Objective To evaluate the effects of connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) on corneal neovascularization.Methods Twenty-five Wistar rats were divided into control and experimental groups.Corneal neovascularization (CNV) was induced by alkaline burn of the cornea with 1 mmol/L NaOH.On the 1st,4th,7th,and 14th day,CNV was observed,and the expression of CTGF was investigated with immunohistochemical method in rat cornea at the different time point.Results On the 4th day,7th day and 14th day after alkaline burn,the areas of CNV were (12.740 ±2.536) mm2,(26.068 ± 10.028) mm2,and (37.588 ± 8.066) mm2,respectively.CTGF was rarely expressed in the cornea of normal rats,and then CTFG expression was quickly increased after alkaline burn,reached the highest level on the 4th day (1.714 ± 0.185),and then declined remarkably on the 7th day (1.334 ± 0.198).Conclusions CTGF might be involved in the formation process of corneal neovascularization after corneal alkali burn.

Objective To investigate the significance of procalcitonin (PCT) and C-reactive protein (CRP) in the early diagnosis of sepsis in patients with percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL). Methods One hundred and ninety-eight patients who had underwent PCNL were divided into sepsis group (148 cases) and control group (50 cases). The PCT and CRP 6 h before and after operation were compared between 2 groups, and the receiver operating characteristic curve was drawn. The area under curve (AUC), optimal diagnostic boundary value, susceptibility and specificity were calculated. Results The PCT and CRP before operation in sepsis group were significantly higher than those in control group:(3.911 ± 2.011) ng/L vs. (1.353 ± 0.311) ng/L and (54.85 ± 8.75) g/L vs. (38.65 ± 10.76) g/L, and there were statistical differences (P<0.01). The AUC of PCT was 0.974, and the AUC of CRP was 0.853. The optimal diagnostic boundary value of PCT was > 1.65 ng/L, and the susceptibility and specificity were 97.91% and 91.01%; the optimal diagnostic boundary value of CRP was > 43.54 g/L, and the susceptibility and specificity group were 93.51% and 79.21%. Conclusions For patients with sepsis after PCNL, PCT is more significant than CRP for early diagnosis. PCT detection can be used as an important auxiliary examination for clinical diagnosis of sepsis, which could help clinicians to detect and treat the sepsis early and can greatly improve the survival rate of patients.

0.05, respectively), but those to noradrenaline (NA: 0.01?mol/L), histamine (His: 3?mol/L), and 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT: 0.1?mol/L), significantly reduced (P0.05, respectively). Under atropine or Ani pretreatment, the NA-, His- and 5-HT-elicited contractions in endothelium-denuded aorta were similar to those in endothelium-intact aorta. Conclusion Atropine and Ani can inhibit receptors-mediated constrictions of rabbit aortic vascular smooth muscle cells; the actions are endothelia independent.