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Context:Survey.Aims:The objective of the study was to evaluate the periodontal health status among cigarette smokers and non cigarette smokers, and oral hygiene measures.Settings and Design:Cross sectional study.Materials and Methods:The study included 400 male (200 cigarette smokers and 200 non smokers) aged 18-65 years. The subjects were randomly selected from the patients attending dental out-patient department of civil hospital and Himachal Dental College, Sundernagar. Community Periodontal Index (CPI) score was recorded for each patient and a questionnaire was completed by each patient.Statistical Analysis Used:Chi square and t-test.Results:Periodontal condition as assessed by CPI score showed that there was statistically significant difference in the findings between cigarette smokers and non-smokers.Conclusions:Within the limits of this study, positive association was observed between periodontal disease and cigarette smoking. It was found that cigarette smoking was associated with lesser gingival bleeding and deeper pockets as compared to non-smokers.

Whiteflies cause considerable losses to crops, directly by feeding, and indirectly by transmission of viruses. The current control methods consist of a combination of different control tactics, mainly still relying on unsafe and non-ecofriendly chemical control. RNA interference (RNAi) is a post-transcriptional gene-silencing strategy in which double-stranded RNA (dsRNA), corresponding specifically to a target gene, is introduced in a target organism. Research on RNAi in the previous decade has shown its success as a potential insect control strategy, which can be highly species-specific and environment friendly. In whiteflies, the success of dsRNA delivery through the oral route opened possibilities for its management through plant-mediated RNAi. To date, several genes have been targeted in whiteflies through RNAi and these assays demonstrated its potential to manage whiteflies at lab level. However, further research and investments are needed to move toward an application at field level. In this review, for the first time, we collected the literature on genes targeted for silencing via RNAi in whiteflies and discuss the potential of RNAi in whitefly pest control. We also discuss likely delivery methods, including transgenic in planta delivery and symbiont-mediated delivery, and its potential for studying and interfering with insecticide resistance mechanisms and virus transmission by whiteflies. K E Y W O R D S endosymbionts, functional genomics, resistance mechanism, RNA interference, whitefly Arch. Insect Biochem. Physiol. 2019;100:e21522.wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/arch

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Twelve bacterial species were evaluated to know the degradation pattern of thiamethoxam in liquid medium. All the bacterial species could actively degrade phorate in a mineral salt medium containing phorate (50 μg ml(-1)) as sole carbon source. As these species have ability to degrade, we used these for the degradation of thiamethoxam--a neonicoitinoids. Screening of 12 active phorate-metabolizing bacterial species resulted in selection of Bacillus aeromonas strain IMBL 4.1 and Pseudomonas putida strain IMBL 5.2 causing 45.28 and 38.23 % thiamethoxam (50 μg ml(-1)) reduction, respectively, in 15 days as potential thiamethoxam degrading species. These two bacterial species grew optimally at 37 °C under shake culture conditions in MSMT medium raised with initial pH of 6.0-6.5 and use of these optimum cultural conditions resulted in improved thiamethoxam degradation by these bacterial species. These species caused maximum thiamethoxam degradation only in the presence of thiamethoxam as sole source of carbon and energy and the same was reduced in the presence of easily metabolize able carbon (C₀ and C₁) and nitrogen ((N₀, N₁ and N₂) sources. This could be attributed to involvement of repressible metabolic pathways, reactions of which are inhibited by the presence of easily available nutrients for growth. Besides above, qualitative analysis of thiamethoxam residues by gas liquid chromatography revealed complete metabolization of thiamethoxam without detectable accumulation of any known thiamethoxam metabolites.