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Guided bone regeneration (GBR) membrane has been used to improve functional outcomes for periodontal regeneration. However, few studies have focused on the biomimetic membrane mimicking the vascularization of the periodontal membrane. This study aimed to fabricate waterborne polyurethane (WPU) fibrous membranes loaded fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF-2) via emulsion electrospinning, which can promote regeneration of periodontal tissue via the vascularization of the biomimetic GBR membrane. A biodegradable WPU was synthesized by using lysine and dimethylpropionic acid as chain extenders according to the rule of green chemical synthesis technology. The WPU fibers with FGF-2 was fabricated via emulsion electrospinning. The results confirmed that controlled properties of the fibrous membrane had been achieved with controlled degradation, suitable mechanical properties and sustained release of the factor. The immunohistochemical expression of angiogenic-related factors was positive, meaning that FGF-2 loaded in fibers can significantly promote cell vascularization. The fiber scaffold loaded FGF-2 has the potential to be used as a functional GBR membrane to promote the formation of extraosseous blood vessels during periodontal repairing.

IntroductionNeuropathic pain is one of the common complications of spinal cord injuries (SCI), which will slow down the recovery process and result in lower quality of life. Previous studies have shown that repeated transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) of the motor cortex (M1) can reduce the average pain and the most severe pain of neuropathic pain after SCI. The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) area is a common target of rTMS. Recently, a few studies found that rTMS of DLPFC may relieve the neuropathic pain of SCI. Compared with the M1 area, the efficacy of rTMS treatment in the DLPFC area in improving neuropathic pain and pain-related symptoms in patients with SCI is still unclear. Therefore, our study aims to evaluate the non-inferiority of rTMS in the DLPFC vs M1 in patients with neuropathic pain after SCI, in order to provide more options for rTMS in treating neuropathic pain after SCI.Methods and analysisWe will recruit 50 subjects with neuropathic pain after SCI. They will be randomly assigned to the DLPFC- rTMS and M1-rTMS groups and be treated with rTMS for 4 weeks. Except for the different stimulation sites, the rTMS treatment programmes of the two groups are the same: 10 Hz, 1250 pulses, 115% intensity threshold, once a day, five times a week for 4 weeks. VAS, simplified McGill Pain Questionnaire, Spinal Cord Injury Pain Date Set, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and Hamilton Anxiety Scale will be evaluated at baseline, second week of treatment, fourth week of treatment and 4 weeks after the end of treatment. And VAS change will be calculated.Ethics and disseminationThe Ethics Committee of the Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University has approved this trial, which is numbered KY2020041. Written informed consent will be provided to all participants after verification of the eligibility criteria. The results of the study will be published in peer-reviewed publications.Trial registration numberChiCTR2000032362.

Current gel entrapment technology has certain advantages for the enrichment of anammox sludge. In this study, the optimal preparation conditions and cultivation equipment of Ca-alginate cell beads for the culturing anammox sludge were proposed. The preparation parameters of the Ca-alginate cell beads were as follows: 3% sodium alginate, 4% CaCl2, VSA:Vcell = 1:1, a drop height of 9 cm, stirring speed of 300 rpm, and cross-linking time of 24 h. The prepared cell beads were regular spheres with a uniform size and hard texture. Throughout the 9 days of cultivation, the number of anammox bacteria in the Ca-alginate cell beads was 4.3 times that of the initial sludge, and the color of the cell beads changed from yellowish-brown to reddish-brown. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis showed that the SA gel beads had a good microporous structure. The fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) results illustrated that the bacteria were mostly dispersed inside the Ca-alginate cell beads. Additionally, the qPCR results implied that only a relatively small amount of anammox biomass (2.74×106 copies/gel-bead) was required to quickly start the anammox process. The anammox bacteria in the Ca-alginate cell beads grew with a fast growth rate in a short period and exhibited high activity due to diffusion limitations. In addition, the anammox bacteria cultivated in the Ca-alginate cell beads could adapt to the increase in substrate concentration in a short period. The optimal incubation time of this gel entrapment method for anammox sludge was no more than 17 days under the experimental conditions of this work. Therefore, this simple and practicable gel entrapment method may serve as a suitable pre-culture means for the rapid enrichment of anammox bacteria.

Objective: To investigate the effective exercise prescription in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) for patellofemoral pain (PFP). Design: A network meta-analysis. Data sources: PubMed (including Medline), Embase, Web of Science, PEDro, Clinicaltrials.gov and other resourses for RCTs. Eligibility criteria for selecting studies: RCTs of exercise interventions for PFP with outcomes of pain intensity or functional improvement. Primary outcome measure: Pain intensity is measured by "worst pain in the past week" on a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) or Numerical Rating Pain Scale (NRS). Data extraction: Two researchers independently extracted data and assessed the bias of risks. We used Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation to appraise the strength of the evidence. Results: A total of 45 trials with 42,319 patients were included in this network meta-analysis (NMA). For the primary outcomes, all included treatments were superior to a wait-and-see approach: PNF + exercise (SMD -2.88, 95%CIs -4.75 to -1.02), whole body exercise (-1.57, -3.15 to -0.00), hip-and knee-focused exercise therapy (-1.32, -2.57 to -0.06), foot orthoses + exercise (-1.06, -2.92 to -0.06), hip exercise (-1.10, -2.44 to 0.24), knee brace + exercise(-0.91, -2.54 to 0.72), gait retraining exercise (-2.55, -4.72 to -0.37), knee exercise (-0.92, -2.16 to 0.33), knee arthroscopy + exercise (-0.61, -2.44 to 1.22), target exercise (-0.52, -2.38 to 1.33), kinesiotaping + exercise (-0.54, -2.07 to 0.99), education + exercise (-0.47, -2.31 to 1.38), feedback exercise (-0.22, -1.86 to 1.43). Exercise therapy with education (SMD -0.25, 95%CIs -1.76 to 1.26) was better than exercise alone in alleviating pain intensity. Conclusion: The knee and hip combination strength training is highly effective in muscle strength improvement. All treatments in our NMA were superior to nontreatment, we recommend avoiding a wait-and-see approach. Comprehensive therapy based on individual evaluation can effectively improve the symptoms of patients. Key words: biomechanical phenomena; knee; patellofemoral pain; exercise; osteoarthritis;