Bring the Sunshine Indoors: Easy Dosimetry for Indoor Daylight Photodynamic Therapy

Daylight photodynamic therapy (DPDT) is an effective and patient preferred treatment for the management of field change actinic keratosis. An important factor in DPDT is light dosimetry, to ensure that patients receive sufficient daylight for effective treatment, and this is the focus of the contribution to this issue by (La Rochelle et al. [2019] Photochem. Photobiol., https://doi.org/10.1111/php.13170 ). In this work, the authors present an easy-to-use method for obtaining real-time information about patient received light dose during treatment and for determining indoor locations best suited to DPDT.     

Simultaneous quantitation of salivary carbamazepine, carbamazepine-10,11-epoxide, phenytoin and phenobarbitone by high-performance liquid chromatography

A rapid, sensitive and accurate high-performance liquid chromatographic method for the simultaneous quantitation of phenobarbitone, phenytoin, carbamazepine and carbamazepine-10,11-epoxide in saliva is described. Only small volumes of saliva (100 microliters) are required. Separation of the drugs is achieved by reversed-phase chromatography on a Nova-Pak C18 column, with a mobile phase of acetonitrile-phosphate buffer at a flow-rate of 2.0 ml/min. Detection is effected by ultra-violet absorption at 215 nm. The total run time is under 12.5 min per assay. A precipitation but no extraction step is involved, simplifying the assay method. Salivary concentrations in the range 0.25-25 micrograms/ml for carbamazepine, 0.5-20 micrograms/ml for phenytoin and phenobarbitone and 0.4-20 micrograms/ml for carbamazepine-10,11-epoxide can be measured. Recovery varies from 94 to 108%. The method has been used for routine measurements of anticonvulsants in saliva collected daily from patients with intractable epilepsy.     

Direct magnitude estimation and interval scaling of pleasantness and severity in dysphonic and normal speakers

The purpose of this study was to determine the validity of voice pleasantness and overall voice severity ratings of dysphonic and normal speakers using direct magnitude estimation (DME) and equal-appearing interval (EAI) auditory-perceptual scaling procedures. Twelve naive listeners perceptually evaluated voice pleasantness and severity from connected speech samples produced by 24 adult dysphonic speakers and 6 normal adult speakers. A statistical comparison of the two auditory-perceptual scales yielded a linear relationship representative of a metathetic continuum for voice pleasantness. A statistical relationship that is consistent with a prothetic continuum was revealed for ratings of voice severity. These data provide support for the use of either DME or EAI scales when making auditory-perceptual judgments of pleasantness, but only DME scales when judging overall voice severity for dysphonic speakers. These results suggest further psychophysical study of perceptual dimensions of voice and speech must be undertaken in order to avoid the inappropriate and invalid use of EAI scales used in the auditory-perceptual evaluation of the normal and dysphonic voice.     

Influence of Speaker Gender on Listener Judgments of Tracheoesophageal Speech

The objectives of this prospective and exploratory study are to determine: (1) na?ve listener preference for gender in tracheoesophageal (TE) speech when speech severity is controlled; (2) the accuracy of identifying TE speaker gender; (3) the effects of gender identification on judgments of speech acceptability (ACC) and naturalness (NAT); and (4) the acoustic basis of ACC and NAT judgments. Six male and six female adult TE speakers were matched for speech severity. Twenty na?ve listeners made auditory-perceptual judgments of speech samples in three listening sessions. First, listeners performed preference judgments using a paired comparison paradigm. Second, listeners made judgments of speaker gender, speech ACC, and NAT using rating scales. Last, listeners made ACC and NAT judgments when speaker gender was provided coincidentally. Duration, frequency, and spectral measures were performed. No significant differences were found for preference of male or female speakers. All male speakers were accurately identified, but only two of six female speakers were accurately identified. Significant interactions were found between gender and listening condition (gender known) for NAT and ACC judgments. Males were judged more natural when gender was known; female speakers were judged less natural and less acceptable when gender was known. Regression analyses revealed that judgments of female speakers were best predicted with duration measures when gender was unknown, but with spectral measures when gender was known; judgments of males were best predicted with spectral measures. Na?ve listeners have difficulty identifying the gender of female TE speakers. Listeners show no preference for speaker gender, but when gender is known, female speakers are least acceptable and natural. The nature of the perceptual task may affect the acoustic basis of listener judgments.