지적장애아동은 낮은 지적능력으로 인해 주의집중력의 지속시간이 짧으며 정상적인 언어습득과 발달이 어렵다. 그러므로 사회성이 떨어지고 사람과의 유대감을 형성하는 것이 어려울 수 있다. 지적장애아동의 특성을 효과적으로 개선하는 방법에는 동물을 통한 매개 활동이 있다. 동물은 아동과의 상호작용을 통하여 언어능력을 향상 시키고, 인지발달을 촉진시킨다. 그리고 의사소통이나 상호작용이 미숙한 아동에게 동물매개활동은 의사소통 및 자기표현 기술을 습득하는 데 유용하게 작용할 수 있다. 본 연구는 동물매개활동 프로그 램이 지적장애아동의 주의집중력과 언어능력에 미치는 효과를 알아보기 위해 J도 I시 특수 장애 학교에 다니고 있는 만 14세에서 16세인 지적장애아동 3명을 대상자로 선정하였다. 연구는 주 1회, 8주간, 총 16회기 동안 진행하였다. 사전ㆍ사후 검사 도구로는 Harris & Harris(1984)의 집중력 격자판 검사와 수용·표현 어휘력 검사(Receptive and Expressive Vocabulary Test: REVT)를 이용하여 연구 대상자들의 주의집중력과 수용·표현 어휘력의 비교분석을 하였다. 이 연구를 통해 동물매개활동 프로그램이 지적장애아동의 주의집중력과 수용·표현 어휘력을 유의미한 수준으로 향상시켜 주었음을 관찰할 수 있었다.

To develope a microbial weed control agent, HCN-producing bacteria were isolated, and their characteristics were investigated. A selected strain of WA15 was identified as Pseudomonas koreensis by morphological, cultural, biochemical and 16S rRNA gene analyses. The conditions for HCN production was investigated by a One-Variable-at-a-Time (OVT) method. The optimal HCN production conditions were tryptone 1%, glycine 0.06%, NaCl 1% , and an initial pH and temperature of 5.0 and 30℃, respectively. The major component for HCN production was glycine. Under optimal conditions, HCN production was about 3 times higher than that of the basal medium. The WA15 strain had physiological activities, such as indoleacetic acid that was associated with the elongation of plant roots and siderophore and ammonification inhibiting fungal growth, and produced hydrolytic enzymes, such as cellulase, pectinase and lipase. The strain was able to inhibit the growth of phytopathogenic fungi, such as Rhizoctonia solani, Botrytis cinerea and Fusarium oxysporum, by the synergistic action of volatile HCN and diffusible antimicrobial compounds. A microscopic observation of R. solani that was teated with the WA15 strain showed morphological abnormalities of fungal mycelia, which could explain the role of the antimicrobial metabolites that were produced by the WA15 strain. The volatile HCN produced by the WA15 strain was also found to have insecticidal activity against termites. Our results indicate that Pseudomonas koreensis WA15 can be applied as a microbial agent for weed control and also as a termite repellent. Furthermore, it could be applied as a microbial termiticidal agent to replace synthetic insecticides.

This study was conducted in order to examine the effects of horticultural activities and flower tea drinking based on reminiscent storytelling on demented elders’ cognitive and emotional functions. For these an purposes, the program was executed 35 elders divided four groups at the elders institutionalized at B Facility through 10 sessions during the period from 10 March to 14 July in 2015. As a result first, in the test of pretreatment homogeneity among the groups, no significant difference was observed among the four groups, so they were considered homogeneous. As to difference between before and after the program, cognitive functions were improved significantly after the treatment in the experimental group with both horticultural activities and flower tea drinking (p=.039). Among the emotional functions, self‐esteem was significantly different in the experimental group with only horticultural activities (p=.040), the experimental group with only flower tea drinking (p=.005), and the experimental group with both horticultural activities and flower tea drinking (p=.024). Life satisfaction was significantly different only in the experimental group with both horticultural activities and flower tea drinking (p=.005). Ego integrity was significantly different in the experimental group with only horticultural activities (p=.011) and the experimental group with both horticultural activities and flower tea drinking (p=.005). Therefore, the experimental group with both horticultural activities and flower tea drinking were improved significant that all the items of cognitive and emotional functions.