Odonata is the largest insect order, which is entirely predaceous in rice ecosystem. Both naiads and adults are voracious predators on other insects. Gunathilagaraj et al. (1999) recorded 16 species of Odonata in rice fields of Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India. Barrion and Litsinger (1994) listed 14 species of Odonata in rice fields of Asia and Africa. As for their predatory role in rice fields, the damselflies Ishnuera senegalensis, Agriocnemis pygmaea, Ishnuera delicata and Ceriagrion coromandelianum (Krishnasamay et al., 1983) were reported to be predating upon leaf-and planthoppers. They also reported the dragonflies Orthetrum Sabina, Crocothemis servilia, Pantala flavescens and Diplocodes nubulosa as effective predators of rice Lepidoptera. The present paper deals with the diversity of Odonata in rice ecosystem of Madurai, Tamil Nadu. MATERIALS AND METHODSThe diversity and relative abundance of Odonata was studied at the Wetlands of Agricultural College and Research Institute, Madurai, Tamil Nadu. The study area receives water from the Vaigai dam. The minimum and maximum temperatures of the experimental area were 28 0 C and 40 0 C, respectively, during Kharif (2000). The average rainfall of study area recorded was 928mm. Four popular rice varieties, viz., MDU 5, ADT 36, ADT 39 and ADT 43 were used during this season. Each variety was replicated into two treatments namely weeded plots (all the weeds removed) and partially weeded plots (10 weeds allowed/ m 2 ). The size of the experimental plot was 8 x 6m. The collection of adult dragonflies and damselflies in rice canopy ecosystem was done with sweep net. The collected adults were sorted out into respective taxa based on taxonomic characters and number of individuals in each taxon recorded. Sampling was taken at weekly intervals and a total of nine samplings taken during Kharif (2000). In the present investigation, Jaccard coefficient index of similarity (Jaccard, 1908) was used to study the diversity of Odonata between weeded and partially weeded rice ecosystems. RESULTSThe present study revealed that a total of 12 taxa of Odonata comprising of nine Anisoptera and three Zygoptera were recorded (Table 1). Among the Anisoptera, Pantala flavescens (Fabricius.), Diplocodes trivialis (Rambur), Crocothemis servilia (Drury) and Tramea limbata (Desjardins) were the dominant species. Other species, Orthetrum Sabina (Drury), Rhyothemis variegata (Linnaeus), Neurothemis tullia (Drury), Anax guttatus, and Trithemis sp. were recorded only at the tillering stage of the crop. Among the three species of Zygoptera, Agriocnemis femina femina Brauer was the dominant species than Agriocnemis pygmaea Rambur and Ishnura sp. The similarity statistics of dragonfly exhibited the similarity values between 0.77-0.88 in the first week and showed greater diversity (0.50) during fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth weeks (Table 2). Damselfly registered higher diversity (0.50) from the second week to seventh week. Both the dragonfly and damselfly exhibited 0.50 similarity in...

Wound healing is a dynamic process that involves the integrated action of a number of cell types, the extra cellular matrix, and soluble mediators termed cytokines. In recent years considerable advances have been made in the research, knowledge, and understanding of growth factors. Growth factors are, in essence, proteins that communicate activities to cells. Their function is dependent on the receptor site they attach to. Growth factors were initially named for the type of response generated by them, but newer research has shown that many of these cells may accomplish many different types of response. A growth factor's role in wound repair is a critical component of the successful resolution of a wound. Growth factors help regulate many of the activities involved in healing. The role and function of growth factor is an evolving area of science and offers the potential for treatment alternatives in the future.

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A BSTRACT Diabetes mellitus is an endocrinal disorder affecting worldwide and the disease incidence is rising alarmingly high. The effects of diabetes on tooth development are explored by limited studies and their molecular insights are very rarely studied. This systematic review is aimed to provide the best scientific literature source on the molecular insights into odontogenesis in hyperglycemic environment caused by diabetes mellitus or by maternal diabetes on the offspring. The literature search was conducted on the databases, namely PubMed, PubMed Central, Cochrane, and Scopus. The original studies exploring the alterations in the molecular pathways of odontogenesis in diabetes mellitus were selected. Data were extracted, chosen, and evaluated by two independent researchers. At the end of thorough data search, four articles were eligible for the review. Three articles brought out the molecular pathways involved in the offspring of gestational diabetes through animal models. Fourth article was an in vitro study, which treated the stem cells in hyperglycemic environment and drafted the molecular pathway. The altered molecular pathways in dental epithelial stem cells (DESCs), dental papilla cells (DPCs), and stem cells from apical papilla were studied and empowered with statistical analysis. Thus with this systematic review, we conclude that apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease1 downregulation causing deoxyribonucleic acid hypermethylation and Oct4, Nanog gene silencing, activation of toll-like receptor-4/nuclear factor kappa B (TLR4/NF-κB) pathway are involved in suppressing cell proliferation and accelerated apoptosis in DESCs in high glucose environment. DPCs are suppressed from odonto differentiation by activation of TLR4 signaling and resulting inhibition of SMAD1/5/9 phosphorylation in diabetic condition. NF-κB pathway activation causes decreased cell proliferation and enhanced differentiation in apical papilla stem cells in hyperglycemia. Further studies targeting various stages of odontogenesis can reveal more molecular insight.

One of the primary tasks of systematic biology is the development of our biological nomenclature and classifications. The key purpose for the development of a standard nomenclature for a disease is the need for a common language for the statement of diagnostic terms and for a means or system whereby diagnosis could be suitably recorded without chaos. Odontogenic tumor nomenclature and classification have confused physicians over the years. Ameloblastoma is one such entity among odontogenic tumors, which has continuously changed to be an evolution of the terms and taxonomy used in literature. In this review, we aim to provide a fundamental basis for the understanding of how the etymology and the position of ameloblastoma in odontogenic tumor classification have evolved over the years.

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Granular cell ameloblastoma (GCA) is one of the rare histological variants of ameloblastoma (1.5-3.5%), identified by Krompechner in 1918 and is diagnosed by the characteristic presence of granular cells. These granular cells are seen in several physiological and pathological conditions and the granularity in GCA is due to lysosomal aggregates. This review is about the clinical features, histopathological features and differential diagnosis of GCA and also adds the theories for occurrence of granularity, electron microscopic findings, cell signaling pathways and immunohistochemistry findings related to these granular cells in GCA.

Background. Chronic inflammation is estimated to contribute to approximately 25% of human cancers. Inflammation can be induced by chronic mechanical irritation which can lead to oral pre-cancer and oral cancer. Though many studies have been conducted to identify the genetic damage in oral cancer or dysplastic stages, no study has been completed so far on early detection of genetic damage in healthy individuals presenting with sharp teeth in contact with the lateral border of the tongue. Objective. The study is aimed at analyzing  the genetic damage (micronuclei) in healthy individuals with sharp teeth in contact with the lateral border of the tongue causing chronic mechanical irritation. Methods. The study group comprised of 75 clinically healthy individuals with sharp teeth in contact with the lateral border of the tongue and 25 clinically healthy individuals with normal teeth in contact with the lateral border of the tongue as a control group. Brush samples of epithelial cells were collected, then spread over clean glass slide and fixed in 100% alcohol, stained with rapid PAP and analyzed under the light microscope. The exfoliated cells were examined to detect micronuclei. Results. Micronuclei frequency was found to be increased in the study group where sharp teeth were in contact with the lateral border of the tongue of healthy individuals without deleterious habits such as usage of tobacco in smoking/smokeless form, areca nut chewing or alcohol consumption. Conclusions. Cytogenetic analysis is a simple and scantly invasive technique allowing clinicians the early detection of DNA damage in patients with sharp teeth and subsequently preventing carcinogenesis by proper treatment and follow-up.