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At least 883 records · Page 49Linked to original sources
PubMed1998

Efficiency of sunlight utilization: tubular versus flat photobioreactors

The light saturation effect imposes a serious limitation on the efficiency with which solar energy can be utilized in outdoor algal cultures. One solution proposed to reduce the intensity of incident solar radiation and overcome the light saturation effect is "spatial dilution of light" (i.e., distribution of the impinging photon flux on a greater photosynthetic surface area), but consistent experimental data supporting a significant positive influence of spatial light dilution on the productivity and the photosynthetic efficiency of outdoor algal cultures have never been reported. We used a coiled tubular reactor and compared a near-horizontal straight tubular reactor and a near-horizontal flat panel in outdoor cultivation of the cyanobacterium Arthrospira (Spirulina) platensis under defined operating conditions for optimum productivity. The photosynthetic efficiency achieved in the tubular systems was significantly higher because their curved surface "diluted" the impinging solar radiation and thus reduced the light saturation effect. This interpretation was supported by the results of experiments carried out in the laboratory under continuous artificial illumination using both a flat and a curved chamber reactor. The study also showed that, when the effect of light saturation is eliminated or reduced, productivity and solar irradiance are linearly correlated even at very high diurnal irradiance values, and supported findings that outdoor algal cultures are light-limited even during bright summer days. It was also observed that, besides improving the photosynthetic efficiency of the culture, spatial dilution of light also leads to higher growth rates and lowers the cellular content of accessory pigments; that is, it reduces mutual shading in the culture. The inadequacy of using volumetric productivity as the sole criterion for comparing reactors of different surface-to-volume ratio and of the areal productivity for evaluating the performance of elevated photobioreactors operated outdoors is stressed; it is furthermore suggested that the photosynthetic efficiency achieved by the culture also be calculated to provide a suitable parameter for comparison of different algal cultivation systems operated under similar climatic conditions. Copyright 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1996

Activation of mammalian gene expression by the UV component of sunlight--from models to reality.

Ultraviolet radiation activates the expression of a wide variety of genes, by pathways which differ between the short non-solar ultraviolet C (UVC) wavelengths, which are strongly absorbed by nucleic acids, and the long solar ultraviolet A (UVA, 320-380 nm) wavelengths, which generate active oxygen intermediates. Intermediate solar ultraviolet (UV) wavelengths in the UVB (290-320 nm) range also contain an oxidative component, but more closely resemble UVC in their gene activating properties. Short wavelength UV, in common with other extracellular stimuli including growth factors, activates signal transduction events that involve both stress- and mitogen-activated protein kinase cascades. The extrapolation of the complex modulation of gene expression that ensues to the consequences of natural UV exposure requires careful attention to the details of doses and wavelength employed in the model experiments. Nevertheless, there is evidence that UVB irradiation of skin can activate the expression of proteins including immunomodulating cytokines, ornithine decarboxylase and, to a limited extent, nuclear oncogene products, as well as lead to stabilisation of p53. Non-cytotoxic doses of UVA radiation also lead to the strong activation of several genes which would be expected to have functional relevance in vivo.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Application of sunlight and lamps for plant irradiation in space bases.

The radiation sources used for plant growth on a space base must meet the biological requirements for photosynthesis and photomorphogenesis. In addition the sources must be energy and volume efficient, while maintaining the required irradiance levels, spectral, spatial and temporal distribution. These requirements are not easily met, but as the biological and mission requirements are better defined, then specific facility designs can begin to accommodate both the biological requirements and the physical limitations of a space based plant growth system.

Ecological Systems, Closed↗
PubMed1992

Biosphere 2 Test Module: a ground-based sunlight-driven prototype of a closed ecological life support system.

Constructed in 1986, the Biosphere 2 Test Module has been used since the end of that year for closed ecological systems experiments. It is the largest closed ecological facility ever built, with a sealed variable volume of some 480 cubic meters. It is built with a skin of steel spaceframes with double-laminated glass panels admitting about 65 percent Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR). The floor is of welded steel and there is an underground atmospheric connection via an air duct to a variable volume chamber ("lung") permitting expansion and contraction of the Test Module's air volume caused by changes in temperature and barometric pressure, which causes a slight positive pressure from inside the closed system to the outside thereby insuring that the very small leakage rate is outward. Several series of closed ecological system investigations have been carried out in this facility. One series of experiments investigated the dynamics of higher plants and associated soils with the atmosphere under varying light and temperature conditions. Another series of experiments included one human in the closed system for three, five and twenty-one days. During these experiments the Test Module had subsystems which completely recycled its water and atmosphere; all the human dietary needs were produced within the facility, and all wastes were recycled using a marsh plant/microbe system. Other experiments have examined the capability of individual component systems used, such as the soil bed reactors, to eliminate experimentally introduced trace gases. Analytic systems developed for these experiments include continuous monitors of eleven atmospheric gases in addition to the complete gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GCMS) examinations of potable, waste system and irrigation water quality.

Air Conditioning↗
PubMed2004

Persistence of four s-triazine herbicides in river, sea and groundwater samples exposed to sunlight and darkness under laboratory conditions.

The persistence of terbuthylazine, simazine, atrazine and prometryn (s-triazine herbicides) was studied in sea, river and groundwaters during long-term laboratory incubation (127 days) under different laboratory conditions (light-darkness at 20 degrees C). Analysis of herbicides was performed by GC-NPD and their identity was confirmed by GC-MSD. A micro on-line method for the isolation of herbicide residues was used. The results showed that light had little effect on the removal of the four herbicides in riverwater but had a marked effect on their removal from sea and groundwater. Surprisingly, this removal appeared to be inversely proportional to the concentration of dissolved organic materials. In general, the degradation order was similar in sea and riverwaters; simazine was the most readily degraded compound (t(1/2)= 29-49 days), while terbuthylazine was the most persistent with the longest half-lives (76-331 days). In groundwater, terbuthylazine also showed greater persistence but prometryn was the compound with a fastest degradation rate, half-lives ranged from 88 days for prometryn to approximately 100 days for the other three compounds in light conditions and 263-366 days for prometryn and terbuthylazine, respectively, in darkness. Only for terbuthylazine was the remaining percentage at the end of the experiment higher than 50% under light conditions in riverwater, while in the other cases, the remaining percentage varied from 7 to 43% for simazine in seawater and atrazine in groundwater, respectively. Finally, a greater persistence was observed in groundwater for the four compounds.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1984

Drug eruptions presenting at sites of prior radiation damage (sunlight and electron beam).

Two patients are described in whom sunburn and electron beam radiodermatitis, respectively, were critical determinants in localizing the initial presentation of drug eruptions. In the first instance, a severe sunburn of the back and thighs was followed 7 months later by the appearance of a toxic epidermal necrolysis drug reaction to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole in the exact sites of the previous bullous sunburn reaction. In the second patient, a radiodermatitis of the left upper arm due to electron beam therapy for metastatic breast cancer was followed 7 weeks later by a codeine drug reaction confined to the area of the radiodermatitis. In both instances, oral rechallenge with the offending drug reproduced the eruption.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Prostate cancer risk and exposure to ultraviolet radiation: further support for the protective effect of sunlight.

Recent studies have suggested that exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation may be protective to some internal cancers including that in the prostate. We describe a confirmatory study in 212 prostatic adenocarcinoma and 135 benign prostatic hypertrophy patients designed to determine whether previous findings showing a protective effect for UV exposure could be reproduced. We used a validated questionnaire to obtain data on aspects of lifetime exposure to UV. The data confirmed that higher levels of cumulative exposure, adult sunbathing, childhood sunburning and regular holidays in hot climates were each independently and significantly associated with a reduced risk of this cancer.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed2000

Bleaching of ESR signals by the sunlight: a laboratory experiment for establishing the ESR dating of sediments

A laboratory bleaching experiment was performed in order to improve the method of ESR dating of sediments. Several sedimentary, volcanic, and granitic quartz samples showed consistent bleaching response for the exposure to halogen lamps. It was found that the most sensitive signals are the Ti-H and Ti-Na centers. There was no difference observed within the samples exposed to light filtered by several color glass plates, according to the present preliminary result.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1982

Bright sneezes and dark coughs, loud sunlight and soft moonlight.

Synesthetic metaphors (such as "the dawn comes up like thunder") are expressions in which words or phrases describing experiences proper to one sense modality transfer their meanings to another modality. In a series of four experiments, subjects used scales of loudness, pitch, and brightness to evaluate the meanings of a variety of synesthetic (auditory-visual) metaphors. Loudness and pitch expressed themselves metaphorically as greater brightness; in turn, brightness expressed itself as greater loudness and as higher pitch. Although loudness thus shared with brightness a metaphorical connection, pitch and brightness showed a connection that was closer and that applied more generally to different kinds of visual brightness. The ways that people evaluate synesthetic metaphors emulate the characteristics of synesthetic perception, thereby suggesting that synesthesia in perception and synesthesia in language both may emenate from the same source-from a phenomenological similarity in the makeup of sensory experiences of different modalities.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Sunlight and skin cancer: inhibition of p53 mutations in UV-irradiated mouse skin by sunscreens.

UV-induced mutations in the p53 tumor suppressor gene play an essential role in skin cancer development. We report here that such mutations can be detected in UV-irradiated mouse skin months before the gross appearance of skin tumors. Application of SPF-15 sunscreens to mouse skin before each UV irradiation nearly abolished the frequency of p53 mutations. These results indicate that p53 mutation is an early event in UV skin carcinogenesis and that inhibition of this event may serve as an early end point for assessing protective measures against skin cancer development.

Animals↗