• Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
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• v.47 no.6
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• pp.836-852
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• 2012

Based on a long-term ethnographic study, this paper examines how the propositions and practices for desertification management in Inner Mongolia, China have changed over time. Desertification as an ecological issue cannot simply be treated as a something "natural" or "social," while it is an outcome of the construction made by both human and non-human agents. My research has found that the propositions for desertification management have been involved in the process of defining desertification, particularly by selecting different actors related to the ecological process in this region. Ultimately, the crisis in the inner Mongolia has always been constructed by the ways in which the selected actors and their relationships are differently defined. My study also reveals that although the proposed preventive measures, including afforestation, area protection, and pasturing prohibition, have tried to reconcile the conflicts of interest among the different actors, they have always been faced with certain limitations and failed in dryland management. In this historical context of crisis construction, by introducing a new non-human agent, "the chicken," the project of grassland chicken farming has eventually appeared to be an innovative strategy that can overcome the earlier limitations and coordinate the interests of Mongolian pastoralists who have suffered from economic difficulty.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.36 no.5
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• pp.418-434
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• 2010

As concerns regarding water pollution grow, the need increases for a fast and accurate assessment of ecological risk. In this context, many studies have been conducted to identify biomarkers which can sensitively indicate exposure to and effects of various contaminants in a water environment. However, the utility of most such biomarkers in the real water environment is not yet validated. In this paper, we conducted a thorough review of publications that were related to developing or evaluating molecular and biochemical biomarkers of freshwater fish in ecological risk assessment, and evaluated whether these biomarkers of interest could link to the effects on higher biological levels, such as histopathology and above. Biomarkers of interest included those associated with metabolism, oxidative stress, reproduction and endocrine disruption, genotoxicity, and defense against heavy metal exposure. We found that, when used alone, most molecular and biochemical biomarkers are not sufficient to understand the effects of toxic substances in higher biological levels, due to defense or acclimation mechanisms of organisms. Moreover, some biomarkers respond not only to hazardous substances but also to the changes in water quality and disease outbreak. Molecular and biochemical biomarkers may be most useful in understanding the potential biological effects of toxic compounds when used in parallel with relevant endpoints of higher biological levels.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Landscape Architecture International Edition
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• no.1
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• pp.75-83
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• 2001

Residents of urban area like to be near rural animals during their daily life, so it is important conserve the suburban Yato landscape in Japan. This study targets the species of frogs that are commonly found in Yato paddies. It is necessary to various frogs inhabiting in Yato, because frogs are popular among Japanese, who as children enjoy capturing tadpoles and frogs. Its purpose is to clarify how that composition of frog species changes when the functionality of a frog habitat is diminished by urbanization. The survey, conducted in the Eastern Kanagawa area in central Japan, determined the distribution of each species of frog in grid cells measuring 0.5-$\textrm{km}^2$. It hsows wide distributing species (Hyla japonica; they always inhabit in all paddies), the middle range distributing species (Rhacophorus schlegelii and Rana porosa p.), the limited range distributing species (R. rugosa; they are most critical species, sine they are recognized only two cells), and so on. Correspondence analysis based on the frog species composition in each cell was performed to ascertain the adaptability of each species to various paddy field conditions. The results allowed us to classify cells into four groups according to the composition of the inhabiting species. And we recognized that the process by which frogs disappear occurs in reaction to either of two patterns of change. As paddy fields are improved by farmland consolidation, R. rugosa, R. ornativentris, R. japonica, and Bufo. japonica f. decline rapidly. In plateau areas, a smore andmore paddies are converted into strong, well-drained fields, only H. japonica and R. porosa p. remain. But in hilly areasd, the species composition becomes only H. japonica and R. schlegelii. Finally, we discuss the concept of ecological urban design in the context of the conservation of frog species in Yato paddies.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.37 no.2_spc
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• pp.337-345
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• 2024

Ruminants possess a specialized four-compartment forestomach, consisting of the reticulum, rumen, omasum, and abomasum. The rumen, the primary fermentative chamber, harbours a dynamic ecosystem comprising bacteria, protozoa, fungi, archaea, and bacteriophages. These microorganisms engage in diverse ecological interactions within the rumen microbiome, primarily benefiting the host animal by deriving energy from plant material breakdown. These interactions encompass symbiosis, such as mutualism and commensalism, as well as parasitism, predation, and competition. These ecological interactions are dependent on many factors, including the production of diverse molecules, such as those involved in quorum sensing (QS). QS is a density-dependent signalling mechanism involving the release of autoinducer (AIs) compounds, when cell density increases AIs bind to receptors causing the altered expression of certain genes. These AIs are classified as mainly being N-acyl-homoserine lactones (AHL; commonly used by Gram-negative bacteria) or autoinducer-2 based systems (AI-2; used by Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria); although other less common AI systems exist. Most of our understanding of QS at a gene-level comes from pure culture in vitro studies using bacterial pathogens, with much being unknown on a commensal bacterial and ecosystem level, especially in the context of the rumen microbiome. A small number of studies have explored QS in the rumen using 'omic' technologies, revealing a prevalence of AI-2 QS systems among rumen bacteria. Nevertheless, the implications of these signalling systems on gene regulation, rumen ecology, and ruminant characteristics are largely uncharted territory. Metatranscriptome data tracking the colonization of perennial ryegrass by rumen microbes suggest that these chemicals may influence transitions in bacterial diversity during colonization. The likelihood of undiscovered chemicals within the rumen microbial arsenal is high, with the identified chemicals representing only the tip of the iceberg. A comprehensive grasp of rumen microbial chemical signalling is crucial for addressing the challenges of food security and climate targets.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.21 no.10
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• pp.530-540
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• 2020

Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) is a method that captures the current experience and behavior of subjects in real time in a natural environment. The data collected by EMA reveals alterations according to the time and context of experience and action. The Trier Inventory for Chronic Stress (TICS) is a tool that measures momentary stress, and is capable of measuring stress experienced in real life. This study was undertaken to verify the validity and reliability after translating the short form TICS into a Korean version. Totally, 89 police officers working at the police station in the capital participated in this study. The mobile application developed for this study was installed on their smartphones, and data were collected four times a day for seven consecutive days. Confirmatory factor analysis and content validity index (CVI) was applied to test the validity, and concurrent validity was evaluated by correlating with the occupational stress score. The model was validated by confirmatory factor analysis, and we obtained good reliabilities (I-CVI=0.83-1, RMSEA=0.104, SRMR=0.104, CFI=0.948, TLI=0.919, Cronbach's alpha=0.839). Our findings indicate the reliability, and validate use of the Korean tool for measuring momentary stress.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.32 no.7
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• pp.1124-1138
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• 2012

This study investigates Korean middle school students' perceptions as global citizens (i.e. ecological worldview, social and moral compassion, and socioscientific accountability) of Socioscientific Issues (SSI). We developed questionnaires that consisted of 20 Likert-type items to gauge their preceptions of the three different SSI contexts (i.e. nuclear power generation, bio-technology, climate change), and administered them to 225 9th grade students in Seoul. The results revealed that participants showed relatively high scores for ecological worldview but scored low on social and moral compassion across the SSI contexts. In addition, participants presented much higher scores for ecological worldview and socioscientific accountability regarding the issues of climate change. The participant responses indicated that they perceived more inter-connectedness with the environment and felt the responsibility of promoting sustainable development more to prevent further devastation in the context of climate change compared to nuclear power generation or biotechnology.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
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• v.12 no.5
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• pp.313-326
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• 2021

This study was to introduce ecological momentary assessment and show how to apply it to real-world research. As preliminary study for sustainable development, the result explained growth model using senior's longitudinal data and suitability of multi-level model in EMA data with regression analysis. The total variance of dependent variable was determined through a base model with only intercept and approximately 47% of total variance was caused by individual differences and 53% by time point differences. Second model was used to verified that each individual has a different effect on the senior vitality and effect on time was not significant. This is because it is the result of a preliminary stage where treatment is not involved and there is no significant change in process of collecting EMA data without external intervention. Third model that add gender as an independent variable showed significant change in both time and gender. Finally compared the PRD for each model and found models that without gender variables fit the data more effectively. This suggests that studies dealing with longitudinal data such as EMA data should adopt multi-level model that can measure individual characteristics, taking into account respondents' time and context.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.48 no.1
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• pp.96-109
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• 2024

Background: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government initiated the Billion Tree Tsunami Afforestation Project including regeneration and afforestation approaches. An effort was made to assess the distribution characteristics of afforested species under present and future climatic scenarios using ecological niche modelling. For sustainable forest management, landscape ecology can play a significant role. A significant change in the potential distribution of tree species is expected globally with changing climate. Ecological niche modeling provides the valuable information about the current and future distribution of species that can play crucial role in deciding the potential sites for afforestation which can be used by government institutes for afforestation programs. In this context, the potential distribution of 8 tree species, Cedrus deodara, Dalbergia sissoo, Juglans regia, Pinus wallichiana, Eucalyptus camaldulensis, Senegalia modesta, Populus ciliata, and Vachellia nilotica was modeled. Results: Maxent species distribution model was used to predict current and future distribution of tree species using bioclimatic variables along with soil type and elevation. Future climate scenarios, shared socio-economic pathways (SSP)2-4.5 and SSP5-8.5 were considered for the years 2041-2060 and 2081-2100. The model predicted high risk of decreasing potential distribution under SSP2-4.5 and SSP5-8.5 climate change scenarios for years 2041-2060 and 2081-2100, respectively. Recent afforestation conservation sites of these 8 tree species do not fall within their predicted potential habitat for SSP2-4.5 and SSP5-8.5 climate scenarios. Conclusions: Each tree species responded independently in terms of its potential habitat to future climatic conditions. Cedrus deodara and P. ciliata are predicted to migrate to higher altitude towards north in present and future climate scenarios. Habitat of D. sissoo, P. wallichiana, J. regia, and V. nilotica is practiced to be declined in future climate scenarios. Eucalyptus camaldulensis is expected to be expanded its suitability area in future with eastward shift. Senegalia modesta habitat increased in the middle of the century but decreased afterwards in later half of the century. The changing and shifting forests create challenges for sustainable landscapes. Therefore, the study is an attempt to provide management tools for monitoring the climate change-driven shifting of forest landscapes.

• KIEAE Journal
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.117-127
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• 2015

The cool surface ratio could be used as a proxy of the overall thermal environment contributing to heat islands in urban area. This research proposes a comparative evaluation framework in an objective and quantitative way for measuring cool surface ratios. Two university campuses (Kyungpook National University: KNU, South Korea and UC Davis: University of California, Davis, USA) were selected as case study sites in order to monitor cool surface condition. Google Earth combined with digital maps realistically identified the major type of cool surfaces such as cool roofs and water bodies in the study area. Cool surfaces were sparsely identified over the KNU campus while the UC Davis campus was heavily covered by cool surfaces such as cool roofs and water bodies, resulting in almost four times more first-grade cool surfaces, as compared to KNU. It is confirmed that standard remote sensing technology can offer the viable method of measuring and comparing the campus-wide cool surface condition. It is anticipated that this research output could be used as a valuable reference to initiate a nation-wide cool surface strategy since objective evidence has been provided based on area-wide measurement for the cool surface in the two university context.

• KIEAE Journal
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• v.8 no.6
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• pp.11-20
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• 2008

Modern society is an era that demands higher standards of living, and accordingly healthier living conditions due to fast economic growth. This society is being confronted by the necessity to find strategies to promote and manage health condition in everyday living environment. The current 'wellbeing' trend which pursues holistic health including physical, psychological and social health has accelerated the demand for healthy environment. In this context, this study intended to identify health friendly planning features based on consumer's demand. Web survey technique was used as main research methodology. Stratified random sampling was used with age being used as the strata valuable. Two hundred and eleven data were analyzed using SPSS statistical package. As results, awareness about health housing and hierarchy of important planning features were empirically identified. Furthermore, significant differences in some planning features according to the age were scrutinized. Major health friendly features demanded by consumers were found ventilation, non-toxic material, view of nature, space in which family can gather, protection of their privacy. Consumers' recognitions and demands varied according to age. The older the resident was, the higher the demands appeared. The results are expected to be used as a reference to explore and develop strategies for future healthy housing.