This study aims to systematically investigate the insect diversity within the distinct coastal grassland and mountain habitats of East Busan, Busan Metropolitan City. The objective is to gather foundational data that will inform natural environment conservation plans and contribute to policy formulation. Employing a comprehensive collection approach, we utilized trapping nets, pitfall traps, and flying insect traps to capture a broad spectrum of insect species. The investigation identified a rich diversity of 132 species across 9 orders and 52 families. Coleoptera emerged as the most prevalent order with 13 families and 41 species, followed by Diptera with 8 families and 24 species, and Lepidoptera with 9 families and 21 species. To assess the biodiversity and structure of these communities by habitat type, we applied several biodiversity indices: the Shannon-Wiener index (H'), Margalef index (R), and Pielou evenness index. Coastal grasslands exhibited an H' of 3.153, R of 11.08, and a Pielou evenness of 0.371; coastal mountains showed an H' of 2.922, R of 13.02, and a Pielou evenness of 0.202. These metrics reveal no significant differences in diversity and evenness between the two habitats. The endangered Copris tripartitus was notably observed in coastal grasslands, alongside 20 species classified as Least Concern (LC) in the National Red List across both habitats. The comparative analysis of biodiversity and evenness levels across coastal grassland and mountain areas highlights the ecological significance of both habitats in supporting a diverse insect fauna. The detection of endangered and LC species within these areas emphasizes the critical need for ongoing monitoring and the development of effective conservation strategies tailored to protect Busan's coastal ecosystems. The findings underscore the necessity of conducting periodic surveys to monitor faunal changes and inform conservation efforts actively. By ensuring the continued protection of insect diversity, these efforts will play a pivotal role in maintaining the ecological integrity of coastal areas, thereby supporting broader environmental conservation objectives.

This study aimed to collect foundational data essential for devising a natural environment conservation plan and implementing relevant policies. It underscores the significance of understanding the current state of the natural environment. Our research concentrated on surveying the biodiversity and distribution of key natural habitats within Busan Metropolitan City, with the goal of gathering crucial data to guide the development of conservation and management strategies. The focus of our investigation was on the insect populations in Ilgwang, covering two primary habitats: mountains and wetlands. The survey, conducted from July to September 2023, utilized various collection methods, including pitfall traps, fly traps, sweeping nets, and aspirators. Our findings documented the presence of 109 species across 88 genera, 50 families, and 9 orders. Specifically, the study identified two species from the order Odonata, two from Blattodea, one from Mantodea, six from Orthoptera, eleven from Hemiptera, twenty-nine from Coleoptera, twelve from Diptera, ten from Lepidoptera, and thirty-five from Hymenoptera. Through community analysis, biodiversity indices were calculated, revealing a Shannon-Wiener index (H') of 4.07 for mountain habitats and 3.92 for wetlands. The Margalef richness index (R) displayed values of 13.92 for mountains and 14.78 for wetlands, while the Pielou evenness index indicated values of 0.96 and 0.91, respectively. Among the identified species, one was classified as endangered, and thirteen were designated as of Least Concern, according to legal protection statuses.

The study of blowfly (Diptera, Calliphoridae) biodiversity and distribution is crucial for forensic investigations involving cadavers. Abiotic and biotic factors, such as seasonality and habitat type, have significant impacts on blowfly populations. However, few forensic entomology studies have been conducted in South Korea, particularly the Gyeongsangnam-do region. To address this, in this study, an extensive year-long survey was conducted to analyze the compositions, habitat preferences, distribution, and seasonal abundance of forensically relevant blowflies in urban and forested habitats in Gyeongsangnam-do, utilizing mouse carcass-baited traps set for 48 h each month. A total of 3,478 adult blowflies were recorded, encompassing six genera and 14 species, with a noted absence of specimens during the winter months. The predominant species was Lucilia porphyrina, accounting for 37.1% of the total sample, followed by Chrysomya pinguis (27.5%), Lucilia sericata (7.6%), and Lucilia illustris (7.1%). The species composition was consistent across all surveyed regions; however, seasonal variation in species diversity was evident, with a peak in spring and decline in summer. Notably, certain species exhibited clear preferences for either urban (Calliphora calliphoroides and L. sericata) or forested habitats (L. porphyrina and Ch. pinguis). This pioneering study elucidates the diverse blowfly communities in Gyeongsangnam-do, highlighting significant seasonal and habitat-dependent variations.

Spodoptera litura is an omnivorous pest that damages more than 120 types of crops. It is widely distributed throughout the tropics, subtropics, and temperate zones. It is a major pest that causes damage by explosively increasing in density in a short period of time due to its excellent mobility and reproductive ability. S. litura was studied at five constant temperatures (15.0, 20.0, 25.0, 30.0, and 35.0℃), 65±5% relative humidity (RH), and 14L:10D photoperiods. The development period for eggs and larvae tended to become shorter as temperature increased. The growth period of egg, larva, and pupa by 25℃ temperature was 4.0, 32.3, and 12.6 days, respectively.

We investigated the behavioral attractive responses of a lepidopteran larva parasite, Exorista japonica to 10 synthetic herbivore-induced plant volatiles (HIPVs). These synthetic HIPVs have been revealed the attractive effect on several parasites. For each of the HIPVs, we asked the following two questions : (1) Which volatiles show the attractiveness to this parasitoid, (2) Whether the attractant directly or indirectly affects the host settlement and parasitism of the parasitoid. To experimentally address these questions, we performed 2 and 4 choice indoor cage tests. E. japonica adults were significantly attracted to benzaldehyde and (Z)-3-hexen-1-ol showing higher settlement and parasitic rates on Spodoptera litura of treatments. Compared to the untreated plots, the average parasitism of E. japonica on S. litura larvae in the benzaldehyde treatments increased by approximately 20%.

Blockchain is an immutable ledger that records transactions and tracks assets using a common communication protocol. It stores a copy of the blockchain and implements a consensus function to verify transactions. Blockchain is applied to industries beyond finance, such as retail, to maintain security and transparency. Consumers with knowledge of blockchain technology are likely to be affected when evaluating products with blockchain embedded, impacting their product evaluation. The study investigates the impact of blockchain technology on consumers' product evaluation and how knowledge of blockchain and product quality moderate its effects.

This research proposes a novel approach to tackle the challenge of categorizing unstructured customer complaints in the automotive industry. The goal is to identify potential vehicle defects based on the findings of our algorithm, which can assist automakers in mitigating significant losses and reputational damage caused by mass claims. To achieve this goal, our model uses the Word2Vec method to analyze large volumes of unstructured customer complaint data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). By developing a score dictionary for eight pre-selected criteria, our algorithm can efficiently categorize complaints and detect potential vehicle defects. By calculating the score of each complaint, our algorithm can identify patterns and correlations that can indicate potential defects in the vehicle. One of the key benefits of this approach is its ability to handle a large volume of unstructured data, which can be challenging for traditional methods. By using machine learning techniques, we can extract meaningful insights from customer complaints, which can help automakers prioritize and address potential defects before they become widespread issues. In conclusion, this research provides a promising approach to categorize unstructured customer complaints in the automotive industry and identify potential vehicle defects. By leveraging the power of machine learning, we can help automakers improve the quality of their products and enhance customer satisfaction. Further studies can build upon this approach to explore other potential applications and expand its scope to other industries.

As part of the safety case development for generic disposal sites in Korea, it is necessary to develop generic assessment models using various geosphere–biosphere interfaces (GBIs) and potentially exposed groups (PEGs) that reflect the natural environmental characteristics and the lifestyles of people in Korea. In this study, a unique modeling strategy was developed to systematically construct and select Korean generic biosphere assessment models. The strategy includes three process steps (combination, screening, and experts’ scoring) for the biosphere system conditions. First, various conditions, such as climate, topography, GBIs, and PEGs, were combined in the biosphere system. Second, the combined calculation cases were configured into interrelation matrices to screen out some calculation cases that were highly unlikely or less significant in terms of the exposure dose. Finally, the selected calculation cases were prioritized based on expert judgment by scoring the knowledge, probability, and importance. The results of this study can be implemented in the development of biosphere assessment models for Korean generic sites. It is believed that this systematic methodology for selecting the candidate calculation cases can contribute to increasing the confidence of future site-specific biosphere assessment models.

For the smooth implementation and success of smart city projects, it is necessary to recognize that there is a difference in the perception of value judgments or strategic goals among major stakeholders in the planning process. And it is necessary to aim the values and goals of smart cities through reconciliation of these differences. The two major stakeholders in the smart city development project are citizens group and government officials group. Government officials are in charge of establishing and implementing policies for smart city projects, and their value judgments and perceptions influence the policy direction. In these respects, government officials can be an important stakeholder group. Citizens are a group that includes ordinary residents and business owners who live in smart cities and are the ultimate users of infrastructure and facilities. This study investigated the importance perceptions of citizens and government officials, who are the major stakeholders, about the core values and strategic goals that the smart city project aims. Responses were collected using a structured questionnaire to which the AHP methodology was applied. And the priority of perceptions for constituent items was compared for each stakeholder group. Through the comparative analysis results, it was empirically confirmed that there is a difference in the values and goals pursued by the smart city project between stakeholder groups. As an empirical study on the stakeholders of the smart city project, this study is meaningful in contributing to the theoretical development in that it suggests that the conceptual structural model of the smart city strategy system presented in previous studies can be applied in practice.

At high temperatures, molten salt has heat transfer properties like water. Molten salt has the characteristics of a strong natural circulation tendency, large heat capacity, and low thermal conductivity. Unlike sodium, molten salt does not react explosively exothermically with air. However, molten salt has a strong tendency to corrode materials, and its properties are easily changed by a sensitive reaction to oxygen and moisture. Therefore, it is necessary to study material corrosion properties and chemical control methods for nuclear fuel salts, which are eutectic mixtures. In this study, the optimal operation method of the thermal convection loop is established to perform the experiments on the molten salt. The process describes briefly as follows. The operation step consists of preparation, purification, transportation, and operation. In the preparation, the step checks the entire structure and equipment (TC, blower, vacuum pump, etc.). And melt the salt mixture at a high temperature (670°C) slowly in the purification step. Before injecting the molten salt, the surface temperature of the entire loop must retain temperature (about 500°C) constantly. Completely melted molten salt in the melting pot is flow along the pipe of the thermal convection loop in the transportation step. Lastly, the convection of molten salt goes to keep by the temperature difference. The thermal convection loop can be utilized for various experiments such as corrosion tests, component analyses, chemistry control, etc.

Molten salt used in the multipurpose molten salt experiment must be of high purity. Depending on the purpose of the experiment, only the base component of the molten salt be used, or a component simulating a nuclear fission product be added to the base component and used. In all cases, an increase in the concentration of impurities such as oxygen and moisture may lead to an erroneous interpretation when analyzing the experimental results. Therefore, molten salt should be purified before use. In this study, the purification of molten salt is described for multi-purpose molten salt experiments. The salt mixture is selected as MgCl2-NaCl and is quantified at a mixing ratio of 43mol%:57mol%. The salt mixture is treated in a glove box environment because of must minimize the reaction of adsorbing oxygen and moisture when the salt mixture is exposed to the atmosphere. MgCl2 is more likely to contain water than NaCl, the purification of the NaCl-MgCl2 mixture is established according to the purification process for removing water from MgCl2. A process for purifying the salt mixture briefly consists as follows: drying moisture, melting salts, purification, removing HCl, and stabilization. Through the process be able to obtain high-purity molten salt and more accurate experiment results.