Publications by authors named "Sheng Dai"

A 66-year-old woman presented with 9 days of left clavicle pain, with no history of recent trauma. CT images showed a left clavicle fracture with a surrounding soft tissue mass. An 18F-FDG PET/CT scan revealed increased FDG uptake in the tonsils, multiple lymph nodes, and the pathologically fractured clavicle, initially suggesting malignancy.

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Porous liquids have traditionally been designed with sterically hindered solvents. Alternatively, recent efforts rely on dispersing microporous frameworks in simpler solvents like water. Here we report a unique strategy to construct macroporous water by selectively incorporating hydrophilicity on the surfaces of hydrophobic hollow carbon spheres (HCS).

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Precise sub-Ångstrom-level porosity engineering, which is appealing in gas separations, has been demonstrated in solid carbon, polymer, and framework materials but rarely achieved in the liquid phase. In this work, a gas molecular sieving effect in the liquid phase at sub-5 Ångstrom scale is created via sophisticated porosity tuning in calixarene-derived porous liquids (PLs). Type II PLs are constructed via supramolecular complexation between the sodium salts of calixarene derivatives and crown ether solvents.

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  • Vascular stents are crucial for treating atherosclerosis and have reduced mortality through bare metal and drug-eluting options, but concerns like restenosis and thrombus formation persist.
  • Hyaluronic acid (HA) is often used to modify stent surfaces, but its effectiveness is limited due to degradation by reactive oxygen species (ROS) and enzymes, which can provoke inflammation and affect stent performance.
  • The study introduces a new coating using baicalin (BCL) to protect HA from degradation, offering enhanced endothelial cell support and greater stability, positioning this method as a promising advancement in stent technology.
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Herein, we described a case of small bowel Crohn's disease with recurrent, unexplained fevers, pain in the right lower back, hip, and groin area over 20 months. The patient did not present any gastrointestinal symptoms and colonoscopy showed no abnormalities. Imaging revealed a liver abscess and multiple lesions with pneumatosis in the muscles of the right lower back region.

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Ozone (O) poses serious health risks, prompting numerous countries to implement regulations that establish exposure limits and emission controls, for example, the air quality index (AQI) for O ranging from 50 to 150 parts per billion (ppb), with natural levels at around 30 ppb. Electrochemical sensors are favored for detecting pollutant gases due to their high sensitivity, low cost, portability, energy efficiency, and capability for selective detection. In this study, we developed an O sensor employing carbon-supported Pt-based binary and ternary nanorods (NRs) combined with room-temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) as electrolytes, aiming at highly sensitive and selective detection of O at ppb levels.

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Direct oxidation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) to 5-hydroxymethyl-2-furancarboxylic acid (HMFCA), crucial for medical supply production, is hindered by overoxidation. We synthesized gold nanomaterials with distinct single-crystal facets, {111} in octahedra (OC), {100} in nanocubes (NCs), and {110} in rhombic dodecahedra (RD), to investigate the facet-dependent HMF oxidation. The Au RD achieved the spontaneous oxidation of HMF to HMFCA with stoichiometric hydrogen production, maintaining 95% carbon balance, 91% yield, and 98% selectivity.

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The performance of TiNbO (TNO) is enhanced for fast-charging lithium-ion batteries by coating with graphdiyne (GDY). This modification improves the conductivity, rate capability, and cycling stability of TNO. The GDY coated TNO (TNO@GDY) retains 73% capacity after 1000 cycles at 5C, demonstrating its potential for advanced energy storage applications.

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A bimetallic heterostructure has been shown effective to enhance the multi-carbon (C) product selectivity in CO electroreduction. Clarifying the interfacial structure under electrolysis and its decisive role in the pathway selection are crucial, yet challenging. Here, we conceive a well-defined Ag-Cu biphasic heterostructure to understand the interfacial structure-steered product selectivity: The Cu-rich interface prefers ethylene, while the dominant product switch to alcohols with an increasing Ag fraction, and finally to CO as Ag occupying the main surface.

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Heterogeneous catalysts with highly dispersed active particles on supports often face stability challenges during high-temperature industrial applications. The ex-solution strategy, which involves in situ extrusion of metals to form socketed particles, shows potential for addressing this stability issue. However, a deeper understanding of the relationship between the socketed geometry of these partially embedded nanoparticles and their catalytic performance is still lacking.

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Inorganic fillers play an important role in improving the ionic conductivity of solid composite electrolytes (SCEs) for Li-ion batteries. Among inorganic fillers, perovskite-type lithium lanthanum titanate (LLTO) stands out for its high bulk Li conductivity on the order of 10 S cm at room temperature. According to a literature survey, the optimal LLTO filler should possess the following characteristics: i) a single-crystal structure to minimize grain boundaries; ii) a small particle size to increase the filler/polymer interface area; iii) a 1D morphology for efficient interface channels; and iv) cubic symmetry to facilitate rapid bulk Li diffusion within the filler.

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Poor wound healing in diabetics is primarily caused by persistently high levels of inflammation and recurrent bacterial infections. The catalytic therapy technique based on nanozyme medicine has emerged as a beacon of hope for patients with diabetic wounds. However, the use of a single-atom nanozyme may still have limitations, including nanozyme burst release, immunological clearance and insufficient antibacterial activity.

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Background: Electroencephalogram (EEG) is widely used in emotion recognition due to its precision and reliability. However, the nonstationarity of EEG signals causes significant differences between individuals or sessions, making it challenging to construct a robust model. Recently, domain adaptation (DA) methods have shown excellent results in cross-subject EEG emotion recognition by aligning marginal distributions.

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Article Synopsis
  • Embedded Dynamic RAM (eDRAM) is crucial for high-performance processors, with a new type called heterogeneous 2T-eDRAM combining silicon and molybdenum disulfide (MoS) to solve retention issues.
  • The low OFF current of the MoS write transistor allows for significantly improved data retention while the Si read transistor enhances high drive current, leading to a 1000x better retention and 100x higher sense margin than previous types.
  • A novel 3D design stacking MoS on Si increases integration density, achieving 6000 s data retention, a 35 μA/μm sense margin, and speeds of 5 ns, representing a major leap in memory technology.
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Choriocarcinoma is a rare and highly malignant trophoblastic tumor. We present a case involving a 30-year-old woman with abdominal pain, hemoptysis, and elevated serum amylase levels. Initial clinical suspicion included acute pancreatitis.

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  • * A new class of ionic liquids containing unique carbanion structures is utilized to enable the successive binding of two CO molecules through specific chemical bond formations, improving utilization of active sites.
  • * Experimental techniques like spectroscopy and computational chemistry validate the findings, emphasizing that optimizing the molecular structure can significantly enhance CO capture performance while minimizing energy requirements for sorbent regeneration.
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  • Porous liquids (PLs) combine liquid fluidity with solid porosity, enhancing their ability for gas transport and storage, which is key for applications like gas separation and catalysis.
  • This article reviews recent advancements in using PLs as catalysts, showing they outperform traditional liquid and solid catalysts in various reactions, which include CO transformations and hydrogenation.
  • The discussion focuses on synthesis methods, structural characterization, and the relationship between PL structure and catalytic performance, emphasizing how their unique properties benefit these processes.
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  • - This study explores the unique rock-boring ability of the angelwing clam (Cyrtopleura costata) by examining the microstructure and mechanical properties of its shells, which are made of pure aragonite.
  • - Advanced analysis techniques like X-ray Diffraction and Scanning Electron Microscopy reveal that the clam's shells have a distinctive crossed-lamellar structure, making them among the hardest biological materials with significant toughness.
  • - The findings could inspire innovations in drilling technologies, as understanding the clam's shell structure and its efficient load-bearing properties may lead to improvements in construction and exploration methods.
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  • Photocatalytic conversion of methane (CH4) to methanol (CH3OH) offers a sustainable way to use natural gas and reduce greenhouse gases, but low-temperature synthesis presents challenges.* -
  • Researchers developed a biomimetic photocatalyst with Fe2O3 nanoclusters and single Fe atoms on carbon nitride, achieving a high methanol production rate of 5.02 mmol·gcat-1·h-1 and a 98.5% selectivity for methanol.* -
  • The study found that the combined function of Fe2O3 and single Fe atoms creates a dual-Fe site that efficiently activates oxygen and enhances the oxidation of methane, aided by light excitation for better reaction kinetics
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  • High-entropy layered double hydroxides (HE-LDHs) are promising materials, but they typically lack thermal stability, limiting their use in thermo-catalysis.
  • A new method for creating HE-LDHs is introduced, which involves carefully controlling the nucleation of metal ions to improve thermal stability and prevent phase issues at high temperatures.
  • The resulting HE-LDHs can withstand temperatures up to 300 °C, maintain essential acidic properties, and effectively remove unwanted compounds from fuel oils in catalytic reactions, showcasing their enhanced stability and potential for practical applications.
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  • Hydrogen titanates (HTOs) are layered titanium oxides with an interlayer that holds water and protons, influencing lithium insertion during electrochemical processes.
  • The study employed various techniques like X-ray diffraction and mass spectroscopy to analyze how the interlayer chemistry affects the electrochemical responses of different HTOs (HTiO·HO with n = 3, 4, and 5).
  • Findings suggest that the first reduction reaction relates to the acidity of structural protons, leading to hydrogen gas production and the formation of a lithiated hydrogen titanate, impacting our understanding of electrochemical behaviors in materials with hydrogen and water.
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  • Task-specific ionic liquids (ILs) using carbanions, particularly the deprotonated malononitrile carbanion, show great potential for efficient carbon dioxide capture with nearly equal capacity for reactive CO uptake.
  • The study investigates the mechanisms of proton transfer in converting the [CH(CN)] carbanion and CO into the carboxylic acid [C(CN)COOH], finding that the intermolecular pathway is more favorable than the intramolecular one due to lower energy barriers.
  • The research reveals that the dimer of [C(CN)COOH] is stabilized by hydrogen bonds, providing insights useful for designing improved ILs and carbanions for
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  • - The study addresses the challenges moisture poses to industrial catalysis and introduces a strategy for creating water-resistant oxide catalysts by engineering entropy.
  • - It focuses on the CH oxidation process using spinel ACrO catalysts (where A is a metal like Ni, Mg, Cu, Zn, or Co) and finds that higher configurational entropy leads to improved catalyst performance.
  • - Experimental results reveal that high entropy oxides endure over 100 hours of activity in the presence of water, while traditional binary oxides deactivate quickly, indicating a significant advantage in catalyst design for moisture resistance.
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  • Hydrogen production from seawater electrolysis paired with renewable energy can cut costs, but corrosive seawater limits its commercial use.
  • A new catalyst, NiFeBa-LDH, successfully protects the electrolytic anode in seawater by using SO in the electrolyte, showing impressive stability for over 10,000 hours.
  • The research reveals that atomically dispersed Ba helps create a protective layer, enhancing the potential for practical seawater electrolysis technology commercialization due to its effective and straightforward design.
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"Flash heating" that transiently generates high temperatures above 1000 °C has great potential in synthesizing new materials with unprecedently properties. Up to now, the realization of "flash heating" still relies on the external power, which requires sophisticated setups for vast energy input. In this study, a mechanochemically triggered, self-powered flash heating approach is proposed by harnessing the enthalpy from chemical reactions themselves.

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