본 연구는 국내에 분포하는 특정도서에 서식하는 조류의 다양성에 미치는 서식지 요인의 구명을 위해 2017년 5월부 터 2019년 10월까지 서해안과 남해안에 분포하는 65개의 도서를 대상으로 수행하였다. 서식지 환경은 수치지형도를 기반으로 산출된 도서의 면적과 육지로부터의 거리, 토지 피복 유형을 구분하여 이용하였다. 조사지역의 서식지 환경과 조류 군집의 생물다양성 사이의 관계를 분석한 결과 도서 내 숲의 비율과 더불어 수역의 비율, 도서의 크기, 초지의 비율이 영향을 주는 요인으로 추출되었다. 서식지의 크기는 생물이 서식할 수 있는 공간의 증가와 연관되며, 이는 생물의 수용 능력과 밀접하게 관련된다. 또한 서식지 내 환경의 다양성은 조류 군집의 서식지 선택에 영향을 미치게 되고 그에 따라 보다 다양한 환경을 갖는 서식지에서 생물다양성이 증가한 것으로 판단한다. 본 연구 결과는 조류의 서식지 및 중간 기착지로 가치가 높은 국내 특정도서의 조류 군집의 보존 및 종 다양성 증진을 위한 기초 생태자료로서 가치가 높을 것으로 판단된다.

D-pinitol is an analog of 3-methoxy-D-chiro-inositol found in beans and plants. D-pinitol has anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic, and anticancer effects. Additionally, D-pinitol induces apoptosis and inhibits metastasis in breast and prostate cancers. However, to date, no study has investigated the anticancer effects of D-pinitol in oral cancer. Therefore, in this study, whether the anticancer effects of D-pinitol induce apoptosis, inhibit the epithelialto- mesenchymal transition (EMT), and arrest cell cycle was investigated in squamous epithelial cells. D-pinitol decreased the survival and cell proliferation rates of CAL-27 and Ca9-22 oral squamous carcinoma cells in a concentration- and time-dependent manner. Evidence of apoptosis, including nuclear condensation, poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase, and caspase-3 fragmentation, was also observed. D-pinitol inhibited the migration and invasion of both cell lines. In terms of EMT-related proteins, E-cadherin was increased, whereas N-cadherin, Snail, and Slug were decreased. D-pinitol also decreased the expression of cyclin D1, a protein involved in the cell cycle, but increased the expression of p21, a cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor. Hence, D-pinitol induces apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in CAL-27 and Ca9-22 cells, demonstrating an anticancer effect by decreasing the EMT.

This study analyzed variations of learning stress by comparing the salivary cortisol levels of students who participated in Earth Science inquiry activities. The cortisol concentrations between the pre- and post-inquiries of the sample of 34 university students, who had taken the course of ‘Basic Earth Science and Experiments’, were analyzed. The Earth Science inquiries consisted of geology and astronomy activities. The observational geology activities consisted of a session of ‘structure contours and map patterns’ and the cognitive astronomy activities consisted of a session of ‘representations of horizontal and equatorial coordinates’. These Earth Science inquiry activities were found to cause students to have anxiety, and the thought processes that these activities involved were found to cause learning stress. The variations in cortisol concentrations of students increased by 1.6±5.9 ng mL−1 after conducting observational activities in geology compared with 2.1±6.2 ng mL−1 after doing cognitive activities in astronomy. The analysis of the observational activities in the geology inquiry activities indicated that they were consistent with low levels of learning stress. Conversely, the analysis of the cognitive activities in the astronomy inquiry activities showed significant individual variations in cortisol concentrations. Furthermore, individual differences in cognitive ability were reflected in the astronomy inquiry activities. While students, who received high scores, exhibited low levels of stress in the geology inquiry activities, they showed high levels of stress in the astronomy inquiry activities. It was concluded that, in the case of students with high scores in the study, the level of learning stress increased due to the raised anxiety in cognitive inquiry activities. In contrast, students, who received low scores in the study, exhibited high levels of stress in the geology inquiry activities, and low levels of stress in the astronomy inquiry activities.