Impact of Public Health and Social Measures on Cosmetic Treatments in the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Retrospective Multi-Center Study Combined With a Questionnaire-Based Cross-Sectional Study.

Background: Public health and social measures (PHSMs) are considered the most effective approaches for controlling epidemic diseases. This study aimed to explore variations in the time-dependent characteristics of and public preferences for cosmetic treatments during and after the implementation of PHSMs during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Method: Medical records from six medical institutions were extracted retrospectively.

Tissue mechanics modulate PCNP expression in oral squamous cell carcinomas with different differentiation.

Background: PEST-containing nuclear protein (PCNP), a novel zinc finger protein, participates in cell cycle regulation. Previous studies have confirmed that PCNP plays a role in mediating cellular development and invasion in a variety of cancer types. However, the relationship between PCNP expression and the occurrence and development of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) requires further exploration.

Platelet parameters in Chinese older adults with metabolic syndrome.

Purpose: We aimed to examine the associations of platelet parameters with the presence of metabolic syndrome in community-dwelling older Chinese adults.

Methods: Study sample was from the Weitang Geriatric Diseases Study, which included 4338 individuals aged 60 years or above. The mean age of the participants was 68 years.

Synthesis and antitumoral activity of gelatin/polyoxometalate hybrid nanoparticles.

Surfactant-free gelatin/heptamolybdate (HM) hybrid nanoparticles are prepared by a simple and environmentally friendly approach utilizing the electrostatic interaction between anionic HM and the zwitterionic gelatin. The obtained nanoparticles have a tunable size and very high HM loading content up to about 70%. In vitro and in vivo experiments prove that the gelatin/HM hybrid nanoparticles exhibit significantly better antitumor activity than plain ammonium heptamolybdate solution.

Multifunctional nanocarriers for cell imaging, drug delivery, and near-IR photothermal therapy.

Multifunctional nanocarriers based on chitosan/gold nanorod (CS-AuNR) hybrid nanospheres have been successfully fabricated by a simple nonsolvent-aided counterion complexation method. Anticancer drug cisplatin was subsequently loaded into the obtained hybrid nanospheres, utilizing the loading space provided by the chitosan spherical matrix. In vitro cell experiments demonstrated that the CS-AuNR hybrid nanospheres can not only be utilized as contrast agents for real-time cell imaging but also serve as a near-infrared (NIR) thermotherapy nanodevice to achieve irradiation-induced cancer cell death owing to the unique optical properties endowed by the encapsulated gold nanorods.

Dual-functional alginic acid hybrid nanospheres for cell imaging and drug delivery.

An effective and facile approach to prepare gold-nanoparticle-encapsulated alginic acid-poly[2-(diethylamino)ethyl methacrylate] monodisperse hybrid nanospheres (ALG-PDEA-Au) is developed by using monodisperse ALG-PDEA nanospheres as a precursor nanoparticulate reaction system. This approach utilizes particle-interior chemistry, which avoids additional reductant or laborious separation process and, moreover, elegantly ensures that all the gold nanoparticles are located inside the hybrid nanospheres and every nanosphere is loaded with gold nanoparticles. These obtained ALG-PDEA-Au hybrid nanospheres have not only uniform size, similar surface properties, and good biocompatibility but also unique optical properties provided by the embedded gold nanoparticles.

Direct facile approach to the fabrication of chitosan-gold hybrid nanospheres.

Chitosan-gold hybrid nanospheres were prepared through a direct facile approach that utilized cross-linked composite nanospheres consisting of low-molecular-weight chitosan (LWCS) and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) as a precursor reaction system. EDTA was employed not only to construct the counterion interaction-based composite nanospheres with the cationic chitosan but also as the reductant for subsequent in situ gold salt reduction within the LWCS-EDTA composite nanospheres. This approach elegantly ensured that each and every nanosphere was loaded with gold nanoparticles and no nonembedded free gold nanoparticles would exist in the dispersing medium.

10-Hydroxycamptothecin loaded nanoparticles: preparation and antitumor activity in mice.

10-Hydroxycamptothecin (HCPT) loaded nanoparticles made from poly(caprolactone-co-lactide)-b-PEG-b-poly(caprolactone-co-lactide) (PCLLA-PEG-PCLLA) block copolymer, were prepared by a novel two-step nanoprecipitation method using an interior-chemistry strategy. The satisfactory drug loading content (>13%) as well as high encapsulation efficiency (>85%) was achieved. Cytotoxicity test indicated that the HCPT-loaded nanoparticles had enhanced in vitro cytotoxicity compared to free drug.

Hollow chitosan/poly(acrylic acid) nanospheres as drug carriers.

The preparation, in-vitro release, in-vitro cytotoxicity, and in-vivo drug delivery of doxorubicin (DOX)-loaded chitosan (CS)-poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) hollow nanospheres were investigated. The loading was done by dissolving a certain amount of DOX in non-cross-linked CS-PAA nanospheres aqueous solution followed by cross-linking chitosan with glutaraldehyde. The drug-loading content was up to 4.

Synthesis of alginic acid-poly[2-(diethylamino)ethyl methacrylate] monodispersed nanoparticles by a polymer-monomer pair reaction system.

In this paper, alginic acid-poly(2-(diethylamino)ethyl methacrylate) (ALG-PDEA) nanoparticles were successfully prepared in aqueous medium using a polymer-monomer pair reaction system consisting of the anionic alginic acid (ALG) and the cationic 2-(diethylamino)ethyl methacrylate (DEA), without any aid of surfactants or organic solvents. The ALG-PDEA nanoparticles were monodispersed and stable in aqueous solution. Nanoparticles with desired size could be obtained by varying the amount of initiator or changing the concentration of reactants in solution, which renders this system highly controllable.

Novel thermosensitive polymeric micelles for docetaxel delivery.

Targeted delivery of antitumor drugs triggered by hyperthermia has significant advantages in clinical applications, since it is easy to implement and side effects are reduced. To release drugs site-specifically upon local heating often requires the drugs to be loaded into a thermosensitive polymer matrix with a low critical solution temperature (LCST) between 37 and 42 degrees C. However, the LCSTs of most thermosensitive materials were below 37 degrees C, which limits their application in clinic because they would precipitate once injected into human body and lost thermal targeting function.

Chitosan surface-modified hydroxycamptothecin loaded nanoparticles with enhanced transport across Caco-2 cell monolayer.

This study explored the feasibility of using surface-modified nanoparticulate drug delivery system to enhance the transepithelial transport of antitumor drugs. An antitumor drug, 10-hydroxycamptothecin, was encapsulated into nanoparticles made of biodegradable poly(caprolactone-co-lactide)-PEG-poly(caprolactone-co-lactide) by a novel two-step nano-precipitation method. The obtained nanoparticles had a drug loading content of 10.

Synthesis and magnetic properties of biocompatible hybrid hollow spheres.

Magnetic hybrid hollow spheres of about 200 nm were prepared by a core-template-free route, that is, adding Fe3O4 nanoparticles stabilized by poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) to an aqueous solution of polymer-monomer pairs composed of a cationic polymer, chitosan (CS), and an anionic monomer, acrylic acid (AA), followed by polymerization of acrylic acid and selective cross-linking of chitosan at the end of polymerization. The obtained hybrid spheres were characterized by dynamic light scattering (DLS) in aqueous solution and observed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and atomic force microscopy (AFM) in the solid state. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray and electron diffractions revealed that the Fe3O4 nanoparticles were incorporated into the shells of chitosan-poly(acrylic acid) (CS-AA) hollow spheres.

Degradation behavior of poly(epsilon-caprolactone)-b-poly(ethylene glycol)-b-poly(epsilon-caprolactone) micelles in aqueous solution.

Poly(epsilon-caprolactone)-b-poly(ethylene glycol)-b-poly(epsilon-caprolactone) triblock copolymers were synthesized by the ring-opening polymerization of epsilon-caprolactone in the presence of hydroxyl-terminated poly(ethylene glycol) with different molecular weights, using stannous octoate catalyst. Micelles prepared by the precipitation method with these triblock copolymers exhibit a core-shell structure. The degradation behaviors of these core-shell micelles in aqueous solution were investigated by FT-IR, 1H NMR, GPC, DLS, TEM, and AFM.

Camptothecin derivative-loaded poly(caprolactone-co-lactide)-b-PEG-b-poly(caprolactone-co-lactide) nanoparticles and their biodistribution in mice.

Triblock copolymers of poly(caprolactone-co-lactide)-b-PEG-b-poly(caprolactone-co-lactide) (PCLLA-PEG-PCLLA) were synthesized by ring opening copolymerization of caprolactone and lactide in the presence of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG). With such triblock copolymers, PCLLA-PEG-PCLLA nanoparticles entrapping 10-hydroxycamptothecin-10,20-diisobutyl dicarbonate (HCPT-1), a derivative of the antitumor drug 10-hydroxycamptothecin (HCPT), were prepared by nano-precipitation method and characterized by dynamic light scattering (DLS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The investigations on drug loading, in vitro release and body distribution in mice after intravenous (i.

Preparation and drug release behaviors of nimodipine-loaded poly(caprolactone)-poly(ethylene oxide)-polylactide amphiphilic copolymer nanoparticles.

Amphiphilic block copolymers, poly(caprolactone)-poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(lactide) (PCELA), were synthesized by ring opening polymerization of caprolactone and lactide initiated with the hydroxyl groups of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG). These copolymers could form micelle-like nanoparticles due to their amphiphilic characteristic. From the observation of transmission electron microscopy (TEM), the nanoparticles exhibited a regular spherical shape with core-shell structure.