Bilateral National Metrology Institute Comparison of Guarded-Hot-Plate Apparatus

Two national metrology institutes have conducted an international interlaboratory comparison on thermal conductivity for two thermal insulation reference materials. The Laboratoire national de métrologie et d’essais (LNE), France, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), United States, present measurements obtained by the guarded-hot-plate method. The study involved two materials: expanded polystyrene board (EPS) and fibrous glass board (FGB). The EPS was provided by the LNE and is issued as a transfer specimen; the FGB provided by NIST was issued as Standard Reference Material (SRM) 1450c. For each reference material, the study was based on four independent measurements at a mean temperature of 24°C and two additional mean temperatures of 10°C and 35°C

Seatbelt use and risk of major injuries sustained by vehicle occupants during motor-vehicle crashes: A systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies

BackgroundIn 2004, a World Health Report on road safety called for enforcement of measures such as seatbelt use, effective at minimizing morbidity and mortality caused by road traffic accidents. However, injuries caused by seatbelt use have also been described. Over a decade after publication of the World Health Report on road safety, this study sought to investigate the relationship between seatbelt use and major injuries in belted compared to unbelted passengers.MethodsCohort studies published in English language from 2005 to 2018 were retrieved from seven databases. Critical appraisal of studies was carried out using the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) checklist. Pooled risk of major injuries was assessed using the random effects meta-analytic model. Heterogeneity was quantified using I-squared and Tau-squared statistics. Funnel plots and Egger's test were used to investigate publication bias. This review is registered in PROSPERO (CRD42015020309).ResultsEleven studies, all carried out in developed countries were included. Overall, the risk of any major injury was significantly lower in belted passengers compared to unbelted passengers (RR 0.47; 95%CI, 0.29 to 0.80; I-2=99.7; P=0.000). When analysed by crash types, belt use significantly reduced the risk of any injury (RR 0.35; 95%CI, 0.24 to 0.52). Seatbelt use reduces the risk of facial injuries (RR=0.56, 95% CI=0.37 to 0.84), abdominal injuries (RR=0.87; 95% CI=0.78 to 0.98) and, spinal injuries (RR=0.56, 95% CI=0.37 to 0.84). However, we found no statistically significant difference in risk of head injuries (RR=0.49; 95% CI=0.22 to 1.08), neck injuries (RR=0.69: 95%CI 0.07 to 6.44), thoracic injuries (RR 0.96, 95%CI, 0.74 to 1.24), upper limb injuries (RR=1.05, 95%CI 0.83 to 1.34) and lower limb injuries (RR=0.77, 95%CI 0.58 to 1.04) between belted and non-belted passengers.ConclusionIn sum, the risk of most major road traffic injuries is lower in seatbelt users. Findings were inconclusive regarding seatbelt use and susceptibility to thoracic, head and neck injuries during road traffic accidents. Awareness should be raised about the dangers of inadequate seatbelt use. Future research should aim to assess the effects of seatbelt use on major injuries by crash type

NIST/NRC-Canada interlaboratory comparison of guarded hot plate measurements: 1993-1997

Thermal conductivity measurements from an international interlaboratory study between the UnitedStates and Canada are presented for two materials, glass-fiber board and fibrous alumina silica. Themeasurements were detennined using guarded hot plate apparatus at the National Institute ofStandards and Technology and at the National Research Council Canada. The nominal bulk densitiesand thicknesses for the specimens of glass-fiber board and fibrous alumina silica were 160 kglml and25.1 mm, and 290 kglm3 and 25.2 mm, respectively. Measurements of thermal conductivity wereconducted over a temperature range of273 K to 340 K. Statistical regression analyses of the dataare presented.Peer reviewed: NoNRC publication: Ye

SUMMARY

A slug calorimeter for evaluating the thermal performance of fire resistive materials

Opioid ligand binding sites in the spinal cord of the guinea-pig

The properties of opioid binding sites in membranes from the spinal cord of the guinea-pig were analyzed in experiments employing radiolabeled opioid ligands, selective or partially selective for μ, δ and k-type binding sites. Incubation was conducted at 37°C in a quasi-physiological modified Krebs medium, containing sodium and magnesium. The types of binding sites were discriminated on the basis of their affinities for [3H]-d-Ala2-MePhe4-Gly5-ol]enkephalin ([3H]DAGO), [3H-d-Ala2-d-Leu5-enkephalin, and [3H]ethyketocyclazocine and the relative potencies of the displacing ligands, DAGO, [d-Ser2-Leu-5]enkephalyl-Thr and tran-3,4-dichloro-N-methyl-N-[2-(1-pyrrolidinyl)-cyclohexyl]benzene-acetamide methanesulfonate hydrate (U50488H), which are selective for μ, δ and k type binding sites respectively. In membranes from whole spinal cord, k type sites comprised about 60%, μ about 30% and δ about 10% of the total of μ, δ and k binding sites. Binding sites of the μ type were also found in the lumbo-sacral region of guinea-pig spinal cord, in contrast to earlier reports of their absence from this tissue. Morphine showed a better than 500-fold selectivity for μ over k sites in spinal cord, while nalbuphine and (-)1-cyclopentyl-5-(1,2,3,4,5,6-hexahydro-8-hydroxy-3,6,11-trimethyl-2,6-methano-3-benzazocin-11-yl)3-pentanone methanesulfonate (WIN 44441-3) showed about a 10-fold selectivity for μ sites. The drug U50488H had about a 150-fold greater affinity for k than μ-type binding sites. © 1986

Opioid binding to rat and guinea-pig neural membranes in the presence of physiological cations at 37°C

We have identified mu, delta and kappa opioid binding sites in four types of neural membranes under conditions which include physiological concentrations of ions and an incubation temperature of 37°C. We hypothesize that binding parameters determined under these conditions should be more directly comparable with physiological experiments than parameters obtained under conditions of low ionic concentration and at low temperature. By using either a radioligand which is selective for a single type of opioid binding site or a relatively nonselective radioligand in the presence of an unlabeled selective ligand, we have isolated binding to single populations of sites. Saturation and displacement data were analyzed with the aid of a computerized nonlinear curve fitting program. [3H]Tyr-D-Ala-Gly-(Me)Phe-Gly-ol bound to a single population of sites with the characteristics of mu receptors, as determined by saturation and displacement analysis. Binding to the mu site represented 70% of the total specific opioid binding in rat brain, but only 20 to 30% in guinea pig tissues. [3H][D-Ala2-D-Leu5]enkephalin bound almost equally well to mu and delta sites, but the delta site could be examined by the inclusion of unlabeled Tyr-D-Ala-Gly-(Me)Phe-Gly-ol in the incubations. [3H]Ethylketocyclazocine bound mu and kappa sites, and Tyr-D-Ala-Gly-(Me)Phe-Gly-ol was also used to block the mu component in experiments in which we studied kappa binding. Binding to kappa sites represented 50 to 60% of the total in guinea pig tissues, but less than 20% in rat brain