Mathematical description of synergistic interaction of UV light and hyperthermia for yeast cells

A new mathematical model for the synergistic interaction of lesions produced by ultraviolet (UV) light and high temperature has been proposed. The model suggests that synergism is expected from the additional lethal lesions arising from the interaction of sublesions induced by both agents. These sublesions are considered noneffective after each agent is taken alone. The model predicts the dependence of the synergistic interaction on the ratio of lethal lesions produced by each agent applied, the greatest value of the synergistic effect as well as the conditions under which it can be achieved, and the dependence of synergistic effect on UV light fluence rate. These predictions of the model have been tested for the simultaneous combined action of UV light (wavelength 254 nm) and heat (45-57.5 degrees C) on two strains of wild-type diploid yeast cells of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The theory appears to be appropriate and the conclusions valid.     

Effects of cycloheximide on liquid-holding recovery from ultraviolet radiation damage in yeast cells

Abstract. The role of protein synthesis in liquid-holding recovery from ultra-violet radiation damage in synchronized Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells has been studied using cycloheximide as a specific inhibitor of cytoplasmic protein synthesis. Liquid-holding recovery from UV-induced budding delay is completed within a few hours and is not inhibited by the presence of cycloheximide. Liquid-holding recovery from lethal UV damage is unaffected by cycloheximide for liquid-holding times less than about 12 h. For longer times recovery is inhibited, with survival enhancement eliminated after about 48 h. Periods greater than 48 h of liquid-holding in the presence of cycloheximide result in survival less than that obtained with immediate plating, but the same concentration of cycloheximide is not toxic to unirradiated cells.     

Effects of UV radiation of cells

UV radiation interacts with mammalian cells in a very complex manner, although DNA appears to be the main chromophore. Recent literature within this field is reviewed. The review is concentrated on the following main topics: Chromophores for UV action, photoproducts in DNA, repair of UV-induced DNA damage, wavelength interactions, inactivation, mutagenesis, transformation and protection mechanisms against UV damage.     

Rat lens glycolysis after in vivo exposure to narrow band UV or blue light radiation

UV radiation and short wavelength visible light are known to damage various tissues in the eye. This paper investigates the effect on rat lens glycolysis after in vivo exposure with 90 kJ m⁻² narrow band UV radiation (UVB, 300 nm) and 90 kJ m⁻² blue light (435 nm) radiation. After exposure, all lenses were incubated in Medium 199. Samples of culture medium were withdrawn after 2, 4, 6 h and 5, 10, 20 h in two UVB studies and after 5, 10 and 20 h in a blue light study. Lactate is the major end product of lens glycolysis. Lactate was determined with a modified enzymatic-photometric method. Intralenticular lactate was determined in one UVB experiment. In the UVB experiments we found a lower lactate production in the exposed lenses 2–6 h after exposure. There was an accumulation of lactate inside UVB-exposed lenses after 6 h incubation compared with their contralateral lenses. No significant effect on lactate production was observed in the blue light experiment. Conclusions. UVB induced a reversible inhibition of glycolysis. UVB also induced an accumulation of lactate inside the lens. Blue light tended to increase glycolysis.     

Redox processes induced in methemoglobin solution by mercury lamp UV light and spark-discharge plasma radiation

The buildup of–SH groups in methemoglobin by irradiation with emission of spark discharge plasma in air and UV light from a low-pressure mercury lamp (λ = 253.7 nm) has been studied. The concentration of–SH groups increases the during spark discharge treatment, with the methionine amino acid residue in the methemoglobin molecule being reduced by nitrous and peroxynitrous acids; the bonds in the methemoglobin molecule are destroyed within 20 minutes of the spark treatment. By the action of UV radiation, methionine is reduced through chromophores (tryptophan, tyrosine) and methemoglobin is reduced by O₂^.- radical ions to oxy- and deoxyhemoglobin.     

Turnover of phospholipids in HUT 102 lymphoblasts and chromatographic characterization of purified lecithins after their exposure to long-wave UV light, psoralen, and UV light and psoralen.

The turnover of 32P-labeled phospholipids in HUT 102 lymphoblasts was determined after a 2 h interaction of lymphoblasts with 8-methoxypsoralen (8-MOP) (15 micrograms ml-1), longwave UV light (UVA) irradiation and PUVA (8-MOP and UVA). In parallel experiments, micellar suspensions of lyso-phosphatidylcholine (PtdC), dipalmitoyl-PtdC and dilinoleoyl-PtdC, treated in a similar manner, served for the correlative assessments of cellular lipid changes. The dark reaction, UVA irradiation and PUVA all depressed total phospholipid levels in HUT 102 cells, although only PUVA induced a statistically significant decline. Thin layer chromatography (TLC) analysis revealed that neither UVA nor 8-MOP alone triggered any significant changes in the cellular content of phosphatidylinositol (PtdI), phosphatidylinositol 4-monophosphate (PtdIP) and phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PtdIP2), whereas the lyso-PtdC and PtdI content of lymphoblasts showed a two-fold increase after PUVA. The TLC analysis of lyso-PtdC and micelles of dipalmitoyl-PtdC did not reveal any detectable changes after the dark reaction with 8-MOP, UVA irradiation and PUVA. In contrast, the derivatives of dark and UVA mediated reactions of 8-MOP with dilinoleoyl-PtdC were detected by TLC. These results suggest that the formation of 8-MOP derivatives of cellular phospholipids effected by PUVA, modulates the turnover of phosphoinositides and the rate of cellular proliferation.     

Sterilization system using microwave and UV light

We constructed a novel microwave–UV light sterilization system and investigated its sterilization effect. This sterilization system can emit UV light by irradiation of microwave without other power. When irradiating UV light with and/or without microwave on aqueous DMPO solution, active oxygen species such as hydroxyl radical or superoxide were generated in the solution. The amount of active oxygen species generated by irradiation of microwave and UV light was larger than that by irradiation of UV light alone. This would be due to the promotion of emission of UV light photons by microwave and UV light irradiation. Moreover, microwave–UV light sterilization was highly effective to sterilize microorganisms. The generation of active oxygen species would play an important role in sterilization of the sterilization system.     

UV radiation: balancing risks and benefits

We use action spectra published by the International Commission on Illumination to examine diurnal, seasonal and latitudinal variations in erythemally weighted (sunburning) UV-a health risk, and vitamin D-weighted UV-a health benefit. Vitamin D-weighted UV is more strongly dependent on ozone and solar zenith angle. Consequently, its diurnal, seasonal and geographic variability is more pronounced than for erythemally weighted UV. We then investigate relationships between the two quantities. An algorithm is developed and used to relate vitamin D production to the widely used UV index, to help the public to optimize their exposure to UV radiation. In the summer at noon, there should at mid-latitudes be sufficient UV to photosynthesize optimal vitamin D in approximately 1 min for full body exposure, whereas skin damage occurs after approximately 15 min. Further, while it should be possible to photosynthesize vitamin D in the winter at mid-latitudes, the amount of skin that must be exposed is larger than from the hands and face alone. This raises the question of whether the action spectrum for vitamin D production is correct, since studies have reported that production of vitamin D is not possible in the winter at mid-latitudes.     

UV radiation and skin cancer in Norway

A distinct increase in skin cancer incidences is observed since the registration started in Norway in the 1950s. As UV radiation is assumed to be the main risk factor for skin cancer, hourly values of the UV irradiance were reconstructed for the period 1957–2005 for 17 of the Norwegian counties (58–70°N). For reconstruction, a radiation transfer model is run with total ozone amount and cloud information as meteorological input. Reconstructed hourly erythemally weighted UV irradiances for about 5 years are compared to measurements at four stations, two stations representing the north–south extension of Norway, and two stations at about 60°N representing the eastern inland – Western coastal contrasts. The agreement between reconstructed and measured UV varies between 0% for the northernmost site to 10–15% overestimation for the other locations. For clear sky, a reasonable agreement between reconstructed and measured data was found for all stations, while for overcast, an overestimation of 10–20% was found for all but the northernmost station. Both the cancer incidences and the reconstructed UV values have a distinct north–south increase. The UV increase towards south is mostly due to increasing solar elevation. The west to east increase is much smaller, and differences in UV are due to differences in both cloud optical thickness and total cloud amount. One additional outcome from this work is that long-term UV-data are reconstructed for Norway, data that can be used in further biological and medical studies related to UV effects.     

UV index forecasts and measurements of health-effective radiation

While erythemal irradiance as a potentially damaging effect to the skin has been extensively studied and short-term forecasts have been issued to the public to reduce detrimental immediate and long-term effects such as sunburn and skin cancer by overexposure, beneficial effects to human health such as vitamin D(3) production by UV radiation and melatonin suppression by blue visible light have attained more and more attention, though both of them have not become part of forecasting yet. Using 4years of solar radiation data measured at the mid-latitude site Lindenberg (52°N), and forecast daily maximum UV index values, an overall good correspondence has been found. The data base of solar UV radiation and illuminance has also been used to analyze effects of clouds and aerosols on the effective irradiance. Optically thick clouds can strongly modify the ratios between erythemal and vitamin D(3) effective irradiance such that direct radiative transfer modeling of the latter in future UV forecasts should be preferably used. If parameterizations of vitamin D(3) effective irradiance from erythemal irradiance are used instead, the optical cloud depth would have to be taken into account to avoid an overestimation of vitamin D(3) with parameterizations neglecting cloud optical depth. Particular emphasis for the beneficial effects has been laid in our study on low exposure. Daily doses of solar irradiation for both vitamin D(3) and melatonin suppression do not reach minimum threshold doses even with clear sky and unobstructed horizon during the winter months.     

Effect of UV light scattering during photopolymerization on UV spectroscopy measurements

A photopolymerization reaction involving 2-hydroxyethylmethacrylate (HEMA), a hydroxytelechelic polybutadiene (HTPB) and 2,2-dimethyl-2-hydroxyacetophenone (Darocur 1173) as photoinitiator has been investigated by Real Time UV and Real Time IR spectroscopies. For this system, RTUV analyses are completely opposite to the expected curves, namely a decrease in the sample absorbance (photobleaching phenomenon). This apparent contradiction has been explained by a scattering phenomenon inside the sample, which can be linked to the formation of sub-structures that can create local fluctuations of refractive index during the polymerization. A four-flux theory, which takes into account the polymer absorption and scattering properties, has allowed us to describe the UV light intensity variation inside the sample.     

Cadmium and lead recovery from yeast biomass

Properties of metal solution, environmental conditions and the type of biomaterials (microorganism genus, species or even strain) influence the mechanism of metal biosorption and consequently metal adsorption capacity, affinity and specificity. Cell surface properties determine the metal-microorganism interactions to a large extent. In this work the relationship between yeast surface properties and yeast’s ability to bind cadmium, lead and copper was studied. Surface charge and hydrophobicity before and after biosorption were determined using dye retention and solvent partition assays, respectively. There were differences in the surface charge and relative hydrophobicity among different yeast strains. A higher metal adsorption capacity for more negatively charged yeast cells was observed. Biosorption of heavy metals resulted in modifications to the surface charge and hydrophobicity of yeast cells. However, there were not statistically significant changes in the yeast surface charge and hydrophobicity after binding of heavy metals depending on the nature of the metal, initial metal concentration and solution pH.     

The fluence rate determines the synergistic interaction of UV radiation and heat for mitotic recombination and cell inactivation in yeasts

The significance of the UV fluence rate for the synergistic interaction of UV light (254 nm) and heat was demonstrated for the frequency of mitotic recombination in a wild-type diploid yeast of Saccharomyces cerevisiae (strain T1) and for cell inactivation of two wild-type diploid yeast of S. cerevisiae (strains T1, XS800). It was shown for mitotic recombination that a decrease in the intensity of UV exposure results in the necessity of decreasing the temperature at which UV irradiation occurs to provide the same value of the synergistic enhancement ratio. For cell inactivation, there was a specific temperature maximizing the synergistic effect for any constant fluence rate and the temperature range, synergistically increasing the inactivation effect of UV radiation, should be shifted to lower temperatures with a decrease in the fluence rate. To interpret the results observed, a simple mathematical model of the synergistic interaction was applied. The model suggests that the synergistic interaction of UV light and hyperthermia is expected to result from some additional effective damages arising from the interaction of some sublesions induced by both agents. On the basis of data obtained, it was supposed that the synergistic interaction of these factors might take place at small intensities of UV light and temperatures existing in the biosphere. In other words, for a long duration of interaction, which is important for problems of UV light protection and health effects, one can expect a synergistic interaction of this factor with environmental heat or physiological temperatures and thereby an increase in their inactivating and genetic consequences.     

Growth of yeast cells immobilized with porous swelling carriers produced by radiation polymerization

A new method of immobilization of yeast cells for the advantageous growth of cells inside and on the surface of a polymer carrier by physical adsorption is proposed. Porous and swellable polymer carriers were prepared by radiation-induced polymerization at low temperature. These polymer carriers were incubated with yeast cells at 30°C under aerobic conditions. Yeast cells were adsorbed on the surface of polymer carriers and subsequently infiltrated the polymer carriers by multiplication. The ethanol productivity of immobilized growing yeast cells thus obtained was thirteen times that of free yeast cells in a 1:1 volume of liquid medium to immobilized yeast cells.     

Degradation effects in polymer light emitting devices due to heat treatment

The characteristics of polymer light emitting diodes (PLEDs) (ITO/PPV/Ca) depend strongly on the conditions during preparation and operation. We studied the effects of heat treatment (during and after preparation) of PLEDs with OC₁C₁₀-PPV as active layer. PLEDs showed a reduction of both the current and the light output to 40 % after annealing for only 30 min at 65 °C. Effects on I-V characteristics were studied by measuring single carrier devices (hole- and electron-dominated devices). The current reduction after heat treatment can be ascribed to degradation of the ITO/PPV and the Ca/PPV interfaces.     

Advanced municipal wastewater treatment and simultaneous energy/resource recovery via photo(electro)catalysis

Wastewater management and energy/resource recycling have been extensively investigated via photo(electro)catalysis. Although both operation processes are driven effectively by the same interfacial charge, each system is practiced separately since they require very different reaction conditions. In this review, we showcase the recent advancements in photo(electro)catalytic process that enables the wastewater treatment and simultaneous energy/resource recovery(WT-ERR). Various literatures based on...     

Degradation of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) and its blends during treatment with UV light and water

The degradation of films of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) and its blends with ethylene-propylene rubber during their treatment with water and UV radiation at 20 and 90°C is studied. Changes in the structural characteristics of both components during degradation are investigated via DSC, IR spectroscopy, and optical microscopy. It is shown that pure poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) features the highest weight loss during degradation in distilled water at 20°C. In the case of the blends, the most significant changes in the structures of the components are observed for the 50: 50 (wt %) sample.     

Sensitised decomposition of microcystin-LR using UV radiation

UV radiation was applied to degrade cyanobacterial hepatotoxin, microcystin-LR in the presence of phycocyanin as a model natural sensitiser. The concentrations of both the toxin and the pigment used in the experiments were higher by several orders of magnitude than found in the environment. The photoreaction parameters were optimised. The process was found to be of limited use for water treatment due to its low efficacy. Additionally, pronounced UV-induced bleaching of the pigment significantly reducing the photoreaction rates of the toxin was observed for the highest UV radiation intensities applied.