A fourier transform infrared spectroscopic and solid-state NMR study of bone mineral in osteogenesis imperfecta.

Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and 31P solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy were used to determine if any structural or compositional differences in osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) bone mineral could be detected that might help to explain the bone fragility observed in this disease. A previous study by Cassella et al. used an electron probe X-ray microanalytical technique to compare the calcium to phosphorus (Ca/P) molar ratios in normal bone and bone from patients with OI.

Microscopic identification of asbestos fibres associated with African clay crafts manufacture.

The use of asbestos in manufacturing is a world-wide phenomenon, not just confined to the developed world. The activity described below shows that there are similar problems in the third world which need to be tackled. A sample of white fibrous material used in pot making by women in a village of Botswana was provided for analysis.

An electron probe X-ray microanalytical study of bone mineral in osteogenesis imperfecta.

A semiquantitative electron probe X-ray microanalytical (XRMA) technique, in conjunction with transmission electron microscopy, was used to compare the calcium to phosphorus (Ca/P) molar ratios in calcium phosphate standards of known composition, in normal bone and in bone from patients with osteogenesis imperfecta (OI). Using a modified routine processing and resin embedding schedule, the measured Ca/P molar ratio of calcium phosphates standards of known composition were found to correlate well with the Ca/P molar ratio based on their respective chemical formulae. This technique was then used to compare the Ca/P molar ratio in normal human bone and in OI bone.

An ultrastructural, microanalytical, and spectroscopic study of bone from a transgenic mouse with a COL1.A1 pro-alpha-1 mutation.

A line of transgenic mice have been investigated that expressed moderate levels of an internally deleted human gene for the pro alpha (I) chain of type I procollagen. These mice expressed the gene at approximately 50% that of the endogenous gene. The gene construct was modeled after a sporadic in-frame deletion of the human gene that produced a lethal variant of osteogenesis imperfecta by causing biosynthesis of shortened pro alpha (I) chains.