Flexural Ductility Behavior of Strengthened Reinforced Concrete Beams Using Steel and CFRP Plates

Reinforced concrete beams are commonly retrofitted using Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic (CFRP) plates as the technique is both inexpensive and unobtrusive. However, tests have shown that CFRP plates tend to debond at low strains, which can severely limit the ductility. Structural strengthening of beams subjected to flexure can be achieved using different retrofitting materials. The mostly used other retrofitting materials are; high strength galvanized steel plates (HSGS plates) and normal strength steel plates (NSS plates). This paper reports the behavior of retrofitted beams with each of these three materials. The experimental results of this study suggest that (HSGS plates) can be used to increase the strength of reinforced concrete structures with little, if any, loss of ductility

Trends of antimicrobial resistance in Escherichia coli isolates from urine cultures of women in Jordan: A 10-year retrospective study

Background: Urinary tract infection (UTI) is a common medical condition among women. E.coli is the most common causative organism. Appropriate understanding of the development of antimicrobial resistance over the past helps to establish efficient treatment strategies in the future. The study aims to discover antimicrobial resistance trends exhibited by E.coli strains isolated from women urine cultures over the past 10 years. Methods: A total of 1874 affected urine samples over the years 2009 to 2018 were collectively reviewed and classified according to the response they showed to 24 different antimicrobial disks in the laboratory. Relations between time and resistance evolutionary profiles were calculated. Results: Gentamicin (p value =0.039), Augmentin (p value =0.017), Cefoxitin (p value =0.001), Cefixime (p value =0.026) fulfilled satisfactory figures in terms of average resistance, regression of resistance, speed of resistance evolution, steadiness of performance, side effects, spectrum range and cost with high significance. Conclusion: Drugs that showed satisfactory figures are recommended for future treatment protocols in Jordan. &nbsp