Poly[μ2-aqua-aqua­(μ3-1H-benzimidazole-5,6-dicarboxyl­ato-κ3 N 3:O 5:O 5′)manganese(II)]

In the title complex, [Mn(C9H4N2O4)(H2O)2]n, the MnII atom is in a distorted octa­hedral coordination completed by one N atom from one 1H-benzimidazole-5,6-dicarboxyl­ate ligand, two O atoms from two different 1H-benzimidazole-5,6-dicarboxyl­ate ligands, and three O atoms from three water mol­ecules. Two bridging water mol­ecules and two bridging carboxyl­ate groups from a 1H-benzimidazole-5,6-dicarboxyl­ate ligand connect two MnII ions into a dimeric structure. In the crystal, extensive inter­molecular O—H⋯O, N—H⋯O and C—H⋯O hydrogen bonding forms a three-dimensional network

Chlamydia pneumoniae Infection of the Central Nervous System Worsens Experimental Allergic Encephalitis

Experimental allergic encephalitis (EAE) is considered by many to be a model for human multiple sclerosis. Intraperitoneal inoculation of mice with Chlamydia pneumoniae, after immunization with neural antigens, increased the severity of EAE. Accentuation of EAE required live infectious C. pneumoniae, and the severity of the disease was attenuated with antiinfective therapy. After immunization with neural antigens, systemic infection with C. pneumoniae led to the dissemination of the organism into the central nervous system (CNS) in mice with accentuated EAE. Inoculation with Chlamydia trachomatis did not worsen EAE and infectious organisms were not seen in the CNS. These observations suggest that dissemination of C. pneumoniae results in localized infection in CNS tissues in animals with EAE. We propose that infection of the CNS by C. pneumoniae can amplify the autoreactive pool of lymphocytes and regulate the expression of an autoimmune disease

Effect of ultrasound on physicochemical properties of emulsion stabilized by fish myofibrillar protein and xanthan gum

peer-reviewedTo investigate the effects ultrasound (20 kHz, 150–600 W) on physicochemical properties of emulsion stabilized by myofibrillar protein (MP) and xanthan gum (XG), the emulsions were characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, ζ-potential, particle size, rheology, surface tension, and confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM). FT-IR spectra confirmed the complexation of MP and XG, and ultrasound did not change the functional groups in the complexes. The emulsion treated at 300 W showed the best stability, with the lowest particle size, the lowest surface tension (26.7 mNm−1) and the largest ζ-potential absolute value (25.4 mV), that were confirmed in the CLSM photos. Ultrasound reduced the apparent viscosity of the MP-XG emulsions, and the changes of particle size were manifested in flow properties. Generally, ultrasound was successfully applied to improve the physical stability of MP-XG emulsion, which could be used as a novel delivery system for functional material

High-Responsivity Mid-Infrared Graphene Detectors with Antenna-Enhanced Photocarrier Generation and Collection

Graphene is an attractive photoconductive material for optical detection due to its broad absorption spectrum and ultrashort response time. However, it remains a great challenge to achieve high responsivity in graphene detectors because of graphene’s weak optical absorption (only 2.3% in the monolayer graphene sheet) and short photocarrier lifetime (<1 ps). Here we show that metallic antenna structures can be designed to simultaneously improve both light absorption and photocarrier collection in graphene detectors. The coupled antennas concentrate free space light into the nanoscale deep-subwavelength antenna gaps, where the graphene light interaction is greatly enhanced as a result of the ultrahigh electric field intensity inside the gap. Meanwhile, the metallic antennas are designed to serve as electrodes that collect the generated photocarriers very efficiently. We also elucidate the mechanism of photoconductive gain in the graphene detectors and demonstrate mid-infrared (mid-IR) antenna-assisted graphene detectors at room temperature with more than 200 times enhancement of responsivity (∼0.4 V/W at λ0 = 4.45 μm) compared to devices without antennas (<2 mV/W).United States. Air Force Office of Scientific Research (Grant FA9550-12-1-0289)United States. Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (Grant N66001-13-1-2007)United States. Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (Grant N66001-13-1-3005