This contribution provides the synthesis and characterization of nickel oxide nanoparticles (NiO NPs) which were prepared by green synthesis method using natural extract oranges peel skin (Peel Citrus Sinensis) as an effective bio-oxidizing/bio-reducing agent. The effect of different calcination temperatures on the size of the NiO NPs was investigated. The prepared nanoparticles were characterized by various techniques such as X-rays diffraction (XRD) results indicated that all the samples have a face-centered cubic (FCC) structure and confirmed the presence of high degree of crystallinity nature NiO NPs. The functional group composition of NiO NPs were investigated by using attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared (ART-FTIR), Photoluminescence (PL), and Scanning electron microscopy (SEM).

Eighty specimens of cellulosic materials were analyzed over a period of several years to study the diffraction characteristics resulting from polymorphism, crystallinity, and chemical substitution. The aim of the study was to produce and verify the quality of reference data useful for the diffraction analyses of cellulosic materials. These reference data can be used for material identification, polymorphism, and crystallinity measurements. Overall 13 new references have been characterized for publication in the Powder Diffraction File (PDF) and several others are in the process of publication.

Coatings of plasma sprayed hydroxyapatite (HAp), incubated in simulated body fluid for periods varying from 1 to 56 days, were characterized using conventional laboratory X rays. Quantitative phase analysis, employing TOPAS software, showed an opposite trend in the two main phases of the coating, viz., HAp and tetracalcium phosphate (TTCP). The former increased within the first 7 days of incubation whilst the latter decreased during the same period; both phases stabilized with further incubation. The crystallinity of the coatings exhibited a trend similar to that of HAp i.e., an increase in the early stages of incubation stabilization with further incubation. Results of residual stress determined with Bruker’s D8 Discover and analyzed with LEPTOS software, showed both the normal stress tensor components, σ11 and σ22, to be tensile, relaxing significantly in the early stages of incubation before stabilizing with further incubation.

A scoping study and systematic review-meta-analyses (SR-MAs) were conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of various interventions for Salmonella in broiler chicken, from grow-out farm to secondary processing. The resulting information was used to inform a quantitative exposure assessment (QEA) comparing various control options within the context of broiler chicken production in Ontario, Canada. Multiple scenarios, including use of two separate on-farm interventions (CF3 competitive exclusion culture and a 2% lactose water additive), a package of processing interventions (a sodium hydroxide scald water disinfectant, a chlorinated post-evisceration spray, a trisodium phosphate pre-chill spray and chlorinated immersion chilling) a package consisting of these farm and processing interventions and a hypothetical scenario (reductions in between-flock prevalence and post-transport concentration), were simulated and compared to a baseline scenario. The package of on-farm and processing interventions was the most effective in achieving relative reductions (compared to baseline with no interventions) in the concentration and prevalence of Salmonella by the end of chilling ranging from 89·94% to 99·87% and 43·88% to 87·78%, respectively. Contaminated carcasses entering defeathering, reductions in concentration due to scalding and post-evisceration washing, and the potential for cross-contamination during chilling had the largest influence on the model outcomes under the current assumptions. Scoping study provided a transparent process for mapping out and selecting promising interventions, while SR-MA was useful for generating more precise and robust intervention effect estimates for QEA. Realization of the full potential of these methods was hampered by low methodological soundness and reporting of primary research in this area.

In patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) prediction rules based on individual predicted mortalities are frequently used to support decision-making for in-patient vs. outpatient management. We studied the accuracy and the need for recalibration of three risk prediction scores in a tertiary-care University hospital emergency-department setting in Switzerland. We pooled data from patients with CAP enrolled in two randomized controlled trials. We compared expected mortality from the original pneumonia severity index (PSI), CURB65 and CRB65 scores against observed mortality (calibration) and recalibrated the scores by fitting the intercept α and the calibration slope β from our calibration model. Each of the original models underestimated the observed 30-day mortality of 11%, in 371 patients admitted to the emergency department with CAP (8·4%, 5·5% and 5·0% for the PSI, CURB65 and CRB65 scores, respectively). In particular, we observed a relevant mortality within the low risk classes of the original models (2·6%, 5·3%, and 3·7% for PSI classes I–III, CURB65 classes 0–1, and CRB65 class 0, respectively). Recalibration of the original risk models corrected the miscalibration. After recalibration, however, only PSI class I was sensitive enough to identify patients with a low risk (i.e. <1%) for mortality suitable for outpatient management. In our tertiary-care setting with mostly referred in-patients, CAP risk scores substantially underestimated observed mortalities misclassifying patients with relevant risks of death suitable for outpatient management. Prior to the implementation of CAP risk scores in the clinical setting, the need for recalibration and the accuracy of low-risk re-classification should be studied in order to adhere with discharge guidelines and guarantee patients' safety.

At the Pic-du-Midi Observatory, we have started a program to observe the spectrum of the zodiacal light in the region of the b absorption lines of MgI. We use a 1 meter spectrograph with a holographic grating followed by a focal reducer to obtain a 19 Å/mm dispersion over the micro-channel plate camera. Calibrated spectra obtained with an exposure time of 10 minutes systematically show earth atmospheric emission lines attributed to both NI and OH. The temporal variability of these emissions prevents an accurate determination of the line profiles. Our best processed measurements of Doppler shifts obtained during five nights do not allow to descriminate between circular and hyperbolic orbits of the interplanetary dust.