Despite the numerous clinical and environmental studies on multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS), studies on other aspects, such as care and support in daily life, are lacking. The present study aims to provide useful information for the families of patients with MCS in terms of care or support for patients or when improvement regarding care is required. A questionnaire survey was conducted for patients with MCS and one member from their families. The contents of the questionnaire consisted of the current state of distress of patients and agreement and differences between them and their families concerning what causes the symptoms of MCS and perceptions about daily life. A relatively good agreement was noted on the cause of the appearance of symptoms. In contrast, the degree of agreement between the patients and family members about the thoughts regarding daily life was not always high. Although the response rate was low, and the generalizability of the results was problematic, the study obtained basic information on the coherence of cognition between patients and their family. However, continuing efforts to gather such basic information in the future is necessary.

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Environmental education is important for developing a common understanding of the fundamental value of the environment, and “awareness” is one of the first steps toward improving air quality. In this study, we demonstrated the use of a smartphone air quality monitor, Pocket PM_2.5 sensor, in Shenyang, Liaoning, in northeast China for assessing personal exposure concentrations of PM_2.5 and PM₁₀. We also aimed to elucidate the function and meaning of the monitoring in environmental education activities. Field monitoring was conducted by a non-science-professional volunteer, at 11 sites and routes in central Shenyang, including indoors, on November 19th and 20th, 2019. The portable monitor was easily operated by the volunteer, and real-time concentrations of PM_2.5 and PM₁₀ were successfully collected with a time resolution of one second. As a result, the real-time and simultaneous measurements of PM_2.5 and PM₁₀ had positive effects in cultivating immediate public environmental awareness of air quality. The data were able to provide three insights about the gap in recognizing pollution status, pollution by particulate matter, and the scientific background behind the monitoring. Because a smartphone monitor is portable, easy-to-handle, and displays information clearly, it can be used effectively as a supplemental environmental education tool for understanding the actual amount of air pollution in a current location.

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The respiratory infectious disease caused by novel corona virus (SARS-CoV-2) emerged in late 2019 is current serious global issue. The vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 are still under development. Therefore, it is essential for us to reduce opportunities being exposed to the viruses in order to prevent from the viral infection. The nano-sized electrostatic atomized water particles (NEAWPs) generated by electrostatic atomizing device have the ability to inactivate several bacterial species. Herein, we focused on the potential of NEAWPs to inactivate SARS-CoV-2. SARS-CoV-2 was significantly inactivated when the viruses were exposed by NEAWPs for more than 1 hour. The amounts of live viruses were 1,000 times lower in the exposure group than the control group at 3-hour post-exposure. These results indicate that NEAWPs are effective on inactivation of SARS-CoV-2.

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There are concepts of “ general ventilation” and “ local ventilation” in the ventilation design of the room. “ General ventilation” does not pay much attention to the transportation and transportation of pollutants by indoor air, but dose pay attention to the ability to stir the pollutants and indoor air (mixing ability). “ Local ventilation” pays great attention to the transportation and transportation of pollutants due to the movement of indoor air (indoor airflow). When analyzing the flow of air in a room by computational fluid dynamics (hereinafter: CFD), the purpose of the former is to analyze the non-uniformity that occurs in the room due to insufficient mixing capacity. Regarding the latter, how the intended transport / transport properties are achieved by the indoor air flow is analyzed together with the non-uniform properties. It is most effective for CFD analysis, the latter transportation / transportation analysis by airflow, that is, rational design of local ventilation.

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Currently, in the field of architecture, with the progress of development of highly convenient CFD software, not only conventional researchers and HVAC engineers but also architects are using it for design. The authors have organized information for conducting appropriate analysis in the activities of the academic committee of SHASE for the purpose of promoting the proper dissemination of CFD technology, and has published a guidebook for beginners. Based on the activities of the committee, this paper outlines the history of development, technological trends, and future prospects of CFD technology, which is being used more and more in architecture field.

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In recent years, the energy consumption of office buildings has been increasing. In particular, HVAC systems account for a high proportion of the total energy consumption. One factor that increases the energy consumption is the control problem with classical control. Recently, it is expected to establish a control method for air-conditioning systems using model predictive control (MPC), which is one of the modern control methods. Therefore, this study aims to show the effectiveness of　MPC as a new control method to replace classical control based on coupled simulation of CFD, air-conditioning system, and MPC. In this paper, we outlined MPC and this coupled simulation method, and also conducted case study on two types of control methods, PID and MPC, for a VAV system. By comparison with PID control, the control performance of MPC was improved, especially when the air-conditioning system started up and the load fluctuated, and the effectiveness of MPC in air-conditioning control was confirmed. As a prediction model of MPC, we used a step response model created using CFD analysis, and by incorporating this model into the control law of MPC, it was confirmed that not only the sensor temperature but also the office space can be controlled to the set temperature.

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This study investigates the effect of outdoor flow fields around urban-like block arrays on indoor ventilation flows within a building located in an urban canopy layer by analyzing datasets of a series of numerical simulations coupling indoor and outdoor airflows. Four configurations of building arrays and opening locations were adopted in order to consider how the difference in outdoor flow patterns affected the indoor velocity distributions and ventilation rates. The conclusions are summarized as follows. First, temporally averaged velocity distributions around block arrays were largely influenced by the array types, though opening locations hardly affected the outdoor velocity distributions due to large difference in indoor and outdoor velocity magnitude. In contrast, temporally averaged indoor velocity distributions were significantly sensitive to both opening locations and outdoor array types because the flow introduction through the openings was highly affected by the flow patterns near the openings. Second, temporal changes in the indoor velocity did not fluctuate with high frequencies, although the temporal changes considerably correlated with the outdoor velocity which temporally changed with a scale defined by the building length scale and approaching wind speed. Third, ventilation rates determined by a conventional method based on the pressure differences between building faces showed larger values than those determined by velocity in the openings in the present numerical simulations for all cases. In addition, turbulent ventilation remained even in the case where temporally averaged velocity in the openings became zero. These results indicate that we need to consider the effect of the outdoor airflow, which changes spatially and temporally, on the indoor velocity distributions and ventilation rates.

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In building equipment, CFD simulation is a very effective means for predicting the indoor thermal and air environment at each work stage of design, construction, and operation. With the development of visualization technologies such as VR and MR, the use of CFD simulation is expanding in practice. However, it is difficult for CFD simulation to accurately simulate the airflow from the supply air terminal with a complicated shape from the viewpoint of calculation time and workload at a practical level. Therefore, many studies on CFD modeling of supply airflow that can reduce the calculation load while ensuring the prediction accuracy of airflow pattern have been reported so far. In this report, the CFD modeling methods for supply airflows with complicated shapes and some of related case studies are introduced.

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