Epiphyseal Fusion of Iliac Crests in Male and Female Adolescents: An Age Estimation Criterion

Background: Determination of age depends upon physical examination, dental assessment, and skeletal evaluation. The radiological examination of bone for appearance and fusion of ossification centers helps in the assessment of skeletal maturity as the process occurs in a particular sequence which is almost constant for that particular bone. Objectives: The objective of this study was to determine the age of fusion of iliac crest by radiological examination of subjects of age bracket 17-25 years coming to Shalamar Hospital Lahore Methods: In this cross-sectional study, radiological examinations (Digital X-Rays) were performed to evaluate the fusion of Iliac Crest in 200 subjects of both genders of 17 – 25 years. Data analysis was done using SPSS Version 23. Conclusions were drawn and compared with available results of previous work done in this field. Results: Out of 200 subjects, there were 132 males (66 %) and 68 females (34%). The mean ± SD age of both genders was 20.41± 2.55. There were 93 cases (70.45%) of complete fusion among males, showing 100 % union in the age groups of 21-25 years, while 40 cases (58.83%) of complete union among females were observed during 20-25 year of age groups. The mean ± SD age of complete union for males was 20.67± 2.61 years and for females 19.90 ± 2.38 years, with a significant p value of <0.05. Similarly, a statistically significant difference was observed among people of different socio-economic statuses. No difference was observed among different ethnic groups. Conclusions: The fusion of the iliac crest is not affected by ethnicity. Factors like diet and nutrition directly affect bone growth and hence bone age. More studies should be conducted across the country to formulate a standard in setting up a uniform criterion for assessing the age of adolescents

Isolation and Evaluation of Vital Genes As Rnai Targets from Cotton and Citrus Mealybugs Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae

Mealybugs (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) are soft bodied, sexually dimorphic, hemimetabolous insects with sucking mouthparts. There are a number of pest mealybug species in Pakistan, but citrus mealybug, Planococcus citri and cotton mealybug, Phenacoccus solenopsis are relatively more important as they cause significant damage to fruit gardens and crop plants, respectively. P. citri is a phloem feeder and has a very broad plant host range. Loss of plant vigor and stunting are characteristic symptoms, but P. citri also reduces fruit quality and causes fruit drop leading to significant yield reductions. P. citri secretes honey dew and wax onto plant surfaces allowing for sooty mold development, and infestations can result in rejecting plants shipped for trade. Similarly, P. solenopsis is considered a highly invasive pest of agricultural and horticultural crops feeding on a wide variety of plants from an estimated 246 plant families. Cotton mealybug emerged as a serious pest in Pakistan during 2005-2006 when it caused significant losses to cotton crop. P. solenopsis feeds on all parts of plants especially on tender shoots, leaves joining the stem or along the leaf veins. Its massive reproduction on plants causes distortion, weakening, defoliation, die back and even death of susceptible plants. P. solenopsis also secretes honeydew that causes growth of sooty molds. Although genetically modified (GM) crops have proved successful in controlling chewing insects, they have generally failed to control sucking insects. One reason of this failure is considered the mode of feeding of sap sucking insects. Success of GM crops against chewing insects has highlighted the importance of biotechnology options to control sucking insects. RNA interference (RNAi) is an emerging tool for functional genomics studies and is being investigated as a practical tool for highly targeted insect control. RNAi acts at mRNA level thus impeding translation to proteins, and if vital genes are targeted, insect development can be hampered and mortality can be achieved. Here I investigated whether RNAi effects can be induced in P. citri and P. solenopsis and whether candidate genes could be identified as possible targets for RNAi-based mealybug control. RNAi effects were induced in P. citri, as demonstrated by specific target reductions of P. citri β-actin, chitin synthase 1 and V-ATPase mRNAs after injection of the corresponding specific double-stranded RNA inducers. Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) was used as a vector to express these RNAi effectors in N. benthamiana plants. It was found that P. citri exposed to recombinant TMV-infected plants showed lower fecundity and pronounced nymphal mortality. Further, these phenotypic results were confirmed by target mRNA reduction through qRT-PCR. Similarly, Potato virus X (PVX) was used as a vector to express RNAi effectors in Nicotiana tabacum against P. solenopsis chitin synthase 1 (PsCHS1), V-ATPase (PsV- ATPase) and bursicon (PsBur) as target genes. It was found that RNAi effects can be induced in P. solenopsis through feeding on N. tabacum inoculated with recombinant PVX vector with all three genes (PsCHS1, PsBur and PsV-ATPase) as was revealed by reduction in mRNA levels and phenotypic effects like physical deformities, mortality and reduced fecundity. Taken together, the data suggests that β-actin, chitin synthase 1, V-ATPase and bursicon are potential targets for RNAi against P. citri and P. solenopsis, and that recombinant TMV and PVX are effective tools for evaluating candidate RNAi effectors in plants against phloem feeders.