The role of dental pain and psychosocial factors on the relationship between dental caries and oral health-related quality of life in children.

BACKGROUND: To examine the role of dental pain, sense of coherence (SOC) and social support on the relationship between dental caries and oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) in children aged 12 years. METHODS: A cross-sectional study involving 400 schoolchildren selected from public schools in a socioeconomically disadvantaged region in the city of Manaus, Brazil was carried out. The predictors of OHRQoL were selected according to the Wilson and Cleary theoretical model, including number of decayed teeth and its clinical consequence (component D of the DMFT index and PUFA/pufa index), dental pain (symptom status), and SOC and social support (individual and environmental characteristics). Statistical analysis was conducted through structural equation modelling and multivariable negative binomial regression. The significance level established for all analyses was 5%. RESULTS: Number of dental caries was indirectly linked with OHRQoL (ß = 0.19, 95% CI 0.11/0.29) through dental pain, SOC and social support. Clinical consequences of untreated caries directly predicted poor OHRQoL (ß = 0.12, 95% CI 0.01/0.23). Dental pain, SOC and social support did not moderate the effect of dental caries measures on OHRQoL. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest the role of dental pain, SOC and social support as mediator factors on the link between dental caries and OHRQoL. Tackling dental caries along with psychosocial factors may attenuated the impact of oral health on OHRQoL in children.

Impact of Environmental Variables on Parasitism and Emergence of Trichogramma pretiosum, Telenomus remus and Telenomus podisi.

Environmental variables may markedly influence egg parasitoid performance and must be considered when choosing the best release strategy. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the effects of light, temperature, soil moisture, and precipitation on the emergence and parasitism of parasitoid releases of unprotected and encapsulated pupae. The presence of light favored the parasitism of Trichogramma pretiosum Riley, 1879, and Telenomus remus (Nixon, 1937) but did not impact the parasitism of Telenomus podisi (Ashmead, 1893). The release strategy adopted (release of encapsulated or unprotected pupae) also impacted the results. On one hand, card capsules gave protection against rainfall, limited to 10 mm regarding Tr. pretiosum, while on the other hand, card capsules led to a reduction in the number of captured adults for Te. podisi at 25°C and 30°C. Therefore, Tr. pretiosum, Te. remus, and Te. podisi can be released using both encapsulated and unprotected pupae, with advantages and disadvantages for each strategy, depending on each studied environmental variable. In addition, parasitoid pupae should be released so that the majority emerge during daylight, especially for Te. remus and Tr. pretiosum, since parasitism was greatly reduced in dark environments. Telenomus podisi is not affected by this variable as it demonstrated similar parasitism in light and dark environments.

Temperature Impact on Telenomus podisi Emergence in Field Releases of Unprotected and Encapsulated Parasitoid Pupae.

This work aimed to evaluate the influence of temperature on the emergence of Telenomus podisi throughout the soybean development cycle, using encapsulated and unprotected pupae releases, in four different possible locations where pupae can be deposited during release. The trial was carried out in a randomized block design in a 2 × 4 factorial scheme: two parasitoid pupae release strategies (encapsulated and unprotected) × four pupae locations (between soybean lines of planting, bottom third, middle third, or upper third of plant canopy) with 5 replicates. There were no significant interactions between the studied factors. In the vegetative stage (V2 and V9), a smaller percentage of emergence of parasitoid adults was observed between soybean lines of planting (37.1% and 23.4% for V2 and V9 , respectively). The highest maximum temperatures were recorded between the soybean lines, with the greatest variations in maximum and minimum temperatures (55.2°C and 21.3°C) in V2 and (52.8°C and 23.9°C) in V9. In the reproductive stages (R1, R4, and R7), the observed temperatures were lower when compared to those observed in the vegetative stages (V2 and V9), with no difference in the emergence of parasitoid adults, which was above 70% in stage R1 and above 80% in R4 and R7. Regarding the pupae (encapsulated or unprotected), both allowed similar adult emergence. Therefore, it can be concluded that both unprotected and encapsulated pupae can be released, but those releases during the soybean vegetative development stage should be avoided due to the high temperatures to which pupae can be exposed.

Intrinsic Interspecific Competition Between Telenomus podisi and Trissolcus teretis (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae).

The competition between Telenomus podisi Ashmead and Trissolcus teretis (Johnson) parasitizing eggs of Diceraeus melacanthus (Dallas) and Euschistus heros (Fabricius) was studied in three different laboratory bioassays to gather knowledge in order to improve stink bug management and to strengthen the preservation of naturally occurring parasitoid species. The impact of parasitoid sequence and time intervals (4 to 192 h) between parasitoid species was evaluated. Competition of Te. podisi and Tr. teretis for the same host favored the parasitoid encountering the egg host first, as it usually outcompetes the second parasitoid. We conclude that it is unwarranted in a short-term goal to release both species together in augmentative biological control programs since the repeated release of Te. podisi led to higher parasitism than any other studied variation of parasitoid sequence. However, simultaneous release of multiple species could be important to help the preservation of the diversity of scelionids in the agroecosystem, a hypothesis that needs to be further investigated in future research.

Biological characteristics of Trissolcus urichi (Crawford) (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae) on Euschistus heros (Fabricius) and Dichelops melacanthus (Dallas) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) Eggs.

Species of the genus Trissolcus are effective as egg parasitoids of Euschistus heros and can potentially be used in a multispecies pest management approach. However, in order to successfully use those biocontrol agents in the field, previous detailed knowledge about their life history are necessary. Therefore, we evaluate some biological characteristics of Trissolcus urichi on Euschistus heros and Dichelops melacanthus eggs. Three independent experiments were performed: (1) T. urichi host preference between E. heros and D. melacanthus eggs. (2) T. urichi eggs-adult period (days), number of parasitized eggs in 24 h, emergence rate (%) and sex ratio of the parasitoid in E. heros and D. melacanthus eggs. (3) Morphometric characteristics of T. urichi grown on E. heros and D. melacanthus eggs. Trissolcus urichi preferred to parasitize E. heros eggs, exhibiting a higher number of parasitized eggs, higher rate of emergence (%) and faster development, as well as producing progeny of larger size than the parasitoids emerged from eggs of D. melacanthus in relation to body length, wing length and width. Thus, it can be concluded that T. urichi had better performance on E. heros eggs, although the parasitoid had also acceptable parasitism capacity and development in D. melacanthus eggs.