The harsh conditions of large hydrated ion radius Mg2+ cations and the strong electrostatic interaction with host material put forward higher requirements for high-performance aqueous magnesium (Mg2+) energy storage devices. Herein, substituted aluminium ions (Al3+) doped α-MnO2 materials are prepared. introduction Al3+ adjust local chemical environment inside tunnel structure precisely regulat...

The divalent mineral cations Ca2+ and Mg2+ play many and diverse roles both in the function of cells and in extracellular processes. The metabolism of these cations is a complex process involving the coordinated function of several organ systems and endocrine glands. A recently cloned G-protein-coupled receptor responds to extracellular calcium concentration (Ca2+0-sensing receptor, CaSR) and m...

The structural preferences of soya phosphatidylinositol in isolation and in mixtures with soya phosphatidylethanolamine, and the influence of Ca2+ and Mg2+ on these preferences, have been examined employing 31P-NMR and freeze-fracture techniques. It is shown that phosphatidylinositol assumes the bilayer organization on hydration both in the presence and absence of Ca2+ and Mg2+. In mixed system...

Delayed rectifier potassium channels were expressed in the membrane of Xenopus oocytes by injection of rat brain DRK1 (Kv2.1) cRNA, and currents were measured in cell-attached and inside-out patch configurations. In intact cells the current-voltage relationship displayed inward going rectification at potentials > +100 mV. Rectification was abolished by excision of membrane patches into solution...

Recent efforts have been made to unravel the independent roles of monovalent cations in RNA folding, primarily using the Tetrahymena ribozyme as a model. Here we report how monovalent cations impact the folding of the Candida ribozyme. Interestingly, this ribozyme requires an order of magnitude less monovalent cations (Na+ and Tris+) to commit to a new folding starting state in which the J3/4:P...

Mutational analyses have suggested that BK channels are regulated by three distinct divalent cation-dependent regulatory mechanisms arising from the cytosolic COOH terminus of the pore-forming alpha subunit. Two mechanisms account for physiological regulation of BK channels by microM Ca2+. The third may mediate physiological regulation by mM Mg2+. Mutation of five aspartate residues (5D5N) with...

Ionic aluminum (Al3+) is toxic to plants, microbes, fish, and animals, but the mechanism of its toxicity is unknown. We describe the isolation of two yeast genes (ALR1 and ALR2) which confer increased tolerance to Al3+ and Ga3+ ions when overexpressed while increasing strain sensitivity to Zn2+, Mn2+, Ni2+, Cu2+, Ca2+, and La3+ ions. The Alr proteins are homologous to the Salmonella typhimurium...

The effects of ions (i.e. Na+, Mg2+ and polyamines including spermidine and spermine) on the stability of various DNA oligonucleotides in solution were studied. These synthetic DNA molecules contained sequences that mimic various cellular DNA structures, such as duplexes, bulged loops, hairpins and/or mismatched base pairs. Melting temperature curves obtained from the ultraviolet spectroscopic ...

Uptake and incorporation of [3H]uridine by mouse blastocysts was measured in response to serum under various conditions of Ca2+ and Mg2+ availability. Previous studies (Fishel & Surani, 1978) showed that serum stimulated uptake and incorporation of uridine in blastocysts. Here it is shown that in Ca2+-deficient medium (< 20 microM-Ca2+) cell metabolism was also inhibited and increasing [Ca2+] r...