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The rehabilitation of degraded forests in Mongolia showed very low success and the total area reforested successfully represents only 5% of the total forest lost. One of the reasons for such poor results may be low quality of planting stock due to the poor quality of seeds. The objectives of this study were to determine seed source variation in seed quality, to examine their growth and biomass allocation in one-year-old seedlings of Siberian larch from diverse seed sources, and to select the most promising seed sources for reforestation of degraded forest lands in Mongolia. Siberian larch seedlings from eight geographically different seed sources were grown at an open nursery and in greenhouse nursery conditions, and seedlings were subjected to growth and biomass allocation measurements at the end of the fi rst growing season. It was found that there were signi fi cant differences in seed quality, growth and biomass allocation among the seed sources in both growth conditions. Overall, Sources No.3 (Tuul river) and No.4 (Mungun) showed the best growth performances and biomass accumulation at open nursery and greenhouse nursery conditions, respectively. Source No.1 (Ovorkhangai) had the lowest performances in both growth conditions for all measured variables. On the other hand, seedlings grown in the greenhouse nursery conditions had more intensive growth and accumulated more biomass compared to seedlings grown in open nursery conditions. However, the proportion of biomass of the roots at open nursery grown seedlings was higher than that of greenhouse grown seedlings, which may indicate a more promising survival rate after fi eld transplanting.

V-Zn hybrids have widely been used as catalyst materials in the environment and as energy. Herein, V-Zn hybrid electrodes were prepared by the hydrothermal and sputter-deposition methods using a Zn foil support. Their electrocatalytic CO2 reduction (EC CO2 RR) performances were tested under various applied potentials, different electrolytes, and concentrations before and after thermal treatment of the demonstrated electrode. Gas and liquid products were confirmed by gas chromatography and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, respectively. For V-Zn electrode by hydrothermal method produced mainly syngas (CO and H2) with tunable ratio by varying applied potential. Minor products include CH4, C2H4, and C2H6. A liquid product of formate showed a Faradaic efficiency (FE) of 2%. EC CO2 RR efficiency for CO, CH4, and formate was best in 0.2 M KHCO3 electrolyte condition. CO and formate were further increased by photoirradiation and Nafion-treated electrode. Formate and CH4 productions were significantly increased by thermal treatment of the V-Zn electrode. CO production was diminished for the V-Zn electrode by sputter deposition but was recovered by thermal treatment. Photocatalytic CO2 RR was tested to find that RR products include CH3OH, CO, CH4, C2H4, and C2H6. Interestingly long-chain hydrocarbons (CnH2n and CnH2n+2, where n = 3–6) were first observed under mild conditions. The long-chain formation was understood by Fisher-Tropsch (F-T) synthesis. Alkenes were observed to be more produced than alkanes unlike in the conventional F-T synthesis. The present new findings provide useful clues for the development of hybrid electro-and photo-catalysts tested under various experimental conditions in energy and environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The changes of forest ecosystem such as the plant distribution range shifts and the change of stand dynamic patterns under the global mean temperature warming, varied from the growth and physiological response characteristics of each species. For the last three years, studies on the growth and physiological mechanism have been conducted with two-years-old seedlings of three representative species (Abies koreana, Pinus densiflora, Quercus serrata) in Korea. We used a Temperature Gradient Chamber (TGC) and CO2-Temperature Gradient Chamber (CTGC) which were exposed to ambient and elevated CO2 concentration, temperature to simulate the climate change conditions; the TGC were the ambient temperature (aC-aT) as the control and the 5∘ warmer conditions with an ambient CO2 concentration (400ppm;aC-eT) and the control of the CTGC was at the ambient and the 2.2 times of CO2 concentration (880 ppm;eC-eT) of the atmosphere with 5∘ warmer conditions for treatment. Photosynthetic rate (Pn) and biomass were measured and Carboxylation efficiency (CE) and biomass allocation were calculated to investigate the physiological responses of the seedlings. A.koreana and P. densiflora significantly increased their Pn under aC-eT and eC-eT conditions. However, in the case of Q. serrata showed the decrease of Pn and CE at the third year. There were no significant differences in total biomass but the shoot/root ratio in Q. serrata showed a significant increase in aC-eT condition. These results highlight the need to study nutrient processes together to better understanding how the species-specific physiological responses and carbon allocation are differed to climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to promote awareness of the need for advance directives (ADs) and to provide baseline data for the development of a nurse training program about ADs., Methods: Nurses at eight long-term care hospitals in Busan and South Gyeongsang Province (N=143) were recruited using the random sampling method from December 2018 to January 2019. Data were obtained using a structured self-reported questionnaire to assess their knowledge, experience, and attitudes regarding ADs. Data were analyzed in SPSS 22.0 using descriptive statistics, the t-test, analysis of variance, the Scheffé test, Pearson's correlation coefficient, and stepwise multiple regression analysis., Results: The mean scores were 7.79±1.39 points for knowledge, 1.92±2.00 points for experience, and 2.80±0.24 points for attitudes regarding ADs. Knowledge and experience (r=0.32, P<0.001) had a positive correlation with knowledge and attitudes (r=0.17, P=0.39)., Conclusion: According to the results, nurses generally had a high level of knowledge regarding ADs, which resulted in a positive attitude toward ADs. However, they had little experience with ADs. Therefore, nurses' must develop both direct and indirect experience with ADs using a practical training program to strengthen their clinical competency regarding ADs., Competing Interests: CONFLICT OF INTEREST No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported., (Copyright © 2022 by Korean Society for Hospice and Palliative Care.)