The latest booster seat ratings from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety show that child seat manufacturers have mastered something that once eluded them: building a seat that provides good safety belt fit for the typical 4-¬ to 8-¬year-¬old passenger.
Out of 53 new models evaluated, 48 earn the top rating of BEST BET, meaning they are likely to provide good belt fit for a 4 to 8 year-¬old in almost any car, minivan or SUV. When the Institute first began rating boosters in 2008, only a quarter of the seats evaluated earned the BEST BET designation.
The Lincoln Continental, the Mercedes-Benz E-Class and the Toyota Avalon come out at the top of a group of six large cars recently evaluated by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
The three cars qualify for TOP SAFETY PICK+, the Institute’s highest award. The Tesla Model S, the Chevrolet Impala and the Ford Taurus fall short of any award because they each earn only an acceptable rating in the small overlap front test.
Vehicles qualify for either the TOP SAFETY PICK or TOP SAFETY PICK+ award if they have good ratings from IIHS in five crashworthiness tests — small overlap front, moderate overlap front, side, roof strength and head restraints — and an available front crash prevention system that earns a superior or advanced rating. To qualify for TOP SAFETY PICK+, a vehicle also must come with good or acceptable headlights
The ranks of top-rated booster seats continue to grow as manufacturers design models to earn high marks in the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s annual booster seat evaluations, plus offer the style and convenience parents look for when it’s time to pick a safe seat for their booster-age children.
Among the 41 models new for 2014, there are 27 BEST BET seats — more than in any prior year — and three GOOD BETs. Eight boosters are in a category the Institute calls “Check Fit,” and there are three new models that the Institute doesn’t recommend using as boosters. Prices for BEST BET boosters start around $25 and go up to about $370, depending on features, and several models are LATCH compatible.
Just over half of 2018 model vehicles evaluated by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety are available with headlights that do an adequate job of lighting the road at night and limiting glare for oncoming drivers, but most good-rated headlights are optional or bundled with other features that can raise the price of the vehicle.
Since IIHS released its first headlight ratings for passenger vehicles in 2016, most manufacturers have focused on improving this key safety component. That year, only 2 of 95 headlight systems on 2016-model vehicles evaluated earned a good rating.
For the 2018 model year, the best-available headlights on 32 of 165 models evaluated earn the highest rating of good, and the best-available headlights on 58 models earn the second-highest rating of acceptable. Thirty-two models have only marginal-rated headlights, while poor-rated headlights are the only ones available for 43 models.
Twenty-two vehicles earn the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's highest safety award for 2014, TOP SAFETY PICK+, thanks to a high level of protection in crashes and the availability of front crash prevention technology to avoid many collisions in the first place. An additional 17 earn TOP SAFETY PICK by meeting the crashworthiness criteria alone.
IIHS is using new criteria for the awards this year. TOP SAFETY PICK requires good performance in the Institute's moderate overlap front, side, roof strength and head restraint tests and, for the first time, good or acceptable performance in the small overlap front test introduced in 2012. The same level of performance in those tests, along with at least a basic rating for front crash prevention, is required for the higher accolade, TOP SAFETY PICK+.
Thirteen out of 16 new booster seats for 2017 earn the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's highest rating of BEST BET, bringing the total number of boosters on the market with that designation to 118.
The BEST BET rating means a booster provides good safety belt fit for typical 4 to 8 year-olds in almost any car, minivan or SUV. Boosters that are rated GOOD BETs provide acceptable belt fit in almost any vehicle, while those rated Check Fit could work for some children in some vehicles. Seats designated "Not Recommended" don’t provide good belt fit and should be avoided.
When you’re a brilliant mathematician like the Baltimore Ravens’ John Urschel, a football playbook is only so challenging. So the 6-foot-3, 305-pound offensive lineman looks for mathematics in everyday life for mental stimulation, and he’s asking you to do the same. Get in the game by snapping photos of how and where you use math at school, at home, on the practice field — anywhere and everywhere – for a chance to win a $500 Amazon gift card and a video conference for your class with the professional athlete.
Kicking off August 19, in coordination with World Photo Day (#WorldPhotoDay), and running through September 17, you can show John Urschel how you use math for the win in everyday life on Twitter or Instagram using the hashtags #MathFTW and #TIContest to be entered to win. And, get creative! The gifted mathematician is seeing a lot of math these days as he pursues his Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Urschel, who holds a 4.0 Grade Point Average, is all the proof students need to see they can be good at academics while pursuing other passions – from athletics to the arts.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7746253-texas-instruments-math-for-the-win-contest/
Buckling precious cargo into a late-model vehicle has gotten a bit easier in the past year, the Institute’s LATCH ease-of-use ratings show.
IIHS launched its ratings of child seat installation hardware in vehicles in June 2015. Out of 102 vehicles rated at that time, the majority were poor or marginal. Today, a total of 170 current models have been evaluated, and most are good or acceptable. Three models — the Audi Q7, Lexus RX and Toyota Prius — earn the top rating of good+, a distinction that no vehicle achieved last year.
A properly installed, age-appropriate child restraint can protect a child much better in a crash than a safety belt alone. LATCH, which stands for Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children, is intended to make it easier for caregivers to install child restraints properly. Child restraints installed with LATCH are more likely to be put in correctly than restraints installed using the vehicle safety belt, IIHS research has shown.
Even with LATCH, installation errors are common. The Institute’s ratings are based on key ease-of-use criteria that have been shown to minimize mistakes.
Holland America Line turns its culinary programming up a notch with the introduction of dynamic shipboard cooking shows produced in partnership with the long-running public television show America’s Test Kitchen, the most popular how-to-cook show on TV. Holland America Line is a sponsor of America’s Test Kitchen on public television, and is proud to make this experience possible at sea. The initiative was announced today in New York City at a press conference at the prestigious Institute of Culinary Education.
Holland America Line’s shipboard Culinary Arts Center will be transformed to replicate the television set where the prominent America’s Test Kitchen TV shows are recorded for broadcast by more than 350 public television stations nationwide. Designed specifically for Holland America Line, the shipboard shows will be hosted by Holland America Line chefs trained by America’s Test Kitchen culinary experts. Shipboard cooking demonstrations and hands-on workshops — with topics ranging from shaping Asian dumplings to making the perfect pie crust — will combine foolproof, accessible recipes and cooking techniques that are rooted in the rigorous testing and science-based approach of America’s Test Kitchen.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7363858-americas-test-kitchen-joins-holland-america/
The Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities is pleased to announce the launch of an egyptian – international Project using non-invasive and non-destructive surveying techniques for the scanning of Egyptian Pyramids under the title “ScanPyramids” project.
Just because a mystery is 4500 years old doesn’t mean it can’t be solved…” This could be the motto of the exceptional scientific mission launched October 25, 2015, under the authority of the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities, initiated, designed and coordinated by the Faculty of Engineering of Cairo and the French HIP.Institute (Heritage, Innovation and Preservation). Radiographic muons, aka cosmic particles, infrared thermography, photogrammetry, scanner and 3D reconstruction: the most innovative technologies will be used by researchers of international renown and three major universities: the Faculty of Engineering of Cairo University, Université Laval of Quebec and Nagoya University of Japan. Their goal: to probe the heart of the largest pyramids of Egypt, without drilling the slightest opening.
Four millennia after their construction, these ancient giants are far from having yielded their secrets. The first mystery concerns their construction, especially Khufu, the last of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World still existing: it is still impossible to describe with certainty how this stone monument, the largest ever built by humans, was erected.
The “ScanPyramids” project has already been approved by the permanent committee of the Ministry of Antiquities and has obtained all necessary permissions from concerned authorities. With a base of more than 5 hectares, its original height of almost 150 meters and a mass of 5 million tons, how was it possible to construct such a wonder in only 25 years?
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/uk/7671551-scanpyramids-project-launch-egyptian/
A new online resource is now available to help people recognize and find high quality care for alcohol use disorder, which affects more than 15 million adults in the United States. The Alcohol Treatment Navigator, designed by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), part of the National Institutes of Health, is a comprehensive, yet easy-to-use tool to help individuals and their loved ones navigate the often-complicated process of choosing treatment for alcohol problems. With many treatment options available, the navigator makes the search easier by telling them what they need to know - and what they need to do – to find appropriate, quality care.
“We developed this tool to help address the alcohol ‘treatment gap,’” said NIAAA Director George F. Koob, Ph.D. “In any given year, less than 10 percent of individuals diagnosed with alcohol use disorder receive treatment, and many of them do not receive the type of care that best fits their needs. A big reason for that, we believe, is that people with alcohol use disorder often don’t know where to turn for help. The Alcohol Treatment Navigator offers a comprehensive strategy to help people search for professionally-led, evidence-based alcohol treatment, which should improve their chances for success.”
To view the multimedia release go to:
https://www.multivu.com/players/English/8179051-niaaa-alcohol-treatment-navigator/
WebMD and Scripps Translational Science Institute (STSI) today announced a new investigative study designed to improve researchers’ and health care professionals’ understanding of what contributes to healthy pregnancies and positive pregnancy outcomes. The Healthy Pregnancy Study will use WebMD’s newly redesigned and enhanced Pregnancy app for iPhone. Incorporation of the Apple ResearchKit software framework will enable survey participants to eConsent, easily and anonymously answer questions, and share connected device data about their pregnancies with researchers for analysis.
“Pregnant women are one of the least studied populations in medical research,” said Dr. Eric Topol, director of STSI and editor-in-chief of Medscape. “The results of our Healthy Pregnancy Study -- on the foundation of an exceptionally popular smartphone app -- will ultimately provide expectant mothers, researchers, and health care professionals with new medical insights to avoid complications during pregnancy.”
To view the multimedia release go to:
https://www.multivu.com/players/English/7579757-webmd-stsi-healthy-pregnancy-study-app/
