Academic literature on the topic 'OECD standardized test'

Research background: The literature indicates that labor market institutions are determined by cultural, political and economic factors, but does not give explicit conclusions which of these vast group of factors dominates.
 Purpose of the article: The goal of this study is to empirically assess whether cultural and political factors dominate over economic factors in shaping the labor market institutional framework in the OECD and post-socialist countries.
 Methods: This framework can be measured by a vast group of indicators. We use 10 such variables that describe the group of 47 post-socialist and OECD countries (that did not experience economic transition) in the years 2005–2009. These indicators allow to construct one Employment Efficiency Index which explains almost 47% of the employment rate heterogeneity in the years 2010–2015. In the second step, the Employment Efficiency Index is regressed on 7 uncorrelated and standardized components that describe the cultural, political and economic characteristics of the analyzed countries in the years 1995–2004 and the Chow test is conducted in order to determine whether they influence the Index with the same strength in post-socialist and non-transition OECD countries.
 Findings & Value added: The obtained results show that cultural and political factors have a stronger influence on labor market institutions. Moreover, the estimates reveal that the countries which experienced weak labor market performance in the period 1995–2004 did not make their institutional framework more pro-employment in the following years and, in consequence, also recorded low values of the employment rate in the period 2010–2015. Such result suggests that economic factors occurred to be on average an insufficient trigger for labor market reforms in the group of analyzed countries. Finally, the Chow test revealed that this conclusion is applicable to both post-socialist and non-transition OECD countries.

For about 20 years, standardized soil ecotoxicological tests have relied on the use of an artificial soil substrate (e.g., Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development; OECD). For both the extrapolation of data obtained in the laboratory to the field situation, as well as the biological assessment of contaminated sites, this approach alone is not sufficient anymore. For this reason a literature review has been performed to investigate the ecological requirements of important terrestrial ecotoxicological test species. The invertebrate species included were Eisenia fetida, E. andrei (earthworms), Enchytraeus albidus, E. crypticus (potworms), Folsomia candida (springtails), and Hypoaspis aculeifer (predatory mites). The ecological parameters included were pH, moisture content, temperature, soil (i.e., texture, water-holding capacity, organic matter content, etc.), and food. The results indicate that most of these species should be applicable to a wide range of natural soils, while for some "extreme" soils (e.g., very acid forest soils) alternative test species will be required. Thus, further research is required to identify such species as well as to fill the gaps of knowledge concerning the ecological requirements of the species investigated here. Key words: Collembola, Enchytraeidae, Gamasid mites, Lumbricidae, natural soils.

Abstract An apparatus for measuring biodegradability of metalworking fluids (MWFs) was constructed according to (1), based on the Zahn-Wellens test which enables a continuous determination of CO2 production by the change in conductivity of absorption solution. Results obtained from the testing of 8 different MWFs by this modified method were compared to those obtained in standardized OECD 302 B. The comparison showed better description of bacterial inoculum activity in tested solution; lag phase was easy to indicate. Tested emulsion achieved the level of primary degradability 39.7 – 40.8 %, and semi-synthetics 19.1 – 43.5%. The samples of synthetics where the degradation level reached 43.9 - 58.6 % were identified as the most degradable metalworking fluids.

The dissolution of metal-based engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) in aquatic environments is an important mechanism governing the release of toxic dissolved metals. For the registration of ENMs at regulatory bodies such as REACH, their dissolution behavior must therefore be assessed using standardized experimental approaches. To date, there are no standardized procedures for dissolution testing of ENMs in environmentally relevant aquatic media, and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) strongly encourages their development into test guidelines. According to a survey of surface water hydrochemistry, we propose to use media with low concentrations of Ca2+ and Mg2+ for a better simulation of the ionic background of surface waters, at pH values representing acidic (5 < pH < 6) and near-neutral/alkaline (7 < pH < 8) waters. We evaluated a continuous flow setup adapted to expose small amounts of ENMs to aqueous media, to mimic ENMs in surface waters. For this purpose, silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) were used as model for soluble metal-bearing ENMs. Ag NPs were deposited onto a 10 kg.mol−1 membrane through the injection of 500 µL of a 5 mg.L−1 or 20 mg.L−1 Ag NP dispersion, in order to expose only a few micrograms of Ag NPs to the aqueous media. The dissolution rate of Ag NPs in 10 mM NaNO3 was more than two times higher for ~2 µg compared with ~8 µg of Ag NPs deposited onto the membrane, emphasizing the importance of evaluating the dissolution of ENMs at low concentrations in order to keep a realistic scenario. Dissolution rates of Ag NPs in artificial waters (2 mM Ca(NO3)2, 0.5 mM MgSO4, 0–5 mM NaHCO3) were also determined, proving the feasibility of the test using environmentally relevant media. In view of the current lack of harmonized methods, this work encourages the standardization of continuous flow dissolution methods toward OECD guidelines focused on natural aquatic environments, for systematic comparisons of nanomaterials and adapted risk assessments.

The fish embryo test (FET) is an alternative to the classic freshwater toxicity test used to assess environmental hazards and risks to fish. This test has been standardized and adopted by the Organization for Economic and Cooperation and Development (OECD). As salinity may affect the substances’ toxicity, we describe the development of an alternative euryhaline test species for embryonic ecotoxicological tests: the Brazilian silverside Atherinella brasiliensis (Quoy & Gaimard, 1825). This species is broadly distributed along the coast of South America and is able to inhabit a broad range of environmental and saline conditions. Ours is the first study on the maintenance of a native South American species for natural reproduction and the generation of embryos for tests. The embryos used are transparent and possess fluorescent cells which have only been seen in a few species and which may be used as markers, making it an alternative assessment tool for the lethal and sublethal substances in marine and estuarine environments. We provide a detailed description and analysis of embryonic development under different salinities and temperatures. The embryos and larvae developed in similar ways at different salinities, however as temperatures increased, mortality also increased. We considered the effects of the reference toxicants Zn2+ and SDS using a protocol similar to the FET that was standardized for zebrafish. Brazilian silverside embryos are as sensitive as freshwater, or euryhaline fish, to the surfactant but are more resistant to metals prior to hatching. We were able to show the advantages of the Brazilian silverside as a model for a marine fish embryo test (FETm) with high levels of reproducibility and little contaminated waste.

Purpose: The paper investigates and synthesizes an in-depth overview of national financial education policies and strategies aimed at the young, highlights the best practices, gives recommendations for the most efficient financial education efforts at the national level and the implementation of an efficient financial education policy in Croatia. Methodology: The analysis is conducted as a case study of financial education policies and strategies aimed at the young of the countries that achieved the best results on the OECD PISA test, Australia, the United States of America and the United Kingdom. Results: The examined countries have national financial education policies with similar aims, fields of financial education and strategies of evaluation but, although they are part of the curriculum, the programs are mostly not standardized and financial education efforts towards teachers and parents are not emphasized. Conclusion: To be efficient, a financial education program aimed at the young has to be relevant, customized according to participants’ characteristics, has to relate knowledge to a specific action, has to be longterm, successfully evaluated, standardized on the national level, implemented at a younger age and have a specified aim. Financial education should be considered as an independent subject in formal education.

Azadirachta indica is an important plant in traditional complementary and alternative medicine with decoctions (tea) being a common mode of administration. Herbal teas are frequently self-administered thus the need to prepare a standardized dosage form for the administration of such decoctions. The leaf of Azadirachta indica was formulated for administration as tea; thus, this study was designed to determine the safety profile of Niprineem tea. Oral acute and sub-chronic toxicity studies of the aqueous extract of Niprineem tea (NTE) were evaluated. The OECD (No 423) limit test was followed to determine the LD50 in Swiss albino mice, while OECD 407 guideline was used for the sub-chronic toxicity studies in Wistar rats. Acute administration of NTE did not cause detectable signs of toxicity in treated animals and no mortality was recorded. In the 28-day toxicity tests, there were no significant (p<0.05) changes in food and water intake, or urine and faecal output. Haematological analysis did not show deleterious effects in treated rats. Biochemical evaluation of indicators for renal and hepatic functions did not show significant changes after treatment with NTE. Likewise, histological tests did not result in structural changes in cells of the tissues of major organs. The results obtained suggest that Niprineem tea is relatively non-toxic and safe at the tested dose.

The bark of Faloak (Sterculia quadrifida R. Br., Malvaceae) is used for traditional medicine in Indonesia. This study aims to examine the level of toxicity of the Faloak bark standardized ethanolic extract. The barks were collected from East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. TLC profile was determined by TLC-densitometry, total phenolic and flavonoid content were determined in ethanolic extract from bark of faloak (S.quadrifida) by UV-V is method. The acute toxicity was performed according to the TD420 method by OECD (2001) on Wistar rats. The animals were grouped into control and treatment groups (2000 mg/kg body weight). All animals were evaluated for possible toxicity signs by measuring body weight, food and water consumption, and histopathological observation. The result of mean concentration of total phenolic content was found to be 17,69±2,01 (%GAE) and concentration of total flavonoid content was found to be 8,56 ± 0,02 (%NE). The results showed that no mortality occurs after 14 days of treatment. In general, no significant changes in animal behavior, body weight, food and water consumption compared to the control group. Histological observation found no sign of toxicity on vital organs. LD50 values obtained from the acute toxicity test results for Faloak ethanol extract (Sterculia quadrifida R. Bark) are higher than 2,000 mg/kg BW and categorized as having a low level of toxicity.

Adequate functioning of a sewage treatment plant (STP) is essential to protect the downstream aquatic environment (ECHA 2017), and information on the degradability of chemicals and their toxicity to activated sludge microorganisms is required. An environmental realistic higher tier test is a STP simulation test as described in OECD 303A (2001) which for nanoparticles can also be used to study their sorption behavior to activated sludge. However, information is limited on the influence of synthetic sewage on the microbial community of the activated sludge. A modified community can result in modifications of the sludge floccules affecting the sorption behavior. The main objective of our study was to show whether a representative microbial diversity remains under standardized test conditions as described in OECD 303A (2001) using synthetic sewage as influent. Furthermore, we investigated whether just considering the functional properties of a STP (elimination of dissolved organic carbon; nitrification), is sufficient for an assessment of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) or whether the influence on microbial diversity also needs to be considered. AuNPs were used as a case study due to their rising medical applications and therefore increasing probability to reach the sewer and STP. The results can provide significant input for the interpretation of results from the regulatory point of view. To deliver these objectives, the general changes of the microbial population in activated sludge and its influence on the degradation activity (dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and inorganic nitrogen) using freshly collected sludge from the municipal STP in an artificial test system as a model STP in accordance with OECD 303A (2001) were assessed. Additionally, we evaluated the potential impact of AuNPs and its dispersant on the microbial composition and the overall impact on the function of the STP in terms of DOC degradation and nitrogen removal to observe if an assessment based on functional properties is sufficient. The bacteria composition in our study, evaluated at a class level, revealed commonly described environmental bacteria. Proteobacteria (β, α, δ) accounted for more than 50% but also nitrifying bacteria as Nitrospira were present. Our results show that mainly within the first 7 days of an acclimatization phase by addition of synthetic sewage, the bacterial community changed. Even though AuNPs can have antibacterial properties, no adverse effects on the function and structure of the microorganisms in the STP could be detected at concentrations of increased modeled PEC values by a factor of about 10,000. Complementary to other metallic nanomaterials, gold nanomaterials also sorb to a large extent to the activated sludge. If activated sludge is used as fertilizer on agricultural land, gold nanoparticles can be introduced into soils. In this case, the effect on soil (micro)organisms must be investigated more closely, also taking into account the structural diversity.