ADVOCATES IN ITALY, FRANCE AND GERMANY

Mr Giovanni Tamburini PhD from Italy, is external, foreign expert, who expressed his wish to cooperate with our Institute – the Institute of Comparative Law from Belgrade. For the first time he answers on some questions that we have made about the advocates and their bar associations in Italy, France, Germany. First of all, we asked him: how bar associations are organized? On the national level, is there one organization, or there are organizations on the level of provinces? Is it possible to organize two or three bar associations on the level of the whole country ? The second question was: is it possible for foreign advocates to work in Italy (France, Germany). Especially to be engaged to work in front of courts. The third question was: Do advocates in Italy work in small, individual offices, or they are organized in big enterprises like in the USA? How many of them (approximately in percentage) work in small offices, and how many of them in big offices, and what usually they do? Is it forbidden for advocates to make advertisement in media, or it is free, or they have to get some special permission by their chamber if they want to appear in media, especially on television?Dr Đovani Tamburini iz Rima, inače spoljni saradnik Instituta za uporedno pravo, govori o tome kako je organizovana advokatura u Italiji, Francuskoj i Nemačkoj. U stvari on pokušava da nam da odgovore na nekoliko pitanja koja smo mu mi postavili, a kroz koje se može sagledati položaj advokata i njihovih komora. Prvo pitanje bilo je pitanje da li u Italiji, Francuskoj i Nemačkoj na nacionalnom nivou postoji samo jedna komora, ili postoji mogućnost da bude osnovano više komora? Drugo pitanje bilo je pitanje da li strani advokati mogu da nastupaju (zastupaju) pred domaćim sudovima u Italiji, Francuskoj i Nemačkoj? Pitali smo dr Tamburinija takođe i to da li advokati u ovim zemljama rade u malim kancelarijama ili su organizovani u velikim kancelarijama – kompanijama, te koliki procenat njih radi u malim, a koliki procenat njih radi u velikim kompanijama? Interesovalo nas je i pitanje da li je advokatima u ove tri zemlje EU zabranjeno da se reklamiraju u novinama i na televiziji

Testing interactions between above- and belowground ecosystem services

Agriculture is the predominant form of land management worldwide. During the last fifty years production intensification dramatically impacted the environment and biodiversity harming the ability of ecosystems to provide services essential for human sustenance and well-being. Agricultural ecosystems receive a wide variety of supporting and regulating services crucial for crop production (e.g. soil fertility or pollination). The enhancement of ecosystem services (ecological intensification) has been proposed as a promising solution to meet the growing demand for agricultural goods, decreasing production dependence to external inputs and therefore limiting detrimental effects on environment. However, the implementation of ecological intensification into crop production systems is knowledge-intensive and it requires a comprehensive understanding of the relationships among multiple ecosystems services. The aim of this thesis was to test for potential interactions between above- and belowground ecosystem services for major European crops and to identify innovative management options for ecological intensification in agricultural ecosystems. We explored the relationships between soil-based supporting services and pollination, biological control and an aboveground crop pest (disservice). In Chapter 2, the interactions between pollination and nitrogen input for three different cultivars of oilseed rape (Brassica napus) were explored in a field experiment. Open pollinated cultivar largely depended on pollination, whereas hybrid cultivars did not. However, pollination benefits to yield increased with decreased nitrogen inputs, indicating that nitrogen use efficiency was probably enhanced by pollination. These findings show that the use of hybrid cultivars and the application of fertilizers can compensate degraded pollination service, whereas optimal pollination can potentially replace fertilization. In Chapter 3 we tested potential interactions between soil fertility and pollination in sunflower (Helianthus annuus). To obtain different levels of soil fertility we used soils from a long-term trial with different input management histories. Pollination benefits to yield formation were observable only under good soil fertility conditions whereas they were canceled in more deteriorated soils: limited nutrient availability led to limited yield even at optimal pollination level. In Chapter 4 we performed a greenhouse experiment to test the effects of soil fertility and nitrogen input on herbivore performance (Sitobion avenae) and crop growth (Triticum aestivum) . Increased fertilizer applications strongly enhanced aphid performance. Increased soil organic matter contents had similar but minor effects on pest growth, maintaining similar crop growth. Soil management is known to affect the provision of multiple ecosystem services. In Chapter 5 and 6 the effects of different tillage practices indicated that soil managements that reduce soil disturbance in cereal crops enhance soil fertility, arthropod abundance, biological control and maintain levels of crop production similar to those observable under conventional tillage. This study provides evidence for interactions between above- and belowground ecosystem services, highlighting the role of supporting services in shaping the effects of other services-disservices on crop production. Our results will provide recommendations to correctly valuate ecosystem services and to implement their management in agricultural landscapes. In particular it appears clear that several ecosystem services do interact and that their contribution to yield cannot be considered additive as often assumed in current economic evaluation and mapping exercises

Grasslands enhance ecosystem service multifunctionality above and below-ground in agricultural landscapes

Managing agricultural landscapes integrate production, biodiversity conservation and the flow of ecosystem services (ES) is of paramount importance to simultaneously meet production goals and environmental challenges. However, the response of farmland biodiversity and multiple ES to land-use change at multiple spatial scales remains poorly understood. We explored the effects of land-use at local (grassland vs. oilseed rape fields) and landscape scale (cover of permanent grasslands) on the provision of biodiversity (plants, arthropods, birds), five ES (pollination, pest control, soil fertility, carbon storage and water regulation) and overall ES-multifunctionality. ES-multifunctionality was higher in grasslands than in crop fields, by 25.2% above-ground and by 106.1% below-ground. Multiple threshold analyses highlighted a particularly poor level of performance for below-ground functions in crop fields. This habitat type was however capable of providing numerous above-ground functions simultaneously, although at low levels of performance when compared to the maximum values recorded in the study. Grasslands supported higher biodiversity and provision of pollination, soil fertility, carbon storage and water regulation. Landscape composition influenced the provision of multiple ES: a 10% increase in grassland cover in the landscape enhanced above-ground ES-multifunctionality by 11.0% in both habitats. In particular, grasslands cover in the landscape supported the provision of arthropod diversity, pollination and pest control provided by carabids. Synthesis and applications. The results of this field study show the key importance of preserving semi-natural grasslands in agricultural landscapes for the conservation of farmland biodiversity, for the protection of soils and the delivery of multiple ES critical for crop production. Maximization of multifunctionality necessitates the integration at the landscape scale (0.5-2 km) of semi-natural patches within the intensively farmed agricultural matrix. This would require not only the protection of existing grasslands, but also their restoration in simplified landscapes. The promotion of mixed farming (i.e., both crop and livestock production) might increase semi-natural grassland cover at the landscape scale

Salinity Reduction of Real Produced Waters via Assisted Reverse Electrodialysis

Produced waters (PWs) are waste streams generated during the crude oil extraction processes. The management of these wastewaters is complicated by the large volumes extracted during the oil recovery operations: these depends on the life of the oil-well: typically, 3 barrels of PWs on average are produced for each barrel of oil extracted. After oil separation, PWs are usually re-injected into the well, but this approach is not always possible without a preliminary and suitable treatment. Bioremediation techniques might be a good option, but they fail due to the PWs high salinity, which inhibit bacteria growth and metabolism. Thus, reducing their salinity upstream a bioremediation unit is a matter of crucial importance. To this aim, Assisted Reverse electrodialysis (ARED) along with the use of a dilute stream typically available on site is here proposed as a novel solution. In ARED an additional voltage is applied in the same direction of the salinity gradient through the membranes in order to enhance the passage of ions from the PW to the diluted solution, thus significantly reducing the required membrane area. An experimental campaign was carried out in order to assess the process feasibility. A fixed volume of real PWs was fed to a laboratory scale ARED unit. Each experimental test lasted for three days to reduce the salinity down to about 20 g l-1, a value compatible with the biomass metabolism for a downstream bioremediation step. Two different types of commercial membranes were tested and relevant energy consumptions were calculated. The long-runs performed did not show a significant loss of efficiency due to fouling, thus suggesting that ARED might a suitable technology for a pre-dilution of produced water

Economic Analysis of an Innovative Scheme for the Treatment of Produced Waters

During the crude oil extraction processes, for each barrel of oil turns out an equivalent of 3 barrels of wastewaters on average. These wastes are known as Produced Waters (PWs) and their dramatic impact on the environment has attracted the attention of researchers in order to find an economic and efficient method for their treatment. Dealing with PWs is not easy: the long exposure with oil increases their hydrocarbon fraction, while the contact with the underground wells increases their concentration in salts and minerals. The direct discharge of PWs into the sea is obviously not allowed by law and PWs are usually re-injected into the well. The present work deals with a novel and innovative treatment chain (including assisted reverse electrodialysis (ARED) as dilution step) able to reduce both the salinity and organic content of PWs. The innovative scheme includes an ultrafiltration unit as pre-treatment, upstream an ARED unit for the PW dilution. Once the salinity level has been reduced down to a value affordable for a bioremediation step, PWs are sent to a bio-reactor, where the organic compounds are digested. Finally, a reverse osmosis unit is used to recover water from the treated PWs and to recycle it as diluted stream in the ARED unit. A techno-economic model was purposely developed in the present work to assess the economic feasibility of the proposed scheme. Preliminary results suggest that the treatment costs are lower than 5 € m-3 PW and fully competitive with current PWs treatment technologies

Conservation tillage mitigates the negative effect of landscape simplification on biological control

Biological pest control is a key ecosystem service, and it depends on multiple factors acting from the local to the landscape scale. However, the effects of soil management on biological control and its potential interaction with landscape are still poorly understood. In a field exclusion experiment, we explored the relative effect of tillage system (conservation vs. conventional tillage) on aphid biological control in 15 pairs of winter cereal fields (barley and wheat) selected along a gradient of landscape complexity. We sampled the abundance of the main natural enemy guilds, and we evaluated their relative contribution to aphid predation and parasitism. Conservation tillage was found to support more abundant predator communities and higher aphid predation (16% higher than in the fields managed under conventional tillage). In particular, both the abundance and the aphid predation of vegetation- and ground-dwelling arthropods were increased under conservation tillage conditions. Conservation tillage also increased the parasitism rate of aphids. A high proportion of semi-natural habitats in the landscape enhanced both aphid parasitism and predation by vegetation-dwelling organisms but only in the fields managed under conventional tillage. The better local habitat quality provided by conservation tillage may compensate for a low-quality landscape. Synthesis and applications. Our study stresses the importance of considering both soil management and landscape composition when planning strategies to maximize biological control services in agro-ecosystems, highlighting the role played by conservation tillage in supporting natural enemy communities. In simple landscapes, the adoption of conservation tillage will locally improve biological control provided by both predators and parasitoids mitigating the negative effects of landscape simplification. Moreover, considering the small scale at which both predation and parasitism responded to landscape composition, a successful strategy to improve biological control would be to establish a fine mosaic of crop and non-crop areas such as hedgerows, tree lines and small semi-natural habitat patches. \ua9 2016 British Ecological Society

Electrodialysis with Bipolar Membranes for the Sustainable Production of Chemicals from Seawater Brines at Pilot Plant Scale

Environmental concerns regarding the disposal of seawater reverse osmosis brines require the development of new valorization strategies. Electrodialysis with bipolar membrane (EDBM) technology enables the production of acid and base from a salty waste stream. In this study, an EDBM pilot plant with a membrane area of 19.2 m2 was tested. This total membrane area results much larger (i.e., more than 16 times larger) than those reported in the literature so far for the production of HCl and NaOH aqueous solutions, starting from NaCl brines. The pilot unit was tested both in continuous and discontinuous operation modes, at different current densities (200-500 A m-2). Particularly, three different process configurations were evaluated, namely, closed loop, feed and bleed, and fed-batch. At lower applied current density (200 A m-2), the closed-loop had a lower specific energy consumption (SEC) (1.4 kWh kg-1) and a higher current efficiency (CE) (80%). When the current density was increased (300-500 A m-2), the feed and bleed mode was more appropriate due to its low values of SEC (1.9-2.6 kWh kg-1) as well as high values of specific production (SP) (0.82-1.3 ton year-1 m-2) and current efficiency (63-67%). These results showed the effect of various process configurations on the performance of the EDBM, thereby guiding the selection of the most suitable process configuration when varying the operating conditions and representing a first important step toward the implementation of this technology at industrial scale

Radioembolization versus chemoembolization for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma: a meta-analysis of randomized trials

PURPOSE: This study aimed to compare clinically relevant outcomes following transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) and transarterial radioembolization (TARE) in patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) using only prospective randomized clinical trials as a source of information. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A meta-analysis was performed to compare the efficacy of TARE and TACE in treating patients with unresectable HCC. Only prospective randomized trials were included in the quantitative analysis. Overall and progression-free survival, disease control rate, and transplantation rate were the variables under analysis. RESULTS: Overall survival at 1 year was similar between the two treatment groups (OR =1.31, 95% CI: 0.56-3.04, P=0.53). Progression-free survival at 1 year was also not statistically different between the two treatments (OR =0.23, 95% CI: 0.02-2.45, P=0.22). Although a higher proportion of patients underwent transplantation in the TARE group (30% vs 20.8%), this difference was not statistically significant (OR =0.68, 95% CI: 0.23-2.01; P=0.49). CONCLUSION: TARE and TACE provide similar outcomes in unresectable HCC. The role of TARE should be explored in selected patient subpopulations in future clinical trials

Genotoxic activity of the Fumonisin B1 mycotoxin in cultures of bovine lymphocytes

The fumonisins, produced by fungi that infest foodstuffs, in particular corn, are responsible for a series of illnesses and toxicosis in various species of animals, including humans. There is still not detailed information about the genotoxic and mutagenic activity of Fumonisin B1 (FB1), but it is clear that it interferes with growth control, differentiation and cellu- lar apoptosis. The purpose of this study was to assess the genotoxic potential of Fumonisin B1 using in vitrocultures of bovine lymphocytes, through the calculation of the ‘mitotic index’ (MI), the frequency of ‘sister chromatid exchange’ (SCE) and the ‘micronucleus test’ (MN). The bovine lymphocytes were exposed to different concentrations of FB1 (25, 50 and 100 µM) in order to find out which amount is sufficient to cause a reduction in the mitotic potential of the cells, the onset of MN and a higher frequency of SCE. The results obtained show a considerable reduction in the ‘mitotic index’ with a FB1 concentration of 50 µM, an increase in the frequency of MN with a concentration of 50 µM and a significant increase in the SCE with a concentration of 100 µM. In the light of the information we have obtained, compared with that of other Authors, we feel that the genotoxic poten- tial of FB1 has been underestimated until now and should, therefore, be reconsidered