Euromediterranean agreements: which advantages for Mediterranean countries in fruit and vegetables sector?

This article measures the advantage granted by the European Union to different Mediterranean countries in the fruit and vegetables sector in the framework of the Euro-Mediterranean Association Agreements. The advantage of each country are evaluated by calculating the value of the preferential margins, which compares the amount of the customs duties paid by an exporting country with the amount of the duties this country would have paid if it had not enjoyed tariff preferences. The situation of the Mediterranean countries appears to be highly unequal in terms of the advantages granted by the EU in the fruit and vegetables sector. The progress of bilateral negotiations and the export structure in each country explain the significant variations in preferential margins from one Mediterranean country to the next. These results allow us to discuss the potential impacts of a liberalisation of fruit and vegetable trade within the Euro-Mediterranean zone.Euromediterranean agreements, preferential margin, fruit and vegetables, Agricultural and Food Policy, International Relations/Trade,

EU market access for Mediterranean fruit and vegetables: A gravity model assessment

Since 1995, a liberalization process - the so- called Barcelona Process - has begun in the Mediterranean area. It aims at establishing a free trade area for 2010 in the Mediterranean Basin. For the moment the full liberalization concerns industrial product s trade whereas agriculture remains sensitive. Among agricultural product s, the fruit and vegetables (F&V) sector is essential for Mediterranean countries and the EU is their first trading partner. In this context, two questions arise: Firstly, to what extent protection influence trade for the med countries, compared to the other countries? Secondly, what would be the impacts of a greater liberalization on F&V trade between the EU and Mediterranean Countries? Our model, based on the new development s of gravity equation focuses on the difficulties faced by the Mediterranean countries to enter on the EU market, compared to the other EU partners, considering the relative impact of the different trade costs. It is estimated at the product level, in a sector with a huge specificity: some product s may be very perishable and thus particularly time sensitive. The Mediterranean basin appears as a highly heterogeneous country bloc. Beside the actual level of preferences allowed by the EU, two main elements vary according to the exporting country: its tariff sensitivity and its "non- tariff" trade resistance. Thus, with respect to the Euromed liberalization, the higher the tariff sensitivity the higher the impact of liberalization on trade and this impact can be limited by a high trade resistance (NTB, logistic constraints...).Fruit and Vegetables, EU-Med agreement, gravity models, transport cost, tariffs, International Relations/Trade, Marketing,

Comportement vieillissement et peau

National audienceIl apparaît souvent saugrenu aux mécaniciens que l'un des leurs s'intéresse au tégument humain. Pourtant, la connaissance du comportement et des réponses de ce tissu aux sollicitations extérieures est essentielle dans beaucoup de domaines et pas seulement celui des dermatologues qui à eux seuls constituent déjà un champ large d'intérêt pour développer, par exemple, des tissus de substitution aux propriétés voisines de celles du tissu cutané. Parmi ces domaines, je citerai quelques exemples où la mécanique flirte avec la biomécanique

Libéralisation du commerce euro-méditerranéen : Les tarifs douaniers ne sont pas le principal frein aux importations européennes de fruits et légumes

Alors que la libéralisation du commerce des produits industriels est déjà largement entamée l’ouverture des marchés reste encore limitée dans le secteur agricole. Les enjeux de la libéralisation des échanges agricoles sont variables d’une rive à l’autre de la Méditerranée. Pour les pays du sud et de l’est de la Méditerranée, les deux principaux enjeux sont la protection des marchés de produits de base et l’amélioration de l’accès au marché européen des produits d’exportation que sont les fruits et légumes. Les producteurs européens, de leur côté, redoutent une exacerbation de la concurrence méditerranéenne dans ce même secteur sensible aux crises et relativement peu soutenu par la Politique agricole commune. La question de l’accès au marché de l’Union européenne (UE) pour les fruits et légumes méditerranéens est d’autant plus sensible que l’UE constitue le principal débouché des exportations horticoles de ces pays. L’analyse des protections tarifaires appliquées par l’UE aux importations de fruits et légumes révèle que les pays méditerranéens bénéficient déjà de préférences importantes sur le marché européen par rapport aux autres pays exportateurs. L’estimation d’un modèle économétrique montre par ailleurs que la protection douanière n’est pas le seul déterminant des échanges. La baisse des tarifs serait loin d’éliminer la totalité des freins aux échanges.

INTEREST OF FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS TO DETERMINE STRESS FIELDS AT THE SUMMIT OF A VY FLAP ABOUT ONE CLINICAL CASE

International audienceAfter performing a V-Y advancement flap, we observed an unusually shaped necrosis, resembling a keyhole at the apex of the flap. As high closing tensions are an accepted cause of skin necrosis, we developed a mathematical model based on the finite element analysis in order to determine the stress field by simulating the mechanical behavior of human skin during suture and to explain this particular shape of necrosis. For the modeling, a planar nonlinear two-dimensional finite element model was used. The numerical simulation was carried out with Ansys® v12 software. Results are expressed in numerical and graphic form. The shape of the vertical iso-stress line for a stress equal to 18.8 kPa was similar to the necrosis observed in our clinical case. Similarities between the shape of necrosis and the calculated stress field at the apex of the V-Y advancement flap indicate the major role of skin tension in this necrosis. Finite element analysis is an original approach for describing the particular shape of a necrosis. Although many factors can be implicated in skin necrosis, the modeling confirms the role of tension in the necrosis of this particular case

Influence of the V-Y advancement flap geometry on the wound closure maximal force

International audienceIn clinical practice, the V-Y advancement flap is a widely used technique to cover human skin defect, which consists in incising; advancing and suturing a triangular flap adjacent to the base of a rectangular defect (see Figure 1a). A previous geometrical study of the V-Y flap technique allowed us to find a good compromise between the flap size and the defect width [1]. However, the geometrical approach does not consider the mechanical properties of the human skin by assuming rigid-body behaviour of the skin. The aim of the present paper deals with a numerical analysis as a complement to the geometrical one to highlight the major role of the skin elasticity in the V-Y advancement flap. A compromise between the size of the flap and the level of the closure force value has been found when varying the angle at the flap apex, noted . The sensitivity to the mechanical parameters makes the closure force dependent on the size to be covered. At the end, the successive actions of the surgeon are analyzed

Dispositif ultra-léger de caractérisation mécanique de la peau humaine in vivo en extensiométrie uniaxiale (S13)

L'étude des propriétés mécaniques de la peau humaine in vivo est une étape utile dans l'optimisation des interventions chirurgicales. Pour évaluer les caractéristiques de ce tissu biologique complexe, un dispositif a été développé au sein de l'institut FEMTO-ST, il est composé d'un extensiomètre ultra-léger piloté par une application, elle-même comportant un éditeur de consigne ainsi qu'une interface de commande. Afin de valider ce dispositif, des tests ont été réalisés pour obtenir la réponse de celui-ci à différents types de sollicitations en extension uniaxiale, ainsi qu'une comparaison avec la réponse obtenue d'une machine de traction standard. Cette comparaison a montré une forte similarité entre les deux appareils de mesure. Grâce à sa taille, son poids et sa portabilité, le dispositif présenté a mis en évidence le comportement hyperélastique et visqueux du tissu cutané lors de tests réalisés in vivo en différentes localisations corporelles.   The analysis of the mechanical properties of human skin in vivo is an essential parameter for the optimization of surgical operations in terms of cutaneous tissues. This paper presents an experimental device that was developed at FEMTO-ST institute for evaluating the skin response to different loadings. The ultra-light extensometer developed was tested in a uniaxial extension on a phantom material. The results obtained were successfully compared with those of a conventional tensile test device. The user-friendly interface allows the definition of diverse load and discharge sequences. The results of the tests on human subjects are consistent with the hyperelastic and viscous behavior of the cutaneous tissue in vivo. Thanks to its size, weight and stand-alone capabilities, the device is suited for local measurements in most of human body zones. This study provides an experimental tool for investigating human skin behavior in vivo. Further researches are being directed towards identifying the strain fields of human skin by means of a biaxial extensometer and an imaging module

Analyse des contraintes de tension sur la peau humaine

La modélisation du comportement non linéaire anisotrope et fortement dépendant du temps de la peau humaine nécessite la connaissance de l’état fonctionnel du tissu pour l’identification du comportement. Il s’agit de déterminer le champ de contraintes de tension dans la peau à partir de prélèvements cutanés. l’évolution de la forme des zones libérées de leurs tensions permet d'accéder au champ de contraintes aux bornes de la zone sollicitée

Several devices dedicated to experimental characterization of human skin in vivo/ex vivo

Several devices dedicated to experimental characterization of human skin in vivo/ex viv