Effects Of Sunlight Research Articles

The Impact of Chlorinated Water and Sun Exposure on the Durability and Performance of Swimwear Materials.

Understanding the factors that affect how materials age is essential for creating a durable product with long-lasting properties. It is also important to prioritize defining aging parameters that reflect the real-world conditions the materials will encounter. For this study, a range of swimwear materials were selected consisting of a blend of polymer (polyamide/polyester) and elastane in varying ratios. In order to simulate aging conditions, materials were immersed in chlorinated outdoor pool water during the summer season, either in shade or the sun, for 200 and 300 h. The materials were tested for mass per unit area, thickness, tensile properties, and moisture management. A slight mass per unit area increase was observed, rising from 1.0% after 200 h of chlorine and sunlight exposure to 3.7% after 300 h. Thickness increased by 1.7% after 200 h and 3.2% after 300 h of chlorine exposure, with no significant effect of sunlight. Breaking force dropped by 12.4% after 200 h in chlorine and 8.2% in chlorine and sunlight, becoming more pronounced after 300 h (65.7% in chlorine and 65.1% in chlorine and sunlight). The overall moisture management capability declined from 0.4888 to 0.3457 after 200 h in chlorine and 0.3393 with sunlight, dropping further after 300 h to 0.3838 and 0.3253, respectively.

Sunlight Resurgence in the COVID-19 Era: A Review on Health-risk Dualities via Ayurveda and Conventional Science Perspectives

With the advent of COVID-19, numerous scientific studies from different parts of the world emerged, documenting the beneficial effects of sunlight on decreasing transmittance, morbidity, and mortality due to COVID-19. Research also highlighted the beneficial effects of sunlight in terms of antimicrobial, antiviral effects, and vitamin D production and its role in improving immunity and decreasing mortality due to COVID-19. Along with this, also resurfaced the debate on the hype of the above-mentioned and other positive attributes and the negative attributes of sunlight in terms of causing skin cancer and aggravation of certain other disease conditions. This article revisits the scientific and historical evidence in the context of sunlight and presents an interdisciplinary, integrative perspective, including Ayurveda and conventional science, for the evaluation of the advantages and disadvantages and contemplation regarding the application of sunlight exposure in health care.

Analytical Study on Reducing the Heating Effects of Daylight and Improving Natural Lighting Performance at Erzincan Train Station in the Context of Climate Change

Climate change is an environmental issue that is rapidly escalating due to the effects of global warming. The increase in carbon emissions, along with various human activities such as industrial processes, land use changes, and the reckless consumption of natural resources, are among the primary causes of global warming. Various architectural interventions are being implemented in historical buildings to mitigate the impact of global warming and its consequence, climate change. The study aims to protect the historical building from the harmful effects of climate change by reducing the heating effects of direct sunlight during the summer and enhancing the efficiency of natural lighting throughout the day. In this context, the Erzincan Train Station is located in Erzincan in Eastern Anatolia. Erzincan is one of the most affected by the climate change crisis has been selected for the study. The plans of the Erzincan Train Station were digitized using AutoCAD software and subsequently modeled in three dimensions using Revit software. Daylight analysis was conducted on the created model using the Insight plugin in Revit software. The analysis determined that recommendations should be made for the building's south facade. Based on the climate data of Erzincan province and the conducted analyses, the light shelf system was designed and implemented due to its applicability, shading, and lighting advantages among daylighting systems. The effects of the proposed system were examined using spatial daylight autonomy (sDA) and annual sunlight exposure (ASE) daylight metrics according to LEED v4 EQc7 standards. The study found that the light shelf system resulted in a 5% reduction in ASE values building-wide and a 6% reduction in the average values of specific areas while increasing sDA values. In this context, it has been observed that areas experiencing a decrease in direct sunlight exposure (ASE values) also show an increase in sufficient daylight exposure (sDA values), which could contribute to improving the building's energy performance.

Effect of low sunlight and high temperature during flower bud differentiation on the cut flower quality of carnation ‘Cherry Tessino’

Effect of low sunlight and high temperature during flower bud differentiation on the cut flower quality of carnation ‘Cherry Tessino’

Carbonized wood supported Fe3O4 nanoparticles for efficient solar-driven interfacial evaporation

Magnetized wood (M–W) has been proposed to be used as an absorber in solar-driven interfacial evaporation. The M−W could gain an evaporation rate of 1.46 kg m−2 h−1 under the combined effect of sunlight and magnetic fields, which is 27 % higher than carbonized wood (C–W). To explore the mechanism, they were subjected to SEM, XPS, and water contact angle tests. It is revealing that M−W forms much more microchannels for steam diffusion. The M−W shows 97 % optical absorption within the whole wavelength, while the C–W is lower than 85 %, revealing the M−W can gather most of the solar radiation. Finally, the permeability coefficients of carbonized and magnetized woods are calculated by the CFD model. The permeability coefficient of the M−W is 20 % higher than the C–W, which can be attributed to Fe3O4 nanoparticles disturbing the steam growth in the magnetic field, hence decreasing the thickness of the liquid film covering the bubbles and improving the solar evaporation rate.

WITHDRAWN: Multiple resprouting strategies coexist after fire in southeastern Brazil cerrado trees

Many trees of the Brazilian savannah have underground organs from which they resprout after a fire, although the relationship between the presence of these organs and the presence of underground resprouts (basal resprouts and root suckers) is unclear. Other relationships may also exist between the height of underground resprouts and the presence of live aerial biomass, multi-stemness and fire impact, tree age and the presence of underground resprouts, and epicormic bud distribution and fire impact. To test all these relationships, data from 367 mature cerrado trees subject to a single prescribed burn in southeastern Brazil were analysed. There was no clear relationship between the presence of underground organs and the presence of underground resprouts, although fire impact strongly influenced the presence of basal resprouts, with 90% of topkilled trees presenting basal resprouts, and this strong influence may have concealed a potential relationship between the presence of underground organs and resprouts. Underground resprouts were 45% taller when trees lacked live aerial biomass because more ground-level sunlight was available for these resprouts to grow. Single-stemmed trees had on average more basal resprouts than multi-stemmed trees, which concerned the translocation of carbohydrate reserves in multi-stemmed trees to maintain the fitness of multiple stems, while single-stemmed trees could store more reserves in their underground organs. However, multi-stemmed trees were more likely than single-stemmed trees to remain unburnt, an effect of less sunlight reaching the ground, suppressing grass cover. Trees >13 years resprouted basally less often since, as the trees were not burnt frequently, they developed deeper roots instead of investing in underground buds. Epicormic bud density was highest in medium fire impacts because a high fire impact led to topkill, while a low fire impact was insufficient to break epicormic bud dormancy. Moreover, the position of the lowest and highest epicormic buds was determined by epicormic bud density, suggesting that, at medium fire impacts, there was greater mobilisation of reserves along the tree stem to activate more epicormic buds.

Corrigendum: The effects of sex, season, and natural sunlight on plasma vitamin D3 levels in two chelonian species (Testudo hermanni, Trachemys scripta) and their interaction with calcium, phosphate, and magnesium as associated plasma compounds

Corrigendum: The effects of sex, season, and natural sunlight on plasma vitamin D3 levels in two chelonian species (Testudo hermanni, Trachemys scripta) and their interaction with calcium, phosphate, and magnesium as associated plasma compounds

Experimental Validation of Radiance-Based Methods for Simulating Solar Penumbras and Pinhole Projections

ABSTRACT The sun’s vast size creates two distinct shadow phenomena on Earth: solar penumbras and pinhole projections. These sunlight effects are particularly important in daylight perception research and exacting daylighting design. As such, a method to generate accurate and efficient lighting simulations of these sunlight effects is needed to facilitate research and design applications. The present study is the first to investigate the accuracy of three Radiance-based methods for generating solar penumbras and pinhole projections against real-world measurements using various semi-controlled scenarios. In addition, we examine the applicability of these methods in terms of simulation time and file size. These methods involve the use of Radiance’s direct jittering algorithm, utilizing solely Radiance’s stochastic calculation, and subdividing a Radiance sun into many small suns. The simulation results of solar penumbras and pinhole projections per method are compared to real-world measurement data and assessed on their applicability. The results show that employing a subdivided sun offers an accurate and efficient method for simulating scenes with solar penumbras and pinhole projections using Radiance.

Multiple alanine pellet dosimeter: Design and first test results

Existing nuclear accident dosimeters are based on the activity measurements of the neutron activation products. Those dose measurements require the use of expensive counting equipment. The other significant problem of existing accident dosimeters is that they need to be analyzed in a very short period, due to the short half-life of the activated products. The crystalline L-α-alanine is a well-known material for Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) dosimetry. It is widely used in radiation laboratories for both reference and transfer dosimetry. Alanine pellets are made from L-α-alanine powder mixed with 10–20% of a binder. The L-α-alanine pellets have ideal dosimetric properties. Alanine is sensitive to alpha, photon, and neutron irradiation. Until recently there was no way to distinguish separate dose contributions from multiple types of radiation. To overcome this shortfall, the multiple alanine pellet holder has been proposed, designed, and tested. It contains cadmium, lead, and 6LiF filters. The proposed approach allows for the separation of photon and neutron dose contributions. Use of the developed holder can also reduce negative effects of humidity and direct sun light on the alanine dosimetric properties. The developed holder design can be produced by a 3D printer at a low cost. Here we present and discuss the design and test results of the multiple alanine pellet dosimeter.

Supplemental greenhouse lighting increased the water use efficiency, crop growth, and cutting production in Cannabis sativa.

The expanding cannabis production sector faces economic challenges, intensified by freshwater scarcity in the main US production areas. Greenhouse cultivation harnesses sunlight to reduce production costs, yet the impact of greenhouse light levels on crucial production components, such as plant growth, branching, and water use efficiency (WUE), remains poorly understood. This study aimed to assess the effects of combined sunlight and supplemental lighting on the crop's main production components and leaf gas exchange of Cannabis sativa 'Suver Haze' in the vegetative stage. Within a greenhouse, LED lighting provided at intensities of ~150, 300, 500, and 700 µmol m-2 s-1 (18-hour photoperiod), combined with solar radiation, resulted in average daily light integrals of 17.9, 29.8, 39.5, and 51.8mol m-2 d-1. Increasing light levels linearly increased biomass, leaf area, and the number of branches per plant and square meter, with respective rates of 0.26g, 32.5 cm2, and 0.41 branches per mole of additional light. As anticipated, crop evapotranspiration increased by 1.8-fold with the increase in light intensity yet crop WUE improved by 1.6-fold when comparing the lowest and highest light treatments. Moreover, water requirements per unit of plant biomass decreased from 0.37 to 0.24 liters per gram when lighting increased from ~18 to 52mol m-2 d-1, marking a 35% reduction in evapotranspiration. These results were supported by increments in leaf photosynthesis and WUE with light enhancement. Furthermore, our findings indicate that even 52mol m-2 d-1 of supplemental lighting did not saturate any of the crop responses to light and can be economically viable for cannabis nurseries. In conclusion, light supplementation strongly enhanced photosynthesis and plant growth while increasing WUE. Additionally, a comprehensive discussion highlights the shared physiological mechanisms governing WUE in diverse plant species and their potential for water conservation under enhanced lighting conditions.

Sunlight and time of the day affect visual lateralisation in Greater White-fronted Geese

Abstract Sensory lateralisation, defined as the separation of functions for processing information from the sensory organs between the hemispheres of the brain, is a variable characteristic of the nervous system influenced by external factors. The plasticity of lateralisation is an important factor influencing the assessment of lateralisation on individual and population levels. We tested the influence of sunlight and time of the day on the visual lateralisation of Greater White-fronted Geese Anser albifrons when following their partners. Most of the individuals showed no preference to observe a partner with one of their eyes. Among the lateralised birds, a significant prevalence of right-eyed individuals was revealed. The highest proportion of lateralised individuals was observed in cloudy conditions. Direct sunlight, particularly in the morning, interfered with the emergence of visual lateralisation. Thus, the effect of sunlight and time of the day on lateralisation in birds should be taken into account when evaluating lateralisation in field observations and experiments.

High temperature and solar radiation in the Red Sea enhance the dissolution of crude oil from surface films

The Red Sea is a hotspot of biodiversity susceptible to oil pollution. Besides, it is one of the warmest seas on the Earth with highly transparent waters. In this study, we estimated the oil dissolution rates under natural sunlight spectra and temperature conditions using coastal oil slicks collected after the 2019 Sabiti oil spill in the Red Sea. Optical analyses revealed the significant interactive effect of sunlight and temperature in enhancing the dissolution of oil into dissolved organic matter (DOM). The highest oil dissolution rate (38.68 g C m−3 d−1) was observed in full-spectrum sunlight. Oil dissolution significantly enhanced total organic carbon (TOC) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in seawater. High nucleic acid (HNA) bacteria, likely the oil degraders, proliferated from 30 to 70 – 90% after 4 days. The heavier stable carbon isotopic composition of methane (δ13C-CH4) and lighter stable carbon isotopic composition of carbon dioxide (δ13C-CO2) indicate the putative role of bacterial processes in the natural degradation of crude oil. The results indicated that the combined effect of temperature and solar radiation enhanced the biological and photochemical dissolution of oil on the Red Sea surface.

Inactivation of Microcystis aeruginosa using piezoelectric T-BaTiO3/Ag3PO4-PVDF composite photocatalyst: Characterization, performance and mechanism

To mitigate the profound impact of Microcystis aeruginosa algal bloom outbreaks on aquatic ecosystems and human health, a piezoelectric T-BaTiO3/Ag3PO4-PVDF composite photocatalyst (T-BTO/AP-PVDF) was successfully synthesized in this study. The catalyst inactivated 97.12% of Microcystis aeruginosa within 4 h by the combined effect of ultrasound and sunlight, and the inactivation rate remained above 88% after five cycles of reuse, which exhibits excellent inactivation effectiveness and stability. Under the conditions of piezo-photocatalytic, the analysis of the physiological properties of algal cells showed that T-BTO/AP-PVDF produced a large amount of •OH, which were active species that could effectively inactivate the algal cells and promote the degradation of organic matter, thus preventing the occurrence of secondary pollution. The composite photocatalysts were characterized using XRD, SEM, XPS, FTIR, PFM, and WCA. Combined with the results of quenching experiments, possible mechanisms for the inactivation of Microcystis aeruginosa by T-BTO/AP-PVDF were proposed. The application results in actual water bodies further proved that T-BTO/AP-PVDF is a new method for effectively inhibiting cyanobacterial bloom outbreaks and shows promising potential for application.

Direct and indirect photodegradation in aquatic systems mitigates photosensitized toxicity in screening-level substance risk assessments of selected petrochemical structures

Photochemical processes are typically not incorporated in screening-level substance risk assessments due to the complexity of modeling sunlight co-exposures and resulting interactions on environmental fate and effects. However, for many substances, sunlight exerts a profound influence on environmental degradation rates and ecotoxicities. Recent modeling advances provide an improved technical basis for estimating the effect of sunlight in modulating both substance exposure and toxicity in the aquatic environment. Screening model simulations were performed for 25 petrochemical structures with varied uses and environmental fate properties. Model predictions were evaluated by comparing the ratios of predicted exposure concentrations with and without light to the corresponding ratios of toxicity thresholds under the same conditions. The relative ratios of exposure and hazard in light vs. dark were then used to evaluate how inclusion of light modulates substance risk analysis. Results indicated that inclusion of light reduced PECs by factors ranging from 1.1- to 63-fold as a result of photodegradation, while reducing PNECs by factors ranging from 1- to 49-fold due to photoenhanced toxicity caused by photosensitization. Consequently, the presence of light altered risk quotients by factors that ranged from 0.1- to 17-fold, since the predicted increase in substance hazard was mitigated by the reduction in exposure. For many structures, indirect photodegradation decreases environmental exposures independently of the direct photolysis pathway which is associated with enhanced phototoxicity. For most of the scenarios and chemicals in the present work, photosensitization appears to be mitigated by direct and indirect degradation from sunlight exposure.

A Review of Weathering Studies in Plastics and Biocomposites-Effects on Mechanical Properties and Emissions of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs).

Polymeric materials undergo degradation when exposed to outdoor conditions due to the synergistic effects of sunlight, air, heat, and moisture. The degradation can lead to a decline in mechanical properties, fading, surface cracking, and haziness, attributed to the cleavage of the polymer chains and oxidation reactions. Accelerated weathering testing is a useful technique to evaluate the comparative photodegradation of materials within a reasonable timeframe. This review gives an overview of the different degradation mechanisms occurring in conventional plastics and bio-based materials. Case studies on accelerated weathering and its effect on the mechanical properties of conventional plastics and biocomposites are discussed. Different techniques for analysing volatile organic emissions (VOCs) have been summarized and studies highlighting the characterization of VOCs from aged plastics and biocomposites after aging have been cited.

Seasonal Affective Disorder: A Narrative Review

This narrative review of research includes summaries of 46 papers on seasonal affective disorder that were published during the period 2019-2023. The publications are primarily cross-sectional studies of risk factors, randomized controlled trials for light therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy and systematic reviews. A few of the papers are focused on the prevalence of seasonal affective disorder which has varied by latitudes and climates from 3% in Saudi Arabia to 21% in Norway, suggesting length of day and sunlight effects. Only a few studies focused on the negative effects of seasonal affective disorder including sleep problems, depression and poor performance on memory tasks. Most of the research has addressed risk factors for developing seasonal affective disorder including younger age, female gender, dependent personality, seasonal beliefs, chronotype (eveningness), inactivity, insomnia and depression. Very few potential underlying mechanism studies appeared in this literature with the exception of MRI studies suggesting reduced brainstem volume. In contrast, many intervention studies were published recently including light therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy. Methodological problems relate to the variability in the assessments of seasonal affective disorder, the reliance on self-report measures and the cross-sectional data that are not definitive about directionality of predictors and effects of seasonal affective disorder.

Cobalt(II) phenylphenoxides as effective photocatalyst in the degradation of some organic dyes

Removal of toxic dyes by physical, biological and chemical methods have been carried out extensively, of which photochemical degradation, by coordination complexes in particular, has been found to be an effective treatment method owing to the use of natural sunlight as source of energy, resulting in no sludge formation along with the release of less toxic substances in the environment. In this study, synthesis and evaluation of photocatalytic activity of new cobalt(II) phenylphenoxides, 1–4, against some organic dyes viz. Malachite green, methyl orange, crystal violet, methylene blue and fuchsin basic have been studied. The complexes were characterized by physicochemical, 1H NMR, FTIR, high resolution mass spectra (HRMS), powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) and electrochemical techniques. An attempt has been made to study the effect of varying experimental conditions like concentration of catalyst, nature of ligand, presence of initiator, on the degradation of dyes. Results have shown that the rate of degradation increases with increase in the concentration of catalyst in the presence of environment friendly initiator, hydrogen peroxide. Furthermore, the complexes were found to be more photo-catalytically active towards degradation of malachite green and methyl orange showing degradation of 89.7 % and 95 %, respectively, in the presence of initiator. The photocatalytic degradation of the dyes displayed pseudo first-order kinetics wherein the physical concept of dye degradation i.e. physiosorption governed the adsorption rate of particles onto the adsorbent. The complexes were found to act as effective photocatalyst as well as strong oxidant generator, HO·, carried out by photochemical decomposition of H2O2 under the effect of sunlight. Scavenging studies unveiled the active involvement of hydroxyl radicals (HO·) and electron vacancies (h+) in facilitating the degradation process. Notably, the complexes exhibited remarkable reusability, enduring up to 6 repeat cycles for methyl orange and 5 cycles for malachite green with significant degradation percentages which have revealed their potential role in the degradation of these dyes.

Effect of solar radiation and full spectrum artificial sun light drying on the drying characteristics, ultra-structural and textural properties of white radish (Raphanus sativus L.)

Traditional sun drying has long been employed as a method for preserving radishes (Raphanus sativus L.) However, it suffers from various uncertainties, including weather-related factors such as rain and cloudy days, the pressing issue of climatic change can lead to an impact on the traditional drying process and texture of radish. In this research, the full spectrum artificial sunlight drying (FSASLD) has been implemented to simulate the traditional open sun drying of white radish slices which helps to prevent hygienic issues and unstable climatic conditions. Water activity (Aw) was measured and observed to decrease from 0.89 to 0.60 under both drying methods, indicating the removal of moisture from radish cells. Mathematical modelling and color kinetics models were studied with respect to drying time. Texture Profile Analysis (TPA) was employed to assess hardness, and results showed an increase in hardness following both SD (1018.24 g to 1327.67 g) and FSASLD (1018.24 g to 1731.04 g) salt treated radish slices. These findings suggest that FSASLD can serve as a viable alternative to the conventional drying method and contributes to agricultural innovation and the food industry, reducing drying time significantly from 270 min to 200 min and minimizing the impact of adverse weather conditions and interference from animals and microorganisms.

Design and Electrical Characterization of Plant Microbial Fuel Cell (PMFC) Using Eichhornia crassipes by Varying the Electrode Distance and Effect Light of the Sun

The Plant Microbial Fuel Cell (PMFC) design using water hyacinth has been successfully created. The PMFC was then treated by varying the distance of the electrode and giving the effect of sunlight. The electrodes used are Cu-Zn pairs where the electrode distance varies, with values of 3, 6, 9, and 12 cm. Furthermore, the data was taken with PMFC conditions placed outside and indoors for 14 days (331 hours). The results showed that PMFC with an electrode distance of 3 cm produced a more excellent value of electrical power than the other electrode distances, which was 0.6786 mW on the second day at the 37th hour or in the afternoon at 13.00 WIB. In general, the electrical characteristics produced by PMFCs, which are affected by sunlight, produce greater electrical power than PMFCs indoors.

Clarifying the murk: unveiling bacterial dynamics in response to crude oil pollution, Corexit-dispersant, and natural sunlight in the Gulf of Mexico

The 2010 Deepwater Horizon (DwH) Oil spill released an enormous volume of oil into the Gulf of Mexico (GoM), prompting the widespread use of chemical dispersants like Corexit® EC9500A. The ecological consequences of this treatment, especially when combined with natural factors such as sunlight, remain unexplored in the context of marine bacterial communities’ dynamics. To address this knowledge gap, our study employed a unique metaproteomic approach, investigating the combined effects of sunlight, crude Macondo surrogate oil, and Corexit on GoM microbiome across different mesocosms. Exposure to oil and/or Corexit caused a marked change in community composition, with a decrease in taxonomic diversity relative to controls in only 24 hours. Hydrocarbon (HC) degraders, particularly those more tolerant to Corexit and phototoxic properties of crude oil and/or Corexit, proliferated at the expense of more sensitive taxa. Solar radiation exacerbated these effects in most taxa. We demonstrated that sunlight increased the dispersant’s toxicity, impacting on community structure and functioning. These functional changes were primarily directed by oxidative stress with upregulated proteins and enzymes involved in protein turnover, general stress response, DNA replication and repair, chromosome condensation, and cell division. These factors were more abundant in chemically treated conditions, especially in the presence of Corexit compared to controls. Oil treatment significantly enhanced the relative abundance of Alteromonas, an oil-degrading Gammaproteobacteria. In combined oil-Corexit treatments, the majority of identified protein functions were assigned to Alteromonas, with strongly expressed proteins involved in membrane transport, motility, carbon and amino acid metabolism and cellular defense mechanisms. Marinomonas, one of the most active genera in dark conditions, was absent from the light treatment. Numerous metabolic pathways and HC-degrading genes provided insights into bacterial community adaptation to oil spills. Key enzymes of the glyoxylate bypass, enriched in contaminant-containing treatments, were predominantly associated with Rhodobacterales and Alteromonadales. Several proteins related to outer membrane transport, photosynthesis, and nutrient metabolisms were characterized, allowing predictions of the various treatments on biogeochemical cycles. The study also presents novel perspectives for future oil spill clean-up processes.