The Write Stuff!: How to Prepare and Implement Unique Special Provisions

This presentation will help project managers and designers prepare the information required for department contracts with regard to the Standard Specifications and Special Provisions. We will share examples of both the right and wrong ways to present a Unique Special Provision, as well as what to avoid and questions to ask, in order to adhere to legal, moral, and ethical construction standards

Construction Specifications 101

In this session aimed at project managers and designers, we will discuss the information required for contracts regarding standard specifications and any necessary special provisions. If the desired information is not readily found in the standard specifications or in the list of recurring special provisions, it may be necessary to incorporate a unique special provision, and it is important to know the proper way to write and present this

Contract Special Provisions

This session assists project managers and designers in preparing the necessary information required for Department contracts involving Standard Specifications and Special Provisions. Attendees will be exposed to examples of both correct and incorrect ways to present a unique special provision (USP) and taught helpful tips for navigating the new Sharepoint review process. This presentation also assists subject matter experts with their review of the USPs

The Write Stuff!: Principles of Writing Construction Specifications and Special Provisions

This presentation will help project managers and designers prepare the information required for Department contracts that involve standard specifications and special provisions. Participants will be exposed to examples of both the right and wrong way to present a Unique Special Provision and be given helpful tips for navigating the new Sharepoint review process. This presentation will also assist Subject Matter Experts with their review of the USPs

Let\u27s Get It Write! Principles of Writing Construction Specifications and Special Provisions

The purpose of this presentation is to assist project managers and designers in preparing the necessary information required for Department contracts with regard to the Standard Specifications and Special Provisions. Attendees will be provided examples of both the right and wrong ways to present a Unique Special Provision, as well as things to avoid and questions to ask in order to adhere to legal, moral, and ethical construction standards

Principles of Writing Construction Specifications and Special Provisions

This presentation will help project managers and designers prepare the necessary information required for department and local public agency contracts with regard to the Standard Specifications and any necessary special provisions. Attendees will be provided examples of the proper way to present a Unique Special Provision, including things to avoid and questions to ask, in order to adhere to legal, moral, and ethical construction standards

Printed Graphene Electrochemical Biosensors Fabricated by Inkjet Maskless Lithography for Rapid and Sensitive Detection of Organophosphates

Solution phase printing of graphene-based electrodes has recently become an attractive low-cost, scalable manufacturing technique to create in-field electrochemical biosensors. Here, we report a graphene-based electrode developed via inkjet maskless lithography (IML) for the direct and rapid monitoring of triple-O linked phosphonate organophosphates (OPs); these constitute the active compounds found in chemical warfare agents and pesticides that exhibit acute toxicity as well as long-term pollution to soils and waterways. The IML-printed graphene electrode is nano/microstructured with a 1000 mW benchtop laser engraver and electrochemically deposited platinum nanoparticles (dia. ∼25 nm) to improve its electrical conductivity (sheet resistance decreased from ∼10 000 to 100 Ω/sq), surface area, and electroactive nature for subsequent enzyme functionalization and biosensing. The enzyme phosphotriesterase (PTE) was conjugated to the electrode surface via glutaraldehyde cross-linking. The resulting biosensor was able to rapidly measure (5 s response time) the insecticide paraoxon (a model OP) with a low detection limit (3 nM), and high sensitivity (370 nA/μM) with negligible interference from similar nerve agents. Moreover, the biosensor exhibited high reusability (average of 0.3% decrease in sensitivity per sensing event), stability (90% anodic current signal retention over 1000 s), longevity (70% retained sensitivity after 8 weeks), and the ability to selectively sense OP in actual soil and water samples. Hence, this work presents a scalable printed graphene manufacturing technique that can be used to create OP biosensors that are suitable for in-field applications as well as, more generally, for low-cost biosensor test strips that could be incorporated into wearable or disposable sensing paradigms

Electrochemical and ligand binding studies of a de novo heme protein

Abstract Heme proteins can perform a variety of electrochemical functions. While natural heme proteins carry out particular functions selected by biological evolution, artificial heme proteins, in principle, can be tailored to suit specified technological applications. Here we describe initial characterization of the electrochemical properties of a de novo heme protein, S824C. Protein S824C is a four-helix bundle derived from a library of sequences that was designed by binary patterning of polar and nonpolar amino acids. Protein S824C was immobilized on a gold electrode and the formal potential of heme-protein complex was studied as a function of pH and ionic strength. The binding of exogenous N-donor ligands to heme/S824C was monitored by measuring shifts in the potential that occurred upon addition of various concentrations of imidazole or pyridine derivatives. The response of heme/S824C to these ligands was then compared to the response of isolated heme (without protein) to the same ligands. The observed shifts in potential depended on both the concentration and the structure of the added ligand. Small changes in structure of the ligand (e.g. pyridine versus 2-amino pyridine) produced significant shifts in the potential of the heme-protein. The observed shifts correlate to the differential binding of the N-donor molecules to the oxidized and reduced states of the heme. Further, it was observed that the electrochemical response of the buried heme in heme/S824C differed significantly from that of isolated heme. These studies demonstrate that the structure of the de novo protein modulates the binding of N-donor ligands to heme