This study presents a method for fabricating a film-based heating element using a polymer material with an array of intersecting conductive elements embedded within it. Track-etched membranes (TM) with a thickness of 12 μm were used as the template, and their pores were filled with metal, forming a three-dimensional grid. Due to the unique manufacturing process of TM, the pores inside intersect with each other, allowing for contacts between individual nanowires (NWs) when filled with metal. Experimental results demonstrated that filling the TM pores with silver allows for heating temperatures up to 60 degrees without deformation or damage to the heating element. The resulting flexible heating element can be utilized in medical devices for heating purposes or as a thermal barrier coating.
Human biomonitoring (HBM) data measured in specific contexts or populations provide information for comparing population exposures. There are numerous health-based biomonitoring guidance values, but to locate these values, interested parties need to seek them out individually from publications, governmental reports, websites and other sources. Until now, there has been no central, international repository for this information. Thus, a tool is needed to help researchers, public health professionals, risk assessors, and regulatory decision makers to quickly locate relevant values on numerous environmental chemicals. A free, on-line repository for international health-based guidance values to facilitate the interpretation of HBM data is now available. The repository is referred to as the "Human Biomonitoring Health-Based Guidance Value (HB2GV) Dashboard". The Dashboard represents the efforts of the International Human Biomonitoring Working Group (i-HBM), affiliated with the International Society of Exposure Science. The i-HBM's mission is to promote the use of population-level HBM data to inform public health decision-making by developing harmonized resources to facilitate the interpretation of HBM data in a health-based context. This paper describes the methods used to compile the human biomonitoring health-based guidance values, how the values can be accessed and used, and caveats with using the Dashboard for interpreting HBM data. To our knowledge, the HB2GV Dashboard is the first open-access, curated database of HBM guidance values developed for use in interpreting HBM data. This new resource can assist global HBM data users such as risk assessors, risk managers and biomonitoring programs with a readily available compilation of guidance values.