This article is devoted to improving the state primary special standard of the pressure unit for the pressure difference of the GET 95-75. The article describes the stages and results of work to improve the standard.

The article presents the results of creating a new state primary standard for the specific heat capacity unit and means for transmission of the unit to other devices, namely, reference measures from various materials. The main structural features of the created calorimeter, its metrological characteristics are described. The data on the specific heat capacity of some materials, considered as the reference measures of specific heat, are shown. The experimental data are compared with data, published by other researchers.

The article presents the results of applying gas chromatography - mass-spectrometry (GC-MS) and tandem mass spec-trometry (GC-MS/MS) methods for determination of certified values (mass fraction) of «Dioxins» - Polychlorinated Dibenzo-p-dioxins and Dibenzofurans (PCDD/PCDF) in animal fat. It has been established that the using of tandem mass-spectrometry makes it possible to reduce the Limit of Detection and Limit of Quantification of the congeners an order of magnitude and also it significantly improves the accuracy of the CRM. As a result, the certified values of PCDF congeners were determined in the range from 0,5 to 850 ng/kg and PCDD congeners in the range from 0,5 to 2 ng/kg. The relative expanded uncertainty of the certified values by using the GC-MS/MS does not exceed 7 %. Thus, the CRM of PCDD/PCDF in animal fat was developed for the purpose of validation, verification of measurement procedures and quality control of measurement results.

The authors present experimental data on the development of a special sample in the form of a dispersed material that simulates the mineral macro-component composition of natural surface water. The results of the study obtained by a number of physico-chemical analysis methods were compared to determine the mass concentration of the micro-component - manganese (II) in the sample. Determination of the mass concentration of manganese (II) was carried out by the methods of spectrophotometry for PND F 14.1:2.61, x-ray fluorometry for PND F 14.1:2:4.130, inversion voltammetry for PND F 14.1:24.217.Procedures for establishing the metrological characteristics of a special sample to control the accuracy of the results of measurements of the mass concentration of manganese (II) using a number of physicо-chemical analysis methods have been carried out.A number of advantages and disadvantages of certified measurement methods that are widely used in chemical laboratories for determining the content of manganese in natural surface water are noted. The necessity of carrying out the procedure of certification of the spectrophotometric method with the use of manganese (II) ions - sodium periodate as an oxidizer is shown.

The article puts forward the concept of strain, the strain measurement units, means, methods and specifics of strain measurement. The round of interlaboratory comparisons in the field of measuring strain by determining the characteristics of tensoresistors with the help of pure bending installations. The results of the round, the analysis and the conclusions are presented.

The article covers different aspects of the life of the All-Union D. I. Mendeleev Institute for Metrology (VNIIM) during the years of the Great Patriotic War: history of evacuation of part of measurement standards and laboratories and creation of VNIIM’s filial branch in Sverdlovsk in April 1942, personnel appointments caused by the wartime condi-tions, activities of the Science Council of VNIIM in the Sverdlovsk Filial and sieged Leningrad. The factors are reflected that allowed to organize in the siege winter of the 1941-1942 years work of a number of laboratories including the reference and the tower clocks and to save lives of many employees: the precise work of the Local Air Defence, the obtaining of electric energy due to the placing of radio-transmitter for connection with the Big Land, accommodation of employees on the territory of the Institute etc. The article also tells about keeping the memory of the wartime events in VNIIM and the institute employees that fell on the front and during the siege. The article was written on the base of investigations made in archives of Saint-Petersburg and memories of VNIIM employees, that are stored in the funds of the Metrological Museum. The article is timed to the 75th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War.