Aims: This study aimed to investigate phoneme perception in patients with primary progressive aphasia (PPA) by using the event-related potential (ERP) technique. These ERP components might contribute to the diagnostic process of PPA and its clinical variants  and reveal insights about phoneme perception processes in these patients.Method: Phoneme discrimination and categorization processes were investigated by the mismatch negativity (MMN) and P300 in eight persons with early- and late-stage PPA  and 30 age-matched healthy adults. The mean amplitude, the onset latency, and the topographic distribution of both components in each patient were compared to the results of the control group.Results: The MMN was absent or the onset latency of the MMN was delayed in the patients with the NFV, LV, and PPA-NOS in comparison to the control group. In contrast, no differences in mean amplitudes and onset latencies of the MMN were found between the patients with the SV and the control group. Concerning the P300, variable results were found in the patients with the NFV, SV, and PPA-NOS, but the P300 of both patients with the LV was delayed and prolonged with increased mean amplitude in comparison to the control group.Conclusion: In this preliminary study, phoneme discrimination deficits were found in the patients with the NFV and LV, and variable deficits in phoneme categorization processes were found in all patients with PPA. In clinical practice, the MMN might be valuable to differentiate the SV from the NFV and the LV and the P300 to differentiate the LV from the NFV and the SV. Further research in larger and independent patient groups is required to investigate the applicability of these components in the diagnostic process and to determine the nature of these speech perception deficits in the clinical variants of PPA. Primary progressive aphasia (PPA) refers to a heterogeneous group of neurodegenerative clinical syndromes in which a range of language and speech abilities progressively deteriorate with relative preservation of the other cognitive domains. An international group of researchers provided a framework for the diagnosis of PPA and its clinical variants , electroencephalography (EEG), and magnetoencephalography (MEG). Johnson et al.  evaluateBesides phoneme and speech perception processes, nonverbal sound processes were also investigated in patients with the three variants of PPA by several studies. In the study of Hardy et al. , patientBased on the above-standing results, no general conclusions about the phoneme perception deficits in the variants of PPA can be drawn. However, it might be important to gain insight into these processes and their influence on the consecutive language processes to reveal the underlying processing deficiencies in language comprehension. Furthermore, differences in phoneme perception processes might help to differentiate between variants in the diagnostic process of PPA. Phoneme perception assessments are often not included in the standard language evaluations administered in patients with PPA. Consequently, rehabilitating speech perception deficits is not the focus of speech and language therapy, complaints of speech perception deficits might be falsely attributed to hearing loss, and the patients might be offered inappropriate hearing amplification interventions  technique. ERPs represent small voltage fluctuations in the continuous EEG that are time-locked to a particular event Luck, . Two audPhoneme discrimination and categorization have not yet been investigated in patients with PPA by the MMN and P300 components  were recruited at the Department of Neurology of the Ghent University Hospital. The clinical diagnosis of PPA was made by experienced neurologists (TL and AS) and speech-language pathologists (MDL and JS) based on the case history, the neurological evaluation, the neuroimaging results, and the evaluation of the language and speech abilities. All patients met the criteria for the root diagnosis of PPA and were classified into the clinical variants following the criteria of Gorno-Tempini et al. . For thiThe age-matched healthy control (HC) group consisted of 30 right-handed adults recruited by snowball sampling . The age of the HCs ranged from 50–78 years with a mean of 63.9 years (SD = 8.31) and the education level ranged from 10–17 years with a mean of 14 years (SD = 2.05). The MoCA and the DHI were performed in all HCs. The scores for the MoCA ranged from 26 to 30 with a mean score of 28.4 (SD = 1) and all HCs were right-handed (score of +10 on the Dutch Handedness Inventory). Furthermore, the HCs had a (corrected-to-)normal vision and reported no subjective complaints of hearing loss. None of the HCs had a history of neurological disorders, developmental learning or language disorders, and psychiatric disorders. The native language of all participants was Dutch. The study was performed in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and approved by the Ethics Committee of the University Hospital Ghent. Informed consent was obtained from all the participants.An inattentive and attentive auditory oddball paradigm were administered in the patients with PPA and the HC group in a dimly illuminated room in the Ghent University Hospital. The EEG was recorded for each participant in the morning or early afternoon. The auditory stimuli and oddball paradigms were adapted from Aerts et al. . The staPhoneme discrimination was evaluated by an inattentive auditory oddball paradigm during which the participants were instructed to ignore the stimuli and to focus on a silent movie (Mickey Mouse). The paradigm consisted of 600 standard stimuli and 150 deviant stimuli with a stimulus onset asynchrony of 500 ms. The total duration of the experiment was approximately 7 minutes.Phoneme categorization was evaluated by an attentive auditory oddball paradigm during which the participants were instructed to press the green button on the Chronos response box  when they heard the deviant stimulus. To focus their attention and to reduce vertical and horizontal eye movements, a white fixation cross was presented on a black background. The experimental paradigm consisted of 160 standard stimuli and 40 deviant stimuli with a stimulus onset asynchrony of 2,000 ms. The experimental block was preceded by a training block of 16 standard and four deviant stimuli. The total duration of the experiment was approximately 8 minutes.EasyCap electrode caps  were used to record continuous EEG at 32 electrode sites in the HC group and 126 electrode sites in the PPA group. AFz was used as the ground electrode and FCz as the online reference electrode. The electrode impedances were kept below 10 kΩ by using an abrasive electrolyte gel . The preparation of the EEG registration in the patient group was done by two experienced researchers simultaneously since in these participants a cap with 126 electrodes was used. Data were collected with a BrainVision BrainAmp amplifier  and were continuously digitized with a sampling frequency of 500 Hz. The data were recorded with the BrainVision Recorder software .BrainVision Analyzer 2  was used for the offline EEG analysis. First, the training block of the P300 paradigm was removed and the bad electrode channels were disabled. The online reference electrodes and the electrodes of interest were not disabled in any of the participants. Second, IRR filtering  and a notch filter at 50 Hz was applied. Based on the independent component analysis (ICA), the eye blinks and horizontal eye movements were removed, and subsequently, the disabled channels were interpolated. A new reference, the average of the mastoid electrodes (TP9 and TP10), was applied to the data. Next, the responses elicited by the standard stimuli and the responses elicited by the deviant stimuli were segmented separately. The epochs of the inattentive oddball paradigm were 600 ms from 100 ms before the onset of the stimulus to 500 ms after the onset of the stimulus. The epochs of the attentive oddball paradigm were 1,500 ms from 300 ms before the onset of the stimulus to 1,200 ms after the onset of the stimulus. Baseline correction was applied using a pre-stimulus window of respectively 100 ms and 300 ms for the inattentive and attentive oddball paradigms. Subsequently, artifact rejection was applied automatically with the following settings: maximum gradient criterion of 75 μV, minimal-maximal amplitude criterion of 100 μV, maximum difference criterion of 150 μV, and low activity criterion of 0.5 μV during 100 ms. Finally, the standard and deviant trials were averaged separately. At least 85% of the trials were included in the averaged ERPs in all participants. The button press accuracies of the P300 paradigm were also collected but both the trials with a correct and incorrect button press response were included in the analysis. The difference waves were computed by subtracting the averaged ERPs elicited by the standard stimuli from the averaged ERPs elicited by the deviant stimuli.Two main outcome variables, the mean amplitude and onset latency, were extracted from the difference waves from both the inattentive and attentive oddball paradigm. For the MMN and the P300, elicited respectively by the inattentive and attentive oddball paradigm, the average voltage over three specified measurement windows was computed Luck, . Based oSince PPA consists of a heterogeneous group of clinical syndromes and the included patients were also heterogeneous concerning the clinical variant and disease stage, the ERPs were interpreted at the single-subject level. The analysis on the single-subject level is particularly interesting to investigate the applicability of ERPs in the diagnostic process of PPA and its variants in clinical practice. In clinical practice, the presence of ERP components has been traditionally assessed by visual inspection. Statistical methods for single-subject analyses of ERPs have also been proposed but contradictory results were reported for the different approaches  or increased (negative Z-scores) and the onset latencies might be delayed (positive Z-scores) in patients with PPA in comparison to the HC group. Regarding the P300, the mean amplitudes might be reduced (negative Z-scores) or increased (positive Z-scores) and the onset latencies might be delayed (positive Z-scores) in patients with PPA in comparison to the HC group. Since we do not know which Z-scores are clinically significant, we consider Z-scores ≥ 1.28 (α ≤ 0.10) as impaired in comparison to the HC group.After visual inspection, the individual amplitudes and latencies of the components that were concluded to be present in the patients with PPA were compared to the HC group by converting their raw values into standardized M = 192, SD = 18.19). The button press response was correct in 97.42% of the trials with the standard stimuli  and in 90.33% of the trials with the deviant stimuli . Visual inspection of each healthy participant showed that the MMN was present in 29 of the 30 HCs and the P300 was present in 28 of the 30 HCs.The descriptive statistics of the mean amplitudes and onset latencies of the MMN and P300 difference waves for the HC group are presented in Z-scores of the mean amplitudes and onset latencies of the MMN and the P300 are presented.The electrophysiological results of each included patient with PPA were compared to the results of the HC group. A summary of the neurological, language, speech, and electrophysiological examinations of each included patient with PPA is presented in the Results section. The demographic characteristics, the scores on the MoCA, and the PTA of each patient can be found in Diagnosis—Case 1 met the diagnostic criteria for the clinical diagnosis of the NFV  and 350–450 ms (Z = −2.41) which confirms the prolongation found by visual inspection. The onset latency was also delayed at the frontal electrode sites (Z = 1.66). Furthermore, the mean amplitude was reduced at the parietal electrode sites in the time window 150–250 ms (Z = 1.33).Results P300—Based on the visual inspection of Diagnosis—Case 2 met the diagnostic criteria for the clinical diagnosis of the NFV  and left (Z = 1.46) electrode sites and the mean amplitude was reduced at the frontal electrode sites (Z = 1.29) in the time window 150–250 ms. In the subsequent time window 250–350 ms, the mean amplitude was increased at the frontal (Z = −1.63) and left (Z = −1.42) electrode sites. In the time window 350–450 ms, the mean amplitude was reduced at the frontal electrode sites (Z = 1.5) which suggests an accelerated decay.Results P300—Visual inspection of Z-scores ≥ 1.28. The button press accuracy of case 2 was 100%.Diagnosis—Case 3 was initially diagnosed with the NFV , parietal (Z = 2.15), left (Z = 1.77), midline (Z = 1.91), and right (Z = 2.99) electrode sites. The mean amplitude was increased in the time window 750–950 ms at the central (Z = 1.36), left (Z = 1.31), and right (Z = 1.32) electrode sites. Surprisingly, the button press accuracy was only 24%.Diagnosis—Case 6 was initially diagnosed with the LV , left (Z = 1.56), midline (Z = 1.36), and right (Z = 1.36) electrode sites. The mean amplitude was also reduced in the time window 250–350 ms at the left electrode sites (Z = 1.61) and in the time window 350–450 ms at the parietal electrode sites (Z = 1.68).Results P300—Visual inspection of Z = 1.3), left (Z = 1.58), and midline (Z = 1.49) electrode sites. Furthermore, the onset latency was delayed at the frontal electrode sites (Z = 1.3). The button press accuracy of case 6 was 66%.Diagnosis—Case 7 met the two core diagnostic criteria and two of the four supportive criteria of the SV , one patient with the SV (late-stage), and the patient with PPA-NOS. Although the P300 was present in one patient with the early-stage NFV and possibly present in one patient with the early-stage SV, these results indicate that deficits in phoneme categorization processes might be present in patients with the NFV, SV, and PPA-NOS. Since the results are variable in these variants, further research is required in larger patient groups. Interestingly, the P300 was present with an abnormal P300 pattern in both patients with the LV. The onset latency of the P300 was delayed and the P300 was prolonged with increased mean amplitude in both patients with the LV in comparison to the HC group. This P300 pattern was not found in any of the other included patients. The latency of the P300 is thought to index the stimulus categorization time and the amplitude of the P300 is associated with resource allocation. Consequently, the time required to categorize the stimulus as standard or deviant might be delayed and prolonged in the patients with the LV in comparison to the HC group. The increased mean amplitude and prolonged P300 in the patients with the LV might suggest that these patients devoted more effort to the task than the HC group  for the publication of any potentially identifiable images or data included in this article.JS and MDL contributed to the design of the experiments. TL and AS recruited the patients with PPA. JS contributed to the data collection, data analysis, interpretation of the results, and writing of the manuscript under the supervision of MDL and PM. MDL, PM, TL, MM, and AS provided critical feedback and helped shape the manuscript. All authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version.The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.


The standard manufacturing procedure involves the high-temperature and lengthy annealing of powders. However, the formation of the tetragonal modification of LLZO and other undesired side phases results in the deterioration of electrochemical properties. The mechanical milling of precursor powders can enhance the powders’ reactivity and can result in an easier formation of c-LLZO. The aim of this work was to study the influence of selected milling and annealing parameters on c-LLZO compound formation. The starting powders of La(OH)3, Li2CO3, and ZrO2 were subjected to milling in various ball mills, under different milling conditions. The powders were then annealed at various temperatures for different lengths of times. These studies showed that the phase transformation processes of the powders were not very sensitive to the milling parameters. On the other hand, the final phase composition and microstructure strongly depended on heat treatment conditions. Low temperature annealing (750 °C) for 3 h produced 90% of c-LLZO in the powder structure.Li-ion batteries are widely used as energy storage devices due to their excellent electrochemical performance. The cubic Li Li-ion batteries possess the highest energy densities (the capability to store energy per unit weight or volume) among all rechargeable batteries, which is important regarding its applications in large electrical power storage systems such as electrical vehicles ,2,3. Addtability . Althougtability ; spark ptability , along wtability ; finallytability . Howevertability ,12. Thestability  and the tability . Typicalagnitude . The foragnitude . Cubic magnitude ,15,16,17agnitude ,23,24,252 , La(OH)3 , and Li2CO3  were used. The size of all powders was submicrometric. The powders were mixed in a molar ratio of 3.5:3:2, corresponding to the stoichiometry of Li7La3Zr2O12. The milling processes were performed in a Fritsch P5  planetary ball mill at 250 rotations per minute for various lengths of milling times, as well as in a SPEX8000D mixer . The two types of mills used show different ways in which the energy is transferred to the milled powders. In an SPEX mill, the back-and-forth shaking motion is combined with lateral movements of the ends of the vial. Because of the amplitude and speed, the force of the ball’s impact is great. On the other hand, in a Fritsch planetary mill, both impact and friction effects are present due to ball movement and, as a consequence, in comparison to an SPEX mill, Fritsch can be considered a lower energy mill [α radiation (λ = 0.15418 nm). Detailed analysis of the obtained diffractograms was performed using the High Score Plus computer program . The Rietveld method was applied for the refinement of the crystalline structure [For milling processes, the powders of ZrOrgy mill . In bothtructure . The folSEM observations of powder size and morphology were performed using a Hitachi S3500 unit . For TEM studies, specimens were prepared by dispersing a small amount of the sample in methanol and putting a droplet of the suspension on a microscope copper grid covered with carbon. TEM investigations were undertaken with a field-emission transmission electron microscope  with a super twin lens operated at 300 kV and equipped with an annular dark-field detector. The chemical composition was determined in the same apparatus using energy dispersive spectroscopy EDS .For studying the influence of PCA addition on the milling process and the structural transformations, 10 wt.% of ethanol was chosen. The milling experiment was performed in a Fritsch P5 planetary ball mill. The influence of ball-to-powder weight ratio (BPR) is presented in The next experiment was performed with the use of an SPEX mixer device. This type of mill, contrary to the planetary Fritsch mill, exhibits a rather high energy impact type of interaction between the balls and powders. However, the XRD patterns presented in The SEM micrographs revealing the particle size and morphology after 1 h of processing in a Fritsch P5 planetary ball mill are presented in The obtained results confirmed that the mechanochemical processes performed did not lead to the direct formation of LLZO, as only structural refinement was observed. Therefore, the next set of experiments was related to powder annealing. The powders were annealed in air at temperatures ranging from 750 to 950 °C for various lengths of times. In order to calculate the content of c-LLZO and to identify remaining phases, Rietveld analysis was performed. Rietveld analysis was especially useful for distinguishing between both modifications of LLZO , as their diffraction lines overlap, as shown in 2 = 3, Rexp = 5.9, Rprof = 8.5, and Rw prof = 10.3) support the good quality of the obtained results. The details of the performed analysis are presented in 2O2 tends to react with the carbon dioxide in air. Thus, the amount of lanthanum in the final ceramic could have caused multiphasic composition after milling and heat-treatment procedures. The escape of lithium was also reported [3) could be explained by the use of an alumina container and balls for powder processing. A summary of the Rietveld analysis of several of the studied samples is presented in Depending on the milling and annealing conditions, different contributions of the desired c-LLZO compound were detected in the structure of the studied samples. By analyzing the influence of annealing time, it was found that for each heat treatment temperature, a prolongation of annealing resulted in an increase in c-LLZO content. On the other hand, a lower annealing temperature was more beneficial from a c-LLZO formation point of view. Other compounds found in the studied samples were divided into two types: unreacted starting precursors or new compounds formed during powder annealing. There may have been different reasons for their formation. Hydrated Lareported . The preSEM studies were performed for the annealed powders as well. The micrographs revealing the powders after 1 h of processing in a Fritsch P5 planetary ball mill and subsequent annealed at 750 °C for 3 h are presented in For structural studies of the powders after milling for 1 h in a Fritsch P5 planetary ball mill, TEM observations were performed. 7La3Zr2O12 compound. Mechanical milling processes were performed in two different ball mills (Fritsch and SPEX). The starting mixture of submicrometric precursor powders consisted of La(OH)3, Li2CO3, and ZrO2 mixed in appropriate proportions. After milling the powders were subjected to annealing in air at various temperatures for different lengths of times.This work focused on studying the influence of mechanical milling and annealing parameters on the formation of single-phase, cubic modification of the Li-The mechanical milling processes had no induced phase transformations of the starting powder mixture, and a broadening of the diffraction lines was observed only due to structural refinement and the generation of crystal imperfections;-The type of ball mill used (with different dominant modes of milling—impact and friction) has no influence on the processing of powders-Changes to other milling parameters  do not introduce qualitative changes in the powder structure;-The formation of c-LLZO was possible only after powder annealing, and the amount of the desired cubic modification of LLZO significantly depended on the annealing parameters. It was found that annealing at 750 °C resulted in a higher amount of c-LLZO than processing at 950 °C, and that the prolongation of annealing time for upward of 3 h was beneficial.The following conclusions can be drawn from the performed experiments:


In Chile, air pollution has reached alarming levels due to motor vehicle traffic, firewood burning for heating and minerals in urban areas; for this reason, our objective was to evaluate the association between the incidence of lung cancer and the concentration of the main air pollutants monitored in the country. We carried out a cross-sectional ecological study that evaluated the association between the average incidence of lung cancer in a 5-year period (2015–2019) with the average annual concentration of six atmospheric pollutants in the 5 years prior in 14 Chilean boroughs, using the population of beneficiaries of the Fundación Arturo-López-Pérez Cancer Institute. The annualised incidence of lung cancer was 9.77 per 100,000 and it varied significantly within the boroughs studied. When evaluating the relationship between lung-cancer incidence and the average concentration of atmospheric pollutants, we only found a direct and significant correlation between the level of respirable particulates 2.5 and the incidence of adenocarcinomas ( Since 1950, there has been an increasing trend in the incidence of lung cancer worldwide, especially in high-income countries according to the World Bank classification. This increase has been related to different factors, but causality has been established in two of them: the consumption of inhaled tobacco and environmental pollution, mainly by inhalable particulate material. The association between lung cancer and air pollution is in addition to the well-known relationship between this factor and non-neoplastic cardiovascular and respiratory diseases [3 of air contaminated with fine particles, the risk of developing lung cancer increases by approximately 8% [The evidence linking air pollution with the development of lung cancer has been obtained mainly in the last 40 years due to systematic monitoring of air quality and the development of ecological studies . Pope’s Chile is no exception to the global problem of environmental pollution in general and air pollution in particular. In the city of Santiago, the country’s capital with a population of around 7.5 million inhabitants, the problem of air pollution has been critical since the 1980s [In 2020, approximately 1,800,000 people are expected to die from lung cancer worldwide , it beinDeath rates from lung cancer are higher in men than in women. In Chile, age-adjusted mortality rate in the period 1990–2015 was higher in the northernmost regions , while it was lower in the Araucanía, Biobío and Maule regions in the south, both for men and women [This study aims to evaluate whether there is a demonstrable association between the incidence of lung cancer and the concentration of the main air pollutants monitored in Chile through an ecological study based on epidemiological data from patients from the Fundación Arturo López Pérez Cancer Institute in Santiago, Chile residing in one of 14 boroughs selected for their good records of the presence of six atmospheric pollutants. Chile has a network of air-quality monitoring stations located in the main cities or in places where productive activities such as mining, heavy industry and thermoelectric power generation generate pollution. This information is centralised through the Ministry of the Environment and reported through the National Air-Quality Information Service, which gives us reliable sources for the analysis of our data and their correct interpretation.An ecological cross-sectional study to evaluate the association between annualised incidence of lung cancer in the period 2015–2019 and the average annual concentration of six air pollutants in 14 Chilean boroughs during the 5 years prior to the estimate.The study population was selected among the captive subjects of a Chilean health centre dedicated to cancer management offering cancer-related insurance to potential patients, covering diagnostic and treatment costs of neoplastic events. The Arturo López Pérez Foundation (FALP) Cancer Institute meets these characteristics.After approval by the FALP Scientific Ethics Committee, we obtained the distribution by age, sex and borough of the beneficiaries of the cancer insurance, as well as the new cases of lung cancer treated at the Institute in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019. Only histologically confirmed lung cancer cases among insurance beneficiaries were considered to estimate its incidence.In order to correct the potential biases implicit in projecting the incidence of lung cancer to the entire Chilean population based on the population of FALP-insurance beneficiaries, this rate was adjusted for the age distribution of the 2012 census using the direct method. To control the effect of age distribution among beneficiaries from each borough on the association between lung cancer incidence and pollutant concentration, we adjusted the borough rate for the proportion of beneficiaries in the highest-risk age group.Total and by-sex incidence rates were estimated with their 95% confidence interval based on gamma distribution. The relative importance of the main histological types of lung cancer is described.2.5, PM10), sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen monoxide (NO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and ozone (O3). Techniques for determining the concentration of atmospheric pollutants are available on the website of the National Air Quality Information System [The average annual concentration of air pollutants was obtained from the data recorded by air-quality monitoring stations throughout Chile. The pollutants studied were respirable particulates 2.5 and 10 . Using multiple linear regression, we evaluated the effect of air pollution on the incidence rate of lung cancer and lung adenocarcinoma, all as continuous variables, considering age and Human Develop Index (HDI) by commune. We previously checked the linearity of the relationship between the lung cancer incidence rate and the average concentration of pollutants. Both variables were normally distributed in the communes. Covariates for the model were HDI, age, and mean pollutant concentrations.During the period 2015–2019, 275 new histologically-confirmed lung-cancer cases were treated in people with FALP cancer insurance. The annualised incidence of lung cancer was 9.77 per 100,000 people FALP insurance beneficiaries (95% CI: 8.7–11.0). 2 in men, which loses its significance when adjusting for age and HDI. 2 concentration, which in this case loses significance when we adjust for HDI. We found a direct association between the incidence of adenocarcinoma in the general population and the concentration of O3, which is lost when adjusting for age and HDI. Finally, we found a direct and significant association between the incidence of lung adenocarcinoma and the PM2.5 concentration, when adjusting for HDI.The association between lung cancer incidence rate and the average concentration of six atmospheric pollutants, estimated by multiple lineal regression, is presented in According to GLOBOCAN estimates, lung cancer accounted for 11.6% of new cancer cases worldwide in 2018. The mean yearly incidence of this disease in countries with a high HDI was 40.4 cases per 100,000 males and 19.1 cases per 100,000 females. In countries with medium and low HDI, yearly rates were 11.8 cases per 100,000 males and 4.6 cases per 100,000 females. For South America, GLOBOCAN estimated 16.8 cases per 100,000 men per year and 10.2 cases per 100,000 women per year [Regarding the distribution by histological type, this is similar to the results of large series from the United States and Latin America , 13, witIn the 14 boroughs with a population of over 5,000 FALP insured selected for analysis, we observed a great variation in the mean annualised incidence of lung cancer ranging from 4.6 cases per 100,000 people per year in Viña del Mar, Valparaíso Region (centre) to 15.51 cases per 100,000 people per year in Talca, Maule Region (south). This finding is repeated in the analysis by sex. This variability in incidence by borough suggests that using sentinel centres to estimate incidence is debatable. Among the determinants of this variability, there would be socio-economic factors as shown by GLOBOCAN projections .2, that is lost when fitting the linear regression model for age and HDI. We found a direct association between the incidence of adenocarcinoma and the O3 concentration that was also lost when the model was adjusted. This pollutant is not emitted directly into the atmosphere but is produced by chemical reactions between volatile organic compounds and nitrogen oxides in the presence of sunlight. Its production is stimulated by luminosity and heat. It is a marker of emissions from vehicles and solvent-related industrial activities [3 is a powerful photochemical oxidant, it causes intense irritation to airway conjunctivas and mucosas, which could be classified as an acute effect. No association between the effect of long-term O3 exposure and outcomes such as mortality from various causes has been found upon analysis [3 concentration and has one of the highest adjusted annual mean incidences of lung cancer . It is possible that O3 concentration is a marker of exposure to other pollutants with a carcinogenic effect as occurs in breast cancer [2.5. A systematic review reported that exposure to high concentrations of both PM2.5 and PM10 is associated with a slightly increased risk of lung cancer . This association is modified by smoking habits [3 increase in the concentration of PM 2.5 the risk of adenocarcinoma increased by 31% [When assessing the association between the incidence of lung cancer in general and lung adenocarcinoma in particular and the average annual concentration of six air pollutants in the previous 5 years, we found an inverse association with the concentration of SOtivities . Becauseanalysis . The bort cancer . The onld by 31% .Our study has some limitations due to the lack of validated records of all pollutants from air quality monitoring stations. There is also the possibility of selection bias in the beneficiaries of FALP cancer insurance which may increase the incidence of cancer in relation to the general population. However, the lung cancer incidence rate found is similar to that reported in literature. Although we only selected boroughs with more than 5,000 beneficiaries of FALP cancer insurance, lung cancer projections for some of them were based on few cases, which distorts the subgroup analysis (e.g. by sex). Although literature reports an association between air pollution and risk of lung cancer, the effect is not very high and its confirmation required the accumulation of a large number of individuals in systematic reviews. It is also important to consider the effect of smoking as a recognised risk factor for lung cancer  which co2.5 in the air, when adjusting for HDI, considering that this indicator is strongly associated with the incidence of cancer. New studies are required to evaluate the role of smoking in the association between the pollutants studied and lung cancer. Finally, the lessons learned from our study could be applicable in low- and middle-income countries with a similar population.In conclusion, the incidence of lung cancer in the population studied is similar to that of countries with medium and low HDI, in accordance with GLOBOCAN 2018 projections; it is more frequent in males and between 55 and 79 years of age. We found a direct relationship between the frequency of lung adenocarcinoma and the concentration of PMThe authors have no conflicts of interest or funding to declare.


Since the spreading of SARS-CoV-2 from China, all deferrable medical activities have been suspended, to redirect resources for the management of COVID patients. The goal of this retrospective study was to investigate the impact of COVID-19 on head and neck cancers’ diagnosis in our Academic Hospital.A retrospective analysis of patients treated for head and neck cancers between March 12 and November 1, 2020 was carried out, and we compared these data with the diagnoses of the same periods of the 5 previous years.47 patients were included in this study. We observed a significative reduction in comparison with the same period of the previous 5 years.Our findings suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic is associated with a decrease in the number of new H&N cancers diagnoses, and a substantial diagnostic delay can be attributable to COVID-19 control measures. Since February 2020, the coronavirus disease COVID-19 has spread from Wuhan (China) as a worldwide public health emergency , althougWhen Regional Government resumed elective activity at the end of Italy’s lockdown, we observed an increase in the diagnosis of head and neck malignancies, probably reflecting delayed access to health-care services for patients with symptoms suspected of being cancer-related. In addition to that, we could expect a certain number of patients still not seeking medical examination for their symptoms, especially if mild and nonspecific, in wait for the contagion rate to drop. Moreover, in April 2020, at the peak of COVID-19 pandemic, Italian screening rates for colon, breast, prostate, and lung were significantly lower than baseline rates of the previous year . As repoThe goal of this retrospective study was to investigate the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on head and neck cancer diagnosis in our tertiary care Academic Hospital.A retrospective analysis of all patients diagnosed and surgically treated for head and neck cancers at the Division of Otorhinolaryngology of the University Hospital “San Giovanni di Dio e Ruggi D’Aragona”  between March 12, 2020 [the beginning of sanitary lockdown in our Region (Campania)] and November 1, 2020, was carried out (Group 2020). A comparison of the number of diagnosis and surgical intervention performed during this period was carried out with the same periods of time of the 5 previous years , to evaluate the effective impact of COVID-19 pandemic in terms of delay in the diagnosis and treatment of head and neck tumors. Extracted data included population size and characteristics , type of tumor, and total number of each type of tumor per year.Moreover, for the 2020 group, a telephone survey was carried out by a single ENT resident (Pietro De Luca) to assess the mean time between symptoms onset and medical referral, and how much the fear of contagion and the critical situation of the health-care services impacted on that delay. The patients were asked to specify the time of the onset of symptomatology; the date of the first otolaryngology consultation was extracted from our database. Moreover, respondents were asked “Have you delayed or avoided medical care due to concerns related to COVID-19?”, and to quantify (months) the eventual delay.To investigate the potential impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the diagnosis and treatment of head and neck cancers at “San Giovanni di Dio e Ruggi D’Aragona” University Hospital , this retrospective study compared the number of new cancer diagnoses between March, 12 and November 1, 2020 with the same periods of the previous 5 years. A total of 47 patients newly diagnosed with head and neck cancers newly were included in this study, as shown in Table We then analyzed the reduction in diagnostic rate for the different head and neck cancers, comparing the number of new diagnoses for each kind of tumors in 2020 with the mean number of diagnoses of the same tumor for the previous 5 years. The malignancies that showed the greater reduction were laryngeal cancer (16 vs 24), in situ laryngeal cancer (1 vs 8.6), parotid cancer (4 vs 7.8), and tongue cancer (0 vs 3.6).n = 34, 79%), such as diabetes or hypertension, were significantly more likely to avoid or delay urgent or emergency care compared to people without these conditions. The mean total delay from the onset of symptoms to the ENT evaluation was 5.3 months .As an additional evaluation, a telephone survey for the patients of 2020 group was conducted; we were able to collect data only from 52 patients (88%). Of them, 43 patients (82.7%) delayed specialist evaluation because of concerns about COVID-19, and people with multiple underlying medical conditions , our National Healthcare System has been profoundly stressed and forced to reallocate resources and health-care workers to manage COVID-19 patients. From March 12, 2020, the Italian lockdown has been associated with a substantial decrease in most of non-COVID-19 services , with a fections , it alsofections . A studyfections .In addition, Yang et al. reported that 32.5% of patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma, during the waiting period of radiotherapy, received an additional cycle of chemotherapy to the original treatment strategy, increasing unnecessary treatment intensity of patients . In our To the best of our knowledge, in our country, no research has yet been performed analyzing the effects of COVID-19 pandemic on head and neck cancer diagnosis and treatment. Moreover, no other study compared the number of diagnoses made in 2020 with the diagnoses made in the previous 5 years. Nevertheless, the study results should be interpreted in the light of several limitations. First, quantifying the impact of delays in diagnosis on stage and prognosis is complex. Furthermore, potential effect of delays in head and neck cancer diagnosis and treatment on prognosis may vary with the type of cancer; currently, no work investigated the association between delay and prognosis in patients with head and neck cancer. The real impact of this delay for head and neck malignancies will be probably more clear in the next months and years, and more studies will be required to adequately analyze it.Our findings suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic is associated with a decrease in the number of new head and neck cancers diagnoses in our Academic Hospital, and a substantial diagnostic delay can be attributable to COVID-19 lockdown and to SARS-CoV-2 control measures. Currently, we are not able to predict how much this could affect the prognosis of these patients, and this reflects the need for policy interventions, especially in case of future lockdown, to contain additional cancer deaths resulting from delay in diagnosis. Given that the COVID-19 pandemic is still ongoing in Italy, measures should be taken to improve head and neck cancer diagnosis, and patients should be educated to understand the risk of COVID-19 contagion versus the risk of not seeking health-care advice, especially patients experiencing symptoms suggestive of head and neck tumors.


In this study, laser cladding technology was used to prepare Fe-based alloy coating on a 27SiMn hydraulic support, and a turning treatment was used to obtain samples of the upper and middle regions of the cladding layer. The influence of microstructure, phase composition, hardness, and wear resistance in different areas of the cladding layer was studied through scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffractometry (XRD), friction and wear tests, and microhardness. The results show that the bcc phase content in the upper region of the cladding layer is less than that in the middle region of the cladding layer, and the upper region of the cladding layer contains more metal compounds. The hardness of the middle region of the cladding layer is higher than that of the upper region of the cladding layer. At the same time, the main wear mechanism of the upper region of the cladding layer is adhesive wear and abrasive wear. The wear mechanism of the middle region of the cladding layer is mainly abrasive wear, with better wear resistance than the upper region of the cladding layer. A 27SiMn hydraulic support is an important part of mining hydraulic machinery, which operates in a complex environment. To ensure the safety of workers and to increase the service life of the machine, its surface can be modified to improve the wear resistance of the pillar and various material properties. Compared with the commonly used thermal spraying and chemical bonding techniques used for preparing wear-resistant coatings, laser cladding technology uses high-energy laser beams to melt and weld metal powder on the surface of the substrate, so that the coating and the substrate have high metallurgical properties. Combined with a lower dilution rate, rapid cooling of the coating affects the refinement of the structure and changes the crystal grain and, therefore, is beneficial in improving the wear resistance of the coating.In recent years, laser cladding has been increasingly used in additive manufacturing as a green manufacturing technology; the equipment, technology, materials, and industrial applications of laser cladding are all involved .3AlC2 reinforced cobalt-based alloy coating on the surface of H13 steel and studied the friction and wear properties and oxidation behavior of the coating. The results showed that, as the mass fraction of Ti3AlC2 increased, it exhibited a good friction reduction effect. The O content of the Co-based alloy coating increased with an increase in Ti3AlC2 mass fraction. At 600 °C, the O content was less than 3%, which had good antioxidant properties. X. P. Tao et al. [2O3 reinforced WC-10Co4Cr coating on the surface of Cr12MoV steel. The results showed that the addition of Al2O3 was the main factor for reducing the COF (coefficients of friction) of the coating and improving the wear resistance.Extensive research has been conducted on laser cladding equipment, processes, materials, and applications of laser cladding technology in industry. Jiali Zhou et al.  used laso et al.  used laso et al. , studiedo et al.  studied o et al.  used lasAt present, processing methods such as turning, grinding, and polishing are mainly used to make the cladding layer reach the required thickness and roughness after laser cladding . There aThe substrate used was 27SiMn (Φ150 × 60 mm in size). Before cladding, sandpaper was used to remove rust and oil stains until the surface showed metallic luster, and then it was cleaned with ethanol. The cladding powder was Fe-based alloy powder (average hardness 51 HRC), with an average diameter of 38 μm and spherical shape that ensured better flow properties. It was composed of Fe, Cr, Ni, and Si powders, as well as other trace element powders. Its microscopic appearance is shown in Model RFL-C4000  high-power fiber optics, Model DPSF-2  powder feeding (the protective gas and powder feed gas are both Ar), and synchronous powder feed laser cladding were performed on the substrate. The process parameters were laser power P = 2.7 kW, powder feeding speed V1 = 2.8 rad/min, cladding rate V2 = 9 m/min, defocus 15 mm, and overlap rate = 80%. The cladding test was carried out with this combination of process parameters, and then the surface of the obtained cladding layer was treated with a lathe. The initial cladding layer was processed in different areas, named Sample A  and Sample B . 3) that contained the cladding layer. The cross-sections of the cladding layer of the metal samples were ground and polished, and ferric chloride was used to corrode the samples. A Zeiss (ZEISS) field emission scanning electron microscope ∑IGMA 300 (SEM)  was used to observe the microstructure and morphology of the samples of different areas of the cladding layer. An Empyrean X-ray diffractometer  was used to determine the phase of the samples. The test conditions were Cu target, the diffraction range was 20°–80°, and the diffraction speed was 2°/min. The phase composition analyses of the samples were conducted in different areas of the cladding layer. The microhardness of the cladding layer section of each sample and the substrate was measured using an HXD-1000TM digital microhardness tester . Microhardness was measured at intervals of 50 μm along with the depth of the layer, with a loading load of 300 g and a holding time of 15 s. Finally, a multifunctional friction and wear tester  was used to conduct multiple dry friction and wear tests on the cladding layer samples of different cladding areas. The diameter of the friction pair was 5 mm for the Si3N4 ceramic ball, the normal load was 30 N, the speed was 500 r/min, the stroke was 5 mm, and the time was 30 min. An electronic analytical balance was used . The quality of the samples and grinding balls was recorded before and after each test.The cladding layer was cut by wire cutting into small metal samples  phase. The phase of Sample B (the middle region of the cladding layer) is mainly composed of the bcc phase and a small amount of the fcc phase. The bcc phase diffraction intensity of Sample A’s cladding layer is 11,821, and the bcc phase diffraction intensity of Sample B’s cladding layer is 16,050. Compared with Sample B, the bcc phase diffraction intensity of Sample A’s cladding layer is weaker, indicating that the bcc phase content of Sample A’s cladding layer is less than that of sample B’s cladding layer. The cladding layer of Sample A contains more metal compounds.The XRD spectra of Samples A and B are shown in 0.3, which is larger than the average hardness value of the upper region, and the hardness value of the upper region of Sample B is 500.1 HV0.3, which reaches the maximum. It can be seen that the hardness of the middle region of the cladding layer is higher than that of the upper region of the cladding layer, significantly higher than that on the surface. This is because, on the surface of the cladding layer, the action of the high-energy-density laser beam causes the volatilization and burning of alloy elements, resulting in the appearance of fine cavities in the surface structure. Although the surface grains of the cladding layer are relatively small, the hardness is still low. The dendrites in the middle region of the cladding layer hinder the movement of dislocations and are also the main reason for the increase in hardness. GeYaqiong et al. [It can be observed from the figure that the average hardness value of the middle region of Sample A is 476.6 HVg et al.  and Zhang et al.  also indThe multifunctional friction and wear tester tests the wear resistance. The friction and wear test parameters are shown in 0 is the amount of wear of the matrix sample (mg) and Δm is the amount of wear of the cladding layer sample (mg).The relative wear resistances of Samples A and B are 1.5 and 4, respectively. The analysis shows that the wear resistance of the sample located in the middle region of the cladding layer is about 2.7 times higher than that of the sample located on the surface of the cladding layer.This is because when the upper region of the cladding layer is finally solidified, due to the shrinkage of the volume, concentrated shrinkage holes or scattered looseness is formed in it, and the surface layer is in contact with more external impurities , making At the same time, there is an uneven distribution of hard phase carbides in the upper region of the cladding layer, causing stress concentration around it. In the process of continuous friction, the hard phase and the nearby alloy structure are constantly being squeezed. Due to pressure and molecular bonding force, the hard points are torn and peeled off, and as a result, adhesive wear occurs ,26,27. ALaser cladding technology was used to prepare Fe-based alloy coating on the surface of 27SiMn steel. A turning treatment was used to turn the initial cladding layer in different areas of the cladding layer, i.e., Sample A  and Sample B . The phase, structure, microhardness, and wear resistance of Samples A and B were systematically studied. The main conclusions of this study are as follows:(1) The phases of the cladding layers of Samples A and B are mainly composed of bcc phase, intermetallic compound, and a small amount of fcc phase. The content of the bcc phase of Sample A’s cladding layer is less than that of Sample B’s cladding layer, but Sample A’s cladding layer contains more metal compounds and carbide phases. The surface structure of Sample A’s cladding layer is mostly equiaxed crystals with fine grains, and the surface structure of Sample B’s cladding layer is mostly composed of elongated dendrites.(2) The microhardness of Sample B is higher than that of Sample A. This is because there are more bcc phases in Sample B. In the bcc phase, the lattice resistance of dislocation movement is larger, and the ability to resist plastic deformation is enhanced; however, the alloying elements on the surface of Sample A volatilize and burn out under the action of high-energy-density laser beams. It makes the surface structure appear to have fine cavities, causing a decrease in hardness.(3) The abrasion resistance of Sample B is about 2.7 times higher than that of Sample A. The wear mechanism of Sample A is adhesive and abrasive wear, and for Sample B it is abrasive wear. This is due to the loose surface structure and concentrated hard phase of Sample A. In the process of continuous friction, large flaking and deep furrows are produced. The surface layer structure of Sample B has good bonding strength, forming a good wear-resistant framework perpendicular to the growth direction of the thin rod dendrites and improving its wear resistance.


Aim: To evaluate the evolution of the functional profile of older adults admitted to a health unit in Portugal; to relate the functional profile of these individuals with age, sex, education level and emotional state; and to evaluate the probability of the degree of dependence as a function of age and sex. Methods: longitudinal, retrospective study with a sample of 59,013 older adults admitted to convalescence units of the National Network of Integrated Continuous Care of Portugal. Results: In the first 75 days of hospitalization, activities of daily living, mobility and cognitive state improved, but there was a decline after 75 days of hospitalization. The ability to perform instrumental activities of daily living improved in the first 15 days of hospitalization, stabilized until 45 days and then began to worsen. Women had a higher probability of having a severe/complete dependence three years earlier than men (88 years to 91 years). A higher education level and stable emotional state were protective factors against functional decline. Conclusions: The functional profile of older adults improved during the length of stay recommended for hospitalization in convalescence units (30 days). It is critical for health systems to adopt strategies to prevent declines in the emotional state of frail individuals. With the increasing aging of the population and the increase in life expectancy, it is necessary to pay greater attention to the health of older adults. The European Pathway Association states that for care pathways to be successful, they must obey a set of principles, among which the following stand out: (a) the definition of clear care goals, based on scientific evidence, the best clinical practices and the expectations and characteristics of the person being cared for; (b) the facilitation of communication among all those involved; (c) effective coordination; (d) the correct monitoring and evaluation of results; and (e) the identification of the appropriate resources for the individual and the clinical situation . In thisThe integration of care is considered by the World Health Organization (WHO) to be the result of multifaceted efforts made to promote integration, with benefits for people . It has In Portugal, the National Network of Integrated Continuous Care  was created in 2006 through Decree Law no. 101/2006, which is intended for people who, regardless of age, are functionally dependent. The RNCCI was developed as an integrated Health and Social Security response that mobilizes the public, private and social sectors. Its intervention objectives are the rehabilitation, readaptation and reintegration of frail individuals who no longer require acute hospital care . The RNCConvalescence Units (CUs) are intended for individuals with a potentially recoverable transitory loss of autonomy, and their purpose is clinical stabilization and functional rehabilitation. These units have their own facilities and are connected to an acute care hospital to ensure health care 24 h a day over a total length of hospitalization of 30 days .As the purpose of CUs is functional rehabilitation, it seems clear to us the importance of assessing the functionality of patients to better evaluate health outcomes. The WHO developed the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) to standardize the international assessment of functioning and disabilities related to the health-disease process, taking into account the body’s structures and functions and environmental factors . StudiesThe performance of self-care behavior is considered extremely important for the individual person and for the health system, due to the benefits associated with it . The gaiThis was a longitudinal, retrospective study with a sample of 59,013 older adults aged 65 or older hospitalized in health units belonging to CUs of the RNCCI of Portugal.To evaluate the functional profile, variables of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF), which contains the ICF components: Body Functions  and Activities and Participation , were used. The ICF items were transformed into a Likert scale so that they could be analyzed . The global Cronbach’s α = 0.951 is obtained, which means excellent internal consistency.The data were collected from the records made by health workers and entered in the RNCCI portal. To trace the sociodemographic profile, data related to the first evaluation of each hospitalization episode occurring between 1 January 2010, and 27 February 2017, were selected.Subsequently, the evolution of the functional profile was evaluated through the analysis of biweekly evaluations of older adults hospitalized in CUs who were targets of a set of structured professional interventions (objective 1).To meet the second objective, which was to relate the functional profile with the variables age, sex, education level and emotional state, principal component analysis of each of the instrument domains , was combined with cluster analysis. This procedure presented the advantage of reducing the number of input variables in the cluster analysis, thus helping to simplify the characterization of the upstream clusters .To meet the third objective, the probabilities of each class as a function of age and by sex were evaluated.To analyze the four components of self-care capacity, over the days of hospitalization, a longitudinal analysis was performed, based on parametric tests (One-way ANOVA and t-Student test) (objective 1).The exploratory analysis of clusters was performed using the hierarchical method . Since it is big data, it was necessary to perform a random partition of the database, to create a sub-sample with approximately 20% of the data, so that it was possible to process the information by SPSS. When obtaining the agglomeration coefficients (Ward’s method), a graphic projection was performed, of the highest (last 30), to visualize their distances, where it was possible to verify that the best solution resided in the retention of 3 clusters. Consecutively, the cluster analysis was carried out using the non-hierarchical optimization method available in IBM SPSS: K-means (objetive 2).Ordinal regression with the probit link function was used to assess whether age and sex had a significant effect on the probabilities related to the type of dependence (objective 3). The link function was chosen based on the frequency distribution criteria of the classes of the dependent variable “degree of dependence” .The study was conducted in accordance with the guidelines of the Declaration of Helsinki and was approved by the Ethics Committee of Scientific Research in the Areas of Human Health and Welfare of the University of Évora .The mean age of the sample was 78.93 years (SD = 7.28), with an age range of 65 to 109 years. The majority of older adults admitted to CUs were in the age group of 75 to 84 years (47.2%), followed by 65 to 74 years (29.0%), and last, people aged 85 or older (23.8%). Most of the sample was female (61.5%), had a partner (44.7%), had less than 6 years of schooling (60.4%), and had an unskilled professional level at working age (70.3%). p < 0.001), ADLs (F(65.166854) = 479.340; p < 0.001), IADLs (F(53.42791) = 9.271; p < 0.001) and cognitive state (F(65.161945) = 34.303; p < 0.001).p < 0.001), ADLs (F(2.37962) = 0.734; p < 0.001), IADLs (F(2.37962) = 0.905; p < 0.001) and cognitive state (F(2.37962) = 0.811; p < 0.001).The nonhierarchical exploratory method of cluster grouping was used, yielding the following partition: Cluster 1—29.6% ; Cluster 2—52.1% ; and Cluster 3—18.3% (n = 6932). These clusters differed significantly in the dimensions mobility (F(2.37962) = 0.162; (1)Cluster 1: Older adults with a higher degree of dependence (severe/complete self-care deficit);(2)Cluster 2: Older adults with an intermediate degree of dependence (moderate self-care deficit);(3)Cluster 3: Older adults with a lower degree of dependence (mild self-care deficit).In general terms, the three clusters were quite distinct, with the following configuration, presented in (1)Cluster 1 (severe/complete dependence) is composed of a higher percentage of males, aged 85 years or older, older adults who did not attend school and who have been feeling depressed and anxious for a long time;(2)Cluster 2 (moderate dependence) encompasses a greater percentage of females, aged between 65 and 84 years, with 1 to 6 years of education and who have felt sad or anxious for a short time;(3)Cluster 3 (mild dependence) is predominantly composed of males aged 65 to 74 years, with more years of schooling (7 or more) and who feel depressed or anxious for a short time.p = 0.104).The assumption of the slope homogeneity model was validated . Regarding sex, the results obtained suggest a higher probability of observing a higher dependence type in women than in men  = 0.101; p < 0.001); however, this difference is moderate.The results obtained suggest that with advancing age, the probability of observing higher-order classes, i.e., the probability of observing a higher degree of dependence, increases . This finding should be interpreted with caution because studies are conflicting, as some report that women have a higher degree of dependence than do men and others report that there are no differences. A literature review revealed that the incidence of functional disability was identical between sexes . HoweverWith regard to education, several studies are consistent in indicating that the lower the educational level, the worse the functional profile and the greater the degree of dependence ,28,32 anRegarding the analysis of emotional state, in the severe/complete dependence cluster, there was a predominance of individuals who felt depressed and anxious for a long time, and in the moderate dependence and mild dependence clusters, there was a predominance of older adults who felt sad or anxious for a short time. In fact, in a literature review, depression was considered one of the main risk factors for functional disability in older adults . AnotherThe strengths of the present study include the relatively large sample size and the heterogeneity of the participants.The limitations of the present study include the lack of an analysis of the time period after 2017 and the inclusion of only some of the determinants identified in the literature as influencing functional ability .The recommended length of hospitalization in CUs of the RNCCI of Portugal is 30 days, although some individuals remain longer. During this period, there was a significant improvement in the functional profile of older adults hospitalized in these units, and there was a decline in those who remained beyond 75 days. More studies are needed to understand the reason for the observed decline after this cutoff point.Women hospitalized in CUs were more likely to have a severe degree of/complete dependence three years earlier than men . The higher the education level and the better the emotional state was, the lower the degree of dependence. This study confirms the importance of the education level and emotional state in functional ability in older adults. It is necessary that future studies evaluate the effectiveness of interventions that seek to prevent declines in the emotional state of individuals so that they are applied in clinical practice when a situation occurs that threatens the independence of such individuals, as is the case of people referred to CUs. In addition, the importance of strategies that promote literacy in the population is reinforced.


Bacillus comprising probiotics could have an antitoxic effect that is manifested in the active excretion of toxic substances from the body, as well as heavy metals. This study was conducted to assess the effects of copper ions on probiotic strains based on the members of the genus Bacillus in vitro and in vivo.Microorganisms of the genus Bacillus subtilis 534. Bactisubtil, manufactured by Marion Merrell Dow, Inc., is based on Bacillus cereus 5832. The first part of the experiment (in vitro) was conducted to assess the influence of copper ions on the growth and bioaccumulating ability of probiotic strains. The second part of the experiment (in vivo) was conducted to assess the influence of copper ions on the body of laboratory animals and to determine the ability of probiotic strains to remove copper ions from the body of laboratory animals. Statistical analysis was performed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, calculating the average value (M), standard deviation (s), and standard deviation error (m). p<0.05 was used to denote statistical significance.The following probiotic preparations were selected for this experiment: “Sporobacterin,” “Bactisubtil,” and “Vetom-2.” Sporobacterin liquid, manufactured by Bakoren LLC, is based on 4 in the nutrient medium reduces the exponential growth phase by 6 h for B. licheniformis. The analysis of data on the bioaccumulating property of the probiotic strains under study shows that B. cereus (part of Bactisubtil) had the most pronounced sorbing effect with the level of accumulation of 23.96%.In the previous studies, we found the presence of pronounced sorption characteristics of representatives of both the intestinal microbiome and probiotic strains based on them. In this study, we have studied the prospects of using physiological and adaptive mechanisms of resistance of transient probiotic strains in the system of correction of the elemental status of the animal body due to excessive intake of copper ions into the body. The advantage of their use is due to not only sorption but also the high levels of elimination of complexes accumulated on the surface. Analyzing the data, we can state the following. The excessive content of copper ions inhibits the activity of all microorganisms, and the presence of CuSOBacillus bacteria comprising the probiotics under this study to accumulate heavy metals by measuring their concentration in the tissues of laboratory animals, the preparations contribute to reducing the toxic effects of copper ions on the body. The cutaneous covering has the greatest accumulation property relative to copper ions. The most effective probiotic under this study in copper ion poisoning was Bactisubtil, and the least effective was Vetom-2.We found that probiotic preparations do not affect biochemical indices of blood and biotissues . As a result of determining the ability of  Bacillus. In this respect, studying the ability of Bacillus bacteria included in probiotics to accumulate heavy metals is important to assess the effectiveness of probiotics in recovery from poisoning caused by heavy metals. In the future, this can serve as a basis for improving probiotic preparations for treating and preventing intestinal infections while simultaneously removing toxic substances, particularly heavy metals, from the body [Probiotics are living microorganisms that are part of the normal microflora of the human intestinal tract. These are nonpathogenic, beneficial bacteria and yeasts that have resistance to opportunistic or pathogenic microorganisms -3. Metalthe body -6.Bacillus bacteria contained in probiotics are self-eliminating antagonists and could have an antitoxic effect that is manifested in the active excretion of toxic substances, particularly heavy metals, from the body [Copper is one of the most important elements needed for living organisms. It is a vital element that is part of many vitamins, hormones, enzymes, and respiratory pigments and involved in metabolic processes and tissue respiration . Howeverthe body .Bacillus in vitro and in vivo.This study was conducted to assess the effects of copper ions on probiotic strains based on the members of the genus Animals maintenance and procedures during the experiments met the requirements of the instructions and recommendations of Russian regulations  and “The Guide for Care and Use of Laboratory Animals” .The study was conducted in September 2015 at Orenburg State University, Russia.Bacillus subtilis 534. Bactisubtil, manufactured by Marion Merrel Dow, Inc. (France), is based on Bacillus cereus 5832. Furthermore, Vetom-2 is a bi-preparation manufactured by LLC SPC Issledovatelsky Tcentr  and contains immobilized, dried spore biomass of B. subtilis 7048 and Bacillus licheniformis 7038. Copper ions (copper sulfate (II)) were used as the toxicant.The following probiotic preparations were selected for our experiment: “Sporobacterin,” “Bactisubtil,” and “Vetom-2.” Sporobacterin liquid, manufactured by Bakoren LLC , is based on in vitro) was conducted to assess the influence of copper ions on the growth and bioaccumulating ability of the probiotic strains under study. The following methods were chosen for the in vitro analysis: The serial dilution method, photoelectrocolorimetric method, and atomic-absorption method. Concentrations of the metal salt in test tubes where heavy growth was recorded in the form of flake-shaped sediments (compared with the microorganism growth control) were considered as not affecting the growth of the microorganisms under study. A dilution characterized by a meager increase in the growth of the bacteria under study was marked as the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC). This technique is described in more detail in the article [The first part of the experiment ( article . The groin vivo) was conducted to assess the influence of copper ions on the body of laboratory animals and to determine the ability of probiotic strains to remove copper ions from the body of the laboratory animals. Five groups – two control groups and three experimental groups – were formed to conduct the study. The first control group received a basic diet (K0), whereas the second group received a basic diet with copper sulfate (150 mg/kg of body weight) (K2). The three experimental groups received a basic diet with copper sulfate and probiotics: Vetom-2 (O4), Sporobacterin (O5), and Bactisubtil (O6). Metal salts were administered on the 1st day of the experiment, and the probiotics were administered from the 1st day to the 7th day. Biological materials were taken at a frequency of 7 days  by slaughtering the animals using the decollation method. In total, the duration of the experiment was 21 days.The second part of the experiment  had the most pronounced sorbing effect at the accumulation level of 23.96%. B. subtilis, which is part of the preparations Sporobacterin and Vetom-2, had close accumulation values of 10%, which may indicate the species resistance of this microorganism. B. licheniformis (part of Vetom-2) had the lowest sorptive properties of all microorganisms under this study with an accumulation value of 6.7%. B. licheniformis 7038 was selected for cell morphology analysis by atomic-strength microscopy. Some bacteria had irregularly shaped particles on the surface  throughout the study were examined. To visualize the data in dynamics, we built graphs for these biochemical indices. The analysis of the total bilirubin dynamics  appeared to be the most effective preparation because its values were the closest to K0 throughout the study. The dynamics of ALT concentration  exceeded those in K0 by 65%, 99%, and 91%, respectively; however, the copper level in K2 was lower than that in O4 by 34%, in O5 by 18%, and in O6 by 24%. Then, a steady decrease in the copper levels was observed on the 14th and 21st days of the experiment with the 14th-day values being below the 7th-day ones by 10%, 4%, and 31% in O4, O5, and O6, respectively. These indices remained higher in K2; that is, K2 exceeded O4 (14th day) by 43%, O5 by 25%, and O6 by 50% on the 14th day of the study.The experiment found that the copper concentrations in the bone tissue of the laboratory animals on the 7st day of the experiment, the copper contents were lower than those on the 14th day by 8%, 2%, and 13%, respectively. Note that the copper levels in K2 were even higher than those in O4 by 51%, O5 by 31%, and O6 by 59% on the 21st day of the experiment. The copper content in the muscle tissue of the laboratory animals on the 7th day in the experimental groups  exceeded those in K0 by 99%, 52%, and 86%, respectively; however, the levels of the indices in the experimental groups were lower than those in K2 by 15% versus O4, by 12% versus O5, and by 7% versus O6. On the 14th day, the copper levels in K2 decreased compared with those in the experimental groups on the 7th day by 19% versus O4, by 8% versus O5, and by 9% versus O6, and therefore, the difference between the experimental groups and K2 increased by 2%, 16%, and 6%, respectively. Regarding the removal of copper from bone tissue on the 21st day of the experiment, a decrease in copper levels removed from the muscle tissue was observed, and the copper content decreased in the experimental groups on the 21st day of the experiment compared with those on the 14th day by 8%, 1%, and 5%, respectively. On day 21, the copper levels in K2 exceeded those in O4 by 29%, O5 by 33%, and O6 by 22%.On the 21th day of the experiment exceeded those in K0 by 30% in O4, by 39% in O5, and by 47% in O6, whereas these values remained lower than those in K2 by 27%, 22%, and 17%, respectively. The values in the experimental groups on the 14th day of the experiment were lower than those on the 7th day by 10%, 15%, and 14%, respectively, and the difference between K2 and the experimental groups increased by 5%, 10%, and 3%, respectively. On the 21st day of the experiment, a reduction in the copper removal was observed; the 21st-day values in the experimental groups differed from 14th-day ones by 1% for O4, by 10% for O5, and by 20% for O6. On the 21st day of the experiment, the values in K2 were higher than those in the experimental groups by 53%, 59%, and 48%, respectively.The copper content in the cutaneous covering of the laboratory animals on the 7in vitro experiment where the least active biosorbent was Sporobacterin, whereas in vivo, it was Vetom-2 . In addition, the preparations contribute to reducing the toxic effects of copper ions on the body. Thus, the cutaneous covering has the greatest accumulation property relative to copper ions. The most effective probiotic under this study in copper ion poisoning was Bactisubtil, whereas the least effective one was Vetom-2.This study was conducted to examine the effectiveness of probiotic preparations based on spore-forming AS, ES, and YS: Designed the experiment. SP and EB: Performed the experimentation. ON and NR: Wrote and edited the manuscript. All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.


The effects of pore structure changes on concrete frost resistance, durability, and compressive strength mechanical properties after freezing and thawing cycles in different salt solution environments are analyzed. This paper provides new means and ideas for the study of concrete pores. The results show that with the increase in the freezing and thawing times, the concrete porosity, two-dimensional pore area, three-dimensional pore volume, and pore number generally increase in any solution environment, resulting in the loss of concrete compressive strength, mortar spalling, and the decrease in the relative dynamic elastic modulus. Among them, the CH3COOK solution has the least influence on the concrete pore changes; the NaCl solution has the greatest influence on the change in the concrete internal porosity. The damage of CaCl2 solution to concrete is second only to the NaCl solution, followed by clean water. The increase in the concrete internal porosity from high to low is NaCl, CaCl2, clean water, and CH3COOK. The change in the pore volume of 0.1 to 1 mm3 after the freeze–thaw cycle is the main factor for reducing concrete strength. The test results have certain guiding value for the selection of deicing salt in engineering.The macroscopic mechanical properties and frost resistance durability of concrete are closely related to the changes in the internal pore structure. In this study, the two-dimensional and three-dimensional ICT  pore characteristics of C30 concrete specimens before and after freezing and thawing in clean water, 5 wt.% NaCl, 5 wt.% CaCl Deicing salt can effectively reduce the freezing point and realize the effect of melting ice and snow to alleviate the traffic pressure caused by snow in winter. However, winter significantly impacts concrete with the melted ice and snow entering the concrete. In Northern China, several deicing salts are used to ensure traffic because the temperature is lower than 0 °C in winter, resulting in peeling and cracks in concrete structures, such as in roads and bridges, which affect their frost resistance durability. Additionally, the concrete strength of some foundation concrete structures, such as dams and bridge foundations, has been greatly affected ,2,3,4,5.Currently, there is no unified academic recognition for the salt freezing failure mechanism of concrete. Recently, hydrostatic pressure, osmotic pressure, and temperature stress hypothesis have been more common ,7,8. Thu2, CaAc2, and CaFm2 solutions on the durability of concrete by the freezing and thawing cycle. The test results show that the mechanical properties of concrete significantly decrease with the increase in the freezing and thawing cycle. They believed that the change in the micro-structure of the salt freezing environment is the main factor for the decrease in the mechanical properties of concrete. Lai Y. [3COOK) on the salt-freezing resistance of airport runway concrete. They discussed the influence of freezing–thawing cycles in the water and runway deicing salt environment on the apparent morphology, mass loss rate, and relative dynamic elastic modulus of concrete. It is considered that the presence of deicing salts negatively affects the frost resistance of concrete. Cao R.S. [2 in a freeze–thaw environment. With the increase in the number of freezing and thawing, the block surface strip material corrosion becomes severe, the dynamic elastic modulus falls, the mechanical properties deteriorate, and the compressive strength decreases. Among them, the test block with a low concentration salt freeze is the most severely damaged. Related personnel [Harnik A.B.  believed. Lai Y.  investigCao R.S. , employiersonnel ,18,19,20ersonnel ,22. Howeersonnel .2, and CH3COOK, in the market for durability tests. Additionally, the internal pore characteristics of concrete under different salt freezing environments based on ICT scanning technology are extracted and analyzed. Furthermore, the relationship between pore characteristics and concrete working performance under different salt freezing environments is investigated to further study concrete damage mechanisms by salt freezing.Several studies on concrete damaged by salt freeze mainly focus on durability life predictions of concrete and mechanical performance and the influence of different mineral contents on concrete frost resistance ,30,31,32The cement used is conch brand P·O 42.5 ordinary Portland cement.The Grade I fly ash is produced by Shaanxi Bahe Power Plant.3 and a bulk density of 1720 kg/m3.Coarse aggregate is the nominal size of 5 to 20 mm limestone, with an apparent density of 2835 kg/m3, and a bulk density of 1480 kg/m3.Fine aggregate is the Ba River sand in Xi’an, with a fineness modulus of 2.8, an apparent density of 2630 kg/mThe admixture is a polycarboxylic acid water-reducing agent.Ordinary Xi’an tap water is used to prepare the sample. Distilled water is used to prepare the salt solution and soaking.2, and 5% CH3COOK solution. The preparation of the solution is carried out at room temperature.The salt solutions are 5% NaCl, 5% CaClInstruments and equipment: TDR-28 concrete rapid freezing-thawing testing machine , MultiScalevoxel-450 Industrial CT , microcomputer-controlled electro-hydraulic servo universal testing machine , DT-20 dynamometer , as shown in The freeze–thaw cycle test was conducted according to the quick freezing method in Chinese standard specification GB/T50082-2009 . The conThe time of each freezing and thawing cycle is 2–4 h, and the time for thawing is not less than one-fourth of the entire freezing and thawing time. During the freeze–thaw cycle, the lowest and highest temperature of the specimen center is (−18 ± 2) °C and (5 ± 2) °C respectively.The fabrication design strength is C30, and the test cube concrete specimen size is 100 mm × 100 mm × 100 mm. 2 solution, and 5 wt.% CH3COOK solution for the freeze–thaw cycle test. After every 25 freeze–thaw cycles, the corresponding specimens are taken out for compressive strength, mass loss rate, and relative dynamic elastic modulus tests.Concrete specimens are divided into ordinary and ICT groups, a total of 81 pieces. A compressive strength test is conducted for the ordinary group after curing. Additionally, its quality and transverse base frequency data are measured at room temperature after soaking in clean water for 4 d. Then, it is placed in clear water, 5 wt.% NaCl solution, 5 wt.% CaClBy detecting the transverse fundamental frequency of concrete, the relative dynamic elastic modulus can be calculated according to the following formula:Pi (%) is the relative dynamic elastic modulus of the i-th concrete specimen after n freeze–thaw cycles, nif (Hz) is Transverse fundamental frequency of the i-th concrete specimen after n freeze–thaw cycles, and fi0 (Hz) is initial value of transverse fundamental frequency of the i-th concrete before the freeze-thaw cycle.In Formula (1), P takes the arithmetic average of the test results of three specimens as the measured value. When the difference between the maximum value, the minimum value, and the median value exceeds 15% of the median value, this value is invalid, and the remaining data are calculated and averaged. The value is used as the measured value.The relative dynamic elastic modulus The mass loss rate of concrete specimens is calculated by the following formulas:i-th concrete specimen after N freeze–thaw cycles. i-th concrete specimen before the freeze–thaw cycle test, i-th concrete specimen after n freeze–thaw cycles. In Formulas (2) and (3), The mass loss rate is based on the arithmetic average of three data as the measured value. When the difference between the maximum value, the minimum value and the median value exceeds 1% of the median value, the value is invalid, and the arithmetic average of the remaining data is taken as the measured value.The ICT group underwent CT scanning before freezing and thawing after soaking in the corresponding solution after maintenance, followed by the freeze–thaw cycle test and ICT scanning immediately after 25 cycles of freezing and thawing and 50 cycles of freezing and thawing. Then, continued the freeze–thaw cycle test to reduce the residence time of the specimen at room temperature and reduce the experimental error. Since the concrete specimen is severely damaged after 75 freeze–thaw cycles and cannot support its subsequent scanning, the ICT scanning data are recorded to the 50th freeze–thaw cycle.ICT data processing software is 2 Avizo (2019.1) of ThermoFisher Scientific, Shanghai, China, and the data processing process is shown in The essential parameters are the compressive strength, mass loss rate, and relative dynamic elastic modulus of concrete to measure its frost resistance durability. Among them, the changes in the mass loss rate and the relative dynamic elastic modulus reflect the intuitive state of concrete, and the change in the compressive strength reflects the strength loss of concrete after the freeze-thaw cycles.2 solution was reduced by 28.1%. The value was 23.9% in a clear water environment. The CH3COOK solution environment has little effect on the compressive strength of concrete, and the compressive strength decreases by 21.4% after 75 freeze-thaw cycles.2 solution environment, the mass loss rate of concrete after 75 freeze–thaw cycles was 8.47%. The water and CH3COOK solutions have minor effects on the mass loss rate of concrete. After 75 freeze-thaw cycles, the mass loss rates of the water and CH3COOK solutions were 4.08% and 3.88%, respectively.The dynamic elastic modulus is one of the important indices of material mechanical properties. It shows the difficulty of elastic deformation of the concrete test block. The lower the relative dynamic elastic modulus of the concrete test block, the worse its strength, the more severe the damage, and the greater the impact of the freeze–thaw cycle. The durability of concrete is related to the resilience index to some extent. When the concrete is affected by the external environment, it is bound to affect its durability. The worse the durability, the lower the expected resilience . Figure 2 solutions started decreasing rapidly. Among them, the relative dynamic elastic modulus of concrete specimens in the NaCl solution environment decreased significantly faster than that of other specimens, and the attenuation rate continued to accelerate. During the first 50 freeze-thaw cycles, the attenuation of the relative dynamic elastic modulus of the test block in the clean water and CH3COOK solutions was the same. However, with the progress of the freeze-thaw cycle, the attenuation rate of the relative dynamic elastic modulus of the test block in the clean water environment begins to be significantly higher than that in the CH3COOK solution. After 75 freeze-thaw cycles, the relative dynamic elastic modulus of concrete specimens in clean water, the NaCl solution, the CaCl2 solution, and the CH3COOK solution were 57.08%, 20.06%, 43.36%, and 68.32%, respectively. Therefore, the attenuation rate of relative dynamic elastic modulus of concrete under four different freeze-thaw cycle media is as follows: CH3COOK < Clean water < CaCl2 < NaCl.After 50 freeze–thaw cycles, the relative dynamic elastic modulus of concrete under the freeze-thaw cycles of NaCl and CaCl2, and 5 wt.% CH3COOK solutions were analyzed. It is consistent with the expected results. In the NaCl solution environment, the concrete quality loss is the most, and mortar peeling is the most severe. After 75 freeze–thaw cycles, the relative dynamic elastic modulus decreased by 79.94%, lower than the limit of 60% in the specification. Additionally, the compressive strength decreased by 36.1% compared with that before freezing and thawing. It can be considered that the freeze-thaw failure has been reached due to the increase in water saturation and the water absorption rate of capillary in concrete because of the existence of the salt solution. The ice pressure generated when the solution freezes will cause more severe damage to the concrete than in the clean water environment [2 solution is acidic, and it has a certain chemical erosion on concrete. In freezing–thawing cycles, it can promote the dissolution of Ca(OH)2 in concrete and [2 solution environment is lighter than that in the 5 wt.% NaCl environment. However, the influence of salt freezing damage on coagulation soil cannot be ignored. After 75 freeze-thaw cycles, the mass loss rate reaches 8.47%. The strength decreased by 28.1%, reaching the failure standard. Compared with chloride deicing salts, the CH3COOK solution is alkaline while reducing the freezing point, indicating less chemical erosion on concrete. After 75 freeze-thaw cycles, all standards fail to meet the damage conditions in the specification, and it has less impact on the salt freeze–thaw damage of concrete [Through the concrete quality loss tests, the relative dynamic elastic modulus, mechanical properties, and freeze–thaw damage degree of concrete in the clean water environment and 5 wt.% NaCl, 5 wt.% CaClironment ,43. The rete and ,45 the dconcrete .ICT scanning data reconstruction was performed every 25 freeze-thaw cycles to obtain 1000 cross-sectional slices. By comparing the slicing data, the concrete in different freezing and thawing environments along the direction of the casting surface height of each pore distribution of the calculated porosity of variance was obtained, and the average porosity change was further determined to influence the degree of the solution of the concrete’s internal porosity change.3COOK solution environments, the surface of the test piece is still relatively complete after 50 freeze-thaw cycles; only part of the mortar is peeled off, in a dispersed state, and the aggregate is slightly exposed. After 50 freeze-thaw cycles in the CaCl2 solution, although passivation occurs at the edges and corners, its shape is relatively regular. A small amount of aggregate is exposed, and the mortar peeling phenomenon is severe. In the NaCl solution environment, the surface mortar peeling and roughness of the test piece occurred after 25 freeze–thaw cycles. The closed hole in the lower surface of the test piece forms an opening due to mortar peeling. After 50 freeze-thaw cycles, the surface has severe mortar peeling; many aggregates are exposed and severely deteriorate.Considering the 500th slice of the intermediate layer as an example , the con3COOK solution environment changes more evenly. The variance changes slightly, indicating that the pore change trend of each layer of the specimen is relatively stable in the freeze–thaw cycle. In the NaCl solution environment, the 2D porosity of the specimen changes along the pouring depth direction. The porosity significantly fluctuates when it is close to the upper and lower surfaces and the middle of the specimen. The variance change is greater than that of the other three solutions. The greater the variance, the greater the dispersion of the porosity, the uneven porosity of each layer on the pouring surface, and the most obvious deterioration effect on the specimen. The change in the 2D porosity of the specimen in the CaCl2 solution environment is mainly concentrated in the lower half. The variance is the second only to the NaCl group, indicating that the deterioration of the specimen is concentrated in the lower half, with the largest change occurring between 80 and 90 mm. The NaCl solution has the greatest impact on concrete deterioration, followed by CaCl2. The clean water solution is similar to the CH3COOK solution and has little impact on concrete deterioration. This result is consistent with the results of the concrete frost resistance durability test, which further verifies that the change in concrete porosity will affect its performance.2 solution are more severely damaged than those in the clean water and CH3COOK solution. The reason for this is that the freezing expansion rate of the NaCl solution is larger than that of the aqueous solution, and the internal pores are more frozen and expanded. The salt freezing damage of concrete frozen and thawed in the CaCl2 solution is due to the formation of compound salt, CaCl2·Ca(OH2)·H2O, significantly reducing the frost resistance of concrete, thus causing erosion damage of the concrete [3COOK solution is much smaller than that of the chloride solution. Additionally, the degree of freeze–thaw damage is similar to that of the clean water environment, indicating that the existence of Cl− is the main reason for reducing the frost resistance of concrete.The samples frozen and thawed in the NaCl and CaClconcrete . The fre3 are small pores, 0.1 mm3 ≤ V ≤ 1 mm3 are medium pores, and V greater than 1.0 mm3 are large pores.Avizo software is used for threshold segmentation of 2D section data. The pores of each layer of the concrete slice are extracted using different gray levels for 3D reconstruction to obtain the 3D model of internal pores and analyze the influence characteristics of the freeze–thaw environment on concrete pores from the 3D pore distribution. Different pores are classified into large, medium, and small according to the pore volume. Among them, pores with volume V less than 0.1 mmBy analyzing the changes of large, medium, and small holes in concrete, the influence laws of the freeze–thaw environment and cycle on the internal pore structure of concrete are obtained. 2 solution environment, when the concrete specimen is frozen and thawed zero times, the volume proportion primarily comprised large pores; the volume proportion of small pores is relatively low. Additionally, most of the pores are concentrated in the middle and lower part of the specimen. After 25 freeze-thaw cycles, many pores were generated on the left side of the specimen. The change in the number of pores is similar to that of other solutions. They increase exponentially, mainly medium and small pores. The change in the proportion of pore volume is small; the proportion of large pores decreases; the increase in the proportion of medium pores is small; the proportion of small pores increases more, mainly small pores; and the porosity increases by 0.14%. After 50 freeze–thaw cycles, the number of medium and small holes increases. The proportion of pore volume changes due to the growth of medium holes, and there is a small decrease in large holes, a small increase in small holes, and the porosity increases by 0.13% compared with 25 freeze–thaw cycles.In the CaCl3COOK solution environment, when the concrete is frozen and thawed zero times, the proportion of pore volume is mainly macropores, and most of the pores are concentrated in the lower part of the specimen. After 25 freeze–thaw cycles, the growth rate of the pore number is smaller than that of the other three solutions; the total number is less than 20,000; the proportion of macropore volume decreases more; the proportion of mesopore volume increases exponentially; the proportion of small pore volume also increases slightly; and the porosity increases by 0.11% compared with that of zero freeze–thaw cycles. After 50 freeze–thaw cycles, the total number of pores increased by 2059. From the change in the pore volume proportion, the proportion of large pores further decreased; the proportion of medium pores increased more; the proportion of small pore volume increased slightly; and the porosity changed slightly, increasing by 0.07% compared with 25 freeze-thaw cycles.In the CH3 ≤ V ≤ 1 mm3 increases greatly from 20.6% in the initial state to 52.5%. However, the proportion of pore volume V greater than 1 mm3 decreases gradually from 67.1 to 26.7%. This shows that it is mainly dominated by the growth of mesopores during the freezing and thawing of the NaCl solution. The pore growth trend in the CaCl2 solution environment is similar to that in the NaCl solution  is the cube compressive strength of concrete, a and b are constants , and the value is determined by the test, where R2 is the error.In relations (4) and (5), The fitting curve shows that the porosity is negatively correlated with the compressive strength of concrete. As the porosity increases, the compressive strength of concrete decreases. Based on ICT scanning technology, this paper analyzes the frost resistance durability and pore characteristics of concrete in the salt freezing environment. The following conclusions are obtained through concrete durability and compressive strength tests.2 solution have the greatest impact on the frost resistance durability and mechanical properties of concrete. The impact of non-chloride deicing salt 5% CH3COOK on concrete is similar to that of the clean water solution. It has little impact on the frost resistance durability and mechanical properties of concrete. It means that the freeze–thaw damage of concrete in the chloride deicing salt environment is more severe than that in the non-chloride deicing salt and clean water environments. Therefore, when deicing ordinary concrete, it is recommended to give priority to non-chloride deicing salts.In any solution environment, with the increase in freeze-thaw cycles, the concrete will have a loss in compressive strength, an increase in mass loss rate, and a decrease in the relative dynamic elastic modulus. Chloride deicing salt 5% NaCl and 5% CaCl2, clean water, and 5% CH3COOK. In any solution environment, the compressive strength of concrete is negatively correlated with porosity. It means that the greater the porosity, the lower the compressive strength of the concrete. The test is aimed at ordinary concrete, and the use of concrete with special functions needs to be studied, such as the use of an air entraining agent to improve the thermal insulation function of concrete.With an increase in freeze–thaw cycles, the porosity of concrete in different environments shows an upward trend. After the freeze–thaw cycles, the increase in the internal porosity of concrete from high to low is 5% NaCl, 5% CaCl2, clean water, and 5% CH3COOK. The use of non-chlorine salt deicing agents can reduce the impact of freezing damage on concrete to a certain extent.The influence of different salt solutions on concrete stays on the surface and has a certain impact on the internal pores of the concrete. The internal pores of chloride concrete change significantly, which is reflected in the variance of 2D porosity. The larger the variance, the greater the influence of salt solution on the 2D pore characteristics of concrete. The influence of the salt solution on the 2D pore characteristics of concrete from largest to smallest is 5% NaCl, 5% CaCl2, and 5% CH3COOK. It is consistent with the experimental results of durability and mechanical properties. This test analyzes the internal pore changes of concrete and obtains the pore change trend of different salt solutions. This change is the same as the change trend of the durability test. It aims to study the change law of the internal pores. There are certain limitations, but the pore pair can be changed for further research. The impact of concrete performance provides a research basis.Under the salt solution environment, freezing and thawing greatly influence the internal pores of the concrete. The proportion of large pore volume decreases, and the proportion of medium and small pore volumes increase. Among them, the faster the growth rate of the proportion of the medium pore volume, the greater the impact on the frost resistance durability and mechanical properties of concrete. The increase in the proportion of the medium pore volume from the largest to smallest increase is 5% NaCl, 5% CaCl