Research Articles

This study investigated the relationships between air-dry specific gravity, average annual ring width, and mechanical properties, including bending strength, compressive strength, and shear strength, in seven major coniferous species in Korea: Pinus densiflora, Pinus koraiensis, Larix kaempferi, Pinus rigida, Pinus rigida × taeda, Chamaecyparis obtusa, and Cryptomeria japonica. Specimens were tested according to KS standards, and correlation and regression analyses were conducted for each species. The results showed that air-dry specific gravity had significant positive correlations with mechanical strength in most species, indicating that it is the most reliable predictor of strength. In particular, Larix kaempferi, Pinus rigida, and Pinus rigida × taeda exhibited relatively clear positive correlations with bending, compressive, and shear strengths, confirming that air-dry specific gravity serves as a key indicator for explaining the strength properties of these species. Average annual ring width generally showed negative correlations with bending and compressive strengths; however, the statistical significance varied depending on species and growth region. Therefore, for analyzing the mechanical properties of domestic coniferous wood, air-dry specific gravity should be used as the primary predictive factor, while average annual ring width and species-specific wood characteristics should also be considered.

Traditional patterns are visual carriers of cultural heritage, and understanding young adults’ aesthetic preferences and visual attention may inform contemporary dissemination. This study examined, at the category level and individual sample level, subjective evaluation and objective behavior among 30 university students from one setting in response to 26 traditional wooden furniture patterns of the She ethnic group in eastern Fujian, using preference evaluation questionnaires, semantic differential ratings, and eye tracking. Results showed that (1) subjective evaluation was multidimensional: plant patterns received the highest category-level average (Avg.) score for aesthetic preference (Avg. = 1.811), whereas the Round Longevity Pattern in the abstract patterns performed best at the individual sample level (Avg. = 2.133); (2) Friedman tests showed significant differences in fixation count (FC) at both levels (p < 0.001), with the highest FC for human-figure patterns at the category level (Avg. = 22.950), and the Panhu Pattern at the individual-sample level (Avg. = 28.867); (3) aesthetic preference and visual attention were generally consistent, but at the participant-by-stimulus level, a negative binomial generalized linear mixed model showed no clear independent association between any subjective dimension and FC. This study supports a subjective-objective approach to traditional pattern perception and cultural dissemination.