SCiPad: evaluating telemedicine via iPad facetime for general spinal cord injury care.

STUDY DESIGN: Uncontrolled clinical pilot study. OBJECTIVES: To assess usage, perceived impact, and satisfaction with a telemedicine program among individuals with spinal cord injury (tele-SCI). SETTING: Community-based. METHODS: Participants (N = 83) were recruited from acute SCI inpatient rehabilitation and outpatient SCI care at a community hospital to participate in a 6-month tele-SCI intervention administered by SCI subspecialty board-certified physiatrists via iPad FaceTime. In addition to monthly follow up interview calls, psychosocial and Quality of Life (QoL) measures were collected at baseline and post-intervention. A program satisfaction survey was also collected post-intervention. RESULTS: Seventy-five percent of participants engaged in tele-SCI visits (Median [IQR]: 2.5 [2.0, 4.0]) for a total of 198 tele-SCI visits. Bladder and bowel concerns were the leading topics discussed during tele-SCI visits, followed by neurological, pain, and functional concerns. Tele-SCI users resided further away (Median miles [IQR] - 114[73-177] vs. 81[46-116], p = 0.023) and reported seeking more clinical advice (Median [IQR] - 1.5[0-4.0] vs. 0[0-1.0], p = 0.002) compared to non-tele-SCI users. All other clinical utilization, baseline characteristics, psychosocial measures, and QoL did not differ among those who used tele-SCI and those who did not. The satisfaction survey suggested satisfaction with the tele-SCI intervention (89%), study equipment (89%), staff responsiveness (100%), and improved motivation for self-monitoring of health (71%). CONCLUSION: Study findings suggest that tele-SCI is a feasible modality for providing general SCI care. Further research is required to examine longer-term efficacy of remotely-provided care among individuals living with SCI.

Ligand Conjugation Directs the Formation of a 1,3-Dihydropyridinate Regioisomer.

The selective formation of the 1,4-dihydropyridine isomer of NAD(P)H is mirrored by the selective formation of 1,4-dihydropyridinate ligand-metal complexes in synthetic systems. Here we demonstrate that ligand conjugation can be used to promote selective 1,3-dihydropyridinate formation. This represents an advance toward controlling and tuning the selectivity in dihydropyridinate formation chemistry. The reaction of (I2P2-)Al(THF)Cl [1; I2P = bis(imino)pyridine; THF = tetrahydrofuran] with the one-electron oxidant (2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidin-1-yl)oxyl (TEMPO) afforded (I2P-)Al(TEMPO)Cl (2), which can be reduced with sodium to the twice-reduced ligand complex (I2P2-)Al(TEMPO) (3). Compounds 2 and 3 serve as precursors for high-yielding and selective routes to an aluminum-supported 1,3-dihydropyridinate complex via the reaction of 2 with 3 equiv of potassium metal or the reaction of 3 with KH.

New Characterization of V{N(SiMe3)2}3: Reductions of Tris[bis(trimethylsilyl)amido]vanadium(III) and -chromium(III) To Afford the Reduced Metal(II) Anions [M{N(SiMe3)2}3]- (M = V and Cr).

During the preparation of V{N(SiMe3)2}3 (1), a discrepancy between the violet color that we observed and the brown color previously reported prompted further investigation of this compound. As a result, a new spectroscopic study and a full structural characterization are presented. The synthesis, spectroscopy, and structural characteristics of its reduced salt, [K(18-crown-6)(Et2O)2][V{N(SiMe3)2}3] (2), and its chromium congener, [K(18-crown-6)(Et2O)2][Cr{N(SiMe3)2}3] (3), are also described. The 1H NMR spectra for 1-3 and Cr{N(SiMe3)2}3 as well as their cyclic voltammograms are also reported.