Tom Gilson & Carson Weitnauer (eds), True Reason: Confronting the Irrationality of the New Atheism (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 2013), 315pp, US$17.99 (paperback), ISBN 978-0-8254-4338-1
Reviewed by Gregory W. Dawes, Associate Professor of Philosophy
Science, Religion and Culture
... is simply to offer some general reflections on the strategies employed....
David N. Livingstone, Dealing with Darwin. Place, Politics, and Rhetoric in Religious Engagements with Evolution, Johns Hopkins University Press, 2014, 265 pp., ISBN 13: 978-1-4214-1326-6
Reviewed by Francisco J. Ayala, University Professor & Donald Bren Professor of Biological Sciences, University of California, Irvine, email: [email protected]
Science, Religion and Culture
...natural selection became generally accepted by biologists and other scientists. How was Darwin’s On the Origin of Species received by his contemporary scholars, particularly by theologians and religious authors? That is the subject of the thoroughly researched and elegantly written book by David N. Livingstone, Dealing with Darwin. Place, Politics, and Rhetoric in Religious Engagements with Evolution....
Aradhana Chopra1, Ravi Shukla2 and Tarun Kumar Sharma2,3*
... of antibodies. They are generated through an in vitro evolution process called SELEX. These single stranded nucleic acid aptamers can acquire various secondary and tertiary structures to bind their cognate targets with high affinity and specificity. The ease in synthesis and modification makes them an attractive candidate for a variety of applications. Since the last decade, aptamers have been regarded as an emerging player in biology. They have found applica...
Maureen McKeague1, Maria C. DeRosa2*
...ecognition elements, are generated through an in vitro evolution process called SELEX. The selection of aptamers with optimal specificity and high affinity remains a challenge, leading to the recent emergence of elegant new approaches and tools for SELEX. In this commentary, we discuss recent advancements in the selection of aptamers....
Kathryne E. Taylor1 and Karen L. Mossman1,2*
...cytoplasm that have been generally disregarded, due to the fact that many frequently used experimental manipulations restrict this protein to the nucleus. This commentary discusses the significance of these findings to the ICP0 field....
John Teehan
...e nature of religion, in general, with some, predictably, placing the blame for such hate-filled acts squarely on religion....
Nisar Ahmad1*, Inayatullah Jan2, Saif Ullah1 and Sidra Pervez1
...ution to GDP, employment generation, and export earnings in the economy of Pakistan. Due to modernization in agriculture sector over the last few decades, credit needs of the farmers have increased rapidly. Credit is considered an important factor for raising the productivity and income of the farmers. The current study attempts to analyse the impact of credit on wheat productivity in district Jhang. Furthermore, study explores the purpose of farmers for acqui...
Dallin D. Oaks
...f the Tower of Babel has generally not been taken seriously by scholars in historical linguistics, but what are regarded by some as problematic aspects of the account may actually relate to claims that have been incorrectly attributed to the account. In fact, the account may not be reporting a sudden and immediate confusion of languages, or even a sequence in which a confusion of languages led to a scattering of the people. Indeed, a close examination of the a...
Thomas J. Coleman III1*, Ralph W. Hood Jr.1 and John R. Shook2
...larship on secularity in general, and atheism in particular, has increased significantly. Moreover, these phenomena have been researched, studied and documented by multiple disciplines ranging from cognitive science to religious studies, and from anthropology to sociology. The study of atheism and secularity is of high interest to not only scholars, but also the public in general. In this special issue of Science, Religion &...
Ethan G. Quillen
... attempt at theorizing a general interpretation. This is evinced not just by the way the term has been contrarily defined, but by a number of novel approaches, such as the creation and use of umbrella terms such as ‘non-religion,’ or the precarious notion of a division between ‘positive’ and/or ‘negative ‘Atheism. This article will attempt to assuage this issue by mapping out the discursive shifts presented within the disc...
Joseph Langston1*, Joseph Hammer2, Ryan T. Cragun3
... the atheist movement in general by dividing nonbelievers (N=1,939) into four groups based on degree of formal affiliation and assessing attitudes, perceptions, and preferences in three areas. First, we examined the preferences of nonbelieving group members (“secular affiliates”), former members, and nonbelieving non-members (“secular nonaffiliates”) on nonbeliever group goals, functions, and activities. Second, we examined the percep...
John Stinespring, Ryan T. Cragun*
Rabbi Paul Shrell-Fox
... in religious beliefs in general, and belief in God in particular. Approximately 25 rabbis voluntarily submitted vignettes concerning their shifts in religious belief. These vignettes were solicited via rabbinic list-serves. Those rabbis who denied a belief in a supernatural being were interviewed to explore the evolution of their religious faith and its impact on their religious practice and behavior. In as much as Judaism places a great emphasis on communal ...
Reviewed by Dr William Patterson
...en on that subject for a general audience and deservedly spent time on the bestsellers list. In his second book, Faith vs. Fact: Why Science and Religion are Incompatible, Coyne does less well. His aim is to demonstrate that the contrasting mindsets underlying science (with its emphasis on rationality, evidence, experimentation, and observation) and religion (with its emphasis on faith) are intrinsically opposed and that all attempts to reconcile them must res...
Temitope Oluwasegun Cephas Faleye1, Johnson Adekunle Adeniji1, 2 *
...PV and NPEV-C members to generate recombinant VDPVs in the region exist....
Claudia Kohl*, Andreas Nitsche, Andreas Kurth
Email: [email protected]
...xt-align: justify;">Next generation sequencing (NGS) opened up a plethora of new research possibilities in biology and medicine. Metagenomics is one of these emerging NGS applications and offers the opportunity to study i.e. whole ecosystems. Basically, the metagenomics approach is similar to well-known shotgun-sequencing, though on a much bigger scale. For instance, the metagenome of a lake would include all the fish, ducks, plants, fungi, bacteria and everyt...
Ummara Waheed Khan, Raza Ahmed, Irum Shahzadi and Mohmmad Maroof Shah
Email | [email protected]
...formation and in vitro regeneration offered new dimensions of research to improve important crop species including wheat. The tissue culture by itself has increased the crop improvement potential to develop new cultivars with desirable traits through somaclonal and gametoclonal selection. While successful tissue culture is critical for genetic transformation, it has been facing greater impediments in wheat and related crop species. Its succ...
Tauseef Taj Kiani1*, Mozammil Hussain1 and Hidayat ur Rahman2
...re used to develop three generations F2, BC1 and BC2. Heterosis (in F1) and inbreeding depres- sion (in F2, BC1 and BC2) were quanti ed for traits including shelling percentage, kernels per row, kernel rows per ear, and 100-grain weight and grain yield. Non-additive gene action was evident for shelling percentage, kernels per row and 100-grain weight and grain yield for which both het...
Rongfei Lu1, 2, Zhiyang Liu1, Peng Fang1, Guangyi Chen1, Feng Sun1, Yongjian Fan1, Yijun Zhou1, Tong Zhou1*
...y and the reliability of generated data can be enhanced significantly appropriate measures. As a standard for the relative expression of target genes, the selection of reference genes is crucial. This review describes the history of the RT-qPCR technology, emphasizes the importance of reference genes and enumerates several algorithms to screen reference genes to normalize the RT-qPCR data. Additionally, several possible improvements in the selection of referen...
Maurice A. Finocchiaro
...riginal controversy, but generated a new one that continues today, for example, about whether the condemnation proves the incompatibility between science and religion. Recently the Galileo affair has been studied by several scholars whom I label “Berkeley para-clericals,” chiefly philosopher Paul Feyerabend and historian John Heilbron. Their approach is distinctive: it views controversial topics involving the relationship between science and religi...
Yongfeng Li, Mo Zhou, Xiao Wang, Libao Xie, Hua-Ji Qiu*
...ne fever virus (CSFV) is generally a noncytopathogenic virus in cell cultures. The development of reporter CSFV has provided an excellent option to directly detect viral replication without the use of secondary labeling. This mini-review discusses the applications of reporter CSFV in the study of CSFV biology, including efficiently screening the antivirals against CSFV and viral receptors, conveniently tracking the viral proteins in live cells as well as impro...
Moustafa Kardjadj
...summarizes the knowledge generated in epidemiology, diagnosis and surveillance of the disease in the Maghreb countries....
Tahir Khan, Raziuddin, Fakharuddin* and Muazam Jamal Razi
...ss of selection in early generations for the improvement of these traits. ...
Qaizar Ahmed1, Fida Mohammad2, Hidayat-ur-Rahman2, Sheraz Ahmed2* and Fakharuddin2
...possible combinations to generate 7 x 7 diallel crosses. In 2008 and 2009, all F1 hybrids along with their parent cultivars were planted in randomized complete block (RCB) design with four replicates at Tobacco Research Station Mardan (plain) and Tobacco Research Substation Mansehra (hilly). Data for all traits were analysed in pooled analysis and individual environments. Heterosis over better parent was determined for all traits across environments...
Muhammad Ishaq and Raziuddin
... highly significant GCA (general combining ability), SCA (specific combining ability) and RCA (reciprocal combining ability) effects for the studied traits. Based on GCA, best general combiners were AUP-7 for earlier flowering and maturity, AUP-2 for plant height, AUP-14 for primary branches plant-1 and AUP-9 for main raceme length. Based on SCA effects, best F1 hybrids were AUP-7 × AUP-14 (days to flowering), AUP-8 &t...
Aqila Shaheen
...l series. All soils were generally deficient in nutrients as NO3-N was deficient in 97% surface soils (2.77-5.23 mg kg-1) and 100% sub soils (1.03-4.14 mg kg-1), P was deficient in 95% surface soils (0.76- 1.67 mg kg-1) and 100% sub soils (0.22- 1.22 mg kg-1), Zn was deficient in 100% both surface and subsoils and B was deficient in 85% surface soils and 90% subsoils. These results suggested that fertility status of these soils with respect to NO3-N, P, Zn and...
Christopher U Orji1*, Ignatius O Onyeocha2, Steven S Shaida3, Peter M Dede4, Bitrus Yakubu5, Elijah E Ella6 and Pam D Luka5
..., twelve haplotypes were generated for G. p. palpalis and five for G. m. submorsitans. Similarly, for the combined loci, haplotype diversity (Hd) was higher for G. p. palpalis (0.90) than G. m. submorsitans (0.68). Nucleotide diversity was homogenous for G. m. submorsitans (0.24859) than G. p. palpalis (0.24093). A higher genetic diversity suggests a higher evolutionary rate. Haplotype diversity and Nucleotide diversit...
Mukhtiar Ahmed, Jana Pickova, Taufiq Ahmad, Muhammad Liaquat, Abid Farid, Muhammad Jahangir
...cular mechanisms such as generation of reactive oxygen precursors and free radicals. Oxidation affects many interactions among food constituents, leading to both desirable and undesirable products. Food lipids are the foods components that are most susceptible to oxidation, therefore oxidation reactions are one of the major sources of deterioration that occurs during manufacturing, storage, distribution and final preparation of foods. Lipid oxidation products ...
Neha Singh and Anjana Pandey
...s, so the aptamers being generated could bind target molecules on live cells in their native conformation and it is possible to know the molecular profile of the cellular surface. Whole CELL SELEX is very useful in the field of diagnostics and targeted therapy and the aptamers generated can be utilized to differentiate cancerous cells from normal cells or even different types of cancerous cells, detect live pathogenic organi...
John G. Bruno and Jeffery C. Sivils
... against the surfaces of general nonpathogenic Escherichia coli (ATCC No. 8739) as well as alpha and gamma intimins and Shiga-like toxin 2 (SLT-2) B subunit verified that the aptamers bound proteins of the correct molecular weights for intact outer membrane proteins (OMPs), intimins and SLT-2. Some bands on the aptamer Western blots were shared between the “Big 6” non-O157 Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC), E. coli O157 and related Gram negative...
Koksal Karadas1, Muhammad Tariq2, Mohammad Masood Tariq3* and Ecevit Eyduran4
Ian von Hegner
... concept of democracy is generalized to be universally applicable, then the concept of hypothetical gods’ right to rule results in dictatorship. Whereas the concepts of dictator and tyrant originally had a more positive meaning, those meanings have changed. However, the concept of the gods in the philosophical debate has avoided a similar redefinition in light of democracy, despite the fact, that it involves the same negation of modern fundamental rights...
Yingbin Wang*, Ting Ye, Xiaogang Wang and Congyu Zhou
Haidar Ali, Malik Muhammad Shafi and Himayatullah Khan
...ems to potential area to generate employment opportunities. Simultaneously there is need for initiating skill development programs....
Haji Muhammad, Zafar Iqbal* and Saira Saleemi
... species belonging to 43 genera and 17 families were recorded from the study area of Indus River. Thirty two species were commercially important. Alpha Diversity Indices study showed that fish diversity of the River was quite rich (species richness, 70) and diverse, (Shannon’s index=3.66), (Simpson-D=0.96), Evenness was also high (Evenness (H/S) =0.55) and Chao-1 (70.75). The Quadrate diversity Indices were applied to the data and Bootstrap replicates me...
Atul Sharma, Aruna Chandra Singh, Gautam Bacher, Sunil Bhand
...n electrochemical signal generation. Aptamers possesses the strong potential as receptors for the development of biosensors for antibiotics detection; therefore, a specially designed aptamer specific to an antibiotic may be suitable for this purpose. In this review, the importance of detection of antibiotic residue contamination, reported analytical methods, advancement in biosensing platform especially regarding electrochemical transduction are discussed in d...
Ambreena Hafiz1, Tanzeela Riaz2 and Farah Rauf Shakoori1*
.... The toxicological data generated from deltamethrin-resistant populations was compared with deltamethrin-susceptible population that has not been exposed to any insecticide since thirteen years. From analysis of metabolic profile, it was found that soluble proteins, glucose contents and free amino acids increased, whereas glycogen and lipid contents were reduced in all deltamethrin-resistant populations as compared to deltamethrin-susceptible population. Solu...
Syeda Farzana Bibi*, Lal Badshah and Siraj-ud-Din
...cies ,which belong to 29 genera and 16 families, were recorded from the area.Poaceae was the most dominating family including 7 genera. Ecological characteristics like life form spectra indicated that Therophytes (53.33%) were the most dominating life form. Leaf size spectra showed that the most abundant leaf size was Microphyll (50%). This study not only gives information about the flora of motorway but can provide a baseli...
Characterization, Tissue-Specific and Developmental Stage Expression of Somatostatin in Coilia nasus
Siyu Yang1, Fukuan Du2 and Pao Xu1,2*
...ide is identical to that generated by the SS1 gene in other vertebrates. Tissue distribution of C. nasus SS1 mRNA was analyzed by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR), which demonstrated high expression level in the brain. During embryogenesis, SS1 mRNA was detected during early-stage embryonic development, decreased during subsequent developmental stages then increased gradually from the stage of midgastrula onward. This study provides some basic evidenc...
Ecevit Eyduran1, Daniel Zaborski2*, Abdul Waheed3, Senol Celik4, Koksal Karadas5 and Wilhelm Grzesiak2
...e (4.49 kg) for MLP1. In general, the applied algorithms quite accurately predicted BW of Beetal goats, which may be helpful in making decisions upon standards, favourable drug doses and required feed amount for animals. The ascertainment of the body measurements associated with BW using data mining algorithms can be considered as an indirect selection criterion for future goat breeding studies. ...
Tayiba Latif Gulraiz1, Arshad Javid1*, Syed Makhdoom Hussain2, Muhammad Shahbaz3, Irfan3 and Sharoon Daud4
...gal and twelve bacterial genera were isolated. Four fungal (Candida, Fusarium, Penicillium and Saccharomyces) and two bacterial genera (Klebsiella and Nocardia) were isolated from bolus only, three fungal (Cryptococcus, Histoplasma and Trichophoton) and six bacterial (Acaligenes, Azotobacter, Bartonella, Nitrsomonas, Pseudomonas and Salmonella) genera were isolated from guano while five fu...
Abdullah Mart1* and Orhan Erman2
...bspecies belonging to 10 genera of water scavenger beetles (Coleoptera: Hydrophilidae) collected from Bingöl province between May 2003-October 2004 have been described....
Faiqah Ramzan*1 and Muhammad Haris Ramzan2
...ns. As, dose dependent degeneration of prostate gland has been described following intraperitoneal kisspeptin treatment. However, effects of kisspeptin administration on the levels of prostatic citric acid remain elusive till date. The present study, therefore, addresses the effects of 12 day administration of kisspeptin on prostatic citric acid levels in male mice. Kisspeptin-10 was administered intraperitoneally in different dosage concentrations (1μg, 1 ...
Xiangxing Zhu1, Junyu Nie1, Shouneng Quan1,2, Huiyan Xu1, Xiaogan Yang1, Yangqing Lu1, Kehuan Lu1 and Shengsheng Lu1*
...chnique, we successfully generated transgenic Guangxi Bama mini-pigs carrying a fluorescent protein (DsRed) reporter gene regulated by the 2.2-kb human glial fibrillary acidic protein promoter (hGFAP-DsRed). This study characterized transgene expression in such transgenic Guangxi Bama mini-pigs and their offspring. Our findings indicate that the hGFAP promoter contains matching regulatory elements for directing specific expression in porcine astrocytes. Howeve...
Muhammad Saeed* and Iftikhar Hussain Khalil
...d testers ZM04 were good general combiners for most of traits under consideration, while F1 hybrids B4N11 × PS08, B4N11 × JZ, BRF1 × ZM04, BRF1 × KT10 were best specific combiners observed for several important traits including grain yield plant-1 which can be subsequently utilized in future wheat breeding to develop high yielding new wheat cultivars from transgressive segregants recovered in latter genera
Hina Fatima, Lal Almas and Bushra Yasmin
...d pesticides reflect the general performance of the inputs in terms of their degree of changes in cotton-melon output to change inputs reflected by the allocative efficiency analysis. It is indispensable that policies aimed at adapting innovative farming techniques must be implemented in an efficient manner. Effectively implementation of agricultural schemes, formal education and in-formal education should be realized. During and after conducting the agricultu...
Ibni Amin Khalil* and Raziuddin
Eman Mahmoud El-Diasty1,Madeha Abd El-Halim Ibrahim2 and Ghada Kamal El Khalafawy2,*
...with enzyme MspI and the generated bans corresponded to the predicted size.
...
Blood Selenium and Vitamin E Levels in Heifers: Regional and Seasonal Differences in Northern Cyprus
Serkan Sayiner1* and Hilal Karagul2
...ma vitamin E levels were generally found within adequate ranges in all regions for both seasons. We suggest that feed supplements containing selenium should be added for the Iskele region during the winter months. For the Morphou region we advise that feed supplements should be added during summer due to low levels of selenium found in roughages.
...
Ali Zurwan1,*, Muhammad Moaeen-ud-Din2, Ghulam Bilal2, Zia-ur-Rehman1,2 and Muhammad Sajjad Khan1
...ded pedigree for several generations however, this is really useful firsthand information.
...
Rashid Mahmood1,*, Waqar Ahmad1, Muhamamd Khalid Rafique1, Ghulam Sarwar1 and Anjum Shahzad2
... Farmers in Pakistan are generally not aware of pollination needs of apple. Results depicted a high population decline of Syrphids and Non-Apis bees. Syrphids were recorded as 12.65 to 13.85 per 250 flowers in 2013 but decreased in year 2014 by 7.82 to 7.88 per 250 flowers and Non-Apis bees was recorded as 6.15 to 7.59 per 250 flowers in 2013 which also decreased and recorded as 5.35 to 5.70 per 250 flowers in year 2014. The results showed the trends of increa...
Fermín Lopez-Uriostegui1, Jesús T. Ponce-Palafox2,*, Fabiola Lango-Reynoso1, María del Refugio Castañeda-Chavez1, Virgilio Eugenio Arenas-Fuentes3 and Fernando Vega-Villasante4
...ly over a 24 h cycle. In general it was found that stomach repletion index showed both species feed 24 h, but forage activity differs in intensity in the two species. In M. tenellum repletion index was greatest during the day and M. americanum in the night.
...
Waqar Islam*1, 2, Madiha Zaynab3, Muhammad Qasim2 and Zujian Wu1,2
...of durable resistance to generate virus resistant cultivars for economically important crops through molecular breeding techniques via utilizing advanced molecular markers involving cis and trans genetics. The review adhere recent research findings regarding disease resistance against viral diseases and concludes via shedding light upon the future prospects in this exciting field of research.
...
Zafar Iqbal1* and Muhammad Khurshid2
... by using specific and degenerate primers. ToLCNDV is geographically wide spread Begomovirus (Family Geminiviridae), considered as a close relative of TYLCV, and cause severe losses for many economical important crops in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. This is the first report of the use of heterologous polyclonal antibodies (PAbs), raised against a geographically distinct begomovirus, ToLCNDV. The described results have shown to exhibit a many ...
Sheraz Ahmed and Fida Mohammad
...ility in broad sense was generally low for all traits except nicotine and reducing sugar. Days to flowering was the most environment responsive trait and its heritability fluctuated between 0.22 and 0.91. Plant height was significantly associated with yield at phenotypic level only. Yield exhibited significantly negative phenotypic correlation with days to flowering. Similarly, yield was positively correlated with leaves per plant, green leaves weight per plot...
Idowu Fagbamila1*, Adaobi Okeke2, Micheal Dashen2, Patricia Lar2, Sati Ngulukun1, Benshak Audu1, David Ehizibolo1, Paul Ankeli1, Pam Luka1, Maryam Muhammad1
...eat hygiene. Waste water generated during these activities typically has high presence of organic material such as blood, fat, flesh and excreta. In developing countries like Nigeria where access to portable water is lacking, it is not uncommon to “reuse” rinse water for processing several batches of poultry carcass.Several samples were collected from three poultry slaughterhouses within Jos metropolis at intervals for a period of 6 months to check...
Cansu Akbulut1,*, Tuğba Kotil2, Burcu Öztürk1 and Nazan Deniz Yön1
...n microscopy. Numerous degenerated follicles with cytoplasmic vacuolization, mitotic catastrophe in mitochondria , chromatin condensation, mitochondrial vesiculation and dispersion at ooplasm were observed. In mitochondria, mitotic catastrophe , vesiculation, swelling and loss of organization of cristae were detected.Here we showed that TiO2 exposure trigger paraptotic type cell death in zebrafish ovary.
...
Riffat Sultana*, Waheed Ali Panhwar and Muhammad Saeed Wagan
... to the 20 tribes and 22 genera of Tettigonioidea is provided, with figures, from Pakistan.
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