Maxillofacial trauma due to traffic accidents and falls: an exploratory study of associated factors.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to determine the pattern of Maxillofacial trauma (MFT) due to traffic accidents and falls in a reference hospital in a rural region of northeastern Brazil between December 2011 and December 2018 and to identify associated factors. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study using 585 medical records of patients with MFT. The data were subjected to a Poisson-Tweedie multiple regression analysis to estimate the Prevalence ratio (PR), with a 95% confidence interval (95% CI) and a significance level of p<0.05. RESULTS: MFT due to traffic accidents was more prevalent among patients 21 to 40 years old (PR=2.30; 95% CI=1.20-4.41; p<0.001) diagnosed with zygomatic-orbital complex fractures (PR=1.80; 95% CI=1.08-2.98; p=0.023). Falls were more frequent among older groups of 41 to 60 years (PR=1.83; 95% CI=1.09-3.06; p=0.022) and over 61 years (PR=2.23; 95% CI=1.09-3.06; p=0.022). In traffic accidents, alcohol consumption increased the length of stay (PR=2.081; 95% CI=1.553-2.787; p<0.001), and patients who did not use personal protective equipment (PPE) had higher hospital costs (PR=179.964; 95% CI=1.485-1.994; p<0.001) for this etiology. Traffic accidents and falls are two of the main etiologies of MFT, especially for males in the young adult age group (traffic accidents) and those above 41 years (falls). Alcohol consumption and the nonuse of PPE influenced the length of the hospital stay and hospital costs. CONCLUSIONS: Strategies to confront this problem, such as road and highway improvements, effective enforcement of laws and intersectoral coordination involving the entire community to implement policies and prevention programs targeted at these populations, can be implemented.

Use of jabuticaba (Plinia cauliflora) skin in the processing of ice creams / Uso de piel de jabuticaba (Plinia cauliflora) en el procesamiento de helados

ABSTRACT The aim of this work was to process jabuticaba skin aqueous extract, varying the crushing and sieving time and to develop ice cream with different concentrations of jabuticaba skin extract, evaluate its physicochemical, microbiological and bioactive composition. Different extractive processes of jabuticaba skin were tested. Extract A was crushed for 25 seconds and sieved, extract B was crushed for 25 seconds without sieving, extract C was crushed for 45 seconds and sieved and extract D was crushed during 45 seconds not sifted. From the extract that presented the highest indices of bioactive compounds, formulations of ice cream with concentrations of 5, 10 and 15% were elaborated. Extract B showed the highest content of phenolic compounds (201.81 mg gallic acid. 100 g-1 skins), anthocyanins (60.32 mg cyanidin-3 glycoside.100 g-1 peels) and significant antioxidant activity (5047.72 g skins. g-1 DPPH) and was chosen to be added in the ice cream. The evaluated ice creams met the microbiological standards established by the Brazilian legislation. The use of progressive concentrations of jabuticaba skin extract in the elaboration of ice cream increased the rates of phenolic compounds and antioxidant capacity. The values found were significant and generated an alternative use for jabuticaba skin, which is normally discarded.

RESUMEN El objetivo de este trabajo fue elaborar extractos acuosos de piel de jabuticaba, variando el tiempo de trituración y cribado. Además de desarrollar helados con diferentes concentraciones de extracto de piel de jabuticaba, evaluando su composición físico-química, microbiológica y de compuestos bioactivos. Se analizaron diferentes procesos de elaboración de extractos de cáscara de jabuticaba, siendo denominados extracto A - triturado durante 25 segundos y tamizado, extracto B - triturado durante 25 segundos no tamizado, extracto C - triturado durante 45 segundos y tamizado y extracto D - triturado durante 45 segundos sin cribado. A partir del extracto que presentó los índices más elevados de compuestos bioactivos, se elaboraron formulaciones de helado con concentraciones de 5, 10 y 15%. El extracto B fue el que presentó mayor contenido de compuestos fenólicos (201,81 mg ácido gálico. 100 g-1 piel), antocianinas (60,32 mg cyanidina-3 glycosideo.100 g-1 piels) y significativa actividad antioxidante (5047,72 g piels. g-1DPPH) siendo el elegido para ser añadido en el helado. Los helados evaluados se encuentran dentro de los patrones microbiológicos estabelecidos por la legislación brasileña. La utilización de concentraciones progresivas de extracto de piel de jabuticaba en la elaboración de helado incrementó los índices de compuestos fenólicos y de capacidad antioxidante. Los valores encontrados son significativos y genera una alternativa en el aprovechamiento de la piel de jabuticaba, normalmente descartada.

Excess Lead-210 and Plutonium-239+240: Two suitable radiogenic soil erosion tracers for mountain grassland sites.

The expected growing population and challenges associated with globalisation will increase local food and feed demands and enhance the pressure on local and regional upland soil resources. In light of these potential future developments it is necessary to define sustainable land use and tolerable soil loss rates with methods applicable and adapted to mountainous areas. Fallout-radionuclides (FRNs) are proven techniques to increase our knowledge about the status and resilience of agro-ecosystems. However, the use of the Caesium-137 (137Cs) method is complicated in the European Alps due to its heterogeneous input and the timing of the Chernobyl fallout, which occurred during a few single rain events on partly snow covered ground. Other radioisotopic techniques have been proposed to overcome these limitations. The objective of this study is to evaluate the suitability of excess Lead-210 (210Pbex) and Plutonium-239+240 (239+240Pu) as soil erosion tracers for three different grassland management types at the steep slopes (slope angles between 35 and 38°) located in the Central Swiss Alps. All three FRNs identified pastures as having the highest mean (± standard deviation) net soil loss of -6.7 ± 1.1, -9.8 ± 6.8 and -7.0 ± 5.2 Mg ha-1 yr-1 for 137Cs, 210Pbex and 239+240Pu, respectively. A mean soil loss of -5.7 ± 1.5, -5.2 ± 1.5 and-5.6 ± 2.1 was assessed for hayfields and the lowest rates were established for pastures with dwarf-shrubs (-5.2 ± 2.5, -4.5 ± 2.5 and -3.3 ± 2.4 Mg ha-1 yr-1 for 137Cs, 210Pbex and 239+240Pu, respectively). These rates, evaluated at sites with an elevated soil erosion risk exceed the respective soil production rates. Among the three FRN methods used, 239+240Pu appears as the most promising tracer in terms of measurement uncertainty and reduced small scale variability (CV of 13%). Despite a higher level of uncertainty, 210Pbex produced comparable results, with a wide range of erosion rates sensitive to changes in grassland management. 210Pbex can then be as well considered as a suitable soil tracer to investigate alpine agroecosystems.

Sediment source fingerprinting as an aid to catchment management: A review of the current state of knowledge and a methodological decision-tree for end-users.

The growing awareness of the environmental significance of fine-grained sediment fluxes through catchment systems continues to underscore the need for reliable information on the principal sources of this material. Source estimates are difficult to obtain using traditional monitoring techniques, but sediment source fingerprinting or tracing procedures, have emerged as a potentially valuable alternative. Despite the rapidly increasing numbers of studies reporting the use of sediment source fingerprinting, several key challenges and uncertainties continue to hamper consensus among the international scientific community on key components of the existing methodological procedures. Accordingly, this contribution reviews and presents recent developments for several key aspects of fingerprinting, namely: sediment source classification, catchment source and target sediment sampling, tracer selection, grain size issues, tracer conservatism, source apportionment modelling, and assessment of source predictions using artificial mixtures. Finally, a decision-tree representing the current state of knowledge is presented, to guide end-users in applying the fingerprinting approach.

Development of inhalable hyaluronan/mannitol composite dry powders for flucytosine repositioning in local therapy of lung infections.

Flucytosine (5-fluorocytosine, 5-FC) is a fluorinated analogue of cytosine currently approved for the systemic treatment of fungal infections, which has recently demonstrated a very promising antivirulence activity against the bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa. In this work, we propose novel inhalable hyaluronic acid (HA)/mannitol composite dry powders for repositioning 5-FC in the local treatment of lung infections, including those affecting cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. Different dry powders were produced in one-step by spray-drying. Powder composition and process conditions were selected after in depth formulation studies aimed at selecting the 5-FC/HA/mannitol formulation with convenient aerosolization properties and drug release profile in simulated lung fluids. The optimized 5-FC/HA/mannitol powder for inhalation (HyaMan_FC#3) was effectively delivered from different breath-activated dry powder inhalers (DPI) already available to CF patients. Nevertheless, the aerodynamic assessment of fine particles suggested that the developed formulation well fit with a low-resistance DPI. HyaMan_FC#3 inhibited the growth of the fungus Candida albicans and the production of the virulence factor pyoverdine by P. aeruginosa at 5-FC concentrations that did not affect the viability of both wild type (16HBE14o-) and CF (CFBE41o-) human bronchial epithelial cells. Finally, pharmacokinetics of HyaMan_FC#3 inhalation powder and 5-FC solution after intratracheal administration in rats were compared. In vivo results clearly demonstrated that, when formulated as dry powder, 5-FC levels in both bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and lung tissue were significantly higher and sustained over time as compared to those obtained with the 5-FC solution. Of note, when the same 5-FC amount was administered intravenously, no significant drug amount was found in the lung at each time point from the injection. To realize a 5-FC lung concentration similar to that obtained by using HyaMan_FC#3, a 6-fold higher dose of 5-FC should be administered intravenously. Taken together, our data demonstrate the feasibility to deliver 5-FC by the pulmonary route likely avoiding/reducing the well-known side effects associated to the high systemic 5-FC doses currently used in humans. Furthermore, our results highlight that an appropriate formulation design can improve the persistence of the drug at lungs, where microorganisms causing severe infections are located.

Intrinsic Negative Mass from Nonlinearity.

We propose and provide experimental evidence of a mechanism able to support negative intrinsic effective mass. The idea is to use a shape-sensitive nonlinearity to change the sign of the mass in the leading linear propagation equation. Intrinsic negative-mass dynamics is reported for light beams in a ferroelectric crystal substrate, where the diffusive photorefractive nonlinearity leads to a negative-mass Schrödinger equation. The signature of inverted dynamics is the observation of beams repelled from strongly guiding integrated waveguides irrespective of wavelength and intensity and suggests shape-sensitive nonlinearity as a basic mechanism leading to intrinsic negative mass.

Intrinsic irreversibility of Markovian chains.

We show that for a large class of stationary Markov processes the total variation distance between the final equilibrium distribution and that at a given time is a strongly monotonic vanishing function. We illustrate this for basic paradigmatic processes and discuss how, for systems susceptible to a canonical description, this can be interpreted as a statistical arrow of time that exists besides the standard decrease of free energy.

In vitro antiviral activity of Brazilian plants (Maytenus ilicifolia and Aniba rosaeodora) against bovine herpesvirus type 5 and avian metapneumovirus.

CONTEXT: Medicinal plants are well known for their use in traditional folk medicine as treatments for many diseases including infectious diseases. OBJECTIVE: Six Brazilian medicinal plant species were subjected to an antiviral screening bioassay to investigate and evaluate their biological activities against five viruses: bovine herpesvirus type 5 (BHV-5), avian metapneumovirus (aMPV), murine hepatitis virus type 3, porcine parvovirus and bovine respiratory syncytial virus. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The antiviral activity was determined by a titration technique that depends on the ability of plant extract dilutions (25 or 2.5 µg/mL) to inhibit the viral induced cytopathic effect and the extracts' inhibition percentage (IP). RESULTS: Two medicinal plant species showed potential antiviral activity. The Aniba rosaeodora Ducke (Lauraceae) extract had the best results, with 90% inhibition of viral growth at 2.5 µg/mL when the extract was added during the replication period of the aMPV infection cycle. The Maytenus ilicifolia (Schrad.) Planch. (Celastraceae) extracts at a concentration of 2.5 µg/mL exhibited antiviral activity during the attachment phase of BHV-5 (IP = 100%). DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: The biomonitored fractionation of the active extracts from M. ilicifolia and A. rosaeodora could be a potential tool for identifying their active compounds and determining the exact mechanism of action.

Built-in reduction of statistical fluctuations of partitioning objects.

Our theoretical and numerical investigation of the movement of an object that partitions a microtubule filled with small particles indicates that vibrations warranted by thermal equilibrium are reached only after a time that increases exponentially with the number of particles involved. This points to a basic mechanical process capable of breaching, on accessible time scales, the ultimate ergodic constraints that force randomness on bound microscale and nanoscale systems.

Brazilian experience with two conditioning regimens in patients with multiple sclerosis: BEAM/horse ATG and CY/rabbit ATG.

Studies have shown that autologous hematopoietic SCT (HSCT) can be used as an intensive immunosuppressive therapy to treat refractory patients and to prevent the progression of multiple sclerosis (MS). This is a prospective multicentric Brazilian MS trial comparing two conditioning regimens: BEAM/horse ATG and CY/rabbit ATG. Most (80.4%) of the 41 subjects in the study had the secondary progressive MS subtype and the mean age was 42 years. The baseline EDSS score in 58.5% of the subjects was 6.5 and 78% had a score of 6.0 or higher, respectively. The complication rate during the intra-transplantation period was 56% for all patients: 71.4% of the patients in the BEAM/hATG group and 40% in the CY/rATG group (P=0.04). Three subjects (7.5%) died of cardiac toxicity, sepsis and alveolar hemorrhage, all of them in the BEAM/ATG group. EFS was 58.54% for all patients: 47% in the BEAM/hATG group and 70% in the CY/rATG group (P=0.288). In conclusion, the CY/rATG regimen seems to be associated with similar outcome results, but presented less toxicity when compared with the BEAM/hATG regimen. Long-term follow-up would be required to fully assess the differences in therapeutic effectiveness between the two regimens.

Essential oil of croton nepetaefolius and its main constituent, 1,8-cineole, block excitability of rat sciatic nerve in vitro.

1. The effects of the essential oil of Croton nepetaefolius (EOCN) and its major constituent, 1,8-cineole, on the compound action potential (CAP) of nerve were investigated. 2. Experiments were performed in sciatic nerves dissected from Wistar rats, mounted in a moist chamber and stimulated at a frequency of 0.2 Hz, with electric pulses of 100 micros duration at 20-40 V. Evoked CAP were displayed on an oscilloscope and recorded on a computer. The CAP control parameters were as follows: peak-to-peak amplitude 8.1 +/- 0.6 mV (n = 15); conduction velocity 83.3 +/- 4.2 m/s (n = 15); chronaxie 58.0 +/- 6.8 msec (n = 6); and rheobase 2.8 +/- 0.1 V (n = 6). 3. Lower concentrations of EOCN (100 and 300 microg/mL) and 1,8-cineole (153 and 307 microg/mL; i.e. 1 and 2 mmol/L, respectively) had no significant effects on CAP control parameters throughout the entire recording period. However, at the end of 180 min exposure of the nerve to the drug, peak-to-peak amplitude was significantly (P < 0.05) reduced to 27.4 +/- 6.7 and 1.7 +/- 0.8% of control values by 500 and 1000 microg/mL EOCN, respectively (n = 6), and to 76.5 +/- 4.4, 70.0 +/- 3.9 and 14.8 +/- 4.1% of control values by 614, 920 and 1227 microg/mL (i.e. 4, 6 and 8 mmol/L) 1,8-cineole, respectively (n = 6). Regarding conduction velocity, at the end of the 180 min exposure period, this parameter was significantly reduced to 85.8 +/- 7.3 and 48.7 +/- 12.3% (n = 6) of control values by 500 and 1000 microg/mL EOCN, respectively, and to 86.4 +/- 4.5 and 76.1 +/- 5.2% (n = 6) by 920 and 1227 microg/mL 1,8-cineole, respectively. Chronaxie and rheobase were significantly increased by the higher concentrations of both EOCN and 1,8-cineole. 4. It is concluded that EOCN and its main constituent 1,8-cineole block nerve excitability in a concentration-dependent manner, an effect that was totally reversible with 1,8-cineole but not with EOCN. This suggests that other constituents of EOCN, in addition to 1,8-cineole, may contribute to the mediation of this effect of EOCN.

Early impairment of hepatitis C virus specific T cell proliferation during acute infection leads to failure of viral clearance.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Cellular mediated immunity (CMI) is thought to play a key role in resolution of primary hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. However, CD4+ and CD8+ T cell responses are also generated during acute infection in individuals who become chronic, suggesting that they developed a defective CMI. The aim of this study was to verify if and when such immune dysfunction is established by measuring the breadth, magnitude, function, and duration of CMI in a large cohort of subjects during the natural course of acute HCV infection. METHODS: CMI was comprehensively studied by prospective sampling of 31 HCV acutely infected subjects enrolled at the onset of infection and followed for a median period of one year. RESULTS: Our results indicated that while at the onset of acute HCV infection a measurable CMI with effector function was detected in the majority of subjects, after approximately six months less than 10% of chronically infected individuals displayed significant CMI compared with 70% of subjects who cleared the virus. We showed that progressive disappearance of HCV specific T cells from the peripheral blood of chronic patients was due to an impaired ability to proliferate that could be rescued in vitro by concomitant exposure to interleukin 2 and the antigen. CONCLUSION: Our data provide evidence of strong and multispecific T cell responses with a sustained ability to proliferate in response to antigen stimulation as reliable pharmacodynamic measures of a protective CMI during acute infection, and suggest that early impairment of proliferation may contribute to loss of T cell response and chronic HCV persistence.

Frações da parede celular e digestibilidade in vitro da matéria seca de três genótipos de girassol ensilados com aditivos / In vitro dry matter and cell wall fractions of three genotypes of sunflower ensiled with additives

Ensilaram-se três genótipos de girassol (M734, Rumbosol 91 e variedade V2000), enriquecidos no material original com: 0,5 por cento de uréia (U); 0,5 por cento de carbonato de cálcio (CC); 0,5 por cento de uréia mais 0,5 por cento de carbonato de cálcio (U+CC); inoculante bacteriano comercial (IB) comercial e sem aditivo que serviu como silagem testemunha (T). Foram utilizados silos de laboratório de PVC, abertos com 1, 3, 5, 7, 14, 28 e 56 dias de ensilados, sendo determinados fibra em detergente neutro (FDN), fibra em detergente ácido (FDA), lignina e digestibilidade in vitro da matéria seca (DIVMS). As silagens de Rumbosol 91 apresentaram valores superiores aos dos genótipos V2000 e M734 nos dias de abertura para FDN, FDA e lignina. Os aditivos não promoveram alterações nos constituintes da parede celular. A silagem T não apresentou diferenças entre os genótipos quanto à DIVMS no decorrer do processo fermentativo, sendo os valores do último dia de abertura (56) de 51,0 por cento, 49,1 por cento e 48,9 por cento de DIVMS para os genótipos M734, V2000 e Rumbosol 91, respectivamente. Não houve diferença entre as silagens com aditivos e a silagem testemunha com a evolução do processo fermentativo quanto à DIVMS. Os aditivos utilizados não melhoraram as silagens de girassol quanto às características avaliadas e, apesar de os genótipos apresentarem digestibilidade in vitro semelhantes, o Rumbosol 91 apresentou maiores teores de constituintes da parede celular.

Three sunflower genotypes (M 734, Rumbosol 91 and V2000 variety) enriched with 0.5 percent of urea (U); 0.5% of calcium carbonate (CC); 0.5 percent of urea plus 0.5 percent of calcium carbonate (U + CC); commercial bacterial inoculate (BI); and without any additive, used as control silage (T) were ensiled in PVC silos and opened after 1, 3, 5, 7, 14, 28 and 56 days to determine the neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (FDA), lignin and dry matter in vitro digestibility (DMIVD). The Rumbosol 91 genotype silage showed higher NDF, ADF and lignin than V2000 and M734 genotypes. The additives did not promote changes in the cell wall constituents. No statistical differences among silages of the genotypes for DMIVD were observed during the fermentative process. The DMIVD at 56 days were 51.0, 49.1 and 48.9 percent for silage of M734, V2000 and Rumbosol 91 genotypes, respectively. No difference between silages with additives and control (T), during the fermentative process for DMIVD was observed. The additives did not improve sunflower silages. The genotypes showed similar in vitro digestibility, and the Rumbosol 91 genotype showed high compound of cell wall constituent.

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma and its coactivator-1 alpha may be associated with features of the metabolic syndrome in adolescents.

Our objective was to search for differences in genotypes of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARgamma) (Pro12 Ala) and its coactivator PGC-1alpha (Gly482 Ser) in adolescents harboring features of metabolic syndrome. In a population-based study, we determined medical history, anthropometric variables, biochemical measurements and arterial blood pressures of 934 high-school students of Caucasian origin. We selected 220 adolescents who had systolic or diastolic blood pressures more than the 80th or less than the 20th percentiles based on the previous single set of measurements. One hundred and seventy-five adolescents completed the study and underwent two additional blood pressure measurements on different days, as well as biochemical analysis and genotyping. We found no association between insulin resistance, body mass index (BMI) and leptin levels and PPARgamma and PGC-1alpha genotypes. The 12 Ala PPARgamma allele was associated with increased waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) and carriers seemed to have higher diastolic blood pressure and lower pulse pressure than non-carriers, particularly in the hypertensive and overweight group. Although Ser482 Ser PGC-1alpha homozygotes had lower WHRs than other PGC-1alpha genotypes, they were more frequent in the hypertensive group than in the normotensive (44.4 vs 24.5%, P<0.03), so the 482 Ser PGC-1 allele was in our population a risk factor for hypertension independently of WHR, homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance, BMI and Pro12 Ala PPARgamma variant (odds ratio=4.0, 95% confidence interval 1.5-10.6, P<0.01). Multiple regression analysis showed that age- and sex-adjusted systolic blood pressure correlated with the 482 Ser PGC-1 allele regardless of those covariates. In conclusion, the Gly482 Ser variant of the PGC-1alpha gene may be an independent genetic risk factor for young-onset hypertension.

"Second ear" stapedotomy: is it safe?

This study reports the evaluation of "second ear" stapedotomiesy results in 23 patients with otosclerosis. All pre- and post-operative audiological data, all relevant surgical information and patients' features were analyzed retrospectively. The air-bone gap showed a significant improvement in all patients. The bilateral audiometric thresholds improved in 20 (87.0%) patients; in 1 (4.3%) patient, unilateral improvement occurred with no changes in the other ear and in 2 (8.7%) patients improvement occurred in first operated ear and dropped in the second ear after the last procedure. During the follow-up, there were no incapacitating complications. Based on these findings, we can conclude Our study concluded that second ear stapedotomy is a safe procedure with good results.

Multispecific T cell response and negative HCV RNA tests during acute HCV infection are early prognostic factors of spontaneous clearance.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection results in a high frequency of chronic disease. The aim of this study was to identify early prognostic markers of disease resolution by performing a comprehensive analysis of viral and host factors during the natural course of acute HCV infection. METHODS: The clinical course of acute hepatitis C was determined in 34 consecutive patients. Epidemiological and virological parameters, as well as cell mediated immunity (CMI) and distribution of human leukocyte antigens (HLA) alleles were analysed. RESULTS: Ten out of 34 patients experienced self-limiting infection, with most resolving patients showing fast kinetics of viral clearance: at least one negative HCV RNA test during this phase predicted a favourable outcome. Among other clinical epidemiological parameters measured, the self-limiting course was significantly associated with higher median peak bilirubin levels at the onset of disease, and with the female sex, but only the latter parameter was independently associated after multivariate analysis. No significant differences between self-limiting or chronic course were observed for the distribution of DRB1 and DQB1 alleles. HCV specific T cell response was more frequently detected during acute HCV infection, than in patients with chronic HCV disease. A significantly broader T cell response was found in patients with self-limiting infection than in those with chronic evolving acute hepatitis C. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that host related factors, in particular sex and CMI, play a crucial role in the spontaneous clearance of this virus. Most importantly, a negative HCV RNA test and broad CMI within the first month after onset of the symptoms represent very efficacious predictors of viral clearance and could thus be used as criteria in selecting candidates for early antiviral treatment.

Polarization and energy dynamics in ultrafocused optical Kerr propagation.

Developing a complete vectorial description of optical nonparaxial propagation of highly focused beams in Kerr media, we disclose a family of new phenomena. These phenomena appear to emerge as a consequence of the mutual coupling of all three components of the optical field. This circumstance, which is intrinsic to the very nature of Kerr propagation, was previously discarded on the basis of the conjecture that a reduced system is possible in which only one transverse field component interacts with the longitudinal component.

Thyrotropin-releasing hormone receptor (TRHR) gene is associated with essential hypertension.

In essential hypertension, a polygenic and multifactorial syndrome, several genes interact with the environment to produce high blood pressure. Thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) plays an important role in central cardiovascular regulation. We have described that TRH overexpression induces hypertension in a normal rat, which was reversed by TRH antisense treatment. This treatment also reduces the central TRH hyperactivity in spontaneously hypertensive rats and normalizes blood pressure. Human TRH receptor (TRHR) belongs to the G protein-coupled seven-transmembrane domain receptor superfamily. Mutations of these receptors may result in constitutive activation. As it has been demonstrated that hypertensive patients have a blunted TSH response to TRH injection, suggesting a defect in the TRHR, we postulate that the TRHR gene is involved in human hypertension. We studied 2 independent populations from different geographic regions of our country: a sample of adult subjects from a referral clinic and a population-based sample of high school students. In search of molecular variants of TRHR, we disclosed that a polymorphic TG dinucleotide repeat (STR) at -68 bp and a novel single nucleotide polymorphism, a G-->C conversion at -221 located in the promoter of the TRHR are associated with essential hypertension. As STRs detected in gene promoters are potential Z-DNA-forming sequences and seem to affect gene expression, we studied the potentially different transcriptional activity of these TRHR promoter variants and found that the S/-221C allele has a higher affinity than does the L/G-221 allele to nuclear protein factor(s). Our findings support the hypothesis that the TRHR gene participates in the etiopathogenesis of essential hypertension.