Search

Malignant insulinoma is a kind of rare and challenging neuroendocrine tumor. It is often accompanied by distant metastasis, among which liver metastasis is most common, and the prognosis is often non-promising. In this paper, we report a case of multiple liver metastases from malignant insulinoma. The patient, a 70-year-old male, was admitted to the hospital due to "episodic consciousness disorder for more than four months." Blood glucose monitoring revealed recurrent hypoglycemia in the early morning, after meals, and at night. Pancreatic perfusion CT and dynamic enhanced MRI of the liver revealed a mass in the uncinate process of the pancreatic head and multiple liver metastases. Percutaneous liver biopsy confirmed the diagnosis of insulinoma. After multidisciplinary discussions, hepatic artery embolization and radiofrequency ablation were performed in stages, in combination with everolimus treatment. Thereafter, the enhanced CT demonstrated that some liver metastases shrank. The patient had regular meals, and the blood sugar gradually increased and remained normal thereafter. This article discusses this case's clinical characteristics and multidisciplinary collaborative diagnosis and treatment, aiming to provide experience for the comprehensive clinical diagnosis and treatment of malignant insulinoma patients.

A middle-aged man was presented with poor appetite, polyuria, polydrpsia, and headache. A sellar mass was found, along with total pituitary hypofunction and visual field defect. A biopsy of the lesion via the trans-sphenoidal approach showed inflammatory changes and granuloma formation. However, repeated cerebrospinal fluid and pathogenic examination of the pathological tissue showed no positive indications. The initial diagnosis considered autoimmune hypophysitis, and treatment of glucocorticoids combined with immunosuppressants was administered, which led to a temporary shrinkage of the lesion, but it gradually enlarged subsequently. After multidisciplinary discussion, a high possibility of pituitary tuberculosis infection was decided upon. After standardized anti-tuberculosis treatment was initiated, the lesion reduced noticeably and the patient′s condition improved. Pituitary tuberculosis infection is incredibly rare and extremely easy to misdiagnose. This case was diagnosed and treated in a timely and effective manner through a multidisciplinary approach, highlighting the importance of such an approach in dealing with rare diseases.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1002/advs.201800981.].

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1002/advs.201800981.].

Rechargeable magnesium/sulfur (Mg/S) batteries are widely regarded as one of the alternatives to lithium-ion batteries. However, a key factor restricting their application is the lack of suitable electrolyte. Herein, an electrolyte additive that can reduce the polarization voltage is developed and 98.7% coulombic efficiency is realized. The as-prepared Mg-ion electrolyte exhibits excellent Mg plating/stripping performance with a low overpotential of 0.11 V for plating process, and high anodic stability up to 3.0 V (vs Mg/Mg2+). When it is coupled with magnesium polysulfide, which has high reactivity and is homogeneously distributed on carbon matrix, the Mg/S cells deliver a good cycling stability with a high discharge capacity over 1000 mAh g-1 for more than 50 cycles.

The polysulfide (PS) dissolution and low conductivity of lithium sulfides (Li2S) are generally considered the main reasons for limiting the reversible capacity of the lithium‐sulfur (Li‐S) system. However, as the inevitable intermediate between PSs and Li2S, lithium disulfide (Li2S2) evolutions are always overlooked. Herein, Li2S2 evolutions are monitored from the operando measurements on the pouch cell level. Results indicate that Li2S2 undergoes slow electrochemical reduction and chemical disproportionation simultaneously during the discharging process, leading to further PS dissolution and Li2S generation without capacity contribution. Compared with the fully oxidized Li2S, Li2S2 still residues at the end of the charging state. Therefore, instead of the considered Li2S and PSs, slow electrochemical conversions and side chemical reactions of Li2S2 are the determining factors in limiting the sulfur utilization, corresponding to the poor reversible capacity of Li‐S batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A high‐performance all‐inorganic magnesium–lithium chloride complex (MLCC) electrolyte is synthesized by a simple room‐temperature reaction of LiCl with MgCl2 in tetrahydrofuran (THF) solvent. Molecular dynamics simulation, density functional theory calculation, Raman spectroscopy, and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy reveal that the formation of [MgxLiyCl2x+y·nTHF] complex solvation structure significantly lowers the coordination number of THF in the first solvation sheath of Mg2+, which significantly enhances its de‐solvation kinetics. The MLCC electrolyte presents a stable electrochemical window up to 3.1 V (vs Mg/Mg2+) and enables reversible cycling of Mg metal deposition/stripping with an outstanding Coulombic efficiency up to 99% at current densities as high as 10 mA cm−2. Utilizing the MLCC electrolyte, a Mg/Mo6S8 full cell can be cycled for over 10 000 cycles with a superior capacity retention of 85 mA h g−1 under an ultrahigh rate of 50 C (1 C = 128.8 mA g−1). The facile synthesis of high‐performance MLCC electrolyte provides a promising solution for future practical magnesium batteries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]