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ABSTRACTHaemophilus and Aggregatibacter are two of the most common bacterial genera in the human oral cavity, encompassing both commensals and pathogens of substantial ecological and medical significance. In this study, we conducted a metapangenomic analysis of oral Haemophilus and Aggregatibacter species to uncover genomic diversity, phylogenetic relationships, and habitat specialization within the human oral cavity. Using three metrics—pangenomic gene content, phylogenomics, and average nucleotide identity (ANI)—we first identified distinct species and sub-species groups among these genera. Mapping of metagenomic reads then revealed clear patterns of habitat specialization, such as Aggregatibacter species predominantly in dental plaque, a distinctive Haemophilus parainfluenzae sub-species group on the tongue dorsum, and H. sp. HMT-036 predominantly in keratinized gingiva and buccal mucosa. In addition, we found that supragingival plaque samples contained predominantly only one out of the three taxa, H. parainfluenzae, Aggregatibacter aphrophilus, and A. sp. HMT-458, suggesting independent niches or a competitive relationship. Functional analyses revealed the presence of key metabolic genes, such as oxaloacetate decarboxylase, correlated with habitat specialization, suggesting metabolic versatility as a driving force. Additionally, heme synthesis distinguishes H. sp. HMT-036 from closely related Haemophilus haemolyticus, suggesting that the availability of micronutrients, particularly iron, was important in the evolutionary ecology of these species. Overall, our study exemplifies the power of metapangenomics to identify factors that may affect ecological interactions within microbial communities, including genomic diversity, habitat specialization, and metabolic versatility.IMPORTANCEUnderstanding the microbial ecology of the mouth is essential for comprehending human physiology. This study employs metapangenomics to reveal that various Haemophilus and Aggregatibacter species exhibit distinct ecological preferences within the oral cavity of healthy individuals, thereby supporting the site-specialist hypothesis. Additionally, it was observed that the gene pool of different Haemophilus species correlates with their ecological niches. These findings shed light on the significance of key metabolic functions in shaping microbial distribution patterns and interspecies interactions in the oral ecosystem.

Abstract Background Diet and parasitism can have powerful effects on host gene expression. However, how specific dietary components affect host gene expression that could feed back to affect parasitism is relatively unexplored in many wild species. Recently, it was discovered that consumption of sunflower (Helianthus annuus) pollen reduced severity of gut protozoan pathogen Crithidia bombi infection in Bombus impatiens bumble bees. Despite the dramatic and consistent medicinal effect of sunflower pollen, very little is known about the mechanism(s) underlying this effect. However, sunflower pollen extract increases rather than suppresses C. bombi growth in vitro, suggesting that sunflower pollen reduces C. bombi infection indirectly via changes in the host. Here, we analyzed whole transcriptomes of B. impatiens workers to characterize the physiological response to sunflower pollen consumption and C. bombi infection to isolate the mechanisms underlying the medicinal effect. B. impatiens workers were inoculated with either C. bombi cells (infected) or a sham control (un-infected) and fed either sunflower or wildflower pollen ad libitum. Whole abdominal gene expression profiles were then sequenced with Illumina NextSeq 500 technology. Results Among infected bees, sunflower pollen upregulated immune transcripts, including the anti-microbial peptide hymenoptaecin, Toll receptors and serine proteases. In both infected and un-infected bees, sunflower pollen upregulated putative detoxification transcripts and transcripts associated with the repair and maintenance of gut epithelial cells. Among wildflower-fed bees, infected bees downregulated immune transcripts associated with phagocytosis and the phenoloxidase cascade. Conclusions Taken together, these results indicate dissimilar immune responses between sunflower- and wildflower-fed bumble bees infected with C. bombi, a response to physical damage to gut epithelial cells caused by sunflower pollen, and a strong detoxification response to sunflower pollen consumption. Identifying host responses that drive the medicinal effect of sunflower pollen in infected bumble bees may broaden our understanding of plant-pollinator interactions and provide opportunities for effective management of bee pathogens.

ABSTRACT Veillonella species are abundant members of the human oral microbiome with multiple interspecies commensal relationships. Examining the distribution patterns of Veillonella species across the oral cavity is fundamental to understanding their oral ecology. In this study, we used a combination of pangenomic analysis and oral metagenomic information to clarify Veillonella taxonomy and to test the site specialist hypothesis for the Veillonella genus, which contends that most oral bacterial species are adapted to live at specific oral sites. Using isolate genome sequences combined with shotgun metagenomic sequence data, we showed that Veillonella species have clear, differential site specificity: Veillonella parvula showed strong preference for supra- and subgingival plaque, while closely related V. dispar, as well as more distantly related V. atypica, preferred the tongue dorsum, tonsils, throat, and hard palate. In addition, the provisionally named Veillonella sp. Human Microbial Taxon 780 showed strong site specificity for keratinized gingiva. Using comparative genomic analysis, we identified genes associated with thiamine biosynthesis and the reductive pentose phosphate cycle that may enable Veillonella species to occupy their respective habitats. IMPORTANCE Understanding the microbial ecology of the mouth is fundamental for understanding human physiology. In this study, metapangenomics demonstrated that different Veillonella species have clear ecological preferences in the oral cavity of healthy humans, validating the site specialist hypothesis. Furthermore, the gene pool of different Veillonella species was found to be reflective of their ecology, illuminating the potential role of vitamins and carbohydrates in determining Veillonella distribution patterns and interspecies interactions.

Abstract Pathogen transmission between domesticated and wild host species has important implications for community ecology, agriculture, and wildlife conservation. Bumble bees provide valuable pollination services that are vital for both wildflowers and agricultural production. Intense concerns about pathogen spillover from commercial bumble bees to wild bee populations, and the potential harmful effects of pathogen spillback to commercial bees, has stimulated a need for practical strategies that effectively manage bumble bee infectious diseases. Here, we assessed the costs and benefits of a medicinal sunflower pollen diet (Helianthus annuus) on whole‐colony bumble bee disease and performance using commercial colonies of the common eastern bumble bee, Bombus impatiens, and its protozoan pathogen, Crithidia bombi (Trypanosomatida). We first found that a 1:1 mixture of sunflower combined with wildflower pollen reduced C. bombi infection prevalence and intensity within individual B. impatiens workers by nearly 4‐fold and 12‐fold, respectively, relative to wildflower pollen. At the colony level, a 1:1 mixture of sunflower and wildflower pollen reduced C. bombi infection prevalence by 11% averaged over a 10‐week period and infection intensity by 30% relative to wildflower pollen. Colony performance was similar between pollen diets and infection treatments, including the number of workers and immatures produced, and size and weight of workers, drones, and queens. Infection significantly reduced the probability of queen production in colonies fed a pure wildflower pollen diet, but not colonies fed a mixed sunflower pollen diet, suggesting that the medicinal benefits of a mixed sunflower pollen diet can reverse the negative effects of infection on reproductive success. This study provides evidence that sunflower pollen as part of a mixed pollen diet can reduce infection in individual bees and whole colonies with no significant nutritional trade‐offs for colony worker production and most aspects of colony reproduction. A supplemental mixed sunflower pollen diet may provide a simple and effective solution to reduce disease and improve the health of economically and ecologically important pollinators.

Animal manure may be a valuable resource for the development of agricultural sustainability. We proposed to verify the feasibility of applications of three types of animal manures to improve soil attributes and to sustain crop yields under intensive cropping and no-tillage systems. The field experiment was established in 2004 on Typic Hapludalf soil with pig slurry (PS), cattle slurry (CS), pig deep-litter (PL), mineral fertilizer (MF) and a non-fertilized treatment. From 2004 to 2015, were grown black oat, maize, forage turnip, black beans, and wheat. Soil samples were taken after winter 2014 and summer 2015, and submitted to chemical, physical, microbiological and biochemical analyses. Animal manures increased soil pH, but MF caused acidification of soil. The PL and CS applications reduced soil density, and increased total pore volume and hydraulic conductivity. Animal manures increased soil P fractions, total organic carbon, total nitrogen, stimulated soil respiration, and had higher activities of glucosidase and acid phosphatase. Wheat had its biggest dry matter and grain yields with MF, but maize grain yields with CS were higher than MF. All indicators pointed that application of animal manure converges to an interesting strategy to recycle nutrients at farmyard level and to contribute to global sustainability.

A dinâmica do N no solo é um assunto ainda pouco estudado no Sul do Brasil, principalmente no sistema plantio direto. O presente estudo avaliou a dinâmica do N no solo durante o ciclo do milho, em sucessão à aveia preta (AP) (Avena strigosa Schieb), ervilhaca comum (EC) (Vicia sativa L.) e nabo forrageiro (NF) (Raphanus sativus L. var. oleiferus Metzg.), em cultivos solteiros e consorciados. O trabalho foi realizado nos anos agrícolas de 1998/99 e 1999/00, em área do Departamento de Solos da Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (RS) em um Argissolo Vermelho distrófico arênico (Hapludalf). Utilizou-se o delineamento experimental de blocos inteiramente ao acaso, com quatro repetições. Os tratamentos foram os seguintes: 100 % AP (80 kg ha-1 de sementes), 100 % EC (80 kg ha-1), 100 % NF (14 kg ha-1), 15 % AP + 85 % EC, 45 % AP + 55 % EC e 30 % AP + 70 % NF. Além desses, foram utilizados dois tratamentos em pousio invernal onde cresceu a vegetação espontânea da área. Num tratamento, o milho foi cultivado sem adubação nitrogenada e, no outro, o milho foi adubado com 180 kg ha-1 de N-uréia. A partir de 10 dias do manejo das plantas de cobertura, avaliou-se a quantidade de N mineral do solo, nas camadas de 0-5, 5-15, 15-30, 30-60 e 60-90 cm, em nove épocas. A soma das quantidades de N mineral das cinco camadas de solo no tratamento com ervilhaca solteira foi superior à dos tratamentos em pousio e aveia solteira. Ao final do primeiro mês, a diferença em favor da ervilhaca foi de aproximadamente 30 kg ha-1 de N. Nos tratamentos com nabo forrageiro, as quantidades de N mineral foram inferiores às da ervilhaca solteira e próximas às dos consórcios de aveia e ervilhaca. Os resultados deste trabalho evidenciaram que a consorciação de aveia e ervilhaca provocou uma diminuição na quantidade de N mineral do solo em relação à ervilhaca solteira, tendo sido esse efeito proporcional à participação de aveia no consórcio. Verificou-se também que o potencial de perdas de N por lixiviação foi maior após a ervilhaca solteira do que após a aveia e o nabo solteiros e os consórcios de aveia e ervilhaca.The dynamics of nitrogen in soils under no-tillage in Southern Brazil are poorly studied so far. A field experiment on a typic Hapludalf on the experimental area of the Soil Science Department, Federal University of Santa Maria, Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil, was carried out in 1998/99 and 1999/00 to evaluate the effect of single crop and mixtures of black oat (BO) (Avena strigosa Schieb), common vetch (CV) (Vicia sativa L.) and oilseed radish (OR) (Raphanus sativus L. var. oleiferus Metzg.) on the soil nitrogen (N) dynamics. The experiment was set in a complete randomized block design with four replications. The treatments were: 100 % BO (80 kg ha-1 of seeds), 100 % CV (80 kg ha-1), 100 % OR (14 kg ha-1), 15 % BO + 85 % CV, 45 % BO + 55 % CV, and 30 % BO + 70 % OR. Additionally, two plots under winter fallow were also used for comparison. Other two control treatments were corn cultivated without N fertilizer in one plot and fertilized with 180 kg ha-1 of N-urea in another one. Mineral soil N was measured nine times, beginning ten days after cover crops were killed. Samples were taken from the 0-5, 5-15, 15-30, 30-60, and 60-90 cm soil layers. The sum of mineral N in the five soil depths was greater for single common vetch than for fallow and single BO treatment. At the end of the first month, common vetch had already approximately 30 kg ha-1 more N than the other treatments. The soil under oilseed radish had lower mineral N contents than single common vetch and similar values to those of the mixture between oat and common vetch. The results of this study indicated that the oat-vetch mixture reduced the amount of mineral soil N in relation to single vetch and this effect was proportional to the amount of oat in the crop mixture. It was also verified that the potential N loss by leaching was greater after single vetch than after oat and oilseed radish and greater than oat and vetch mixture.

Nos últimos anos, com a rápida expansão do plantio direto no Sul do Brasil, tem aumentado o interesse pela consorciação de plantas de cobertura de solo no outono/inverno como fonte de N ao milho em sucessão. Para avaliar o efeito da aveia preta (AP) (Avena strigosa Schieb), da ervilhaca comum (EC) (Vicia sativa L.) e do nabo forrageiro (NF) (Raphanus sativus L. var. oleiferus Metzg.), em cultivos solteiros e consorciados, sobre o N acumulado e a produtividade de grãos de milho, foi realizado um experimento, no período de 1998 a 2000, na área experimental do Departamento de Solos da Universidade Federal de Santa Maria (RS), em um Argissolo Vermelho distrófico arênico (Hapludalf). O delineamento experimental foi de blocos inteiramente ao acaso com quatro repetições. Os tratamentos foram os seguintes: 100 % AP (80 kg ha-1 de sementes), 100 % EC (80 kg ha-1), 100 % NF (14 kg ha-1), 15 % AP + 85 % EC, 30 % AP + 70 % EC, 45 % AP + 55 % EC, 15 % AP + 85 % NF e 30 % AP + 70 % NF. Além desses, foram utilizados dois tratamentos em pousio invernal onde cresceu a vegetação espontânea da área. Num tratamento sob pousio, o milho foi cultivado sem adubação nitrogenada e, no outro, o milho foi adubado com 180 kg ha-1 de N-uréia. Foram avaliadas: a produção de matéria seca (MS), a concentração de N total do tecido vegetal do milho em diferentes estádios de desenvolvimento da cultura e a produtividade de grãos. A quantidade de N acumulado pelo milho e a produtividade de grãos em sucessão aos consórcios de aveia + ervilhaca não diferiram da ervilhaca solteira e foram proporcionais à quantidade do N dos consórcios que estava presente na fitomassa da ervilhaca. A ervilhaca e o nabo, tanto em culturas solteiras como consorciados à aveia, proporcionaram maior produtividade de milho do que após o pousio e a aveia solteira. Os resultados deste trabalho indicam que, consorciando aveia + ervilhaca, até uma proporção máxima de 30 % de aveia, foi possível atingir uma produtividade de grãos de milho equivalente àquela da ervilhaca solteira e a 70 % daquela obtida com o uso de 180 kg ha-1 de N-uréia no pousio.No-tillage has been increasingly adopted by farmers in South Brazil and it has increased the interest for the mixtures of cover crops in the autumn/winter as source of nitrogen to the corn in succession. A field experiment was carried out on a typic Hapludalf at the experimental area of the Soil Science Department, Federal University of Santa Maria, Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil, in 1998/99 and 1999/00 to evaluate the effect of single crop and mixtures of black oat (BO) (Avena strigosa Schieb), common vetch (CV) (Vicia sativa L.) and oilseed radish (OR) (Raphanus sativus L. var. oleiferus Metzg.) on N accumulation and grain yield by corn. The experiment was set in a complete randomized block design with four replications. The treatments were: 100 % BO (80 kg ha-1 of seeds), 100 % CV (80 kg ha-1), 100 % OR (14 kg ha-1), 15 % BO + 85 % CV, 30 % BO + 70 % CV, 45 % BO + 55 % CV, 15 % BO + 85 % OR and 30 % BO + 70 % OR. Two additional plots under winter fallow were also used for comparison. Other control treatments were corn cultivated without N fertilizer in one plot and fertilized with 180 kg ha-1 of N-urea in another one. Corn grain yield, dry matter and total N concentration in corn biomass was evaluated at different crop stages. The amount of N accumulated by corn and the grain yield in succession of oat + vetch mixtures were not different from the single vetch, and were proportional to the N amount in the vetch biomass of the crop mixtures. Vetch and oilseed radish as single crop or in mixtures with black oat provided a higher corn grain yield than after fallow and single oat. Results of this study indicated that oat + vetch mixtures, up to a maximum proportion of 30 % of oat, attained a productivity of corn grain equivalent to the single vetch and 70 % of that obtained with the use of 180 kg ha-1 of N-urea in the fallow.

A dinâmica de decomposição e liberação de nitrogênio (N) de resíduos culturais provenientes de plantas de cobertura de solo, solteiras e consorciadas, foi avaliada em um experimento realizado em condições de campo, utilizando-se os seguintes materiais: (a) aveia preta (Avena strigosa Schieb); (b) ervilhaca comum (Vicia sativa L.); (c) nabo forrageiro (Raphanus sativus L. var. oleiferus Metzg.); (d) 32 % de aveia preta + 68 % de ervilhaca comum, e (e) 51 % de aveia preta + 49 % de ervilhaca comum. Para monitorar o processo de decomposição, o material vegetal, seco ao ar, foi colocado em bolsas de nylon de 0,2 x 0,2 m e com malha de 0,5 mm, as quais foram deixadas na superfície do solo e recolhidas após 15, 29, 43, 59, 71, 82, 112 e 182 dias. Nos materiais coletados, foram feitas determinações das quantidades remanescentes de matéria seca (MS) e da sua concentração de N. Aos valores obtidos para as quantidades remanescentes de matéria seca e N, foram ajustados modelos não-lineares, com vistas em separar a MS e o N dos resíduos culturais em dois compartimentos, sendo um mais facilmente decomponível e outro mais recalcitrante. Dentre as espécies solteiras, a ervilhaca foi a que apresentou a maior taxa de decomposição (0,06119 dia-1) da MS do compartimento mais facilmente decomponível. A presença da aveia nos consórcios com ervilhaca reduziu em 30 % (0,04264 dia-1) e 50 % (0,03113 dia-1) a decomposição da MS desse compartimento, quando a proporção de matéria seca da gramínea foi de 32 e 51 %, respectivamente. Da quantidade total de N liberada durante os 182 dias do experimento, a maior parte ocorreu nos primeiros 15 dias. Os resultados deste estudo evidenciaram que, consorciando aveia e ervilhaca, não houve redução na taxa de liberação do N do compartimento mais facilmente mineralizável, em relação à ervilhaca solteira. No entanto, os resíduos culturais do consórcio entre aveia e ervilhaca apresentaram maior persistência no solo do que aqueles da ervilhaca solteira e liberaram maiores quantidades de N do que a aveia e o nabo solteiros.

O interesse em consorciar plantas de cobertura no inverno tem aumentado nos últimos anos na região Sul do Brasil. Por ser uma prática agrícola recente, é importante avaliar a produção de matéria seca e o acúmulo de nutrientes de espécies consorciadas ou cultivadas isoladamente. Realizou-se um experimento no período de 1998 a 2000, na UFSM (RS), num Argissolo Vermelho distrófico arênico, consorciando-se aveia preta (Avena strigosa Schieb) + ervilhaca comum (Vicia sativa L.) e aveia preta + nabo forrageiro (Raphanus sativus L. var. oleiferus Metzg.) em diferentes quantidades de sementes. Os nove tratamentos foram: (1) 100 % aveia preta (AP); (2) 100 % ervilhaca comum (EC); (3) 100 % nabo forrageiro (NF); (4) 15 % AP + 85 % EC; (5) 30 % AP + 70 % EC; (6) 45 % AP + 55 % EC; (7) 15 % AP + 85 % NF; (8) 30 % AP + 70 % NF, e (9) pousio invernal (vegetação espontânea). Avaliou-se a produção de matéria seca (MS), bem como as concentrações de nitrogênio, fósforo, potássio e carbono do tecido vegetal. O cultivo consorciado de plantas de cobertura proporcionou produção de matéria seca estatisticamente semelhante àquela da aveia e do nabo em culturas isoladas e superior à da ervilhaca. O acúmulo de N na fitomassa dos tratamentos envolvendo consórcio de aveia + ervilhaca não diferiu daquele da ervilhaca isolada e, na média dos três anos, foi superior ao da aveia isolada em 32 kg ha-1 de N. Consorciando aveia + ervilhaca, houve um aumento médio de 67 % na relação C/N da fitomassa, em relação à ervilhaca. As plantas de cobertura proporcionaram maior produção de MS e foram mais eficientes no acúmulo de N, P e K do que a vegetação espontânea do pousio invernal. Os resultados indicaram que o consórcio de aveia + ervilhaca e de aveia + nabo no outono/inverno proporcionou maior produção de biomassa do que o cultivo isolado de cada espécie, pois combinou a elevada capacidade de produção de fitomassa de aveia e nabo com a fixação de N2 atmosférico da ervilhaca.

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to develop and improve protein concentration techniques for two industrial by-products with the potential for use in fish feed. In particular, we chemically characterized crambe meal and sunflower meal and their protein concentrates. Three different protein concentration methods were tested: isoelectric pH (pHi), acid pH and alkaline pH. For crambe and sunflower meals extraction using the pHi method was most efficient in terms of protein yield and crude protein content in the concentrates; this method also increased lysine and methionine content in the concentrates. The water holding capacity of the sunflower protein concentrate was greater than that of the crambe protein concentrate. The crambe protein concentrate had a foam-formation capacity of 15%, which stabilized at 6% after 90 minutes. The protein concentration method also reduced total phenolic content by approximately 50% in the concentrates compared with the meals. Therefore, we conclude that protein concentration using the pHi method is the most efficient technique for crambe and sunflower meals, and the use of this technique can decrease total phenolic compounds while improving meal quality for fish feeding.

Current remote monitoring devices for heart failure have been shown to reduce hospitalizations but are invasive and costly; accurate non-invasive options remain limited. The EuleriAn Video Magnification ApPLications In Heart Failure StudY (AMPLIFY) pilot aimed to evaluate the accuracy of a novel noninvasive method that uses Eulerian video magnification. Video recordings were performed on the neck veins of 50 patients who were scheduled for right heart catheterization at the Palo Alto VA Medical Center. The recorded jugular venous pulsations were then enhanced by applying Eulerian phase-based motion magnification. Assessment of jugular venous pressure was compared across three categories: (1) physicians who performed bedside exams, (2) physicians who reviewed both the amplified and unamplified videos, and (3) direct invasive measurement of right atrial pressure from right heart catheterization. Motion magnification reduced inaccuracy of the clinician assessment of central venous pressure compared to the gold standard of right heart catheterization (mean discrepancy of -0.80 cm H 2 O; 95% CI -2.189 to 0.612, p  = 0.27) when compared to both unamplified video (-1.84 cm H 2 O; 95% CI -3.22 to -0.46, p  = 0.0096) and the bedside exam (-2.90 cm H 2 O; 95% CI -4.33 to 1.40, p  = 0.0002). Major categorical disagreements with right heart catheterization were significantly reduced with motion magnification (12%) when compared to unamplified video (25%) or the bedside exam (27%). This novel method of assessing jugular venous pressure improves the accuracy of the clinical exam and may enable accurate remote monitoring of heart failure patients with minimal patient risk., Competing Interests: Competing interestsF.A. previously received consulting fees from Google Inc. The remaining authors declare no competing interests.

Opioid neurotransmission has been implicated in psychiatric disorders featuring impaired control over appetitive motivation, such as addiction and binge-eating disorder. We have previously shown that infusions of the μ-opioid receptor (μOR) agonist DAMGO into the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) induced hyperphagia, increased motor activity, and augmented sucrose-reinforced responding in the task progressive ratio (PR) task, which assesses the motivational value of an incentive. These effects were not reproduced by intra-PFC infusion of a variety of dopamine (DA) agonists and antagonists, suggesting that manipulation of intra-PFC DA systems alone is not sufficient to reproduce μOR-like effects. Nevertheless, this does not rule out interactions between PFC DA and μ-opioid systems. Here we used intra-vmPFC drug cocktails containing DAMGO and SCH 23390 (a DA D1 receptor antagonist) to determine whether increases in appetitive motivation and motor activity elicited by intra-vmPFC μOR stimulation require intact signaling through vmPFC D1 receptors. Blockade of D1 receptors with SCH 23390 attenuated the enhancement of PR breakpoint, and increases in exploratory-like behavior and feeding initiation elicited by intra-vmPFC μOR stimulation. These results establish that intra-vmPFC D1 signaling is required for the expression of behavioral effects evoked by μOR stimulation within the PFC, and further suggest that D1 tone plays an enabling or permissive role in the expression of μOR -elicited effects. Simultaneous targeting of both μ-opioid and D1 systems may represent a more efficacious treatment strategy (compared to μOR blockade alone) for psychiatric disorders characterized by dysregulated appetitive motivation., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

To determine the effects of anger on coronary artery vasoconstriction, 12 patients with symptomatic myocardial ischemia were studied during cardiac catheterization. During catheterization, the patients were asked to recall a recent event that had produced anger. One narrowed and 2 non-narrowed arterial segments were selected using predetermined criteria. Patients also completed various self-report measurements upon entering the catheterization laboratory before any procedures, after completion of the clinical angiogram and after the anger recall stressor. There was a significant increase in subject reports of anger (F[1,6] = 21.94, p < 0.01) and arousal (F [2,6] = 5.49, p < 0.05) during the anger stressor. There were no significant changes in heart rate, systolic or diastolic blood pressure, or heart rate x systolic blood pressure product during the anger stressor. A total of 27 arterial segments (9 narrowed and 18 non-narrowed) were selected and analyzed using quantitative angiographic techniques. Repeated-measures analysis of variance (baseline vs anger stressor) found no significant group differences with regard to changes in arterial diameter between conditions or among segments. Reported anger was significantly correlated with a decrease in both mean (r = -0.76, p < 0.05) and minimal (r = -0.82, p < 0.05) diameter changes in narrowed arteries. Vasoconstriction only occurred with high levels of anger. There were no significant correlations between anger report and diameter change in non-narrowed arteries. Thus, anger may produce coronary vasoconstriction in previously narrowed coronary arteries.

Complications were surveyed prospectively in 2,029 catheterizations performed on 1,483 patients from the 13 centers participating in the VA Cooperative Study on Valvular Heart Disease. Complications were reported in 6.9% of 1,559 preoperative procedures of which 2.6% were major and 0.2% fatal. Clinical predictors of complications were hypertension and the precatheterization diagnosis of aortic stenosis. Nevertheless, patients with aortic stenosis successfully tolerated left ventriculography, which was routinely performed regardless of the magnitude of gradient. Procedural predictors of complication were brachial arteriotomy (vascular occlusion) and transseptal catheterization (tamponade). Among the 470 postoperative catheterizations performed solely for research purposes, there were six complications, of which five were bleeding events in patients taking warfarin. Transseptal catheterization was safer in postoperative patients with no cases of tamponade in 125 procedures.