Inferring the flow properties of epithelial tissues from their geometry

Amorphous materials exhibit complex material properties with strongly nonlinear behaviors. Below a yield stress they behave as plastic solids, while they start to yield above a critical stress sigma(c). A key quantity controlling plasticity which is, however, hard to measure is the density P(x) of weak spots, where x is the additional stress required for local plastic failure. In the thermodynamic limit P(x) similar to x(theta) is singular at x = 0 in the solid phase below the yield stress sigma(c). This singularity is related to the presence of system spanning avalanches of plastic events. Here we address the question if the density of weak spots and the flow properties of a material can be determined from the geometry of an amorphous structure alone. We show that a vertex model for cell packings in tissues exhibits the phenomenology of plastic amorphous systems. As the yield stress is approached from above, the strain rate vanishes and the avalanches size S and their duration tau diverge. We then show that in general, in materials where the energy functional depends on topology, the value x is proportional to the length L of a bond that vanishes in a plastic event. For this class of models P(x) is therefore readily measurable from geometry alone. Applying this approach to a quantification of the cell packing geometry in the developing wing epithelium of the fruit fly, we find that in this tissue P(L) exhibits a power law with exponents similar to those found numerically for a vertex model in its solid phase. This suggests that this tissue exhibits plasticity and non-linear material properties that emerge from collective cell behaviors and that these material properties govern developmental processes. Our approach based on the relation between topology and energetics suggests a new route to outstanding questions associated with the yielding transition

Les hydrocarbures aromatiques polycycliques dans l'environnement : la réhabilitation des anciens sites industriels The Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in the Environment : the Former Industrial Sites Remediation

Les hydrocarbures aromatiques polycycliques ou HAP peuvent être d'origine naturelle mais ils proviennent principalement des processus de pyrolyse. On peut les retrouver dans les sols de certains anciens sites industriels. Cela peut être le cas des sites d'anciennes usines à gaz. Même si aucune conséquence sur la santé humaine n'a été signalée et même si les risques paraissent virtuels, le principe de précaution rend nécessaire de s'occuper des risques liés à ces anciens sites industriels. Gaz de France, propriétaire de 467 sites d'anciennes usines à gaz assume l'héritage industriel dans le cadre d'un protocole signé avec le ministère de l'Environnement. Après une étude des sols, une évaluation des risques est réalisée. En fonction des résultats de cette évaluation des risques et de l'usage du site (actuel et prévu), des solutions de traitement peuvent être mises en Suvre. Parmi les techniques applicables aux sols pollués par des HAP, un intérêt particulier s'est porté sur les traitements biologiques, en pleine évolution, qui offrent une solution économique bien adaptée au traitement de grands volumes de sols souillés par une pollution organique moyennement concentrée. <br> Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) can be found under natural conditions but they can be produced by pyrolysis processes. They can be found in former industrial sites subsoil, especially on Manufactured Gas Plant sites (MGP sites). Gaz de France has inherited the patrimony of former French gas companies on nationalisation in 1946; consequently, Gaz De France is still the owner of 467 of manufactured gas plants. Even if no impact on human health has been detected and even if the risks seem to be virtual, Gaz de France has to prevent any environmental consequence due to the possible presence of residues in the subsoil of the sites: a protocol has been signed with the French Ministry of Environment. Following the investigations on the site, a risk assessment, which takes into account the future use of the site, is achieved. The definition of remediation and monitoring of the site is based on risk assessment; the pollution is treated on the basis of specifications defined in accordance with public authorities. Biotreatments are potentially the most well adapted techniques to remediate big volumes of low or medium contaminated soils