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Radiotherapy, as well as chemotherapy and surgery, occupies an essential position in tumor treatment. Nonetheless, insufficient radiation deposition and hypoxia-related radioresistance of cancer cells still are serious challenges in radiotherapy. Herein, we proposed a hollow PtCo nanosphere (PtCo NS)-based novel radiosensitizer with three advantages to sensitize tumor radiotherapy (i) the high-Z element Pt ensured higher radiation absorption to cause more DNA damage, (ii) the platinum (Pt) and cobalt (Co) elements exhibited a dual catalase-like enzymatic activity to convert endogenic H2O2 to O2 efficiently, and (iii) the unique hollow nature of the PtCo NS provided a large specific surface area, which could amplify the catalytic reaction of H2O2 to induce reactive oxygen species and cancer cell apoptosis upon combination with radiation. Both in vivo and in vitro studies showed that the hollow PtCo NS could significantly inhibit tumor growth, simultaneously relieving tumor hypoxia with good biocompatibility and biosafety. This work presents a simple but multifunctional radiosensitizer with a unique hollow structure for radiotherapy enhancement.An increased interest in the capture and conversion of carbon dioxide into valuable chemical products is fueled by impending societal and ecological consequences of increasing CO2 concentration in the atmosphere. This work utilizes Lackner’s thermodynamic calculations for the capture of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere based on a single sorbent approximation to map thermodynamic favorability zones compatible with various applications. When a minimal amount of CO2 is removed from the air stream, -4.64 kcal mol-1 is estimated as the maximum free energy of binding for sorption to occur in atmospheric conditions at 1 atm pressure and room temperature. When complete scrubbing of CO2 from a dilute source is desired, a more negative free energy of sorption is needed, with an estimated -10.92 kcal mol-1 required for close to complete CO2 removal from the stream.This study aimed to evaluate the effects of ingestion of live (9 log CFU mL-1) and ultrasound-inactivated (paraprobiotic, 20 kHz, 40 min) Lacticaseibacillus casei 01 cells for 28 days on healthy parameters (biochemical and cardiovascular) and intestinal microbiota (amplicon sequencing of 16S ribosomal RNA) of rats fed a high-fat diet. Twenty-four male Wistar rats were divided into four groups of six animals CTL (standard diet), HFD (high-fat diet), HFD-LC (high-fat diet and live L. casei), and HFD-ILC (high-fat diet and inactivated L. casei). The administration of live and ultrasound-inactivated L. casei prevented the increase (p less then 0.05) in cholesterol levels (total and LDL) and controlled the insulin resistance in rats fed a high-fat diet. Zunsemetinib Furthermore, it promoted a modulation of the intestinal microbial composition by increasing (p less then 0.05) beneficial bacteria (Lachnospiraceae and Ruminoccocaceae) and decreasing (p less then 0.05) harmful bacteria (Clostridiaceae, Enterobacteriaceae, and Helicobacteriacea), attenuating the effects promoted by the HFD ingestion. Only live cells could increase (p less then 0.05) the HDL-cholesterol, while only inactivated cells caused attenuation (p less then 0.05) of the blood pressure. Results show beneficial effects of live and inactivated L. casei 01 and indicate that ultrasound inactivation produces a paraprobiotic with similar or improved health properties compared to live cells.The performance of tunable emissions in aggregates is highly desirable but challenging owing to the restricted molecular conformations of luminogens. Herein, we designed and synthesized a new “flexible” luminogen, a carborane-cored compound NAPH, which exhibits variable photophysical behaviours in aggregates, such as aggregation-induced emission, crystallization-induced emission, polymorph-dependent emission, and mechanochromic luminescence. Moreover, the two polymorphs with different emission colors show opposite mechano-responsive luminescence, which is rarely observed for single-component luminescent materials. Both theoretical calculations and photophysical experiments reveal that the carborane-cored luminogen could afford variable conformations. This endows the whole molecule with multiple conformations in aggregates, thus leading to variable emission behaviours. Therefore, the present work provides new access to the construction of multifunctional single-component solid-state luminescent materials.A NH4I/K3PO4-based catalytic system has been established to enable oxidative formation of thiazole compounds from arylacetic acids and phenylalanines with elemental sulfur. While the three-component reaction of anilines or β-naphthylamines with arylacetic acids and elemental sulfur affords benzo[2,1-d]thiazoles and naphtho[2,1-d]thiazoles, the annulation of phenylalanines with elemental sulfur produces 2-benzyl and 2-benzoylthiazoles. This work well complements previous three-component annulations of benzothiazoles from other coupling partners.Pure hydrogen production via water splitting is an ideal strategy for producing clean and sustainable energy. Two-dimensional (2D) cadmium chalcogenide single-layers with a tetragonal crystal structure, namely Tetra-CdX (X = S, Se, and Te) monolayers, are theoretically predicted by means of density functional theory (DFT). Their structural stability and electronic and optical properties are investigated. We find that Tetra-CdX single-layers are thermodynamically stable. Their stability decreases as we go down the 6A group in the periodic table, i.e., from X = S to Se, and Te which also means that the electronegativity decreases. All considered novel monolayers are indirect band gap semiconductors. Using the HSE06 functional the electronic band gaps of CdS, CdSe, and CdTe monolayers are predicted to be 3.10 eV, 2.97 eV, and 2.90 eV, respectively. The impact of mechanical strain on the physical properties was studied, which indicates that compressive strain increases the band gap and tensile strain decreases the band gap. The optical properties of the Tetra-CdX monolayers show the ability of these monolayers to absorb visible light. Due to the suitable band gaps and band edge positions of Tetra-CdX, these newly discovered 2D materials are promising for photocatalytic water splitting.