Towards Age-Friendly Work in Europe: A Life-Course Perspective on Work and Ageing from EU Agencies

[Excerpt] The European population is ageing owing to decreasing birth rates and increasing longevity. Population ageing is associated with a decrease in the size and ageing of the workforce. The majority of the EU Member States have reacted to this development by, among other measures, increasing retirement ages and limiting early access to pensions. Nevertheless, a large percentage of workers in the EU do not stay in employment until the official retirement age. The reasons for this are diverse, and will be examined in more detail in this report. Policy-makers are faced with the challenge of addressing this demographic change and its implications for employment, working conditions, living standards and the sustainability of welfare states. The working conditions of older workers and their participation in the labour market are affected by various policy areas (see also Table 1). This report aims to outline various aspects of the working conditions of the ageing workforce and related policies

Comparative assessment of the sensitivity of fish early-life stage, daphnia and algae to the chronic ecotoxicity of xenobiotics - perspectives for alternatives to animal testing

No-observed-effect concentrations (NOECs) are used in environmental hazard classification and labeling of chemicals and their environmental risk assessment. They are typically obtained using standard tests such as the fish early-life stage (FELS) toxicity test, the chronic Daphnia reproduction test, and the algae growth inhibition test. Given the demand to replace and reduce animal tests, we explored the impact of the FELS toxicity test on the determination of effect concentrations by comparing the FELS toxicity test and the Daphnia and algae acute or chronic toxicity tests. Lowest-observed-effect concentrations (LOECs) were used instead of NOECs for better comparison with median lethal or effect concentration data. A database of FELS toxicity data for 223 compounds was established. Corresponding Daphnia and algae toxicity tests were identified using established databases (US Environmental Protection Agency ECOTOX, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development QSAR Toolbox, eChemPortal, EnviroTox, and OpenFoodTox). Approximately 9.5% of the investigated compounds showed a 10-fold higher sensitivity with the FELS toxicity test in comparison with the lowest effect concentrations obtained with any of the other tests. Some of these compounds have been known or considered as endocrine disrupting, or are other non-narcotic chemicals, indicating that the higher sensitivity in the FELS toxicity test is related to a specific mechanism of action. Targeting these mechanisms by alternative test systems or endpoints, using fish embryos for instance, may allow reduction or replacement of the FELS toxicity test or may allow us to prioritize compounds for conduction of the FELS toxicity test

Formally Bounding UAS Behavior to Concept of Operation with Operation-Specific Scenario Description Language

Previous work introduced an approach for formally describing the concept of operations for unmanned aircraft. For this purpose, an existing language for simulation scenario description was adapted. In the context of the specific operation category, an upcoming European regulation for the operation of unmanned aircraft, the description and acceptance of the concept of operations plays a major role for flight approval on a per mission basis. This paper extends the previous approach further with combining the formalized description of the concept of operations with our existing approach for runtime monitoring. Monitoring the behavior at runtime can be used to enforce certain limits on the behavior. Therefore, the concept of operations is an ideal input for the monitoring approach. As a basis for the information relevant for the concept of operations the official annex to the guidelines document for the specific operation risk assessment is used, as well as an internal concept of operations document for a DLR research unmanned aircraft system

Preliminary noise assessment of aircraft with distributed electric propulsion

Electric and hybrid-electric propulsion technologies in aviation are becoming more attractive for aviation stakeholders not only due to the resulting reduction or elimination of the dependency on oil, whose availability and price are uncertain, but also because they are more reliable and efficient than traditional internal combustion engines. Moreover, combined with distributed electric propulsion (DEP), these technologies have shown potential in significantly reducing civil aircraft community noise impact and contribute towards delivering the strict mid-to-long-term environmental goals set by organisations worldwide, such as ACARE and NASA. This paper examines the noise impact of a concept tube and wing aircraft that falls in the A320 category and features various DEP systems using different power supply units (turboshaft engines or batteries) and number of electric propulsors. Meanwhile, considerations required for the transition from conventional to electric propulsion are discussed. Estimated Noise-Power-Distance (NPD) curves and noise exposure contour maps are also presented. It is concluded that indeed, the propulsors’ number is a key parameter for optimising the environmental performance of DEP aircraft and hence maximising the noise benefits. Also, it is shown that based on the entry into service year (2035) technology, totally electric aircraft tend to have a larger noise footprint than aircraft using hybrid electric propulsion systems

Policy masquerading as science: an examination of non-state actor involvement in European risk assessment policy for genetically modified animals

In 2013, at the request of the European Commission, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) announced a new risk assessment policy: Guidance on the environmental risks of genetically modified (GM) animals (‘Guidance’). This policy specifies the issues to be addressed in future risk assessments for GM animals. EFSA is the European Commission's scientific arm, responsible for food-related risk assessment. EFSA relies heavily on independent experts and consults non-state actors. Employing expert interviews and documentary analysis, the article explores non-state actor involvement in a traditionally expert domain through a case study. Analysis of EFSA's consultation demonstrates the inability of non-state actors to influence policy. The article argues that despite international legal obligations to develop risk assessment policy, the European Commission failed to recognize the Guidance as policy. When policy masquerades as science, unjustified restrictions are placed on non-state actor involvement and value judgements are cloaked from public scrutiny

Developing and testing an internal audit tool of the psychosocial work environment in the oil and gas industry

The objective of this paper is to present and discuss a pilot study for conducting internal psychosocial risk auditing in the oil and gas industry, focusing on offshore units. Psychosocial risk auditing is a proactive method for monitoring the status of psychosocial factors influencing the risk of stress and ill-health in the oil and gas industry. It is a systematic and independent assessment of the status of psychosocial factors and barriers, it reveals non-compliance with requirements and best practice within different relevant levels of the organization, and is suitable as a basis for the development of risk reduction measures. The method comprises performance standards that are linked to the company’s internal organizational requirements related to the psychosocial work environment. A range of different methods and data are used to assess and grade compliance with these standards. The aim of the auditing is to provide transfer of experience between units and the development of best practice while supporting organizational learning in offshore (and onshore) environments

Veterinary Medicine Needs New Green Antimicrobial Drugs

Given that: (1) the worldwide consumption of antimicrobial drugs (AMDs) used in food-producing animals will increase over the coming decades; (2) the prudent use of AMDs will not suffice to stem the rise in human antimicrobial resistance (AMR) of animal origin; (3) alternatives to AMD use are not available or not implementable, there is an urgent need to develop novel AMDs for food-producing animals. This is not for animal health reasons, but to break the link between human and animal resistomes. In this review we establish the feasibility of developing for veterinary medicine new AMDs, termed green antibiotics, having minimal ecological impact on the animal commensal and environmental microbiomes.We first explain why animal and human commensal microbiota comprise a turnstile exchange, between the human and animal resistomes. We then outline the ideal physico-chemical, pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties of a veterinary green antibiotic and conclude that they can be developed through a rational screening of currently used AMD classes. The ideal drug will be hydrophilic, of relatively low potency, slow clearance and small volume of distribution. It should be eliminated principally by the kidney as inactive metabolite(s). For oral administration, bioavailability can be enhanced by developing lipophilic pro-drugs. For parenteral administration, slow-release formulations of existing eco-friendly AMDs with a short elimination half-life can be developed. These new eco-friendly veterinary AMDs can be developed from currently used drug classes to provide alternative agents to those currently used in veterinary medicine and mitigate animal contributions to the human AMR problem