• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.97 no.6
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• pp.634-640
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• 2008

The purpose of this study is to clarify the physiological effects of Shinrin-yoku (taking in the atmosphere of the forest of forest bathing). The subjects were twelve male university students ($21.6{\pm}2.1$ years old). On the first day, six subjects were sent to a forest area, and the others to a city area. On the second day, the subjects were sent to the opposite areas for a cross check. The subjects were seated on chairs and viewing the landscapes of their given areas for 15 minutes. HRV (Heart Rate Variability) and diastolic blood pressure were used as physiological indices. Diastolic blood pressure and LF/(LF+HF) components of HRV in the forest area were significantly lower than in the city area. And HF power components of HRV in the forest settings were significantly enhanced than in city settings. In conclusion, the results of the physiological measurements show that Shinrin-yoku was able to effectively relax people in both mind and body.

• Journal of People, Plants, and Environment
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.699-709
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• 2019

Various health and social issues related to the elderly are emerging in line with the rapid aging of the population. In particular, dementia currently has a prevalence of about 10 percent of the elderly population in South Korea, which increases financial and social burdens to not only individual patients but also their caring family. To assess the effects of participating in the forest therapy programs for dementia prevention, this study recruited participants aged 50 and above and tested their depression (Korean form of Geriatric Depression Scale; KGDS) and stress response (Modified form of Stress Response Inventory; SRI-MF), which are emotional aspects of dementia. As a result, KGDS showed a significant decrease of 3.2 points from 8.4 to 5.2 points, and SRI-MF showed a significant decrease of 7.2 points from 40 to 32.8 points, indicating a statistically significant improvement in both. In addition, participants with minor depression and high level of stress in the pretest showed statistically significant improvements in the SRI-MF for men, and the KGDS and SRI-MF for women. Furthermore, there were statistically significant improvements in KGDS for participants in their 60s and in SRI-MF for those in their 70s in terms of age, and in both KGDS and SRI-MF for participants with chronic diseases and in KGDS for participants without chronic diseases. This study confirmed the effects of forest therapy on the prevention of the emotional aspects of dementia and laid the groundwork for increasing the applicability of forest therapy by obtaining a place for dementia prevention as a field of forest therapy.

• Proceedings of The Korean Society of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology Conference
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• 2019.08a
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• pp.272-272
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• 2019

• Childhood Kidney Diseases
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.67-76
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• 2019

Kidney disease is a major global health issue. Hemodialysis and kidney transplantation have been used in the clinic to treat renal failure. However, the dialysis is not an effective long-term option, as it is unable to replace complete renal functions. Kidney transplantation is the only permanent treatment for end-stage renal disease (ESRD), but a shortage of implantable kidney tissues limits the therapeutic availability. As such, there is a dire need to come up with a solution that provides renal functions as an alternative to the current standards. Recent advances in cell-based therapy have offered new therapeutic options for the treatment of damaged kidney tissues. Particularly, cell secretome therapy utilizing bioactive compounds released from therapeutic cells holds significant beneficial effects on the kidneys. This review will describe the reno-therapeutic effects of secretome components derived from various types of cells and discuss the development of efficient delivery methods to improve the therapeutic outcomes.

• Environmental Engineering Research
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.157-161
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• 2010

Forest soils are often nitrogen-limited, and nitrogen input to forest soils can cause substantial changes in the structure and functions of a soil ecosystem. To determine the effects of nitrogen input on methane oxidation and the microbial enzyme activities, manipulation experiments were conducted using nitrogen addition to soil samples from Mt. Jumbong. Our findings suggested that the addition of nitrogen to the soil system of Mt. Jumbong did not affect the microbial enzyme activities. Conversely, the addition of nitrogen affected the rate of methane oxidation. Inorganic nitrogen in soils can inhibit methane oxidation via several mechanisms, such as substrate competition, toxic effects, and competition with other microbes, but the inhibitory effects are not always the same. In this research, seasonal changes were found to produce different inhibitory factors, and these different responses may be caused from differences in the methantrophic bacteria community structure.

• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.97-105
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• 2001

The main objective of this study was to investigate effects of pigment mixed with different ratio on the double coated paper. Mineral pigments such as clay and ground calcium carbonate(GCC) as well as hollow sphere plastic pigment were used to evaluate the physical, optical properties and printabilities of double coated paper. The physical properties such as gloss and smoothness, and the printability(ink gloss) of double coated paper were measured to evaluate the effects of the bottom layer on improving the properties of top layer. The data indicated that the usage of hollow sphere plastic pigment for the bottom layer coating improved the surface properties of double coated paper, and that ink gloss was significantly influenced by the structure of bottom layer even when hollow sphere plastic pigment was used for the bottom layer coating.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.28-36
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• 2002

The main purpose of this study was to estimate a new regression model to explain the relationship between urban forest and air temperature in summer, 2001. This study consists of two parts: correlation coefficient analysis and regression analysis. According to correlation coefficient analysis, thermal infra-red radiations of the major land use categories found significant difference in each category. However there were no significant relationship between the data (thermal infra-red radiation and NDVI) derived from Landsat-7 ETM+ image and air temperature at Automatic Weather Stations(AWSs). After estimating various regression models for summer air temperature, the final models were chosen. The final regression models consisted of two variables such as forest m and traffic facilities area. The regression models explained over 78% of the variability in air temperatures. The regression models with variables of forest area and traffic facilities area showed that the coefficient of the first variable was even more significant than the second one. However, the negative impact of the traffic facilities area was slightly greater than the positive impact of the forest area. Consequently, the effects of forest area and traffic facilities area were apparent to explain summer air temperature in Seoul. Therefore two policies have the most important implications to mitigate the summer air temperature in Seoul: to expand and to conserve the urban forest; and to change the Oafnc facilities'characteristics. The results from this study are expected to be useful not merely in informing the public that urban forest mitigates summer air temperahne, but in urging the necessity of budgets for trees and managing urban forests. It is recommended that field swey of summer air temperature be Performed for the vadidation of the models. The main purpose of this study was to estimate a new regression model to explain the relationship between urban forest and air temperature in summer, 2001. This study consists of two parts: correlation coefficient analysis and regression analysis. According to correlation coefficient analysis, thermal infra-red radiations of the major land use categories found significant difference in each category. However there were no significant relationship between the data (thermal infra-red radiation and NDVI) derived from Landsat-7 ETM+ image and air temperature at Automatic Weather Stations(AWSs). After estimating various regression models for summer air temperature, the final models were chosen. The final regression models consisted of two variables such as forest m and traffic facilities area. The regression models explained over 78% of the variability in air temperatures. The regression models with variables of forest area and traffic facilities area showed that the coefficient of the first variable was even more significant than the second one. However, the negative impact of the traffic facilities area was slightly greater than the positive impact of the forest area. Consequently, the effects of forest area and traffic facilities area were apparent to explain summer air temperature in Seoul. Therefore two policies have the most important implications to mitigate the summer air temperature in Seoul: to expand and to conserve the urban forest; and to change the traffic facilities'characteristics. The results from this study are expected to be useful not merely in informing the public that urban forest mitigates summer air temperature, but in urging the necessity of budgets for trees and managing urban forests. It is recommended that field survey of summer air temperature be Performed for the vadidation of the models.

• Journal of Korean Society of Forest Science
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• v.97 no.5
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• pp.516-524
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• 2008

We investigated on the distribution of nutrient contents (N. P and K) in current and one-year old needles of Korean pine, Pinus koraiensis, to understand the physiological effects of alternate bearing. One experimental set was designed with three types of cone number (one, three and five) under natural state and cone number of another one was controlled by thinning. Test samples were separated to collect into three fractions; current needles on the shoot and one-year old needles above and under the cone. On the branch without cone, N, P and K concentrations in needles on the shoot were higher than those in needles of one-year old branch. At natural state, needle P concentration was the lowest in needles on the five-cone branch in August. Macronutrient concentrations were the lowest in needles above the cone, which was remarkably observed in needle K concentration. Under cone thinning, N. P and K concentrations were the highest in needles on one-cone branch and the lowest in needles on five-cone branch. Needle nutrient concentrations were the lowest in needles above the cone, which was remarkably observed in the needle on five-cone branch. In conclusion, the current needles of the shoot and cones are a strong sink of nutrient like N. P and K, and the increase of cone number influences nutrient removal from needles.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.37 no.6
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• pp.473-483
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• 2023

This study was conducted to find out the psychological or physiological healing effects of real natural forests and virtual forest experiences using virtual reality (VR) in an artificially-controlled digital environment. To find out this, 81 healthy undergraduate students from C University were experimented on visual forest stimulation effects in the digital environment from September 5 to December 9 in 2022. The experiment evaluated the psychological and physiological healing effects of visual forest stimulation in the digital forest environment (2D, 3D). The SRI (stress response inventory) experiment for analyzing psychological effect showed statistically significant differences among groups. As for the SRI experiment for measuring psychological stress, except Control group, 2D group in the digital environment showed little difference before and after the experiment. But 3D group showed less stress than before. As a result, it was proved that visual forest stimulation in a forest-based digital environment (2D, 3D) reduces psychological stress significantly. And when analyzing how visual forest stimulation changes EEG (electroencephalogram) in the digital environment, alpha waves (RA), which are activated during relaxation or stabilization, were more active than beta waves (RB), which are activated during tension or awakening. This study is expected to be used to create a psychological and physiological healing environment for those who cannot go to a natural forest due to mobility difficulties by providing them visual forest stimulation experiences in a digital environment. It is also expected that the results will be the basis for forest healing in the digital environment and virtual reality programs will help forest healing activities.

• The Korean Journal of Ecology
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.375-383
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• 1996

Effects of forest fire on soil nutrients in pine forests were studied in Dosong, Kangwon Province in Korea. Soil samples were collected from burned sites and unburned sites (control) at Kusungri, Sampori and Wunbongri. Soil pH in burned sites was higher than that in unburned sites. Soil organic matter did not differ significantly between the burned and unburned sites. Concentrations of available phosphorus in burned soils were about 3 times higher than those in unburned sites. Also, concentrations of ammonium nitrogen were markedly increased in burned sites contrary to those of nitrate nitrogen. Total nitrogen, however, showed no significant difference between the sites. Concentrations of cations, calcium and magnesium, in burned sites were also significantly increased. Thus, even though forest fire removed the aboveground biomass of pine forests, inorganic nutrients added from ash may play a great role for growth of sprouts and seedlings after forest fire.