The threat of North Korea's long-range firepower is recognized as a typical asymmetric threat, and South Korea is prioritizing the development of a Korean-style missile defense system to defend against it. To address this, previous research modeled North Korean long-range artillery attacks as a Markov Decision Process (MDP) and used Approximate Dynamic Programming as an algorithm for missile defense, but due to its limitations, there is an intention to apply deep reinforcement learning techniques that incorporate deep learning. In this paper, we aim to develop a missile defense system algorithm by applying a modified DQN with multi-agent-based deep reinforcement learning techniques. Through this, we have researched to ensure an efficient missile defense system can be implemented considering the style of attacks in recent wars, such as how effectively it can respond to enemy missile attacks, and have proven that the results learned through deep reinforcement learning show superior outcomes.

North Korea continues to upgrade and display its long-range rocket launchers to emphasize its military strength. Recently Republic of Korea kicked off the development of anti-artillery interception system similar to Israel’s “Iron Dome”, designed to protect against North Korea’s arsenal of long-range rockets. The system may not work smoothly without the function assigning interceptors to incoming various-caliber artillery rockets. We view the assignment task as a dynamic weapon target assignment (DWTA) problem. DWTA is a multistage decision process in which decision in a stage affects decision processes and its results in the subsequent stages. We represent the DWTA problem as a Markov decision process (MDP). Distance from Seoul to North Korea’s multiple rocket launchers positioned near the border, limits the processing time of the model solver within only a few second. It is impossible to compute the exact optimal solution within the allowed time interval due to the curse of dimensionality inherently in MDP model of practical DWTA problem. We apply two reinforcement-based algorithms to get the approximate solution of the MDP model within the time limit. To check the quality of the approximate solution, we adopt Shoot-Shoot-Look(SSL) policy as a baseline. Simulation results showed that both algorithms provide better solution than the solution from the baseline strategy.

Maritime monitoring requirements have been beyond human operators capabilities due to the broadness of the coverage area and the variety of monitoring activities, e.g. illegal migration, or security threats by foreign warships. Abnormal vessel movement can be defined as an unreasonable movement deviation from the usual trajectory, speed, or other traffic parameters. Detection of the abnormal vessel movement requires the operators not only to pay short-term attention but also to have long-term trajectory trace ability. Recent advances in deep learning have shown the potential of deep learning techniques to discover hidden and more complex relations that often lie in low dimensional latent spaces. In this paper, we propose a deep autoencoder-based clustering model for automatic detection of vessel movement anomaly to assist monitoring operators to take actions on the vessel for more investigation. We first generate gridded trajectory images by mapping the raw vessel trajectories into two dimensional matrix. Based on the gridded image input, we test the proposed model along with the other deep autoencoder-based models for the abnormal trajectory data generated through rotation and speed variation from normal trajectories. We show that the proposed model improves detection accuracy for the generated abnormal trajectories compared to the other models.

Maritime monitoring requirements have been beyond human operators capabilities due to the broadness of the coverage area and the variety of monitoring activities, e.g. illegal migration, or security threats by foreign warships. Abnormal vessel movement can be defined as an unreasonable movement deviation from the usual trajectory, speed, or other traffic parameters. Detection of the abnormal vessel movement requires the operators not only to pay short-term attention but also to have long-term trajectory trace ability. Recent advances in deep learning have shown the potential of deep learning techniques to discover hidden and more complex relations that often lie in low dimensional latent spaces. In this paper, we propose a deep autoencoder-based clustering model for automatic detection of vessel movement anomaly to assist monitoring operators to take actions on the vessel for more investigation.

To enhance mechanical properties through improvement of dispersion stability of carbon black (CB) in epoxy resins, fluorine functional groups were introduced on the CB surface by fluorination. The changes in the chemical properties and dispersion stabilities after fluorination were evaluated with different partial pressures of fluorine gas. The mechanical properties of the fluorinated CB/epoxy composites were evaluated by the test of tensile, impact strengths and creep behavior. The fluorinated CB/epoxy composites showed approximately 1.6 and 1.1 times enhancement in the tensile and impact strengths compared to that of neat epoxy, respectively. Moreover, when a constant load was applied at 323 K, the fluorinated CB/epoxy composites lasted longer and had smaller strain changes than those of the raw CB/epoxy composites. Thus, well-dispersed CB by fluorination in epoxy resins effectively transfers mechanical stress.

The present study evaluated the susceptibility of field populations of Plutella xylostella and Spodoptera exigua larvae to four diamide insecticides—chlorantraniliprole, cyantraniliprole, cyclaniliprole, and flubendiamide. All the four diamide insecticides induced 100% mortality in the populations from Seongju (SJ) and Geochang (GC) when treated at a concentration recommended for P. xylostella. However, a very low insecticidal activity was observed in the population from Pyeongchang (PC) with 42.3% 3 d after treatment with chlorantraniliprole. Further, the populations of S. exigua from Cheongju (CJ), Jindo (JD), and Yeonggwang (YG) were not completely controlled by the 4 diamide insecticides. A comparison of susceptibility of S. exigua larvae to chlorantraniliprole between 2014 and 2017 showed that chlorantraniliprole induced 100% mortality in all populations in 2014, whereas a very low insecticidal activity was observed among the populations in 2017. This study can serve as a basis to control pests effectively using diamide insecticides.

The susceptibility of the Frankliniella occidentalis and Frankliniella intonsa was evaluated using 46 commercial insecticides. There were 10 kinds of insecticides as benfuracarb, chlorfenapyr, spinetoram, spinosad, abamectin + chlorfenapyr, abamectin + emamectin benzoate, chlorfenapyr + clothianidin, chlorfenapyr + imidacloprid, clothianidin + spinetoram and dinotefuran + spinetoram, which showed more than 90% mortality against both thrips, F. occidentalis and F. intonsa. Since the F. intonsa is more susceptible than F. occidentalis, it is considered that both thrips can be controlled by insecticides that show insecticidal activity on the F. occidentalis. The effect by the elapsed time after treatment of 10 kinds of insecticides was analyzed as LT50 and LT95 values. Benfuracarb was the fastest in 4.3 h (LT50) and 14 h (LT95), and spinetoram showed the most late time at 13.5 h (LT50) and 62.3 h (LT95), respectively.

Dermanyssus gallinae is parasitic to chicken, and they cause many damages such as disturbing sleep reducing for body weight and egg production by blood-sucking. To develop acaricide against D. gallinae, The acaricidal activity of 40 species plant extract were examined. Cnidium officinale extracted by Me-OH showed 82.0% acaricidal activity after treated 48 hrs at 4,000 ppm. The hexane fraction showed 92.4% mortality against D. gallinae at 48 hrs at 2,000 ppm. Purification of the biologically active constituents from the hexane extraction with acaricidal activity was done using silica gel open column chromatography and HPLC. H1122 fraction gave 80.9% mortality to D. gallinae at 400 ppm after treated 48 hrs. H1122 fraction was analyzed by GC-MS and NMR.

Zika virus, mosquito-borne disease, caused by mosquitoes has been increased the importance. From March to September, twice a month from 7 different points (3 residential areas, 3 migratory bird sanctuary and 1 cattle shed) were collected using BG trap and BL trap. After identifying the mosquitoes collected, we confirmed the virus infection. Total 26,531 mosquitoes (6 genus 9 species) were collected, virus has been detected from the 3 species (Aedes vexans, Cuilex tritaeniorhynchus, and Amigeres subalbatus) of mosquitoes of them. It showed the highest peak in August, and then gradually decreased. The most common mosquito species was collected Aedes vexan (16,637) in the cattle shed.

IT security service provides customers with the capability of protecting the networked information asset and infrastructures, and the scope of security service is expanding from a technology-intensive task to a comprehensive protection system for IT environment. To improve the quality of this service, a research model which help assess the quality is required. Several research models have been proposed and used in various service areas, but few cases are found for IT security service. In this work, a research model for the IT security quality has been proposed, based on research models such as SERVQUAL and E-S-QUAL. With the proposed model, factors which affect the service quality and the best quality measure have been identified. And the feasibility of using quantitative measures for quality has been examined. For analysis, structural equation modeling and various statistical methods such as principal component analysis were used. The result shows that satisfaction is the most significant measure affected by the proposed quality factors. Two quality factors, fulfillment and empathy, are the main determinants of the service quality. This leads to a strategy of quality improvement based on factors of emotion and perception, not of technology. The quantitative measures are considered as promising alternative measures, when combined with other measures. In order to design reliable quantitative measures, more work should be done on target processing time and users’ expectation. It is hoped that work of this research will provide efficient tools and methods to improve the quality of IT security service and help future research works for other IT service areas.

Anthocyanins are naturally occuring phytochemicals and the main components of the coloring of plants, flowers and fruits. They are known to elicit antioxidative, anti-inflammatory and cancer preventive activity. In this study, we investigated anthocyanins in black / yellow soybean seedcoats using different methods of detection - thin layer chromatography (TLC), capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) and HPLC analysis. The anthocyanins in soybean seedcoats were extracted by five independent methods of extraction and the aglycons (anthocyanidins) of the corresponding anthocyanins were prepared by acid mediated hydrolysis. The anthocyanin / anthocyanidin in black soybean seedcoat showed characteristic TLC mobility, CZE electrophoretic retention and HPLC migration time while little of anthocyanins were detected from yellow soybean seedcoat. The extracted anthocyanins showed pH dependent retention time in CZE and spectral change in UV-Vis spectrum. HPLC analysis of the hydrolyzed extract of black soybean seedcoat identified the presence of four anthocyanidins. The major anthocyanin in black soybean seedcoat was cyanin (cyanidin-3-O-glucoside), with the relative order of anthocyanidin in cyanidin > delphinidin > petunidin > pelargonidin.

The patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) is a vascular structure connecting the proximal descending aorta to the roof of the main pulmonary artery, near the origin of the left branch pulmonary artery. Transcatheter closure has become the treatment of choice for most cases of PDA in both children and adults; however, measurement of the exact size and morphology of the shunt in adult cases using only contrast fluoroscopy is difficult. We report on a case of a 49-year-old woman who underwent transcatheter closure of PDA with intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) guideance. In the current case, IVUS is feasible and helpful for measuring the exact size and shape of the PDA.

To determine the expression levels of genes related to the salt stress response in rice, gene expression profiles were investigated through microarray analysis using the rice mutant line Till-II-877. There were no significant changes in physiological response under salt stress of the mutant increased less than that in the WT. The intensity of gene expression was analyzed and compared between the wild type and mutant lines using a microarray. Among the most significantly affected pathways, α-linolenic acid metabolism and linoleic acid metabolism (in lipid metabolism), fructose and mannose metabolism and glycolysis-gluconeogenesis (in carbohydrate metabolism), cysteine and methionine metabolism (in amino acid metabolism), and carbon fixation (in the energy metabolism of photosynthetic organisms) showed changes in gene expression levels under salt stress. These results further our understanding of the effects of salt stress in rice and may aid in the development of salt-tolerant rice cultivars.

Soluble sugar content in soybean seed is an important quality attribute for soyfood and feed. Usually, soluble sugars comprise 6 to 17% of total dry wt. in mature soybean seeds. In this study, 414 soybean mutant lines induced by gamma-ray were screened by colormetric assay, FACE (Fluorophore-assisted carbohydrate electrophoresis), and GC-MS to identify the change of soluble sugar contents. Among 414 soybean mutant lines, 12 mutant lines derived from three different soybean cultivars (Hwanggum, Paldal, and Bangsa) showed higher level of soluble sugar content compared to their original cultivars. However, 5 mutant lines derived from soybean landrace KAS 636-15 showed lower level in the colormetric assay. In FACE, 17 soybean mutant lines selected by colormetric assay also showed different band intensity compared with their original cultivars. However, there were no different soluble sugar patterns between soybean original cultivars and mutant lines. Finally, the variations of soluble sugar content in 17 soybean mutant lines were confirmed by using GC-MS. These mutant lines will be used for genetic study to find mutations of genes related soluble sugar biosynthesis.