Urinary sodium was measured by means of 24-hour urine collection in 186 patients with type 2 diabetes.All patients were categorized into quartiles of urinary sodium.There was a significant positive trend of association of greater carotid intima-media thickness(CIMT) with increasing urinary sodium quartile,even adjusting for age,smoking,and blood pressure (Ptrend＜0.01).Multiple linear regression analysis showed that 24-hour urinary excretion may be associated with CIMT in type 2 diabetes patients (β=0.074,P＜0.01).

Objective To explore the imaging features of papillary thyroid microcarcinoma(PTMC) with real time contrast-enhanced ultrasound.Methods One hundredand forty-three cases with 149 thyroid nodules(no diffuse lession) were divided into two groups according to the diameter size(group 1,＜0.5 cm;group 2,0.5-1.0 cm) and examined by contrast-enhanced ultrasound during preoperation.Pathology was followed up as golden diagnosis criteria.Results Seventy-five benign tumors and 74 PTMC were confirmed by pathology.There were significant differences in echoes homogeneity between benign and malignant tumors in group 2(W =1 029.5,Z =-5.524,P =0.000) but no in group 1(W =933.0,Z =-1.738,P =0.082).And nonhomogeneous enhancement were showed in most PTMC in group 2.But most PTMC showed homogeneous enhancement in group 1.Conclusions Contrast-enhanced ultrasound is valuable in diagnosis of PTMC with the diameter size of 0.5-1.0 cm.

Objective To evaluate right ventricular (RV)systolic function in type-2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM)patients.Methods Fifty T2DM patients and fifty normal controls were included in the study and underwent echocardiographic examinations.The following parameters were measured:1 ) Right heart dimensions,pulmonary artery (PA)diameter,pulmonary acceleration time (AT)and PA systolic pressure (PASP);2)RV systolic function:RV fractional area change (RVFAC),tissue Doppler-derived tricuspid lateral annular systolic velocity (S'),tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE),longitudinal strain of six RV segments by 2-dimensional speckle tracking imaging (2D-STI);3 )RV diastolic function:E,A ratio of the tricuspid inflow spectrum (E/A),E,E'(peak early diastolic velocity of the tricuspid annulus) ratio (E/E');4)RV Tei index.Results Statistic analysis showed that T2DM patients had thicker RV walls,wider PAs and shorter AT than the control group (P =0.000,0.001 and 0.000),while their right heart chamber sizes and PASP remained unchanged.Among systolic parameters,absolute values of RV longitudinal strain at the lateral wall-mid (lat-m),septum-mid (sep-m)and septum-basal (sep-b)segments were significantly lower in the diabetic group than the control group (P =0.001 ,0.000 and 0.005),whereas strain of the other three RV segments and RVFAC,TAPSE.S'were not significantly different.Moreover, E/A,E/E'and Tei index were all significantly different between the two groups (P = 0.000,0.000 and 0.006),indicating declined diastolic and general function of RV in the T2DM group.Conclusions RV myocardial strain by 2D-STI is more sensitive in detecting RV systolic dysfunction than TAPSE,S' and RVFAC.Among the six segments of RV walls,lat-m,sep-m and sep-b are better locations for 2D-STI than the other three.

Objective To apply the binary Logistic regression model and evaluate the value of grey scale ultrasonography(US),ultrasond elastography(UE) and contrast-enhanced ultrasound(CEUS).Methods US,UE and CEUS were performed in 130 patients with 142 solid thyroid micronodules (the largest diameter less than 10 mm).Pathology was followed up as golden diagnosis criteria.A Logistic model on the basis of ultrasonographic features was obtained.A receiver operating characteristic(ROC) curve was used to assess the performance of Logistic model.Results Four ultrasonic indexes were finally entered into the Logistic regression model including microcalcification,acpect ratio,advanced CEUS mode and elasticity score.The percentage correction of prediction was 92.1％ (129/142),the area under the ROC curve was 0.944.Conclusions The multivariate analysis model of binary Logistic regression can describe and analyze the process of differential diagnosis of malignant and benign solid thyroid micronodules by ultrasonography,and select out the valuable indexes for differential diagnosis.