The impact of long-term botulinum toxin injections on symptom severity in patients with spasmodic dysphonia

Injection of botulinum toxin (BT) into the muscles of the larynx is an effective treatment for the symptoms of spasmodic dysphonia (SD). To date, however, there have been no studies that have used blinded raters to assess the efficacy of BT injections on overall symptom severity in a cohort of SD patients followed over a prolonged period. In this study, 102 subjects with SD were treated with serial BT injections for up to 2 years. Voice recordings were obtained at several time points during treatment and were played to a panel of expert and novice listeners who rated them based on overall symptom severity in a single-blind fashion. Subjects demonstrated significant improvement over baseline at all time points. In addition, patients showed a sustained responsiveness to therapy over time. These results provide support for the efficacy of serial BT injections for SD and suggest that successful treatment may depend, in part, on patients' early recognition of returning symptoms.     

Polarization dependence of the optical absorption of single-walled carbon nanotubes

Anisotropic optical absorption properties of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) are determined from a vertically aligned SWNT film for 0.5-6 eV. Absorption peaks at 4.5 and 5.25 eV are found to exhibit remarkable polarization dependence and have relevance to optical properties of graphite. A method for determining a nematic order parameter for an aligned SWNT film based on the collinear absorption peak at 4.5 eV is presented, followed by the determination of the optical absorption cross section.     

Review of fluorescence anisotropy decay analysis by frequency-domain fluorescence spectroscopy

This didactic paper summarizes the mathematical expressions needed for analysis of fluorescence anisotropy decays from polarized frequency-domain fluorescence data. The observed values are the phase angle difference between the polarized components of the emission and the modulated anisotropy, which is the ratio of the polarized and amplitude-modulated components of the emission. This procedure requires a separate measurement of the intensity decay of the total emission. The expressions are suitable for any number of exponential components in both the intensity decay and the anisotropy decay. The formalism is generalized for global analysis of anisotropy decays measured at different excitation wavelengths and for different intensity decay times as the result of quenching. Additionally, we describe the expressions required for associated anisotropy decays, that is, anisotropy decays where each correlation time is associated with a decay time present in the anisotropy decay. And finally, we present expressions appropriate for distributions of correlation times. This article should serve as a reference for researchers using frequency-domain fluorometry.     

Distance-dependent fluorescence quenching ofN-acetyl-l-tryptophanamide by acrylamide

We examined the time-dependent intensity decays ofN-acetyl-l-tryptophanamide (NATA) when collisionally quenched by acrylamide in propylene glycol over a range of temperatures. The intensity decays of NATA became increasingly heterogeneous in the presence of acrylamide. The NATA intensity decays were not consistent with the Collins-Kimball radiation boundary condition (RBC) model for quenching. The steady-state Stern-Volmer plots show significant upward curvature, and quenching of NATA by acrylamide was observed even in vitrified propylene glycol, where translational diffusion cannot occur during the lifetime of the excited state. These frequencydomain and steady-state data indicate a through-space quenching interaction between NATA and acrylamide, and the results are consistent with a rate constant for quenching that depends exponentially on the fluorophore-quencher separation distance. The exponential distance-dependent rate of quenching also explains the upward curvature of the Stern-Volmer plot, and the steady-state data aid in determining the interaction distance between NATA and acrylamide. These results suggest that the distance-dependent quenching rates need to be considered in the interpretation of acrylamide quenching of proteins.     

Distance distributions and dynamics of a zinc finger peptide from fluorescence resonance energy transfer measurements

Time-resolved fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) measurements were used to measure distance distributions and intramolecular dynamics (site-to-site diffusion) of a 28-residue single-domain zinc finger peptide in the absence and presence of zinc ion. Energy transfer was measured between TRP₁₄ and a N-terminal DNS group. As expected, the TRP-to-DNS distance distribution for zinc-bound peptide is shorter and narrower (R _av=11.2 Å,hw=2.8 Å) than the metal-free peptide (R _av=20.1 Å,hw=14.5 Å). The degree of mutual donor-to-acceptor diffusion (D) was also determined for these distributions. For zinc-bound peptide there is no detectible diffusion (D0.2 Ų/ns), whereas for metal-free peptide a considerable amount of motion is occurring between the donor and the acceptor (D=12 Ų/ns). These results indicate that the zinc-bound peptide folds into a unique, well-defined conformation, whereas the metal-free conformation is flexible and rapidly changing. The absence of detectible mutual site-to-site diffusion between the donor and the acceptor in the metal-bound zinc finger peptide indicates that intramolecular motion is essentially frozen out, on the FRET time scale, as a consequence of zinc coordination.Dedicated to the memory of Barbara D. Wells.     

Solving the Kadanoff-Baym equations for inhomogeneous systems: application to atoms and molecules

We implement time propagation of the nonequilibrium Green function for atoms and molecules by solving the Kadanoff-Baym equations within a conserving self-energy approximation. We here demonstrate the usefulness of time propagation for calculating spectral functions and for describing the correlated electron dynamics in a nonperturbative electric field. We also demonstrate the use of time propagation as a method for calculating charge-neutral excitation energies, equivalent to highly advanced solutions of the Bethe-Salpeter equation.