The mineral sturmanite is a hydrated calcium iron aluminium manganese sulphate tetrahydroxoborate hydroxide of formula Ca6(Fe, Al, Mn)2(SO4)2(B(OH)4)(OH)12·26H2O. We have studied the mineral sturmanite using a number of techniques, including SEM with EPMA and vibrational spectroscopy. Chemical analysis shows a homogeneous phase, composed by Ca, Fe, Mn, S, Al and Si. B is not determined in this ...

Urinary excretion of acid mucopolysaccharides of varying composition and amount has been found in a number of rare diseases, mainly affecting the connective tissues. Recently excretion of chondroitin sulphate and hyaluronic acid in the urine of a patient with mastocytosis has been described by Asboe-Hansen and Clausen (1963). Evidence of the presence of acid mucopolysaccharides in different org...

AIM To carry out a detailed morphological study of the cornea of a 16 year old female with a Maroteaux-Lamy syndrome (MLS). METHODS Following a penetrating keratoplasty in July 1999, ultrastructural changes in the cornea were examined using electron microscopy. Proteoglycans were visualised using cuprolinic blue dye; and betaig-h3 and keratan sulphate were detected by immunoelectron microscop...

The hyaluronan lyase of group B streptococci rapidly cleaves hyaluronan by an elimination mechanism to yield the unsaturated disaccharide 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-3-O-(beta-D-gluco-4-enepyranosyluronic acid)-D-glucose. Additionally, it has been shown that the enzyme has limited specificity for achondroitin sulphate and cleaves the chain at unsulphated sites [Baker,Yu, Morrison, Averett and Pritchard...

Syndecan-1 is a proteoglycan that concentrates heparin-binding factors on the surface of multiple myeloma cells, and probably plays a major role in multiple myeloma biology. As heparan sulphate and chondroitin sulphate are the bioactive components of syndecan-1, we analysed the signature of genes encoding 100 proteins involved in synthesis of these chains, i.e. from precursor uptake to post-tra...

This work aimed to evaluate the analgesic efficacy of intra-articular injection of magnesium sulphate (4%) compared with equivalent volume of bupivacaine (0.5%) after outpatient knee arthroscopic meniscectomy. Forty patients were randomly assigned to two groups. Group M (n = 20) received intra-articular magnesium sulphate 4%, group B (n = 20) received bupivacaine (0.5%). Analgesic effect was ev...

The immune bodies of antipneumococcus serum are completely precipitated by 38 to 42 per cent. saturation with ammonium sulphate. They are incompletely precipitated by (a) ammonium sulphate in less than 38 per cent. saturation, (b) saturation with sodium chloride, (c) dilution and saturation with carbon dioxide, (d) removal of crystalloids by dialysis. The immune bodies of antipneumococcus serum...

A histochemical study of sulphated glycosaminoglycans associated with the somites of the chick embryo SUMMARY A histochemical analysis has been made of sulphated glycosaminoglycans (mucopoly-saccharides) associated with chick embryo somites before and after the onset of overt cartilage differentiation. The sulphated glycosaminoglycans were distinguished and resolved into different types by the ...

In studies of cation-binding by acid mucopolysaccharides and the possible significance of these reactions in calcification processes, it has been shown, in cartilage, that the chondroitin sulphate component is solely responsible for the cation-binding capacity, that the cation-binding reactions are of the ion-exchange type and that different cations exhibit varying degrees of affinity for the c...