Influence of ice and snow covers on the UV exposure of terrestrial microbial communities: dosimetric studies

Bacillus subtilis spore biological dosimeters and electronic dosimeters were used to investigate the exposure of terrestrial microbial communities in micro-habitats covered by snow and ice in Antarctica. The melting of snow covers of between 5- and 15-cm thickness, depending on age and heterogeneity, could increase B. subtilis spore inactivation by up to an order of magnitude, a relative increase twice that caused by a 50% ozone depletion. Within the snow-pack at depths of less than approximately 3 cm snow algae could receive two to three times the DNA-weighted irradiance they would receive on bare ground. At the edge of the snow-pack, warming of low albedo soils resulted in the formation of overhangs that provided transient UV protection to thawed and growing microbial communities on the soils underneath. In shallow aquatic habitats, thin layers of heterogeneous ice of a few millimetres thickness were found to reduce DNA-weighted irradiances by up to 55% compared to full-sky values with equivalent DNA-weighted diffuse attenuation coefficients (K(DNA)) of >200 m(-1). A 2-mm snow-encrusted ice cover on a pond was equivalent to 10 cm of ice on a perennially ice covered lake. Ice covers also had the effect of stabilizing the UV exposure, which was often subject to rapid variations of up to 33% of the mean value caused by wind-rippling of the water surface. These data show that changing ice and snow covers cause relative changes in microbial UV exposure at least as great as those caused by changing ozone column abundance.     

UV exposure of elementary school children in five Japanese cities

A 1 week UV‐exposure measurement and outdoor‐activity pattern survey was conducted for elementary school children for four seasons at five sites in Japan, i.e. Sapporo (43°05′N, altitude 40 m), Tsukuba (36°05′N, 20 m), Tokyo (35°40′N, 45 m), Miyazaki (31°60′N, 40 m) and Naha (26°10′N, 5 m), and UV exposure was measured directly and estimated using outdoor‐activity records. The study site with largest UV exposure was Miyazaki, a southern rural area. Comparing the results for boys and girls, UV exposure was larger in boys. UV exposure was large in spring and summer and small in winter. The total amount of UV exposure in spring and summer contributed 57.7–73.4% of total exposure for the year. As a whole, 8.1% and 1.8% of the schoolchildren were exposed to more than 1 minimum erythemal dose (MED) and 2 MED of solar UV in a day, respectively. The estimated yearly UV exposure ranged from 49 207 J/m² in Miyazaki to 31 520 J/m² in Tsukuba. The actual UV exposure correlated to potential UV exposure, estimated using outdoor‐activity records and ambient UV irradiance, but the ratio differed by season and site. The yearly average of percent UV exposure to ambient UV on a horizontal plane ranged from 9.9% in Tokyo to 4.0% in Naha. In the questionnaire survey on outdoor‐activity pattern, a short question “How long did you spend time outdoors between 0900 and 1500 h?” gives the best estimates of UV exposure.     

Mean exposure fractions of human body solar UV exposure patterns for application in different ambient climates

In this research, the erythemally effective UV measured using miniaturized polysulphone dosimeters to over 1250 individual body sites and collected over a 4-year period is presented relative to the total exposed skin surface area (SSA) of a life-size manikin model. A new term is also introduced, the mean exposure fraction (MEF). The MEF is used to weight modeled or measured horizontal plane UV exposures to the total unprotected SSA of an individual and is defined as the ratio of exposure per unit area received by the unprotected skin surfaces of the body relative to the exposure received on a horizontal plane. The MEF has been calculated for a range of solar zenith angles (SZA) to provide a sunburning energy data set weighted to the actual SSA of a typically clothed individual. For this research, the MEF was determined as 0.15, 0.26 and 0.41 in the SZA ranges 0°-30°, 30°-50° and 50°-80° providing information that can be used in a variety of different ambient, latitudinal and seasonal climates where total human body UV exposure information is not available.     

The history of the UV radiation climate of the earth--theoretical and space-based observations

In the Archean era (3.8-2.5 Ga ago) the Earth probably lacked a protective ozone column. Using data obtained in the Earth's orbit on the inactivation of Bacillus subtilis spores we quantitatively estimate the potential biological effects of such an environment. We combine this practical data with theoretical calculations to propose a history of the potential UV stress on the surface of the Earth over time. The data suggest that an effective ozone column was established at a pO2 of approximately 5 x 10(-3) present atmospheric level. The improvement in the UV environment on the early Proterozoic Earth might have been a much more rapid event than has previously been supposed, with DNA damage rates dropping by two orders of magnitude in the space of just a few tens of millions of years. We postulate that a coupling between reduced UV stress and increased pO2 production could have contributed toward a positive feedback in the production of ozone in the early Proterozoic atmosphere. This would contribute to the apparent rapidity of the oxidation event. The data provide an evolutionary perspective on present-day Antarctic ozone depletion.     

Vibrational spectroscopic characterization of ethylene-Co-vinyl cinnamate copolymers before and after UV exposure

Vibrational spectroscopic studies of a series of ethylene-co-vinyl cinnamate (EVCIN) copolymers, before and after exposure to UV radiation, are reported. The purpose of these studies is to determine whether or not significant reaction (photo-crosslinking) of the cinnamate groups in EVCIN copolymers occurs upon UV exposure in the solid state as the concentration (fraction) of cinnamate groups is systematically reduced. By increasing the ethylene concentration in the EVCIN copolymers the cinnamate groups are “diluted” and progressively spaced apart in the copolymer. Somewhat surprisingly, we find that an EVCIN copolymer containing only 5 mole % vinyl cinnamate still undergoes a facile crosslinking in the solid state upon UV exposure.     

Temporal trends of deuterium excess in global precipitation and their environmental controls under a changing climate

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry - Sixty-three representative sites around the world were selected to analyze the long-term variability of deuterium excess (d-excess) and its...     

Sensitivity of erythemally effective UV irradiance and daily exposure to uncertainties in measured total ozone

In this study the sensitivity of the erythemally effective radiation to uncertainties in operationally measured total ozone content of the atmosphere (TOC) was estimated. For this, daily operational TOC measurements from different instruments were applied covering the period from 1997 to 1999. Measurements were gained from space by Earth Probe Satellite, Earth Remote Sensing satellite/Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment and Operational Vertical Sounder and from the ground by Dobson and Brewer spectrophotometers for the locations of Hradec Kralove (Czech Republic, 50 degrees N), Nairobi (Kenya, 1 degrees S) and Springbok (Republic of South Africa, 30 degrees S). The values were used as input parameter to model calculations of erythemally effective irradiance and daily radiant exposure. The differences due to the use of TOC from different sources were analyzed with respect to the Ultraviolet Index (UVI). The UVI was introduced as a tool for sun protection and health care. Therefore, it is of special importance to know the restriction of accuracy. As a tool of health care, the maximum uncertainties are of interest and are described in using the 95%-percentile and the maximum differences. This study shows that differences, i.e. uncertainties (95%-percentile) are in the order of 1 UVI. Independently on the location, however, extreme differences may overstep 3 UVI. For the daily dose the 95%-percentile is around 7.5 UVI hours (UVIh) but differences higher than 20 UVIh were also found.     

Adjusting timing of weathering test to account for seasonal variations in UV exposure

Satellite-derived UV climatology has been used to design a timetable for the outdoor UV exposure of polymeric material specimens. By pre-exposure computation, fixed time increments are transformed into a schedule with a predicted average accumulation of UV dose. The method was applied to produce a timetable for an ongoing exposure programme in a network of seven European test sites over the latitude range 28.5-67.4°N. The effect of the average seasonal variability of solar UV irradiance on the predicted accumulated UV exposure is shown to be notably diminished by the method. Relative underestimations of 5-82% of cumulative UV stress are estimated to be avoided by extensions of 6-167 days exposure durations as suggested by the adjustment procedure. Hence, more reproducible degradation data are expected to be obtainable for exposures that are not multiples of the full annual cycle of UV, especially for those with a duration <1 year.     

Sensitivity of erythemally effective UV irradiance and daily exposure to temporal variability in total ozone

The provision of information to the public about current levels of the erythemally effective UV radiation is an important issue in health care. The quality of promoted values is therefore of special importance. The atmospheric parameter which affects the erythemally effective UV radiation under clear sky most is the total ozone content of the atmosphere. In this paper we examined the sensitivity of the erythemally effective irradiance and daily radiant exposure to the temporal variability of total ozone on time scales from 1 to 15 days. The results show that the sensitivity is highest for the first 24 h. Larger time scales do not exhibit a similar influence. Total ozone measurements of the previous day may already cause uncertainties higher than 0.5 UV index (UVI) independent of the geolocation. For comparison, a temporal persistence of 15 days may cause uncertainties of 1.2 UVI at 50°N, 1 UVI at 30°S and less than 1 UVI at the equator. The results of this study allow finding the necessary temporal resolution of total ozone values when a certain accuracy for the UVI or for the purpose of sun protection is required. The results are compared with those of two preceding studies where we quantified the influence of measurement uncertainties and spatial total ozone variability to the erythemally effective irradiance at noon and to the daily dose. We conclude that temporal variability of total ozone is the most critical issue, but also measurement uncertainties do have a noticeable influence on the erythemally effective radiation.     

联合UV及SDS-PAGE监测并优化碳二亚胺偶联法制备多肽免疫原

建立了一种多肽免疫抗原偶联的双监测法,获得一种操作简便、成功率高、适用范围广的碳二亚胺偶联法,并应用于多种肿瘤相关多肽标志物的免疫抗原制备。以合成多肽SP0104为标准品,牛血清白蛋白(BSA)为载体蛋白,碳二亚胺(EDC)为偶联剂,对加样顺序、投料比、偶联时间等关键条件进行考察,采用UV和SDS-PAGE对反应产物进行联合监测,以偶联比和偶联率联合评价反应条件。加样顺序为多肽和载体蛋白先混合再加到碳二亚胺中,三者质量比为1∶1∶1,偶联时间为12 h,偶联比在4∶1～12∶1之间,偶联率在9%～20%之间,所得SP0104多抗效价达到1∶80 000,MALDI-TOF质谱分析证实该抗体准确捕获目标抗原。用优化的偶联方法制备多肽SPC09、SPC15、SPG01、SPG03、SPG04的免疫抗原,所得免疫血清效价均在1∶1万以上,最高可达1∶51.2万。所建碳二亚胺多肽偶联联合监测法简便实用,可提高多肽抗体制备的成功率。     

Redox properties and antiradical activity of humic acids under exposure to UV and visible light

Changes in the redox and antiradical properties of humic acids upon exposure to monochromatic UV light of an excilamp and polychromatic light of a helium lamp were studied.     

Patterns in the received facial UV exposure of school children measured at a subtropical latitude

Polysulfone (PS) dosimeters have been employed to measure the erythemally effective UV exposure to the vertex, nose, cheek, chin and side facial sites of 45 volunteer high school students from Hervey Bay, Australia (25.3 degrees S 152.9 degrees E). The results of a series of 1 h outdoor sport trials (basketball and soccer) found the mean student facial exposure, determined as the arithmetic average of facial site exposures of unprotected students (no hat) to protected students (hat), varied from 140 +/- 82 J m(-2) (1sigma) to 99 +/- 33 J m(-2) (1sigma), respectively. All hourly student facial exposures recorded over the study period were found to exceed the National Health and Medical Research Council's adopted safe daily limit of 30 J m(-2). Facial exposure relative to the received ambient UV increased to the nose at higher (winter) solar zenith angles (SZAs) compared with lower (summer) SZA ranges for both protected and unprotected students. The protection offered by the broad-brimmed hats was reduced significantly to the lower chin facial site at the higher SZA range, indicating that the style of hat used offers best protection in summer to the upper facial regions at most risk of receiving a high exposure when no hat protection is used. Variations to specific student facial exposure sites were measured between both basketball and soccer players. Variation in student facial exposure was further examined with respect to cloud cover and comparisons to manikin headform measurements were also made. The study results indicate that hats alone are not adequate forms of sun protection in a school environment. Schools aiming to achieve acceptable safe limits of facial exposure may need to further consider the effectiveness of hat protection with increasing SZA, cloud cover and head position relative to the sun that is specific to the scheduled outdoor activity.     

The influence of UV exposure on 5-aminolevulinic acid-induced protoporphyrin IX production in skin.

The skin of nude mice was exposed to erythemogenic doses of UV radiation, which resulted in erythema with edema. An ointment containing 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) was topically applied on mouse and human skin. Differences in the kinetics of protoporphyrin accumulation were investigated in normal and UV-exposed skin. At 24 and 48 h after UV exposure, skin produced significantly less protoporphyrin IX (PpIX) than skin unexposed to UV. Human skin on body sites frequently exposed to solar radiation (the lower arm) also produced less PpIX than skin exposed more rarely to the sun (the upper arm). It is concluded that UV radiation introduces persisting changes in the skin, relevant to its capability of producing PpIX from ALA. The observed differences in ALA-induced PpIX fluorescence may be the result of altered penetration of ALA through the stratum corneum or altered metabolizing ability of normal and UV-exposed skin (or both).     

Monitoring of paintings under exposure to UV light by ATR-FT-IR spectroscopy and multivariate control charts

This paper concerns the improvement of a method, already applied for the conservation state monitoring of wooden and painted surfaces, to a system closely simulating a real artwork, namely a canvas painted with mixtures of three organic pigments (Alizarin, Permanent Red, Phtalocyanine Green). Ten mixtures of these pigments, according to an augmented simplex-centroid design, were prepared, mixed with linseed oil and spread on 10 cotton canvas strips. Drying ended, all the samples were analysed by ATR-FT-IR spectroscopy to describe the superficial variability in normal conditions of conservation, i.e. when no degradation is present. Successively, the samples were exposed to artificial UV light simulating the action of an aggressive portion of sunlight. The IR spectra of the surfaces were regularly acquired to monitor the superficial changes due to the UV aggression. Treatment ended, a chemometric study based on the Principal Component Analysis of the spectroscopic data collected both in normal conditions of conservation and during the artificial accelerated ageing, was performed and the multivariate Shewhart and Cusum control charts were built with the scores of the significant PCs (principal components). PCA based control charts showed to be able to identify the presence of significant changes of the painted surfaces, to identify the starting of the degradations and to provide insights about the chemical alterations induced by the UV exposure.     

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.