The purpose of this paper is to examine the part to warm effective for the improvement of the cold in winter. The experiments were conducted in a climate chamber. The subjects using the heat- and steam-generating sheet were exposed in 25℃ for 60 minutes. We warmed up each physical part (neck, lower back, abdomen, upper arm, fingertips, calf, and tiptoe). Relative humidity kept up 50% constant, air velocity was still air. The subjects were women's college students who are cold constitution. The results were as follows. In winter, by using in a neck, the skin temperature of each part was high and its skin temperature difference was the smallest. And by using in a neck, thermal sensation of body each part had many warm sides, and they were the most comfortable. The improvement of the cold was recognized by using in a neck or the lower back.

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A survey was conducted involving 219 male workers in the fishing industry regarding the current status of their awareness of and measures against ultraviolet radiation, and wearing sunglasses as a protective measure. Analyzed by age group, the following results were obtained. (1) There was no significant difference in the awareness of and measures against UV radiation among four age groups, in each of which awareness of UV radiation was relatively high. (2) The rate of implementing measures against UV rays was approximately 23% in those aged 35 to 49, and about 30% in all other groups. More specifically, they adopted measures such as "wearing a cap" and "wearing a long-sleeve shirt or long trousers". (3) The rate of wearing sunglasses was 33.3% in those aged 50 to 64, and some 25% in all other groups. The rate was higher in those who wore glasses on a regular basis. (4) The feeling of resistance to wearing sunglasses increased with age, observed in about 50% of those aged 65 to 83. The reasons for their resistance were mainly: "because it restricts my view, hampering my work" and "because wearing sunglasses makes it difficult to correctly perceive the color of things". (5) Of those aged 65 to 83, 21.7% suffered from cataracts, of whom 80% did not wear sunglasses.

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In a pilot study, we observed the state of "heat shock" in elderly persons living in Osaka and Akita by means of simulating bathing and excretion in winter. Furthermore, using data on indoor thermal environments collected nationwide, we investigated relationships between heating equipment and air temperature in bathrooms and toilets, temperature differences from living rooms, and thermal sensations for the elderly. The pilot study showed that differences in air temperature between living rooms and other rooms were larger in cold latitudes, where there was a subject with remarkably increased blood pressure when moving from the living room to the bathroom or the toilet. According to data from our nationwide survey, temperature differences between living rooms and bathrooms or toilets were the highest around eight o'clock in the evening. Despite similar thermal sensations, actual air temperatures in bathrooms and toilets were lower than those in living rooms. Elderly persons seemed to be tolerant to cold in bathrooms and toilets, although they might be stressed physically. Differences in temperature between living and bathrooms have a tendency to correlate with death rates from bathing.

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The present objective was to clarify the brightness condition of a computer screen to improve color accessibility of teaching materials by using ICT and reduces the sense of fatigue. Sixteen University students performed tasks employing a VDT in negative display mode using 8 grayscale conditions differing in brightness between the characters and background, and work efficiency, physiological, and psychological parameters were measured. Concerning work efficiency, no significant difference was noted in the amount of work completed or input error rate among the combinations. Blood pressure and heart rate showed no significant difference between the before and after task conditions with any conditions. The percent variation of the CFF value differed significantly among the 8 conditions, being low in combinations in compliance with international standards. The fatigue score increased in conditions with small differences in brightness and maximum brightness. These results suggest that conditions with an intermediate difference (difference in the L value according to the HLS color model: 160-224) rather than those with low and maximum brightness differences are appropriate for the grayscale negative display mode.

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This paper summarizes and discusses the results of a survey to identify the conditions under which kotatsu was used and the date it was last used. The survey was conducted from April to July 2008. The total number of questionnaires was 1488. The following findings were obtained: 53.0% of respondents used kotatsu in the year investigated and 69.9% of respondents owned kotatsu. The usage rate of kotatsu was 56.8% for detached houses and 47.6% for apartments, while the possession rate of kotatsu was 76.8% and 60.3%, respectively. The date that kotatsu was last used was defined as that when 80% of the kotatsu users had stopped using kotatsu during the period of investigation. These dates of last use were different for different regions: May 3 in Mie, May 6 in Aichi, May 10 in Shimane, May 15 in Gifu and Saitama, May 23 in Tottori and June 15 in Nagano. The minimum outdoor air temperatures for the date of last use in Mie, Aichi, Shimane, Gifu, Saitama and Tottori ranged from 11.8 to 13.7℃ and that in Nagano was 15.6℃.

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The first period of the Kyoto Protocol was aimed at reducing the CO_2 emissions by 6% compared with 1990. However, the reality is an increase of 1.9% in 2008, so strong and urgent measures to reduce energy consumption are required to minimize Japan's contribution to global warming. Therefore, the present study focused on effective methods for energy conservation within Japanese Universities, by estimating energy consumption and by evaluating the effectiveness of energy conservation measures. In addition, within Meijo University in Nagoya, staff and students were surveyed concerning thermal discomfort during lectures. The results demonstrated that the amount of energy consumption could be more effectively reduced in small campus than large campus. In addition, it was found that installation of highly effective lighting device and proper management of air-conditioning equipment are very effective energy-saving measures as opposed to less effectiveness of energy conservation by encouraging the users' consciousness.

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