The Toxicity Differences of Fluralaner against the Red Imported Fire Ant (Solenopsis invicta) at Different Developmental Stages.

The red imported fire ant (RIFA), Solenopsis invicta, is an invasive pest that causes damage to agricultural and ecological environments worldwide. Fluralaner is a new isoxazoline pesticide with the potential to become a control agent against RIFA. However, it is not clear whether S. invicta responds the same way to fluralaner at different reproductive stages. The present study firstly evaluated the toxicity of fluralaner to S. invicta at different developmental stages, finding that fourth instar larvae (LD50, 1744.23 mg/kg) and worker ants (LD50, 8.62 mg/kg) were differently susceptible to fluralaner, while the mortality rate of fourth instar larvae was significantly lower at the same concentration of 10 mg/L (5.56 ± 3.14%) than that of worker ants (62.22 ± 3.14%), demonstrating a greater tolerance to fluralaner. Subsequently, the metabolic responses of worker and larval ants to fluralaner stress (10 mg/L) were investigated using non-targeted metabolomics, which indicated that the amount of differential metabolites and the KEGG metabolic pathways enriched were different between workers and larvae when exposed to the same dose (10 mg/L) of fluralaner. Differential metabolites of larvae and worker ants under fluralaner stress were mainly concentrated in organic acids and their derivatives, lipids and lipid-like molecules, nucleosides, nucleotides, and analogues, combined with the enriched metabolic pathways, revealed that the differential metabolic responses of larvae and worker ants were mainly in energy metabolism, detoxification metabolism, and neurotransmitter ligands. Workers consumed more substrates in the arginine synthesis pathway (l-glutamic acid, l-aspartic acid, and fumaric acid) to provide energy for the detoxification (glutathione) of pesticides when exposed to fluralaner stress, and the high accumulation of l-aspartic acid induced excitotoxicity in the worker ants. Larval ants consumed more arachidonic acid to synthesize PG D2, and changes in the metabolism of antioxidants such as catechins, hesperidin, and l-ascorbic acid suggested that larvae were more capable of scavenging the ROS response than worker ants. The results of non-targeted metabolomics successfully revealed differences in the sensitivity of larvae and workers to fluralaner agents, providing insights into the fluralaner control of Solenopsis invicta.

Exploring the push-pull factors influencing parenting efficacy of fathers of children with ASD: a fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis.

Objectives: This study aimed to explore the core factors and configurations influencing parenting efficacy for fathers of children with ASD in Western China by using a configuration analysis. Background: Understanding the push-pull factors related to parenting efficacy for fathers raising children with ASD can support the fathers of children with ASD to participate in education affairs and improve the quality of family education, which is of significant importance to both individuals and society. This study recruited 156 fathers of children with ASD from China. Results: The results suggested that there was more than one (sub) configuration for achieving a high level of parenting efficacy among fathers of children with ASD. (b) The configurations could be summarized into three main types as follows: "working within the system*flexible working time," "high level of education*high level of other support," and "severe disability*fewer interaction with wife." (c) The two variables, "family income" and "community support," were not as important as they were shown in previous studies, and their effects often depended on how they interact with other variables. Conclusions: Findings highlighted the validity of deploying configuration analysis (based on the ecosystem theory) to establish the relationship between independent variables and the parenting efficacy of fathers of children with ASD. The discovery of more than one configuration led to a new consensus on how multiple factors influence parenting efficacy. Implications were suggested for practitioners, policymakers, and future research alike.