This study aims to classify R&D activities related to the nuclear fuel cycle using the deep learning methodology. First, R&D data of the Republic of Korea were collected from the National Science & Technology Information Service (NTIS) for the years 2021, 2022, and 2023. We use keywords such as ‘nuclear,’ ‘uranium,’ ‘plutonium,’ and ‘thorium’ to find nuclear-related R&D projects in the NTIS database. Among the numerous R&D projects found through keyword searches, overlapping and medical-related R&D projects were excluded. Finally, 495 R&D projects conducted in 2021, 430 R&D projects conducted in 2022, and 296 R&D projects conducted in 2023 were obtained for analysis. After that, Safeguards experts determine whether the R&D projects are subject to declaration under the AP. The values of the content validity index (CVI) and content validity ratio (CVR) were used to verify whether the experts’ judgments were valid. The 1,218 collected and labeled data were then divided 8:2 into training and test datasets to see if deep learning could be applied to classify nuclear fuel cycle-related R&D activities. We use the Python and TensorFlow packages, including RNN, GRU, and CNN methods. First, the collected text information was preprocessed to remove punctuation marks and then tokenized to make it suitable for deep learning. After 20 epochs of training to classify the nuclear fuel cycle-related R&D activities, the RNN model achieved 97.30% accuracy and a 5.85% error rate on the validation dataset. The GRU model achieved 96.53% accuracy and a 9.06% error rate on the validation dataset. In comparison, the CNN model achieved 94.61% accuracy and a 2.57% error rate on the validation dataset. When applying the test dataset to each model, the RNN model had a test accuracy of 83.20%, the GRU test accuracy of 82.79%, and the CNN model had a test accuracy of 85.66% for the same dataset. This study applied deep learning models to labeled data judged by various experts, and the CNN model showed the best results. In the future, this study will continue to develop an optimum deep learning model that can classify nuclear fuel cycle-related R&D activities to achieve the purpose of safeguards measures from open-source data such as papers and articles.

The microstructure and mechanical properties of the heat-affected zone welded using the GTAW process on SDSS material used in offshore structures were analyzed. The chemical composition of the specimen material was analyzed using XRF. The microstructure of the heat-affected zone where the plate was welded was examined by SEM, and the ferrite volume fraction was assessed using the point count method of ASTM E562. A lot of ferrite was formed in the overheated weldment region, and In the weld cap where the cooling rate was fast, ferrite was not converted back to austenite and the microstructure was not uniform. From the ferrite phase fraction, it was shown that it can be applied to the pitting resistance equivalent numbers through changes in mechanical properties according to welding conditions.

In this study, Bacillus velesensis TJS119, isolated from freshwater, demonstrated growth inhibition against insect pathogenic fungi. The culture medium of the B. velezensis TJS119 strain underwent sequential fractionation with n-hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate, n-butanol, and water. Notably, the n-butanol fraction exhibited significant antifungal activity against Metarhizium anisopliae and Beauveria bassiana. LC/MS analysis of antifungal peaks identified the production of various lipopeptides by B. velezensis TJS119, including two types of iturin A (C14, C15), four types of fengycin A (C14, C15, C16, C17), and two types of fengycin B (C16, C17). The antifungal efficacy of Iturin A and Fengycin against insect pathogenic fungi was further validated using the paper disc diffusion method. These findings underscore the potential of B. velezensis TJS119 as a promising candidate for future research and applications in the realm of agricultural biological controls against fungal diseases.

Protaetia brevitarsis seulensis larvae from industrial insects are traditionally recognized as functional health foods in South Korea. We evaluated the immuno-modulatory effects of feeding beneficial microorganism (Bacillus velezensis TJS119) to P. brevitarsis larvae as a dietary source. In this study, we investigated the immune-enhancing activities of P. brevitarsis larvae hot-water extract (PLW) and PLW after treatment with B. velezensis TJS119 (PLWB) using the RAW 264.7 macrophage cell line. We examined the effects of PLWB on cell proliferation, cytokine production, and nitric oxide production in RAW264.7 cells. PLWB showed no cytotoxicity at concentrations ranging from 7.8 to 1,000 μg/mL in RAW264.7 cells. Treatment with PLWB increased the production of nitric oxide and pro-inflammatory cytokines [tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and interleukin-1β (IL-1β)] at doses of 62.5 to 1,000 μ g/mL in RAW264.7 cells. As a result, PLWB exhibited a stronger immune-enhancing effect compared to PLW. In conclusion, the results of this study offer experimental evidence to support the potential utilization of PLWB as an immunity-enhancing nutraceutical ingredient.

Bacillus velezensis TJS119 was isolated from the freshwater, and antagonistic activity against of pathogenic fungi. Strain TJS119 showed a broad spectrum of antagonistic activities many fungal pathogens, including the green muscardine fungus Metarhizium anisopliae. The whole-genome sequence of B. velzensis TJS119 was analyzed using the illumina platform. The genome comprises a 3,809,913 bp chromosome with a G + C content of 46.43%, 3,834 total genes, 10 rRNA and 73 tRNA genes. The genome contained a total of 8 candidate gene clusters (difficidin, fengycin, bacillaene, macrolactin, bacillibactin, bacilysin, surfactin and butirosin) to synthesize secondary metabolite biosynthesis. Overall, our data will aid future studies of the biocontrol mechanisms of B. velezensis TJS119 and promote its application in insect disease control.

Pine Wilt Disease (PWD) is a disease causing mass deaths of pine trees in South Korea, and the dead trees serve as breeding grounds for insect vectors responsible for spreading the disease to other host trees. Because the PWD requires early monitoring to minimize its damage on domestic forestry, this study aims to develop a species distribution model for predicting the potential distribution of PWD by using artificial neural network (ANN) with time-series data. Among the architectures, the Convolutional Neural Network exhibited the highest performance, achieving a validation accuracy of 0.854 and a cross-entropy loss of 0.401, and the InceptionTime model emerged as the second-best performer. This study identified the best-performing ANN architecture for a spatiotemporal evaluation of PWD occurrence, emphasizing the importance for determining hyperparameters with ecological characteristics and data types to apply deep learning into SDMs.

2022년 10월부터 2023년 5월까지 친환경 딸기재배 농가에서 점박이응애는 칠레이리애응애와 사막이리응애, 진딧물은 콜레마니진디벌을 대상으로 하는 천적처리구와 유기농자재를 사용하는 관행방제구에서 천적의 해 충 밀도억제 효과를 조사하였다. 천적처리구에서 점박이응애 성충 밀도는 잎당 1.5마리 이하, 알은 4개 이하로 관리되었고, 사막이리응애는 잎당 최대 0.4마리까지 증가하여 점박이응애 밀도억제에 많은 영향을 미친것으로 보인다. 반면, 관행방제구에서 점박이응애 밀도는 천적 방사구에 비하여 오히려 많은 발생량을 보였지만, 3월 9일부터는 사막이리응애의 증가와 유기농자재의 효과로 점박이응애 밀도는 급격하게 감소하였다. 진딧물 천적 처리구에서 진딧물 밀도는 1월부터 발생하였으며 3월 상순에 잎당 0.3마리까지 증가하였으나 이후 감소하였고, 콜레마니진디벌은 진딧물 발생이 많지 않아 3.9마리/㎡(2회) 방사하는 데 그쳤다. 한편, 관행방제구 포장의 진딧 물은 유기농자재의 영향으로 거의 발생하지 않았다.

최근 주요 절화 수입량이 증가하면서 외래 병해충 유입률 또한 증가하고 있다. 농림축산검역본부 병해충정보 시스템(PIS)에 따르면 최근 10년간(2011-2020년) 수입된 절화류에서 검출된 총채벌레목은 총 43종 6,734건이다. 그중 가장 많이 검출된 총채벌레는 Frankliniella occidentalis (2,526건), Thrips tabaci (1,470건)로 전체 검출건수의 59% 이상 차지한다. 본 연구에서는 수입 절화류에서 검출률이 가장 높은 총채벌레 두 종의 미토콘드리아 DNA CO I 유전자를 이용하여 염기변이에 의한 국가별 다양성과 유전적 다양도 분석을 실시하였다. 네덜란드, 중국 등 7개국에서 검출한 Frankliniella occidentalis 184개 개체에서 9가지의 단상형(haplotype)이 관찰되었다. 또한 페루, 네덜란드 등 6개 국가에서 검출된 Thrips tabaci 80개 개체에서는 7가지 단상형이 보였다. 본 연구에서 검출 한 mtDNA내 염기서열 다형성은 총채벌레 집단의 국가적 변이성 추정 및 연관성 분석에 기초자료로 활용할 것으 로 기대한다.

Ctenoplusia agnata (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) is a polyphagous pest that damage on crops belonging to the Fabaceae and Brassicaceae, and it is known as a migratory pest. In this study, we investigated pattern of occurrence to trace invasion characteristics using sex pheromone traps and conducted genetic analysis of captured individuals while also exploring their correlation with air currents. Our findings suggest that C.agnata exhibits an annual occurrence of four generations in Korea, with the second or third generation, primarily active from July to September, posing a significant threat to soybean. Genetic analysis revealed the presence of 17 haplotypes, and trajectory modeling confirmed the influence of air currents from Kyushu, Japan and Zhejiang, China etc. These results are expected to be used as a comprehensive management of C.agnata and other migratory moth species.

Apolygus is one of speciose genus in subfamily Mirinae, including more than 80 species worldwide. Most of Apolygus species are phytophagous, and some species are regard as severe crop pest. For that, precise diagnosis and classification for this genus is crucial. In this work, we provide checklist of Korean Apolygus species with a new species and new distributional records. Diagnostic characters of the new species are discussed with the illustrations of adult male, female specimen and genitalic structures. A key to the Korean Apolygus is also presented.

Reticulitermes speratus (Kolbe) is economically important pest in East Asia including Korea, Japan and China where they infest wooden structures in urban areas. In this study, we report the first record of R. speratus speratus from Korea, which was verified using soldier morphology and molecular characteristics obtained from a mitochondrial gene. R. speratus speratus Kolbe, 1885 (Blattodea: Rhinotermitidae) are found in several provinces, mainly southern regions in Korea, whereas R. speratus kyushuensis are distributed throughout the country. Our morphological comparison showed that R. speratus speratus can be distinguishable from R. speratus kyushuensis by the ratio of the posterior postmentum width to length. In the molecular comparison, R. speratus speratus revealed genetic differences of 3.06% (range 2.60–4.10%) from R. speratus kyushuensis using cytochrome oxidase subunit II gene sequences.

The aphid genus Macromyzus Takahashi is a small East-Asia genus of the tribe Macrosiphini (Hemiptera: Aphidinae). Globally, there are five recognized species: Macromyzus (Anthracosiphoniella) maculatus (Basu), Macromyzus (Macromyzus) indicus David & Narayanan, M. (M.) manoji Raha & Raychaudhuri, M. (M.) spinosus Su & Qiao, and M. (M.) woodwardiae (Takahashi). In this study, we report the first record of the aphid genus Macromyzus Takahashi in Laos. We present a decription of a new species of this genus associated with Diplazium esculentum (Retz.) Sw. (Athyriaceae). Additionally, for the first time, we conducted scanning electron microscopy research on the morphology and sensilla of representative of this genus.

Anoplophora horsfieldii (Hope, 1843), 국명 노랑알락하늘소(가칭)는 아열대 지역에 주로 분포하는 종으로 2019 년에 제주도 용연계곡에서 처음 발견되었으며, 2023년에 국내 정착이 보고되었다. 국내에서는 팽나무에서 발생 하는 것으로 알려졌으나, 섭식방식, 산란 선호성 등 생태적 특성에 대해서는 국내외 연구가 전무하다. 따라서 본 연구에서는 노랑알락하늘소의 기초적인 생태정보를 제공하고자 실내 산란 선호성 조사 및 야외조사를 진행 했다. 산란 선호성 실험은 기주식물로 알려진 팽나무, 멀구슬나무와 제주도내 대표 수종인 동백나무, 종가시나무 을 대상으로 했다. 이 중 팽나무에서만 산란이 확인었으며, 상대적으로 굵은 팽나무에서 더 많은 산란이 확인되었 다. 야외조사에서는 최대 발생지인 용연계곡을 기준으로 반경 3 km 내에서 노랑알락하늘소의 탈출공이 확인된 32 그루의 팽나무를 대상으로 피해를 조사하였다. 나무의 굵기는 흉고직경이 20-40 cm인 팽나무에서 탈출공이 많이 확인되었고, 높이는 지면으로 부터 0-100 cm 구간에서 가장 많은 탈출공이 발견되었다.

Riptortus pedestris has established symbiotic interactions with specific bacteria from soil environment in every generations. The soil environment is extremely heterogeneous with microbial diversity, suggesting that bacterial composition of the R. pedestris can be affected by surrounding environments. Therefore, we investigated spatiotemporal variation of bacterial communities in wild R. pedestris collected from five mainland areas and Jeju Island in South Korea across insect generations. Among the 390 R. pedestris adults collected, we detected a total of 28 bacterial genera from the symbiotic region of insects. Among the bacterial genera, genus Caballeronia bacteria was the most abundantly detected regardless of sampling site and generation. Nevertheless, bacterial richness varied among the insect generations with 10 genera detected in overwintered generation, 15 genera in the 1st generation and 18 genera in the 2nd generation. Moreover, we found five bacterial genera that were exclusively detected from the Jeju island compared to the mainland areas surveyed.

The aphid genus Tuberaphis Takahashi belongs to the tribe Cerataphdini (Hemiptera: Hormaphidinae) and comprises 17 valid species. Generally, its species are distributed in East and South East Asia, where they primarily feed on Styrax spp. (Styracaceae) and utilize species within the Loranthaceae family as their secondary hosts. They form various shapes of galls on Styrax, looking coral and broccoli etc. Currently, the only aphid species reported to exclusively produce gall forms resembling broccoli head-shaped is Tuberaphis takeouchii (Takahashi). For the first time in Korea, an aphid species forming gall structures with a broccoli-head-like appearance has been discovered. We confirmed that the species discovered in Korea is a new species through morphological and molecular comparisons with T. takenouchii (Takahashi). To comprehend the life cycle of this new species, we conducted a year-long study investigating how the gall forms change and examined aphid polymorphism across different seasons. The results of this study additionally include as followings: 1) Species identification, 2) DNA barcoding, 3) population genetic analyses, and 4) morphological comparison using SEM

Miridae show remarkable diversity (>11,700 spp.), accounting for a quarter of all Heteroptera. However, their phylogeny and evolutional history is still remain unclear. In this work, we provide new suggestions for the phylogeny of Miridae using a larger dataset than previous studies. In addition, we suggest an alternative evolutionary history based on newly calibrated divergence dates for Miridae and its subordinate groups, and present probable factors of the family’s success in terms of species diversity. The entire dataset comprises 16 outgroups and 188 ingroup taxa including all seven known subfamilies and 37 out of 45 known tribes. Each species is aligned as 3,577 bp with six molecular loci (COI, 16S rRNA, 18S rRNA, 28S rRNA D3 region, H2A, and H3A).

Nutrient acquisition by insect herbivores affect all aspect of the the lifespan of individauls. For seed-sucking insect herbivores, they face challenges with nutrient acquisition due to requirement for extra-oral digestion of seed contents into a readily-ingestible state. In this study, we demonstrated environmentally-transmitted Caballeronia insecticola allow seed-sucking R. pedestris to overcome challenges with extra-oral digestion. Through the evaluation, first, we found symbiotic insects exhibited enhanced feeding efficiency by consuming significantly larger amount of food per feeding attempt compared to apo-symbiotic insects (P<0.05). Then, we observed feeding behavior modification in the symbiotic insects from the behavior tracking evaluation. Symbiotic insects displayed dichotomic behavior which can be generally divided into early focused feeding and later subdued resting periods. By contrast, apo-symbiotic insects displayed unordered behavior by frequent switches between feeding and walking behavior.

Honey bees are crucial pollinators for agricultural and natural ecosystems, but are experiencing heavy mortality in Korea due to a complex suite of factors. Extreme winter losses of honey bee colonies are a major threat to beekeeping but the combinations of factors underlying colony loss remain debatable. Finding solutions involves knowing the factors associated with high loss rates. To investigate whether loss rates are related to Varroa control and climate condition, we surveyed beekeepers in korea after wintering (2021–2022 to 2022–2023). The results show an average colony loss rate of 46%(2022) and 17%(2023), but over 40% colony loss before wintering at 2022. Beekeepers attempt to manage their honey bee colonies in ways that optimize colony health. Disentangling the impact of management from other variables affecting colony health is complicated by the diversity of practices used and difficulties handling typically complex and incomplete observational datasets. We propose a method to 1) Varroa mite population Control by several methods , and 2) Many nursing bee put in hive before wintering.