• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.37-45
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• 2006

Recently, wood-framed houses has been built in the Korea for pension. Wood is good material for human healthy, while the construction lumbers are treated with preservative such as CCA (chromated copper arsenate), which contain some toxic elements for human body. However, if the waste woody biomass treated with various heavy metals, which has been collected from house construction or demolition, was fired in the field, and incinerated or landfilled after mass collection, such components will result in the toxic air pollutants in the burning or land fills, and spreaded into other areas. So the careful selection of wood and chemicals are required in advance for house construction, in particular, for environment-friendly housings. Therefore, this study was carried out to determine the content of toxic heavy metals in woody materials such as domestic hinoki and imported hemlock treated with CCA for housing materials, and the post-treated wood components such as organic fertilizer, sludge, dry-distilled charcoal and carbonized charcoal, to be returned finally into soil. The results are as follows. 1) The chemical analysis of toxic trace elements in various solid biomass required accurate control and management of laboratory environment, and reagents and water used, because of the error of data due to various foreign substances added in various processing and transporting steps. So a systematic analyzers was necessary to monitor the toxic pollutants of construction materials. 2) In particular, the biomass treated with industrial biological or thermal conditions such as sludge or charcoals was not fully dissolvable after third addition of $HNO_3$ and HF. 3) The natural woody materials such as organic fertilizer, sludge. and charcoals without any treatment of preservatives or heavy metal components were nontoxic in landfill because of the standard of organic fertilizers, even after thermal or biological treatments. 4) The CC A-treated wood for making the construction wood durable should not be landfilled, because of its higher contents of toxic metals than the criterion of organic fertilizer for agriculture or of natural environment. So the demolished waste should be treated separately from municipal wastes.

• Journal of Plant Biotechnology
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.75-80
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• 2005

Eleutherococcus senticosus (also called Acanthopanax senticosus), belonging to Araliaceae family, has been used as an important medicinal woody plant. Mature seeds of Eleutherococcus senticosus have rudimentary (extremely immature) zygotic embryos and require a long-term stratification for about 18 months to induce germination. Here, through the methods of endosperm removal and other exogenous treatments, we investigated the factors for inducing rudimentary embryos by in vitro culture, Rudimentary zygotic embryos in seeds were at globular to heart-shaped stage at about $250{\mu}m$ in length just after harvest of fruits. When the seeds without testa were cultured on 1/2 MS (Murashige and Skoog 1962) medium, they did not germinate regardless of medium and sucrose concentrations but the removal of endosperm tissue markedly stimulated the growth of rudimentary zygotic embryos. The embryo reached ear-lier maturation, once when the endosperm surrounding the rudimentary embryos was removed. Rudimentary zygotic embryos developed cotyledons within 3 weeks of culture after endosperm emoval. However, post-mature zygotic embryos failed to germinate though they were morphologically normal, indicating another dormancy of embryos. $GA_3\;(2.0\;\cal{mg/L})$ and/or charcoal ($0.2\%$) treatment rapidly enhanced the germination of zygotic embryos. These results suggest that E. senticosus seeds have double dormancy; i. e. morphological rudimentary dormancy influenced by surrounding endosperm and physiological dormancy after post-maturation of zygotic embryos. Based on the above findings, we established the rapid germination of rudimentary zygotic embryos by in vitro culture of excised seeds with endosperm removal and $GA_3$ treatment.

• Journal of the Korean Geographical Society
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• v.40 no.4 s.109
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• pp.428-440
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• 2005

There is currently no agreement among archaeologists, environmental historians, and paleoecologists as to the relative significance of pre- and post-Conquest human impact on the environments of Highland Mexico. This paper presents the results of pollen, microscopic charcoal, dung fungal spore, isotope, and magnetic susceptibility analyses on ca. 4m sediment core. The coring site is Hoya Rincon de Parangueo, one of the seven maar lakes in the Valle do Santiago. Amaranthaceae pollen, one of important disturbance indicators and Zea mays pollen obviously indicate two periods of agricultural activities. The first period begins ca. 400 B.C. and ends ca. A.D. 850. The second begins around A.D. 1550 and continues to the present. During the first period, the degree of agricultural activities was related to periodical sunspot cycles and the most intense activities were present between ca. A.D. 150-ca. A.D. 400. The abrupt increase of $\delta^{18}O$ around 280cm may reflect that an important transition to a dry phase took place around A.D. 450. People probably stopped cultivating crops due to dry conditions prevailing since ca. A.D. 450. The second period, the post-Conquest, exhibits a dramatic increase of sporormiella, dung fungal spores resulted fron the introduction of cattle. Low Poaceae frequency and charcoal production and high $\delta^{13}C$ values, magnetic susceptibility, and organic contents all indicate the arrival of the Spanish. Most importantly, it seems that mesquite (Prosopis juliflora) could have benefits from declined fire frequencies caused by cattle grazing. The study area is now entirely dominated by woody plants like mesquite, which clearly demonstrates that serious vegetation change occurred in the study area.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.185-190
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• 2010

This study was focused to make a wooden plate that is engraved with writings or pictures on the medium density fiberboard (MDF), and then to produce a calligraphy-carving artwork by carbonization of the carved MDF. The external appearances and anatomical changes were investigated on the carbonized MDF and aesthetic characteristics was also discussed. No split and no twist were found after the carbonization (at $850^{\circ}C$) of the calligraphy-encarved MDF, shrinkages of the MDF were observed with portions of 21.8% in length, 18.8% in width and 43.5% in thickness, and 69.2% of weight loss with density decrease of 14.8% were observed as well. From the observation of the carbonized board by a scanning electron microscope, specific phenomena were found: the adhesives, surrounding the fiber's surface and pits, were carbonized, the woody fibers were changed smoothly, the pits were opened, the fiber' size was uniformized, and the organization was compacted. By the combination of handmade calligraphy-woodcarving and crack-free carbonizing methods, it was able to find a new method for manufacture carbonized calligraphy-woodcarving artwork. It is concluded that the calligraphy-woodcarving artwork using carbonized board can be a new access for the eco-friendly art that has the advantage of the functionality of charcoal and the aesthetic of calligraphy-woodcarving simultaneously.

• Korean Journal of Organic Agriculture
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.83-99
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• 2001

This experiment was conducted to develop liquid fertilizer for leaf vegetable using the agricultural by-products such as dry chicken dropping, bone meal, rice bran, soybean oil cake and fish meal. Combination of 50% dry chicken dropping, 30% bone meal and 20% rice bran among several combinations of by-products was selected as materials for liquid fertilizer of head lettuce and cabbage. 50kg of materials with combination selected got mixed to 200ι of water, which kept under room temperature in greenhouse. EC and pH of fertilizer was stabilized after 35 days. On the decrease of bad smell during fermentation, addition of materials such as bioceramics, woody vinegar and active charcoal was not effected. And on rapid fermentation, addition of microorganisms and sugar had a little effect, but decreased the content of inorganic nutrients. Fertigation of liquid fertilizer developed on cabbage by dropping made head weight increased by 0.9kg per plant and nitrate content decreased by 276ppm in comparison with chemical fertilizer which was 3.5kg, and 2,426ppm, respectively. By use of organic liquid fertilizer developed in this experiment, yield of cabbage could be more obtained by 26% than in use of chemical fertilizer and income by 24%.