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While aspects of indoor environmental quality, such as thermal comfort, indoor air quality (IAQ), acoustic, and visual comfort, are usually studied separately, their interactions are crucial yet often overlooked. Understanding how these factors influence each other is essential for a comprehensive perception of the indoor environment. This paper investigates the relationship between indoor air quality (IAQ) and thermal comfort using an extensive field investigation conducted in university classrooms during the heating season, collecting 712 samples of subjective responses correlated with environmental measurements. Key findings reveal significant correlations between subjective responses related to the thermal environment and those related to air quality. Perceived control over the thermal environment shows stronger correlations with IAQ responses than with thermal responses, particularly with perceived ventilation (r = 0.41), COVID-19 risk (r = 0.28), and air quality (r = 0.28). Additionally, environmental parameters demonstrate stronger correlations with thermal responses than with IAQ responses. Higher CO2 concentration is associated with increased thermal sensation and decreased thermal preference and perceived control. Conversely, IAQ responses remain relatively stable with changes in indoor operative temperature. The difference between the operative temperature to which the occupants are exposed and their expressed neutral temperature widens as CO2 concentration rises, indicating a reduced adaptive capacity of occupants which is associated with increasing CO2 levels. These insights are crucial for providing HVAC system management strategies that consider the interaction between different aspects of IEQ, aiming to improve occupants' well-being and reduce energy consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phytochromes belong to a group of photoreceptor proteins containing a covalently bound biliverdin chromophore that inter-converts between two isomeric forms upon photoexcitation. The existence and stability of the photocycle products are largely determined by the protein sequence and the presence of conserved hydrogen-bonding interactions in the vicinity of the chromophore. The vibrational signatures of biliverdin, however, are often weak and obscured under more intense protein bands, limiting spectroscopic studies of its non-transient signals. In this study, we apply isotope-labeling techniques to isolate the vibrational bands from the protein-bound chromophore of the bacterial phytochrome from Deinococcus radiodurans. We elucidate the structure and ultrafast dynamics of the chromophore with 2D infra-red (IR) spectroscopy and molecular dynamics simulations. The carbonyl stretch vibrations of the pyrrole rings show the heterogeneous distribution of hydrogen-bonding structures, which exhibit distinct ultrafast relaxation dynamics. Moreover, we resolve a previously undetected 1678 cm−1 band that is strongly coupled to the A- and D-ring of biliverdin and demonstrate the presence of complex vibrational redistribution pathways between the biliverdin modes with relaxation-assisted measurements of 2D IR cross peaks. In summary, we expect 2D IR spectroscopy to be useful in explaining how point mutations in the protein sequence affect the hydrogen-bonding structure around the chromophore and consequently its ability to photoisomerize to the light-activated states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deflectors offer a cost-effective solution for enhancing airflow distribution. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of the deflector on the indoor airflow velocity distribution under natural ventilation conditions. The results obtained from numerical simulations are validated through experimental measurements using a reduced-scale model. Subsequently, the validated reduced-scale numerical model was extended to full-size rooms. A full-size numerical simulation method is used to analyze the effect of no deflector, deflectors with different opening width-to-height ratios and deflectors with different opening shapes on the percentage of indoor velocity partitions under natural ventilation conditions. The findings reveal that the judicious installation of deflectors can enhance indoor airflow velocity distribution and increase the percentage of the indoor comfort zone. Deflectors with different opening width-to-height ratios exert distinct influences on indoor airflow velocity distribution. When the deflector opening width-to-height ratio is set at 7/6, the indoor comfort zone percentage reaches its maximum at 75.98%. Furthermore, the shape of the deflector's opening significantly affects indoor airflow velocity distribution, and when the opening shape is a rhombus shape of 4.00 cm x 9.00 cm, the proportion of indoor velocity comfort zone is the largest, which is 75.56%. This study provides a reference for the design and practice of natural ventilation in buildings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study presents a method to determine window opening time and frequency, considering window characteristics, indoor and outdoor conditions, and room occupancy. Results reveal that opening time correlates with room surface and occupancy but diminishes with larger window areas and favourable discharge coefficients based on window types. Additionally, in windless conditions, opening time decreases as the indooroutdoor temperature difference increases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]