Information on airconditioning and ventilation has been continuously disseminated in response to the Japanese Government's announcement of the need for appropriate ventilation measures against the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19), and the issuing of an emergency presidential discourse by the presidents of Engineering Societies. In this paper, we add to the information the latest knowledge on the behavior of SARS-CoV-2 in air, describe its diffusion characteristics in the built environment, and summarize the effects of temperature and humidity on the virus. Then we recommend varying approaches of airconditioning control for facility type.

Herein, we aimed to improve the thermal insulation of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) windows to reduce the energy consumption of buildings. Currently, the gold standard PVC window is triple glazed and has a thermal transmittance of 0.7 W/(m 2 •K). However, further reduction in the thermal transmittance of the windows via quadruple glazing is not feasible because this would make the windows too heavy and expensive. We searched for an alternative method for reducing the thermal transmittance without increasing the weight. The window frame, glazing, and glazing edge parts of a PVC window significantly affect the overall thermal insulation; thus, we evaluated the insulation contribution of each of the above to identify their optimal conditions. Using these optimal conditions, we were able to create a window having a thermal transmittance of 0.46 W/(m 2 •K). However, these optimal conditions make their production difficult. Hence, we manufactured an alternative using practical specifications more suited for actual production. This window achieved a thermal transmittance of 0.63 W/(m 2 •K).

In cold regions, it is necessary to correspond to solar heat gain and heating load in winter in addition to solar radiation shading and cooling load in summer. Therefore, it becomes important to do the plan and design that should correspond to both high insulation of building and overuse of glasses. "Double skin (DS)" has attracted attention as architectural methods corresponding to these.The aims of this study are to show the infl uencing factor of shape, specifi cation and control technique that are directly linked to thermal load reduction method of DS and to reveal the optimum design condition and the energy saving effect after we verifi ed heat characteristic for DS in cold regions.

The demand for heating in cold regions drives up carbon emissions every year. In order to achieve China’s carbon neutrality target by 2060, CO2 emissions in the cold regions must be reduced. In this paper, using Design Builder software, a simulation model of residential buildings in severe cold regions was created, and the most appropriate parameter design scheme for carbon emission reduction of residential buildings in severe cold regions was derived by simulating the experimental data of the original parameter design scheme and the changed parameter design scheme, as well as the calculation of carbon dioxide emission reduction rate. In order to make the comparison of the results easier, no change was made in the selection of the changed scheme for the external insulation material, foamed polystyrene panels. The results show that the most suitable parameter scheme for houses in severe cold regions is 85 mm thick foamed polystyrene panels for exterior walls, 200 mm thick foamed polystyrene panels for roofs, and exterior windows should use semi-tempered plastic steel frame and triple glass 6 mm glass + vacuum + 6 mm low-e glass + 12 mm air + 6 mm glass composed of windows. This technique saves 30.32% of energy as compared to the original parameter design approach. The efficiency of energy conservation is 33.03%. The emission reduction effect is significant. The best parametric design plan has a static payback period of 5 years. The best parametric design plan has a discounted payback period of 7 and a net present value of USD 65,413.39. This scheme can provide a great economic return while also increasing the performance of the building.

The asymmetric total synthesis of toxicodenane A, a sesquiterpenoid expected to be promising for diabetic nephropathy, was achieved. In the synthesis, a samarium iodide (SmI2)-induced Barbier-type cyclization and a regio- and stereoselective allylic oxidation followed by a dehydration cyclization were employed as key steps. Furthermore, the first asymmetric syntheses of both enantiomers were accomplished using the previously mentioned synthetic strategy. Finally, the synthetic compounds significantly inhibited lipotoxicity-mediated inflammatory and fibrotic responses in mouse renal proximal tubular cells.