[en] Virtualization technology and cloud computing have brought a paradigm shift in the way we utilize, deploy and manage computer resources. They allow fast deployment of multiple operating system as containers on physical machines which can be either discarded after use or check-pointed for later re-deployment. At European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), we have been using virtualization technology to quickly setup virtual machines for our developers with pre-configured software to enable them to quickly test/deploy a new version of a software patch for a given application. This paper reports both on the techniques that have been used to setup a private cloud on a commodity hardware and also presents the optimization techniques we used to remove deployment specific performance bottlenecks. (authors)

[en] Present study was conducted to evaluate the fungicidal property of methanolic extracts of some indigenous plants of Karachi such as Hibiscus rosa-sinensis (leaves), The spesia populnea (leaves, stem and fruit), Withania somnifera (leaves and stem), Solanum surattense (shoot) and Melia azedarach (fruit) against common soil-borne phytopathogens viz., Macrophomina phaseolina, Rhizoctonia solani and Fusarium oxysporum by using food poison technique. Among the eight methanolic extracts of tested parts of plants, seven showed antifungal activity, of which T. populnea leaves and S. surattense shoots inhibited growth of all three test pathogens. Leaves of H. rosa-sinensis did not exhibit antifungal activity. T. populnea (leaves and stem), W. somnifera (stem) and M. azedarach (fruit) suppressed growth of Rhizoctonia solani by 100 percent. T. populnea leaves and M. azedarach fruit inhibited growth of M. phaseolina by 100 percent and 82 percent, respectively T. populnea leaves inhibited 99 percent mycelial growth of F. oxysporum. It is concluded that the methanolic extracts of the tested indigenous plants contain natural fungicidal compounds, which can be used for the control of common soil-borne pathogens. (author)

[en] Objective: To find out the frequency of thrombocytopenia and prolonged bleeding time in dengue fever and its effect on clinical outcome of patients. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted, from August 2016 to February 2017 in the Haematology department, at Pakistan Naval Ship (PNS) Shifa, Karachi. Methodology: The study was conducted on serologically proven positive dengue IgM cases fulfilling inclusion and exclusion criteria. Platelet count was done on Beckman Coulter and Sysmex analyzers and then rechecked manually by peripheral blood smear. Bleeding time measured by the Duke method. The clinical outcome was evaluated on the day of discharge (based on survival of the patient and their lab values) or the patient expired and their lab values. Results: A total of 135 patients were evaluated in the study. The mean age of the patients was 29.12 ± 13 yrs (range: 2-63 years). The thrombocytopenia was observed in one hundred and eleven (82.2%) patients. Severe thrombocytopenia was observed in nine (6.7%) cases, moderate thrombocytopenia was found in thirty (22.2%) cases and mild thrombocytopenia was observed in seventy-two (53.3%) cases. Bleeding time more than nine minutes was observed only in one case. Out of 135 patients, two (1.48%) expired and one hundred and thirtythree (98.52%) survived and were discharged. Conclusion: We observed that platelet count can be a predictor of disease and its progression, but the absence of either cannot be used to exclude the progression of the disease. Dengue continues to be a significant health problem in Pakistan.

[en] Highlights: • A novel class of electron-rich imidazolines has been prepared. • The amidine motifs in imidazolines is in conjugation with alkoxyphenyl groups. • Inhibition of mild steel corrosion by the imidazolines in NaCl–CO₂ is compared. • Imidazolines cover most of the metal surface before reaching their CMCs. • At 40 °C (1 atm) and 120 °C (10 bar), imidazolines provided very good inhibition. - Abstract: A novel series of diethylenetetramine-(I), and tetraethylenepentamine-derived imidazolines (II) having p-octyloxy-, dodecyloxy and octadecyloxy-phenyl pendants as hydrophobes, have imparted very good inhibition of mild steel corrosion in CO₂–0.5 M NaCl (40 °C, 1 atm; 120 °C, 10 bar). Pendants to the ring-nitrogen of I and II showed no change in inhibition efficiencies, while the presence of electron-rich aromatic ring in conjugation with the amidine motifs and increasing hydrophobe chain lengths imparted increasing corrosion inhibition. The formation of an imidazoline film covering the metal surface is corroborated by an XPS study. The imidazolines cover the metal surface before reaching their critical molar concentrations

[en] After completing its design life of 30 years in 2002, KArachi NUclear Power Plant (KANUPP) has embarked on a further journey of 15 years under Plant Life Extension (PLEX) program. To complete this journey safely and successfully, necessary safety and equipment upgrades were implemented in 2003 and 2004, critical equipments have been identified and their performance is being monitored. Being critical component of a nuclear power plant, Steam Generators have significant contribution in station unavailability. KANUPP Steam Generators are not immune to degradation. Their design and tube material have led to some unexpected challenges. However, remedial actions, and careful proactive maintenance activities, have resulted in decrease in Steam Generator-related station unavailability at KANUPP. The paper focuses on proactive identification of potential degradation mechanisms for various components of KANUPP Steam Generators, short-term and long term strategies for inspection, maintenance and design modifications pertaining to effective Life Cycle Management Plan (LCMP) necessary for the safe and reliable operation of KANUPP during the plant design life and beyond. (author)

[en] Karachi Nuclear Power Plant (KANUPP) commissioned in 1972 has been operating under PLEX since Jan 2004, after completion of 30 years of its design life. It is planned to extend its life at least by another 15 years after necessary upgrades and re-licensing outages (RLO) by local regulators. KANUPP has six steam generators (SGs), with half-inch diameter Monel-400 tubes. In-service inspection is being carried out regularly in compliance with plant and regulatory requirements (CSA N285.4 for tubes and ASME codes for shell and internals). Degradation is prominent in tubes under sludge from pitting/wastage and denting at first tube support plate (Corten steel) in all the six SG units. Up til now there has been only one instance of a tube leakage and so far 99 tubes (i.e. 1.2% of the total tubes) have been plugged based on wall thinning and severely dented at first tube support plate. A regular monitoring program that is in place includes inspection of tubes, primary and secondary internals, shell, supports and connection welds. Plugging criteria for tubes is ≥ 40% for wall thinning and ≤ 0.250 inch opening for denting using stabilizer bars. An extensive monitoring program for condition assessment is in hand to keep a watch on the rate and morphology of degradation mechanisms and surveillance on susceptible areas unless remedial and control measures are effectively in place. KANUPP steam generators have so far undergone partial water lancing in 2000, hydraulic analysis study, mechanical integrity and comprehensive inspection of tube, overall condition assessment, internals, shell welds and supports inspection. (author)

[en] Highlights: • A novel resin embedded with metal chelating glutamic acid was synthesized. • The biogenic amino acid residues imparted remarkable efficacy to remove Co(II). • The resin showed excellent ability to remove various metals from wastewater. - Abstract: Inexpensive biogenic glutamic acid has been utilized to synthesize a cross-linked dianionic polyelectrolyte (CDAP) containing metal chelating ligands. Cycloterpolymerization, using azoisobutyronitrile as an initiator, of N,N-diallylglutamic acid hydrochloride, sulfur dioxide and a cross-linker afforded a pH-responsive cross-linked polyzwitterionic acid (CPZA) which upon basification with NaOH was converted into CDAP. The new resin, characterized by a multitude of spectroscopic techniques as well as Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) analyses, was evaluated for the removal of Co(II) as a model case under different conditions. The adsorption capacity of 137 mg g"−"1 does indeed make the resin as one of the most effective sorbents in recent times. The resin leverages its cheap natural source and ease of regeneration in combination with its high and fast uptake capacities to offer a great promise for wastewater treatment. The resin has demonstrated remarkable efficiency in removing toxic metal ions including arsenic from a wastewater sample.

[en] To determine the cases of Noninvasive Follicular thyroid neoplasm with papillary like nuclear features (NIFTP) in Pakistani population retrospectively. Another objective was to determine their clinical and radiological outcomes with respect to local and systemic disease recurrence, reconfirming the benign course of this new nomenclature in Thyroid tumors by WHO in our population would encourage adopting the new conservative treatment approach in such patients. Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study conducted at a tertiary care center in Karachi, Pakistan from 2007-2016. All follicular Variant papillary thyroid cancer (FVPTC) reported from a single institute had their histopathology slides reexamined for diagnosing NIFTP as per the new WHO criteria. These cases were then followed retrospectively from their diagnosis onset through their medical and electronic health record for any local or systemic disease recurrence. Results: There were 199 cases of Papillary Thyroid cancer (PTC) which included 22 cases of FVPTC. Eleven cases fulfilled NIFTP criteria with tumor size ranging from 1.1cm to ≥ 5.5cm. All patients in the NIFTP group underwent total thyroidectomy. Nine patients (81.81%) received RAI 131 therapy. Four (45 percent) patients had a median follow up of three to four years. There was no disease recurrence seen on both ultrasound and RAI scans of patients in the NIFTP group. Seven patients (87.5 percent) had normal surveillance thyroglobulin levels except one whereas three patients were lost to follow up. There was no disease recurrence seen both radiologically and biochemically in the NIFTP group. Conclusion: Our study favors the low risk nature of NIFTP with no disease recurrence in the cases studied and encourages de-escalation of treatment. (author)

[en] Class-1 malocclusion commonly presents with crowding and poses an aesthetic concern to patients. An orthodontist may encounter a variety of dental problems and must handle them strategically to establish adequate occlusal relationships. Hence, this study was conducted to evaluate the occlusal characteristics of patients who have undergone non-extraction or all first premolars extraction treatment for class I malocclusion using the peer assessment rating (PAR) index. Methods: The pre-treatment and post treatment dental casts of 94 subjects with class-I malocclusion were retrospectively screened. The sample was distributed into two groups, i.e., non-extraction and all first premolars extraction groups. The Mann Whitney-U test was used to compare the mean percentage improvement in the PAR scores between the two groups. A p-value of =0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The mean percentage improvement in the non-extraction group was 74.28 percent in the non-extraction group and 74.5 percent in the all first premolars extraction group. A significant difference (p=0.04) was found between the pre-treatment PAR scores for the two treatment modalities. There was no significant difference between the post treatment PAR scores (p=0.45) and the mean percentage improvement in PAR scores (p=0.41) between the treatment groups. Conclusions: The improvement in occlusal characteristics in patients who underwent non-extraction treatment and all first premolar extraction treatment was comparable as assessed through mean percentage improvement in PAR scores. (author)

[en] Correction of deep bite is crucial for maintenance of dental hard and soft tissue structures and for prevention of temporomandibular joint disorders. Exploration of underlying skeletal and dental factors is essential for efficient and individualized treatment planning. To date etiological factors of dental and skeletal deep bite have not been explored in Pakistani orthodontic patients. The objectives of this study were to explore frequencies of dental and skeletal etiological factors in deep bite patients and to determine correlations amongst dental and skeletal etiological factors of deep bite. Methods: The study included a total of 113 subjects (males=35; females=78) with no craniofacial syndromes or prior orthodontic treatment. Pre-treatment orthodontic records were used to evaluate various dental and skeletal parameters. Descriptive statistics of each parameter were calculated. The various study parameters were correlated using Pearson's Correlation. Results: Deep curve of Spee was most frequently seen factor of dental deep bite (72.6%), followed by increased coronal length of upper incisors (28.3%), retroclined upper incisors (17.7%), retroclined lower incisors (8%) and increased coronal length of lower incisors (5.3%). Decreased gonial angle was most commonly found factor of skeletal deep bite (43.4%), followed by decreased mandibular plane angle (27.4%) and maxillary plane's clockwise rotation (26.5%). Frankfort mandibular plane angle and gonial angle showed a strong positive correlation (r=0.66, p=0.000). Conclusions: Reduced gonial angle is most frequently seen skeletal factor, signifying the importance of angulation and growth of ramus in development of deep bite. Deep curve of Spee is most frequently seen dental etiological component in deep bite subjects, hence signifying the importance of intruding the lower anterior teeth. (author)