Group AO Research Articles

Repeated use of the very-low-calorie diet in a structured multidisciplinary weight-management program

Forty-eight obese patients (mean body mass index = 36.4) were retreated with a very-low-calorie diet (VLCD) at a mean of 104-wk after first VLCD. Mean weight regain was 23 kg or 86% regain of initial loss. Retreatment with VLCD required weekly physician monitoring and indepth psychotherapy group attendance. Five patients (10%) lost an average of 4.55 kg and withdrew within the first 4 wk (group AO. Thirteen patients (27%) lost 13.8 kg over 11.5 wk, an average weight loss of 1.2 kg/wk and enrolled in maintenance (group B). Thirty patients (63%) lost 10.2 kg over 20 wk, an average weight loss of 0.5 kg/wk and did not enroll in the maintenance program (group C). Although weight loss occurs in patients retreated with the VLCD, adherence to the VLCD and commitment to the maintenance program are not optimal.

Ontogenic expression of histo-blood group antigens in the intestines of suckling pigs: lectin histochemical and immunohistochemical analysis

The expression of intestinal histo-blood group AO and related antigens was investigated in piglets during an 8 week suckling period. Lectin histochemical and immunohistochemical analyses were undertaken on sections of resin-embedded intestinal tissue and semi-quantitative scoring systems were adopted for categories of lectins and monoclonal antibodies reactive with carbohydrate moieties present in core, backbone and terminal oligosaccharide sequences of histo-blood group antigens. Distinct age-related changes were observed in the terminal glycosylation of both secretory and membrane glycoconjugates. Histo-blood group A antigen was identified in intestinal mucin 5 weeks after birth and the precursor H antigen was found in goblet cells at week 1. H antigen was undetectable on intestinal membranes during the first 3 weeks of suckling but a conspicuous and sustained level of this form of fucosylation was apparent during the latter half of the suckling period. More complex membrane glycosylation involving further fucosylation and/or the expression of A antigen, was evident in the latter part of the suckling period. These temporal changes in membrane and secretory glycosylation may be physiologically important during intestinal adaptation and development in young pigs.

Bargmann structures and Newton-Cartan theory.

It is shown that Newton-Cartan theory of gravitation can best be formulated on a five-dimensional extended space-time carrying a Lorentz metric together with a null parallel vector field. The corresponding geometry associated with the Bargmann group (nontrivially extended Galilei group) viewed as a subgroup of the affine de Sitter group AO(4,1) is thoroughly investigated. This new global formalism allows one to recast classical particle dynamics and the Schroedinger equation into a purely covariant form. The Newton-Cartan field equations are readily derived from Einstein's Lagrangian on the space-time extension.

Effects of alcohol on conditioned avoidance responding

Albino rats were trained in a conditioned avoidance response and tested 48 hr later for retention in a 2 × 2 factorial design of alcohol and no alcohol states. Group AA was trained and tested 1 hr after a stomach-tubing of an 11.88% aqueous solution of ethanol in an amount which was approximately 2% of the animal's bodyweight. Group OO was trained and tested without alcohol. (Group AO received alcohol in testing, but not in training.) Analysis of variance of the difference scores between training and testing percent avoidances showed an alcohol effect, as well as an interaction of the alcohol effects in the two situations. The results are discussed in relation to the central nervous effects of ethanol.