Victor J. Stenger
Science, Religion and Culture
...ritten an article highly critical of the new atheists and accusing them of scientism. He implies that only professional philosophers like himself are qualified to discuss the subject. However, the books Pigliucci criticizes were not intended to be philosophical treatises. They are popular books addressed to a public that is becoming increasingly disenchanted with organized religion and its negative influence on society. The ...
Massimo Pigliucci
Science, Religion and Culture
...s responded to my recent criticism of the so-called New Atheism movement (2013). Here I endeavor to counter Stenger’s note and highlight several of the ways in which it goes astray. To begin with, however, let me summarize the main points of my earlier paper....
Timothy Helton
In a Mirror Dimly: Anthropology and Restoring a Sense of Presence to an Empty World
...pport my thesis with the criticisms of anthropological conceptions and methods made by contemporary thinkers. Next, taking the work of E. B. Tylor as an example, I demonstrate the validity of such criticisms. Then, I offer two examples of alternatives to objectifying ethnography before tracing developments in anthropological method in the last decades that have greatly improved the lens used for the anthropological gaze. Fin...
Stephen Kershnar
... literature, devastating criticisms of rival theories, and a restructuring of the issues in a way that will shape future discussions of the field. It is also well-written, including interesting-and-enjoyable references to historical figures (for example, Mother Theresa, Adolf Hitler, and Paul Gauguin), artists (for example, Aldous Huxley and Woody Allen), and works of art (for example, Groundhog Day and Guernica). In this critic...
Thaddeus Metz
...shnar for his thoughtful critical notice of my book, Meaning in Life: An Analytic Study (Metz 2013), published elsewhere in the current issue of this journal (2014). He provides a succinct and accurate overview of the book’s central conclusions, and, while being generous about its contribution to the field, also advances some penetrating criticisms of it that merit engagement. Specifically, Kershnar maintains, first, t...
Stephen Kershnar
...sightful responses to my criticisms of his important book, Meaning in Life: An Analytic Study (New York: Oxford University Press, 2013), on meaning in life. Here I argue that his responses do not succeed. Earlier I provided two objections to Metz’s theory. First, meaning in life is not a type of value distinct from the standard types of value, specifically, what is good in itself (intrinsic good), good for someone (prudential good), or good for someone i...
Muhammad Mudassar Maqbool1, Anser Ali1, 2 *, Tanveer ul Haq1, Muhammad Nasir Majeed1, Dong Jin Lee2
...erent wheat varieties at critical growth stages. Three wheat varieties viz. Faisalabad-2008, Lasani-2008 and Kohistan-97 were manually sown in polythene lined pots. Five water stress treatments were created by withholding the irrigation for specified time at critical growth stages viz. tillering, booting, anthesis and milking (grain filling), whereas a well-watered treatment was also included during whole plant growth and de...
Benjamin Beit-Hallahmi
... are highly intelligent, critical, independent, and confident towards the academic world. Contrary to what some might think, it is not getting a Ph.D., which contributes to individual secularity; it is young secular individuals who are highly likely to commit themselves to an academic life....
Marcus Mann
... journalist and literary critic Christopher Hitchens concluded the movement’s must-read canon with God is Not Great. While these four polemics are indicative of each author’s expertise, they are united in their claim that organized religion is an affront to reason and that we ignore its potential to inspire destruction in this technological age at our peril....
Elly Vintiadis
... truth and to think critically. In order to go about showing why this
is so, Steane embarks on showing what theism is and how it offers an explanation of the world and life of which science is a part....
is so, Steane embarks on showing what theism is and how it offers an explanation of the world and life of which science is a part....
Ummara Waheed Khan, Raza Ahmed, Irum Shahzadi and Mohmmad Maroof Shah
Email | mmshah@ciit.net.pk
...essful tissue culture is critical for genetic transformation, it has been facing greater impediments in wheat and related crop species. Its success depends largely upon the average effect of several important factors including explant tissue, culture medium, plant genotypes, and their interactions, the detail of which is not fully explored. Current article described this issue in detail. The information synthesized would be important to sel...
Corey McCal
...th Martin Luther and his critics, proceeds through discussions of Spinoza and the English Dissenters, Voltaire and the French Enlightenment, and, finally, to Darwin’s Victorian religiosity and the German Left Hegelians (Feuerbach and Marx in particular)....
Yingbin Wang*, Ting Ye, Xiaogang Wang and Congyu Zhou
... trend, but it is not as critical as imagined. Therefore, the variation of the catch of P. trituberculatus in the northern East China Sea was synthetically affected by multiple factors. More studies should be carried out to explore other potential factors that may affect the catch, and find out the underlying mechanisms....
Jehangir Khan1,2*, Inamullah Khan3, Ijaz Ali2, Aqib Iqbal2 and Muhammad Salman4
...se burden in Pakistan is critical requiring large-scale molecular epidemiology and entomological surveillance. Moreover, transportation of mosquitoes via tyre trade necessitates more conservative mosquitoes control strategies in Pakistan especially in the unrestricted transport of tyres from southern part of the country to the northern parts.
... 
...ality publications, both critical reviewers and cutting-edge research, in coming issues of the Hosts and Viruses.
... 
Eman M. Farghaly1, Ahmed Samy1,2*, Heba Roshdy
...pattern of resistance to critical important antibiotic group. Salmonella isolates showed antibiotic resistance to Nalidixic acid (100%) and Nitrofurantoin (42.9%). Strict biosecurity measures are required to reduce the incidence of mixed bacterial infection and subsequently reduce the spread of antibiotic resistance genes between bacterial spp....
Wazha Mugabe1,2, Lawrence Akanyang1, Mackenzie Nsinamwa1, Batanani Moatswi1, Naledi Matthews1, Kealeboga Dipheko1, Imtiaz Ahmed Ujjan3 and Assar Ali Shah2*
...d by grazing pressure is critical since fodder trees form the base diet for browser such as goat as well as maintenance purposes for cattle in the dry season. Thus understanding the dynamics on rangeland response to grazing could prove worthy in finding an equilibrium point for optimizing animal productivity, with limited range degradation. Therefore, the current study was aimed at determining and comparing fodder tree species composition along grazing gradien...
Nirbhay Kushwaha, Achuit K Singh, Brotati Chattopadhyay and Supriya Chakraborty
Recent advances in geminivirus detection and future perspectives
...viruses is becoming more critical as globalization of trade,particularly in horticultural commodities increase. The potential effects of climate change have further aggravated the movement of viruses and their vectors, transforming the diagnostic landscape. Geminiviruses are a group of plant viruses characterized by circular, single-stranded (ss) DNA genomes (~2.7 kb size) and twined icosahedral virions (18 x 30 nm). Based on genome organization, host range an...
Neerja Agrawal, Mukesh Srivastava, Akhilesh Tripathi and Amrendra Singh
Survey and monitoring of pests, parasites and predators of pulse crops in central and eastern Uttar Pradesh
...ebber Grapholita (Cydia) critica, Myllocerus spp, spotted pod borer Maruca testulalis, plume moth Exelastis atomosa, tur pod bug Clavigralla gibbosa, jassid Amrsca bigutulta, termite Odontotermes spp, green bug Nezara viridula, tur podfly Melanogromyza obtusa, blue butterfly Lampides boeticus, cow bug Tricentrus bicolor and Pentatomorpha bug were recorded while on lentil crop, black aphid,Aphis craccivora was recorded as major pest and H. armigera and cut worm...
1S. A. Khan and 2S. Jha
Effect of dates of sowing, moisture regimes, varieties and weather factors on incidences of aphid, Lipaphis erysimi (Kalt.) in rape and mustard
...2 October to 5 November, critical periods of aphid infestation (having greater than 30 aphids plant-1) prevailed between 19 December and 21 January. Number of aphids plant-1 was consistently greater in crops grown under irrigated condition than those under rainfed condition. Aphid population was highest during siliqua formation phase due to prevalent conducive weather conditions, followed by reproductive and vegetative phases over all varieties. Weather condit...
Amitava Konar and N. Johnson Singh
Occurrence of aphids on various potato germplasms in eastern gangetic plains of West Bengal
...ecember and attained the critical level during second to third week of January. The pest initially occurred during early to mid January in K.Chipsona-1, K.Chipsona-2 and Atlantic and reached the threshold limit between end January to early February. Maximum population of aphid was found during mid to the end of February in Kufri Chandramukhi, K. Jyoti and K. Jawahar whereas it was recorded between end of February to early March in Kufri Chipsona-1, Kufri Chips...
Gadeeyya G and Ratna Kumar P.K.
...res of each isolate were critically studied using relevant literature. The pathogenicity of the isolates was examined to select biocontrol agent against host weed.
...
Wenqiao Hui1, Jishun Tang1, Dejian Zhu1, Qian Ban2* and Sheng Chen1*
...nstrated leptin act as a critical metabolic cue linking adipose and the onset of puberty. In the present study, we first assessed the morphological changes in adipose tissue at pre-puberty and puberty onset stages of goats, and then determined the role of leptin to activate signaling pathways which modulate the expression of hypothalamic genes involved in reproduction and metabolism. We found that leptin significantly upregulated the LEPR in the adipose tissue...
Prof. Dr. Saira Afzal
...s are continuously being criticized, debated and updated. It may be open peer review or blind peer review, both have advantages and disadvantages. Open peer review is performed for scientific quality after publication. It is also known as transparent peer review and public peer review.
...
Dr. Moazzam Baig Mirza
Carolina A. Bonin1,2, Eric A. Lewallen2,3, Andre J. van Wijnen3, Marta Jussara Cremer4 and Paulo C. Simões-Lopes5*
...cale efforts to preserve critical habitats for this population of dolphins, and by extension may help inform management plans for ecologically vulnerable S. guianensis populations in other parts of their distribution.
...
Minmin Chen1, Xiaoke Zhang1, Kexiong Wang2, Zhigang Liu1, An Wan3, Daoping Yu1,*, Hong Ji3 and Fangzhen Peng1
...siaeorientalis) is a critically endangered species, as the whole population in the wild suffered sharp decline and fragmentation. Observations of the local spatial and temporal distribution dynamics can help establish better conservation strategies. In order to understand the characteristics of habitat chosen, a continuous 15 months observation on the distribution patterns of the Yangtze finless porpoise at the confluence of Yangtze and Wanhe rivers was co...
Mohammed Mahbub Iqbal*, Mehedi Hasan Kanon, Mohammad Amzad Hossain, Abul Hossain, Shamima Nasren, Md. Jahidul Islam, Md. Arifur Rahman
...nerable, 7 endangered, 1 critically endangered, 3 exotic, 20 not threatened and 1 not evaluated according to IUCN, Bangladesh, 2000. The Shannon-Weaver diversity index was found highest (3.12) in June and lowest (2.9) in January. Margalef richness index was found highest (3.02) in July and lowest (2.70) in December. On the other hand, Pielou’s evenness index was lowest (0.82) in three successive months i.e., in October, November and January and highest (...
Ann Milliken Pederson
Ted Peters
...his article, I entertain criticisms of my book, God in Cosmic History, raised by Lowell Gustafson, President of the International Big History Association; Ann Milliken Pederson, Professor of Theology at Augustana College in Sioux Falls SD; Nancy Howell, Professor of Theology at St. Paul Seminary in Kansas City; George Murphy, physicist and pastor in Akron OH; and distinguished evolutionary biologist and winner of the Presidential Medal for Science, Fran...
Muhammad Ijaz Khan* and Amanullah Jan
...ation in relation to the critical stages of maize crop were applied. Irrigation consisted of 93 mm water. Three organic soil conditioners viz., farmyard manure (10000 kg ha-1), wheat straw as crop residue (10000 kg ha-1) and two levels of humic acid (2 and 4 kg ha-1), alone and in combinations with gypsum (1000 kg ha-1) as inorganic soil conditioner were applied a week before sowing of maize. Design used was randomized complete block with split plot arrangemen...
Yanjie Guo1, Weini Wu1, Hongmei Wang2, Xiao Guo2 and Yongping Xu2,*
...div>...
Khalid Mahmood Aujla, Sajida Taj*, Khalid Mahmood** and Nadeem Akmal*
...s, canal water supply at critical stages of plant growth, and affordable diesel and electricity prices should be ensured. Timely availability of credit to the resource poor farmers would also enhance the wheat yield in Punjab....
Liaqat Ali Shahid, M. Azhar Saeed and Nadeem Amjad*
...uction of edible oils is critically insufficient to meet the demand of growing population. It only meets 27% of the total edible oil consumption in the country. The deficit is met through import of edible oils from other countries on which government is spending billions of rupees in foreign exchange. It is imperative to mention that the efforts made so far at federal and provincial levels to increase the production of oilseed crops are not fruitful. This crop...
Badaruddin Khokhar*, Imtiaz Hussain** and Zafar Khokhar*
...fy;"> Irrigation at critical growth stages could improve wheat yield significantly. A study was conducted during 2000–2002 to determine effect of different irrigation levels on growth and yield of different wheat genotypes in the province of Sindh. The trial was laid out in split block design at Wheat Research Institute, Sindh, Sakrand, in which four irrigation treatments I3 (irrigation at crown root, booting and soft dough stage), I4 (irrigation at...
Muhammad Zubair Anwar, M. Azeem Khan, Ikram Saeed, Akhtar Ali*, Shafique Zahid and Abdul Majid**
SMALL FARMERS PERCEPTIONS REGARDING IMPROVED FODDER AND FORAGE VARIETIES: RESULTS OF PARTICIPATORY ON FARM RESEARCH
.... Livestock feeding is a critical component of livestock management in the rainfed farming systems. The most binding constraints are: persistent nutritional stress, lack of improved fodder varieties and lack of fodder preservation techniques for lean period. To resolve this issue improved fodder varieties and forage species were introduced. About 52 % women were of the view that in rabi season 50% grain yield was increased and 44% said that the increase in dry...
Nazakat Nawaz*, Malik Shah Nawaz*, Mubashir Ahmad Khan*, Mirza M. Yasin*, Doulat Baig*, Nasir Mehmood Cheema**, Muhammad Amjad** and M. Altaf Sher**
EFFECT OF BORON ON PEANUT GENOTYPES UNDER RAINFED CONDITIONS
...t boron requirements and critical concentrations in diagnostic parts of three peanut genotypes, BARD-479, ICG-7326 and ICGV-92023. These genotypes were grown in boron deficient soil at National Agricultural Research -1 Centre, Islamabad, Pakistan. Five rates 0.0, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0 and 4.0 kg B ha as boric acid (H BO ) were applied. Boron fertilizer applications significantly 3 3 increased dry pod yield of all the tested genotypes over control. Dry pod yields of BA...
Ikramullah Khan1,2*, Muhammad Subhan Qureshi2, Sohail Akhtar2, Ijaz Ali3 and Ghufran Ullah4
...er than 27 °C (upper critical temperature, UCT). Sahiwal and Achai were the most heat tolerant breeds manifesting changes at 42 °C i.e. 15°C higher than UCT. The crossbred cows responded differently to heat stress and showed biochemical changesat 32 °C like HF and physiological changes at 42 °C like Bos Indicus. It appears that crossbred cows acquire some genes for low physiological response to thermal stress from Bos Indicus cows and accli...
Shuai Shang1,2, Honghai Zhang2,*, Xiaoyang Wu2, Qinguo Wei2, Jun Chen1, Huanxin Zhang1, Huaming Zhong2 and Xuexi Tang1,*
...s2r genes may play a critical role in food selection of raccoon dogs. Thus, we explored the evolution of Tas2r genes in raccoon dogs. In this study, Tas2r genes including eleven intact genes and four pseudogenes from raccoon dogs were identified for the first time. We also obtained Tas2r genes from fourteen additional species based on their genome sequences and our previous study, including thirteen carnivorous species and one omnivoro...
Saleem Ashraf1*, Ashiq Hussain Sangi1Zakaria Yousaf Hassan3 and Muhammad Luqman2
... period of 1990-2017 was criticaly examined. Empirical results indicated that area under cultivation showed negative compound growth rate while production and average yield showed positive compound growth in Pakistan. While, in Punjab, compound growth rate of area under cotton cultivation and production showed negative while average yield showed positive growth. Forecasting of cotton showed that in Pakistan, area, production and average yield will be on rise b...
Usman Shakoor1, Ali Nasir2, Mudassar Rashid1, Muhammad Iftikhar-ul-Husnain1, Nabila Khurshid1 and Zuhair Husnain2
...as unequivocally induced critical structural weaknesses in the fiscal machinery. Addressing the concern, the study has analysed the impact of agriculture taxes on the share of agriculture GDP of Pakistan and empirically investigated the long run relationship between the variables using time series data for last 23 years. It was empirically evaluated that increase in agriculture taxes led to a decrease in agriculture share of GDP. 1% increase in in the level of...
Muhammad Zulfiqar1*, Muhammad Jamal Khan1, Irshad Khan Abbasi2, Muhammad Tariq2, Jawad Ali3, Melad Karim4 and Rizwan Ahmad1
...Indus fed by glaciers is critical for Pakistan as it is irrigating its 80% of agricultural land. Shigari Kalan watershed is one of the water sheds located in Skardu, Northern Pakistan, which also contributes to River Indus flowing to Pakistan. The aim of instant research is to evaluate the correlation amid temperature and the rate of glacier/snow melt which could have future implications for water availability in the River Indus flowing into Pakistan for which...
Naeem Ahmad1,* and Zulqurnain2*
... for farming is always a critical decision for farmers. The purpose of the present study was to compare the growth performance of two GIFT strains (GIFT-Th, imported from Thailand; GIFT-Tw, obtained from a local hatchery) in two earthen ponds, fed with commercially available feed. Similar feeding regime and physical conditions were maintained for both treatments. It was found that there was no significant difference in final total length (TL) and standard leng...
Aftab Khan, Shahid Ali, Syed Attaullah Shah and Muhammad Fayaz
...ncreases, after reaching critical level (32.14 °C) further increase in temperature decreases net revenue. Rainfall and rainfall square has insignificant effect on net revenue of maize growers. Zone wise analysis of forecasting effects of temperature shows that increase in temperature by 1 °C in 2040-2050 and by 2 °C in 2060-2080 will significantly increase net revenue of maize growers in Northern and Eastern zones, but insignificantly in Central zo...
Safina Naz1, Muhammad Akbar Anjum1, Saeed Akhtar2, Syed Atif Hasan Naqvi3* and Muhammad Asif Zulfiqar4
...contents, well below the critical limits. The concentration of Pb in tomato and cauliflower, Cd in tomato and spinach, and Fe in spinach irrigated with canal water were also detected beyond the safe limits. The study concludes that the continuous use of sewage water deteriorates or lowers the quality and increases heavy metal contents of vegetables. ...
Waqas Ali* and Mudasser Habib
...on 141) located in known critical antigenic region but as a whole protein was under negative selection pressure for serotype O, A and Asia 1. Therefore, under mass vaccination campaigns and drastic environmental conditions strains under negative selection has the ability to make escape mutants. ...
Salman Ali*, Inamullah, Muhammad Arif, Mehran Ali, Muhammad Owais Iqbal, Fazal Munsif and Arsalan Khan
...d. Water availability at critical crop growth stages reduces water losses and improves water use efficiency and yield of a crop. Potassium is a major plant nutrient required in large quantity by crops and has a significant role in increasing crop growth and yield by reducing the adverse effects of drought stress. Although a large quantity of potassium can be found in soil but is mostly in an unavailable form. A field experiment was, therefore established at Ag...
Ejaz Ashraf1*, Hafiz Khurram Shurjeel2, Nosheen Fatima1, Raheel Babar3 and Ikramul Haq4
...sity which is one of the critical problems encounter by farmers of Pakistan. It is vitally important to take proactive measures to enact timely solutions to this issue, and avoid further losses in biodiversity. The present study was aimed to determine the awareness level of the respondents regarding biodiversity conservation. The results showed that farmers were relatively aware of regarding species diversity; however, they do not know the modern techniques to...
Syed Atif Hasan Naqvi1*, Sidra Mushtaq1, Muhammad Tariq Malik2, Ummad-ud-Din Umar1, Ateeq ur Rehman1, Shoaib Fareed3, Muhammad Asif Zulfiqar4
Khadim Hussain Wagan1*, Muhammad Ibrahim Khaskheli2, Jamal-U-Ddin Hajano1 and Abdul Ghani Lanjar2
...e the disease is playing critical role for management of this pathogen. For such purpose colony forming units (cfu) per gram of soil and seed were determined and capability of previously characterized M. phaseolina isolates to cause the disease was tested on HO-1 variety. Additionally, most virulent isolate was characterized through sequence and phylogenetic analysis. There was significant variation (Df= 54, F=7.4, P=0.0000) among cfu per gram of M. phaseolina...
Ragia S. Mohamed1, Rania F. El Naggar2, Mamdouh. M. Hamoud1, Mohamed M. Hamoud3, Abdulrhman M. Gamal1, Samah E. Laban1, Shimaa A.E. Nasr1, Manal M. Zaki1, ElShaimaa Ismael1, Osama K. Zahran1*
...m environment which is a critical point during cleaning and precleaning for the poultry farms to eliminate the viruses along with the use of effective disinfectants. ...
Qaizar Ahmed1, Fida Mohammad2, Sheraz Ahmed2*, Sultan Akbar Jadoon2, Imtiaz Ali2 and Ajmalud Din2
...lyses of variance to get critical comparison of the results obtained through both models. Griffing analysis revealed additive type of gene action in the expression of all traits across all environments, except nicotine content. Contrarily, Hayman analysis identified both (additive and dominance) type of gene actions for yield and other traits. Similarly, Hayman analysis discriminated gene actions for various traits more specifically across environments. Based ...
Shamsudin Bojang1, Idris Abd Ghani2, Jugah Kadir1, Adamu Saidu Paiko1, Yasir Iftikhar3 and Muhammad Kamran3,4,*
...ng materials be observed critically.
... 
