Vitamin D signaling plays a key role in various important processes, including cellular proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis, immune regulation, hormone secretion, and skeletal health. Further, vitamin D production and supplementation have been shown to exert protective effects via an unknown signaling mechanism involving the vitamin D receptor (VDR) in several diseases and cancer type...

Terrestrial life is dependent on radiant energy from the sun. Solar radiation is largely optical radiation [radiant energy within a broad region of the electromagnetic spectrum that includes ultraviolet (UV), visible (light) and infrared radiation], although both shorter wavelength (ionizing) and longer wavelength (microwaves and radiofrequency) radiation is present. The wavelength of UV radiat...

The solar UV exposure to the eyes of humans is due to the direct and diffuse components of solar radiation. The direct ocular UV exposures to the eyes are reduced due to the natural aversion of the majority of people from looking directly at the sun. The diffuse UV is incident from all directions and as a result, it is more difficult to minimise the ocular exposure to this component of the sola...

Only small amounts of vitamin D come from dietary sources as it is mainly synthesised in the skin from the ultraviolet B (UVB) fraction of sunlight if the person is sufficiently exposed to direct sunlight. Vitamin D deficiency has been well documented in Oman. The "2004 Oman National Micronutrients Survey" and other recent studies revealed that vitamin D3 stores are low among healthy Omani fema...

Terrestrial life is dependent on radiant energy from the sun. Solar radiation is largely optical radiation [radiant energy within a broad region of the electromagnetic spectrum that includes ultraviolet (UV), visible (light) and infrared radiation], although both shorter wavelength (ionizing) and longer wavelength (microwaves and radiofrequency) radiation is present. The wavelength of UV radiat...

Vitamin D derivatives can modulate proliferation and differentiation of cancer cells. Our main source of Vitamin D is ultraviolet (UV) radiation-induced synthesis in skin following sun exposure. UV measurements show that the ambient annual UV exposures increase by about 50% from north to south in Norway. As judged from the incidence rates of squamous cell carcinoma, the same is true for the ave...

Background: Astronauts will be exposed to both chronic space radiation and acute high doses of energetic radiation of solar particle events in long-term deep space missions. The application of radioprotectors in space missions has basic limitations such as their very short time window as well as their acute toxicity and considerable side effects. The aim of the present study was to investigate ...

background: in general, measurements of solar ultraviolet (uv) radiation are related to horizontal surfaces. while the hu­mans walking and standing outdoors expose to the natural solar uv radiation, their eyes, cheeks, extremities, trunks, or many other anatomical sites are close to vertical plane and random orient to different directions. in this study, we character­ized the diurnal variations...

Until now it had been assumed that mammalian skin contains only one provitamin D, 7-dehydrocholesterol, that is eventually converted to vitamin D3 after the skin is exposed to sunlight. Examination by reverse phase high performance liquid chromatography of lipid extracts from young rat skin, however, led to the observation that 7-dehydrocholesterol is not the only provitamin D in rat skin. Anot...

OBJECTIVES Low ultraviolet-B (UVB) radiation causes hypovitaminosis D, which is a known risk factor for multiple sclerosis (MS) and associated with MS disease activity. Our objective is to test whether vitamin D supplementation is most effective in lowering disease activity during the period of the year with low UVB radiation and consequently low serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 (25(OH)D3) concentrat...