Advances in the Analysis of Properties Behaviour of Cement-Based Grouts with High Substitution of Cement with Blast Furnace Slags

This article presents a study of the main properties (consistency, workability, leaching, unsoundness, and mechanical properties) of cement grouts prepared with cement replacement by blast furnace slag (GGBS). Mixtures have been analyzed in the absence of additives and reached high replacement percentages. As shown in the different tests presented, the observed evolution of the resistance and workability of the mixtures makes them very interesting for its application. Different types of cement (CEM-I 42.5 and CEM-I 52.5 R) and different water/binder values (1 and 0.67) are used. The results present opportunities for the steel industry by the intensive valorization of slag waste. The reduction of the use of cement in construction is also one of the key aims of this line of research. Results show improvements in the mechanical response with good fresh state properties for substitution percentages up to 70%. It is verified with leaching analysis that these products have less impact on the environmen

Study of the Suitability of Different Types of Slag and Its Influence on the Quality of Green Grouts Obtained by Partial Replacement of Cement

This paper is part of a research line focused on the reduction of the use of cement in the industry. In this work, the study of work methodologies for the manufacture of green cementitious grout mixtures is studied. Grout is widely used in construction and it requires an important use of raw materials. On the other hand, the steel industry faces the problem of the growing generation of slag wastes due to the increase in steel manufacturing. The green grout aims to achieve the dual objective of reducing the demand for cement and improve the slag waste valorization. Slag is not introduced as an aggregate but through the direct replacement of cement and no additives. The research seeks a product where we can use steel slag intensively, guaranteeing minimum resistance and workability. Results with substitutions between a 25% to 50% and water/cement ratio of 1 are presented. In particular, the suitability of different slags (two Ladle Furnace Slag (LFS) and one Blast Furnace Slag (GGBS)) in the quality of the final product are analyzed. The feasibility of replacing cement with slag and the importance of the origin and pretreatment are highlighted

Development in Sustainable Concrete with the Replacement of Fume Dust and Slag from the Steel Industry

Nowadays, the reuse of waste is a challenge that every country in the world is facing in order to preserve the planet and introduce a circular economy. The chemical composition of some steel waste suggests that there are potentially appropriate substances for reuse, since this type of slag undergoes a process similar to that of cement in its manufacture. The advantages for the environment are obvious, as it valorises waste that is deposited in landfills. This paper studies the field of stainless steel, because its composition is different from that of carbon steel, and the replacement of cement with material or waste produced in the manufacture of stainless steel in a concrete matrix. This paper presents the results of replacing 25% of cement with material or waste produced in the manufacture of stainless steel in a concrete matrix whose values in the substitutions carried out were around 21% and 25% in terms of increased resistance capacity. These results have been obtained by carrying out tests, in terms of both strength and environmental capacity, allowing us to determine viable applications for the use of steel waste to improve the performance of cement or at least match it

Influence of steel slag type on concrete shrinkage

Building construction and building operations have a massive direct and indirect effect on the environment. Cement-based materials will remain essential to supply the growth of our built environment. Without preventive measures, this necessary demand in cement production will imply a substantial increase in CO2 generation. Reductions in global CO2 emissions due to cement consumption may be achieved by improvements on two main areas: increased use of low CO2 supplementary cementitious materials and a more efficient use of Portland cement clinker in mortars and concretes. The use of ground granulated blast furnace slag in concrete, as cement constituent or as latent hydraulic binder, is a current practice, but information of concrete with ladle furnace slag is more limited. Specific knowledge of the behavior of mixtures with steel slag in relation to certain properties needs to be improved. This paper presents the results of the shrinkage (total and autogenous) of five concrete mixtures, produced with different percentages of two different slags in substitution of cement. The results show that shrinkage of concrete with the two different slags diverges. These different characteristics of the two materials suggest that their use in combination can be useful in optimizing the performance of concrete.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Sucrose interacts with auxin in the burst of axillary buds

Research focus. Branching is an important process for productivity (number of productive branches) and for visual quality of ornamental plants (branches spatial arrangement). But branching behaviour is difficult to predict due to the lack of knowledge on the all mechanisms regulating the plasticity of the burst of axillary buds. Auxin has an inhibitory action on bud burst and interacts with cytokinins (CKs) and strigolactones (SLs) [1]. Our study focuses on understanding and modelling how a newly - identified player, sugars [2,3], interact with the hormonal network to control bud burst . Methods. Experiments consisted in cultivating nodal stem segments of rosebush in vitro with different sucrose and auxin levels, and in quantifying bud elongation, CK level, and the expression of genes involve in SL biosynthesis and signalling. From these data, we designed and calibrated a computational model accounting for sucrose modulation of bud inhibition by auxin. Results. We observed that increasing sucrose level decreased the inhibition of bud elongation by auxin, so that buds fed with high sucrose level were less inhibited by a given amount of auxin than those fed with low sucrose level. In accordance with literature, auxin repressed CKs and stimulated the expression of SLs biosynthesis genes. We demonstrate that the main effect of sucrose was to repress SL signalling. The model developed from these results reproduced the combined action of sucrose and auxin on bud burst. We validated it for its capacity to predict the effect of external CK supply for different sucrose levels. Conclusions. Our study proposes for the first time a physiological model of the effect of sucrose on bud regulation by auxin at the scale of the bud. Initially observed for rosebush, our results were also validated in pea, demonstrating model genericity. Next step is to understand the role of sugars, together with hormones, in the spatio-temporal regulation of bud burst at the scale of the plant. For that, we will use the computational tool, by coupling our bud model to models simulating sugar and hormone fluxes within a plant architecture. (Texte intégral

Slag Substitution as a Cementing Material in Concrete: Mechanical, Physical and Environmental Properties

A circular economy is a current tenet that must be implemented in the field of construction. That would imply the study of the possibilities of the use of waste generated, for obtaining materials the used in construction as replacements for the raw material used. One of these possibilities is the substitution of the cement by slag, which contributes to the reduction of cement consumption, decreasing CO2 emissions, while solving a waste management problem. In the present paper, di erent types of concrete made by cement substitution with di erent type of slags have been studied in order to evaluate the properties of these materials. Cement is replaced by slag from di erent steel mills, both blast furnace and ladle furnace slag. The percentages of slag substitution by cement are 30%, 40% and 50% by weight. Mechanical, physical and environmental properties have been evaluated. Compressive and flexural strength have been analysed as the main mechanical properties. As far as physical properties go, density and porosity tests were be reported and analysed, and from an environmental point of view, a leachate study was performed. It has been found that some kinds of slag (blast furnace slag) are very suitable as substitutes for cement, providing properties above those of the reference concrete, while other types (ladle furnace slag) could be valid for non-structural applications, contributing in both cases to a circular econom

Semaglutide in type 2 diabetes with chronic kidney disease at high risk progression—real-world clinical practice

Albuminuria; Obesity; SemaglutideAlbuminúria; Obesitat; SemaglutidaAlbuminuria; Obesidad; SemaglutidaBackground Semaglutide [glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor-agonist (GLP-1RA)] has shown nephroprotective effects in previous cardiovascular studies. However, its efficacy and safety in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and type 2 diabetes (T2D) have been rarely studied. Methods This is a multicenter, retrospective, observational study in patients with T2D and CKD with glycosylated hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) of 7.5–9.5% treated with subcutaneous semaglutide for 12 months in real-world clinical practice. The main objectives were glycemic control as HbA1c 5%. Results We studied a total of 122 patients, ages 65.50 ± 11 years, 62% men, duration of T2D 12 years, baseline HbA1c 7.57% ± 1.36% and an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) 50.32 ± 19.21 mL/min/1.73 m2; 54% had a urinary albumin:creatinine ratio (UACR) of 30–300 mg/g and 20% had a UACR >300 mg/g. After 12 months of follow-up, HbA1c declined −0.73% ± 1.09% (P 5% of their body weight. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure decreased −9.85 mmHg and −5.92 mmHg, respectively (P 300 mg/g). The mean eGFR (by the Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration) remained stable. The need for basal insulin decreased 20% (P < .005). Only 7% of patients on insulin had mild hypoglycemic episodes. Semaglutide was stopped in 5.7% of patients for digestive intolerance. Conclusions In this real-world study, patients with T2D and CKD treated with subcutaneous semaglutide for 12 months significantly improved glycemic control and decreased weight. Albuminuria decreased by >50% in patients with macroalbuminuria. The administration of GLP-1RA in patients with T2D and CKD was safe and well tolerated

Assessment of avocado textural changes during ripening by using contactless air-coupled ultrasound

[EN] In the present study, the use of the air-coupled ultrasonic technique has been analysed as a new tool for the contactless assessment of the avocado post-harvest textural modifications during ripening. Thus, ultrasonic parameters, such as maximum wave amplitude and ultrasound velocity, and textural ones, such as hardness, elastic modulus and relaxation capacity, were measured on avocado slices. During ripening, avocado reduced its elastic modulus (from 2.29 +/- 0.75 to 0.16 +/- 0.08 MPa), became softer and became more viscoelastic, which was well described from zero and first-order kinetic models. These changes increased ultrasound attenuation, decreasing the maximum amplitude of the ultrasonic signal (from 336.6 to 55.4 V/m), while the ultrasonic velocity remained constant, between 320.1 +/- 6.9 and 316.4 +/- 82.6 m/s. Thereby, the maximum ultrasonic amplitude, which adequately correlated with textural parameters (r(avg) = 0.85), could be used to assess the post-harvest ripening on avocado slices.The authors acknowledge the financial support from the Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad (MINECO) and Agencia Estatal de InvestigaciOn in Spain (Project RTC-2017-6314-2) and the Generalitat Valenciana. M.D. Farifias is grateful to the European Social Fund (ESF 2014-2020) and Generalitat Valenciana for her post-doctoral fellowship (APOSTD/2018/203). The author E.A. Sanchez-Torres acknowledges the support of the undergraduate student Sara Serrano Garcia on the experimental work.Fernandez-Caballero-Fariñas, MD.; Sanchez-Torres, EA.; Sanchez-Jimenez, V.; Díaz, R.; Benedito Fort, JJ.; Garcia-Perez, J. (2021). Assessment of avocado textural changes during ripening by using contactless air-coupled ultrasound. Journal of Food Engineering. 289:1-9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfoodeng.2020.1102661928

Nationwide trends of invasive pneumococcal disease in Spain (2009-2019) in children and adults during the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine era.

Introduction of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs) has shown a marked reduction in the disease caused by vaccine serotypes in children providing herd protection to the elderly group. However, the emergence of non-vaccine serotypes is of great concern worldwide. This study includes national laboratory data from invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) cases affecting pediatric and adult population during 2009-2019. The impact of implementing different vaccine strategies for immunocompetent adults comparing Spanish regions using PCV13 vs regions using PPV23 vaccine was also analyzed for 2017-2019. The overall reductions of IPD cases by PCV13 serotypes in children and adults were 88% and 59% respectively during 2009-2019 with a constant increase of serotype 8 in adults since 2015. IPD cases by additional serotypes covered by PPV23 increased from 20% in 2009 to 52% in 2019. In children, serotype 24F was the most frequent in 2019 whereas in adults, serotypes 3 and 8 accounted for 36% of IPD cases. Introduction of PCV13 or PPV23 in the adult calendar of certain Spanish regions reduced up to 25% and 11% respectively the IPD cases by PCV13 serotypes, showing a decrease of serotype 3 when PCV13 was used. Use of PCV13 in children has shown a clear impact in pneumococcal epidemiology reducing the burden of IPD in children but also in adults by herd protection although the increase of serotype 8 in adults is worrisome. Vaccination with PCV13 in immunocompetent adults seems to control IPD cases by PCV13 serotypes including serotype 3.This work was supported by Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad (MINECO) [grant SAF2017-83388] and internal funding fromS