Serum from an individual with occupational asthma from nickel sulphate inhalation was shown by ammonium sulphate (Farr) and anti-IgG coprecipitation tests to contain antibodies which bind 63Ni2+. This binding was absent from 30 control sera. Ligand competition studies with serum and plasma from the propositus and controls are described, and include serial additions of HSA, L-histidine, EDTA, an...

Cyclic nucleotide-gated (CNG) ion channels mediate the response to light in retinal rods. They are tetramers of two homologous subunits (alpha and beta), each of which is essential for the function of the channels in vivo. We have investigated the stoichiometry and arrangement of these two subunits to determine how they come together within an individual channel complex. We exploited the very s...

A Ni2+ based colorimetric probe based on glutathione-stabilized silver/copper nanoparticles (GSH-Ag-Cu alloy NPs) in an electrospun polymer matrix is reported. Glutathione-Ag-Cu alloy NPs were characterized by ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV-vis), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The freshly synthesized GSH-Ag-Cu alloy NPs in a polymer matrix w...

The effect of -Al2O3 particles on the electrochemical codeposition behaviour of Co–Ni alloys from sulfamate electrolyte was investigated by codeposition experiments, zeta potential and electrochemical methods. The results indicate that the presence of Al2O3 particles in Co–Ni sulfamate electrolytes contributes to the preferential codeposition of Co. Moreover, increasing Co2+ concentration also ...

The reductive biotransformation of a Ni(2+)-substituted (5 mol %) hydrous ferric oxide (NiHFO) by Shewanella putrefaciens, strain CN32, was investigated under anoxic conditions at circumneutral pH. Our objectives were to define the influence of Ni2+ substitution on the bioreducibility of the HFO and the biomineralization products formed and to identify biogeochemical factors controlling the pha...

Infrared spectra of mass-selected homoleptic nickel carbonyl cluster cations including dinuclear Ni2(CO)7(+) and Ni2(CO)8(+), trinuclear Ni3(CO)9(+) and tetranuclear Ni4(CO)11(+) are measured via infrared photodissociation spectroscopy in the carbonyl stretching frequency region. The structures are established by comparison of the experimental spectra with simulated spectra derived from density...

The major light-harvesting chlorophyll a/b-binding protein (Lhcb1,2) of photosystem II is inserted into the thylakoid via the signal recognition particle dependent pathway. However, the mechanism by which the protein enters the membrane is at this time unknown. In order to define some topographical restrictions for this process, we constructed several recombinant derivatives of Lhcb1 carrying h...

The adsorptive stripping voltammetric detection of nickel and cobalt in water samples at metal film electrodes has been extensively studied. In this work, a novel, environmentally friendly, metal-free electrochemical probe was constructed for the ultra-trace determination of Ni2+ in water samples by Adsorptive Cathodic Stripping Voltammetry (AdCSV). The electrochemical platform is based on the ...

T-type voltage-gated Ca2+ channels (CaV3.2 VGCC) have been hypothesized to control spontaneous transient outward currents (STOCs) through large-conductance Ca2+-activated K+ channels (BKCa), and contribute to the negative-feedback regulation of myogenic tone. We tested this hypothesis in superior epigastric arteries (SEAs) isolated from male C57BL/6 mice. SEAs were isolated and enzymatically di...

Nickel (Ni2+) and cobalt (Co2+) mimic hypoxia and were used as a tool to study the role of oxygen sensing and signaling cascades in the regulation of hypoxia-inducible gene expression. These metals can produce oxidative stress; therefore, it was conceivable that reactive oxygen species (ROS) may trigger signaling pathways resulting in the activation of the hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1 trans...