Shear wave elastography can evaluate the Young's modulus of carotid plaque stably, and could serve as an additional method for the detection of symptomatic carotid plaques, which, in combination with common ultrasound, can promote the efficiency of differentiating symptomatic carotid plaques.

There is a high incidence of benign breast lumps among women, and these lumps may lead to physical and psychological problems. This study aims to evaluate anxiety and depressive symptoms among patients with benign breast lumps diagnosed via ultrasonography and investigate their impacts on health-related quality of life (HRQOL). A cross-sectional survey was conducted in Shenyang, China, from January to November 2013. Data were collected with self-administered questionnaires, including the Zung Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), and the 36-item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36), together with demographic characteristics, from patients of the Department of Breast Surgery of the First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis (HMR) was performed to explore the effects of anxiety and depression on HRQOL. The overall prevalences of anxiety (SAS score ≥ 40) and depression (CES-D scores ≥ 16) were 40.2% and 62.0%, respectively, and 37.5% of the participants had both of these psychological symptoms. The means and standard deviations of PCS and MCS were 75.42 (15.22) and 68.70 (17.71), respectively. Anxiety and depressive symptoms were significantly negatively associated with the HRQOL of patients with benign breast lumps diagnosed via ultrasonography. Women with benign breast lumps diagnosed via ultrasonography in China experienced relatively high levels of anxiety and depressive symptoms. Anxiety and depressive symptoms had significant negative impacts on both the mental and physical quality of life (QOL) of women with benign breast lumps. Beyond the necessary clinical treatment procedures, psychological guidance and detailed explanations of the disease should be offered to alleviate the anxiety and depressive symptoms and enhance the HRQOL of patients with benign breast lumps.

Trigonelline has been reported to serve an important role in cell cycle control, oxidative and ultraviolet stress and DNA methylation. In the present study, the effects of trigonelline were examined on type-2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM)-induced renal dysfunction, and its possible mechanism was investigated. Sprague-Dawley rats were fed with high-fat diet (HFD) for 4 weeks and intraperitoneally injected with 35 mg/kg of streptozotocin for 4 weeks. As a result, trigonelline increased body weight, inhibited the kidney weight/body weight ratio and blood glucose levels, and reduced the levels of blood urea nitrogen, creatinine and albumin in type 2 diabetic rats. In addition, trigonelline also reduced inflammation, oxidative stress and kidney cell apoptosis in T2DM rats. In terms of the molecular mechanisms involved, trigonelline induced the protein expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)-γ and suppressed glucose transporter 4 but suppressed the protein expression of tumor necrosis factor-α and leptin in T2DM rats. The present results demonstrated that trigonelline reduced diabetic nephropathy and insulin resistance in T2DM rats through PPAR-γ.