• Journal of Photoscience
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.197-200
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• 2002

UVR-induced immunosuppression contributes to skin cancer. The aim was to construct accurate dose response curves for primary and secondary contact sensitivity for solar-simulated UVR (ssUVR; 290-400nm), UVA and UVB as the role of UVA in immunosuppression is controversial. We used a xenon arc source. The mice were immobilised, enabling accurate dosing. C57BL/6 mice were immunosuppressed at half the dose of ssUVR required to cause sunburn but not by higher doses (up to the sunburn dose). Thus, ssUVR causes systemic immunosuppression only over a narrow, low dose range. UVA caused suppression at low but not high doses whereas UVB induced immunosuppression at all doses tested. 8 weeks later the mice were resensitised to assess tolerance. Mice exposed to the minimum immunosuppressive dose of ssUVR prior to primary sensitisation were tolerant to re-sensitisation. However, at higher doses of ssUVR, these mice were protected from tolerance. Interestingly, while low doses of UV A caused immunosuppression, even lower doses enhanced the response to the second sensitisation. Higher doses of UVA had no affect. UVB induced tolerance in a dose related manner. Thus, ssUVR only induces immunosuppression and tolerance over a narrow dose range. Both UVA and UVB are immunosuppressive at this dose, while higher doses of UVA protect from the suppressive effects of UVB. Surprisingly very low doses of UVA enhanced memory development. Thus UVR has complex effects on the immune system depending on dose and spectrum.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.113-120
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• 2019

Mannosylerythritol lipids (MELs) are glycolipids and have several pharmacological efficacies. MELs also show skin-moisturizing efficacy through a yet-unknown underlying mechanism. Aquaporin-3 (AQP3) is a membrane protein that contributes to the water homeostasis of the epidermis, and decreased AQP3 expression following ultraviolet (UV)-irradiation of the skin is associated with reduced skin moisture. No previous study has examined whether the skin-moisturizing effect of MELs might act through the modulation of AQP3 expression. Here, we report for the first time that MELs ameliorate the UVA-induced downregulation of AQP3 in cultured human epidermal keratinocytes (HaCaT keratinocytes). Our results revealed that UVA irradiation decreases AQP3 expression at the protein and messenger RNA (mRNA) levels, but that MEL treatment significantly ameliorated these effects. Our mitogen-activated protein kinase inhibitor analysis revealed that phosphorylation of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), but not extracellular signal-regulated kinase or p38, mediates UVA-induced AQP3 downregulation, and that MEL treatment significantly suppressed the UVA-induced phosphorylation of JNK. To explore a possible mechanism, we tested whether MELs could regulate the expression of peroxidase proliferator-activated receptor gamma ($PPAR-{\gamma}$), which acts as a potent transcription factor for AQP3 expression. Interestingly, UVA irradiation significantly inhibited the mRNA expression of $PPAR-{\gamma}$ in HaCaT keratinocytes, whereas a JNK inhibitor and MELs significantly rescued this effect. Taken together, these findings suggest that MELs ameliorate UVA-induced AQP3 downregulation in HaCaT keratinocytes by suppressing JNK activation to block the decrease of $PPAR-{\gamma}$. Collectively, our findings suggest that MELs can be used as a potential ingredient that modulates AQP3 expression to improve skin moisturization following UVA irradiation-induced damage.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.51 no.3
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• pp.173-182
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• 2023

Color is an attribute of visual perception and can be an important factor that affects the preference of customers toward bamboo and wood products. Solar radiation can discolor bamboo surfaces and initiate cracking. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of an ultraviolet (UV)-protective coating on the photodiscoloration of untreated and heat-treated Phyllostachys bambusoides bamboo surfaces. Artificial UVA radiators are set at a UVA irradiance of 2,000 W/m² to accelerate the aging of the outer surfaces of hot-air-dried and heat-treated bamboo samples. Half of the samples are coated with transparent UV-protective paint. As the UVA radiation progresses, the discoloration prevention efficiency (DPE) of the UV-protective coating on all samples decreases gradually. The DPEs of the hot-air-dried samples are estimated to be 31.4% and 18.8% after 21 and 72 hours of artificial UVA radiation, respectively. The heat-treated samples exhibit similar trends (29.0% after 21 hours and 10.3% after 72 hours). Recoating the UV-protective paint periodically every six months is expected to minimize the discoloration of the bamboo's outer surface.

• Toxicological Research
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.43-48
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• 2017

With ultraviolet and visible light exposure, some pharmaceutical substances applied systemically or topically may cause phototoxic skin irritation. The major factor in phototoxicity is the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) such as singlet oxygen and superoxide anion that cause oxidative damage to DNA, lipids and proteins. Thus, measuring the generation of ROS can predict the phototoxic potential of a given substance indirectly. For this reason, a standard ROS assay (ROS assay) was developed and validated and provides an alternative method for phototoxicity evaluation. However, negative substances are over-predicted by the assay. Except for ultraviolet A (UVA), other UV ranges are not a major factor in causing phototoxicity and may lead to incorrect labeling of some non-phototoxic substances as being phototoxic in the ROS assay when using a solar simulator. A UVA stimulator is also widely used to evaluate phototoxicity in various test substances. Consequently, we identified the applicability of a UVA simulator to the ROS assay for photoreactivity. In this study, we tested 60 pharmaceutical substances including 50 phototoxins and 10 non-phototoxins to predict their phototoxic potential via the ROS assay with a UVA simulator. Following the ROS protocol, all test substances were dissolved in dimethyl sulfoxide or sodium phosphate buffer. The final concentration of the test solutions in the reaction mixture was 20 to $200{\mu}M$. The exposure was with $2.0{\sim}2.2mW/cm^2$ irradiance and optimization for a relevant dose of UVA was performed. The generation of ROS was compared before and after UVA exposure and was measured by a microplate spectrophotometer. Sensitivity and specificity values were 85.7% and 100.0% respectively, and the accuracy was 88.1%. From this analysis, the ROS assay with a UVA simulator is suitable for testing the photoreactivity and estimating the phototoxic potential of various test pharmaceutical substances.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.224-230
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• 2024

Pinitol (3-O-Methyl-D-chiro-inositol) has been reported to possess insulin-like effects and is known as one of the anti-diabetic agents to improve muscle, liver, and endothelial cells. However, the beneficial effects of pinitol on the skin are not well known. Here, we investigated whether pinitol had effects on human dermal fibroblasts (HDFs), and human dermal equivalents (HDEs) irradiated with ultraviolet A (UVA), which causes various damages including photodamage in the skin. We observed that pinitol enhanced wound healing in UVA-damaged HDFs. We also found that pinitol significantly antagonized the UVA-induced up-regulation of matrix metalloproteinase 1 (MMP1), and the UVA-induced down-regulation of collagen type I and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases 1 (TIMP1) in HDEs. Electron microscopy analysis also revealed that pinitol remarkably increased the number of collagen fibrils with regular banding patterns in the dermis of UVA-irradiated human skin equivalents. Pinitol significantly reversed the UVA-induced phosphorylation levels of ERK and JNK but not p38, suggesting that this regulation may be the mechanism underlying the pinitol-mediated effects on UVA-irradiated HDEs. We also observed that pinitol specifically increased Smad3 phosphorylation, which is representative of the TGF-β signaling pathway for collagen synthesis. These data suggest that pinitol exerts several beneficial effects on UVA-induced damaged skin and can be used as a therapeutic agent to improve skin-related diseases.

• Journal of Photoscience
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.470-471
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• 2002

It has been well documented that dermal irradiation by ultraviolet A (UVA) locally decreases the number of Langerhans cells and suppresses contact hypersensitivity of the skin. We found that topical irradiation of UVA to the eye systemically decreased the number of Langerhans cells (LC) in the dorsalskin and lymph nodes and elicited lymphocyte apoptosis in the latter tissues but not in the thymus. Optic nerve resection, but not ciliary ganglionectomy, eliminated the UVA-induced decrease in dermal Langerhans cells by a mechanism that was partially inhibited by hypophysectomy. The immunosuppressive effect of UVA was not observed in knockout mice lacking inducible-type of nitric oxide synthase (iNOS). These results suggested that topical irradiation of UVA to the eye induced immunosuppression via NO-dependet neuronal pathways.

• Journal of the Society of Cosmetic Scientists of Korea
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.59-75
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• 1999

Skin is continuously exposed to external stimuli including ultraviolet radiation, which is a major cause of skin photoaging. According to recent discoveries, UVA with a lower energy but deep-penetrating properties, compared to UVB, is likely to play a major part in causing skin photoaging. The clinical and histochemical changes of photoaging are well characterized, but the biochemical mechanisms are poorly understood partly due to the lack of suitable experimental systems. In this work, three-dimensional, reconstituted skin culture models were prepared. After certain period of maturation, the equivalent models were shown to be similar in structure and biochemical characteristics to normal skin. Mature dermal and skin equivalent models were exposed to sub-lethal doses of UVA, and the effects of UVA relevant to dermal photoaging were monitored, including the production of elastin, collagen, collagenase(MMP-1), and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases-1 (TIMP-1). Interestingly, dermal and skin equivalents reacted differently to acute and chronic exposure to UVA. Elastin production was increased as soon as one week after commencing UVA irradiation by chronic exposure, although a single exposure failed to do so. This early response could be an important advantage of equivalent models in studying elastosis in photoaged skin. Collagenase activity was increased by acute UVA irradiation, but returned to control levels after repeated exposure. On the other hand, collagen biosynthesis, which was increased by a single exposure, decreased slightly during 5 weeks of prolonged UVA exposure. Collagenase has been thought to be responsible for collagen degeneration in dermal photoaging. However, according to the results obtained in this study, elevated collagenase activity is not likely to be responsible for the degeneration of collagen in dermal photoagig, while reduced production of collagen may be the main reason. It can be concluded that reconstituted skin culture models can serve as useful experimental tools for the study of skin photoaging. These culture models are relatively simple to construct, easy to handle, and are reproducible Moreover the changes of dermal photoaging can be observed within 1-4 weeks of exposure to ultraviolet light compared to 4 months to 2 years for human or animal studies. These models will be useful for biochemical and mechanistic studies in a large number of fields including dermatology, toxicology, and pharmacology.

• Journal of the Semiconductor & Display Technology
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.1-5
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• 2021

Ultraviolet (UVA)-emissive BaSiO₃:Ce³⁺ phosphor was astonishingly reproducible by vacuum-sintering at a high temperature through a simple solid-state reaction method. It was conveniently formed in BaSiO₃ phases. The compound showed the UVA emission and the UV-VUV excitation due to 5d-4f transitions from Ce³⁺ ions: emission peak at 380 nm with a 56 nm width. Its temperature dependence and vacuum UV excitability were examined for practical application as an excimer discharge lamp, which showed the high thermal stability (80% at 100℃) and the strong VUV excitations at 145 nm and 172 nm.

• Journal of Photoscience
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.33-36
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• 2002

This study describes RT-PCR and in situ hybridisation protocols, and the immunohistochemical detection method that we have developed to detect and localise cells that express HO-1 in the skin. We found that HO-1 mRNA was absent in normal mouse skin, but after UVA irradiation HO-1 mRNA was expressed in the dermal fibroblasts, and strongly in basal epidermal cells. HO-1 protein was also induced strongly in dermal fibroblasts, and also in epidermal cells. In addition, the HO substrate heme was reduced in skin microsome at 72 hrs post UVA (when HO activity is high). At the same time, the HO products bilirubin and iron levels were elevated in the cutaneous tissue. Thus in addition to a dermal response, there appears to be an epidermal HO response to UVA in vivo that may be relevant for immune modulation by UVA radiation.

• The Journal of the Korea institute of electronic communication sciences
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• v.12 no.6
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• pp.1219-1226
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• 2017

In this paper, it is performed the optimal design of the UV LED bar which can be used variously. The UV LED Bar emits ultraviolet rays, so it is important to emit ultraviolet rays constantly for the purpose of use. In order to emit a certain amount of ultraviolet rays as ever, the ultraviolet ray emission should be driven by a constant current source within the operable input voltage range. And also the heat dissipation is particularly important because of the long ultraviolet emission retention time due to the UV utilization characteristics. In addition, since human body protection is essential, the algorithm is configured to operate according to human body detection using distance sensor and Bluetooth. Three 365nm UV LEDs were used in series to emit ultraviolet UVA, operating at the constant current of 500mA with an efficiency of 87.5% and a power consumption of 6.006W. The ultraviolet radiation dose was measured at $5.35mW/cm^2$ at the distance of 10 cm when measured by the Lutron ultraviolet measuring instruments.