National Defence University, Pakistan

About: National Defence University, Pakistan is a education organization based out in Islamabad, Pakistan. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Context (language use) & Decision support system. The organization has 802 authors who have published 816 publications receiving 3701 citations. The organization is also known as: National Defence University of Pakistan & National Defence University Islamabad.

Role of hydrogen in affecting the growth trend of CNT on micron spherical silica gel

Abstract: Grafting CNTs onto substrates such as fibres and microparticles offers an alternative approach to tackle the issues associated with dispersion in a composite matrix, as well as additional benefits (hybrid effects) provided by these dual-filler systems. One approach to obtain such hybrid systems is the direct growth of nanotubes on the supporting fibre or particles. Previous study has shown that the CNTs would grow on the silica microparticles with the morphology closely related to the operating conditions such as temperature and time. However, the role of hydrogen in affecting the tube's morphology was not explored before. The particles were synthesized via chemical vapour deposition (CVD) method. Spherical silica gel with 40 − 75 μm diameter was used as the substrate. Toluene and ferrocene were used as the hydrocarbon and catalyst source, respectively. The reaction time was kept for four hours while the temperature was maintained at 850°C. The FESEM and TEM investigation proved that the flow hydrogen during reaction caused a tremendous difference in the outer diameter of the synthesized CNTs. Relatively thin CNT was observed under 50 ml/min of hydrogen flow compared to the particles synthesized without hydrogen. Raman spectroscopy of the CNTs revealed three bands; the disorder-induced D mode (~1321 cm−1), the tangential G mode (~1570 cm−1) and second order G' mode (~2642 cm−1). Raman analysis shows that the synthesized CNTs exhibited all these peaks, confirming the existence of CNTs. As G peak is more intense than D peak for all samples synthesized under hydrogen flow, it can be concluded that CNTs synthesized is indeed of high quality. It can be confirmed that hydrogen plays an important role in influencing the morphology of the synthesized tubes.

A systematic review on prevention of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus infection by pre-admission screening: the cost effectiveness and practicality

Abstract: Background: Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a common source of nosocomial infection, which is spreading through the community and hospitals across the countries. The performance of screening program really needs major effort related to laboratory capacity and ethical consideration, among other costly components. Significant literature research was conducted to review the cost, effectiveness and practicality of different methods of pre-admission MRSA screening in the hospital setting. A systematic literature review was conducted with search strategy using the PubMed Medline, Scopus and the Science Direct databases. The relevant data was abstracted from all studies based on various countries which in line with the finalized eligibility criteria. Results: PCR method was reported to have high sensitivity with low turnaround time as compared to culture method. A review of selected studies found the increasing annual costs of screening from standard culture, chromogenic agar to rapid PCR. In the meantime, other studies reported the total costs for labor and materials was lower for rapid PCR screening compared to culture methods. The culturing method offers a high level of variability due to time consumption and additional costs. Whereas PCR was reported as advantageous in term of saving time to identify MRSA positive patients, which involved isolation, thus increase the effectiveness of screening programs. It can pick up false negative results by conventional methods in the early condition of disease. Conclusion: Most studies verified that PCR is the most accurate method for detection of MRSA with Xpert MRSA having the best performance. Otherwise, oxacillin agar screen was revealed as a good alternative method to PCR. Targeted screening on high risk patients using rapid PCR may be the best choice to be implemented, in order to balance the economic and practicality of screening. We recommend that further clinical studies should be done to provide a sharp evidence of MRSA screening.

Military aviation capabilities and limitations in intervention operations

Abstract: The aim of this paper is the identification and description of the capabilities and limitations of military aviation in intervention operations. Over the last two decades, military aviation was treated by political decision-makers as a remedy for solving international crises and conflicts. Intervention operations with the participation of military aviation included: humanitarian intervention, crisis response operation and regional ethnic conflicts in many areas of the world. Short analysis of the abovementioned operations shows a tendency for military aviation to possess attributes (capabilities) which distinguish it from other services. Doctrinal attributes describing military aviation, that is to say, speed, reach, height, ubiquity, agility and concertation, give the intervening coalition an advantage over the enemy from the beginning of the intervention. However, the doctrinal capabilities of military aviation in many cases are not sufficient for conducting air operations during an intervention. It is believed that military aviation may create other capabilities that are very important in the context of the political and military end state of intervention. These might be: possibility of enforcement of no-fly zones as an element of military deterrence, creation of psychological effects against the enemy, show of force or inputs to intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. However, the most important capability of military aviation in intervention operations may be the ability for coercion, which allows politicians to put pressure on adversaries. There is no doubt that military aviation also possesses limitations which may reduce its capabilities during intervention operations. The most known of these are: impermanence, limited payload and vulnerability. Sometimes, these would also be political challenges connected with witnessing a given operation by individual countries or the international community. In a specific situation, they may limit or prevent conducting air operations in the area of operations. key words: military aviation, intervention operations, capabilities, limitations, coercion, no-fly zones

Operations in the network-centric environment

Abstract: Network-centric as the idea of action, through the use of the large scale of modern systems to acquire, transfer, and information management has become a fixture of the effective achievement of the objectives of the military action. To understand the situation on an ongoing basis at occurring changes in its development, and in addition to reasonably manage your potential in achieving the purpose of military action.

Comparison of Al and Cu Ions Emissions by Nd:YAG Laser Matter Interaction

Abstract: The infrared radiation from Nd:YAG laser (1604 nm, 8ns, 125mJ, 15.6MW) is focused by IR lens (20cm) to irradiate Cu and Al (99.99%) target in air. The angular distribution and arrival of ions are collected by Faraday Cups (FC). For anisotropic investigation, the cups are arranged at different positions (5cm and 10cm) from the targets at different angles (5° , 30° , 45° , 60° and 90° ) with respect to the normal on targets surface. Faraday Cups are biased at -100V and the ion current signals are obtained on Tektronix TDS 3054B Digital Storage oscilloscope (500 MHz) through integrated circuit. The average kinetic energy of ions is also calculated. Maximum arrival rate of ions is observed at angle 5° and minimum ions flux is at angle 90° to normal on the target surface. The results show that the plume is peaked strongly in forward direction. The laser matter interaction is good for the laser based ion sources generation, which can produce a collimated beam of ions because of forward peaking.