The Semi-Active Sampler (SAS), which has been developed by our group, is a new type of gas sampler composed of a cylindrical metal housing in which the coaxial rods of the diffusion layer and the adsorbent layer. Air flow in the gap between the housing and the diffusion layer can be induced by a small fan equipped inside the sampler. The sample air can be introduced to the sampler by the forced convection inside the sampler. The target VOC components in the sampled air can be collected by the diffusion through the diffusion layer and be captured by the adsorbent. The transport process of the VOC components in the SAS was modeled based on the film theory, and it was found that the sampling rate of the SAS is a linear function of the-1/3 power of the air flow rate of air in the SAS. The above dependency agreed well with the experimental results for toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene. The sampling rate found to depend on the 1/3 power of the representative diameter (the difference of the housing diameter and the passive sampler), which agreed with the experimental results. The effect of the outer air flow rate on the air flow inside SAS was studied, and found that the sampling rate was almost unaffected by the change of the outer air flow rate up to 4 m/s.

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As well as people in the world, the daily life of people living in Shenyang, Liaoning, China has been forced to change via the pandemic of the new corona virus infection (COVID-19) since January 2020. The purpose of this study is to clarify how the lifestyle and environmental consciousness of citizens living in Shenyang, have changed due to the pandemic. Therefore, we conducted a questionnaire survey for 100 same volunteers, who were publicly recruited through SNS, in January 2020, July 2020 and January 2021. The volunteers were mainly elderly people who had ICT literacy. As a result of three surveys, the pandemic affected lifestyles such as citizens' choice of transportation and wearing masks when cooking. On the other hand, the air environment was improved by the reduction of economic activities due to the pandemic, and the dissatisfaction with the air environment condition of the residential area was alleviated. As causes of environmental pollution, an increasing number of people have pointed out "insufficient public participation in environmental protection" and "insufficient education on the environment". This shows the citizens' awareness of environmental protection is still insufficient in Shenyang, China.

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We previously reported inhibition effects of fungal growth when irradiated with positive and negative ions. This time, we experimentally investigated which growth process of filamentous fungus is affected by positive and negative ions.
First, to determine which stage of growth was inhibited, we examined mycelial growth and spore germination when exposed to positive and negative ions. The results showed that both stages were inhibited by positive and negative ions.
Next, we compared the growth-inhibitory effect between simultaneous irradiation of positive and negative ions with single irradiation of positive or negative ions. The results showed that positive or negative ions alone were able to inhibit the fungal growth to some extent, but the effect with both positive and negative ions was higher than that.
From these data, we found that simultaneous irradiation of both positive and negative ions is effective in inhibition of growth.

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In this paper, indoor air environment is focused as one factor in causing environmental hypersensitivity, and the countermeasures against sick house syndrome, the state of poor ventilation in buildings and the influence of poor ventilation in buildings on COVID-19 infection are reported. Japanese traditional wooden buildings are suitable for the hot and humid weather. However, the improvement of the buildings for better living environment and energy saving has been made and buildings have become more and more airtight and new building materials using chemical compounds are used. This has changed indoor air environment little by little and sick house syndrome occurred in such an environment. These changes brought disparity in ventilation characteristics and indoor air environment in houses in Japan. In many types of airtight buildings, indoor air quality has been deteriorated by the inadequate operation of ventilation and air conditioning systems for energy saving and cost saving. Investigations on indoor air environment in buildings where COVID-19 outbreaks occurred, have revealed that the buildings were not ventilated enough because of the poor construction work and the lack of maintenance of the ventilation and air conditioning systems. The consideration of this state of poor ventilation in buildings will suggest effective countermeasures against environmental hypersensitivity.

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The characteristics of the clinical symptoms of 28 children and adolescents who visited the clinic with the chief complaints of generalized physical symptoms and school attendance problems were investigated. Persistent chronic generalized skeletal muscle pain, arthralgia, and various types of headache were observed in all patients. They suffered from sleep disturbances and difficulty waking up in the morning, fatigue and easy fatigability, stomach pain after eating, recurrent diarrhea and constipation, and hypersensitivity to light, sound, and smell at normal indoor environmental levels, with associated nausea and headache. Children and adolescents whose physical condition worsened on the way to school often complained of dizziness, palpitations, breathlessness, headache, and abdominal pain. On physical examination, all patients had muscle stiffness and tenderness, and all 18 tender points of fibromyalgia were positive. These physical symptoms and findings are similar to those of juvenile fibromyalgia, and it is possible that children and adolescents with school attendance problems include undiagnosed cases of juvenile fibromyalgia. The pathological picture of hypothalamic stress intolerant and exhaustive syndrome, with autonomic symptoms and pain/sensory hypersensitivity at its core, was clear, with disruption of circadian rhythm control, dysfunction of the energy metabolism system, and abnormal response of stress response to internal and external environmental stress. In adults with fibromyalgia, positron emission tomography (PET) showed the presence of microglia-derived inflammatory lesions in and around the thalamus, suggesting that the thalamus-hypothalamus-limbic system is also responsible for the lesions in children and adolescents with school attendance disorders. A level of indoor environment that would not be a problem at all for normal children and adolescents can cause significant stress intolerance and fatigue in those with school attendance disorders, leading to no school registration.

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It is understood that a wide range of environmental issues is connected with nutrition, such as the relationship between multiple chemical sensitivity, sick building syndrome and nutrition intake, and the relationship between air pollution, second-hand smoke, and nutritional status. For example, vitamin D deficiency is a worldwide problem, but there are reports that air pollution is also a risk factor for the development of vitamin D deficiency. Exposure to air pollutants increases not only typical respiratory illnesses, but also oxidative stress and systemic inflammatory symptoms, and is associated with cardiovascular illness and obesity. It is undeniable that the detrimental effects of global warming on human health will culminate in the near future, and will be necessary for everybody to be aware of their nutritional intake and improve their dietary habits. Delay of detoxification has been proven to be a mechanism for the onset of multiple chemical sensitivity, and there is a report that blood levels of some nutrients involved in detoxification function are lower than in the general population. Patients are advised to become aware of the beneficial effects of nutrients such as vitamins A, B, C, and glutathione that enhance detoxification function. Some patients reported that during the treatment for MCS, not only the symptoms of MCS but also other physical disorders were improved by reviewing the living environment, improving the diet and taking nutritional supplements. As there are so many factors affecting human health, it is an urgent issue not only for patients with multiple chemical sensitivity but also for the entire nation to review their dietary habits.

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Reports from National Consumer Affairs Center of Japan and others indicate an increase of advisement on health damage by use of a fabric softener; however, a behavior of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from clothes washed with the softener was less reported. To clarify the behavior of VOCs from clothes used fabric softener and fragrance reagent, analyses of VOCs with GC/MS for different clothing materials and products were conducted. Analyses on VOCs behavior in repeated use and suspension of the softener were also conducted. Chemicals were estimated from the obtained mass spectrum of each peak comparing with a library spectrum pattern. Relationships between chemical properties and volatile behavior for high accuracy peaks were considered. As for clothing materials, the difference in VOCs behavior was observed. Volatile intensities of hydrophobic compounds tended to increase in artificial fiber clothing. By contrast, one of hydrophilic compounds increased in cotton clothing. VOCs in washing room air during wash were a little different from those of washed clothes. It is suggested that repeated use of fabric softener and fragrance reagent induces an increase of volatile intensities on hydrophobic compounds. In other words, this means that chemicals of high molecule without hydrophilic functional group tend to remain on the clothes. This may cause a change of fragrance. A suspension of these reagents decreases VOCs levels smoothly; however, the behavior of more use over ten times and difference of products are concerned. These results will be useful for the proper use of these kinds of laundry reagents to avoid health problems.

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