Working time and forms of employment in Belgium

The article discusses developments over the past two decades in regard to working time and alternative forms of employment, placing the trends seen in Belgium in an international perspective. It also examines whether the Belgian regulations on this subject are stricter than those in the other EU-15 countries. For the Belgian working population, the usual working time averaged 37 hours per week in 2004, whereas in 1983 it was a little over 40 hours. There are wide variations within the EU-15. Belgian working time is somewhat shorter than the average for the EU-15, and that also applies to employees. The average working time ascertained for the various countries is influenced by the employment structure. After adjustments for that factor, the differences are definitely smaller, and working time in Belgium is roughly the same as the EU-15 average. The decline in average working time and the increased dispersion which have emerged over the years are inevitably connected with the growing use of part-time working and other alternative forms of employment such as temporary work, employment during non-standard hours, overtime working, variable working hours and home working. In many cases this satisfies a genuine preference on the part of the persons concerned, e.g. those seeking a better balance between work and family life. However, since these forms of employment are more common among risk groups such as women, older workers, the young and the low-skilled, there is a danger of further segmentation of the labour market. On the demand side of the labour market, the alternative forms of employment give employers a range of instruments which are conducive to a flexible production process.working time, part-time employment, temporary work, overtime, flexibility

Dutch survey pyrrolizidine alkaloids in animal forage

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) are secondary plant metabolites produced by a number of plants from the Asteraceae (Compositae), Boriginaceae and Fabaceae (Leguminosae) families. Many of these alkaloids have been shown to be highly toxic, causing hepatic veno-occlusive disease (VOD), liver cirrhosis and ultimately death. PAs may have also mutagenic and carcinogenic potential. Amongst livestock, cattle and horses are especially susceptible to the toxic effects of the PAs. Humans may also be at risk by the consumption of milk of livestock fed with PA-contaminated forage. At RIKILT - Institute of Food Safety a (semi)quantitative method based on liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) for the determination of PAs in animal feeds has been developed and validated. This method comprises 40 macrocyclic PAs (including tertiary amines and N-oxides) representative for ragwort species. The method has been used for the analysis of 147 forage samples collected in 2006-2008

Physical model for the emptying and filling system of the third set of Panama locks

The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) extension plan includes the construction of a third lane with new locks at both sides of the Canal. The design ship is a so-called Post- Panamax 12 000 TEU container carrier. In order to maximize the transit throughput of the new locks, and at the same time, to limit hawser forces under an acceptable maximum threshold, many numerical studies and two physical model studies have been carried out. In a first phase, the filling and emptying (F/E) system of the locks has been preoptimized with numerical models (1D, 2D and 3D models). Then, to complete the design, a study have been carried out on a 1/30 physical scale model at Compagnie Nationale du Rhône Hydraulic Laboratory, Lyon, France, operating as member of the consortium CPP. The F/E system is a “double culverts” sidewall and ports system composed of: a main culvert connected by a central flow divider to two secondary culverts in middle section of the lock chamber; each secondary culvert is equipped with 10 ports which feed the lock on 80% of its length. In order to limit water consumption, each lock includes 3 Water Saving Basins (WSB). The scale model represents two locks chambers, 3 WSB associated with the lower chamber, a fore and a tail bay. The Post-Panamax container ship vessel is also modelled. A special emphasis is put on the hawser forces measurements and in the definition of a threshold value for them as no standard values presently exists for Post-Panamax locks given such operating conditions (use of water saving basins or not, hydraulic heads ranging from 3.5 m to 20 m). The experimental setup and the scenarios of tests are described and an overview of the main results (F/E times, times series of water levels with and without ship in the lock chamber, time series of hydraulic efforts on the ship hull) are given. The results of this physical model are an input for the design-build tender for the construction of the third set of locks, presently in progress