PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

B Pelissier

Publications and source records attributed to B Pelissier.

10 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2005

Coronal and apical lesions, environmental factors: study in a modern and an archeological population.

Apical periodontitis (AP) are frequent findings in contemporary dental practice in association with dental pathology or dental care. They have also been studied from an anthropological background. The purpose of this study was to compare the prevalence of apical and dental lesions in an archeological Middle Ages sample and a modern population, and to evaluate the influence of environmental factors. Both the archaeological sample group and dental practice subjects were from southern France. The study included full mouth surveys of 252 individuals (2,780 teeth) from a historic necropolis and 223 subjects (5,678 teeth) randomly selected from the Gard area. Tooth wear, caries, and AP were accounted for clinically and radiographically according to specific indexes. Significant differences were found between period and age in the archeological sample as regards the main risk factors for AP. Antemortem teeth loss and dental wear had been reduced, whereas caries rates and AP had increased between archaeological and modern population. The AP ratio was associated with the level of dental care in the modern population. Although significant variations could be observed between archaeological periods, the rupture in E3 (sixteenth and seventeenth centuries) leads to consider the associated population as a premodern. However, it was found that although cultural and alimentary factors seemed to be the main risk factors in an archeological population, dental care seemed to have a strong influence on AP ratio in modern ones.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Generation and analysis of soybean plastid transformants expressing Bacillus thuringiensis Cry1Ab protoxin.

We describe the generation of fertile and homoplasmic soybean plastid transformants, expressing the Bacillus thuringiensis insecticidal protoxin Cry1Ab. Transgenes were targeted in the intergenic region of Glycine max plastome, between the rps12/7 and trnV genes and selection was carried out using the aadA gene encoding spectinomycin resistance. Molecular analysis confirmed the integration of the cry1Ab and aadA expression cassettes at the expected location in the soybean plastome, and the transmission of the transgenes to the next generation. Western blot analyses showed that the Cry1Ab protoxin is highly expressed in leaves, stems and seeds, but not in roots. Its expression confers strong insecticidal activity to the generated transgenic soybean, as exemplified with velvetbean caterpillar (Anticarsia gemmatalis).

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Federal prison residential drug treatment reduces substance use and arrests after release.

OBJECTIVE: The effectiveness of federal prison-based residential drug and alcohol treatment programs was evaluated using event history procedures that addressed the problem of selection bias and included a wide range of control variables. METHODS: The sample comprised 760 treatment subjects and 809 comparison subjects. Treatment subjects were from 20 different prisons of medium, low, and minimum security levels. Comparison subjects were drawn from over 30 prisons. RESULTS: The results indicated that individuals who entered and completed in-prison residential treatment were less likely to experience the critical postrelease outcomes of new arrests and substance use during the first 6 months following release. CONCLUSIONS: Without controlling for selection bias, the effects of treatment would most likely have been attenuated. The results have greater generalizability than other studies of prison-based treatment. This study occurred within a multisite context of 20 programs serving both male and female inmates and operating within different security levels and different geographic regions.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Alternative solutions to the problem of selection bias in an analysis of federal residential drug treatment programs.

In an evaluation of prison-based residential drug treatment programs, the authors use three different regression-based approaches to estimating treatment effects. Two of the approaches, the instrumental variable and the Heckman approach, attempt to minimize selection bias as an explanation for treatment outcomes. Estimates from these approaches are compared with estimates from a regression in which treatment is represented by a dummy variable. The article discusses the advantage of using more than one method to increase confidence in findings when possible selection bias is a concern. Three-year outcome data for 2,315 federal inmates are used in analyses where the authors separately examine criminal recidivism and relapse to drug use for men and women. Statistical tests lead the authors to conclude that treatment reduces criminal recidivism and relapse to drug use. The treatment effect was largest when the inference was based on the Heckman approach, somewhat smaller when based on the instrumental variable approach, and smallest when based on the traditional dummy variable approach. Treatment effects for females were not statistically significant.

Crime↗
PubMed1996

Electropermeabilization of intact maize cells induces an oxidative stress.

By applying electric field pulses through cell suspensions, cell membranes can be permeabilized transiently, giving free access to the cytosol. Electropulsation is now routinely used in cell biology when introducing various molecules such as proteins and nucleic acids into the cell. But the molecular and cellular bases of cell electropermeabilization are still unclear. In the present study, we observed that electropermeabilization of intact black Mexican sweet (BMS) maize cells induces a generation of oxygen species (oxidative jump). Using the chemiluminescent probe lucigenin, we have shown that the electro-induced chemiluminescent response depends on the level of the stress factor as shown by its dependence on the electric parameters (electric field intensity, duration, and number of pulses). While the electroinduced cell permeabilization has a short life, the oxidative jump that is triggered by this electropermeabilization is a much longer-lived response. The electroinduced loss in viability is linearly correlated to permeabilization. However, there is no correlation between the oxidative jump and the loss in viability. The modulation of oxygen species electroinduction by antioxidant products (dimethylsulfoxide, sodium L-ascorbate, and glutathione) does not lead to an increase in cell viability. Such results are different to those observed with mammalian cells and indicate that even if the same phenomenon is observed with mammalian cells and indicate that even if the same phenomenon is observed when pulsing mammalian or intact plant cells, the associated metabolic response is not the same.

Antioxidants↗