzed these usages using two indicators—the ALEA and mg/PCU values—and also considered the level of consumption in P1. The results of this analysis emphasize the impact of a PRRSV-1 stabilization protocol on antibiotic consumption. These promising results show the importance of further investigations into the relationship between PRRSV-1 and antibiotic usage.The ALEA indicator for antibiotic usage is widely used in French analysis. The ALEA values observed in our study are consistent with the averages found by other authors ,19,20. TKnowledge of the variations in several indicators and the expression of the data using different units provides more precise values of antibiotic consumption. Using various indicators in a complementary approach permits more detailed conclusions to be drawn. In our study, the mg/PCU indicator was used in addition to the ALEA values. This indicator is widely used on a European scale. As described by the UK government: “The mg/PCU is a unit of measurement developed by the European Medicines Agency to monitor antibiotic use and sales across Europe” . It accuA limited number of studies have compared several indicators applied to the same antimicrobial usage data in order to achieve the same objective. Some of them investigated the impact of denominator selection when comparing antimicrobial usage based on sales data between countries. For example, Bondt et al. showed that antimicrobial usage, expressed in milligrams of active substance per PCU, overestimated the true difference in usage in The Netherlands compared to Denmark, even though the two countries have similar animal demographics . In our All of the data recorded were based on the data available from our software concerning the delivery of drugs and drugs prescribed by only one veterinarian over the entire analysis period. Indeed, some studies explored the relationship between veterinarian’s prescriptions and antibiotic usage by farmers. For example, a study conducted by Coyne et al. helped to explain the link between the antimicrobial prescribing behaviors of veterinarians and antibiotic usage levels in farms . AnotherAs our study was retrospective, some information was lacking to explain the absence of a reduction in some herds. For example, details about the treatment type  and usage indications could have allowed us to explain some of the results more accurately. The physiological stages of treated animals were not recorded in our dataset. For this reason, it was not possible to explain some of the increases in antibiotic use in P2. Further studies taking these parameters into account would be helpful.In order to reduce antibiotic consumption in breeding herds and to minimize the risks of antibiotic resistance in humans, the European Union implemented a plan to control risks in 2011. EcoAntibio-1 aimed for a reduction of 25% in the total antibiotic consumption between 2012 and 2017. In our study, ten farms carried out their PRRSV-1 stabilization protocols before 2012 and six did so between 2012 and 2017. A second plan (Ecoantibio-2) was implemented between 2017 to 2021, aimed at continuing the goals of the first project. Three of the farms selected for our study had implemented their PRRSV-1 stabilization program during this plan. Our results may have been impacted by the measures of the EcoAntibio plans, but to a minor extent. Indeed, the bias induced by the implementation of these plans should be small as such plans take many years, whereas our comparisons were realized in a limited period. To eliminate this bias, it would be interesting to have a large sample to compare only farms that implemented the stabilization protocol during the same period. However, such a study is not feasible at our practice level.In France, the National Agency for Food, Environment, and Occupational Health and Safety (ANSES) found a 41.5% decrease in antibiotic consumption between 2011 and 2016, and swine exposure levels have continued to decrease in recent years  . However(1)All of the consumption levels used for comparison are measured at a national level. In our case, it is a regional study based only on farms located in Brittany, where the prevalence of PRRSV-1 is high. It would be appropriate to include farms spread all over France for comparison. The mg/PCU indicator is also impacted by this point.(2)Secondly, only PRRSV-1 unstable farms were included in our study, which may explain the higher level of antibiotic use due to their poorer health status. Indeed, Trevisi et al. had previously shown that PRRSV status significantly influenced the use of antibiotics in the weaning and fattening stages .Choosing farms according to their level of consumption in P1 would have allowed us to classify them into high, medium, and low consumers, independent of the year of inclusion. A more detailed study of the relationship between the consumption levels and antibiotic usage reduction would then have been available. However, in view of the changing trend of antibiotic use in pig farming, the classification of farms could have differed depending on the year. Combined with the limited number of farms and the different years of inclusion in our study, such a classification was therefore not possible.Finally, a superior study protocol would include control farms  to allow a comparison between farms that carried out a successful PRRSV-1 stabilization program. However, this was not feasible with regard to ethics and welfare.After careful interpretation of our results and considering the limitations of the study, we showed that the implementation of a PRRSV-1 stabilization program might help to reduce antibiotic usage, independently of the indicator used (ALEA or mg/PCU). To the best of our knowledge, it is the first study showing the impact of such stabilization programs on antibiotic usage. Together with an economical approach (return on investment of such protocols), the supplementary benefits of reducing antibiotic usages are important data to be considered. These promising results show that further investigations into the benefits of PRRSV-1 control measures and antibiotic usage in swine herds could be beneficial, as such measures can positively impact the reduction in antibiotic use.


The concrete track slab and the base slab of the high-speed railway CRTS II track structure are prone to transverse cracks in the initial service period, which are subjected to environmental action and train load. In order to investigate the influence of transverse cracks on chloride ingress of concrete track slab and base slab in a coastal environment, drying-wetting cycle chloride erosion tests were carried out on reinforced concrete track slab and base slab specimens with cracks ranging from 0 mm to 0.6 mm, subjected to continuous bending moment. The chloride ion concentration of concrete along the depth direction was collected during the test process. The experimental results show that the chloride ion concentration of concrete at the crack section is much higher than that at the intact section, and it increases with the increase of crack width in the range of 0.2 mm to 0.6 mm. A chloride diffusion coefficient model of cracked concrete is proposed for slab track based on the experimental results, which can comprehensively consider the effects of surface chloride ion concentration, chloride binding effect, time-varying effect, temperature, relative humidity, and transverse crack width. CRTS II slab track structure is a kind of longitudinal continuous ballastless track structure most widely used in high-speed railways in China. It is composed of rails, fasteners, transverse prestressed concrete track slab, cement emulsified asphalt mortar filling layer, concrete base slab, or bearing layer from top to bottom. The concrete track slab and base slab are significant load-bearing components in the track structure, which will guarantee the safety and ride quality of the track structure during operation. However, a large number of engineering practices indicate that the concrete track slab and the base slab of the CRTS II slab track structure are commonly prone to transverse cracks in the initial service period  and a nominal diameter of 8 mm, 16 mm, and 20 mm were used as the reinforcement for track slab and base slab specimens, respectively. The average values of yield strength and ultimate strength were 502 MPa and 637 MPa, respectively.The concrete track slab and base slab specimens were precast in wooden formwork. A steel mold bent by a steel plate with a thickness of 1 mm was introduced to accurately simulate the details of a V-shaped groove, which was fixed on the bottom of the wooden formwork of track slab specimens with AB glue. The steel bar was fixed in the design position by a fine steel wire locked on the side mold of the specimen. The concrete was poured after the formwork and reinforcement were ready. The track slab specimens were wet steam cured for 6 h after the initial setting of concrete. Then they were cured in saturated lime water for 3 days, and stored outdoors at 20 ± 3 °C for 180 days, according to the maintenance process of the track slab. The base slab specimens were naturally cured at a temperature of 20 ± 3 °C for 28 days. Both side surfaces of the specimens were sealed with epoxy resin after they reached a natural drying state.Preset artificial cracks ,29,32 anAs shown in As shown in Concrete members were usually immersed in chloride solution ,25,42,43Once the crack widths of specimens reached and maintained the expected value, they were carefully transported to the chamber and placed vertically in two columns with cracked surfaces upwards on two square timbers. Drying-wetting cycle tests of chloride ingress were subsequently conducted on these specimens. The drying-wetting cycle test was completed in the multi-functional environmental simulation chamber of the National Engineering Research Center for High Speed Railway Construction. The setup of the drying-wetting cycle test on specimens is shown in The chloride ingress dry-wetting cycle tests were designed according to T/CECS 762-2020 . The proThe concentration of chloride ions in concrete at different depths was tested according to the method specified in JGJ/T 322-2013  and withThe concrete samples were dried in an oven at 105 °C for 2 h. The free chloride concentration of concrete was determined by the solid-liquid extraction method for hardened concrete proposed in JGJ/T 322-2013. The content of water-soluble chloride ions in hardened concrete samples is calculated as follows:It should be noted that SEM and microscopic tests are commonly used to observe the pore structure and ion transport characteristics of concrete. However, SEM and microscopic tests of porosity and permeability were not conducted in this study. The main reason is that the test specimen is a reinforced concrete component subjected to continuous bending moment. Cutting and sampling for SEM and microscopic tests during the test process will cause damage to the specimen, affecting the stress state of the component and subsequent test progress.The focus of this study is to investigate the effect of transverse cracks on chloride ingress in concrete track structures before severe steel corrosion. In fact, the durability of steel bars embedded in concrete specimens and the reduction characteristics of structural strength and stiffness were investigated in the subsequent study, and the results of the test and numerical simulation will be published in the next paper.The chloride concentration distributions with different times of drying-wetting cycles of chloride erosion and different depths from the exposed surface of concrete specimens at the cracked section 1-1 and uncracked section 2-2 are shown in It can be seen from It can be seen from By comparing the test results of chloride concentration in These phenomena observed from the test results in this paper are in good agreement with the results of related references ,25,52.2/s) and the surface chloride concentration The apparent chloride diffusion coefficients in concrete at different erosion stages were deduced by data fitting with reference to the experimental data processing method of JGJ/T 322-2013  and ASTMThe boundary condition is D, shown in The apparent chloride diffusion coefficient It can be seen from The previous researches ,55,56 anf(w) is introduced into the diffusion coefficient model of concrete based on Fick’s second law. The surface chloride concentration, binding effect of chloride, time-varying effect of chloride diffusion coefficient, temperature, relative humidity, and crack width were comprehensively considered in the proposed model. The equivalent diffusion coefficient of concrete at the cracked section can be expressed as:w; 2/s) is the chloride diffusion coefficient of concrete at the age of 28 days in the standard curing environment  that can be written as [w/c is the water-cement ratio.In order to consider the influence of the transverse crack on the localized chloride transmission rate in concrete, a degradation function related to the crack width itten as :(4)D0=10z et al. , kR can m [t is the exposure time; m is the time-dependent constant which depends on the mix proportions of concrete.ponent m , which cU is the activation energy of the diffusion process, which is related to the water-cement ratio of concrete. The U values of concrete specimens made of ordinary Portland cement are 41.8 ± 4.0 (kJ/mol) for a w/c of 0.4, 44.6 ± 4.3 (kJ/mol) for a w/c of 0.5 and 32.0 ± 2.4 (kJ/mol) for a w/c of 0.6 [itten as :(7)kT=URc of 0.6 ; Tref isn et al. . Based on et al. , it can According to related research, it was informed that the averaged chloride diffusion coefficient of concrete at the cracked section has a quadratic function or cubic function to the crack width in a non-steady state or partially saturated condition ,25,34. BThe regression analysis results shown in It should be noted that the quadratic function models proposed by Kwon  and Zhan(1)The experimental results show that the chloride ion concentration of the concrete slab track at the crack section is much higher than that at the intact section, and it increases with the increase of crack width in a range of 0.2 mm to 0.6 mm.(2)The variation of chloride concentration with the depth in the concrete slab track obviously deviates from the chloride diffusion model in the cracked section. The presence and development of transverse cracks in the concrete track slab and base slab could change the one-dimensional diffusion-dominated transmission mode of chloride into a typical two-dimensional diffusion mode.(3)The chloride diffusion coefficient of the concrete slab track at the cracked section is much higher than that at the uncracked section. When the surface crack width reaches 0.6 mm, the apparent chloride diffusion coefficient increases by 11 to 12 times and 8.5 to 11 times for the track slab and base slab specimens, respectively.(4)The surface chloride concentration of the concrete slab track at the cracked section increases with the increase of maximum crack width. Transverse cracks and V-shaped grooves in the CRTS II slab track structure could collect chloride solution during the drying-wetting cycles and provide special space for chloride ions deposition.(5)f(w) of the concrete slab track is introduced in the equivalent diffusion coefficient model to express the influence of crack width on the localized chloride transmission rate at the cracked section. The relationship between the degradation effect coefficient of chloride diffusion and the crack width conforms to a cubic function or quadratic function for the track slab and base slab.A degradation effect function Drying-wetting cycle chloride erosion tests were carried out on reinforced concrete track slab and base slab specimens in this study, and the influence of transverse crack on chloride ingress of slab track structure in the coastal environment was analyzed. The following conclusions can be drawn according to the analysis of the experimental results:


In this study, we report on the development and testing of hydrophobic coatings using cellulose fibers. The developed hydrophobic coating agent secured hydrophobic performance over 120°. In addition, a pencil hardness test, rapid chloride ion penetration test, and carbonation test were conducted, and it was confirmed that concrete durability could be improved. We believe that this study will promote the research and development of hydrophobic coatings in the future. Reinforced concrete structures are the most widely used construction materials in the world due to their high strength and workability at an affordable price ,2,3.Water can infiltrate the concrete structure and then erode it. Chloride ions cause severe corrosion to steel rebars in reinforced concrete members, resulting in a significant decrease in mechanical strength and a sharp decline in service life ,5. The cIn the United States, annual infrastructure-related costs total USD 22.6 billion, while corrosion costs associated with bridges amount to approximately USD 8.3 billion . In the To improve the durability of buildings and social infrastructure, products such as surface impregnation materials and permeable absorption prevention materials are used on concrete surfaces ,14,15,16When surface-impregnated materials and permeable absorbent materials are used, the environment of use, the type of concrete, economic feasibility, and efficiency are the most important factors in selecting the appropriate products . TherefoResearch is being actively conducted into eco-friendly repair materials that prevent moisture penetration in marine structures, as well as preventing surface pollution ,22,23,24Cellulose is one of the most common polymeric materials on Earth, and it is renewable and eco-friendly. Cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) is manufactured via chemical treatment, cellulose nanofibril (CNF) is manufactured via mechanical treatment, and bacterial cellulose (BC) is manufactured via biological treatment ,26,27. CVarious methods for increasing the moisture resistance of CNF are being studied. One method may partially express hydrophobicity by adding alkyl ketene dimer (AKD) to increase the moisture resistance of CNF ,41,42. AIn this study, coating aget using cellulose nanofibers were developed applicable to the field of construction. As materials comprising the coating agent, cellulose nanofibers, AKD, waste glass powder (WGP), and Bisphenol A diglycidyl ether (BADGE) were used. Basic data were prepared for the development of coating agent technology in the field of construction using CNF.CNF was purchased from Advanced Natural Polymer Inc. . The CNF used is a TEMPO-oxidized cellulose nanofiber with fiber in water to a consistency of 2 wt%. The nominal properties of the CNF, as provided by the manufacturer, were fiber width 2–9 nm, conductivity 1.294 mS/cm, carboxylate contents 1.7 mmol/g, and crystallinity 61%. AKD was provided by Taewang Chemicals Co., Ltd. . The nominal properties of AKD, as provided by the manufacturer, were solid content 20.2%, specific gravity 1.006, and viscosity 5.5 cps. WGP was collected in green glass bottles and washed under high pressure. After high-pressure washing, 1.0–10.0 μm of WGP was secured using a Micron-Master Jet Mill . Bisphenol A diglycidyl ether was purchased from Sigma Aldrich .BADGE was fixed at 0.7 of the total weight, and CNF, AKD, BADGE, and WGP were used as variables . The celAll coating materials were applied using a special coating brush. After stirring, they were immediately placed in a dry oven at 120 °C and heated for 24 h. The coating thickness was measured 10 times and the average value was used. The coating thickness was measured using a coating thickness meter .The Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) spectra of materials and coating agent specimens (5 mg each) were acquired using an FTIR spectrometer . All samples were dried at 60 °C for 24 h before measurement.ASTM D 5946  was usedHardness measurements of all specimens were carried out using a pencil hardness tester , according to ASTM D 3363 . The coaRCPT was conducted according to ASTM C 1202  to evalu2 concentration of 5.0 ± 0.2%. After carbonation was carried out via the accelerated carbonation test, the specimen was cut, and the carbonation penetration depth was measured using a color development method at the 28-day point using phenolphthalein solution.Concrete specimens were subjected to accelerated carbonation in an environmental chamber at a temperature of 20 ± 2 °C and relative humidity of 65 ± 5%, and a COStructures exposed to the marine environment can generally be classified into splash zones, tidal zones, and underwater zones. Structures exposed to the underwater zone are partially affected by the chemical action of seawater, but corrosion of concrete rarely occurs due to the low supply of oxygen and carbon dioxide gas. Concrete exposed to the splash zone or tidal zone is usually in the worst state of deterioration of all the exposure categories; it is very important to regularly monitor this zone using a proper assessment method in order to reduce major repair and retrofitting work. In this study, the continuous performance of the coating agent in the marine environment was evaluated. The marine exposure test was conducted at Sihwa Lake in Ansan, Republic of Korea. The marine exposure test period was 6 months, and the test was conducted by applying the coating agent to concrete and steel specimens. The concrete specimen was manufactured to a size of 100 mm × 100 mm × 50 mm (thickness), and the steel test specimen was manufactured to a size of 100 mm × 100 mm × 4 mm (thickness). The marine exposure test specimens were set with OPC and with A10-W5-coated concrete and steel.−1 regions are due to the free O–H stretching vibration of hydroxyl groups in cellulose nanofibers [−1 relate to CH2 stretching vibrations. The regions of 1160 cm−1 and 1058 cm−1 are connected in turn to the C-O-C vibration and the C-O vibration connected to the hydroxyl group (addition). The peaks at 1420 cm−1 and 1610 cm−1 correspond to the C-O and C=O stretching of -COO-Na+ groups, respectively [−1 and 1086 cm−1 in the FTIR spectrum of the AKD correspond to the crystalline and amorphous phases, respectively [−1 and 2950 cm−1 are due to C-H stretching vibrations [−1, 1508 cm−1, and 826 cm−1. The peaks at 1508 cm−1 and 827 cm−1 correspond to the C-H deformation vibration of BADGE [−1 and 820 cm−1 and at 1350 cm−1 and 1275 cm−1 are associated with C-O-C stretching, in all specimens, indicating complete curing [−1 and 3500 cm−1 correspond to the vibration mode of the OH group, which is released during the curing of the coating agent, which is observed in all specimens [nofibers . The banectively ,55,56. Fectively . The majbrations . Figure e curing . The bropecimens ,64.The pencil scratching method was used to evaluate the hardness of the coating agent . The penIn the marine exposure test, the thickness of the coating agent was measured to evaluate the presence or absence of the coating. The coating thickness was measured before exposure to the marine environment; specimens were collected at intervals of about 60 days and the average coating thickness was repeatedly measured. The initial average coating thickness was over 1100 μm in all specimens. In the case of the tidal zone marine environment, in the OPC concrete specimen, a significant difference before and after the test was confirmed with the naked eye compared to the early marine environment exposure test. On the surface of the concrete test specimen, large amounts of marine substances—such as seaweed and substances expected to be salt from seawater—were distributed throughout. It was confirmed that the coated concrete test specimen had fewer distributed substances expected to be salt compared to the OPC concrete specimen. In addition, it was confirmed that marine substances such as seaweed were similarly distributed. Unlike the steel test specimens exposed to the marine environment in the splash zone, the OPC steel test specimens were confirmed to have an orange color. The coated steel test specimen showed a similar appearance to the coated concrete specimen. In addition, corrosion of about 4.5 mm appeared at the point where the coating agent had not been properly applied.The present experimental study was conducted on a hydrophobic coating agent developed using cellulose. In summary, hydrophobic coatings were developed using cellulose nanofiber, alkyl ketene dimer, waste glass powder, and Bisphenol A diglycidyl ether, and the maximum contact angle was 123.65°. A durability evaluation of concrete coated with the coating agent was performed. In the case of RCPT, a chlorine ion blocking effect of up to 99.76% was confirmed, and a resistance effect of carbonation penetration up to 99.03% was confirmed through the carbonation depth. The durability in the marine environment was confirmed through a marine exposure test for 6 months. Our approach can provide information for the development of eco-friendly coatings in the future.


This research explores the effect of various humidity conditions and the efficiency of shrinkage-reducing admixtures on the free shrinkage strain of ordinary Portland cement (OPC) concrete and its mechanical properties. An OPC concrete C30/37 mixture was replenished with 5% of quicklime and 2% of organic-compound-based liquid shrinkage-reducing agent (SRA). The investigation revealed that a combination of quicklime and SRA led to the highest reduction in concrete shrinkage strain. Polypropylene microfiber addition was not so effective in reducing the concrete shrinkage as the previous two additives did. The prediction of concrete shrinkage without quicklime additive was performed according to EC2 and B4 model methods, and the obtained results were compared with the experimental ones. The B4 model evaluates the parameters more than the EC2 model does and, therefore, was modified to calculate the concrete shrinkage for the case of variable humidity and to evaluate the effect of quicklime additive. The experimental shrinkage curve that best coincides with the theoretical one was that obtained by the modified B4 model. Concrete shrinkage can be free or restrained. In the case of free shrinkage, the concrete does not suffer any cracking or additional stresses. On the other hand, restrained shrinkage is typical of reinforced concrete structures, as the reinforcement restrains the free concrete shrinkage, which causes tensile stresses appearing in concrete. Concrete cracking takes place if the tensile stresses exceed its tensile strength ; therefoThe effect of different types of fibers on the concrete shrinkage can be significant and depends on the concrete mixture ,11,12. UFly ash (FA) is widely used in hydraulic mass concrete structures to reduce the temperature rise and the resulting thermal shrinkage. Overall, FA is a relatively expensive material and often used with low-heat Portland cement (LHP). Such concrete mixtures are utilized in concrete-resulting face slabs or concrete-faced rockfill dams . In addi2/kg. Three admixtures were included:2/kg fineness and reactivity class R5, complies with the LTS EN 459 standard.Quicklime CL 90 powder, of 300 m3, and tensile strength varies from 300 to 450 MPa.Polypropylene microfibers microfiber complies with LST EN 14889-2:2006. The length of fibers varies between 12 and 19 mm, the diameter is 20–35 μm, the density is 0.91 g/cmSRA (Liquid-type shrinkage-reducing agent).The employed binding material for the concrete mixtures was the CEM I 42.5 R cement, with a fineness of 390 m3) was included as coarse aggregate, whereas fr. 0/4 mm sand (with a density of 2650 kg/m3) was employed as fine aggregate. The same amount of aggregates was used for all concrete mixtures. The particle size distribution of the concrete aggregates was measured as described in EN 933-1 [All the concrete mixtures were mixed with the same water/cement ratio (0.48). Moreover, coarse and fine aggregates were included to produce the mixture. Gravel fr. 4/16 mm .Concrete mix No. 2—with 0.9 kg/mConcrete mix No. 3—with 5 wt% quicklime (CaO) powder CL90 .Concrete mix No. 4—with 2 wt% SRA .Concrete mix No. 5—with 5% quicklime (CaO) and 2% of SRA.Five different types of mixes were prepared. The first “control” mixture was prepared without any admixtures (Concrete mix No. 1); the rest are described as follows:In all the concrete mixtures with or without any admixtures, the ratio of water and cement was the same (W/C = 0.48). Determined and tested concrete mixes can be seen in The concrete mixtures and test specimens were created according to the requirements described in LST EN 12390-1:2021  and LST The concrete mixture was blended with “Zyklos” mixing equipment. The mixtures were blended for 3 min, as follows: first, the dry materials  were added to the mixing bowl and were mixed for 30 s; then, ½ water content was added and mixed for 30 s; subsequently, there was a 1 min break for the better absorption of water; finally, the rest of the water was added together with the plasticizer (shrinkage-reducing additives) and mixed for 1 min. For each concrete composition, three prismatic specimens (75 × 75 × 250 mm) were formed for shrinkage measurements and three cubes (100 × 100 × 100 mm) were formed for compressive strength testing See a.After the fresh concrete was poured and vibrated, it remained in the molds for 24 h (the top of the mold was not covered: the concrete surface was exposed to the environment). After dismantling the molds, the length of the specimens was measured with a shrinkage measurement device see . During In order to imitate the closed environment of concrete, a plastic film was used. After the specimens had been disassembled, the measured prisms were covered with 5 layers of plastic film. The prisms were stored indoors at room temperature (18–23°), and not exposed to direct sunlight. During every shrinkage measurement, the plastic film was removed, and a new plastic film was set after the measurement. Hence, during the measurement, the prisms were exposed to the environment  for 3–10 min until they were covered again. An image of a covered prism with plastic film is given in The shrinkage measurement was performed according to the standard LST EN 12390-16:2019 . The aimBefore initiating the measurements, a metal calibration tool was inserted to set the device to zero. A few spins had to be made to ensure values did not change. Then, the investigated concrete prism was inserted, and a few spins were made. During the measurements, the same position of the prism had to be kept (facing the same side and keeping the ends at the same position). The calibration tool was used before and after prism measurements, checking that the measured value is zero. If it was not zero, the measurement had to be repeated.The concrete shrinkage strain was calculated by applying Equation (1).The concrete strength was determined by compressing concrete cubes (100 × 100 × 100 mm). Concrete cubes were wrapped in plastic film to imitate a closed environment until the strength test. A concrete strength test was performed after 28 days. To identify the influence of admixtures on concrete strength, five different types of concrete compositions were tested. Three cubes were tested for each composition. The test results are given in The compressive strength results revealed that some shrinkage-reducing additive reduced the concrete strength, whereas others strengthened the concrete specimens. The control specimen (without additives) exhibited a strength of 49.72 MPa. The addition of polypropylene microfibers produced a slight increase in compressive strength (0.4% higher than the control specimen). On the other hand, the strengths of the specimens including either quicklime or SRA were reduced by 10.1% and 2.6%, respectively. Finally, the specimen with both quicklime and SRA exhibited a slightly lower compressive strength than the control one did (3.7% lower). In a similar investigation carried out by Statkauskas et al. , comparaThe flexural strength of the different concretes was determined by bending shrinkage specimens (75 × 75 × 250 mm). Concrete specimens were wrapped in plastic film to imitate a closed environment for (923 days) and then the flexural strength test was performed. The results in The shrinkage of five different concrete compositions was monitored by the method described in The depicted results revealed that, after 150 days of curing, the greatest shrinkage occurred in the control specimen. Microfibers had a minimum impact on shrinkage reduction, as the specimens only contracted by 1.7% less than the control specimens did. The SRA showed better performance, and the specimen contracted by 17% less than the control one. The concrete mix with quicklime revealed even better results, with the specimen contraction being 50% smaller than that of the control specimen. Finally, the last concrete composition with SRA and quicklime exposed the best contraction reduction results as it showed 54% less contraction compared to the control specimen.The Le-Chatelier soundness test was carried out in accordance with the Standard EN 196-3  to evalufcm,cube) was calculated by using the reduction coefficient if 0.95 to obtain the required cylinder strength values because, in the tests, smaller non-standard specimens of (100 mm sided concrete cubes) were used. Further, the characteristic cubic strength fck,cube was determined considering a standard deviation of 5 MPa. Finally, the characteristic strength of standard cylinder specimens was calculated by multiplying the characteristic cube strength by the coefficient of 0.8. Hence, the standard strength values resulted as fck = 29.8 MPa and fcm = 37.8 MPa. The prediction of the tested concrete specimen shrinkage can be performed by using some design methods such as EC2  or the mfck, fcm), the type of cement (coefficients αds1 and αds2), the relative humidity (RH), and the cross-section parameter h0. The cross-section of the tested specimens was 75 × 75 mm. The coefficients depending on the type of cement CEM 42.5 N (class N) were αds1 = 4 and αds2 = 0.12. During the test, the first shrinkage measurement was taken immediately after the specimen was removed from the mold. That occurred approximately after 1 day of curing (t0 = 1 day). The shrinkage strain of the specimens was measured, at least, for 5 months (t = 150 days). Taking these data into account, the remaining calculated parameters were the following [According to Equations 8–13, B.11, and B.12 given in EC2 , the shrollowing : βast=0.For the shrinkage analysis, the relative external humidity was assumed to be within the range of 70–80%, as the best coincidence between the experimentally determined shrinkage of the control specimen and the shrinkage obtained by the calculation methods occurred when the humidity values were within this range see . In a similar way as the EC2 method, the B4 model evaluates the drying and autogenous shrinkage of concrete. However, the B4 model additionally evaluates the composition of the concrete mixture as a significant factor determining the concrete shrinkage. According to a—the content of aggregates, 1866 kg; c—the content of cement, 330 kg; w—content of water, 159 kg.The parameters related to the “Normal” cement type are :τcem=0.0The autogenous shrinkage parameters related to the “Normal” cement type are :τau,cem=The geometry of the specimen is evaluated by the parameter t0, t, and RH as in the calculations according to EC2. The two concrete shrinkage curves for relative humidity values 80% and 70% are presented in The abovementioned parameters do not depend on time. The parameters depending on time are presented below, taking the same values of In t0i does not coincide with the real one t0. It can be noticed from the shrinkage analysis according to the B4 model that the increments in each time interval are slightly dependent on time, and that these increments are smaller at the beginning of the concrete drying. The same tendency is observed in both methods  are given in t < 70–80 days, the curves for models B4 and B4-mod do not coincide well. However, such a difference exists only at the initial period of drying. At the time of t > 80 days, the coincidence becomes significantly better. This behavior can be noticed more clearly in While analyzing the shrinkage of the tested specimen, the humidity variation was taken from 80% to 70%, and it is shown by the curve of Finally, the shrinkage curve of the concrete, considering the function of humidity, calculated by the modified B4-mod model was compared with the curves obtained by the B4 and EC2 methods at constant humidity, and also with the curve of the experimental results see . In thisThe influence of quicklime additive can be evaluated in a similar way as the autogenous shrinkage in EC2 method. According to this, it was assumed that quicklime additive has a limited time effect in the earlier period of drying. Shrinkage investigations of specimens with a high content of quicklime ,40,41 reLc—content of quicklime additive in %.After the calculation of shrinkage strains according to the B4 model, the theoretical and the experimental curves were compared see . In FiguThe application of the multiplier Five different concrete compositions were prepared to evaluate the effect of different admixtures on the shrinkage of concrete. After 150 days of curing, the greatest shrinkage reduction was depicted for concrete including both SRA and quicklime additives. For this concrete, the shrinkage decreased by 54.0%, in respect of the control specimen. The concrete mix with 5% of quicklime reduced the shrinkage up to 50.0%, and with 2% of SRA—up to 17,0%. In comparison, the effect of the polypropylene fibers was negligible (reduction of 1.7%). The differences between the compressive strength values of the various concrete specimens were not so significant as those between shrinkage values. In all cases, the difference between the compressive strength of the specimens and the strength of the control one was smaller than the standard deviations (<5%), except in the case of the specimens with quicklime additive, which reduced the compressive strength by 10.1%. Considering that the EC2 method mostly evaluates the compressive strength of concrete, shrinkage values do not show a significant difference. The external conditional humidity was set from 70% to 80% after a comparison of the experimental shrinkage measurements and the shrinkage curves calculated by EC2 and B4 models for the control specimen. The theoretical concrete shrinkage results obtained by model B4-mod shows that this method is suitable to accurately predict shrinkage. After 150 days of concrete curing, the differences between the experimental shrinkage results and the obtained ones by the modified B4 model reached up to 3%. In addition, the modified B4 model (B4-mod) can be applied to predict the shrinkage of concrete including a certain quicklime additive content. In this study, it was assumed that the effect of quicklime on the shrinkage depends on the concrete composition. Thus, the shrinkage strain component may have to be improved to adapt this component to other compositions of concrete. For the concrete specimen with 5% quicklime additive, the experimental shrinkage curve was best coincident with the theoretical one obtained by the modified B4-mod. After 150 days of concrete with a quicklime additive curing, the differences between the experimental shrinkage results and the obtained ones by B4-mod model reached up to 12%.


Vegetation porous concrete is a novel material that integrates concrete technology with plant growth, offering excellent engineering applicability and environmental friendliness. This material is mainly utilized in eco-engineering projects such as riverbank protection, architectural greening, and slope protection along roads. This paper systematically reviews the current research progress of vegetation porous concrete by collecting and analyzing the relevant literature from both domestic and international sources. It covers several aspects including the material components of vegetation porous concrete, such as aggregates, cementitious materials, chemical admixtures, and plant species, as well as aspects like mix design, workability, porosity, pH value, mechanical strength, and vegetative performance. Furthermore, the application of vegetation porous concrete in riverbank protection, slope protection along highways, and urban architecture is discussed, along with a prospective outlook on future research directions for vegetation porous concrete. Due to traditional concrete materials’ issues such as thermal expansion, thermal contraction, cracking, and lack of permeability, a series of problems such as urban road flooding, land subsidence, and urban heat island effects have become widespread . ConsequWith the acceleration of global urbanization and the increasing prominence of environmental issues, the search for sustainable building materials and engineering solutions has become particularly important. In this context, vegetation porous concrete, as an innovative material that combines plant growth and concrete technology, possesses functions such as water permeability, water purification, dust and noise reduction, soil and water conservation, and environmental beautification . It has Vegetation porous concrete (VPC) is a composite material that combines plant growth with concrete technology. It uses concrete as the base material and achieves the integration of plant growth and concrete structure by introducing plants, soil, and other vegetation components into the concrete . VegetatThe distinctive feature of vegetation porous concrete lies in its dual functionality, combining both plant growth and structural support. The porous structure of vegetation porous concrete provides excellent permeability and breathability . By intrAggregates constitute the primary component of vegetation porous concrete, occupying the majority of its volume ,12. TherSung conducted a study on vegetation porous concrete made from crushed stone, recycled coarse aggregates, and unsaturated polyester resin. It was found that when the proportion of recycled aggregates mixed with crushed stone was below 50%, the more recycled aggregates were incorporated, the higher the strength of the vegetation porous concrete. This was ultimately confirmed through vegetative testing, showing that planting herbaceous and cool-season grasses on recycled aggregate vegetation porous concrete is feasible . The bonIn the case of lightweight aggregates, He  utilizedConcerning water purification, Long  conducteApart from aggregate type, aggregate particle size is another parameter that needs to be considered in vegetation porous concrete design. To provide sufficient space for plant growth, coarse aggregates with a particle size ranging from 10 mm to 30 mm are typically used ,27. HuanCurrently, the selection of aggregates for vegetation porous concrete is moving towards ecological sustainability, with a greater preference for using sustainable and environmentally friendly aggregates to reduce resource consumption, minimize environmental impacts, and achieve better ecological sustainability. The focus in practical engineering applications is on how to turn waste into a valuable resource while considering the source and transportation costs, all while ensuring the performance of the concrete.Cementitious materials play a crucial role in vegetation porous concrete, serving as the binding and solidifying agents while also providing a conducive environment for plant growth. Different types of cementitious materials possess distinct characteristics that directly impact the performance and functionality of vegetation porous concrete. The most commonly used binding agent, ordinary Portland cement (OPC), is highly alkaline and during hydration, it generates calcium hydroxide phases with a pH value of around 12 . The higIn the study by Tang , low-alk3. The findings from different research studies are summarized in Furthermore, the use of mineral admixtures such as fly ash ,41,42, mIn summary, researchers are actively seeking and developing alternative binding materials to replace ordinary Portland cement (OPC) in order to enhance the performance and environmental sustainability of pervious concrete. These efforts aim to provide more eco-friendly and sustainable options for the application of pervious concrete, thus, contributing to the reduction in adverse environmental impacts in construction and infrastructure projects.Chemical admixtures come in a variety of types, each with its own functions and characteristics. Due to the specific requirements of vegetation porous concrete in terms of mechanical strength, workability, and environmental pH levels, the use of admixtures can enhance concrete performance, improve its engineering properties, and enable better performance in various application areas. High-efficiency water reducers ,10,11,12Currently, polymers are added as an admixture to vegetation porous concrete due to their excellent alkali-reduction effects. Kim  added buWith the continuous development of vegetation porous concrete technology, a range of specialized admixtures designed specifically for vegetation porous concrete ,53,54 haPlants play a crucial role in maintaining ecological balance, protecting soil and slopes. However, due to variations in the growth characteristics of different plant species, the selection of plant species is paramount for their survival and growth in vegetation porous concrete. Currently, commonly used test plants such as tall fescue ,40,43, BSome researchers have proposed that the best approach is to diversify species, such as combining warm-season and cool-season grasses, as this can enhance the greening effect ,56. ChenElymus scaber, Themeda trianda, and Chloris truncata. They found that kangaroo grass and windmill grass were suitable for vegetation porous concrete technology, while clover was relatively incompatible. Chen [Paspalum wettsteinii in Guangxi, as shown in Paspalum wettsteinii grew better in planting concrete compared to other plants. The results obtained from different research studies are summarized in Local species not only better adapt to local climates and soils but also prevent species invasions. Tang , in the le. Chen  selectedCurrently, most vegetation porous concrete research predominantly focuses on herbaceous plants. This preference is attributed to the adaptability, robust root systems, extensive distribution, wear resistance, and aesthetic qualities commonly found in herbaceous plants, making them ideal for vegetation porous concrete applications in slope protection and road surfaces.Unlike traditional concrete, the mix design of vegetation porous concrete presents a contradiction between the pH environment required for plant growth and the high alkalinity of concrete. It also involves the simultaneous need for high porosity and sufficient mechanical performance . The mixIn addition to the volume method, mix design calculation methods for vegetated concrete include the mass method and the specific surface area method. The mass method is based on the mass proportions of the various components in concrete and offers the advantages of speed and efficiency in calculations. However, it may not be as effective in controlling slurry volume. The specific surface area method  calculatWhile vegetation porous concrete has been extensively studied, mix design still faces challenges, including the use of empirical coefficients and overly idealistic assumptions. To address these issues, Wang  attempteSlurry flowability is an essential indicator for assessing the workability of vegetation porous concrete mixtures. Excessive flowability in the cementitious slurry can lead to the phenomenon of slurry pooling at the bottom of the specimen during the initial molding stage. Conversely, if the flowability is too low, the cementitious slurry may not evenly envelop the surface of coarse aggregates, affecting the concrete’s pore structure and ultimately reducing its compressive strength. Therefore, the flowability of the paste in vegetation porous concrete is crucial for ensuring the uniformity, workability, and fillability of the material during construction. Several factors influence the flowability of the paste in vegetation porous concrete, including the water–cement ratio ,64, addiDue to the relatively recent initiation of research on vegetation porous concrete in several regions, there is a lack of unified and universally recognized specifications and methods . AdditioRegarding the recommended range for the flowability of the paste in vegetation porous concrete, Wang  suggestsCurrently, different testing methods and conditions have a significant impact on the results of measuring the flowability of the cementitious paste in vegetation porous concrete.Porosity is a key indicator for assessing the performance of vegetation porous concrete , influenVegetation porous concrete contains discontinuous pores, which hinder the flow of water and nutrients. Sung-Bum Park  proposedUltimately, porosity is formed by the irregular arrangement of aggregates and serves the purpose of permeability and vegetative performance. With the mechanical strength meeting the requirements of the engineering design, a larger aggregate particle size results in a higher porosity , providiUsing acidic or neutral supplementary cementitious materials in place of cement to lower cement content and potentially recycle waste materials. However, the application of supplementary cementitious materials to reduce the alkalinity of vegetation porous concrete is limited ,77;Utilizing different types of low-alkalinity cements, which can be more costly compared to ordinary Portland cement ;Immersing vegetation porous concrete in acidic solutions such as ferrous sulfate, oxalic acid, and ammonium phosphate to neutralize alkaline components within the concrete. While this approach can reduce alkalinity, it has a significant impact on the mechanical and durability properties of the concrete , and itsSelecting the addition of chemical admixtures, which has proven to be efficient ,52,53,54Reducing the pH of vegetation porous concrete is primarily aimed at providing a suitable soil environment for plant growth. Most plants thrive within a pH range of 3.5 to 8.5 . CurrentDetermining pH is a crucial step in assessing the acidity or alkalinity of vegetation porous concrete and the soil environment. Accurate pH measurements provide valuable insights for adjusting plant growth and concrete conditions. Common pH testing methods include alkalinity precipitation and solid–liquid extraction . Both meIn the alkalinity precipitation method , 6.0 kg The solid–liquid extraction method  involvesThe mechanical strength characteristics of vegetation porous concrete can be analyzed and described from three perspectives: macro level, meso level, and micro level. The comprehensive assessment from these perspectives determines the overall mechanical performance and durability of vegetation porous concrete . From a From meso level, vegetation porous concrete is a composite material composed of cementitious materials and aggregates. Microscopic structural features include the distribution of aggregates, the interface bonding between aggregates and the cementitious matrix, and the distribution of pores, all of which affect the strength and durability of vegetation porous concrete. In recent years, with the continuous development of computer technology and numerical simulation methods, finite element analysis software has been applied to the field of mechanical analysis. The correctness of model establishment has a significant impact on the final results. Xu  made a cFrom micro level, the mechanical strength characteristics of vegetation porous concrete are influenced by the interactions among its various components within the microstructure. The hardening process of cement involves hydration reactions and crystal formation, leading to an increase in the strength of the cementitious material . AdditioThe mechanical strength characteristics of vegetation porous concrete directly impact its performance and durability in various engineering applications. By understanding and optimizing these properties, it is possible to design vegetation porous concrete structures that are stronger, more stable, meet engineering requirements, and enhance their service life.Vegetation porous concrete and plants have a mutually influential and constraining relationship. The presence of plants can lead to changes in various properties of vegetation porous concrete. Stresses generated by the expansion of plant roots have the potential to disrupt the physical structure of vegetation porous concrete, and the moisture introduced by plants can cause erosion of the concrete , resultiWang  conducteCurrently, there is limited research on the impact of plants on vegetation porous concrete. When designing vegetation porous concrete, it is essential to understand plant characteristics and consider the potential negative effects of plants on concrete strength to ensure the performance and sustainability of vegetation porous concrete.The combination of vegetation and concrete not only balances strength and aesthetics but also promotes ecological cycling, making it an essential choice in today’s sustainable development trends. Vegetation porous concrete effectively prevents soil erosion and slope instability, providing natural vegetation cover, which plays a significant role in river ecosystem restoration and water purification. It has been widely applied in riverbank engineering and roadside slope protection. Kim  used vegIn the field of architecture, vegetation porous concrete offers designers greater creative freedom. It not only fosters innovation in architectural aesthetics but also promotes the integration of buildings with the natural environment, as depicted in The Polytechnic University of Catalonia  has pionA lack of unified standards and guidelines for vegetation porous concrete hinders its research and application. It is imperative to promote the development and publication of national or regional standards for vegetation porous concrete.Vegetation porous concrete possesses excellent permeability, suitable vegetative capabilities, and tremendous environmental potential. Its application in riverbanks and roadside slopes has matured, while in the construction industry, it provides a visually impactful green material with vast prospects. However, as vegetation porous concrete is a relatively new technology that has flourished in the past two decades, it faces persistent barriers to research and development:There are several gaps in the current research on vegetation porous concrete;2.Presently, vegetation porous concrete predominantly favors herbaceous plants, which significantly affect material strength due to their pore space requirements. Algae and mosses, in contrast, require less pore space for growth, offering a new direction to address the trade-off between strength and porosity;3.Soil serves as the foundation for plant growth, yet current research primarily focuses on mix design and alkali reduction in vegetation porous concrete, with limited study on the soil used to fill gaps. Selecting suitable plant–soil combinations and conducting improvements may be key to successful research in vegetation porous concrete.4.Most research on vegetation porous concrete concentrates on conditions before plant growth. However, post-planting factors, such as the forces exerted by plant roots, substances secreted by plants, and soil microorganisms, require consideration and study.5.The use of vegetation porous concrete for road surface paving in projects that prioritize ecological conservation and environmental beautification holds wide-ranging potential. Despite its potentially lower strength compared to regular concrete road surfaces, it offers advantages such as permeability, heat island effect mitigation, and air purification;6.Vegetation porous concrete is predominantly applied horizontally, with limited attention given to vertical structures. The judicious utilization of spatial resources may represent an opportunity for the development of vegetation porous concrete.Looking ahead, there are promising prospects for the less explored applications of vegetation porous concrete: