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A method of estimating forest-fire fuel loads was developed using drones to collect information about the height and diameter-at-breast-height (DBH) of individual trees. It was conducted for forest fire prevention monitoring (Control, 20% thinned, and 40% thinned area) located in Goseong-gun, Gangwon-do. Object-based images and 3D-model red/green/blue band characteristics were superimposed to select and extract individual trees. A digital crown height model was developed based on the difference between the heights of digital surface and terrain models. In addition, the DBH was estimated based on the crown area. The 40%-thinned area exhibited the highest accuracy (95%) for extracting individual trees, and the difference between the field-survey and drone-image heights was in the range of 0.64-2.02 m. The goodness-of-fit of the DBH-crown area model was 0.61. The difference between the imageand field-survey-based forest-fire fuel loads ranged from -1.20 to 0.40 ton/ha.

Disposable sanitary pads are a necessity for women's health, but safety concerns regarding the use of these products have created anxiety. The aim of this study was to conduct a risk assessment of 74 volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which were expected to be contained within sanitary pads. Of the 74 VOCs, 50 were found in sanitary pads retailed in Korea at concentrations ranging from 0.025 to 3548.09 µg/pad. In order to undertake a risk assessment of the VOCs, the toxicological database of these compounds in the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), National Toxicology Program (NTP) and World Health Organization (WHO) was searched. Ethanol was found to exhibit the highest reference dose (RfD) while 1,2-dibromo-3-chloro-propane displayed the lowest RfD. Consequently, a worst-case exposure scenario was applied in this study. It was assumed that there was the use of 7.5 sanitary napkins/day for 7 days/month. In the case of panty liners or overnight sanitary napkins, the utilization of 90 panty liners/month or 21 overnight sanitary napkins/month was assumed, respectively. In addition, 43 kg, the body weight of 12 to 13-year-old young women, and 100% VOCs skin absorption were employed for risk assessment. The systemic exposure dose (SED) values were calculated ranging from 1.74 (1,1,2-trichloroethane) ng/kg/day to 144.4 (ethanol, absolute) µg/kg/day. Uncertainty factors (UFs) were applied ranging from 10 to 100,000 in accordance with the robustness of animal or human experiments. The margin of exposure (MOE) of 34 VOCs was more than 1 (acceptable MOE > 1). Applicable carcinogenic references reported that the cancer risk of five VOCs was below 10-6. Based on our findings, evidence indicates that the non-cancer and cancer risks associated with VOCs detected in sanitary pads currently used in South Korea do not pose an adverse health risk in women.

Safety issues regarding consumer products contaminated with trace amounts of chemicals are of great concern to consumers, with the degree of concern occasionally escalating to the psychological syndrome, chemophobia (i.e., the fear of chemicals). Hazardous substances frequently implicated in safety concerns include heavy metals (arsenic, mercury, cadmium, and lead), volatile organic compounds (VOC) such as benzene and o-toluidine, pesticides, carcinogens, radioactive substances, and endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDC) such as bisphenol A and phthalates. To improve communication of risk to society, members of academia, government, consumer organizations, and industry participated in this workshop to discuss and exchange perspectives on trace chemical safety. From the perspective of academia, integrated risk assessments need to be implemented to encompass various exposure sources and routes. The identification and investigation of new exposure-related biomarkers are also recommended to verify direct causal relationships between specific chemical exposure and effects on human health. As for regulation, governments need to establish and maintain acceptable limits for trace chemicals in products. In addition, harmonized efforts need to be undertaken among government agencies to share regulatory limits and effectively control trace chemicals in consumer products. Manufacturers need to faithfully abide by Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) guidelines, monitor sources of contamination, and minimize these for consumer safety. To effectively resolve safety issues arising from trace chemicals exposure, collaborative efforts are needed involving academia, government, consumer organizations, and industry. Further, scientific evidence-based risk assessment is a critical approach to effectively manage trace chemical safety issues.

Thin light-active layers of the CuInSe2 solar cell were prepared on Mo-coated sodalime glass substrates by one-step electrodeposition and post-annealing. The structure, morphology, and composition of CuInSe2 film could be controlled by deposition parameters, such as the composition of metallic precursors, the concentration of complexing agents, and the temperature of post-annealing with elemental selenium. A dense and uniform Cu-poor CuInSe2 film was successfully obtained in a range of parametric variation of electrodeposition with a constant voltage of -0.5 V vs. a Ag/AgCl reference electrode. The post-annealing of the film at high temperature above 500℃ induced crystallization of CuInSe2 with well-developed grains. The KCN-treatment of the annealed CuInSe2 films further induced Cu-poor CuInSe2 films without secondary phases, such as Cu2Se. The structure, morphology, and composition of CuInSe2 films were compared with respect to the conditions of electrodeposition and post-annealing using SEM, XRD, Raman, AES and EDS analysis. And the conditions for preparing device-quality CuInSe2 films by electrodeposition were proposed.

Chalcopyrite CIS or CIGS have been regarded as promising absorbing materials for thin-film solar cells with widespread commercialization prospects. The most critical material properties of a CIS absorption layer that affect the overall PV performance include its microstructure and composition at a given bandgap energy. In this study, dense CISe films with high crystallinity and uniform, flat surfaces were fabricated on In2Se3/ITO employing single bath electrochemical deposition by adjusting the deposition parameters, such as the precursor concentration, pH, and applied potential. A simple formula is presented based on Faraday's law to quantitatively estimate the density of the electrodeposited thin films; from this, it was found that the as-deposited films had a very high relative density of 0.73. The high green density of the as-deposited film led to the full densification of the CISe film with ca. 10 μm sized grains. The binary selenide phase remaining in the sintered film was subsequently etched out using a KCN solution, resulting in an overall Cu-deficient composition in the film of [Cu]/[In] = 0.95.

Background: In diabetics, although heel ulcers occurring after Achilles tendon lengthening for managing forefoot ulcers are rare, they are a very troublesome complication. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the results of FHL tendon transfer for management of a plantar heel ulcer as a sequelae of insufficiency of the Achilles tendon in diabetic patients. Materials and Methods: Nine diabetic patients who underwent FHL tendon transfer for treatment of non-healing plantar heel ulcers due to insufficiency of the Achilles tendon for management of forefoot ulcers were treated between October 2005 and April 2007. All of the patients had undergone Achilles tendon lengthening with Hoke's triple hemisection method. The mean age was 55.9 ± 9.7 years old. The average duration of a plantar heel ulcer was 11.9 ± 3.8 months. The mean period of followup was 23.9 ± 8.0 months. Between the occurrence of a heel ulcer and the FHL transfer, five of the patients underwent more than one attempt at direct Achilles tendon repair. The mean size of the wound was 1.2 ± 0.6 cm2. We assessed the healing time of the heel plantar ulcers and recurrence rates during followup periods. The complication rate and walking ability was also evaluated. Results: All of the plantar heel ulcers healed within 8 weeks after the operation and had not recurred as of the last followup. Two patients had recurrences of previous forefoot ulcers. One patient had a local infection in the FHL tendon transfer area. All of patients could walk without a brace or walking aid device after surgery. Conclusion: We believe that Achilles tendon reconstruction using an FHL transfer for non healing plantar heel ulcers resulting from a triple Hoke lengthening of the Achilles tendon is a good treatment option for diabetic patients. Level of Evidence: IV, Retrospective Case Series

Procyanidolic oligomers (leucocyanidines, LCs) extracted from grape seeds (Vitis vinifera) are known to have antioxidant and antimutagenic activities, and a protective effect against cardiovascular disease. In the present study we examined the influence of LCs on the activities of phase 1 enzymes and conjugation enzymes and on antioxidant enzymes such as superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase. Administration of LCs (25, 50, and 100 mg/kg. p.o. for 7 d) markedly decreased the activities of NADPH-cytochrome P450 reductase, P4501A1, P4501A2, and P4503A4, but significantly increased the activities of glutathione S-transferase and phenolsulfotransferase in rat liver. However, the activities of antioxidant enzymes were not affected by LC administration. The inhibition of P450s and increases in phase II enzyme activities indicate a role for LCs as a chemopreventive agent against toxic or carcinogenic metabolites of P450 isozymes.