Preparation of Sulfonyl Chlorides by Oxidative Chlorination of Thiols and Disulfides using HNO/HCl/O in a Flow Reactor.

A continuous flow metal-free protocol for the synthesis of sulfonyl chlorides from thiols and disulfides in the presence of nitric acid, hydrochloric acid and oxygen was developed. The influence of the reaction parameters was investigated under batch and flow conditions. Online F NMR was successfully implemented to investigate different reaction conditions within a single experiment.

Direct subthalamic nucleus stimulation influences speech and voice quality in Parkinson's disease patients.

Background: DBS of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) considerably ameliorates cardinal motor symptoms in PD. Reported STN-DBS effects on secondary dysarthric (speech) and dysphonic symptoms (voice), as originating from vocal tract motor dysfunctions, are however inconsistent with rather deleterious outcomes based on post-surgical assessments.

Objective: To parametrically and intra-operatively investigate the effects of deep brain stimulation (DBS) on perceptual and acoustic speech and voice quality in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients.

Patient retention gifts in clinical trials - undue inducement or justified motivational tools?

The use of retention gifts in clinical trials has been controversial, with some ethicists maintaining that such gifts represent undue inducement to the trial participants. A study was conducted at TREAD Research, a site-managed organisation based at Tygerberg Hospital, in which 302 participants completed a questionnaire that focused on their opinion with regard to such gifts. The results suggest that these gifts do not influence patients to participate in a clinical trial or influence them to remain on a trial should they wish to withdraw.