Objective assessment of the association between frailty and sedentary behavior in older adults: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Given the inconsistent findings of the association between frailty and sedentary behavior in older adults, this cross-sectional study investigated the aforementioned association using four different frailty criteria and two sedentary behavior indices in older adults. METHODS: Data from older adults (age ≥ 65 y) who participated in health examinations or attended outpatient integrated clinics at a medical center in Taipei, Taiwan, were collected. Frailty was measured using the modified Fried Frailty Phenotype (mFFP), Clinical Frailty Scale in Chinese Translation (CFS-C), Study of Osteoporotic Fractures (SOF) index, and Clinical Frailty-Deficit Count (CF-DC) index; sedentary behavior was assessed with a waist-worn accelerometer. Adjusted linear regression ascertained the association between frailty and both sedentary behavior outcomes. RESULTS: Among the 214 participants (mean age 80.82 ± 7.14 y), 116 were women. The average total sedentary time and number of sedentary bouts were 609.74 ± 79.29 min and 5.51 ± 2.09 times per day, respectively. Frail participants had a longer total sedentary time (odds ratio [OR]: 30.13, P = .01 and 39.43, P < .001) and more sedentary bouts (OR: 3.50 and 5.86, both P < .001) on mFFP and CFS-C assessments, respectively. The SOF index revealed more sedentary bouts among frail than in robust participants (OR: 2.06, P = .009), without a significant difference in the total sedentary time. Frail participants defined by the CF-DC index were more likely to have frequent sedentary bouts (OR: 2.03, P = .016), but did not have a longer total sedentary time. CONCLUSIONS: Regardless of the frailty criteria adopted, frailty was positively associated with the number of sedentary bouts per day in older adults. A significant correlation between frailty and total sedentary time was detected only with mFFP and CFS-C indices. Further research may target decreasing the sedentary bouts in older adults as a strategy to improve frailty.

Design, Synthesis, and Biological Activities of Novel Phenylpyrazole Derivatives Containing a Trifluoromethylselenyl Moiety.

Phenylpyrazole insecticides are widely used for crop protection and public sanitation by blocking gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-gated chloride channels and glutamate-gated chloride (GluCl) channels. Herein, 36 novel phenylpyrazole derivatives containing a trifluoromethylselenyl moiety were designed and synthesized based on the strategy of introducing a selenium element. All derivative structures were characterized by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS). The insecticidal activity results indicated that some derivatives had good insecticidal activities against Aedes albopictus (A. albopictus) and Plutella xylostella (P. xylostella). The larvicidal activity against mosquitos of compounds 5, 5a, 5k, and 5l at 0.5 mg/L was 60-80%. At a concentration of 500 mg/L, compounds 5, 5a, 5h, 5k, 5l, 5r, 6, 6j, 6k, and 7 showed a 70-100% mortality against P. xylostella. Among them, derivatives 5 and 6 had a better insecticidal effect with mortality rates of 87 and 93% at 50 mg/L, respectively. It was summarized that the different binding poses of fipronil and compounds 5 and 6 in the Musca domestica (M. domestica) GABARs might lead to the disparity in bioactivity from docking studies. Toxicity tests on zebrafish suggested that compound 6 may be slightly less toxic to the embryos than fipronil on hatching rate.

N-Difluoromethylthiophthalimide Reagents for Modular Synthesis of Diversified α-Difluoromethylthiolated Ketones.

The compounds featuring α-difluorothiomethylated ketone skeleton derivatives are of particular interest in pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals. Herein, we designed novel electrophilic N-difluoromethylthiophthalimide reagents that can be easily prepared with commercially available and economical chemicals. These reagents could smoothly react with various nucleophiles, such as Grignard reagents, boronic acids, ß-keto esters, and anilines, which affords structurally diverse α-difluoromethylthiolated ketones in good to excellent yields. The formal synthesis of active antifungal compounds positively confirmed the practicability of these reagents.