Christian-Muslim Coexistence in Peshawar City

Several scholarly works and media reports claim that the Christian minority in Pakistan is mistreated, persecuted, and discriminated against, giving an overall impression as if Christians are alienated from the main social stream everywhere in Pakistan and that the public at large is responsible for their miseries. Noticing that most of the above-mentioned works are theoretical or based on journalistic information, an attempt has been made through this empirical case study of Peshawar city to know the situation of Christian-Muslim coexistence on the ground. For this purpose, a mix method approach was used combining quantitative survey, qualitative interviews, and group discussions. Contrary to the prevailing negative impression, this study reveals that to a large measure Christian and Muslim communities are living together peacefully, at least in Peshawar city. Quantitatively, 68% of respondents, both Christians and Muslims, viewed their mutual social and neighborhood interaction as positive. The results of qualitative interviews also supported these findings. It is, therefore, concluded that apart from some Christian concerns which need to be addressed, overall Christian-Muslim coexistence at the societal level might not be marred by religious differences everywhere in Pakistan. Negative generalizations in this regard need to be revisited, to say the least

Adaptation and Validation of the New Indices of Religious Orientation Revised Scale

Objective. The purpose of this study was to adapt and validate the New Indices of Religious Orientation Revised (NIROR) scale, which has been developed in different cultural settings, for a study of Pakistani university students. The NIROR was developed by Francis, Fawcett, Robbins, and Stairs (2016), consisting of 27 items for Canadian-Christian respondents. It measures intrinsic religious orientation, extrinsic religious orientation, and quest religious orientation. Method. In this study, we have culturally adapted the scale for Pakistani sample. The validity indices were ascertained on a sample of 300 participants, these included; undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate students taken from different departments of four universities of Islamabad. Results. The EFA, using the common factor analysis method, resulted in the final structure of the scale into 18 items with four factors, the first factor's reliability was α = .87, the second factor's α = .82, the third factor's α = .79 and the fourth factor's α =.75. EFA was followed by the CFA on a new sample (n=498) to confirm the factors' structure. The CFA revealed a good model fit for the four factors solution of this scale that is χ2 (125) = 291.34; χ2 /df = 2.33; root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) = .05; goodness-of-fit index (GFI) = .94; Tucker-Lewis index (TLI) = .93; confirmatory fit index (CFI) = .94; normed fit index (NFI) =.90. Conclusion. It is concluded that the adapted version with four factors is a reliable and valid measure to be used for Muslim adults in the Pakistani context

Some Interval-Valued Pythagorean Fuzzy Weighted Averaging Aggregation Operators and Their Application to Multiple Attribute Decision Making

The focus of our this article is to familiarize a new concept of operators including, interval-valued Pythagorean fuzzy hybrid weighted averaging (IVPFHWA) aggregation operator, interval-valued Pythagorean fuzzy ordered weighted averaging (IVPFOWA) aggregation operator and interval-valued Pythagorean fuzzy weighted averaging (IVPFWA) aggregation operator. We also discuss some of their basic properties including idempotency, boundedness, commutativity and monotonicity. We also give some examples to develop these proposed operators. The advantage of the propose operators is that these operators provide more accurate and precise results as compare to the existing method. Finally, we apply these operators to deal with multiple attribute group decision making (MAGDM) by using the Pythagorean fuzzy numbers

Generalized (∈, ∈ ∨qk)-Fuzzy Quasi-Ideals in Semigroups

In this article, we introduce the concept of (∈, ∈ ∨q δ k )-fuzzy (generalized) bi-ideal, (∈, ∈ ∨q δ k )-fuzzy (1, 2)-ideal, (∈, ∈ ∨q δ k )-fuzzy quasi-ideal in semigroups. We show that each (∈, ∈ ∨q δ k )-fuzzy quasiideal is an (∈, ∈ ∨q δ k )-fuzzy bi-ideal and each (∈, ∈ ∨q δ k )-fuzzy left (right) ideal is an (∈, ∈ ∨q δ k )-fuzzy quasi-ideal but the converses are not true in general

In vivo fiber photometry of neural activity in response to optogenetically manipulated inputs in freely moving mice

In vivo fiber photometry is a powerful technique to analyze the dynamics of population neurons during functional study of neuroscience. Here, we introduced a detailed protocol for fiber photometry-based calcium recording in freely moving mice, covering from virus injection, fiber stub insertion, optogenetical stimulation to data procurement and analysis. Furthermore, we applied this protocol to explore neuronal activity of mice lateral-posterior (LP) thalamic nucleus in response to optogenetical stimulation of primary visual cortex (V1) neurons, and explore axon clusters activity of optogenetically evoked V1 neurons. Final confirmation of virus-based protein expression in V1 and precise fiber insertion indicated that the surgery procedure of this protocol is reliable for functional calcium recording. The scripts for data analysis and some tips in our protocol are provided in details. Together, this protocol is simple, low-cost, and effective for neuronal activity detection by fiber photometry, which will help neuroscience researchers to carry out functional and behavioral study in vivo

Nano-biotechnology: a new approach to treat and prevent malaria

Malaria, the exterminator of similar to 1.5 to 2.7 million human lives yearly, is a notorious disease known throughout the world. The eradication of this disease is difficult and a challenge to scientists. Vector elimination and effective chemotherapy for the patients are key tactics to be used in the fight against malaria. However, drug resistance and environmental and social concerns are the main hurdles in this fight against malaria. Overcoming these limitations is the major challenge for the 21st-century malarial researchers. Adapting the principles of nano-biotechnology to both vector control and patient therapy is the only solution to the problem. Several compounds such as lipids, proteins, nucleic acid and metallic nanoparticles (NPs) have been successfully used for the control of this lethal malaria disease. Other useful natural reagents such as microbes and their products, carbohydrates, vitamins, plant extracts and biodegradable polymers, are also used to control this disease. Among these particles, the plant-based particles such as leaf, root, stem, latex, and seed give the best antagonistic response against malaria. In the present review, we describe certain efforts related to the control, prevention and treatment of malaria. We hope that this review will open new doors for malarial research

Honey: Single food stuff comprises many drugs

Honey is a natural food item produced by honey bees. Ancient civilizations considered honey as a God gifted prestigious product. Therefore, a huge literature is available regarding honey importance in almost all religions. Physically, honey is a viscous and jelly material having no specific color. Chemically, honey is a complex blend of many organic and inorganic compounds such as sugars, proteins, organic acids, pigments, minerals, and many other elements. Honey use as a therapeutic agent is as old as human civilization itself. Prior to the appearance of present day drugs, honey was conventionally used for treating many diseases. At this instant, the modern research has proven the medicinal importance of honey. It has broad spectrum anti-biotic, anti-viral and anti-fungal activities. Honey prevents and kills microbes through different mechanism such as elevated pH and enzyme activities. Till now, no synthetic compound that works as anti-bacterial, anti-viral and anti-fungal drugs has been reported in honey yet it works against bacteria, viruses and fungi while no anti-protozoal activity has been reported. Potent anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-cancerous activities of honey have been reported. Honey is not only significant as anti-inflammatory drug that relieve inflammation but also protect liver by degenerative effects of synthetic anti-inflammatory drugs. This article reviews physico-chemical properties, traditional use of honey as medicine and mechanism of action of honey in the light of modern scientific medicinal knowledge