Professional ethics: a life-long pursuit by an engineer

After an engineering student has finished the studies in a college, he (or she) is prepared to, usually with much enthusiasm and high hopes, embark into a new world to make use of what he has learnt for the betterment of the society and the engineering profession. The pursuit of the “Real”, the “Good”, and the “Beautiful” has been the highest goal. With the dawning of the e-Commerce and “Dot-Com” era, with the IT (Information Technology) heat sweeping through the world and catching everyone by surprise, and with the rapid replacement of traditional materialistic substances by their electronic and cyber counterparts, we will witness a new economic order and have to adapt ourselves to changes in the engineering discipline. An important goal of continual and life-long education for an engineer is coping with changes around us while discharging various responsibilities required by the profession. This paper discusses, from the perspective of the IT profession and with reference to IT-related scenarios, the issues about professional ethics and the various expectation and requirements made on its members by a professional body

Development of a sensitive multiplexed open circuit potential system for the detection of prostate cancer biomarkers

We report the development of a sensitive label-free, cost-effective detection system with simultaneous multi-channel measurement of open circuit potential (OCP) variations for the detection of prostate specific antigen (PSA). We demonstrate a significant increase of 600 times in the sensitivity as compared to the reported literature. To accurately measure OCP variations, a complete monolithic field-effect transistor (FET)-input ultra-low input bias current instrumentation amplifier is used to form the electronic circuit to measure the variation between a working electrode and a reference electrode. This amplifier electronic system setup provides a differential voltage measurement with high input impedance and low input bias current. Since no current is applied to the electrochemical system, a true and accurate measurement of the variation can be performed. This is the first report on the use of DNA aptamers with an OCP system where we employed a DNA aptamer against PSA. An optimised ratio of anti-PSA DNA aptamer with 6-mercapto-1-hexanol (MCH) was used to fabricate the aptasensor using gold electrodes. The electrodes are hosted in a cell with an automated flow system. A wide range of concentrations of PSA (0.1 to 100 ng/mL) were injected through the system. The sensor could potentially differentiate 0.1 ng/mL PSA from blank measurement, which is well below the required clinical range (&amp;gt;1 ng/mL). The sensor was also challenged with 4% human serum albumin and human kallikrein2 as control proteins where the sensor demonstrated excellent selectivity. The developed system can be further generalised to various other targets using specific probes.</p

Strength Characteristics and Temperature Distribution of Concrete Containing Crumb Rubber as Partial Replacement of Fine Aggregate

This paper presents an experimental study on the strength characteristics and temperature distribution of concrete containing crumb rubber as partial replacement of fine aggregate. This study examines the effect of different percentages (3%, 5%, 10% and 15%) of crumb rubber on concrete with strength of 25 N/mm2 and 30 N/mm2. The results show that crumb rubber reduces slump, compressive strength, and flexural strength of concrete. Moreover, concrete containing crumb rubber has higher temperatures than plain concrete when exposed to fire

A simple and highly sensitive electrochemical platform for detection of microRNAs

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) in blood can act as fingerprints to many diseases including cancer. However, detection of low levels of these miRNAs in blood demands forvery sensitive techniques. Despite many reports available for miRNA detection, the available methodologies have drawbacks such as complexity, use of expensive enzymes, etc. We here report a new and simple electrochemical method to detect miRNAs by exploiting the intrinsic charges of the oligonucleotides and a simple amplification method with positively charged gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) was used to monitor the changes in capacitance upon miRNA binding without the need for redox markers. miRNA detection was also obtained through measurements of open circuit potential (OCP) variations. We demonstrate a promising cost effective biosensor using both EIS and OCP with a detection limit of 1 fM, which can easily be expanded into miRNA/DNA microarray platforms

Anti-androgens act jointly in suppressing spiggin concentrations in androgen-primed female three-spined sticklebacks - Prediction of combined effects by concentration addition

This is the post-print version of the final paper published in Aquatic Toxicology. The published article is available from the link below. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. Copyright @ 2013 Elsevier B.V.Increasing attention is being directed at the role played by anti-androgenic chemicals in endocrine disruption of wildlife within the aquatic environment. The co-occurrence of multiple contaminants with anti-androgenic activity highlights a need for the predictive assessment of combined effects, but information about anti-androgen mixture effects on wildlife is lacking. This study evaluated the suitability of the androgenised female stickleback screen (AFSS), in which inhibition of androgen-induced spiggin production provides a quantitative assessment of anti-androgenic activity, for predicting the effect of a four component mixture of anti-androgens. The anti-androgenic activity of four known anti-androgens (vinclozolin, fenitrothion, flutamide, linuron) was evaluated from individual concentration-response data and used to design a mixture containing each chemical at equipotent concentrations. Across a 100-fold concentration range, a concentration addition approach was used to predict the response of fish to the mixture. Two studies were conducted independently at each of two laboratories. By using a novel method to adjust for differences between nominal and measured concentrations, good agreement was obtained between the actual outcome of the mixture exposure and the predicted outcome. This demonstrated for the first time that androgen receptor antagonists act in concert in an additive fashion in fish and that existing mixture methodology is effective in predicting the outcome, based on concentration-response data for individual chemicals. The sensitivity range of the AFSS assay lies within the range of anti-androgenicity reported in rivers across many locations internationally. The approach taken in our study lays the foundations for understanding how androgen receptor antagonists work together in fish and is essential in informing risk assessment methods for complex anti-androgenic mixtures in the aquatic environment.European Commission and Natural Environment Research Council

Murine and related chapparvoviruses are nephro-tropic and produce novel accessory proteins in infected kidneys.

Mouse kidney parvovirus (MKPV) is a member of the provisional genus Chapparvovirus that causes renal disease in immune-compromised mice, with a disease course reminiscent of polyomavirus-associated nephropathy in immune-suppressed kidney transplant patients. Here we map four major MKPV transcripts, created by alternative splicing, to a common initiator region, and use mass spectrometry to identify "p10" and "p15" as novel chapparvovirus accessory proteins produced in MKPV-infected kidneys. p15 and the splicing-dependent putative accessory protein NS2 are conserved in all near-complete amniote chapparvovirus genomes currently available (from mammals, birds and a reptile). In contrast, p10 may be encoded only by viruses with >60% amino acid identity to MKPV. We show that MKPV is kidney-tropic and that the bat chapparvovirus DrPV-1 and a non-human primate chapparvovirus, CKPV, are also found in the kidneys of their hosts. We propose, therefore, that many mammal chapparvoviruses are likely to be nephrotropic

Non-coding murine centromeric transcripts associate with and potentiate Aurora B kinase

Non-coding RNAs are emerging as key players in many fundamental biological processes, including specification of higher-order chromatin structure. We examined the implication of RNA transcribed from mouse centromeric minor satellite repeats in the formation and function of centromere-associated complexes. Here we show that the levels of minor satellite RNA vary during cell-cycle progression, peaking in G2/M phase, concomitant with accumulation of proteins of the chromosomal passenger complex near the centromere. Consistent with this, we describe that murine minor satellite RNA are components of CENP-A-associated centromeric fractions and associate with proteins of the chromosomal passenger complex Aurora B and Survivin at the onset of mitosis. Interactions of endogenous Aurora B with CENP-A and Survivin are sensitive to RNaseA. Likewise, the kinase activity of Aurora B requires an RNA component. More importantly, Aurora B kinase activity can be potentiated by minor satellite RNA. In addition, decreased Aurora B activity after RNA depletion can be specifically rescued by restitution of these transcripts. Together, our data provide new functional evidence for minor satellite transcripts as key partners and regulators of the mitotic kinase Aurora B

SARS and Pregnancy: A Case Report

We report a laboratory-confirmed case of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in a pregnant woman. Although the patient had respiratory failure, a healthy infant was subsequently delivered, and the mother is now well. There was no evidence of viral shedding at delivery. Antibodies to SARS virus were detected in cord blood and breast milk