• Journal of Species Research
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.159-166
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• 2013

Typical of large, oligotrophic lakes, Lake H$\ddot{o}$vsg$\ddot{o}$l, Mongolia, exhibits complex morphometry which should support a spatially heterogeneous community of benthic macroinvertrates. The lake also exhibits a broad range of land uses. Based on the variation in land use and complex physical habitat of the lake (e.g. substrate variation and presence of affluent streams in bays), we asked two questions. First, does density of total benthic macroinvertebrates vary between different bays in Lake H$\ddot{o}$vsg$\ddot{o}$l? Second, does density of individual benthic taxa vary by bay? Samples collected in 1997, the last year for benthic sampling of the lake, were designed to test for variation in macroinvertebrate density between bays and can now be used to establish baseline variation in density for future studies. A total of 56 Ponar grab samples were analyzed from six bays in Lake H$\ddot{o}$vsg$\ddot{o}$l. Results of a general linear model analysis of variance showed that total density of macroinvertebrates varied only slightly between bays of the lake, but that most individual taxa showed significant variation between bays. Variation in density for most taxa was linked to substrate composition rather than other geographic or physical variables in the lake. Recent increases in grazing intensity and ecotourism along the shores should be managed to reduce the nutrient load into the lake to avoid impairment of the benthic biota of this unique, ancient ecosystem.

• Journal of The Geomorphological Association of Korea
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.15-30
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• 2021

This study analyzed the changes in land-cover and sedimentary environment before and after flooding through drone images and sediment analysis for the Seomjin River Chimsil Wetland. The results showed that the area of some land-covers such as sand bar, grass, and trees were continuously changed. The acidity level of the sediments in the Seomjin River Chimsil Wetland was weakened gradually by flooding and EC was also decreased. The levels of organic matter, effective phosphoric acid, and CEC, however, were fluctuating depending on branches, which seems to be the result of landization as new sedimentary environment was developed and vegetation was settled after the flood. Average mean size of river sediments was found to be fine sand, and it exhibited various particle size characteristics from granule to medium silt depending on the location. As the sedimentary environment changed due to the effects of floods and typhoons, the particles were granulated or grain refined depending on the position. In the Seomjin River Chimsil Wetland, there were factors that could interfere with geomorphic development and sedimentary environment, contamination sources in and around the wetland, and natural threat factors. Therefore, in this study, a conservation and management plan was proposed to remove these threat factors and to preserve the scarcity, naturalness, and dynamics of Seomjin River Chimsil Wetland.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.26 no.10
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• pp.1207-1213
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• 2016

Schisandrae fructus (SF) and Mori folium (MF) have been used as traditional medicines for thousands of years in parts of Asia, including Korea, China, and Japan. Recent researches on SF and MF have documented a wide spectrum of therapeutic properties, including anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidative, immunomodulatory and anti-angiogenesis effects. However, the toxicity and safety of SF and MF, and their mixture (medicinal herber mixture, MHMIX) were not confirmed. Therefore, this study was performed to evaluate the acute toxicity and safety of SF, MF and MHMIX. SF, MF and MHMIX were orally administered at a dose of 5,000 mg/kg in ICR mice. Animals were monitored for the mortality and changes in the body weight, clinical signs and gross observation during the 14 days after dosing, upon necropsy. We also measured parameters of organ weight, clinical chemistry, and hematology. No dead and no clinical signs were found during the experiment period after administration of a single oral dose of SF, MF and MHMIX. There were no adverse effects on clinical signs, body weight, or organ weight and no gross pathological findings in any treatment group. Therefore, LD50 value of SF, MF and MHMIX may be over 5,000 mg/kg and it may have no side toxic effect to ICR mice. The results on the single-dose toxicity of SF, MF and MHMIX indicate that it is not possible to reach oral dose levels related to death or dose levels with any harmful side effects.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.273-288
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• 2023

Although many studies have been conducted on techniques and effects that can be applied to forest meditation in domestic forest healing meditation research, there has been little research on the space where forest meditation takes place. Nevertheless, a meditation space is not just a place concept but a forest environment element responsible for the healing function of a forest, i.e., a place containing healing factors, and can be an essential clue to the healing mechanism. Therefore, to determine whether a healing forest meditation space is suitable for meditation, this study selected the attribute items of the meditation space using the Delphi expert survey and then surveyed the user satisfaction of the healing forest meditation space using the IPA (Importance Performance Analysis) technique. The survey was conducted from August to November 2022, targeting 315 adults who used the forest meditation space at the National Center for Forest Therapy, the Saneum Healing Forest, and the Jathyanggi Pureunsup Arboretum in Gyeonggi Province. The result of the IPA analysis showed the average satisfaction with the forest meditation space was relatively high at 4.33 points on a 5-point Likert scale (4.33 points for the National Center for Forest Therapy, 4.34 points for the Saneum Healing Forest, and 4.37 points for the Jathyanggi Pureunsup Arboretum), indicating that the three healing forest meditation spaces were suitable for forest meditation. Satisfaction with the "Sounds of nature" was high in all three forests. On the other hand, all three forests showed a relatively low satisfaction with "Quietness," indicating it to be a priority problem to be addressed. Also, an open-ended questionnaire survey showed that the mediation space's natural elements, such as natural sounds, scenery, air, forest spaces, and scents, had a higher positive impact on meditation satisfaction than artificial elements, such as facilities. Therefore, it is essential to secure sound resources such as the sound of water and birds around the meditation space, and it is also necessary to consider ways to create a meditation forest in an independent area to avoid encounters with visitors and allow only participants in the forest healing meditation program to enter to increase satisfaction with forest meditation.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.331-342
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• 2020

The suppression of neuroinflammatory responses in microglial cells can be considered a key target for improving the progression of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease (AD), Parkinson's disease (PD), and Huntington's disease (HD). Asparagus cochinchinensis has traditionally been used as a medicine to treat fever, cough, kidney disease, breast cancer, inflammatory diseases, and brain diseases. In this study, we investigated the neuroprotective mechanism of an aqueous extract from A. cochinchinensis root (AEAC), particularly its anti-inflammatory effects on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-activated BV-2 microglial cells. BV-2 cells were treated with four different concentrations of AEAC. No significant toxicity was detected in BV-2 cells treated with AEAC. Nitric oxide (NO), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) mRNA, and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) mRNA levels were 21% lower in the AEAC+LPS group than in the Vehicle+LPS group. Lower proinflammatory (TNF-α and IL-1β) and anti-inflammatory cytokine (IL-6 and IL-10) levels were also detected in the AEAC+LPS group than in the Vehicle+LPS group, albeit at varying rates. Moreover, the phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) members after LPS treatment was significantly recovered in the AEAC-pretreated group compared to the Vehicle+LPS group, enhancement of the phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) members after LPS treatment was significantly recovered in the AEAC-pretreated group, while cell cycle arrest at the G2/M phase caused by LPS treatment was less severe in the AEAC+LPS group. The increase in reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation induced by LPS treatment was also lower in the AEAC-pretreated group than in the Vehicle+LPS group. This is the first study to show that AEAC exerts anti-neuroinflammatory activity against LPS stimulation by regulating the MAPK signaling pathway, the cell cycle, and ROS production.

• Explosives and Blasting
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.62-78
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• 2009

Recently, construction techniques have been rapidly developed with reconstruction of old buildings, urban regeneration and efforts of restoring natural ecology, so demolition of deteriorated buildings has been rapidly increasing. Demolition work of building should be executed without damaging surrounding environments according to relevant regulations. There are various demolition methods and among them, explosives demolition is the most practical way for expenses and safety of work. As a part of Daejeon stream ecological restoration project, this thesis is a case of executing demolition of Chung-Ang Department Store which was built 35 years ago as covered structure on the upper part of Daejeon stream with explosives demolition. This structure is 8 stories high, total height of 41.6 m including basement floor, $1,650m^2$ for building area and $18,351m^2$ for total floor area. It is located in the center of Daejeon city where shopping centers and buildings are crowded and main facilities are Daejeon subway (18m), backside shopping center (20m), underground shopping center(15m), Mokchuk bridge, Eunjung bridge(0.25m) and fiber-optic cable(0.25m). In this project, implosion was selected for explosives demolition methods by considering this area being a busy urban area, and this project was executed after examining collapse movement of structure in advance using simulation program not to damage main facilities. Total 80kg of explosives and 1,000 detonators were being used. This project will be a good case of executing explosives demolition successfully by applying implosion on urban area in the country.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.54 no.3
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• pp.199-208
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• 2021

Environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding is effective method with high detection sensitivity for evaluating fish biodiversity and detecting endangered fish from natural water samples. We compared the richness of operational taxonomic units(OTUs) and composition of freshwater fishes according to filters(cellulose nitrate filter vs. glass fiber filter), extraction kits(DNeasy2^® Blood & Tissue Kit vs. DNeasy2^® PowerWater Kit), primer sets (12S rDNA vs. 16S rDNA), and PCR methods (conventional PCR vs. touchdown PCR) to determine the optimal conditions for metabarcoding analysis of Korean freshwater fish. The glass fiber filter and DNeasy2^® Blood & Tissue Kit combination showed the highest number of freshwater fish OTUs in both 12S and 16S rDNA. Among the four types, the primer sets only showed statistically significant difference in the average number of OTUs in class Actinopterygii (non-parametric Wilcoxon signed ranks test, p=0.005). However, there was no difference in the average number of OTUs in freshwater fish. The species composition also showed significant difference according to primer sets (PERMANOVA, Pseudo-F=6.9489, p=0.006), but no differences were observed in the other three types. The non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) results revealed that species composition clustered together according to primer sets based on similarity of 65%; 16S rDNA primer set was mainly attributed to endangered species such as Microphysogobio koreensis and Pseudogobio brevicorpus. In contrast, the 12S rDNA primer set was mainly attributed to common species such as Zacco platypus and Coreoperca herzi. This study provides essential information on species diversity analysis using metabarcoding for environmental water samples obtained from rivers in Korea.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.35 no.5
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• pp.438-479
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• 2021

Basic information such as flora and their distribution are the key factors to consider for preserving plant diversity on a regional level. The number of plant species identified through a survey is closely related to the survey area and the number of habitats distributed within the survey area. In this study, we surveyed the flora of Mt. Maryong-san (PH) and Mt. Daeso-san (YH) located in Uljin-gun, Gyeongsangbuk-do, six and nine times, respectively. We planned to include a variety of habitats in the survey routes. As a result, we identified a total of 594 taxa composing of 112 families, 349 genera, 548 species, 10 subspecies, 34 varieties, and 2 formulas in the Mt. Maryong-san (PH) area and a total of 434 taxa composing of 89 families, 270 genera, 400 species, 9 subspecies, and 25 varieties in the Mt. Daeso-san (YH) area. Of the plants observed in the 21 habitats, the plants distributed in the transition zone around the valley and the dry grassland accounted for the highest proportion. The traditional graveyards located on the coast also served as the major habitat for the distribution of some plant species. In the two graveyards, 19 taxa of endemic plant species were surveyed. Moreover, the identified floristic target species included 1 taxon for grade V, 11 taxa for grade IV, and 24 taxa for grade III. A total of 77 taxa of naturalized plants were identified, and four of them were invasive alien plants as designated by the Ministry of Environment. The differences in the plants distributed in the area of Mt. Maryong-san (PH) and Mt. Daeso-san (YH) were mainly due to the difference in the size of each habitat distributed within the survey area. Moreover, it was judged that the entire vicinity of Mt. Daeso-san (YH) was not connected to the surrounding mountains and was an isolated area surrounded by farmland and residential areas.

• Korean Journal of Environment and Ecology
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.220-256
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• 2022

The most important thing for conserving plant diversity in an area is to make an overall inventory of the plant species inhabiting the area. In particular, limestone areas are known for their high plant diversity and distribution of specific plants. Despite that, only a few have been designated as protected areas. This study investigated the vascular plants distributed in Goyangsan Mtn. and Munraesan Mtn., located in limestone areas of the central part of the Korean Peninsula. A field survey was conducted eight times from April to October 2021. As a result, we identified a total of 654 taxa comprising 113 families, 357 genera, 592 species, 15 subspecies, 44 varieties, and 3 formulas. They included four endangered wild plant species: Astilboides tabularis, Eleutherococcus senticosus, Cypripedium macranthos, and Epilobium hirsutum. Endemic plants in Korea were identified as 32 taxa. Floristic target plants were identified as 168 taxa, specifically 5 taxa of grade V, 41 taxa of grade IV, and 36 taxa of grade III. The red data plants included 2 taxa as "Endangered (EN)", 7 taxa as "Vulnerable (VU)", and 7 taxa as "Near threatened (NT)". A total of 41 taxa of naturalized plants were identified, and 4 of them were invasive alien plants. The surveyed vicinity of Goyangsan Mtn. and Munraesan Mtn. showed high plant diversity and contained core habitats for distribution of an endangered wild plant, Astilboides tabularis,in the limestone area. Moreover, both mountains contained a small population of Cotoneaster integerrimus. These findings confirm that the area has conservation values. Therefore, we propose to identify areas with high plant diversity and designate them as special protected areas.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.593-602
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• 2006

Species composition, spatial distribution of major species, diameter and height classes distribution, and species diversity were .analyzed in the Korean red pine (Pinus densiflora, hereafter referred as pine) forest in the permanent quadrats, which were designed for Long Term Ecological Research (LTER). Collected data were compared with those from the other areas including urban center (Mt. Inwang and Hongneung) and boundary areas (Mts. Acha, Bukhan, Bulam, Cheonggye, Daemo, and Surak), and natural areas (Mts. Seolak, Songni, and Wolak) to clarify the ecological characteristics of pine forest on Mt. Nam. Species composition of pine forest on Mt. Nam showed a similarity with those of urban center but did a little and big differences with those on urban boundary and natural areas, respectively. Such differences that pine forest on Mt. Nam showed, were usually due to Styrax japonicus, Sorbus alnifolia, Oplismenus undulatifolius, Ailanthus altissima, Ageratina altissima and so on, which showed higher coverage there. Predicted from diameter and height classes distribution of tree species, pine forest on Mt. Nam showed a possibility to be replaced by a S. japonica. Considered that this replacer species is not only a sub-tree but also shade intolerant, such successional trend could be interpreted as a sort of retrogressive succession. Those on urban boundary and natural areas showed a difference by displaying probabilities to be maintained as themselves as an edaphic climax or succeeded to oak forests. Species diversity of pine forest on Mt. Nam was lower than those in urban boundary and natural areas due to excessive dominance of several species, which led to different species composition from the other areas. Plants, which produced the differences, were species that flourishes in the polluted industrial area (S. japonica and S. alnifolia), favors the disturbed site (O. undulatifolius), and exotic species (A. altissima and Eupatorium rugosum). Those results reflects that pine forest of Mt. Nam was exposed on severe environmental pollution and excessive human interferences.