In past 20 years, the average prevalence of asthma in China has been growing up from 0.9 % to about3.0 %. We carried out these studies to find out the reasons and relative molecular mechanisms. Datamultiple-regression was used for prevalence and risk factor investigation (1990-2000) and animalexperiments were used for mechanism study.

The measurement of moisture in building fabrics has been of interest for many years due to thepotentially devastating consequences of moisture problems within buildings. A range of potentialtechniques are available with which to measure the moisture content of building fabrics in-situ and thispaper focuses on one particular technique, the thermal dual-probe. Note that this method is distinctfrom the single probe technique. Essentially, a short pulse of electrical energy is applied to a wirewithin the heating needle.

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) in many ways is a methodology which building industry is looking towardsto give the answers on how to assess sustainability of buildings. In Hong Kong, like many othercountries, its application is limited by the availability of credible assessment tools in the market. Thispaper provides the details on the processes and findings of a comprehensive study initiated by theGovernment to derive a LCA tool for the use of the local building industry, addressing on researches thatare needed to really make LCA part of the answer to sustainability assessment.

The Shinjuku Park Tower building is a large building complex built in Tokyo in1993 that includes officespace, a shopping zone, and a hotel.

“Tatami” is a traditional Japanese building material used as a floor mat made with rush. It used to be said that the smell of tatami is preferred by many Japanese, because almost all Japanese houses have had tatami rooms since early times. In this paper,

Hazardous compounds emitted during the plastic melting process were analyzed to indicate potentialair pollution issues associated with recycle plants for waste plastics. These hazardous compoundsmight be not only from polymer degradation but also from additives and print ink. To confirm what areemitted from them, melting experiments were conducted (150, 200 and 250C, in air or N2) and volatileorganic compounds (VOCs) emitted from samples were trapped by Tenax/Carboxen adsorption tubesand analyzed by TD-GC/MS.

Rapidly growing electricity demand brings into question the ability of traditional grids to expandcorrespondingly while providing reliable service. To solve such as these problems, this paperinvestigates current status of energy conservation and its systems in a complex hospital of Kitakyushu.Simultaneously, operation condition of energy-saving system and available strategy and prospectsabout improving system's effects, are discussed.

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from various sources may adversely affect human health,comfort and performance. In particular, formaldehyde has been identified as a major indoor pollutantwhose emission is controlled by workstation systems. Engineered wood products such asparticleboards have widely been used with wood veneer and laminate to form work surfaces ofworkstation systems, which is a major formaldehyde emission component. The emission rate offormaldehyde depends on the composition of each material layer, temperature and moisture content inthe materials.

Hot water is an essential requirement in most Residence. Gas, electricity and furnace oil are beingused for obtaining hot water. These sources are not readily available and are scarce in a part of Japanat present. Fortunately, solar thermal energy is plentiful which can be successfully harnessed forgetting hot water. In this paper, performance of the copper coil heat exchanger type solar water heaterhas been described, which provides domestic hot water for a four-person family.

The ventilation efficiency of different ventilation patterns inside a room containing one person and officefurniture arranged by different inlet/outlet configurations was investigated. The numerical simulation(CFD) was first adopted to predict air flow pattern and ventilation performance. Then, a laboratoryexperimental measurement at room air distribution in a full-scale test chamber was conducted using thehot wire velocimetry (IFA300) to validate the simulation results.